The Designer's Wicked Intentions

by Yvonne Sibanda

  Agatha suffered in silence at Luc’s hands in the first year after she gave birth to Elsie as she received a few bruises from him. Natalie told her to report the matter yet Aggy appeared to be reluctant and stated Luc loved her.

  Her mother didn’t help matters Natalie having overheard her advising Aggy that men were like that, they eventually came around. She had to respect him always and not follow him around with his girlfriends. Aggy worsened her plight by just giving birth when she should have cut off those damn tubes and not given birth for such a man.

  It was a relief to Natalie when Aggy started changing from the reserved timid person she was to an animated and rather talkative one and she knew the cause of it. A certain young man with womanly mannerisms, who used to drop by the place to teach her on how to sew. Natalie also sat in some of the lessons and learnt a few tricks. She definitely could sew after being tutored by Ethan but wasn’t interested in pursuing fashion as they were.

  Never did she think that what those two were doing would come to something big. Ethan being single pushed further in his career as he was established already and before they knew it, he won a few awards, opened up some upscale boutiques and retailers for low and middle income earners while Aggy’s were exclusive and pricey as she catered to the few.

  Natalie also saw their friendship develop and never thought much about it since both of them acted like girls. At that time Cookies mannerisms were rather evident and his body was still slender as he would squeal like any of the girls, always calling them ‘girlfriend’ and twittering around. His dressing was flamboyant with his bulky afro that could be the envy of any woman. Eventually he started changing and such was her shock when he came for a visit, all toned down with cropped hair and a rather masculine physique. He had winked at the confusion in her eyes and received a pinch from her for being such a naughty boy taking them for a ride.

  Despite the changes taking place on Aggy her husband remained the same. One day when Aggy was getting ready to meet Ethan for a photo shoot, Natalie overheard Luc speaking over the phone to his latest floozy. She voiced out her disapproval to Luc and immediately received her walking papers from the man for having crossed her limits.

  Aggy insisted she stay, but she was rather tired of the toxic environment and gladly left, but before that, she brought Thelma. The couple appeared not to be aware of the toxic environment they were bringing their children under hence to her Elsie’s rebellion didn’t come as a surprise.

  Such was her relief when she heard that the couple was now divorced. With that history of knowing Aggy and Ethan, she rather felt they would be good together despite what others might say, they didn’t know and they never saw what had gone on behind those doors.

  Thelma also didn’t see the worst of it. By the time she came, she would work for three days and Aggy made sure she sent her brood to boarding school when they reached six years.

  “Moving onto something else,” Natalie said, “What is this about Nancy falling pregnant again, has pregnancy become a form of birth control?” she asked as her friend frowned before replying. They continued talking and disbanded when their tea time was up.

  ***

  AGGY SPENT her day traveling to and fro to her exclusive boutiques and writing out checks for a few orders to be made at the factories. She made use of Ethan’s suppliers as she sometimes designed some outfits with him. They had been contemplating making accessories to complement the outfits together while Ethan already had his sneaker and denim brand. Greg had featured in the advertisement with baby Alexander on the posters that were in the shop indicating the male section while a pregnant Sophie was still gracing the maternity section. She had even used her children for the preschool and teenage sections.

  Laura the talkative one of the twins even asked to get paid for having modeled and posed for her clothes to Aggy’s shock, while Greg her partner good humoredly wrote a check and advised the money would go to her college fund.

  Agatha had a few handbag designs and shoes for ladies which already had been received well after she used Ethan to showcase them for her on one of his fashion shows. Everything was just where it was meant to be. She rather pitied Luc since he couldn’t believe it when he found out how much she was worth after their divorce.

  Luc’s rather runny mouth came to her advantage since he managed to irritate the presiding judge. Her boutiques were out of the divorce settlement while he retained his collection of cars and penthouse in town. She remained with the family house, the three cars and also a sizable allowance she was meant to receive every month for her and the kids’ upkeep. The huge acres of farm land they owned, was for their six daughters. If either party married and had other children, they would in no way be part of that land.

  “What would the girls do with that land,” Luc had blurted out at hearing the judgment, further annoying the judge who had been presiding over their case. “Jasmine is expecting my first son, he is the rightful heir to that land,” he had yelled. “Well I suggest you buy land for him then, after you serve your sentence,” the judge had retorted, hit the gavel against the sounding block and left the courtroom not paying heed to Luc’s protests. That Agatha had initiated the divorce didn’t matter to him as he had vehemently stated, ‘I don’t care,’ to Luc’s annoyance.

  Aggy had been informed by her lawyer prior that the judge assigned to them didn’t take kindly to philandering spouses. Hence Judge Jim had rather made Luc a scapegoat to every male who cheated and divorced his wife as he was prone to do so with unfaithful wives. A few of the divorced husbands were rather enjoying being maintained by the ex-wives.

  Her office phone rang as she lounged on her recliner, having kicked away her shoes while she sipped on a cold soda. She sighed and moved to the large oak table in the office.

  "Boss lady, Rita is here," Cassie her sales lady informed her over the phone. "Ok, send her through" Aggy advised, hung up and moved behind the desk. It didn’t take long for Rita to knock on the door and get in. Greeting the young lady, she settled more properly behind her desk and shuffled around the papers for the interview. She smiled to put her at ease after taking note that Rita nervously clutched her hands.

  "Relax love I am just going to question you on a few things just to get to know you and nothing else. No need to be nervous." Rita nodded her head before Aggy got back to the questionnaire she usually used for college and university students with the intention of joining her boutiques for a year of training.

  Rita was an exception as she had to change the questions slightly and her attachment would be just for two weeks before she went back to school since she was still at high school. Her mother who happened to be Aggy’s sales lady had asked for the favour so to help the girl save up for college. She would join them again after completing high school over the Christmas holiday. She could hear her exhale loudly so she calmed her nerves. To allay her from being nervous she asked, "Your mom told me you attend St Mary's girls high, you must know my daughter then Elsie."

  “I do, we are in the same class,” Rita answered as she nervously took in the luxurious office. Aggy guessed Elsie might be a nuisance also at that school. She transferred her from boarding to day school after the whole mess with the car and being caught in possession of an illegal substance. The rest of the girls still attended the expensive private boarding school while Elsie was sent to a public one in order to understand the different aspects of life and it had been on Garrets insistence. She went on to ask Rita about her hobbies and dreams as she answered and became more comfortable in her company.

  Rita was marveling at how friendly Agatha was and didn’t look strict at all like how Elsie had described her. Elsie had become sort of like a friend as Rita was the one tasked by the principal to show the new girl around the school premises when she first transferred there. Everyone would rave about the fluent English speaking girl who came from the other side of town.

  She was down to earth and rather managed to hold her own when some of the girls considered popu
lar in the school tried to intimidate her. She had class and wasn’t one to fight over petty stuff. At first Rita thought Elsie was a snob but as time went on she realized she was the opposite of the first impression she got. Elsie was accommodating to everyone around her and didn’t put on airs like she would have expected from one coming from a well to do family, especially on the fact that she was the granddaughter of Matthew Henderson of Henderson construction and other businesses. The family literally owned half their town.

  She had even met the varsity guy Elsie was dating. His clipped and well-modulated tone, managed to make the rest of her peers wonder what he was talking about as his English was refined and when Elsie got into the mood they forgot she was the same person who could speak their country’s native languages fluently and in their perfect accent. Finally meeting her mother, she experienced that same nature and knew where Elsie got it from.

  They chatted for a bit and by the time they were done, Rita was comfortable with her. “You will start tomorrow. Will draft out your contract and this is very commendable what you are doing love,” Aggy stated and stood up from her chair. Rita followed suit. Aggy wore her teddy bear morning slippers on her feet before she went with Rita to the huge boutique as her office was situated at the back. Cassie was locking up having seen her last customer out. Agatha had scheduled the interview in a way in which Rita would meet everyone as they knocked off.

  She motioned to Dave the security cum driver, Jennifer the cosmetics sales lady, Claire and Miranda who were the clothes sales ladies and Valerie her cleaner. They all gathered at the front and she introduced the new addition to the team. “Welcome to the family,” Dave said as he moved to Rita and shook her hand, at the same time frowned at his boss. “Don’t worry Dave, soon.” She giggled knowing full well, he was frowning over the fact that it had become a ladies zone and he was the only male figure there.

  This was her main branch; the one that she opened with Greg as they signed a deal and she rather loved it. She had made the two more branches have the same feel in them, yet this one was special to her for it reminded her of how far she had come. In total she had fifteen workers excluding the college and varsity students who did their industrial attachments at them.

  The staff moved to the small side door they used to get out of the huge building after grabbing their bags and Aggy did the same. “Thank you so much for this,” Cassie whispered, walking beside her. “It’s no problem girlfriend, I am happy I could help. I just wish Elsie would also take the same initiative, do you know what she told me.”

  Cassie smiled guessing a smart answer had come from her. “Mom, I am a teenager. This is the time for me to explore my potential, find out who I am and get to know people, study, party and make the same mistakes you did at my age. I don’t see work, written in any of it.” As if Aggy would allow her to make the mistakes she made.

  Cassie laughed as the rest turned to see what she was laughing at before they got into the company van. “That’s Elsie for you,” she chuckled, hugged Aggy and walked to the van. Aggy moved to her car and drove off with a smile on her face.

  Her phone made a beeping sound alerting her as she drove into her back yard. She was exhausted from work and wanted to just flop into bed and rest. She almost cursed when she saw the message notifying her that it was Ethan’s birthday the next day. She had totally forgotten about it. The girls would also be coming two weeks later in time to go back to school on a Monday while her ex-husband’s release date drew closer than before. She could literally see the calendar in front of her as she ticked off the dates. Where had all that time gone to, she wondered as she sighed loudly and reversed her car before driving to the gift shop where she knew she would definitely get Ethan’s favorite cologne and aftershave.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “WELCOME DEAR,” Ethan’s mother Martha greeted and hugged her before receiving the nicely wrapped up gift. “Thank you Martha, am I early?”

  “Not at all,” she shook her head, “Thought you didn’t receive the message that we had changed the date of Ethan’s birthday to Saturday 27 not Sunday.”

  “Sorry,” Aggy stared at her sheepishly since she thought she had responded to the invite for the party immediately after receiving it. Martha shrugged and ushered her to the back of the house where the gazebo was located. Already his close friends had arrived and were drinking before the arrival of the birthday boy. She chuckled at that, seeing Brad’s eyes already looked red and Dominic was dancing with Sophie as she giggled. “Welcome Aggs," Marg rushed to her and gave her a hug. Greg was brooding with Alexander in his arms, watching his friend out rightly flirting with Sophie while Garret might have been speaking a sermon that was falling on deaf ears.

  Finally he plucked Alex from Greg’s hands and everyone laughed at the transformation as his lopsided grin came back and he sauntered to his wife, glared at Dominic who flapped his hands in defeat and walked away. “Hey Aggy, thought you were not coming,” Dominic said, joining them where they sat and giving her a hug. “I was, wouldn’t miss it for the world, and you are drunk.”

  He chuckled and moved away to the table with refreshments. “What’s with him, it’s unlike him to be drinking this early” she pointedly looked at Brad who was now chatting with Dominic at the refreshment table.

  “Girlfriend troubles,” Garret replied.

  “Who cheated?” she asked in which Garret answered. “The girl.”

  Shaking her head with disbelief evident in her voice, Aggy spoke loudly enough for Brad to hear, “Have you ever wondered why he gets cheated on. Is Brad the one cheating and blaming it on the women.”

  She shifted her arm when Marg reached out to pinch her. “I mean look at Brad, handsome, successful, who can pass up such a chance.”

  “Well Sheila can,” Marg whispered under her breath and took a sip of her grape juice.

  “Aggy you do know I can hear you right,” Brad asked and moved towards her.

  “Yes dummy. I should hook you up with my cousin, maybe with a law enforcer on your side, we might be able to identify the culprit at the end,” she concluded and smirked at his horrified expression as the others laughed hoping Brad never got to meet her.

  Pam could be such a tomboy and could wrestle with men especially if she found out that she had been conned by one she considered her love. “We would hate to see Brad’s cute face covered in bruises if he turned out to be the cheater,” Dom retorted joining them with a glass he handed to Aggy.

  “Remember the time she arrested the Alvin dude,” Garret chuckled as his wife and Dom who knew the story giggled.

  “What happened,” Brad asked, curious about Aggy’s cousin. “Well the guy told her he would be out for a business trip. She knocked off work and decided to go to his apartment, clean up and do his laundry.”

  He was about to lecture them on the pros and cons of ladies who gave in easily, started doing the guys laundry, cooked for them and slept with them before the I do’s except the audience was different from the one he dealt with most of the time. This one, prepositioned people. He looked at Aggy’s innocent face not believing she was the same woman who was making their good Ethan be a rogue. Having heard the idea came from Pamela, he wasn’t surprised at all; rather shocked that Aggy had taken the bait that might ruin her friendship with Ethan for good.

  “Bottom line she caught him with another lady. Took him to the station and charged him with finding an illegal substance in his home. It was a Friday. The poor dude stayed the whole weekend without bail and you should have seen him on Monday, raving like a lunatic that Pammy girl was a psycho.”

  Brad laughed at hearing that, “Aggy do you hate me that much to give me such a fate.” Before Agatha could reply, they heard Sophie’s voice from the dance floor screaming, “Happy Birthday Cookie,” after she spotted him coming their way.

  They could see his grin widen at her antics as Greg shushed her up for acting like a five year old. This wasn’t a surprise party but rather their get together as that’s h
ow they usually celebrated all their birthdays. Far away from the prying eyes, with family and friends.

  “Thanks Soph,” he said and hugged her. “I smell trouble,” Marg whispered in Aggy’s ears as she also looked at the hunk dressed in his blue torn denim jeans, white sneakers, white t-shirt and red blazer, all his brand. The cornrows had been renewed and showed off his clean scalp as they were neatly plaited. His lithe strong body nearly made Agatha drool as he winked at her and hugged his friends.

  Martha followed behind with Ethan’s dad Joe with the cake having denied the birthday boy to carry it on his own. Placing it on the table, she lit the candles and his friends gathered around, sang the birthday song for him. Ethan blew the candles after and cut the cake before distributing it. His parents left afterwards while the rest went back to settle down with refreshments in hand.

  “Is that it?” Sophie asked baffled.

  “Yep, that’s how we celebrate his birthday.”

  Sophie looked dejected while Greg whispered in her ear, “Told you there wasn’t a need to primp up.” Sophie had dressed in a black bare back jump suit that had a plunging neckline which managed to tie his tongue in a knot. The one piece if it could be called that exposed her beautiful long legs and thighs and might have been perfect for a pool party while his fingers inched to remove her from it.

  It was rather skimpy and Greg had almost sent her to change it. She was a mother to their son, the wife of the CEO to Henderson Construction, the daughter in law of a retired minister of the word and of course the face of Susan Collins Home for battered women. He had mentioned that amidst kisses and the urge to strip her naked as she called him a pervert and it was only him who noticed. With her twinkling eyes, she had pointed out that he liked her to dress in that manner before which had him scratching the back of his throat and making funny sounds anticipating another child so to make her go back to wearing the shapeless gowns and baring her body to him alone.