Loving On A Borrowed Time
Loving on a borrowed time
Larry was fixing his gaze on his desktop, trying to decipher the numerical figures that were displayed on the spreadsheet in his ledger. He was looking nervous as he was struggling to balance the numbers that seemed to be giving him hard time every time he tried to look at them. He was having a meeting in thirty minutes’ time. “Oh damn” he said as he was re-working on the same column that seemed to be giving him a hard time.
Lucy, his assistant, was standing on the other side of the office pretending to be busy with something. She was packing and unpacking a pile of books on a shelf opposite to Larry’s desk. She kept reflecting her glances at him occasionally while she was sipping her coffee. She smiled a wicked smile and cleared her throat in an attempt to speak to start a conversation,“ Seems like the past weekend has been hectic judging by the way you are struggling to get things done around here, “she said with a broad smile.
Larry was alarmed, and he raised his head and looked at her staringly. “What are you talking about?”, he asked, acting surprised, and before she answered he interrupted and changed the subject. “Oh! Lucy, can you call Mr Longman and arrange our meeting for tomorrow? He asked, taking a print-out from the printing machine. Lucy put down her coffee and placed her arms across her chest. “Mr Veldtman the meeting is in less than half an hour’s time from now, and you are telling me to postpone it. How on earth am I going to do that?” Lucy asked defiantly.
“C,mon Lu! You are a resourceful woman, that’s why I made you my second princess. Make a solid excuse, tell him I’m delayed in another meeting or something”, Larry said, trying to focus on his work. “Mr Veldtman! You know very well that Mr Longman doesn’t like to be dropped at the last minute and, besides, he is our longtime client. You can’t just play around with clients, because you had a busy weekend”, Lucy said, picking up the telephone receiver. “A busy weekend? Larry arched his eyebrows looking at her questioningly. “Yes, I mean the bridal shower party I was not invited to”. “So, are you jealous now? You knew that this was going to happen, right? Theodora is my lifetime partner. You knew her before we started this fling of ours”. “This fling”, she hissed as she was listening to the ringing telephone. The telephone was ringing on the other side of the line and someone picked it up after a few seconds. “Longman & Longman holdings Inc, how may I help you? The voice answered politely. “Oh hellow Nadia this is Lucy speaking, Mr Veldtman’s PA. Is Mr Longman around. “ Yes, but he is about to leave for the meeting with Mr Veldtman. “About the meeting”, she said sternly. “ Mr Veldtman said I should apologize for the inconvenience he had caused. He asked me to re-schedule the meeting for tomorrow because he had an urgent call from one of our partners. Can the meeting be scheduled for tomorrow? Lucy asked pleadingly. “ Alright then Lucy, can you hold on a second. I will inform Mr Longman? She asked, referring the matter to her boss. “Hello again Lucy, Mr Longman said it’s okay they can meet tomorrow then? Thanks bye”. The line died down. Lucy was still holding the telephone receiver when Larry looked at her enquiringly. “And?” He asked, lifting his shoulders. “His PA said it’s fine. You can meet tomorrow”, Lucy said absent-mindedly as she was carrying on with her work. “ Thanks Lu”, Larry looked at her admiringly. You are my lifesaver”, he continued with a smile. “ You are welcome, Mr Veldtman, I’m always your last resort anyway.
Larry tried by all means to ignore her. He continued with his work. Lucy, on the other hand, found it hard to work. Her mind was all over the place. It was obvious that there was something on her mind. She lifted her head and looked at Larry who was sinking deep in his work. “Larry?” She said with a soft voice. “ Yeah! Larry answered, concentrating on his work. “Do you mind if I go out for a few minutes, I need to go to the post office?” She asked, looking at him without a blink. “Alright” he said absent-mindedly as he was focusing on his work. Lucy grabbed her purse and rushed to the door.
Before Larry raised his head she was nowhere to be found. “Good riddance”, he thought to himself. Lucy was starting to be a pain in the neck. She was on about the bridal shower party that he and Theodora were hosting the previous weekend without her knowing anything about it. “She must know her place. She and I were never an item. We were just two individuals who happened to spend a lot of time together and developed some meaningless feelings for each other. We have talked about it and came to a mutual agreement that what we had should stay between us and not affect our relationships with our partners”, Larry thought to himself while he was fixing his gaze on his desktop. His mind was so preoccupied that he did not even notice that there was someone standing beside him. It was none other but Theodora.
Theodora was the love of his life. They were together even at high school. It was only after they passed their matric that they went their separate ways. Larry went to the University of Witwatersrand to study for a bachelor of commerce degree, while Theodora went to the University of Zululand to study her bachelor’s degree in science. After completing his post graduation studies, Larry got a scholarship to study abroad. He went to Oxford University in England to study for his master’s degree. Theodora on the other hand, got a job as laboratory assistant at a science laboratory in Durban. Their relationship became a long-distance affair. They only engaged in long telephone conversations and would also connect on Skype during their spare time. Their working schedules were so tight that they hardly visited each other. That is one of the reasons Larry found himself in the arms of another woman, his personal assistant in particular. It was never something he had planned to do. Larry was not a cheating type. It was a spare of the moment. He and Lucy were attending a year-end party, and they had too much to drink. Lucy was an out-going person and took care of all his work-related needs, but on that fateful day she happened to take care of his personal needs too. They found themselves in between the sheets and they vowed it never happened again. But on some occasional instances, Lucy kept pushing herself into his arms again. Sometimes things would get out of control, and he would find himself making the same mistake all over again. He would beat himself up for not standing firm against momentary temptations. Sometimes he would be tempted into confession to Theodora and get over and done with it. But he would come to the conclusive decision that what Theodora did not know would not hurt her. And besides, he did not want to spoil what he had for a fling. So, he decided to keep it to himself and end things with Lucy, who seemed to be sticking to him like a chewing gum.
