Sandy stood in the reception with her mother when Sammy, Darlene's mother, rang the service bell.
"Hello my dear. What can I do for you?" Susan asked.
"I want to inform you that we won't be here for lunch. My father invited us for lunch on his farm." She nodded and left without waiting for a reply.
Susan glanced at her as she left. "Sammy sure has changed a lot. You know, we were close friends in school."
"Really? I can't believe that. Darlene complaint about her yesterday. She said her mom became like this, since they moved to Sandton."
Susan shrugged. "Oh, well. Suppose all of us change at some stage?" She turned to her daughter. "What are you up to for the day?"
"Not much," Sandy said while searching through the desk drawers, making a mess.
"What are you looking for, child? You're just messing up my desk."
"Uncle Pete's landline number, I can't find it in your little phone book."
Susan grabbed the phone book lying on the desk and opened it under the letter 'm'. "There!" she said, pointing with her index finger at the inscription, 'Pete Malcolm'.
"Oh? I was looking under 'p'. Thanks, Mom." Sandy punched the number into her cell phone and left the reception.
A smile appeared on Susan's face as she watched her daughter left the reception. Her eyes became dim and the smile faded. The last one of the Uluma pack. Sandy would never marry a man to expand the pack. The last werewolf pack left in South Africa.
She and her husband were the last family who survived the fatal attacks on the pack. They were on the verge of distinction.
Susan sighed and blinked a few times before she wiped her watery eyes.
She took place behind her desk. Pulled the diary closer and made some notes before she started balancing the books. She still had to check on the wages and couldn't sit here worrying about the Uluma pack.
***
Sandy chucked her cell phone from one hand to the other. Back and forth, back and forth. If Darlene agreed to see her this morning, what excuse would she give for the bandage around her hand? She dropped the phone and bumped her hand in an attempt to catch it.
"Ouch! Dammit!" She sighed, picked up the phone from the floor and dialed Uncle Pete's number.
It rang a few times before a friendly familiar voice answered the phone. Sandy smiled, closed her eyes and imagined Darlene stood in front of her.
"My mother gave me the day off and I was wondering if you want to go for a walk or a picnic, or something?" Her face went dull when there's no reply at the other end of the phone. "Hello, Darlene. Hello!"
Darlene held the receiver against her ear. She had the urge to say yes. But what about Linda? She took a deep breath before she replied. "I'm here, Sandy. It sounds great, but why don't you have lunch with my family and me. We could go for a walk or something, afterwards?" She rolled her eyes immediately thereafter. What the hell was she doing? She shook her head when she heard the excitement in the other woman's voice.
"Thanks that would be great! See you in a while, then." Sandy ended the call and jumped up from the bed. She rushed to the closet and opened it. What should she wear? Not too formal because if they go for a walk afterwards she wouldn't be able to move freely. Not too casual either. She was having lunch with Darlene's family and didn't want to look flimsy when joining them at the table.
She looked at her watched after she got dressed, shut the closet door and stormed out of her bedroom. Rushing down the stairs, she bumped into her father.
"Hey, what's your hurry?"
"Just the man I want to see. Dad, may I borrow the Corsa? Please!"
Her father stared at her. "The Corsa doesn't suit you."
Sandy frowned as she stared at her father.
Donald laughed when he saw he baffled his daughter. "The Rav 4 will suit you better. Get the keys from your mother."
She grabbed her father around the neck, kissed him on the cheek and continued rushing down the stairs, making her way to the reception.
Without hassles, she received the keys from her mother and jogged down to the garage. She smiled when she opened the door. Her eyes followed the contours of the dark blue body of the Rav 4. Unlocked it and got behind the wheel. Her eyes shut for a brief moment as she let the smell of new leather filled her nostrils. The four by four was about two months old. And her father trusted her with it?
Sandy reversed the blue Rav 4 out of the garage with caution and drove slowly until she reached the turn off at the gate. Her foot lowered on the accelerator when she was out of sight from La Croc and sped all the way to Skeerpoort Valley.
Her face dropped when she saw the black Mercedes Benz already parked in the shade of one of the huge maple trees.
She parked the Rav 4 in the shade next to the farmhouse. Got out and straightened her clothes before she shut the door.
Darlene came strolling around the corner of the house. "I thought the face behind the wheel looked familiar? Wow, what a gorgeous ride!" She walked round the car. Checking out the wheels and the body. Her hand slid over the contours of the vehicle when she turned around and sauntered back to where Sandy was standing. "Is it yours?"
"No, it's my Dad's."
Darlene's caught a glimpse of the white bandage around Sandy's right hand. "Oh my god! What happened to your hand?"
"Um… Slammed it in the door." She never thought about an excuse for her injured hand and just said whatever came to mind
She took Sandy by the arm and led her to the front door.
"I'm glad you're here," she whispered and glanced briefly at her before she opened the door and led the way to the living room.
Pete jumped out of his lazy-boy, when Sandy entered and threw his arms round her. "Welcome child!" Only after he let go of her, he noticed the bandage. "Oh my, what's wrong with your hand?"
"She slammed it in the door, Gramps," Darlene said, before taking a seat on the couch – with the hope of Sandy joining her on it.
"I was so happy when my little Darlene invited you for lunch." He took his usual seat in the lazy-boy and told Sandy to sit down as well.
She took a seat next to Darlene on the couch when she caught a glimpsed of Darlene's mother grimacing and peering at her. Sandy smiled at her, but the woman jerked her head away and ignored the friendly smile.
***
Martha, Pete's domestic servant of fifty years, came into the living room and announced that the table was set and lunch could be served.
Everybody jumped out of their seats except Sandy and Darlene.
"Are you up for this?" Darlene asked and sighed.
Sandy nodded and smiled at her. "What do you want to do?"
"Run away and hide near the river. And come back when they have left."
"Your mother would never forgive you." Sandy got up, took off her blazer. "Come, let's eat. Focus on me if your mother gives you a hard time." She held her hand out to Darlene and pulled her up.
Sammy glanced at her daughter and the tall woman when they entered the dining room. "Glad you could join us," she remarked sarcastically. "Your father already said grace, we couldn't wait any longer."
Darlene stared at her mother. If she could strangle her right now, she would. Or just poured the gravy into her neatly done hair.
She sat down on the chair pulled out for her. Waited until Sandy settled, took her hand and said grace.
"The food looks delicious, Uncle Pete."
"Martha will be pleased to hear that."
Sammy peeped at her husband, before she raised her eyebrows and glanced at her daughter. "When is Linda coming, dear?"
Darlene's eyes enlarge. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. She took a sip of white wine, before she answered. "Maybe this weekend."
Sammy smiled broadly when she saw her daughter's reaction to the question.
Darlene glanced at her mother, and suddenly smiled. "Mom, stop grinning. You've got spinach stuck in your teeth."
Her mother shut her lips and jumped out of the chair. Leaving the table without pardoning herself.
She glanced at Sandy and winked when she felt her hand on her thigh, squeezing it. She took another sip of her wine, cut a piece of chicken from the bone and stuck it into her mouth.
Sammy joined the family at the table, after a few minutes. For the remainder of the meal she never even glimpsed in her daughter's direction again. She made turns conversing with her husband and her father only.
Martha brought baked brown pudding, she's so famous for, and put the large Pyrex dish in the middle of the table. She left and minutes later, she came back with a jug in each hand. One filled with homemade custard and the other one filled with ideal milk.
"Oh, Martha! This is so unfair. You know I can never make up my mind what I want to eat on top of my pudding."
The old black wrinkled face wrinkled even more as she threw her head backwards and laughed aloud. "Miss Darlene, then I suggests you take two helpings. One with each topping."
"Yeah, and which one do I eat first?"
The old woman slapped her playfully on the shoulder and left the dining room, laughing all the way to the kitchen.
When all of them finished their pudding, they headed back to the living room. The men had a scotch each, while the women, except Sandy, drank banana liqueur.
"Oh, just have one sip! Once you've tasted it, you'll want more." Darlene held the small stemmed glass out to Sandy.
"I don't like the taste of alcohol."
"Oh? But you drank wine at lunch, didn't you?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Water."
Darlene raised her eyebrows. "When I was your age, there wasn't a drink on the market I haven't tried."
Pete moved himself to the edge of his seat. "Don't you want to sit outside? It's hot and stuffy in here. We can move some garden chairs into the shade."
"I'll do it, Gramps!" Stevie jumped up and was about to run out the door, when his mother stopped him.
"Stevie, wait! No, thanks Dad. We really have to get going. Thanks for the lovely lunch." Sammy stood up from the couch and gave her father a hug. "We'll be on our way back to Sandton tomorrow, but will see you again the Sunday before Christmas." She glanced at her husband, then back at her father. "If it's all right with you, Dad. We'd like to stay here on the farm?"
Pete sniffed as he glanced at his daughter and pulled her closer. "Of course, of course." He let go of her, fiddled in his trouser pocket and brought forth a handkerchief. Pretending to have something in his eye, he pulled down the bottom eyelid and tapped with the tip of the handkerchief on his exposed lid.
Darlene looked at the two of them and smiled. She was glad her mother decided to stay at the farm for Christmas and not at the guesthouse again.
The three of them stood at the main gate waving until they couldn't see the black Mercedes anymore. Darlene took her grandfather's hand and the other hand she hooked onto Sandy's arm. Together they crossed the lawn back to the house.
"Well, you two ladies, behave yourselves." He winked at his granddaughter when she gasped. "I'm going to take a nap."
Unlike his daughter, Pete had no problem with his granddaughter's sexual orientation. It made no difference to him, whether she had a boyfriend or a girlfriend. As long as she was happy and that person, treated her with respect and kindness.
The two women glanced at each other and waited until the old man closed his bedroom door, before they burst out laughing.
"Shall we go down to the river for the rest of the afternoon?"
Darlene's eyes grew large. "Yes, why not! But wait, I first have to get us something cold to drink. It's scorching hot outside." She left Sandy standing in the living room, run off to the kitchen and returned with a small cooler bag filled with half a dozen cans of Coke.
Sandy took the bag from her and headed towards the front door.
"Wait!" Darlene grabbed two, wide rimmed hats from her grandfather's collection and joined Sandy where she was waiting, outside in the shade.