Skipping Reels Of Rhyme

Chapter Eight.

She was happy about her life. Her marriage was going well, despite the fact
that Cecil continued being over friendly with all pretty females in his
proximity. She was happy despite this, because she had back the love of
John.

Her job was fairly pleasant and her life was progressing well. She was happy.
She was happy until the allegations surfaced; that was in mid April. Allegations
of fraud and misappropriation of clients funds, led to the investigation of the
accountancy firm of Rabinovic & Son. The police and internal revenue service
had taken the matter into their hands, and the situation seemed dire for the
father and son accountants.

Overnight her seemingly idyllic life became a nightmare. First the
investigators came with a warrant and ransacked their flat. They found and left
with some files they seemed pleased to have acquired. Soon after that the
hounding by the press and television crews started. They virtually hung out by
her front door. She had to show them away several times because she did not want
to get involved in the whole affair. In all honesty she knew nothing of her new
husbands accountancy work. All she knew is that he earned very good money in his
fathers business.

If it had only been for that, she might have been able to cope and deal with
the situation. But the breaking point in her and Cecil relationship came when
her suspicions of his philandering were confirmed. She went over unannounced to
his office late one evening, where he was supposedly hard at work on the case
concerning him and his father's alleged fraudulent activities. (Which he often
assured her were ridiculous accusations)

When she got their the offices were locked, and the night watchmen said that
all the offices in the building had closed at six that evening, it was now ten
o' clock at night. She asked him if he had seen her husband leaving the
building. Yes he did, he said, he had left at six with his secatary; Miss
Sanders, as he usually did.

She did not try hard to get her suspicions confirmed. When she confronted her
husband he made such a hash of lying that she knew he was fooling around. That
was what had made up her mind for her. She had hardly been married a year but
she would get a divorce. Her dream was slowly turning into a nightmare, and she
did not wish to deal with it anymore.

At least she still had John, and their true love. She sat down by her little
writing table when she had some time alone and wrote to him about her troubles,
and her decision to divorce Cecil.

He received her letter with the same joy, which he always felt at hearing
from her. He smelt the envelope a moment, before cutting it open with the letter
opener.

When he had finished reading it, he read it again slowly to make sure his
eyes were not deceiving him. Cecil and his old man were fraudsters, and were up
for the chop. Not only that but he can't keep his willy under control. She was
giving him the ditch. She was throwing out the rich Jew boy.

It made him so happy, he did not know whether he should laugh or cry. He
mostly laughed. He laughed with joy. His girl was coming back. She would surely
come back to him, and then they would be together as he had always dreamed, and
hoped, they would be.

He would have to contact her, but not by post this time, he would have to
give her telephone call so that they could talk the matter out. He took out a
leaf of paper and wrote down what he wanted to say to her on it. Then he folded
it in half and put it in his pocket. He took his jacket of the hook, because
even the coastal region can be cool during May, and the wind was blowing
outside. He closed the door to his rondawel behind him and locked it.

Then he walked down the narrow footpath on the side of the river, towards the
beach. He walked across the small stretch of beach and came to the low
pedestrian bridge over the water. Then he walked up the steep concrete path that
led to Glenmore.

He went to the public phone across from the café, and went and prepared
himself to phone. He repeated to himself a few times what he would say and then
he placed the card in the slot and dialed the number.

The wind buffeted his jacket as he stood in the small enclosure offered by
the telephone booth. He steadied his nerves.

The wind had blown up and down the coast for five years while they were
apart. They were apart in person and in presence. But their love for one another
had not faltered with the passage of time.

The wind swept the beaches of the Cape, and it roamed up the coast to the
shores of Natal. The moon and stars had shone on their love all through the
intervening years, even if they were unaware of it. The moon had beamed brightly
above as the wind swept the shores of South Africa, and during the days the sun
shone in all its brilliance. Their love was alive once more.

As the wind traveled up and down the coast, and the earth rotated slowly on
its axis, there love had been alive during all this time, and they were hardly
aware of it. Now their love was reborn, as nature is reborn with each new cycle
of the seasons, and life was once more worth living.

Sometimes as he sat in front of his rondawel overlooking the green river as
the wind gently caressed him, and he would think of Natasha's gentle love. He
thought often about how much he loved her and how happy he would be to be with
her again. Her love was soft and true as the gentle breeze upon his face. He
loved beyond measure.

And sometimes she would find herself dreaming, while sitting in the small
garden of the flat, of how much she wanted to be back in the arms of the man she
loved. How good it would feel to be held by him again. To be held by the one
person that really loved her. The Cape wind would buffet her firmly but gently
from within the protection of the high garden walls, and she would remember
their young love once again, and smile.

From the Cape shores to Natal the sea rolled on, and washed her waves out on
the beaches, and upon the black rocks. She ruled the coast in majesty alongside
the wind that encouraged her antics. And the wind blew over the coast and gave
life to all who lived. The sea rushed on, and the wind blew, as endless as their
love. As powerful as the sea and the wind, as beautiful as the moon and stars,
and as mighty as the sun; that was the love of John and Natasha. They were as
inseparable as these elements of nature, and now they would be re-united, and
the balance, restored.

And still the waves roared on in glory, and the wind blew on without ceasing
for a moment.

Chapter Nine.

"Hello this is Margaret, said the voice on the other side.
"Hello, can I
speak to Mrs. Rabinovic, please, said John, he hated saying 'Mrs.
Rabinovic'.
"Just a moment please, who may I say is calling? said the
maid.
"It's John speaking, he said.
"Just a moment please, replied the
maid, and then she went to call Natasha.
He kept waiting for a few minutes on
the line and then he heard her voice.

"Hello John, she said, and she sounded out of breath. Her voice had not
changed over the years, it sounded as it had always done, beautiful.
"Hello
Natasha, how are you? said John.
"I'm trying to keep a brave face in public,
and I'm holding out O.K. she said, and added, "Dodging the reporters is the
worst, which is funny, seeing as I am one myself.
"Yes, he said, "I am
sorry to hear about what happened. But it all seems so sudden, I thought
everything was going well with Cecil and his father's business.
Well, you
know what they say, she said "Figures lie and liars figure.
"Is that it
then, are you leaving him for good? John asked her.
"Yes, it's final, I
filed the divorce papers with lawyers first thing on Monday morning. Said
Natasha.

"What will you do now? John said.
"Oh, I'll keep on working at the
Tribune, I suppose, she said "This thing should blow over quickly for me, once
I have divorced Cecil. I'll have to find another place to stay. But John, why
don't you come down here now? We could be together as we had always dreamed.
We're both more mature now, and could make it work. You could find a job in the
roofing business down here easily. Would you come to me?

He did not know what to say immediately, as his heart was in his throat.
After a brief silence he said: "Yes, I'd like that. When should I come?

"When could you come? she asked.

He thought a while and replied "In two weeks time, I'll have to give the old
man short notice, and he will be sorry to see me go. I also have a few
possessions that I would have to sell, because I can't bring them with me. Let's
make it Friday the twenty second of July, in two weeks time. How does that
sound?

"That sounds super, I really look forward to it, she said, "I really look
forward to seeing you again.
"I'm also looking forward to seeing you again,
and remember Natasha, I love you, said John.
She knew his words were the
truth, because now their love was undeniable.
"I love you too, she
said.
"Until then, said John
"Until then, said Natasha, and they both
put down the receiver.

John was ecstatic; his girl loved him once more. He let out a shout of joy in
the narrow, windy and deserted street. Far away Natasha also smiled, her man was
coming to her at last.

And John was happy once more, he was going to see his girl, and she still
loved him. She had said so. That made him happier than he thought he had ever
been.

He would sell his meager possessions, and buy a one-way ticket on a bus liner
headed for Cape Town. Natasha and he would be together as they were meant to be
from the start. And nothing would ever part them again. Their love had endured,
and would endure, forever.

He sold his rods and reels, most of his books, his C/D player, and the few
other things he had acquired over the past five years. He sold most of it to
friends of his. Then he went and gave notice at McDonald, and explained the
whole situation to him. McDonald was sad to see him go, but was happy for his
part, that he had been re-united with the girl of his dreams. The old man wished
him well.

Over the two weeks that followed, he went and said goodbye to all the
acquaintances and friends he had made on the South Coast over the past few
years, as well as his grandparents. They all said he must take care of himself,
and bring back some snoek if he was ever in the vicinity again. He would miss
the place and its people.

But his love was calling from the south, as if her beckon was being carried
on the wind, and as if it lured him south to where she waited. He counted the
days and nights before his departure for Cape Town, and wished each night the
time had come already. How he missed her and yearned for her. How much he wanted
to be by her side. The time would come soon. Soon.

Outside in the dark night the wind whispered in the trees and over the water,
as the river flowed by under the stars, and the white moon. And his heart ached
for Natasha; his heart ached for the woman he loved.

And she was yearning for him, where she waited for his arrival in Cape Town.
He would be coming soon, any day now, and they would be together at last.

Her man was coming through to see her, they would be re-united, and nothing
would ever part them again. He still loved her with all his heart, and she felt
the same way about him. Their love would conquer all. Nothing would stand in the
way of their happiness together. She would never let him go again.

And Cecil? To hell with him, and his floozy, and his whole damn family. He
was a disappointment from start to finish. She would be glad to be rid of him.
She hoped the divorce proceedings would not take too long. At least she did not
foresee any problems with the result. Soon she would be rid of Cecil Rabinovic
for good.

Then she and John could truly start their lives over, and who knows, maybe
they would soon be wed. It made her happy to think along these lines, and she
smiled. Yes, she and John would be together at last, and nothing would ever
separate them again. She looked at herself in the large oval hallway mirror and
smiled. She and John would be happy together, they deserved to be. She wished he
was here by her side already.

The afternoon traffic was heavy in the street outside the window. A bread
truck roared by followed by a few sedans, three other sedans of varying color
drove passed in the opposite direction. The noise of the vehicles was
overwhelming so late in the afternoon at peak hour. Peak hour traffic in Cape
Town. She drew the heavy curtains on the thick wooden rails, to help dampen the
noise.

Then she went and made herself a cup of coffee, and sat on the red sofa, to
read John's last letter to her again. It always made her happy to read his
letters, especially the parts where he told her he loved her.

Outside the wind was blowing the last leaves of summer gently from the
branches of the trees. The wind carried them off with her and deposited them
softly on the ground in the gardens of the complex.