Thursday morning.

By 6:30, I was already out of the shower and busily dressing up as I geared up for the day’s activities. For today, we were to meet the other investors in the project through Zoom. Some dudes from Andorra and Spain.

I’m pretty sure most of the participants in the room had never heard of Andorra until it was mentioned in the agenda for the day. Well, we learn every day, don’t we?

By 7 o’ clock, I was out of my room and on my way to the restaurant for breakfast. No way was I gonna let that apple juice run out before I got there! I slacked yesterday and missed out on it totally, and had to settle for orange juice. I mean, orange juice ain’t that bad, but I’m an apple juice addict. When I’m in a hotel, I need my daily dosage of apple juice. No questions asked.

I arrived at the restaurant and saw most of the participants seated, already enjoying their breakfast. Making my way to the buffet, I responded to a few greetings and waved to a few of the guys. Just a few days in and we were all bonding pretty nicely. I guess the common vision we all had was a major factor in that; we were all super pumped for this project, thanks to Sebastian.

Serving myself and getting the apple juice I had targeted (much to my delight), I joined some of the workers for the farm and chatted with them as we ate. Of course, being a Fante boy with roots in Elmina, it was easy to vibe with them. How we got interested in this aspect of farming, their experiences, the realities of office jobs being massively overrated, we spoke about them all.

Oh yeah, we went there. We really were sold a lie in our youth, being made to believe office jobs are where the money and real prestige is at. Tweaa! We all know the blue-collar folks are the ones struggling the most in this economy.

Normally, I’d spend about twenty minutes at breakfast, but I spent another thirty minutes with these gentlemen as I listened to their stories. So by the time we were done, just a few minutes remained before it was 8 o’ clock.

George, Thomas and Ebo were the names of the guys I conversed with. As they got up and made their way to the conference room, I got up, ready to follow them when I noticed a young lady enter the restaurant.

Clad in a casual pink off-shoulder dress, she looked like she was in her mid to late twenties, and she had this cute, childish look.

With the most delicate physique.

A delicate physique I knew I had seen before.

“Ah, ibi like I’ve seen this girl before oo,” I muttered to myself as she headed for the buffet. “I don’t seem to remember where…”

Then it came back.

Last night, just as I was going back to my room.

“Ahhhhh, she’s the girl next door! Aha, aha. Now I remember!”

I certainly wasn’t wrong about her looking stunning, she was a babe and a half! So obviously, I wasn’t the only one who was staring at her. Some of my Bons Farms people, as well as some other guests, were looking as she walked with a full plate to her seat.

“Hey, why don’t I say hi to her?” I said to myself. “As we’re neighbours diɛɛ, you never know.”

So I walked over to her table.

“Good morning, Miss,” I greeted gently.

She looked up at me and had the happiest of smiles on her face. “Good morning, Sir,” she responded cheerfully. “How are you?”

The expression on her face was so bright and bubbly. Like a vintage morning person.

“Oh, I’m good. I’m good. And you?”

“Oh, I’m doing great. Absolutely great.”

I couldn’t help but take a look at my watch before turning my attention back to her. “You must be one heck of a morning person, the way you’re in such good spirits at 7:15 in the morning.”

She giggled and shrugged. “I dunno why, coz I actually am not a morning person at all. I guess… I guess I’m just in a really good mood today.”

“Mmm, woke up at the right side of the bed, eh? Well, that’s good to know. My name is Richie, by the way. Richie Acquah,” I introduced myself, extending my hand.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Acquah. Marilyn,” she answered, shaking my hand.

I didn’t get that the first time. “You said?”

“Marilyn. My name is Marilyn.”

“Ohhhhh, okay, okay. Marilyn. Nice.”

There was a surname floating around my brain once the name registered. You know what surname that is, right? Of course you do!

I dunno how, but she probably read my mind. “And no, my surname isn’t Monroe. Neither is it my nickname.”

I laughed. “Of course, of course. I know. I mean, you’re not a white woman, so…”

I kinda trailed off, not knowing whether that came off as lame or weak or… racist, I guess? Good Lord, Richie, what kinda rubbish quip is that? I chastised myself.

This Marilyn girl, though, was barely moved. The pleasant look remained on her face as she nodded. Almost as if she found my embarrassment cute.

I forced a laugh and quickly switched the topic. “Anyways, I noticed you checked in last night. Room 203. I’m actually in Room 205, so I thought I’d just say hi.”

“Oh really? So you’re my next-door neighbour. Oh, lovely, lovely!” she gushed.

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s why I came to say hello. Just in case of anything. You never know what will pop up.”

Awwww, that’s so thoughtful of you. Thank you!”

“Oh, you’re most welcome. Anyways, I have a conference to attend, so uh, have a good day.”

“Sure, sure! Have a lovely day yourself!”

I smiled and walked away, heading to the conference room as I shook my head. “That sure is one cheerful human being!” I said to myself. “Even with those hella wacky statements, she was still as cheerful as a lark. Oh well, at least she didn’t humiliate me. Thank God for that…”

***

“Yes, so the land on which the farm is located is litigation free. That I can assure you of. My firm undertook extensive due diligence on it, and I can say with all confidence that barring any trespassers and all, Bons Farms is the owner of the land, and the lease granted to you is valid.”

“Wonderful! I just pray nobody will bring any court issue, because I no like court. Court is too stressful, and your courts, they waste too much time.”

“Haha, I know, Mr. Ahmed. Litigation in this country is one stressful venture. Especially if it’s land litigation.”

“Yes, yes, because I hear that it can take years. Sometimes four, sometimes five, sometimes seven whole years…”

“Oh, Mr. Ahmed, those ones are even good. I’m handling a land matter that started somewhere in 1982. It can be that bad.”

“What! 1982? But that is more than 40 years!”

“Hmmm, Mr. Ahmed. If I tell you the story behind it, I won’t finish now. But don’t stress yourself. My firm did the necessary work to ensure all is in place, so I’m pretty confident there should be little to fear…”

As the session for the day was over and the lawyer for the farm was busy chatting with Sebastian Ahmed, my mind briefly drifted to that delightful young lady.

Marilyn.

I was still quite amused by the way she acted so sweetly to me, even with that Monroe gaffe. Coz I can’t lie, I felt embarrassed the moment I let that out.

Ugh, Richie, you and your dumbass sometimes… but well, who cares? It’s not like you’re gonna move to her or anything. Heavens forbid you even do such. She’s just a neighbour for the next couple of days. So forget it. It’s immaterial.

I nodded. Yep, no point fretting about that. In any case, she didn’t mind, so that’s that…

“Mr. Acquah!”

“Yes, Mr. Ahmed!”

“Please, our lawyer would like to see you.”

“Alright, coming.”

Yeah, you should not be thinking too much about her, Richie. She’s just a temporary neighbour…