A Wonderful... Carefree Week... Spent With The Davises... On The Island Of Antigua... As The Turbulent Saga... Of Mark And Laura... Continues...!

Laura spent a glorious week with the Davises... who were no longer living in the same beachfront house... but in the large... two storey house... right next door to Mark and Laura's apartment... which was attached... to it... and accessible... from indoors... up a short flight of steps... leading to a connecting door...!

Now that their baby son... Jason... had begun to walk... they had become fearful... that he might fall into the Caribbean Sea... from the high terrace... and felt safer... to be in a house... a little further inland... across the street... where they still had a gorgeous view... of the crystal clear... blue waters...

Once again... Laura felt much more at ease... without Mark... who had made her so increasingly nervous... in Barbados... and had a wonderful time... with her friends... picnicking with them... on the long... long beach of Dickinson Bay... famous for its silky white sands... and swimming in the crystal clear blue waters... of the Caribbean Sea...

She immediately cabled Philip Philbin... in England... and soon received... a somewhat discouraging... long reply from him... informing her... that he would be going back to South Africa... to further promote... his company's new product...

During the long plane flight... Philip had told her... about his company's new invention... of a noiseless fan... and about how successful... his demonstrations had been... all over the country... the South Africans... showing great interest in them... which could be used both in homes... as well as commercially... in business establishments...

He ended his cable... by giving her a male associate's business telephone number... to contact... once she arrived in London... who would be happy to take care of her... until his return... about three weeks later...

Laura was disappointed... and in a quandary... wondering why Philip hadn't given her his home number... so that she could contact his wife...!

And she now felt queasy... about going to England... as if she was going to be a barely tolerated nuisance... to Philip... who simply was accommodating her... because of his offer to help her... on the plane... probably believing... that he would never hear from her again...

She was also feeling... that she had outstayed her welcome... because Alfred... Nieves's husband... was beginning to exhibit his usual... thinly veiled resentment... over the close Inner bond... of SUBUD... between his wife and Laura... feeling more and more... left out...

And her feelings were confirmed... when he summoned her to his office... in his house... one morning... the following week... with a pre-paid plane ticket... for London... and giving her $1,000... to tide her over in England...!

He also gravely informed her... that he had taken care of what was left... of her $20,000 inheritance... from her father... which she had wisely given to him... for safekeeping... by opening a savings account for her... at his bank... in the USA... at 10% interest...! ... so that Mark would not be able... to get his greedy hands... on the rest of it...!

To try to lessen his moody... sulky depressions... Laura had bought Jacques a nice boat... in the hope that it would make him happy... lift his frequently doleful spirits...

And he had been ecstatic... for a while... no longer insisting... on all day Sundays of sex... because he had been deprived of it... for a whole year...!

This was due to her year long confinement... to her bed... recovering from her very complicated... seven hour pan hysterectomy... which had taken place... shortly after Jacques and Grazia met... in Pretoria... South Africa... and which had weakened her greatly... physically...

Now he was taking them out on the boat... on weekends...

And teaching her scuba diving... and snorkeling... he introduced her... to the fascinating world... of the undersea... where she was thoroughly enchanted... by the brightly colored... tropical fishes... of all shapes and sizes... as they leisurely swam... past her goggles...

Jacques... as he was known then... was an excellent swimmer... having established a boy's swimming team... in Canada... which became quite famous... through his efforts...

Alfred already knew... how Mark had totally wiped out... their joint bank account... in Antigua... when she left him... off the trimaran... some five months earlier... and had paid for her plane ticket... back to South Africa... with some extra spending money...

Laura expressed her deeply felt thanks to Alfred... who had the same name... as her dearly beloved stepfather... Mummie's second Bavarian husband... promising to pay him back...

But he told her... that he was helping her... in gratitude for having taught his wife English... and bringing her out of her shy shell... and having been such a good friend to her... when she felt like such a stranger... in Antigua... being the very first country... she had ever been to... outside Spain...

Seeing that the plane ticket for London... was for the very next day... and truly feeling... that she was no longer welcome... in Alfred's house... she realized that he clearly wanted his wife back... all to himself...

So that Laura could not tell him... how... upon awakening that morning... she "knew" that Mark was on his way back to her... because she did not know exactly when he would be arriving... in a day... or two... or even in a week's time...

She had already given Nieves... her valuable gold and ruby ring... that morning... in appreciation... for taking her in... and rescuing her... once again... and also as collateral... for the $10,000... that Alfred had loaned her... to make up for the $10,000... of her inheritance... that Mark had absconded with...!

She found out later... that just as her plane flew off... the next day... Mark's plane was just coming in...!

Nieves had extracted a promise from her... that she would contact her... the moment she arrived safely... in England... because she was firmly convinced... that Mark... despite all the women... he had slept with... during their separation... would be coming for his Dream Girl Laura... the only woman for him... in the whole wide world...

And Nieves had told Laura... that since they had never had a real honeymoon... she was going to tell him... about her family's romantic hideway villa... on the island of Isla Cristina... in Spain... and give him the keys for it... for their belated honeymoon...!

...read more in Chapter 14

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