“Happy birthday Sarah Canon!”
“Oh it is your day Sarah! We can’t wait to cut the cake and give you our expensive gifts!”
A female voice sounded from a Masarati, once the car halted by the side of Sarah
Sarah blushed, had her soft, well-toned, hands on her mouth in awe.
I perched behind a tree, staring at Sarah Canon hoping my help was going to come from her, as she was the last resort that struck in my head.
Sarah Canon was the only child and daughter of the oil magnate Canon Johnson. No doubt she was the daughter of a billionaire whose outrageous arrogant character I got to know when she visited the Morgan Group to clench an oil distribution contract with Morgan Harris. At the time she had concluded her conference meeting with Morgan and his stake holders and didn’t know how Lala, a mastiff and our security dog got released on her. She was helpless; all she did was scream at the tops of her voice.
I was at the account department at the time, collecting documents which I would deliver at the other branches of Morgan Group, when I ran to her rescue, repelled the mastiff and led her to her yellow Lamborghini before her security came through.
She had appreciated me with a smile, a few introductions and hopes to be acquaintance before I went to jail.
At another time before I went to prison, when she came to clench an oil merchandizing contract with our Spanish client, Mr. La Makaze, she had issues with translation as Makaze was an ardent native Spanish speaker. No one at Morgan Group could do her translation for her. And while passing to deliver the food to staff of Morgan Group, I overheard her nagging. I volunteered and did her translation meritoriously at no fee.
Sarah had given me her complementary card and promised me vividly, “Anytime you can call on me, I would be of help,”
Right now Sarah was all I had and this was the time I needed her help. She was the only person that could be of help. She never came on my mind all this while. Her father, Canon Johnson was the wealthiest oil magnate in Rio Hondo.
A few years back, he maintained the number one spot in the Rio Hondo oil market with a gross net worth of sixty five billion dollars; that was huge at the time. And this had infuriated Morgan Harris who at the time was worth thirty billion dollars.”
Minutes dragged by and I was still perched behind the tree observing as Austin Martin, Rolls Royce, Masarati Cadbrio, Lamborghini and Ferrari of different colors drove into the Fanny villa with children of moneybags, multimillionaires, capitalist and Croesus of Rio Hondo alight from them, having handy luxurious gifts amidst smiles as they approached the celebrant , Sarah Canon.
Sarah was donning a super model polka-dotted mini-gown from the Italian Fashion Stock. She had a pink pur across her shoulders with curls of diamond bracelet and necklace glistening on her neck and wrist. Hefty heavily armed security flanked around her.
This daughter of a fat cat was just going to be of help to me. I perched at my spot, breathed hard and felt depressed as her rich cronies celebrated her with their luxuries.
“Heh, Sarah ,” a guy that just alighted from a Benz Maybach sounded, “Happy birthday,” he said and flashed a pearl of diamond bracelet.
“Wow. This is fabulous,” Sarah appreciated and left her mouth even wider when she seemed to have seen the POS slip, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! This is worth fifteen million dollars. Damn! Thank you Fredrick.”
I swallowed hard, rubbed my eyes of the unbelievable sight.
“Today is your day. You deserve more. I just concluded my world tour, so I stopped in Saudi Arabia to buy you this.”
Sarah opened her embrace and they hugged.
“Heh, birthday, girl! Every twenty fifth of August must get my bank account balance weeping for your sake,” a chubby Caucasian girl sounded from her Porsche as soon as she halted.
Quickly her security alighted, opened the trunk and started unloading the money tree. They were about seven of them; I couldn’t believe wads of dollars were gathered into ten layers just to form a tree.
I rubbed my eyes in astonishment. Depression set into my head.
Sarah was still hugging the chubby. “This must have cost you much, Abigail,” she said, her eyes blazing with joy.
“Ten million dollars isn’t much, Sarah. Your next birthday I am going to make it twenty million,” the chubby assured Sarah.
“Have you forgotten in Abigail’s birthday, you gifted her that Posche car, uh Sarah,” an ectormoph , tall girl sounded and stretched out her hand to present a diamond bracelet, “Happy birthday, Sarah from me to you.”
“Oh thank you dear, Sarah,” said Sarah with a hug and a cheek brush.
“I have seen my helper,” I mumbled within myself, glanced at her complementary and got ready to approach Sarah Canon.
The party was about to steam up and Sarah was about stepping away into the crowd when she heard her name twice from somewhere behind.
“Sarah! Sarah!” I scuttled hastily. I believed she thought it was probably one of her affluent friends calling her to give her birthday gift. But the moment she swirled around and saw my unkempt, muck looks, she started gliding away to her security.
“Who the hell are you? Hold on!” she snapped as I caught up with her fast enough.
“It is me, Sarah. Brian Patrick,” I said and shook my long hair behind my neck, since it was masking my face.
“Brian Patrick?” she scowled her face, probably contemplating, “Who is Brian Patrick?” she asked, covered her nose and kept at her distance.
And I was reminded of my body odor. She sized me from head to toe, with emphatic gaze on the torn, ragged cloths that clad my lanky body and my scraggly beards.
“Who is Brian Patrick?” she pulled back her face yet trying to recall.
I reminded her “At Morgan Group, the delivery boy that saved you from the mastiff fifteen years ago, also I did your Spanish translation when you did business with La Makaze.”
With the gloom on her brow, she seemed to be lost in remembrance, and then I added, “But at least you know Morgan Harris.”
She gave a nod. “Yes, I know Morgan Harris because he is a billionaire and an associate. All I know about you is an unkempt, smelling ragged boy standing before me and mentioning Morgan Harris he barely knows.”
I protested, “No, no Morgan was my former boss. I was his delivery boy. I thought you would recognize me by mentioning him,” I said coldly and lowered my gaze in shame. You gave me this complementary card to always seek your help.” I flashed the card in her face.
She dragged a frown, “So what do you want from me, Mr. Delivery boy?” she queried very arrogantly and winked at me.
I smacked my lips, thinking it was already a lost course, “I …um… am out of prison. Nobody has agreed to employ me. My mother is down at the hospital with a kidney disease, our house rent is due. We can’t even feed, please can you loan me at least half a million dollars. It will go a long way to keep my mother alive. I will work hard and pay back …”
“Can you listen to yourself? Half a million dollars? First you look unkempt and smell. Who would employ someone with your looks and body odor?”
I interposed, “That is the problem. I can’t even afford two cents to shave. Like I said the loan will go a long way…”
She interrupted me, “Excuse me, Mr. Delivery boy. To start with, you don’t belong here. You are embarrassing me. I wouldn’t want my rich friends to see us together. Go to the street, stand, and beg that is where you belong,” she beamed and started drifting away.
“Hold on, Sarah, please don’t do this to me. I know you and you know me. This is your card. If I don’t know you how then did I get your card?”
She swirled around, “You are embarrassing me. I don’t know men of your class. Security!” she called once she turned her gaze to the party of security standing by, “Please bundle this ragged boy out of this villa. I got a birthday,” she ordered.
“No, Sarah, no,” I protested as her security carried out her orders.
“Go to the street, stand and beg that is where you belong.”
Those words of Sarah hung in my head as I walked down the busy road in depression and thought.
Suddenly fleets of Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Masarati, Posche, Benz Maybach started zooming across the road in convoy. Merry voices sounded from the cars and I recognized some faces. They were Sarah’s friends, who had come to celebrate with her.
And then I saw her. She was wearing sunshades now and staring out to me from her yellow Lamborghini. I paused to stare sternly at her flamboyant lifestyle.
Like every other person, Sarah Canon stigmatized and disappointed me.
I looked in the sky for my next consolation and then my wife jumped in my mind.
“Melissa Fanny! What would become of her now?” I mumbled within myself, and walked away to visit her in their villa, the Fanny Villa…
For over two minutes, Melissa Fanny, stood gaping and staring irritatingly at me. I abandoned myself to shame and uncertainty as I smacked my lips tightly and pressed my hands in front.“Brian Patrick?”She called’ her voice was still and quarrelsome to an extent. All the while we stood staring at each other in shock, her father, Fanny Luis, a middle aged billionaire and the richest oil and gas tycoon in Rio Hondo rolled his eyes at me and kept gulping and pouring his wine impatiently. His jaw set.Her grandmother Lisa Bake through her conical goggles couldn’t stop peering at me from her sitting position. She blinked anxiously as her nose wrinkled.“Is this not your husband? Is this not the same Brian Patrick that siphoned fifteen billion dollars from Community Central Bank?” Lisa Bake, her grandmother queried.“You are right, granny.” Fanny replied and afterwards mumbled, “The criminal son-in-law is out of jail.”I stole a glance at him, lowered my gaze in hurt and swallowed hard, ju
Melissa sniffed. I believed she was fighting back her tears just as I did. Her gaze came upon her diamond engagement ring before she flashed her fingers at me.“A better ring has replaced yours, Brian Patrick. On the night you were convicted of the said crime, I flushed your cheap wedding ring down the toilet. You don’t deserve this heart, Brian Patrick. You have no place on this finger!” she yelled at me so loudly that I noticed Lisa Bake, her granny trudge to the window to stare at us.I scowled my face. I could feel the pounding of my heart against my fragile chest as I argued if she was bluffing or not.“What do you mean, Melissa? I married you before going to jail. We were happy and fated to be together forever until…” my voice broke out and snapped.She interrupted me radically and rolled her eyes, “Go ahead and complete your statement. Until what … until you went to jail, right? You don’t deserve me Brian Patrick. In two weeks, I will be legally married to Zion Don, son to the
“Did you see the divorce I sent to your email?” Melissa Fanny had a fierce expression on her face when she asked me that question.But my expression was more fierce than hers that it could boil an egg. What was she talking about? Divorce? I said within me.“What divorce are you talking about, Melissa?” I queried and my jaw set abruptly.“She rolled her eyes at me and her eyes gleamed as she said, “My family has gotten petition for dissolution of our marriage.” She shook her head in disappointment and her eyes dimmed as though she was going to break down in tears. “Let’s divorce. Listen up Brian Patrick, I don’t want us to over flog this issue, if you watch closely you would see my father and granny staring at us through the window. My father has warned me not to have anything to do with you anymore and he is beginning to feel irritated seeing you frequent his villa. So once you get the email, please sign the divorce and that puts an end to us.” Her voice was still and offensive as her
“You can’t be my delivery boy looking all unkempt, scraggly and barefooted. Here you are,” he picked up a pair of new slippers and tossed at me, “This is for you, Brian Patrick.”He was Hoffers Greenfield CEO of Hoffers Intercontinental Foods. He was in his early thirties, burly bald-head, charismatic and a mogul of chains of food industries. He was going to be the only CEO that accepted to employ me based on my experience as a delivery boy at Morgan Group.“Thank you, boss! Thank you boss,” I appreciated repeatedly and swam out of my gloom as I was ready to have a fresh start, I bowed my head gratefully as I couldn’t stop glaring at this blue slippers which I never thought of buying after I lost my previous one.He took out a pair of white overall which had, HOFFERS FOOD DELIVERY inscribed at the back, and tossed at it at me. “Hence forth that will be your uniform,” he said yet further, “You see, Brian Patrick, I don’t usually employ ex convict. We have our policies. I don’t usually
If someone had told me that a time would come in my miserable life when I would be serving as a delivery boy at the wedding ceremony of my wife, I wouldn’t have believed it.Ever since my boss, Hoffers told me about the services of Hoffers Food being hired by Zion Don and Melissa for their wedding I started regretting getting a job at Hoffers. I couldn’t stop brooding over the shame, pain, and disappointment that would cloud my face on the day I would watch with my two eyes as Melissa Fanny would be taken as wife.My wife?Was this fated to be or was it coincidence? How possible was that? Being a gust was even out of it let alone being a delivery boy on duty on that day. It would definitely be the most horrible moment of my life .I had been all tears sober and moody since the news wet my ears.The Fannys rejected me because I was poor. Before I married Melissa, it had been my dream to be called their son-in-law and when I first met Melissa, I never knew she was a descendent of the Fa
Usually Hoffers Greenfield was the last soul to leave the restaurant; most times he would be the first to leave after he must have balanced the financial records with the account department.Gratefully, I brazed myself for running down to the restaurant fast enough. And once I saw his black Rolls Royce still elegantly parked at the garage I gave an appreciative nod confirming his presence; the run was worth.I was in his office now, squatting, gasping and catching my breath after running more than two hundred meters.“What is it, Brian Patrick? What are you still doing here? I thought you have left for home? What happened?” he hounded me with tons of questions as I shut my eyes still catching my breath.“Boss…Boss…” my voice broke out and then I sucked back my breath to speak yet further, “Boss my family is in deep mess,” I intoned finally and wiped mu sweating face, “I just returned now to see my father and our property outside and the house locked by our landlord.”Hoffers raised a
When I paced down to father, I met him snoring and lying carelessly on the cold ground with a sizeable bag serving as pillow. Through the flash of lightning I could see his teary face and I could tell the baldy had dried up his tears gland with weeping and gnashing of teeth.I controlled my wailing as I wept under my breath, daring not to arouse his sorrowful countenance again. Spring wasn’t friendly. The cold misty wind often blew at us with the shivering effect really scary. I gazed upon father and our property and wondered how much of such ruins would befall us.I thought I wasn’t going to stay up all night but as soon as my eyes became heavy, a striking, clapping sound of thundering broke out and without gross hesitation a heavy down pour ensued. I flinched and father did same but with at a quicker pace.“It is raining!” I murmured and lost in my gloom; whether to tend to my father or our property. I glanced around and there was no shelter at eyeshot. We were stranded in the dark
The wedding ceremony between Melissa Fanny and Zion Don, son to the world richest man, Saint Don was an embodiment of wealth showcase. Rio Hondo was on total shut down, as all the billionaires and tycoons from all walks of life honored the invitation in a remarkably flamboyant manner.On our side, as the Food Vendors that would host the refreshment, Chairman Hoffers Greenfield made a tailor-made jumpsuit for all his staffers. Earlier in the week, when I was piling and unloading the packs of food I would deliver to residents, I had seen the POS slip of money credited to Hoffers Food for the intercontinental recipe that would be served at the wedding ground.Ten million dollars worth of English intercontinental refreshment!The POS was bearing Saint Don as the creditor.Saint Don! Indeed he was the world richest man and countless times I had wondered how fortunate Zion Don was to be the heir to the Saint Don Group. Zion Don had enormous wealth at his disposal and this was the reason th