She danced well and was really fun to be with, in the beginning. He wanted to spend every waking minute with her.
Now Jared knew that, in order to date girls with her kind of portfolio he had to make it "big" in the financial stakes as well. He had to be really rich.
"Well, girls like her would always be around, no doubt," he told himself.
"A good thing that one cannot take them seriously on an emotional level," he thought.
He had learned his lesson. He would merely flirt with those creatures.
Jared felt that he could share about his experiences with Rosette, as it was now becoming something which he could actually laugh about. In retrospect, it almost sounded hilarious.
He cleared his throat and gave Blake a crooked smile, accompanied by a playful knuckle rap on the knee.
Just as he was on the point of relating how much joy he had experienced in anticipation of the picnic date that he had devised, a woman with the most sensually attractive body and masses of blonde curls, swept past them, as if from out of a scene in a movie.
Jared was left in mid-sentence. He could not understand it.
Just as he was in the process of talking about a seductress, another one seemingly just presents herself, from out of nowhere.
There and then Jared simply decided that this was an opportunity that he just could not pass up. The temptation was too great.
"Who can resist my ruggedly handsome looks?" he asked himself.
His mixed Scottish and Arabic heritage meant that his hair was thick, dark and wavy. He had high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose.
Of his two inherent nationalities one could not be sure about which one was more dominant. He had pearly white teeth and brilliant, grey eyes beneath well-defined, thick dark eyebrows.
He also had a golden complexion, which gave the impression of healthy and leisurely moments in the sun.
As an asset to his appearance, he worked out his lean and tall physique regularly at the gym.
Together with that, he had an irresistible, crooked grin of which he was very much aware.
On the other hand, if the girl he just saw preferred his pal Blake, with his curly blonde hair, tanned skin, hazel eyes, cleft in the chin and strong, high cheek bones; that would be just as fine. No hard feelings.
"Blake has striking looks even though he is of medium height.
The lady can always become a mutual friend," he thought.
"My chances would still be good then, given the fact that Blake was already married."
Jared gave Blake a challenging grin and to his surprise―not to mention delight―he noticed Blake actually lower his head and blush as he shook his head in disbelief.
Boy, this was excellent!
"It surely feels like old times," Jared thought delightedly. Apparently, Blake was also taken in by the girl.
For about two minutes they sat in charmed silence, while Jared lightly drummed his fingers on the bar counter. Blake just gazed with interest at the reflection of a light bulb in his drink. He had a smile playing around the edges of his mouth.
While they were both still in this mesmerized state, the girl approached again. From a different direction, this time.
She walked straight towards them. It was magical! They both gaped in amazement.
***
Laura frantically searched for her key in her handbag.
She found it at last and then hurriedly unlocked the door of their flat, because Blake had not responded to her knock. She was already beginning to feel frustrated. "Where is he? Has he left to fetch Monique or is he delayed at some job interview? It could be the latter," she thought, because he was earnestly looking for work these days.
She put her bag onto the couch, kicked her shoes off and walked to the house phone standing next to their small, color television set.
Laura hated it when she got home and could not even get a chance to rest her feet first.
She dialed her in-laws' home number then.
Blake's mother answered and told her that the baby was still there, but that they had not heard from Blake yet, for the entire day.
"Hold on Laura. Let me ask Blake's father if he can take the baby home," she offered.
It was fortunate that her in-laws did not live too far from them, mainly for days like this.
Blake though, was usually a very responsible man. That was why his father could help out willingly on isolated occasions.
Laura and Blake lived in Sunnyside, Pretoria. His parents lived in Waverley, in the same city.
It was usually a thirty minute drive for her father-in-law, Mr. Charles Edwards, during off-peak hours.
"Okay, I will not cook today," Laura decided impulsively as she replaced the phone receiver.
"Not this evening." Instead she picked up the television remote control device and turned the set on.
Laura of course knew that she was only fooling herself about not cooking. There were the baby's vegetables to cook as a start.
"Goodness! I completely forgot to ask Blake's mother whether Monique has eaten already," she exclaimed. However, she did not feel like phoning again.
After about a half an hour of watching television, Laura rose from the couch, replaced her high-heel shoes with a pair of slippers and walked wearily to the kitchen. She took out two frankfurters from a packet in the freezing compartment of the fridge.
She placed these in a saucepan with water and then placed the saucepan on the stove to cook.
Afterwards, she peeled and boiled two potatoes.
She quickly peeled and boiled three small carrots as well.
"This much of cooking will be enough, taking into account the way that I feel inside," she mumbled.
Within the space of half an hour her father-in-law was there, carrying Monique on one arm and her napkin bag on his other arm. He looked tired and Laura felt embarrassed about the fact that he had to go out of his way like this, at the age of sixty-one.
It was enough that he and his wife Elize, cared for Monique during the day, even though they did have a helper at home.
She offered her father-in-law some mango juice, which was his favorite, but he just gulped it down.