Three is a crowd: Will David ever shake Kenneth off? 

(Continued from last issue)

David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.

DIANE

I stayed in the living room for hours, my mind replaying everything David had said and done. I could not believe he had actually struck me, but ironically, what stung more, was his revelation at the end of his apology that not only had he taken that whore to the Katosi land, but that he and his father were actually making her manage the project!

Her, who had been nothing but a mere secretary; what did she know about construction? It was obviously just a means of bringing her in to his family fold and giving her some status and financial security, as she obviously was not qualified for the job. And that his father was going along with it, drove me crazy.

While I did not have the best of relationships with David’s family, we had always maintained a basic degree of respect for one another; that they would support his illicit affair, and even go one step further and let her manage a family project, effectively taking wealth away from their grandchildren by me, and giving it to that whore and David’s bastard son, was the highest degree of disrespect, and it was this that had my blood boiling.

It was bad enough that David was having an affair, one with a bastard son at that, but that that affair was now threatening not just my marriage and family, but our children’s inheritance as well, was unthinkable.

Trying to reason with him was obviously pointless; that whore had him ‘in a bottle’ as they said, but he was not the only culprit in this fiasco; his father was in on it as well, and since I could not get David to see sense, that left me with no choice but to turn my focus onto his father to put an end to this madness.

DAVID

I awoke to the sounds of Diane getting the children up and ready for school, which was mildly reassuring. She had not come to bed the previous night; so, I was not sure what state she was in, but at least she was maintaining the facade of normalcy, which was a good start.

However, knowing her, I knew this did not mean the fight was over; for starters, there was no way she was going to let me hitting her go, but besides that, thanks to my careless remark, she now knew about Julie managing the Katosi project, and I was nervous about how she would strike back, for I was certain she would.

I did not have time to dwell on it, though; I was responsible for taking the children to school, and a quick glance at my watch told me I was running late; so, I showered and dressed in record time, before heading downstairs.

I found Diane and the children in the dining room, the kids finishing their breakfast, and Diane making the final checks on their school bags. She was still wearing the dress she had been wearing the previous night, her eyelids were puffy, and her eyes tired, yet she stood straight, with a stiff, almost haughty posture as I walked in.

Just like she had the previous night, she totally ignored me, not answering, or even acknowledging my general ‘good morning’; so, I turned my attention to the children.

“Guys, let’s go; we’re running late,” I instructed them brusquely.

They scrambled from the table, picking up their bags and goodbye kisses from Diane on the way to the front door, and once they were all out, I turned around to close the door behind us, and as I did so, I caught sight of Diane still standing stiffly by the table.

I paused for a second, mentally willing her to at least look at me, but she did not, and after a moment, I quietly closed the door, and went to the car.

JULIE

It is funny how quickly things can change; after a night filled with beautiful dreams of the lakeside house I had designed in my mind, I woke up in a great mood, sent my mother the money I had promised her, then got started on my usual chores around the flat, hoping to make some headway before Junior woke up.

When he did, I noticed that he felt a bit warm as I carried him out of his crib, and when I tried to feed him his breakfast, he was fussy and would not eat, no matter what I tried. Feeling the first stirrings of worry, I decided to break David’s unwritten rule about not contacting him at work, and texted him: ‘I’m worried about Junior; he’s a bit warm and fussier than usual.’

‘He seemed fine yesterday; don’t worry, it’s probably just the after effects of the long day we had. Give him a warm bath, a spoonful of paracetamol, and he’ll be fine after a nap. I’ve got a meeting starting soon and will be tied up with others for most of the day, but I’ll pass by this evening. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine,’ his response arrived moments later.

I did not believe the problem was that simple, but I did not want to press the matter and sound like a nagging, paranoid mother, especially since he had not so subtly told me he was busy; so, I reluctantly agreed to try his solution.

At least he had promised to come that evening; so, if Junior was not better by then, we could address it then, I tried to calm myself. As promised, I tried David’s solution, but less than half an hour after I had put Junior down for a nap, he woke up again, and this time, he was not just warm, but was literally burning up, and was obviously much worse.

In a complete panic, I forgot about David’s meeting and tried calling him, but his phone was off, and in desperation, I next called a number I had sworn never to call again – Kenneth’s.

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