Chapter 3
2379 Words
At exactly half an hour past seven in the evening the Richards family started coming downstairs one after the other. Angela Richards was the first one to come down from her room. She was in her eighties walking down a flight of stairs with her own maid. Most of the time she would stop to catch her breath and tell stories of how she was captured by Nazis during the Second World War She had dementia. But still no one could argue with her because most were not yet born, they were not there to confirm if indeed she was lying. She would then pick up the pace and ask why the walls were blue claiming that when she went upstairs they were white.
Her maid had to explain to the best of her knowledge. Convincing Angela was like dealing with a staunch skeptic person whatever you say they never will believe you.
"Tell Ben to paint the walls white again in the morning", She said.
"Okay Mum am calling him right away", the maid said.
Another advantage with her condition was the fact that she couldn't really tell if someone was staging an act or not so the maid took out her phone and pretended to call Ben. That's when she moved another step and she stopped again. Lucky for the maid Ben and his wife Alicia were on their way down. She quickly filled him on the walls issue.
"Go do something else I will take it from here", Ben said to the maid.
"Did she tell you about the walls?" Angela asked when she heard Ben's voice.
"Yes Paul is working on it as we speak let's go mum the food is getting cold", He said.
They were all seated at the table. Ben always kept his mum on his right, his wife on his left then the remaining could take the other chairs. That day it was only Scott, Kyle and Melissa. Their small family was complete. Paul was still ensuring everything was in control before joining them. The table was filled with every kind of foods and drinks, fruits too. Roasted meat and chicken, vegetables, rice, soup, chapattis, fruits and ice cream. Everything one would have desired to eat.
"Kyle so good of you to join us but this is a family dinner", Ben said.
"He is family dad I asked him here", Scott said.
"Listen to your father Scott there is a reason he is insisting" Alicia Said.
"Don't worry Scott I will hang with the staff, am staff anyway", Kyle said smiling.
"Thank you Kyle you can join us later" Ben said.
Being the mother of the house, Alicia led the family through a word of prayer. The rest of them did not like it that much. As Richards’s empire foundation CEO she was the one using the family wealth to build churches, give donations and feed the poor and refugees in low and middle income countries. Alicia was the only prayerful member of the family, once in a while she would drag Ben and Scott to church but they would also avoid her the next Sunday.
"I saw the news you need to have control when talking to the media", Ben said staring at Melissa.
Everyone had started eating apart from him. Even Paul had joined them and was already seated yet Ben had the knife and fork still in his hands.
"Ruth left me all alone...”
"She did her part. You need to stand your ground the media can crush you trust me I have done this for too long"
"Understood", she said.
"So what did you want to say dad I can't eat with all this suspense in the air", Scott complained, “It’s suffocating”
"I have some bad news", Ben said ironically, he also started to eat.
They all kept looking at him even Angela knew what was happening. Ben was good at keeping his problems to himself. Joy he could share but his problems were his alone unless it was bad enough. Even his wife Alicia was waiting to hear what he had to say with the rest of the family despite being his wife for close to four decades. The only man who knew his secrets was Paul, his right hand man.
"Paul will you tell us what my son is keeping from the rest of us?" Angela Richards asked.
"Yeah he must know”, Melissa said.
"I think it's good if he said it himself", Paul said pouring himself some wine.
"Guys, am sick!” He said dropping the cutlery.
They all looked at him surprised. None of them knew whether he was sick. The last time they talked about sickness he was out of the woods, free from the Jaws of cancer.
“I have been going to my doctor", He said.
"You mean Allan? I knew it, he has been acting weird around me lately", Scott said.
"How weird?" Alicia asked.
"Keeping something from me kind of weird", Scott said looking disturbed.
He was not always on the same page with his father but he still adored that man. He respected him for building their family business from the ground, he just didn't like his excessive uptight behavior and rules, his ways of doing things.
"He told me my cancer is back bigger and better", Ben dropped the bombshell making it sound like a joke.
They all gasped, except for Paul who already knew what was happening. Alicia and Angela were starting to have silvery eyes, the two most important women in his life felt the pain more than the rest of them.
"I have less than a year and am not ready to go", he said nodding.
Scott got up from his seat. He walked to his father's seat like a zombie, his legs were weak. He would have punched him but he was not going to. It was his little secret, Scott was on cloud nine. Being a COO was not enough he wanted to be the guy that ran the whole show. A son wishing his own father’s death for his own covetous needs. At heart he was happy so happy but he gave his father a warm hug his face stiff from held back crocodile tears.
"We will get you the best care the world can provide", He said hugging his old man.
"No mother wishes to bury their own son, no mother is supposed to go through that, you will live my son you will live", Angela said weeping.
"Mum, don't worry about me", Ben said looking scared.
Something else more scary than his cancer was his mum’s health. It was always a bad mood away from deteriorating.
"Mum!” He cried out before she passed out.
"Call Allan, get him here!" he ordered rushing to pick up his mother from the cold marble floor.
"Tell Ronny to warm the jet now!" Scott ordered.
What started as a dinner, turned to a death announcement and it was turning into a real death scenario with Angela fighting for her life, swinging for the fences. There was confusion at the Richards castle.
*****
Arya woke up to her door being knocked. Whoever was knocking was threatening to knock down the door and the entire brick wall around it. She was lying on a mattress on the floor covered with a duvet, a large mirror in front of it. A table on which her suitcase rested and some lotion with other beauty products. A shoe rack with three pairs of shoes, the room had a sink, where she had gas and cereal, with milk, near the sink was a small bathroom. The ceiling was leaking, curved in and threatening to drop on her at any moment, the walls were dirty with the paint getting plucked from them.
"Coming!" She said.
She was putting on a night dress with panties only. She walked to the door rubbing sleep from her eyes, her belly protruding. The moment she opened it the landlord, ugly as a warthog with a dirty mouth barged in. He looked around then turned around to look at her.
“Do you think this place maintains itself?" He asked one of the most ironical questions Arya could have expected that morning.
"Am sorry sir my boss rejected my advance request", Arya said covering her breasts.
"Is that my problem? Is it? I want my money or you will meet your stuff at the gate on your way in!” He said marching out.
"Please sir give me some more time!" She begged.
"I gave you an easy way out" He said.
She just watched him until he disappeared. If only she would have not followed him to that hotel, if only she could go back in time and undo her choices. If only her father never gave her another option apart from abortion. Her phone rang. She remembered there was work.
"Where are you? Get your ass here in ten minutes or you are fired" he threatened.
"Sir?"
It was useless. He had hang up already. She locked her door and rushed in the bathroom. The cold water from the tap made her freeze her teeth rattling, Goosebumps sprouting all over her body the sadist landlord switched off her water heater. She brushed her teeth and dried her self with a towel, applied lotion then she put on a pair of blue jeans with rubber shoes and a black top. She took the phone and keys, bus fare from her tiny jar of cash. Before she walked out she admired herself in the mirror. Even though her life was in shambles one thing she was not going to do was open up her legs for another man.
Back at her place of work tedd was barking orders. Even though he hated Arya, the new girl was among the most diligent workers he had ever hired. He wanted to help her but it was not that easy for a man whose below the belt needs always came fast. It didn't matter if she was good, there were many people out there who wanted the same job but got turned them down. She only got the job because she wanted to earn less but not anymore, even less sounded like more to him. The morning alarm was just the tip of the iceberg he knew she couldn't make it in ten minutes with her belly and he was cooking up another excuse for her just to fire her. Unless she agreed to suck his d**k and some consensual s*x she was already fired. The fat p*****t had always had his fantasies about sleeping with a pregnant woman, and there it was, an easy opportunity.
"Hurry up guys’ customers are coming in!" He shouted in the smoky kitchen
"We are understaffed", one of cooks said, "Get one of the waitresses to help us", he said walking towards tedd.
"Do the job or get out! You are wasting my time" tedd shouted pushing him back to his post almost burning the poor cook.
"Am here, sorry am late", Arya said breathing heavily.
"Don't sorry me, start serving those people!” he ordered.
She started right away. It was that job that was going to keep her long enough to get an audience with Scott Richards Jr or at least his father. It was the same job that was going to decide if she was going to sleep under a roof or on the streets that evening. She had not made any friends already apart from a bar tender in club Leviticus who usually dropped in. They exchanged a few words he knew his name was Jake. And she didn't tell him hers, not the second one. Jake was willing to give it time_thats what he had said. Her goal that day was to work extremely well so that maybe in the evening, just maybe tedd was going to give her something to keep the landlord off her back.
*****
"Give me some good news Allan", Ben said yawning.
He spent the night in hospital by his mother's bed side with Paul and three of his guards.
"She had a heart attack, it's normal for people of her age if she is stressed or traumatized am guessing you told her about you being sick?", The doctor inquired.
"Yeah, you didn't tell me I wasn’t supposed to"
"Okay am telling you now don't stress your mother, you can go back to the house and get some sleep she is out of the woods when she wakes up I will let you know", Allan assured.
Ben was lost in thought. He seemed like he didn't get anything Allan was trying to tell him. And that's where Paul came in. A part of his job description was to transcribe to his boss.
"Ben we need to get you home Allan will take care of her", He said.
"Fine, any changes you call me first before you take the next breath", He said getting up.
"I will sir remember to take your meds we are doing the test after two months", Dr. Brown said.
Richards stopped. He had no idea about the medicines and Paul had not told him if they actually came in.
"Which meds?” He asked specifically staring at Paul.
"I forgot to tell you sir we left home in a hurry"
"You see" he said to Allan pointing at his butler, "Not my fault I really want to get well but Paul here won't let me"
"Once again am sorry Mr. Richards"
"Get the jet I want a nap"
"But sir..."
"Get the damn jet", He said walking out of the ward room.
He wanted to tell his master that the pilot was on leave. As he followed him he called Ronny out of leave.
"Just get the jet here Ronny I can't keep him waiting any longer!" Paul said lagging behind.
"Paul!" Ben called out stopping in the hallway.
"Coming sir... I got to go you have ten minutes before we both get fired", He Said and hang up.
Of course it was just a threat, among all the numerous employees Paul had job security, no one could really replace him.
- Writer
