“Now listen up, madam, because I’m only going to say this once. Your constant prying into our personal matters is not only intrusive but downright disrespectful. Particularly your incessant questioning Asor about why we haven’t had a baby yet. Do you think it’s any of your business? Do you honestly believe it’s appropriate to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
This morning was a morning of passions in the Aforo household. From the ecstatic passion of knowing each other as husband and wife in the early hours of the morning, to the delighted passion of anticipating new and long-awaited beginnings, to the furious passion of husband defending his wife from the insensitivity of one of her cousins.
Nana Asor had had the phone on speaker when Awuradjoa – a cousin who rarely ever got in touch – called, and asked how things were. The conversation had been okay up until the point where Awuradjoa asked about them having children, and Nana Asor mentioned they were not expecting yet.
The rather sneery tone of the cousin’s suggestion that Nana Asor’s ‘biological clock’ was ticking and was waiting too long to get pregnant, coupled with the hurt look on her face, was enough for Bruce to step in, snatch the phone from her, and proceed to give the lady a dressing down.
“Oh, please, sir, it’s not like I’m mocking her ooo, I’m just concerned-“
“Shove that useless concern of yours up your backside, okay? Rubbish! Nobody asked for your concern! If you really are concerned, stay in your corner and pray, don’t come and be asking stupid questions, do you understand me? We don’t need your reminders, your judgments, or your unwanted advice. Our decisions about starting a family are between us and us alone. It’s not up for discussion, debate, or gossip among anyone else but us.
“So, please, do us a favor and keep your silly questions to yourself. The state of our marriage, the status of my wife’s womb, is none of your concern. It is not for you to pry into our personal affairs and demand explanations for things you have no right to know. The next time you call my wife again and ask her silly questions, you’ll regret it! Nonsense! Stupid witch!”
Bruce ended the call, then looked at Nana Asor.
Her eyes welled up with tears as she embraced Bruce tightly, feeling a mixture of relief and gratitude flooding through her. She buried her face into his shoulder, overcome with emotion.
On what was supposed to be a good day, as Bruce was going for the second interview with Mr. Manning, the last thing she had expected was another cousin talking recklessly to her about pregnancy matters.
And especially that reference to her ‘biological clock’, which was something she really despised hearing. Awuradjoa had really woken up that morning with an intention to damage her happiness. Nothing short of pure witchcraft.
But thank God for Bruce! Thank God for a man who wouldn’t stand for his wife to be disrespected.
“Bruce,” she whispered, her voice choked with tears, “thank you. Thank you for standing up for me like that. It means more to me than I can express.”
Bruce held her close, his arms encircling her protectively. He gently stroked her back, soothing her as she trembled. “Asor,” he murmured, his voice tender yet firm, “we’re a team. I won’t let anyone disrespect you or our marriage. We’re in this together, no matter what.”
Nana Asor looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears. “I love you, Bruce,” she said softly, her voice filled with sincerity. “I’m so lucky to have you by my side.”
“And I love you too, Asor. Whatever happens, we’re bound together, and we’ll deal with this together. To hell with all these nosy family members, okay? It’s you and me, and we’ll get through this.”
Nana Asor nodded.
“Good. Now, smile for me. Let me see that otherworldly smile of yours. Today’s still a good day. I’m all dressed up and ready for this interview, it’s my final week with that stupid wizard, and you collected adi dɛdɛ this morning. That’s way more special than those witch’s words, abi?”
Nana Asor’s smile had returned without fail at the mention of those. “Hehehe, you’re right, you’re right,” she agreed, wiping her eyes. “Top notch as always. And yeah, one step closer to freedom from Las Palmas Terrence Fletcher.”
Bruce burst out laughing. That was the new nickname she had cooked up for Lorenzo, in light of his ridiculous reasons for bullying Bruce. “Yes, yes, freedom from him. That man diɛɛ, I never see stupidity like that before.”
“Me sef. The man is sick in the head paaa…”
***
In the Fugah home, Deladem was heading to work as usual, even though he wasn’t going to be on the morning breakfast show for that day. There were some other assignments the general manager had given him, so he needed to attend to those before heading to the radio station.
Dressed up as always, he made his way through the living room, where Delasi, who had begun her annual leave, was seated on the couch, watching an interview.
She called out softly to him. “Deladem!”
He stopped, and turned to her, instantly switching to cold mode. “Yeah,” he responded.
Delasi swallowed hard. “Umm… did you talk to Mom and Dad last night about their decision?”
Deladem nodded curtly. “Yeah, I did.”
“And…?”
He shrugged dryly. “They’re not changing their minds.”
Delasi sighed softly. “I see.”
He nodded. “I’ll see you later.” With that, he quickly made his way out of the living room and out the front door.
Delasi had barely nodded before he bounced out of the door. A flicker of disappointment crossed her features, and with a resigned sigh, she watched him walk out the door. “Same old same old,” she muttered to herself sadly.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, their younger brother, Delali, had observed the frosty exchange from a distance, his heart heavy with concern. He had noticed the tension brewing between his siblings for weeks now, ever since that strange girl unleashed that weird gibberish on Deladem, and today was no exception.
He had thought things would naturally heal themselves with time, but now he was starting to doubt that. Deladem was still holding on to the hurt tightly, and clearly had no intentions of letting it go.
As he witnessed Deladem’s cold demeanor and Delasi’s silent acceptance, he shook his head. Something was deeply amiss.
And something needed to be done.
***
With the interview wrapped up, Deladem stepped out of the room, feeling a good sense of accomplishment about the assignment. He had just finished interviewing a former tennis star about her life after retirement, and the conversation had flowed effortlessly. Her story wasn’t the happiest, though, so the hope was that the needed aid would come her way once it was aired.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and read through the messages that had piled up during his time in the interview.
Among them was a WhatsApp notification from Mr. Abeka Manning, Bruce’s boss-to-be. Instantly excited, he tapped on the message.
“I’ve got someone you should talk to. This contact might be able to help your friend, Jake, find a job. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Below the message was the details of a gentleman named Henry.
Deladem’s face broke out into a wide smile.
“Perfect. Just perfect!” he exclaimed to himself as he typed out a thank you message. He had not been too expectant that the man would get back to him when he mentioned that he had no more vacancies in his group of companies, but would reach out to others and see. After all, he was a very busy man; it was more than likely he would forget.
Thank goodness he hadn’t! Now he couldn’t wait to reach out to the contact and see if he could indeed assist Clarence in finding employment.
***
“Well, I’d have to say that… I’ve always been passionate about numbers. Finance for me isn’t just about cedis and pesewas and how high or low the money is; it’s more about… you know, understanding the story behind the numbers, which I think is the heartbeat of a business. Growing up, my family faced financial struggles in the earlier days, and even though thankfully, things got better, I would say that it ignited a passion in me to master the language of money as much as possible, to be able to help others navigate it with confidence. Especially where companies are concerned.”
“I see. Interesting. That’s quite an impressive piece of info, Bruce. So tell me, what do you do outside of work? What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?”
“Ummm… well, the usual watching football, watching series… I’d say those are the major things you’ll find me doing.”
“I see. So football… which team do you support? I’m a Real Madrid fan, by the way.”
“Hehe, well, I support Manchester United.”
“Oh, that’s sad to hear. Sorry, wai.”
Bruce laughed out loud.
In the sleek and modern office space of Ascendancy Advisors, Bruce sat across from Mr. Abeka Manning, the CEO of AAC Group of Companies. Abeka, who was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, exuded an aura of confidence and friendliness as he leaned back in his chair, studying Bruce with a keen eye and listening to every word he said.
From the moment Bruce entered, Mr. Manning informed him that this was a purely informal interview session. As far as he was concerned, his mind was made up about Bruce, and this was solely to ‘fulfill all righteousness’. So it had been twenty minutes of the older man finding out more about Bruce and his background and other interests.
Bruce had initially felt quite nervous when showing up for this interview, but five minutes in, and all that tension had disappeared. Abeka Manning truly was a pleasant personality, and his efforts to make him feel at home were laudable. This couldn’t been a better jump: from a total asshole of a boss to a total gentleman of a boss.
Deladem had struck gold with this man, that was for sure.
“Anyways, that sad aspect of your life aside, what else should I know about you?”
Still giggling at the playful jab, Bruce composed himself. Then he nodded. “Umm… so I’m a firm believer in continuously learning and self-improvement. And uh, yeah, I’m always seeking out new challenges and opportunities to grow both personally and professionally. I think it’s important that as a person, you don’t stay too comfortable with what you have. The sky’s the limit, so… I always want to become a better person.”
Mr. Manning nodded. “Excellent. That’s great to hear. I always want to work with people who want to seek to push themselves further in life. Okay, so, I think we’ve managed to fulfill all righteousness at this point. Like I said after our first meeting, I have a good feeling about you. I think you have the right combination of skills, passion, and personality to excel in this role. I saw it in your CV, and after these two meetings, you’ve convinced me even more. So yeah, this process is over now. Consider yourself the newest member of our team. Welcome aboard as the new Finance Director of Ascendancy Advisors.”
Bruce’s heart soared within him as he heard those words. He knew it was coming, and what a joy it was to finally hear them!
The Sandfeld nightmare was almost over! All the foolishness he woke up and put up with was now becoming a thing of the past. Now… he was on the ascendancy.
Literally and figuratively.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Manning! I promise I won’t let you down.”
“I have no doubt about that. So, I’ll get the paperwork and all ready this weekend, and on Monday, it’s time to make some magic happen.”
Perfect! All is going well for Bruce. And who else enjoyed him dealing with that rude witch of a cousin? That was so needed…
