A mysterious room

The letters could not be that confidential, he thought, if the chest was not locked up. Maybe the room was only being locked for sentimental reasons and not really as a matter of confidentiality.

Later in the evening, when his uncle sat on the patio with a friend who came to visit, Jared got out of the swimming pool, where he was having a revitalizing exercise period. He dried himself with a towel and went straight to his bedroom, where he retrieved the letters which he had hidden under the rug.

Somehow he could not contain himself for too much longer. He hated the fact that the farm was already making him act like an obsessed person, but on the other hand, curiosity was exciting.

The content of the letters was strange to him. They each mentioned two girls who seemed to be children at the time when the letters were written. The letters were written a long time ago and the pages were beginning to turn yellow.

Apparently his uncle had something to do with two little girls in the past. The letters were very brief.

The one which was dated twenty years ago, mentioned the fact that the girls did not have a lack of pocket money. No names were mentioned and Jared wondered why.

The other letter was dated ten years ago and went on to explain that the two pretty young girls were turning into proper ladies and had to spend some time in Europe, so that they would be well rounded off socially.

Jared decided that the girls mentioned might be two godchildren of his uncle. Still, Jared remained curious. He would have to return the letters sometime and take out a few others. At least this could be one way to try and beat the boredom.

***

Modelling somehow came naturally to Laura. She realized that it had to be a result of what she had obsessed about as a young girl. All those glossy magazine fashion articles must have paid off, she thought.

She loved the upbeat music which played when she was on the ramp and she had just as lively an imagination. These two factors caused her to collaborate rather well with the photographers and videographers.

Right now she felt as if she was riding the crest of a wave and she rather did not mind the fact that she suddenly did not see much of her husband or her daughter.

The fact that Blake was off to England doing some form of "secret agent" work for a business woman called Shannon, did not particularly perplex her. She had too much to keep her busy and enough on her mind, with regards to her new career.

Laura had also soon learned that she had absolutely no reason to be envious of any of the other girls. This was because; when she saw the results of her makeup artist and her hairdresser's labour in photos and videos of herself, she was stunned. She could often not believe that she was looking at her own image on paper.

The fact that Blake was not there to celebrate her success did not dampen Laura's spirits, as she would have expected it to at an earlier point in her life.

It was amazing that a mere change of scene could bring about such a tremendous change within herself.

Blake had offered to take her over to meet Carminda's sister Shannon, who was an international celebrity. Laura had seen her photo's in magazines often in recent months. She had also seen her television commercials.

Laura really did admire Shannon and she hoped that Blake would not lose his mind over either one of the sisters.

Otherwise, Monique was now attending a day-care centre, which kept her during normal working hours, as well as at times when Laura was working late. She made a point however, of not attending too many evening shoots, so that she could spend a few hours playing with her daughter on some evenings.

When Laura did have to attend a specific function in connection with her job, Monique slept over at Laura's in-law's place. This way she got to spend at least four evenings with her daughter per week when Blake was away.

Laura did realize that the present set-up could become a pattern. However―and she often told herself this―as soon as Monique was big enough, she would take her with to accompany her on some modelling shoots. As long as she brought a baby-sitter along as well.

She would then simply send them both home when evening fell and with her still having to work. Otherwise they would leave at the same time.

Laura's life was exciting. This was what she really wanted.

***

After having failed to track down all Blake's movements while he was in London, Rene returned to Johannesburg. He comforted himself with the knowledge that, although he had not managed to satisfy his curiosity regarding Blake, he did acquire success beyond his expectations.

He did well, meeting with his band. On top of that; video recording sessions with Laurelle had proved to be surprisingly rewarding.

After the work for the entire music video was completed, Laurelle had invited him and his entire production crew to attend a party at her beautiful penthouse. They were exhausted from overwork and needed to relax.

There he got to meet a few other musicians first-hand, whereas he would otherwise have had to set up preliminary appointments, which could have dragged on for months. He would have first gone through band managers, if he had tried to meet the famous drummers and guitarists on his own strength.

Rene and his crew had spent almost three consecutive days at Laurelle's penthouse; relaxing in the Jacuzzi and in the spa bath during the day. They danced all night, every night. Afterwards they snatched a little bit of sleep at irregular intervals in the mornings and afternoons.

He enjoyed this. It made him feel as young as an eighteen-year-old again.

Somehow he could not contain himself for too much longer. He hated the fact that the farm was already making him act like an obsessed person, but on the other hand, curiosity was exciting.

The content of the letters was strange to him. They each mentioned two girls who seemed to be children at the time when the letters were written. The letters were written a long time ago and the pages were beginning to turn yellow.

Apparently his uncle had something to do with two little girls in the past. The letters were very brief.

The one which was dated twenty years ago, mentioned the fact that the girls did not have a lack of pocket money. No names were mentioned and Jared wondered why.

The other letter was dated ten years ago and went on to explain that the two pretty young girls were turning into proper ladies and had to spend some time in Europe, so that they would be well rounded off socially.

Jared decided that the girls mentioned might be two godchildren of his uncle. Still, Jared remained curious. He would have to return the letters sometime and take out a few others. At least this could be one way to try and beat the boredom.

***

Modelling somehow came naturally to Laura. She realized that it had to be a result of what she had obsessed about as a young girl. All those glossy magazine fashion articles must have paid off, she thought.

She loved the upbeat music which played when she was on the ramp and she had just as lively an imagination. These two factors caused her to collaborate rather well with the photographers and videographers.

Right now she felt as if she was riding the crest of a wave and she rather did not mind the fact that she suddenly did not see much of her husband or her daughter.

The fact that Blake was off to England doing some form of "secret agent" work for a business woman called Shannon, did not particularly perplex her. She had too much to keep her busy and enough on her mind, with regards to her new career.

Laura had also soon learned that she had absolutely no reason to be envious of any of the other girls. This was because; when she saw the results of her makeup artist and her hairdresser's labour in photos and videos of herself, she was stunned. She could often not believe that she was looking at her own image on paper.

The fact that Blake was not there to celebrate her success did not dampen Laura's spirits, as she would have expected it to at an earlier point in her life.

It was amazing that a mere change of scene could bring about such a tremendous change within herself.

Blake had offered to take her over to meet Carminda's sister Shannon, who was an international celebrity. Laura had seen her photo's in magazines often in recent months. She had also seen her television commercials.

Laura really did admire Shannon and she hoped that Blake would not lose his mind over either one of the sisters.

Otherwise, Monique was now attending a day-care centre, which kept her during normal working hours, as well as at times when Laura was working late. She made a point however, of not attending too many evening shoots, so that she could spend a few hours playing with her daughter on some evenings.

When Laura did have to attend a specific function in connection with her job, Monique slept over at Laura's in-law's place. This way she got to spend at least four evenings with her daughter per week when Blake was away.

Laura did realize that the present set-up could become a pattern. However―and she often told herself this―as soon as Monique was big enough, she would take her with to accompany her on some modelling shoots. As long as she brought a baby-sitter along as well.

She would then simply send them both home when evening fell and with her still having to work. Otherwise they would leave at the same time.

Laura's life was exciting. This was what she really wanted.

***

After having failed to track down all Blake's movements while he was in London, Rene returned to Johannesburg. He comforted himself with the knowledge that, although he had not managed to satisfy his curiosity regarding Blake, he did acquire success beyond his expectations.

He did well, meeting with his band. On top of that; video recording sessions with Laurelle had proved to be surprisingly rewarding.

After the work for the entire music video was completed, Laurelle had invited him and his entire production crew to attend a party at her beautiful penthouse. They were exhausted from overwork and needed to relax.

There he got to meet a few other musicians first-hand, whereas he would otherwise have had to set up preliminary appointments, which could have dragged on for months. He would have first gone through band managers, if he had tried to meet the famous drummers and guitarists on his own strength.

Rene and his crew had spent almost three consecutive days at Laurelle's penthouse; relaxing in the Jacuzzi and in the spa bath during the day. They danced all night, every night. Afterwards they snatched a little bit of sleep at irregular intervals in the mornings and afternoons.

He enjoyed this. It made him feel as young as an eighteen-year-old again.