Family Business

PROLOGUE

It was 8pm but the heat brushing Sally’s skin made it feel like the sun blasting afternoon all over again. None of that mattered for three months ago Sally would never have foreseen herself strolling down the road with Jophrey Sr and their five months baby boy who was twiddling in his pram. “The good news is I won’t be selling powder anymore and the bad news is I will be working for my dad.”

Sally beamed, “I never wanted you to turn back on your family but why the sudden change? Your parents made it obvious to me that I am a gold digger interested in nothing but their wealth.”

“I asked my father that exact question. He bellied up and said I won’t have my eldest son turn into a peddler.”

“So what does this change in occupation entail?”

Jophrey Snr wrapped his hand around his wife. “It means we are leaving the ghetto.” Sally kissed his left cheek. “The funny thing is when I was leaving he mumbled something about the Shaloms having his head on a pitchfork.”

“Honey, that family has the whole town scratching their heads.”

It was now fifteen minutes after eight and the streets were beginning to empty. They had paid little attention to their surroundings, a necessary talent to maintain their sanity. Since Jophrey joined the gangs his popularity nosedived from a promising young man to joining the neighborhood’s gild of undesirables. A loud screeching noise coming from a skidding range rover immediately grabbed their attention. Jophrey shoved mother and child behind his back as it sped towards them. Two men popped from its side windows each holding an automatic rival. “Get Down!” Jophrey Sr shouted. Eight gun shots ripped through his body. He tumbled down, along the way fixing his half shut eyes on his son. He postulated what was to be his last smile for not a single bullet strayed to the innocent child. “Forgive me.”

Sally knelt in the pool of blood. Her sobbing could crumble mountains. As his eyes closed never to open again Sally effortlessly freed them both. “My husband, I forgive you.”

CHAPTER 1

The glare of victory consumed Sally. Another brutal challenge ending in a successful fend off. In as many months she had to convince the board against accepting a hostile takeover from the Shalom family. Staring in full contempt was Mesa Shalom. By far he was the most nauseated by the outcome. Mesa actively pushed for a sale and yet again Sally was a stumbling block thwarting his every move.

They hailed from two contrasting backgrounds. Sally was a single mother in her late thirties brought up in a middle income family. Her journey to the top had its share of wiggling through narrow passages. In comparison, Mesa was a shrilled yet canny businessman whose family influence placed him in equal terms with his rival. In his burning eyes Sally sensed that same old reassurance of inexorable defiance. To pacify an edgy situation, she pretended to be absent minded as she left the boardroom.

For a person of high pedigree Sally’s office showcased her echelons. The room was not short of space, composing of affluent furnishing to bring glisten and color. A scent akin to fresh honey made it unalike anywhere else. Her working desk consisted of a finely cut glass table top supported by three aluminium poles. After taking a moment to applaud herself Sally reached for her mobile phone which was deep inside her handbag. As a norm she switched it off before the board meeting. The meeting itself had gone past its scheduled time, lasting three hours with a vote to end the bickering. Out of fifteen board members nine voted against a takeover. With all her bones weighed by fatigue Sally’s muscles were stiff as dried cement. The thought of driving back home sapped any vigor which was leftover. She set in her aluminium chair swinging left and right only to be disturbed by a colleague asking if she was free to share a beer. Her mood carried a euphoric cloud befitting a glass of whiskey but his offer only reminded Sally of her duties as a mother. She swiftly refused stressing her hurting toes. Ironically as soon as he left Sally’s eyes sluggishly closed.

After dozing for close to thirty minutes she awoke in fraught of time. Sally grabbed her handbag and made a quick inspection to ensure her car keys were inside. In all the years she spent at the helm of the Gold Bank each day seemed like a new challenge to convince her male counterparts a woman leading them wasn’t a far-fetched idea especially when the balance sheet only failed to register a profit once in five years since her promotion.

From her handbag Sally reached for keys to open the doors to her Mercedes Benz but her phone now plucked between her breasts began vibrating. Sally had come across countless unsubstantiated claims of the risk of getting breast cancer as a result of her unceasing practice. Unfortunately, this far bearing consequence only came to mind in irksome instants. After comfortably sitting in the car Sally retrieved the phone wondering why she never takes Mesa’s advice to hire a chauffeur. Their shared job titles tended to stick them together like glue. The fanfare characterizing the night was eventually dashed on reading the text message, Amanda in Comma, docs say it’s serious. When Auntie Alice normally texted it would be followed by an incest request for money. Though saddened by the message Sally’s pain was transient.

Growing up in a small town like Shalomville Amanda and Sally were magnetic opposites. As long as the activity in question was in public glare Amanda had an upper hand. She was more beautiful and physically gifted than her little sister. Her trophy case ranged from medals and trophies in athletics to beauty pageants. Being the town’s ever cheered girl Amanda became the family favorite. The only area Sally bettered her sister was in academics. In all respects she was a nerd. Being so bright her entrance into the most prestigious schools came by invitation. The sky was the limit. Their adult lives resembled a reverse of fortunes for money can buy prettiness and peoples adoration.

Conspicuous of Auntie Alice’s cyclic debt troubles Sally discerned she could not afford the hospital bill. Amanda was in no better shape having recently asked for an advance to pay off hairdressers at her salon. Perceiving a grim scenario Sally inevitably decided to make an overnight flight to Shalomville. Luckily her jet had been cleared for travel. She could go home, take a quick bathe and possibly grab something to soothe a rumbling stomach. Envisaging a defeated willpower Sally was supposed to force her worn out body to the airstrip.

Driving back home was the painful part. To keep herself from dozing on the wheel Sally tried tuning into different radio stations. For a Friday traffic was peculiarly free flowing. When Sally got sight of her neighborhood she switched into autonomous mode. Her muscles delightedly received the chance to slumber. The car quietly plotted its path to the garage door automatically switching back into manual control when it reached its destination. Wrinkled in that short siesta Sally pondered possibilities to delay the flight. They were no obligations to visit the office since she was scheduled to fly out on Saturday. As such an overnight trip to Shalomville was conceivable. To ensure she did not waver Sally called her first pilot informing him of a detour before they progressed to Victoria falls. As luck would have it the man was making last minute checks at the airstrip.

Minutely jaded Sally removed her shoes, grabbed her bag and tip toed into the house. “Jophrey, Jophrey!” Sally eagerly called hoping to get a quick response. 9pm was hardly the time her son retired to bed. Love is a conquering force which disregards its breeding ground, so powerful that an astute woman like Sally became a single mother during college.

Jophrey had grown into a fairly decent boy. Living in a house where he simply had to ask for what he wanted was counter balanced with the absence of a fatherly figure. Sally never talked about her first husband because she was still moaning. How could she be at peace when her fountain of life was swooped away without notice. The lingering question existed in the boy’s mind but Sally did not want to drag herself into unfathomable trenches characterizing the ending of true love.

To add a shortcoming, Jophrey had not cared enough to cook although he left pieces of pizza. To expect him to stand in front of a stove on a Friday night showcased Sally’s naivety. Lacking suitable alternatives she microwaved the pizza but a blue female bra hanging by the staircase took her aback. This would mark a second time she was to catch Jophrey pants down with a random girl. The first time she largely gave it a cold shoulder as the relationship in question was three years in making. In a world were herpes among teenagers was not far-fetched he had out shined beyond expectations.

Opening the door to his bedroom she found a tidy room lacking traces of waywardness. “Jophrey! I pray it’s not in the guest room!” Sally tried to remain emotionally sound but her heart was thumbing in violent bursts. Her disappointment was only to be crystallized. Making matters worse the girl in question was a complete stranger. “Goodness sake, what on earth are you two doing? Is this a herpes Olympiad?” Out of shame the girl wrapped herself in one of the window curtains. She held it tightly as if her world hang on it. Her supposed mate was equally having a hard time concealing his disgrace. “You do know they is nothing below that waist which my eyes have not seen.” The girl giggled as Jophrey could only utter one word in his defense.

“Ma! You’re embarrassing me.”

Sally gave a brief laughter of dismay followed by a stinging look at the girl. “Young lady, I suggest you stop messing my curtains. Clean this mess, I want both of you downstairs in the next five minutes and don’t even try giving each other remainders.” The boy’s suicidal teenage hormones made it unwise to leave him alone, a drawback to Sally’s travel arrangements.

A little latter the two teenagers made their way downstairs. Ironically the girl was putting on Sally’s old bathroom rob. “Did you lose your clothes in the semen flow?”

“Ma, Please.”

Sally ordered them to sit in the living room. To her surprise they set side by side. Not having it Sally grabbed the girl’s hand and yanked her to an opposite sofa. “Did he even use a condom?” The teenager bowed down in infamy.

“Yes, we did.” Jophrey interjected in time to save his lovebird from a mother’s wrath.

“Just making sure, last time Patricia seemed uncertain. Young lady what is your name?”

“Nicole.”

“Where are your clothes?” She exhibited attributes of a thief caught red handed in the middle of a robbery. Her voice on the other hand was naturally soft and sweet to hear. In perspective Sally found her a lot more satisfactory than Patricia. Though unequivocal in her actions Sally was stuck in a parental nightmare, she was clueless on what to do.

“They fell out of the window.” Sally smirked on her botched attempt to flee. Such theatrics out of a potential daughter in law would scare any mother.

“Nicole, do you want your face to be ruined by a mad woman?” Still engrossed by humiliation Nicole couldn’t utter a single word but responded by shaking her head. “Then it would be prudent of you to get your clothes and take mine off.” Terrified, the teenager waddled out of the house.

“What is wrong with you? I take my eyes off you for a second and you are out of control.” The ordeal had scrapped a good chunk out of Sally’s time. At this juncture the solution was bringing Jophrey along and hope the girl lived nearby.

“It just happened.” Sally was flabbergasted.

“You are going to narrate those exact words to her parents.” She deliberated whether whipping the both of them was not the best course of action. It might not entirely hold them back but it would make them think twice before engaging in fallacy. Sally gave him a strong admonition; hopeful it would suffice to keep Jophrey from further inviting strange girls into her home.

Nicole returned entirely dressed up. To Sally’s astonishment she was the daughter of a family which had just moved in across the street. She ordered Jophrey to pack his bags while she accompanied the girl to her house. In such situations she found it easier to be the girls parent. Having introduced herself and welcoming them to the neighborhood Sally articulated what happened only to be startled with their unfazed looks. It appeared as if this was not the first time their daughter was caught in an uncompromising position. Without an agreement on the best course of action they opted to deal with the matter on Sally’s return.

It was almost midnight and Sally could not afford to pack her stuff fearing the pilots would undoubtedly be weary of waiting. On a positive note Jophrey had finished loading his bags. Sally was sure he was better off missing the last two days of schooling than to leave him to turn her house into a brothel. The drive to the airport was filled with more admonishment of a mother to a renegade son. “We should go to church more often.” Jophrey could sense his liberties being stripped away. Though Sally would once in a while force him to attend she never enforced it as a rule. After pondering Jophrey found her suggestion too sweet an opportunity to sweep away. He could afford to trade three hours of church for the impish tag firmly hanging around his neck. A nippy acceptance would give him away whilst a blunt refusal would steer the owls nest. With both available options being detestable he settled to keep quiet. “Are you sure she is not pregnant? Most of these girls are looking for nice guys to dump their babies.”

“She is not.”

“So you talked about it?”

Sally’s reprimand was so much that Jophrey received the first flickering lights emerging from the airport with salutation. By now he was firmly assured if he got a girl pregnant they won’t be any financial assistance coming from his mother’s purse. The punishment did not end in words as Sally made sure he carried the luggage.

Sally texted Auntie Alice hoping her sister’s health was within medical control. Her reply was almost instant. She is still in ICU. By the look of things, she is not any better. Her response was to push a visually distraught son to move faster. Finding no queue at the private reception their passage quickened. When an airport attendant tried to help Jophrey with the luggage Sally moved in to forbid him, she was not done grueling him.

Auspiciously the pilots were still around and the plane ready for take-off. “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting for too long?” Sally summarized her short ordeal getting the benefit of doubt from employees who had no option but to buy every word she conjured.

Sally’s concern shifted to Amanda. She couldn’t imagine a world without her sister. It would tear Auntie Alice into pieces if she ever was to succumb to her sickness. Before getting into her favorite seat she ensured Jophrey safely buckled up. It was a mother’s surety that her anger was only a passing phase but she was going to ensure his trip would be no different to a regular drive on a school bus. Jophrey dared not to touch the entertainment hub. Once the plane started moving Sally was happy to get a short nap and hope for the best as far as Amanda was concerned.