Schwartz
He smiled slightly as he read the message from Proserpina. So Lucien Delano had finally made it to a sonography!
Schwartz shook his head sadly. The man clearly did not deserve Proserpina.
As he looked up, Danielle entered the room. He grinned at her. She had grown thinner and her white hair was shorn close to her head in a severe haircut.
She scowled as was her habit but she was glad to see him.
“Goddamned circus. It’s a f*king night mare!’ she complained as she threw herself down onto one of the comfortable leather chairs in front of his desk. Schwartz grinned. Both of them knew that she was grumbling for the heck of it. She loved her job.
‘Where’s Grace?’, he asked and Danielle’s face lightened. But she pretended to be as grumpy as ever.
‘Coming this evening.’ she said but with a smile, Schwartz noted the pleasure on her face when she spoke of her partner.
“Been too long,’ she went on, hiding her expression as she stared into the phone.’ She’s got a friend with her, some teacher who is joining Hollowford High.’
Shrugging dismissively, she raised her small, hard eyes to meet Schwartz’s as she went on,
“How did Proserpina take it?’
Like everyone else, Proserpina Delano had charmed the crusty Danielle and she was deeply concerned about the younger woman. Danielle had been with Lucien for more than two decades now. She was fiercely loyal to the Boss but she was equally fond of Proserpina.
Schwartz sighed and raked his hand through his hair as he said,
‘She’s good. Finally got the Boss to accompany her for the sonography,’ he said, his voice softening as he thought of Proserpina with her lovely face, eyes shining with love, her soft wide mouth smiling.
Danielle’s shrewd eyes were fixated on his face as she said bluntly,
‘Mate, you gotta move on.’ Schwartz flushed darkly. He avoided her eyes and began toying with his phones.
‘I mean it,’ said Danielle, who could be like a dog with a bit between her teeth,’ You got to get another woman in your life. And no!’ she raised her hand and stopped his objections as she raised his head, eyes glinting,
‘Aiyana is too sharp a broad to settle for sloppy seconds.’
Schwartz’s jaw tightened grimly but he said nothing. There was nothing new in what she was telling him.
He had been around Danielle Eton for too long to take offence; she knew that she could be blunt with him and he would not mind.
They were silent for a while; only the muted sounds from the Club as it came awake, filtering through into the room. He looked around his large office and sighed again. Lucien was a good mate, he had always been there for Schwartz in his gruff, indomitable way. It was no one’s fault that he, Schwartz, had fallen hopelessly in love with Lucien’s pretty, kind-hearted wife.
He sighed and rubbed his knuckles into his eyes as he nodded.
‘Yeah…’ he said tiredly.
*
Maja
Maja Nord glanced at her companion with a small smile playing about her lips. Grace was excited to return to her hometown and her lover and it showed in the mirth dancing in her eyes as she looked out of the window of the aircraft. Maja smiled again and chuckled, patting Grace’s hand.
The tall, ebony-skinned woman turned to look at pretty Maja with a dazzling smile.
‘It’s been very long, too long,’ she smiled and Maja nodded. They had met at the education air and had soon become friends, in a chatty sort of way. Maja Nord was older, with lines on her once beautiful face that spoke of weariness and a general feeling of exhaustion with the world at large.
For a fleeting second, Maja felt a pang of envy; how wonderful it must be to be loved and to love in this way!
She had loved and lost everything, self-respect, all of it.
Now, all she had were her children, two of them, who hated her for dragging them away.
*
Proserpina
I lay down on the bed, feeling a little tired. I must be getting on in years, I thought with a small smile and ran my hand lightly over my stomach. I had taken a wash after returning from the sonography and still felt a thrill as I recalled the look in Lucien’s eyes.
A look of amazement, of wonder.
After all these years and having borne him seven children, this was the first time that he had accompanied me to the doctor, I thought with a smile.
Sighing happily, I turned over. As I drifted off to sleep, I told myself that I really should check on Tara. The child had been asleep when I looked in after I was back and Camille was sitting guard. The nurse had shooed me away; she’s fine, Camille had hissed as she all but hustled me out of the room.
“We don’t want you catching her flu” said Camille harshly and I dimpled,
” I am her mother, Cam!’
She shook her head and said severely,
“You go and rest now. I shall call you when she is awake.’
Knowing that she was in good hands since Camille was a trained nurse, I trudged to my room and fell asleep almost as soon as I lay down.
*
Maja
At five feet four, Maja Nord knew that she was not beautiful. But her impish looks and the strong dimple in her small square chin, made her look like a fading pixie on a mission. With the flaming red corkscrew curls she had inherited from her ebullient mother, who had been a Professor of Archaeology, along with the wide blue eyes that went with it, she looked younger than her thirty-six years. Her Scandinavian father had been a professor in Advanced Chemistry at the same University where her Irish mother had taught at. Unfortunately for her, both her parents had died in a freak road accident when she was sixteen but that had not daunted her.
*