Glen had been trying to have a meeting with Duncan Sawyers, but the man kept putting him off. He had finally nailed him down to a meeting on campus between only the two of them. Duncan had refused to have anybody else at the meeting besides him and Glen. Glen also had to assure him that their conversation would not be recorded or taped. Duncan had just finished his second year of a three year degree in business administration. They had agreed to meet at four o’clock at one of the conrete benches as not a lot of students would be on campus and Duncan was only doing some auxiliary courses. Duncan was therefore quite taken aback to see Glen and Bev waiting for him.
“What’s she doing here?” he asked.
“I told you that this was between you and me,” he went on.
“She’s my girlfriend, anything that concerns me also concerns her too.”
“If you don’t want me to hear I can go and stay in the jeep.”
“That’s more like it,” Duncan said.
“She stays if she goes then we don’t have this conversation.”
“Suit yourself, but maybe when I’m done you would wish that she didn’t hear.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“I’m not the father of Leona’s baby.”
Glen wanted to ask him if not him, then who but he let him continue.
“Why did you think she wanted to come and live with you? If you had made her do that she would have gotten pregnant and forced you to marry her. She was afraid of losing you to Bev.”
“So who is her baby’s father?” Glen asked.
“Liam Jacobs but he has returned home to Barbados. He won’t be coming back except maybe for graduation and he doesn’t want anything to do with her.”
“We’re going now but I think you’re lying. I never saw Liam near Leona,” Glen said as he and Bev made for their vehicle.
Bev turned around and looked at Duncan. She remembered that Liam had tried to date her, but she had never seen him talking to Leona yet so maybe Duncan was lying about them.
Duncan watched them go before he went into the classroom to collect his bag and books and made his way over to his motorcycle.
***
“I think that Brad’s a great guy, Morgana,” Maria said as she sipped her drink.
Raquel, Maria and Dorine were out with Morgana at Jimmy Chang and she was bouncing ideas off them. They were due to join their men later at Ruddys.
“I was dying to see you two get together. I remembered that morning when Brad said he was in love with a girl but she wasn’t paying him any attention. Somehow I knew it was you, Morgana,” Maria said.
“I’ve just committed myself to him and he to me, but I’ve told him that I won’t wear an engagement ring again,” Morgana said.
“I know the first couple of weeks after you get married we are going to be nursing you all the time,” Dorine said.
“I don’t plan on getting pregnant that early in my marriage. I want to enjoy it and see how married life is.”
“Brad looks like he could give you a lot of babies, Morgana,” Maria said.
“What about Chris, Ron and Romain? You’re going on as if I’m the only one who’s going to or getting it good,” Morgana countered. Romaine Cuff was Dorine’s new boyfriend.
“I don’t know if any of us are in a more serious relationship than you, Morgana,” Raquel said.
“Brad hasn’t even asked me yet and we’ve been going around for less than two months now. All I’m doing is speculating, but I worry every night that he might find another girl and leave me,” Morgana said.
“You and your sister must be the envy of a lot of girls. She gets to marry a rich guy and you get to marry the man of your dreams,” Maria said.
“Say, did anybody hear what happened to Rick and Celia?” Morgana asked.
“That guy broke in on them with a gun. Rick says that he got some neighbors to overpower him and hand him over to the police,” Raquel said.
“Dorine, I knew that you were interested in Rick. My sister was also interested in him, but I suppose both of you didn’t fancy a fight with Celia,” Morgana opined.
“Talk about Bev, when I saw how deeply in love with Celia he was, I just backpedalled,” Dorine said.
“Hey our guys must be waiting on us,” Raquel said and they began to pack up to go down to Ruddys.
***
Morgana was in Brad’s kitchen washing up the dishes as they had just had a light meal when Brad came up behind her and started kissing her.
“Brad, let me finish the dishes.”
“That can stay until later.”
“What are we going to do?”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Nothing,” she replied but she knew what her body was telling her.
“Okay then, we’ll do nothing,” he said taking her hands.
“So if that’s the case let me go back to finishing the dishes,” she protested.
Brad cut off her protests by kissing her harder.
Once they were on the couch he started kissing her again.
“I didn’t come here for this.”
“We keep putting it off all the time. How will you know that I’m the real thing?”
“It had better be or else I would leave the same night.”
“Here’s your chance, you could leave tonight and save yourself months of speculation and final agony,” he said pushing her down on the couch.
“You are going to crush up my clothes. How will I look when I get home? Mummy and Bev will be sure to know that I’ve been with you.”
“You could take off your clothes if you don’t want them to be crushed up.”
“I couldn’t do that, not down here and I told you already that I didn’t come here for that,” she again protested.
“Let’s go upstairs then.”
“Brad, I ……,” she tried to protest, but he started kissing her again.
Morgana didn’t show any shyness when they were upstairs as they quickly undressed and came into each other’s arms.
Suddenly she pulled out of his arms.
“Aren’t you forgetting something.”
“What?”
“I won’t do it with you without protection.”
“I don’t have any here.”
“I have some in my bag,” she said and reached for her bag and took out the condom and gave him.
“You came prepared.”
“Of course, a girl should be prepared for any eventuality,” she said as she came into his arms again.
Brad had to admire her well formed body. Her breasts were well formed and her legs and arms were well shaped and well toned. She wanted him inside her immediately they undressed and he had put on the condom.
Later as they lay in the afterglow of their lovemaking she said.
“My lover, you were great in bed. Oh God, it has been so long.”
“It has been long for me too, but you were great.”
“I bet you could last the entire night. Your body looks in great condition.”
“You have to spend a night with me to find out. You could stay tonight.”
“I can’t do that; I don’t have a change of clothes and I have to think about mummy. I know she would be worried sick about me if I didn’t come home.”
“I’m getting tired of being alone.”
“Now that we are lovers, I’ll come up with you most evenings and spend weekends with you. Until you make it official that’s all I can promise you, for now, darling.”
“You know how modest I am, but that’s okay for now at least.”
“What time is it now?”
“It’s about seven o’clock,” he told her grabbing up his television remote to turn on the television.
“Turn off the television. I want to get a half-hour nap before getting a bath and going home.”
Brad turned off the television and Morgana turned over on her back for her half hour nap.
***
Stewart was at his house that evening. He was supposed to take out Raileen this evening. April had returned to the States and he didn’t want to call her because of what had happened the last time he called. He was sure that she would give him a call before long.
Treena had refused to talk to him and he was only getting her voicemail when he called her. When he dialed her home number, once she heard his voice she would slam down the phone. He wanted another woman to put on his roster. He couldn’t depend on Jose again, the man had betrayed him by pursuing April but based on her report she hadn’t gone to bed with him. But a man going into a woman’s apartment at that hour in the morning must be going to sleep with her. She had spent an inordinately long time in his car and they looked like lovers as they exited the car and made for her apartment holding hands.
Maybe he should have stayed around to see how long he remained in the apartment. It could be that she was lying and didn’t want him to know that she had slept with one of his best friends. Anybody who had seen them come to the apartment court, spend such a long time in the car and then exit it holding hands would have sworn that they were lovers. He had seen Ilana, the girl, Jose had been with and she had told him about April and him. It appeared that based on her account, they started going together right after they met so she wasn’t getting back at him for having caught him with Treena. Ilana had agreed to go out with him on Saturday, but he didn’t think he would go to meet her.
He hadn’t yet contacted Sally and had in fact given up the whole idea. He knew that by now they must be lovers. He had thought of calling Jenna and asking her about her relationship with Brad but then he realized that he didn’t know the girl all that well and he didn’t have a phone number for her. He decided to give Morgana a call. He hadn’t heard anything about any engagement or marriage between her and Brad. He had heard that Bev and Glen would be getting engaged and he would be at that. He had also heard that Rick and Celia would also be getting engaged. He would take Raileen to one and Meesha to the other to show off on Morgana that he could still get younger and more attractive women than her.
Morgana was upstairs in her room when the phone rang. Stewart was on the line.
“How’s my fiancé and the most beautiful woman in the world doing?”
“Stewart, is that really you? Well, if it’s really you, you know that neither of those statements is true.”
“You might no longer be my fiancé but you’re still the loveliest girl in the world.”
“Why are you so complimentary to me? You never used to be when we were engaged.”
“Of course I was. Anyway has Brad asked you to marry him as yet? If he hasn’t, then I’m going to beat him to it.”
“No, he hasn’t and we’ve been over this so many times before. I wouldn’t have married you then and I’m not prepared to marry you now.”
“April has migrated so there’s nobody to be afraid of. Leave Brad and return to me. I promise to be good to you, honey. If Brad really loved you he would have asked you to marry him already or be engaged to him. He was just after your body. Mind you don’t have to leave Newman and Graham crying and in disgrace.”
“I was in love with you once and what happened? You were sleeping with Bobbette, April, Treena and a host of other women and nowadays you’ve been seen out with other women. You’re one of those men, who want to be with a different woman every night. Okay, so I break off with Brad and marry you and we’d probably sleep in the same bed every night, but I would have to be worrying each time you left the house, which girl you’re going to meet. You couldn’t even keep your hands off your helper’s daughter just to show the type of man you are. If I hired a helper I would have to make sure she was old or ugly just to keep you away from her.”
“You’re talking about me, what about Brad? He could turn out to be worse than I am. At least I’m reforming and as for that girl who Bev saw me out with, it’s just one of my friends’ women. He doesn’t dig the nightclub scene so he asked me to take her out. And I’ve already told you that I had nothing to do with Chloe.”
“Let’s leave Brad out of it. I’ve slept with you lots of times before I went away and since I’ve been back so what more is there to know about me? You know what I think, it’s just your ego that’s hurting. You can’t bear the idea of losing me to another man, especially one that you know.”
“It’s nothing like that. I’ve now realized how wrong I was and I’m sorry for what happened with April but she’s gone out of our lives now. All those other women including Bobbette and Treena were just rumors.”
“I won’t even get on the subject of Bobbette again. Stewart, why don’t you wish me luck in my affair with Brad? Why don’t you settle down with one girl instead of going after so many of them?”
“I’m warning you that I still believe you’re mine. I was your first boyfriend, your first fiancé and naturally I want to be your husband. I’ll be returning the ring plus a marriage proposal and a pro-forma invoice for you to go and select the wedding band. You can shock Brad by inviting him to our wedding, sweetheart. If he won’t then I will.”
Morgana felt her patience wearing out. She should have cut off Stewart a long time ago instead of letting him rave like this.
“Goodbye and don’t do any of the foolishness you’re contemplating. Anyway, I’ll just return them to you,” Morgana told him as she prepared to hang up.
“I’ll still send them and I bet you change your mind,” he
fired back, but Morgana cut him off from saying anymore by hanging up.
***
Leona had just reached home when her cell phone started ringing. She pressed the call button, Glen was on the line.
“Hi, Leona, how are you?”
“I’m trying to cope as best I can.”
“I met with Duncan and Leona I’m not going to waste any time. He accused you of two timing him with Liam Jacobs. But Liam has turned his back on you and returned home. So you want to pin everything on him.”
“The wretch, I know he was that way. I don’t know why I ever had anything to do with him,” she sobbed.
“Liam and I were never friends. He was always talking up to me, but I always ignored him and you know that too.”
Glen knew what she was talking about as he once had to warn Liam to leave her alone.
“I don’t know what else I can do, but do you want you and I to meet him and trash out things?” Glen asked.
“Thanks, but I think I can manage on my own. I’m going to talk to Duncan and we’ll see how it goes.”
“Okay, you know you can always call on me if you need any help.”
“Thanks again and bye for now.”
***
This time they were completely enveloped in their lovemaking they hardly noticed the passage of time or the rain falling outside. Finally, when they came down from the heights they had reached Morgana turned to Brad.
“Oh gosh, I never knew that you were such a wonderful lover,” she said. “You have so much stamina.”
“I have been saving it up for you,” he said and laughed and Morgana started laughing too.
“I want to take a nap,” Morgana said when they finished laughing.
Brad watched her fall asleep and decided to take a nap too.
When Morgana woke up two hours later she saw that Brad was up and looking at her and she came into his arms. After she pulled out, she said.
“Would you believe that Stewart phoned, threatening to return the engagement ring. He says he’s going to write me a marriage proposal and send me a pro-forma invoice to go and select the wedding ring.”
Brad got up off the bed and sat at the edge.
“You mean you stood there and let Stewart pour such garbage in your ears. You know what I think, he’s only doing these things because neither April nor Bobbette is around. Okay, so let’s hear it from you, if he sends those things what are you going to do?”
Morgana got up and hugged him around the waist.
“I told him I’m just going to return them to him without
even bothering to open the parcel or letter.”
“You know something. Stewart and April broke up before she went away, not because she caught him with that little girl, but because he saw Jose and her going into her apartment early one morning. You remember that guy, who works with your late father’s company? My understanding is that April denied going to bed with him but Stewart doesn’t believe her.”
“I’ve told him on numerous occasions that I don’t want anything to do with him. If he calls me again I’m going to slam down the phone on him,” Morgana said as both of them again lay on their backs admiring each other’s body. Morgana now knew that Stewart had only sought her out because April had turned her back on him.
Brad for his part was a bit perturbed that Morgana had bothered to listen to Stewart. He had wanted to ask her to marry him, but was quite prepared to put it on hold until he was sure where this latest nonsense from Stewart was going. He felt no dangers from that source as she had given herself too willingly to him, but with a woman you never knew. He looked at Morgana and realized that she had dozed off again. He decided to get a short nap too before waking her up to shower and go home.