Chapter Four
Edited by Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
The next month, Kevin put up his paintings for exhibition. He was surprised that all his pictures sold out at a very high price.
Obinna was very proud of his son, especially when Kevin told him that he was planning on buying a bigger land to start up his own big company.
That same month, Kevin started work on the foundation for the new company. Kevin had hired professionals to make sure that everything was done perfectly.
‘You’ll become the richest man soon,’ Precious said proudly to Kevin, ‘just like Bill Gates.’
Kevin smiled at his little sister, but never said a word. He knew that he was going to be very successful in life, and silently he blessed his father for firing him. If Obinna hadn’t fired him, he wouldn’t have known that he could survive on his own. Yes, he was from a rich family but that doesn’t mean that he should be spoilt to the point that he becomes too lazy to realise that he could do something for himself.
Just before the month of December ended, Desmond set out to Lagos State. He only had his bag and a few cash with him. The money wasn’t enough to start up a business, so he rang Kevin two days later to help him with some money.
‘Kevin,’ Desmond said on the phone as he walked on the streets of Lagos State, looking around for a perfect shop to rent for his small Spare Parts Business. ‘Can you lend me some money? Maybe like a hundred thousand naira or more?’
‘Where exactly in Lagos State are you?’ Kevin asked from the other side of the phone.
‘I’m in Ikeja right now, but,’ Desmond said, ‘I was thinking of Ikeja or maybe I could go to Ajegunle to start a small car spare parts business… What do you think?’
‘Ajegunle is a poor area,’ Kevin said. ‘I’d prefer you stay in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos. Your business will grow more there than in Ajegunle. But you can still succeed anywhere you go, whether in the capital or in the slums. Just follow your heart.’
Desmond nodded. ‘I know, but it’s the capital to start the business. Father withdrew all the money in my account. He left me with only twenty thousand naira.’
Kevin laughed. ‘Father means well.’
‘I know.’ Desmond wasn’t annoyed with what his father did, for he knew that just like Kevin he would be successful too. ‘It seems I might find my partner here,’ he said jokingly.
‘The city of Lagos is big enough to bring your future wife to you.’
Desmond laughed and hung up.
Before evening, Desmond received alert of two hundred thousand naira in his phone. He thanked Kevin for his generosity, then the following day, he rushed to an ATM spot and withdrew hundred thousand naira, leaving the other hundred thousand naira in his account.
With the money he withdrew, Desmond boarded a vehicle to Ajegunle. He wanted to start from the slums of Lagos and not in the capital city. Desmond believed that since Kevin succeeded in a little town where no one knew him, he was also hopeful to succeed.
When Desmond succeeded in renting a small shop for a very cheap price, he travelled to the market to buy spare parts to fill up his shop. Since everything was costly, he bought most of them on credit, with the hope to pay for the car spare parts later.
Despite the business competition in the state, Desmond felt that he would surely succeed. As he never told anyone about his background, no one knew that he came from a rich background let alone being a prince.
However, one morning as he finished attending to a customer and was counting the money paid to him, a lady walked inside the shop dressed in a beautiful yellow dress.
‘Desmond!’ Desmond Duke?’ the woman cheerfully called Desmond.
Desmond looked up from the money he was counting. ‘Have we met before?’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘Aren’t you from Obowo?’ the woman happily asked. ‘I have been seeing you around lately. You looked familiar. I think you are someone that I know but if you are not, then I should leave.’ She turned to leave.
‘If my name is Desmond Duke, who are you?’ Desmond felt interested to know more.
‘I am Queeneth. I live around here…though I come from Mbaitoli in Imo State,’ Queeneth said with a sweet smile as she turned back to Desmond. ‘I have been to Obowo so many times. My aunt lives there.’
‘That’s good to see someone that knows me even though I tried my best to hide my identity,’ Desmond said.
Queeneth laughed. ‘The world is too small, you know.’
Desmond nodded. ‘Are you living with your husband?’ Desmond asked after a while.
‘I am still single and searching,’ Queeneth said jokingly and Desmond laughed. ‘I live with my aunt…somewhere not far away.’
Just like that, Desmond and Queeneth became friends. After a few months, there friendship became so close that Desmond told himself that Queeneth was the woman he was going to marry.
When Desmond was certain that Queeneth was the woman for him, he decided to ring his father to tell him about the news. But first, he would have to propose to Queeneth before ringing his father. He wanted to make sure Queeneth felt the same way for him.
As Desmond had expected, Queeneth happily accepted to marry him. That same day, Desmond rang his father.
‘Is she wife material?’ Obinna asked curiously.
‘Certainly, yes,’ replied Desmond.
‘If she is as good as your mother, then I don’t think you should keep her waiting. With your business yielding profits day by day, I’m sure you’ll be able to take good care of her and your children. Bring her home already.’
‘Yes, father.’
‘But, remember that we do not accept diamond for our wedding…’
‘What if her family accepts diamond?’
‘Then, you know what to do, right?’
‘Father, I love Queeneth so much.’
‘Oh, her name is even Queeneth. That means she’s qualified to be the next queen, am I right? Anyway, you’re a man. You know what’s best for you. You are old enough to make your own decisions.’ With that, Obinna hung up the phone.
That same night, Desmond walked back and forth in his living room, thinking of what to do. He was in dilemma! What was he going to do right now? He loves Queeneth so much, and didn’t want to lose her because her people married with diamond. What was he going to do now? Was he going to end his relationship with Queeneth just because of an old tradition? Desmond was indeed confused. He wanted someone to help him with the right answer. He simply wanted to do the right thing. Queeneth was his life. She was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He couldn’t live or rather do without her.
At this moment, he remembered Kevin. His brother Kevin was full of wisdom. At this thought, he reached for his phone and dialled Kevin’s number.
‘Hello?’ Desmond said when the call went through.
‘Yes, Desmond. You sound stressed out. Is everything all right?’ Kevin asked, pouring himself a cup of orange juice. He was eating dinner in his dining.
‘Everything isn’t all right. I told you about meeting the woman I love, right?’
‘Yes, you did. Did she abandon you for another man?’
‘Queeneth will never do that. She loves me so much.’
‘Then what’s the problem?’ Kevin lifted his glass of juice to his mouth and took a giant sip.
‘You know about how our kingdom forbids people from marrying with diamond…?’
‘I know about how marrying with diamond supposedly brings nothing but bad luck. But then, I think that might just be a made-up-story to stop people from owning diamonds.’
‘Oh, come on, Kevin. I am confused right now. Queeneth’s people accepts diamond but our people hates diamond. What do I do?’
‘As kids, we read so many stories about tortoise, right?’
‘What’s your point?’
‘Calm down, Desmond. Look, it’s obvious that those stories were just people’s imagination. They are never real. They were stories told to please us. I think the same is with our diamond story. Anyway, we don’t even know why diamond became a taboo. I asked father about it, he told me that his father, our grandfather told him that he heard the story from his father…Our people kept on passing the story from generation to generation without even knowing how it all came about. I will leave you with this piece of advice. If you truly love Queeneth, then go ahead and marry her. There is no harm in trying. Look at you now. Father left you with only twenty thousand naira. I gave you only two hundred thousand for your business. You bought most of your spare parts on credits. But today, you managed to pay all that you owe, and you have even bought a land in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos. So you see, you’re a man destined for greatness. I’m sure that you’ll get through this. So, I think that at this moment you and you alone should make the decision of your life. Follow your heart.’
‘Thanks, Kevin.’
‘You’re welcome.’ With that Kevin hung up the phone.
Desmond smiled, feeling relieved. He seemed to know what to do now that he had spoken with his younger brother, Kevin.
No comments:
Post a Comment