A Posy of Flowers

Sebastian’s apartment was furnished and decorated in simple artistic themes. Zara was lost for a moment as she browsed through the paintings hanging on the wall.

“You like paintings?” His voice was so quiet and so close behind her that she jumped.

He reached out and steadied her, pointing to one, “What do you think of this one?”

It was a painting of a young woman playing with a child, done in simple blacks and whites except for the posy of flowers in the child’s hand.

“Well, what do you think?”

“It is… What does it mean?” She turned around to look at him. He was taller than her by about several inches, so she had to turn her head up to look into his eyes. She found herself looking into the softest brown eyes. That caught her by surprise, everyone knew Sebastian as tough and hard, not the person to jerk around. The eyes…

He smiled, a smile that crinkled the corner of his eyes. She knew then why she was so drawn to him. 

Sebastian was Jose; different, a loner, highly successful and such a contradiction.

“What?” He was peering at her as if trying to read her mind.

“Huh?” She felt a little shaken.

He chuckled softly, “You had a little revelation moment over there. My painting spark it?”

She looked at the painting, “Did you paint it?”

“Yes, in another lifetime.”

“Before you were a priest?”

“When I was a priest. I still am ordained, you know.”

“But do you practice? I mean like are you celibate?”

He laughed out loud. She just stared at him. He walked off to the bar in his living room and opened a cabinet.

“A drink?”

She nodded. He poured out a scotch on the rocks, and walked back to hand it to her.

“Yes, I am celibate. But that is not quite enough for me to be called a Priest. I’m just a guy. I used to paint. Can’t seem to find the inspiration lately. But that seems about to change.”

Sebastian

The crowd was enthusiastic. They had never had quite a crowd, not even in their loudest bar performance at Crooked Q’s two months ago. People seemed to be taken in by the semi-rock, afrofusion, pop, whatever that The Adventurers, Simone’s band had come up with. 

Simone was the lead guitarist as well as a back-up singer; she was pushing Zara more and more into the lead vocals position. There was no doubt at all, who owned the band tho. Karma was a tenor that just couldn’t be ignored. His bad boy good looks also helped to draw in the girl fans. Romez and Mash alternated on the drums and the saxophone.

Zara had not felt this elated in a long time. Finally the band was coming up out of the dungeons if invisibility. Last month, they had actually paid her. Simone had talked to her last night about working with the band as her job. It was going to be quite a risk. She would have to quit her job at the Truck Company. But she could always continue with her studies.

Zara waved with the rest of the band against the burst of lights as the show came to an end. When they got backstage, Simone was still beaming as her husband hugged her and kissed her. Zara looked away. Seeing other people happy still hurt her. It had been six months since she realised that it was absolutely over between her and Jose. A week ago, her mother had told her that Jose’s wife had had twins, a boy and a girl.

Still, a lot could be said of the fact that thinking of Jose did not send her into a drinking spree anymore. Simone and the guys had taken to trying to hook her up with guys. Recently Simone had succeeded in getting Zara to go out with one of her Harley riding friends.

He was ok, Zara thought. But she was more interested in Sebastian.

Zara smiled, now, when he walked into the back room, and greeted everyone with a nod. The band members respected him, the calm cool guy who had been brought in by Simone two months ago to help manage the band.

He stopped and handed Simone a document, then walked over to where Zara sat in a recliner with a fresh vodka on lime that mash had mixed for her. He nodded, before he sat down, and Zara had to repress an urge to giggle. The man hardly ever said a word. His greetings were nods. His smiles hardly a lift of a corner of his lips. But he was brilliant business man. Rumour had it that he had made his first million at 20 years of age. But then the man would do anything to keep information about his self away from media and speculation.

Someone had wondered if he was a mafia don, at which Simone had guffawed in that loud special way only she could. Then she had revealed that Sebastian had been a priest once…

Back in the City

Time had passed in a haze. She had been home, tried to enjoy the home cooking, the company, the old friends…and yet her heart ached. Her mother had had no idea still…it had pleased her to tell Zara that her teacher/mentor’s wife was from their clan, and a good woman. Zara’s heart had ached.

So here she was, back to the city, back to her classes at campus, back to her job, with a slight salary increase, back to her guitar lessons. Simone the crazy girl she had met at Jimmy’s flat last November was forming a band and thought Zara’s voice would do just fine for a series of shows at a lit hub in Westlands.

She took a deep swig of beer, grimaced as she swallowed, saddened by her decline to pathetic levels. Had she really believed that he wanted her to see other people so she could be assured of her relationship with him? He had made her believe that her youth and inexperience would be an obstacle in their relationship. But it was not his fault.

She had craved for the adventure. She had chosen to see other men. She had chosen to have sex with other men, when she knew Jose was the only one she would have wanted to be with. He had tested her, and she had failed. So he had moved on. She hated the thought.

Simone, tall, dark skinned with close cropped hair dyed blond, had just walked into the bar. She was always so regal, Zara thought, a bit intimidating to the guys. A few had labeled her dyke. She was not, but as Simone would say, so what?

She smiled and waved when she spotted Zara, but had to stop several times to say hello and hug and laugh with several people on the way to the bar. Simone was that kind of popular girl. And she was married.

The man she loved and lived with was the quiet content type, who was confident in his relationship with his girl. Sometimes, he would be in the audience while Simone performed, quietly cheering her on. She would perform for him. And still so very many people had no idea that she was his wife. Actually, it was the other way around. Very few people had any idea that the quiet man was her husband.

It was a strange relationship, but it seemed to work for Simone and her husband the architect, Andrew.

For a moment, just before Simone got to the bar next to Zara, she thought of the resolution she had made. She had wanted to be with Jose, even as his number two in life. All she had wanted was to be with him. But when she had stood at his door looking at his number one, she had known she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Same as she knew now, that she did not want to be in a polyandrous relationship. Any.