by Stan Mason
Chapter Twenty-Six
For some reason, which she felt was beyond her, Diana missed the bridge game for two months. At first, she considered that her life was busy visiting Robbie and Stella to see her beautiful grand children. In addition she went regularly to the Red Cross shop in case an opportunity arose for her to serve there. In the end, she recognised that the logic for her not meeting with Jane, Samantha and Dr. Martin was because she didn’t want to have to tell the physician that Dr. Mahmoud had passed away. Valerie had become so eager to take part in the experiment that she would be bitterly disappointed when she learned of the scientist’s death. However Jane rang Diana one afternoon begging her to attend that evening because the person who had substituted for her in her absence had fallen ill. Reluctantly Diana agreed and took her place opposite the doctor at the bridge table. Before they started, Jane produced a newspaper with she laid on the table so that they could all see it.
‘I know why you haven’t been here with us for a while,’ began Jane smartly.
‘You do?’ Diana questioned in her mind what the woman was talking about.
‘Yes,’ said Jane, pointing to an article at the foot of the first page. ‘You haven’t read this, have you?’ Diana shook her head as her attention went to the newspaper but it was upside down so she couldn’t read it. ‘The heading’s “MP RESIGNS THROUGH ILL HEALTH” continued the woman. ‘It goes on to say: “Illness has forced the resignation of Diana Templeton, the Member of Parliament for Torpington, shortly after the General Elections. She was attacked some years ago in Morocco by a man who fired a gun at her at point-blank range damaging part of her skull and causing her to lose her memory. It had been believed that she had recovered but the effects returned and she was forced to apply for the Chiltern Hundreds, the means by which MPs can resign. Duncan Redfearn, the Conservative Party Chief Whip commented: ‘It’s very sad. Diana had great promise. She’ll be greatly missed.’ A bye-election has been called for the eighth of September..... blah, blah, blah!”
‘I think I’ve heard enough!’ snapped Diana sharply.
‘Why didn’t you tell us you’d lost your memory again,’ asked Samantha as Jane folded the newspaper and put it aside.
‘That article is untrue. It’s a load of codswallop. They’re trying to make out that it was an act of God that put me out of action. I resigned because my views on helping the British people were in direct conflict with those of the politicians. They’re only in it for themselves, their rules and their Party procedures. The House of Commons is a boy’s club in which they all play games. They’re more interested in what they earn than helping the people of this country.’
‘Are you saying that the rights of the people in Britain are being ignored,’ forwarded Samantha with concern.
‘Not their rights, Samantha, their needs. The plight of the poor people, those unemployed, the homeless and those who really need help. They’re the ones who should be considered but Parliament doesn’t agree with me. The rules and procedures don’t allow it. They close their eyes and get on with their game.
‘That’s shameful,’ cut in Jane. ‘I’m not surprised you didn’t want anything more to do with it. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.!’
‘That’s the reason why I resigned, Not the clap-trap they printed in the newspaper! I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and watch it happen. It’s a sad thing when people who are supposed to be represented by politicians are ignored because of rules and procedures.’
‘Shameful,’ repeated Jane vehemently filled with sympathy for her friend. ‘I think you did the right thing.’
‘Sadly,’ continued Diana, ‘it doesn’t resolve the problems faced by so many people who live hand-to-mouth day by day.’
Before they started to play bridge, Diana noticed that Dr. Martin had remained silent since her arrival. She sat back turning her nose up at the strong smell of surgical spirit knowing that this was probably the last game she would play with any of them. After she told the physician that there was no hope of her becoming involved in the experiment, she had a feeling that the four of them would never meet again.
The doctor’s opportunity to speak with her came during the tea break. Jane and Samantha were on the other side of the room making the tea as the doctor moved towards Diana with only one thought in mind.
‘What did Dr. Mahmoud say when you approached him about me?’
Diana swallowed hard before replying, expecting a violent reaction from her colleague. ‘Dr. Mahmoud was killed by a panther in one of his experiments,’ she told the doctor flatly. ‘The beast severed his jugular vein and killed him instantly. I’m afraid that the experiment has come to a very swift end..’ She decided not to inform the other woman about the supply of tablets she had accumulated. It would only complicate matters. The physician might have insisted on sharing them and, to her mind, that wasn’t a good idea. The problem was that Dr. Mahmoud would not be around to explain the side-effects or even deal with them if necessary. It was too great a risk to take.
‘What are you going to do’ asked the doctor. ‘Will your good looks eventually vanish?’
‘We shall have to wait and see,’ returned Diana sagely. ‘Time will tell.’
On the following morning, Diana received a letter from Duncan Redfearn. It commented that her application for the Chiltern Hundreds had been processed and approved. He went on to say that he regretted her decision to stand down and wished her well in the future.. It was too little, too late! She had already been advised of the event in the national newspapers. She was furious at the way things had turned out. Her efforts to win the seat in the House of Commons had all been for nothing. All that time, effort and toil had been a waste of time. There was no one looking out for the poor, the homeless, the needy and the helpless. Everyone was in it for the money. She had no option but to resign. It was against her nature to promise falsely or avoid the truth. For her, it was necessary to go for the throat in a contest and Parliament wasn’t having any of it.
Her days suddenly became empty and she realised that she needed Ahmed’s company. His tender compliments, the promise of romance and the essence of sexual excitement caused her to think about him. He could come to England to live with her as they planned if they could find a way to establish him as an immigrant. He had an old passport from the time he attended Oxford university and she could vouch for him to the immigration authorities. It could be that there would be no difficulty in allowing him to stay in Britain. Then, with the care and attention he would lavish on her, the life she desired would be complete. And, after they started living together, she would assess the situation carefully as time passed by. In the effluxion of thirty years, she would remain looking young while he would be over sixty becoming wrinkled and looking much older. At that moment, an alternative thought entered her head. Was youthfulness and longevity in years the best way forward? She thought about Oscar Wilde’s story entitled ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ where a man remained young and youthful in looks all his life but a portrait of him in his attic grew aged as the years went by., Would it be more advisable for her to live a normal life with Ahmed and grow old with him? If she lived for a hundred-and-fifty years, Ahmed would have died long before and she would be alone. It was something to contemplate. Would she find another lover like him? It was possible. There was another problem. Would her sexual desires fade with age. She might be forced to live a life of hell if she couldn’t find love and pursue it to the end. There was a distinct advantage in simply leading a normal life. At the end of seventy or eighty years it was all over and then there were no problems to face. Her existence and the decision she had to make depended solely on her taking two ferradil-x tablets in the morning and evening every day. All she had to do was to leave them in the canister. It was so easy to do that....a sacrifice that might be worth making!
* * *
One night, she went to bed in a
sombre mood. Nothing in her life seemed to be going right. Everything was way off course. She no longer cared about the Red Cross shop, she had resigned as a Member of Parliament, her relationship with her sister Laura seemed to have come to an end over the senseless remark made by her husband, and Robbie had made her a grandmother.....a title of which she did not approve. The ostensible failures made her feel old in mind. All she had to look forward in life was a lawyer in Agadir. As she slept, she suffered another nightmare. She found herself chasing Ahmed through a forest but, try as she could, she was unable to catch up with him. The race went on for a considerable time and suddenly a monster with three heads block the way. She tried to avoid it by racing around the trees only to come face to face with a giant snake hissing at her with forked tongue. She hurried on to face another monster which lashed out at her with its tail. All the time, Ahmed kept laughing at her as if he didn’t wish her to reach him. She woke up startled feeling tired and weary, trying to make sense of the dream. It was as though she had fallen down a black hole and it was crushing her to death.
She wasted no time in travelling to Agadir the next day. Her concern focussed on Hamid Arran. She stormed in Dr. Mahmoud’s officer to find that he wasn’t there. The vision of him sitting there with his feet on the desk, reading a comic book, came into her mind. She knock on the door which led to the bedroom and opened it slightly. Arran was laying on the bed fast asleep.
‘Wake up!’ she demanded vehemently, prodding him in the chest. He opened his eyes slowly and moaned. ‘It’s just over four o’clock in the afternoon. You should be working at your desk!’
He sat up slowly scratching his head. ‘I sent you the tablets, What more do you want? Leave me alone!’
‘Are you a qualified pharmacist?’ she asked point-blank.
He stared at her through bleary eyes. ‘You know I am. I told you so,’ he muttered half asleep. He yawned loudly laying back on the bed intending to return to sleep.
‘Why aren’t you continuing with Dr. Mahmoud’s work?’
‘I am.’ His voice sounded as though his mouth was filled with cotton-wool. .’My hours are eight until four. Now leave me in peace!’
She screwed up her face and left the man to continue his slumber. He was a qualified pharmacist but would he be able to step into the shoes of his master? She hoped so. The experiment had to continue. It had to! Her next task was to visit Ahmed to make the final arrangements for him to travel to England. She now had the bit between her teeth and went to his office, entering without knocking. He was the perfect lover, taking her in his arms and kissing her firmly on the lips. She was delighted at his romantic approach. No longer did he kiss her gently on her fingers...now it was a full blown kiss. He pointed to a chair indicating that she should sit down before informing her of his situation.
‘The sale of my half of the firm has gone through,’ he told her. ‘The funds are in my bank account.’
‘And your family?’
‘They’re well settled with my uncle. I have my passport ready.’
‘It all seems to have worked out well,’ she went on but there was her secret of ageing that she felt she had to tell him. She feared that when he learned the truth it might cause him to change his mind about her. ‘There’s something important I need to tell you before we go any further. He stared at her bleakly hoping that she wasn’t going to turn him down at the last moment. ‘You know I’ve been seeing Dr. Mahmoud all these years.’
‘He was helping you to recover your memory.’
‘No he wasn’t,’ she explained with her heart in her mouth. ‘We’ve been carrying out an experiment with the essences of exotic plants from North Borneo.’
‘An experiment?’ he echoed. ‘What sort of an experiment?’
‘It keeps a person looking very young and increases the longevity of life. I take four tablets of one kind every day. I’m suppose to look exactly as I do today until I’m at least two hundred years old.’
He paused to consider the situation refusing to believe her. ‘You don’t want us to be together, Why don’t you tell me directly instead of making up such a ridiculous story?’
‘It’s the truth,’ she insisted. ‘Do I look any different to you since the first time you saw me?’
He stared at her face thoughtfully to reflect. ‘You look very young,’ he admitted. ‘It never crossed my mind before.........’ he tailed off as the impact of her words struck him. ‘Are you saying you’ll look exactly the same in fifty years time?’
She nodded affirmatively. ‘Do you want me to stop taking the tablets. It could end the experiment and I would look old. Do you want me to do that?’
He shrugged his shoulders aimlessly. It was all too sudden for him and he was totally confused. ‘Are you really saying you’ll live to two hundred and look the same as you do today?’
‘You’ll grow old but I won’t,’ she told him sadly. ‘But I’m willing to sacrifice everything for you. I could stop taking the tablets and grow old with you.’
‘It’s going to take me a little time to get my head around this. How old are you now?’
‘I’m almost sixty,’ she told him with concern in her voice.
‘But age is not important to you.’
‘I’m sorry to throw this at you.’
His head went up as he made a swift decision. ‘Keep taking the tablets, Diana,’ he told her fervently. ‘I don’t care what age you are as long as you keep looking as you do today. There...I’ve mad up my mind. Better still, I will join you in the experiment taking the tablets with you.’
She was surprised at his reaction and it warmed her heart that he had accepted the situation so readily. Of course....he had put his finger on the solution. They could grow old together both looking in the future as they did at present. It was a great idea!
‘Now that’s settled,’ he continued as though nothing had happened, ‘I have a surprise for you.’ He stood up and waked around the desk taking her hand tenderly before leading her outside to his vehicle.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked him tentatively.
‘To the Purple Mountains and further on,’ he told her. He drove a few miles outside Agadir stopping the car by the side of a rugged path where a man stood holding the reins of two asses. ‘Come on,’ he invited. ‘We have a journey to complete.’
She sat on the second ass and Ahmed led the way forward striking his animal lightly with a whip handed to him by the Arab owner They rode a short way into the Sahara Desert to a large tent which had been erected there previously and alighted.
‘I brought you here to see the sunset over the desert,’ he informed her taking her into his arms. ‘This evening we shall fulfil your dream and make love together.’
She inhaled deeply as emotion began to overtake her. This was the testing moment in her life. Having been married for many years and given birth to two children, she was now on the verge of starting a completely new life....a second chance for an intimate sexual relationship.
They stood on the edge of the desert watching the sunset in al its glory and then Ahmed took her arm. ‘Come into the tent and change into something more comfortable,’ he advised. ‘I’ve brought some clothes for you.’
He had become so masterful, so quickly. She had been independent for so long that it was a relief to hand over the reins to
someone else. She entered the tent where a mattress had been placed on the sand. She undressed and put on a dressing-gown that was there. Within a short while, Ahmed entered the tent. He stared at her face and took hold of her hands.
‘You are so beautiful,’ he whispered sincerely. ‘I love you so much.’
Diana felt her legs weaken as he held her tightly and kissed her fully on the lips. She moved away to allow the dressing-gown to slip from her shoulders exposing her lovely slim figure. Her long legs moved towards the mattre
ss before she turned to her handsome lover. Then she folded neatly into his arms enjoying the warmth of his lustful intimate embrace.
His hand caressed her neck gently moving up and down in an erogenous area. Emotion swiftly welled up inside her. His hands moved slowly to her breasts stroking each one smoothly, touching her nipples gently so that she felt transported to a higher level more than she had ever known before. She felt her body becoming moist as her heart beat rapidly in anticipation and beads of perspiration began to appear on her forehead. It was exhilarating....brilliant....wonderful...erotic! His hand moved to a lower part of her body causing her adrenalin to begin to flow freely. The difference on this occasion was that it was not a dream. No longer was it a mirage in the figment of her imagination. It was real! It was now happening in real life making her feel like a perfect woman. Yes...it was sensuous, exciting and erotic. Even better was the fact that it would go on for another one hundred-and-fifty years or more. What in real life could be better than that?
THE END
Also Available
