Paradise Revisited (4 page)

Then Andy remembered
then what the nurse had told him about Mike. “Oh, I almost forgot. The nurse told me that Mike’s kidneys are beginning to fail and it won’t be very long before they pack up completely.”

Megan’s eyes teared up at that. She felt a mixture of emotions, in which relief
was not absent, but predominant was grief.  She had loved Mike, still loved him and the thought of his death was painful. “Oh,” she said. “That makes a difference, doesn’t it.” But she couldn’t have defined at the moment what difference it would make.

“He’s not happy the way he is, Megan, and won’t mind dying.”

“Maybe… probably… though we’re not able to get into his mind.

“Yes
, that’s true, but what will be will be anyway, not matter what we think of it.”

***

Chapter
9 – Healing Begins

And so they worked amicably together for several weeks. Andy set out to learn the tea business as well as he could, and took over the supervision of the tea factory, careful to respect the feelings of the manager Megan had hired. In fact, he cast himself as the learner, which was exactly the right approach, and soon a level of mutual respect and friendship developed between the two men – quite unusual in similar circumstances on other estates in Thyolo.  Each could make suggestions and even offer corrections to the other without strain. They dispensed with the formalities of employer and employee and used each other’s first names. Noah, for that was the manager’s name, told his friends that the new boss was very different from his brother, which would be better for all of them.

Megan, as she watched Andy work himself into his new position developed a higher evaluation of him. He was no clown, and soon made himself a niche that would be hard for anyone else to fill.  Their love of Matambala was mutually reinforced, and together
they worked to repair what had deteriorated and spun plans for the future.  The staff who had rather taken advantage of the fact that Megan was a woman, soon learned that they couldn’t do that unchallenged any more.  There was a boss on Matambala again.  And by and large, they preferred it that way, rather to the surprise of one or two. 

Their respect made Andy stand a bit taller within himself and began to overcome the feelings of failure that had dogged him the last several years.  He
also began to recover his ready smile and facility for clever quips.  One day, he asked Megan if there was enough money for him to get a prosthetic hand.  There never
had
been when he was on his own, and in any case he hadn’t felt he was doing anything that would make it worthwhile.  But now things were different.

Megan agreed enthusiastica
lly that they’d find the money, no matter what it might cost, and immediately started to make enquiries. It soon became clear that he would have to go to South Africa for it and they made the appropriate arrangements as quickly as possible. Two weeks later he flew off to Johannesburg from Chileka Airport.

Megan, seeing the old Andy re-emerge, found her old affection for
him, and more, growing. They really were soul mates in so many ways, and when he grinned with mischief, as he now did quite often, her heart melted.  She rather regretted the element of calculation in her original approach to him. It was clear that it had not been necessary. They both knew now that their partnership, business and personal, sexual or non-sexual was right and inevitable. She was able to relax as she hadn’t been able to since Mike’s accident, and as a result, the worry lines in her face began to fade, making her look younger. Whilst Andy was in South Africa, she drove into Blantyre and had her hair cut and dyed. What she had looked like never mattered before. Now it did.

When he got back from South Africa, Andy was in high spirits.  The hand would be ready in two weeks or so.  The surgeon who had dealt with his stump at the beginning had done a good job, so new surgery wasn’t going to be necessary. And he wouldn’t have just a claw, but something that looked just like a hand and worked a go
od deal like one.  He hadn’t realized how depressing the thought of being one-handed for life had been. He’d gotten used to it. When he saw Megan for the first time, he stared for a minute and said.  “It suits. You look younger and happier.”

“I feel that way too,” she replied.

The next month went by quickly. In no time at all, Andy went back to Blantyre to get his new hand and began to learn how to use it and rejoicing in discovering how many of the awkwardnesses he had gotten used to were gone.  He would break out in a snort of delight at odd moments that puzzled everybody but him.   Megan, free from many of the everyday chores of supervision began to make detailed plans.  They repaired and filled the swimming pool, long left dry and half filled with leaves and made the stables habitable again.  It took Andy a while to have the courage to try riding again, but once he was actually on a horse, he knew he could do it.  He and Megan rode around the estate, inspecting parts that had hardly been visited since Mike’s departure.  Andy got up the courage to visit the forest again and found that it was as Megan had said, beginning to regenerate around the edges, giving hope for the future. He rode up into the undamaged remnant, learning from close inspection that there was a remnant of the wildlife there – enough to repopulate the reborn areas when they were mature enough.

Andy joined Megan in her regular visits to the staff housing, learning for the first time what straitened circumstances they lived in. Together they decided to set aside a percentage of whatever profits the estate made to improve them.  It was Andy who caught the mechanic who had been ordering unnecessary replacement parts and selling them
, and figured out what was wrong with the huge wood stove in the kitchen, making Joshua’s life easier and saving them immense amounts of money as the estate was sustainably self-sufficient in firewood. 

In the evenings
, after dinner, they had coffee and sometimes liqueurs, and when it was time to go to bed, they embraced warmly, their eyes full of the promise that when the time came, there would be more.

And then
one morning, the doctor from Newlands rang to say that Mike’s kidneys had ceased to function, so they’d better come if they wanted to visit him when he was still conscious. They dropped everything at once and drove up to Limbe. When they got there, Mike was clearly close to death but surprisingly lucid.  He started out saying, “Come to gloat, have you?”   But shook his head and said, “Sorry. I don’t know where that came from. It wasn’t real. I know I’ve given both of you a hell of a time…”   He closed his eyes and then after a moments’ silence re-opened them. “Shocking way to treat people you love… and who love you.”

Both Andy and Megan were overcome and speechless, but moved to flank him on either side of the bed and held him close, best they could, their tears falling on his face.   When Megan stopped sobbing, she managed,
“It’s OK, Mike. We knew it wasn’t the real you.”

He opened his eyes at that and with a ghost of a smile said, “Good.” 
And that was his last word. His eyes closed and didn’t open again before he died, a few minutes later.

Andy and Megan, supporting each other, thanked the Newlands staff, who had gathered the moment they heard.  There were some who had helped take care of Andy’s mother, and one or two who remembered Mike from happier days, and there were warm c
ondolences and a few tears. Megan asked the Newlands staff to make arrangements to take the body to Limbe to the mortician, and assured them that they were invited to the funeral in Thyolo. 

Megan was too shattered to drive, so Andy took
over, driving an estate car for the first time. On the way down to Matambala they able to gather their wits together enough to discuss the details of the funeral. It would be at All Saints’ Church, of course, and on a Saturday afternoon so as many people could come as possible.  When they got to the house, they told Joshua, who burst into tears and ran back to his quarters to tell his wife.

Dropping Megan off, Andy went to the factory to tell Noah and ask him to let the rest of the staff know, and declared the rest of the day a holiday except for those absolutely necessary to look after the machines until the ovens cooled and everything could be shut off.  News travels fast in Africa, and soon a quiet settled over the Estate.  There were those who mourned and those who didn’t, but none who didn’t give due respect to death.

***

Chapter
10 – The Funeral

The funeral was a grand affair.  A retired priest and an organist, both living a Newlands
, provided their individual services.  The church was stuffed with glorious flowers from various estates.  All the Thyolo whites attended, as did many from the estates in Mulanje, the tea area down the road. Others travelled from Bvumbwe and Blantyre.

All the staff of Newlands and Matambala were specifically invited to the church, and as Africans don’t wait for invitations to funerals, many from neighboring estates were there
, a large crowd on the lawn.  When the coffin was carried out the door and around to the grave dug in the churchyard, the whites broke into groups, filling cars to go to the nearby club where tea and funeral meats were prepared, and the Africans massed around the grave as the coffin was lowered into it and the grave filled in. It was demanded by custom, and any who left before the mound was complete were in danger of being suspected of having a hand in the death.

When it was finally over, and Megan and Andy collapsed in exhaustion over stiff gin and tonics before heading to bed, they looked at each other – looks full of meaning.  Not tonight; they were too tired. But tomorrow night there would be a new beginning.

***

Chapter
11 - A New Beginning

The next night
, after dinner, they agreeing without words, postponed the new beginning, aware that anticipation is half of pleasure. They sipped their coffee and made idle conversation until Andy was fairly shaking with suppressed passion.  Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer and slapped his coffee cup on the table, stood, and gestured to Megan to follow suit.  This she did without hesitation and they were immediately enveloped with each other, hungry mouth meeting hungry mouth, eager tongue with eager tongue.

And then almost running, throwing clothes on the floor, they arrived in Megan’s bedroom: Megan naked and Andy fighting to get off his trousers and briefs,
hopping on one foot and then the other.  Megan, seeing a way to prevent the disaster of their last encounter as helping Andy out of present difficulty, took charge, pushed Andy over backwards on the bed, stripped off the remaining garments and threw herself on him and without further ado, took him in her mouth, and massaged his already swollen manhood with her tongue. 

Andy gasped, “On my God! Yes!” and exploded as orgasm after orgasm swept through his body like tidal waves. Megan didn’t stop for some time and he was shaking like a leaf by the time it was over, entirely spent.  He was exhausted but more alive than he’d been for years. Everything in the night, the smell of Megan’s sweat and his effluent seemed more vital than a smell had ever been before.  When he looked into her eyes, they seemed larger and bluer than ever before.   “My God, Megan, I do love you more than I can say. “

“I love you too, Andy.”

As soon as Andy had stopped breathing hard
, he pushed her on her back and began to tongue her breasts, one by one, until the nipples were standing erect and hard.  After a final flickering of his tongue that had her gasping, he moved down to her navel, sweeping around it with long slow passes with his tongue.   She groaned and arched herself up to meet him, and with both hands under her buttocks…
Yes,
he thought,
with both hands!  ...
he buried his face in her bush, inhaling its tantalizing earthy odor, and applied himself with lips and tongue to do for her what she had done for him.  He started first with covering the whole area with kisses and then took her button of desire very gently with his teeth and massaged the tip of it with his tongue.   As her every nerve ending began to vibrate and her thighs and belly to twitch spasmodically, he plunged his tongue as far in as he could, withdrawing it and replunging it in an increasing tempo until with a cry and a tightening of every muscle from her waist down, she came, and then came again, and then again, each breaking wave greater than the last. Andy continued with light kisses over the whole area until she was spent.  “My God, Andy, I’ve never experienced anything like that before.” She felt submerged in lukewarm gently moving water caressing every inch of her body, and when Andy drew himself up in reach of her lips, she embraced him so tightly he feared for his ribs, and ate up his mouth like a predatory fish, a love-feeding frenzy. After awhile, they both fell asleep.

Andy woke first. His arm, under her, was going numb and his back, twisted in an uncomfortable fashion
had begun to hurt.  He eased his arm out and propped on his elbows and looked at her. She was still beautiful, a more full-bodied beauty than she had had 20 years before, but still stunning.  After the boney, drug-riddled whores of Central London, her abundant curves were a feast. The curve of her belly was irresistible and the triangle between her legs a forest of delight.  He began to stroke her inner thighs, more for the sheer sensuous pleasure of their silkiness than from any thought of waking her, but she opened her eyes and smiled, and immediately opened for him, entirely ready for more, as he was. He rolled over between her legs and with exquisite control, began to thrust into her millimeter by millimeter, building her passion little by little until she wanted to scream with it. When he withdrew and began his slow advance again, she said, “Stop, Andy! For God sake’s stop.”