FATIMA Pt. 1: GENEVIEVE
This story is a follow-up to
Jade
. I have divided it into three parts: Genevieve, Hermione and Masoumeh. The first two parts are fictional, but only in the sense that they didn't actually happen. That they might have happened (or that my wife and I wished for them to happen) is a different matter entirely. The third part did indeed come to pass - and not that long ago. Not exactly in the timeframe I have given it, since the story form enabled me to compress what happened over a longer period of time into a single evening to enhance the dramatic effect. I hope you enjoy it all as much as my wife and I did...
1
Hunter's divorce from Jade was, as Fatima expected, if not Hunter, a rather messy affair. At first, it had been hoped that things would be made easier by the simple fact that Jade would marry Fatima's ex, Marc. That was the plan, as Jade announced it to Hunter when it became clear to her that he was going to leave her for the Pakistani woman, who, at 26, was young enough to be his daughter.
Mind you, Jade herself had only just turned 30 - a landmark which she chose not to celebrate, given that it fell right in the middle of this mess. In her heart of hearts, Jade knew she could never marry a dork like Marc. Not only was he immature and extremely limited intellectually, but in Jade's eyes he carried the blame for her break-up with Hunter. For, in that small-minded and vindictive way of hers which had come to irritate Hunter, she considered him responsible for introducing Hunter to Fatima.
Never once did she stop to think that it was
she
who had seduced Marc in her dental surgery,
she
who had made him phone his wife to tell her he'd be late while she was fellating him,
she
who had suggested to her husband that they have them over for dinner - because
she
fancied the idea of introducing (or so she thought) the Pakistani woman to lesbian love.
Anyway, the settlement had been made and, after the dust had settled, Hunter had married Fatima. It was a quiet registry office affair, followed by dinner at a local restaurant with Hunter's daughter by his first marriage, Hayley, and half a dozen or so of Hunter and Fatima's closest friends. For their honeymoon, they had opted for the south of France, which Hunter loved to visit in the winter months.
They chose a converted chateau near Antibes - the sort of hotel which had changed so little over the past hundred years that you half expected F Scott Fitzgerald to come breezing onto the terrace for early evening drinks. Although it was March, the weather was mild and the hotel was, it appeared, full. Most of the clientele were middle-aged or of even more advanced years. The guests came from a variety of countries, with Europe being especially well represented. As he moved from one food station to the next at breakfast, Hunter could hear Italian, German and what he took to be Swedish voices, as well as French and English.
The newlyweds hired bikes and enjoyed the beautiful views over the Mediterranean and of the hills that rise between the sea and the Maritime Alps. Starting with easy rides that took in neighbouring Juan-les-Pins and the promenade towards Nice, they graduated during their stay to inland rides with tougher gradients, which took them to picturesque villages with charming names such as Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Roquefort-les-Pins.
At night - and sometimes during the day - they made love with a passion that had scarcely abated in the six months since they had first met. They had talked quite candidly about the sort of marriage they wished to have. Children were not on the agenda for Fatima - not until she was thirty, at least - and Hunter was quite happy with that. Aware that they had got together in the first place as a result of an evening of wife-swapping, they knew both the positive and the negative side of such liaisons.
Sensing that Fatima, so much younger than he was and possessed of a pulsating bisexuality, would feel constrained in a traditional relationship, Hunter took the trouble to coax from her what he could be satisfied were her true feelings. The age difference, she assured him, wasn't a problem. She couldn't imagine ever lusting after another man.
Hunter picked up quickly on the implicit message that Fatima was sending him; he had witnessed first-hand the incredible sex she had had with Jade (first in the shower, then on the bed). She would need female lovers to satisfy that side of her multifaceted persona. Broaching the subject with her directly, he told her that he wouldn't stand in her way if she needed to 'look after her Sapphic side.'
'Do you mean that, Hunter?' Fatima asked, her expression unsmiling, but merely thoughtful, not unfriendly.
'Of course, my dear,' he responded, running his fingers through her beautiful raven hair.
'I am ready,' she said with a quietness that couldn't hide her steely determination.
'Ah,' Hunter replied. 'Someone here?'
'Yes - the chambermaid.'
Hunter endeavoured to bring to mind any memories he might have of such a person but was unable to. The room had always been cleaned while he and Fatima were out. At least, so far as he could remember. Seeing her husband searching vainly through his memory bank, Fatima decided to help him out.
'It was the first morning, when you woke up early and decided to go for a run before breakfast. Perhaps the maid saw you leaving the room and thought that it was empty. She knocked on the door and I went to answer it, thinking it was you, having forgotten something, your room key, perhaps. I opened the door dressed only in the negligee you had bought me for this trip. The girl stood there, open-mouthed, trying to apologise, but finding that the words just would not come out. With a mumbled "Excusez moi!", she ran off down the corridor.'
'Have you seen her since?' asked Hunter, utterly engaged in his wife's story.
'I ran into her in the reception area yesterday afternoon when we returned from our bike ride and I went to see if they had something for the insect bite I'd got on my arm. Actually, it was she who nearly ran into me. She was just coming off duty and was in a rush. Perhaps her boyfriend had come to pick her up and she didn't like to keep him waiting. She was wearing a pair of washed cut-off jeans and a white T-shirt under a burgundy leather jacket. Even in the short time I had before she disappeared through the entrance, once again murmuring "Excusez moi", I could see that she wasn't wearing a bra.'
'Wow!' said Hunter. 'Talk about being in the right place at the right time!'
'Yes, Hunter,' Fatima added with almost frightening intensity. 'I believe fate had brought us together for a purpose. I would very much like to make love to her.'
Hunter stood beside his wife, uncertain whether to put his arms round her, for fear that he might somehow break the spell. Not just for her, but for himself too.
'What do you intend to do,' he asked, almost in a whisper, now her co-conspirator.
'I have asked the receptionist to give her a message. I learned that her name is Genevieve.'
'And what message did you ask her to give her?'
'I asked her to make our room the last she cleans tomorrow. I told the receptionist that we would want to sleep in, as we were going to be out late tonight.'
'She said she would pass the message on, and that I should expect her at around eleven o'clock, if that was all right with us. I told her that would be perfect.'
'Right,' said Hunter, 'I'll be sure to make myself scarce by ten fifteen, just to be on the safe side. I can go to town to get a few bits and pieces to take home for Hayley.'
'You know I would like you to be there with me, don't you?' said Fatima, embracing Hunter and feeling his erection against her stomach.
'Yes, darling,' he told her, though he was far from certain that this was what she really wanted.