The dawn broke, as Janita found herself alone in bed. Maygent was gone, without a single word. She had taken his words seriously, of devotion and dedication and divorce. It had been all for naught, she supposed. May as well just live her life out with her boring fiancé and take that as punishment for betraying his love for a night.
She found her clothes, clean and dry in a neat bundle on the dresser, and proceeded to put them on and make her way for the foyer. Maybe Jim would already be there, waiting for her.
Maygent had not actually abandoned Janita, I should tell you. He had been chastened and taken out of the room quite early in the morning by a furious Jiff Daff, who felt it extremely inappropriate for him to be cheating on his wife with a woman engaged to be married, no less. Maygent sat glumly at the kitchen table, sipping some of Frenkie's orange juice and vowing never to profess all that he had ever again. However, it had seemed true to him, and indeed, it was. He removed his wedding ring without another thought, slipping it into his pocket, and found himself making a call to a divorce lawyer to send the papers to his residence. He had truly fallen for Janita and was prepared to marry her, or at the very least, continue a relationship with her. Besides, being an extremely conscientious man, Maygent couldn't continue this affair having previously promised his wife in their wedding vows to be monogamous. No, no, this marriage had to end now, for it would kill him with guilt if his forbidden relationship continued.
"Maygent, please think about what you are doing," Jiff Daff mentioned sternly, as he entered the room, once Maygent had hung up with the lawyer.
"I have, Jiff, and I have chosen Janita. I can't go through the remainder of my married days wondering 'what if I had taken another path' and so forth. I wouldn't be able to keep this affair a secret; it would burden me and pique my curiosity to continually remember it."
"Is that why you're doing this? Because you'll feel guilty? Please give me a better excuse than that, dear Maygent."
"I—I've found myself to care for her, a lot, in fact. She's all I've been thinking about since she arrived here."
"Maygent, as a married man of nearly a decade now, I know about guilt and 'what if' questions, but I've learned that communication is the key to a strong, guilt-free marriage. If you simply tell your wife about what you did, you can both move on and—"
Maygent slammed his hand down on the kitchen table. "I'm not happy, Jiff Daff! My marriage—isn't satisfying to me anymore. If it had been, I would not have been compelled to cheat. And I have, and I just happened to like it—"
Jiff Daff slapped the tall man across his face. "Snap out of it, Maygent. You have three young children. You don't want to bring them through the horrible process of divorce. They'll be scarred for life. How could you be so… selfish!"
Maygent recoiled from the slap, but continued to speak. "I want to be happy, Jiff, and I think I could find happiness—for life, this time—with Janita. We just… clicked."
"That's not all you did last night, you bloody debaucher," he muttered, stomping out of the kitchen.
"Now the hell what?" Maygent mumbled to himself. "Everything seemed so… clear to me last night, and now it's all twisted and confusing. Bloody hell."
He put his head down on the cool marble of the table, staring at the etchings as someone walked into the kitchen. He looked up angrily, expecting Jiff Daff, but it was Frenkie, looking quite pleased with himself, pulling the jug of orange juice out of the refrigerator and drinking directly out of it.
"Why are you so damn happy?" he asked the smiling man.
"Well, why do you look so utterly miserable?" was the response.
"I asked first," mumbled Maygent.
"Alright, alright, but please don't share this information." He proceeded to put away the jug and wipe his lips. "I just happened to get lucky twice in one night!" he whispered excitedly.
"Twice! You lucky bastard! I'm feeling guilty as hell, and I got lucky once last night!"
"You're f&ing kidding me, Maygent. With whom, may I ask? Maria?"
"No. It was… Janita."
"Are you going to tell Chrissie? Have you ever done something like this before? This isn't like you, Maygent. I always considered you to be, well, along with Jiff, the most steady-headed of us all."
The sound of his wife's name gave the curly haired man gooseflesh. "I—well, you know what, you're just going to yell at me, just like Jiff Daff did earlier. I'm not in the mood for another lecture."
"Do you honestly think I have room to talk, Maygent? Look at me! I'm just a musical prostitute!"
"Thank God you're not getting up in my face about this, Frenkie. You're a good friend."
"—Although I must add, Maria was crushed when she found out I was—well, you know that story. I don't think she ever did recover from that blow. I'll repay her some day, for all her hard work, in whatever way I can. Chrissie has given you three beautiful children; please refrain from shattering her heart to pieces."
"How can I? God, you're making me feel worse than ever! I don't want to be with her anymore; I want to get a divorce."
"You are blowing my mind, Maygent! And this all occurred to you, in what, twenty-four hours?"
"If you are going to lecture me, please let me know first so that I can leave the room," Maygent muttered.
"Are you going to continue your relationship with Janita?" Frenkie asked instead.
"Well, yes, that's what I was hoping. You know me; I can't be with two women at one time."
"There's always a first time," Frenkie added playfully. The look he received from Maygent wiped his smile away. "I'm sorry," he said to Maygent. "I believe that you'll make the right decision, whatever that may be."
"Thanks, Frenkie. I'm going to go see if she's up," Maygent muttered, patting his friend's shoulder.
He was met at the base of the stairs by Janita, whose face was flushed, and quite irate, by the look of it.
"Hello, Janit—"
A sudden slap from her caused him to cease speaking, and clutch his throbbing cheek. Two slaps in less than an hour for the quiet, unassuming man.
"What was that for?"
"You just left me, without a word. I thought I meant something to you, because I would never ever have—"
He put a finger to her lips. "Jiff Daff dragged me out of there last night, while you were sleeping peacefully. Apparently he didn't wake you as he was chastising me."
"Why was he doing that? Your life is none of his business."
"He's a family man, very monogamous, very protective of family values. He has a wife, and five children to boot. He thought I was making a mistake by sleeping with another woman, and wished to lecture me all morning on it."
"I'm sorry I slapped you," she apologized. It was then that Jim descended the stairs, looking perplexed by the closeness between his fiancée and the tall curly-haired man.
"Well, good morning, darling; how did you sleep?" he asked her. That damn Frenkie had left him to an empty bed in the morning, but alas, even though he had expected the singer to leave, the feeling of abandonment still bothered him. He knew that until he found out exactly what had occurred last night, he'd have to butter his fiancée up to stay with him. The feeling of abandonment was truly an awful feeling, and he hoped it wouldn't occur again.
"I slept… well," she responded hesitantly, darting her eyes briefly to make eye contact with Maygent's. "You?"
"I slept well, as well," he said, laughing at the sound of the words.
Now that Janita had heard Maygent's side, she believed him, and in turn, did not want to leave Dargen Lodge as first planned. Maybe breakfast would be offered; that would stall them.
Maygent spoke up. "Would you two enjoy some breakfast?" he asked them, producing a wide smile on Janita's face.
The trio proceeded to the kitchen, where Frenkie was sitting at the table in his own silken robe and brightly coloured shorts, reading the morning paper, taking a drag on a cigarette, and munching a bagel while waiting for the kettle to whistle.
"Well, good morning everyone! Janita, Jim," he said a bit coyly, winking at the mustached man. "Please, pull up a stool!"
Janita sat solemnly at the table between Maygent and Jim, who preferred to sit directly at Frenkie's side. She noticed him sinking ever so slowly onto the stool, and wondered why. Frenkie grinned as he, too, noticed Jim's hesitancy to sit.
"Don't worry, dear, you'll get used to it," he said, winking at the embarrassed man.
Something had definitely gone on between Frenkie and Jim, and Janita felt herself get a bit envious. Actually, the envy didn't last long; it was replaced by nausea. How had she not seen it before? Six years she waited for him. Six years of total and utter chastity. Jim was g—
The kettle began to whistle, making everyone jerk in their seats, Jim rather uncomfortably. Frenkie stood up, placing his cigarette on the edge of the ashtray, and in a very chipper manner, poured the steaming hot water into a teacup, placing a teabag daintily at its side on the platter.
"Tea, anyone?" he asked, holding the teacup in one hand and kettle in another.
"I'll have one," Maygent mumbled.
"Me too," Janita added.
Frenkie smiled and put down his own teacup as Jiff Daff entered the room. "Let me get them some tea, Frenkie; go, sit down."
The dark-haired singer did as he was told, lowering himself onto the stool while shaking out his left leg.
"What are you doing, Frenkie?" Maygent asked the irritated singer.
"My—bloody foot, it's completely numb; actually quite painful, really." He clenched his teeth, obviously in pain. "Damn it, wake up!"
Once he was seated, he smoked his cigarette whilst merrily chatting with Jim as Janita noticed the subtle nuances of romance between the pair. They had most likely slept together last night. How had she been so naïve, watching Jim gazing at the singer adoringly during the concert, his eyes and body full of interest for the man? It didn't feel quite as evil and sinful to have slept with Maygent now, realizing just what her fiancé—well, soon to be ex- fiancé, had done.
Jiff Daff poured them all some tea and proceeded to get himself one, when
Maria happened to enter the room, immediately startled by the large crowd.
"Oh. Pardon me; I didn't realize you were all… still… here."
Janita proceeded to smile at Maria, and noticed Frenkie averting his eyes a bit. Was there some complicated web of relationships between everyone that she was just beginning to notice?
It was then that Bocky entered the room, grinning ear to ear.
"Well, hello there, Bocky. Come, have a seat," Frenkie greeted his lover, as he patted the empty stool to his left.
"Which would you like me to do first?" Bocky commented, immediately bursting out in laughter. Frenkie and Jim apparently understood the joke as well, and laughed until tears came to their eyes.
The blond sat down and was poured himself a steaming cup of tea. Maria stood nearby, watching the group.
"Would anybody like some food with your tea? Some crumpets, perhaps?"
"Sounds good to me, Maria. Thank you," Frenkie told her, smiling shyly. "Anyone else?" he asked, looking around the group.
Several others nodded.
"How about some fresh fruit as well?" she added. "I could also make some omelets, or French toas—"
"Oh, don't bother to cook, Maria. You've been working like a mule. The fruit would be alright, though." He winked at her.
She smiled and nodded as she went to the refrigerator for the fruit. The bowl she came back with was brimming with cantaloupe, banana slices, apples, honeydew, watermelon, and grapes. Some orange slices were positioned like the spokes of a wheel atop the arrangement. It was truly a stunning, edible work of art.
"Wow, what a gorgeous feast!" Frenkie commented. "Thank you so very much, Maria!" He stood up and gave the groupie a huge hug, as the rest of the group expressed their thanks and dug in to the fruit.
The crumpets soon arrived, looking delicious. They were gone in less than ten minutes by the hungry group. It was then that Frenkie got on a coughing jag, having to actually excuse himself from the table, as he continued the deep, raspy coughs in the hallway. Maria hurried to his side, giving him a glass of water, and the coughing spell ended. He returned to the table and sat down sullenly, yet cheering up quickly at the sight of familiar and unfamiliar new faces.
"What are you all so concerned about? I'm fine!" he said, picking up the cigarette again. Jim touched his hand.
"Maybe you should lay off those a bit, Frenkie. You just got finished with the most awful bought of coughing."
Frenkie stared at Jim as if bitten. The group sat in stunned silence, with only the ticking of the clock as a sound. Maygent, Jiff Daff, and Maria almost scoffed aloud. He told Frenkie to slow his cigarette consumption down? Frenkie was infamous for his chain-smoking and had smoked for years. Janita and Bocky remembered the outburst the night before, hoping Frenkie's temper wouldn't erupt once more.
"Maybe I should, Jim," he said warmly, patting the mustached man's shoulder.
It seemed like the room itself let out a sigh at that remark, and everything was calm again.
Opinions? Questions? Review (preferably, for opinions andfeedback), or send me an email at my email address (esp if you have a question about the nature of this story). My addy ismentioned in the first chapter, in case you're wondering.