Eva Mazza - Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch

“So?” he asked. “How’s Jen doing?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Did you speak to her?”

Why is he asking again?

“I told you I had, love. She seems fine. It looks as if she’s considering leaving John. She told me that she had met someone who is dating a very good divorce lawyer. Apparently, he’s done some high-profile cases.”

Lee seemed interested. He had sat up now. She wished he would go to sleep.

“What’s his name?”

“I don’t know. Leonard, I think. I didn’t ask for details. She didn’t seem too keen to chat.” I’m not too keen to chat. He seemed to know this, but he kept on regardless.

“It must be Leonard Mazwai. If it is, she’s going to need a lot of money for him to represent her.”

Frankie’s tone changed. She sounded aggressive. She was sick of talking about Jen. I did warn her. It’s not as if she hadn’t been warned! Frankie pulled the duvet over her naked body. “Well, I told her that I thought divorce is a bad idea. Really, over some floozy. And it’s not like I didn’t warn her about Patty. But Jen, she’s so trusting, stupid even. I could see Patty was a whore from the moment I laid eyes on her!”

Lee smiled as if he had been waiting to hear these very words. “I guess it takes one to know one,” Lee said, rolling over to sip the last of his scotch.

Frankie wasn’t sure at first whether she had heard him properly. When she realised she had, she suppressed the panic that welled up inside her. She wasn’t going to let it show. Instead she turned victim. “Lee! That’s mean! You know my past. I’ve never hidden it from you.”

Lee put his glass back down on his bedside table. He looked at his wife straight in the eyes. “I’m familiar with your past and I know your recent past and I’m very aware of your present.”

Frankie battled to breathe. “Wh… What do you mean?”

He held her chin, his eyes softening. “Why don’t you try figure it out?” Then he kissed her on the lips. She tried to pull away, but he had a firm grip on her. “I’m going to sleep. I’m absolutely knackered and I need to be in the city tomorrow.” He glanced at the clock beside his bed. “Well, today, I guess. I’ll only be back Tuesday, so don’t expect me home tonight.”

He gave her another peck, this time on the cheek, and then rolled over onto his side, his back to her, and switched off his bedside lamp. It was as if sleep was immediate for him.

Not so for Frankie; she lay in the dark in a cold sweat listening to her husband snore. She wasn’t exactly sure what Lee had meant, but tonight’s mood was an indication that something was brewing. This was typical of him: he would let her agonise over issues until he was ready to confront them. There were many things that could compromise her marriage. Has he found out about them, or am I just being paranoid?

The sun had just come up when Lee left for Cape Town. He had made an early start to miss the Monday morning mayhem on the roads. And, as much as he had business to take care of, avoiding Frankie was his main priority. He had said too much, and it was becoming more difficult to remain mute, let alone stay passive.

He had bumped into their helper Faith on his way out. She had his coffee ready and was about to start his breakfast. He gulped down his espresso. “No breakfast for me this morning, Faith,” he instructed.

“Is Boss Lee going to work on an empty stomach?”

Lee smiled. He never could stop her from preceding his name with ‘boss’ and had given up trying years ago.

“I am, Faith. Too much to do, and I want to miss the traffic.”

“Madam Frankie says it’s bad for your sugar. You must have breakfast.”

Lee laughed. “Madam Frankie,” he teased, “is not a doctor. You can give her my breakfast. I’ll see you Tuesday, Faith. Lots of work to do.”

The traffic became heavier as he neared the harbour. He hated driving bumper to bumper, so he weaved in and out of the lanes, knowing that this did very little to shorten the time it took him to get to his destination.

He was a little more stressed than usual. It seemed everything was coming to a head, and he told himself that he had to stay calm for things to pan out as they should.

After stopping at his favourite coffee shop for a quick takeaway cappuccino, Lee parked in the basement in one of his allocated bays and took the lift to the penthouse, coffee in hand. He took a sip of his coffee in the elevator. Some days he would take the stairs, but today he felt sluggish. He had drunk too much over the weekend.

The lift opened to reveal the morning skyline. Seldom did he take the sight for granted. The club, on the other hand, was a very different space when it was not being used for sex, drugs and debauchery. A sad place, ironically, Lee thought, sipping the last of his cappuccino. He was a big fan of irony. I should have been involved in the theatre . He sat at his desk and pulled the newspaper towards him. The front-page headline read PROF SUSPENDED FOR SEX WITH STUDENTS. He smiled.

Also on the table were four neatly stacked brown envelopes. Lee picked up the top one. It was an A4 size and thick. He tore it open and reached in to pull out a wad of photographs. He drew out a random picture and studied it. His phone rang, and he answered without checking who it was.

“Ya, I’m here. Found them on the table.” He swivelled his chair around. “Have you left already? I was hoping to have a meeting with you this morning.”

He listened to the reply then laughed. “I’m looking at them now. Have you got copies for Mazwai?” He continued to study the wad of photographs as he spoke. “Jesus. This is enough to incriminate… You need to get to the lawyer’s office. Today. Okay, okay! You’re onto it. Thank you.” There was a long pause as he listened intently, then spoke. “After the potential fuck up, it couldn’t have gone any better. Okay, meet at four this afternoon. Thanks again.” Lee’s mouth turned up into a half smile. He crumpled the paper cup in his left hand and lobbed it against the corner wall. It bounced into the dustbin.

“Bam!” he said with a self-satisfied smirk. The cup had TRUTH printed on it◦– the name of the coffee shop. The irony was not lost on him.

Much to her relief, Frankie found Lee gone when she awoke. It was Monday. Zumba class! She reached for her cellphone at the side of her bed. Faith knocked gently on her door and came in with a tray of orange juice and coffee.

“Morning, Madam Frankie,” she said as Frankie was about to send a voice message. Frankie lifted her hand: a gesture to stop Faith from speaking.

“Hi, Shelley, it’s me. I’m not doing Zumba today so don’t miss me too much. Love you. Mean it.”

Faith had already placed the tray at the foot of her bed and was halfway out the door when her employer acknowledged her.

“Thank you, Faith. You’re my sunshine.” Faith turned and smiled. Frankie broke into song. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are grey.”

Faith laughed at her. “Haai, Madam Frankie! That song you used to sing to Clive when he was a baby.”

Frankie laughed as she reached for her juice. “And now I’m singing it to you! You’ll never know dear, how much I lo-o-ve you, please don’t take my sunshine away.”

Faith closed the door gently behind her. Frankie gulped down her orange juice and drank her coffee◦– black, no sugar◦– as she did most mornings. She flung off her duvet and climbed out of bed, grabbing her silk gown from the hook in the bathroom.

“Today you will do what you should have done ages ago,” she spoke out loud to herself. “Delete any incriminating photos, emails or texts, you stupid woman.”