(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.
DAVID
Driving Diane’s mother home provided the perfect excuse for me to leave with her, thereby evading being alone with Diane, which was probably the smartest thing to do, considering that not only was I still smarting over how expensive the trip to the police station had turned out to be, but I was also preoccupied with thoughts of my meeting with Julie that morning and my planned return that evening.
Knowing Diane, she would undoubtedly pick up on my distraction and push for an explanation for it, and I just was not in the mood to deal with that.
Seeing the children provided a further welcome distraction; Diane’s parents had told them about her accident, but we had agreed to downplay the seriousness of it so as not to worry them, and in order to pull that off, I knew I could not be distracted by thoughts of anything – or anyone – else.
Thankfully, as it turned out, my acting skills proved to be up to par, for the children readily accepted my assurance that their mother was not badly hurt, and by the time I left to go and see Julie, the girls were happily watching their favourite cartoon show, while Daniel was as usual engrossed with his tab.
The first thing I noticed when I got to the apartment was the complete turnaround in Julie’s behaviour and demeanour from not just the past few weeks, but that very morning. While she had been cold and distant, this evening she had actually welcomed me at the door with a soft smile, and personally served me coffee and a snack, reminding me of the early days of our affair, when she had always been so eager to please.
After the long and difficult day I had had, her warm attention was exactly what I needed, and surprisingly, although I had come to the apartment with the main goal of getting intimate with Julie, to test her commitment, and maybe prove a point, I no longer felt the need to do that.
It wasn’t that I did not want to make love to her; I found that I was content to just be with her.
JULIE
It was ironic that until that evening, I had used Sandra as a sort of shield between David and me, but now that my previously cold feelings towards him had thawed, her constant presence was becoming more of an irritation than a blessing.
Furthermore, although he had not said anything directly, I could tell David felt the same; so, when Junior started getting tired and fussy, I used the opportunity to ask her to go rock him to sleep in the bedroom.
While she clearly was not thrilled at being banished to the bedroom with a moody baby, my ploy succeeded in getting David and me some privacy and it was not long before David, almost tentatively, reached out for me and began to gently kiss me.
For so long, I had been cringing from his touch, but to my surprise, I now found that since my mindset about our relationship had changed, my body had followed suit, and instinctively responded to him the way it had when we first started our affair.
If he had tried to make love to me, I would have let him, but a little after ten, he reluctantly pulled away and said he had to go. I wondered why, as his wife was not home, but since I was not meant to know that, I could not ask. I also wondered why he still had not told me about the accident.
In the past, he had often used me as a sounding board for whatever was going on in his life, and him coming to me with his problems, had given me a sense of confidence in his feelings for me, and of a purpose for more than just sex.
It was not only disconcerting that he had not shared that with me tonight, but also a reminder that there were still secrets between us; that it would take a lot more than just one good evening to get us back to where we used to be.
DIANE
After David and my mother left, it was not long before I dozed off again; I had already discovered that one of the worst things about being admitted is the boredom that comes from hours and hours of being confined to a bed with nothing to do, and had found that the best way to escape from it, was to sleep.
When I next woke up, the sun was beginning to set, and the nurses were doing their evening rounds, making sure their patients were comfortable. The one assigned to my room, offered to help me in the shower, but this time, I turned down her offer, challenging myself to manage on my own, and even though it took me twice as long, the sense of accomplishment I felt once I was finally done, was worth it.
With the goal I had set myself to get back to my home as soon as possible, every step I took towards that, no matter how small it might seem, felt like a major triumph. I was slowly and painfully climbing back into the hospital bed, when the door to my room opened and the doctor who had admitted me walked in.
“You’re up! A nurse should have helped you!” he exclaimed apologetically, as he rushed to my aid.
“One offered, but I can manage, thank you,” I explained, as with one final heave,
I pulled myself up against the bed’s headrest.
“You’re a very determined patient; that will definitely speed up your recovery,” he nodded approvingly.
“That’s the plan,” I smiled wryly.
“It’s a good plan, but don’t push yourself too hard, or you’ll undo all the progress you’re making,” he warned, then looked around.
“Where’s your husband?”
“He had to take my mum home and check on our kids; he’ll be back tomorrow though. Once again, I’m sorry about his behaviour earlier; he just had a tough day.”
“That’s fine; no need to apologize,” he brushed away my apology, but I noted that he averted his gaze, and his back stiffened ever so slightly.
“You don’t like my husband very much, do you?” I asked candidly.
“Why do you say that?” he asked in surprise – but did not deny my statement.
“Just the way you get kind of cold around him; it’s actually pretty obvious.”
“I don’t know what you mean; you’re my patient, not him; so, I really don’t have any feelings about him one way or the other,” he retorted icily.
“See what I mean; just talking about him has gotten you tense!”
“Let’s talk about your recovery instead; how is the pain in your back?” he asked, firmly changing the topic, his tone making it clear, the subject of David was closed.
I let it go for the moment, but when I looked back on David’s almost identical reaction to the doctor, I was convinced that there was some form of bad blood between them, and was determined to get to the bottom of it.
margaretwamanga@yahoo.com
Source: The Observer
Share this content: