Three is a crowd: Julie just keeps winning

(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

My arrival at David’s mother’s house was noticed as soon as I drove in, for before I had even turned off the engine, his sister came rushing out the front door and positioned herself protectively in front of it, her arms folded across her chest in a confrontational stance.

“What are you doing here, Diane?” she demanded coldly, once I had gotten out of the car and walked to the front porch where she stood.

“Looking for David,” I answered in an equally frosty tone. “David?” she repeated, in what admittedly appeared to be genuine confusion.

“Why would you be looking for David here?” “Well, he spends more time looking after your mother than his own children of late; so, I figured this would be a good place to start,” I answered sarcastically, leaving out the fact that I had actually checked at the apartment complex and the site first.

“Well, you figured wrong; he’s not here.” “Then where is he?” “How would I know? He’s your husband, not mine!” she retorted, just as the front door opened behind her, and David’s mother came out.

“What’s going on here?” she asked in a tone as cold as her daughter’s had been. “I’m looking for David,” I repeated. “And I told you he isn’t here,” David’s sister interjected before her mother could respond.

Ignoring David’s sister, I kept my gaze on their mother. “I want to know where he is; I’m his wife, I have the right to know where my husband is!”

“Then you should call him and ask him; it’s not mine, or my daughter’s responsibility to keep track of your husband for you,” she sneered, and before I could come up with a response, turned on her heel and walked back into the house.

With a final, satisfied smirk at me, her daughter followed her, leaving me staring in shock and fury at the front door that had just closed in my face.

DAVID

It was great getting away from everything and everyone and just spending some time alone with Junior and Julie, but by the end of our second day at the lodge, I knew the honeymoon was over, and that I needed to make some tough decisions.

I had kept my phone off from the time we arrived in Jinja until the evening of the next day, at which point I turned it back on, ignored the numerous missed calls from Diane, and returned the ones from my mother and sister by calling my mother.

“David! Where are you?” my mother demanded in a mixture of surprise, concern and relief.

“In Jinja,” I answered calmly, as though that were the most natural response ever. “Jinja! What are you doing in Jinja?”

“I needed a break, Mum; so, I decided to take a few days off with Julie and Junior,” I explained.

“Thank goodness you’re alright! I was getting worried about you, especially when Diane showed up here looking for you, and I couldn’t reach you on phone!”

“Diane came to the house! What did she want?” I exclaimed in a mixture of shock and horror.

“Just to cause trouble! She said she was looking for you and insisted that I tell her where you were! Anyway, your sister got rid of her; so, all is fine now, but you should have told me you were going out of town before she showed up.”

“I know and I’m sorry; I just didn’t think you would be looking for me; so, I didn’t see any cause to let you know I was traveling,” I explained apologetically.

“That’s fine, but next time let me know,” she instructed, then quickly moved on. “So, when are you coming back and what are you going to do about your wife? I told you that woman is a snake.”

“I’ll probably be back tomorrow or the day after, but as for what I’m going to do about Diane, I have no idea,” I answered solemnly, truly at a loss about what my next course of action should be.

“Well, you better figure it out soon because I don’t want her disturbing my peace again; if that marriage of yours is over – which I hope it is – you need to let her know,” my mother answered sternly.

I knew she was right; I had to put my foot down and make a decision one way or the other.

“I will, Mum; I will.”

“Good,” she answered, and I could practically envision her, nodding her head in satisfaction and approval. Having gotten my word, my mother was ready to move on.

“Let me know when you’re back,” she instructed me strictly, and having elicited yet another promise from me, ended the call shortly thereafter.

JULIE

The time away at the resort in Jinja was wonderful; it was lovely having absolutely nothing to do, the room cleaned for me, our meals prepared for us, and I could not have wished for a better holiday.

I spent most of my days watching David and Junior play in the pool, and both nights making abundant, reckless love, grateful for the father-son bond I saw rapidly developing between them, and the equally deep bond I felt grow between us; so, when two days later, David announced that we would be returning to Kampala the following day, I was almost scared to ask him what his plans were upon our return.

Fortunately, he shared those without any prompting from me.

“We need to get the Katosi site completed as soon as possible – at least the manager’s quarters anyway, because I want us to move in there together.”

For a few seconds, I was not sure I had heard him correctly and had to ask him to repeat himself. When he did, thereby assuring me that I had heard him correctly the first time, I was so overcome with emotion, I was not sure how to react.

“Are you sure?” I finally gasped in delight.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Unable to formulate any other words, I simply flung myself at him and kissed him passionately.

“I love you,” I whispered, once I broke away to catch my breath. “I love you too.”

Those were words David had always seemed to find so hard to say, yet now they came out so effortlessly, I could not help but believe he meant them.

David and I would be moving in together; finally, we would be a proper family; I could not remember the last time I had ever wanted anything more.

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