‘Okay. I’ve heard you’, Beesi­wa said. ‘Give me some time to think about it, and let’s talk later.’ Jeff drove her home, confi­dent that he had virtually won her over. Yaw would not like it one bit, but Beesiwa was now his. He had taken Beesiwa away, just when Yaw appeared to be making some moves. This was such a sweet victory.

Beesiwa called her mother, and after thirty minutes they decided on Jeff. ‘Jeff is much older and wiser, and we now know he is much wealthier. Go with him. There is no guarantee that Yaw will choose you. In fact, he is already in a relation­ship with the doctor, so why should you hang around when he doesn’t even recognise you? And now we know that he is not as successful in business as we thought. So don’t waste time. This is your life.

Take the opportunity. Let Jeff come out clearly and do what needs to be done. Yaw has treated you well, but you have also been faith­ful to him’.

Within a couple of weeks Jeff and Beesiwa had sealed their relation­ship, and one evening Beesiwa asked Yaw if she could have a word with him. ‘Yaw, I have decided to go out and work on my own. I will stay for two weeks, that is, to the end of the month, so that we can find a replacement. I would like to thank you for all that you have done for me. I am very grate­ful’.

Well, that’s very surprising. But it’s fine. I have been encouraging you to go out on your own, so I guess I shouldn’t be really sur­prised. Okay. I will think about the replacement issue. I might ask my cousin Jenny to come and stay here for a while.

I’ve discouraged her from travel­ling to London, because she’s quite capable of doing something on her own. So I’d rather bring her to look after my stuff while I find some­thing for her to do. So, I am also very grateful. You’ve done quite a lot for me, and I’m happy you are going out on a high note’.

Although Yaw tried to hide his disappointment, Beesiwa noticed it clearly. Was Yaw interested in her after all? Unfortunately she had already committed herself to Jeff, so she could not even think about changing her mind. Moreover, Yaw had already started talking about her replacement. She wished she had not heard those negative things about him.

They had had quite a good rela­tionship, but she now knows that he was not quite the successful busi­nessman she thought he was. What other secrets, she wondered, was he hiding? She told herself that she had made a good choice.

A few days after Beesiwa stopped working with Yaw, his driver, Paa Willie, called him, sounding excited. ‘Hello sir. You won’t believe what I am seeing with my own eyes, right now!’‘Okay, Paa Willie. Tell me what you are seeing, but please calm down a little. I can still hear you’.

‘Sir, I just paid for the take-away lunch for the guests at the office, and as I sat down to wait for it I looked across the other side, and saw Mr Manu, Beesiwa and her mother, Auntie Mensima, eating. They seemed to be celebrating something, because there were bottles of wine on the table, and they were dressed as if they were celebrating something’.

‘Wow. That’s very surprising. May­be Jeff and Beesiwa have started doing some business together, or they have signed an agreement. That will still surprise me’. ‘Sir, I think there is something going on between Mr Jeff and Beesiwa. My worry is why Beesiwa will get into any relationship, business or per­sonal, without informing you. I’m worried for her.’ ‘Well, Paa Willie.

Maybe we will hear something later. For now, let’s keep it to our­selves. I hope Beesiwa is not getting involved in something she will regret sooner than later’. Yaw reflected on the news for a while. Beesiwa had certainly made a bad choice. Per­haps, he would understand her if he knew the context in which she made the decision.

Maybe Jeff told her a pack of lies, and promised her the moon. But being the educated, well brought up young woman that she was, why didn’t she ask for time to think about the proposal? Did her mother have anything to do with the de­cision? Jeff was a big mouth, but no substance. His father’s haulage business was doing very well until the old man died.

Jeff had run down the company and sold most of its vehicles. He then made a lot of noise about going into estate development, but had started five houses and sold them before they were completed. For the last several years, he had sold off the bulk of the fifty acres left by his father, and was desperately trying to find something profitable to do before the lands run out.

Unfortunately, his lifestyle and his mouth were not allowing him. He and Yaw belonged to a group of uni­versity contemporaries in business who met at various homes and clubs regularly, but Yaw limited their friendship, if one would call it that, only to socialise over beer and food.

Jeff didn’t like that. Initially he thought that Yaw was protective of Beesiwa, but he later realised he was developing feelings for her. He decided to deploy what they called ‘Takashi’ at the university to grab Beesiwa before one could say Jack. It was past ten.

Some thirty guys and their part­ners were gathered for the bimonth­ly dinner of the Business Friends group. Most people had finished their food and were topping up their drinks, and the DJ was about to invite them to the dance floor. Then the MC said ‘ladies and gentlemen, our brother, Jeff Manu, wishes to share some information with us. Over to you, Jeff’.

My dear brothers, and your part­ners, I would like to make a brief announcement. I have recently asked my girlfriend, my sweetheart, Beesiwa Arthur, to marry me, and she has kindly accepted my propos­al. So I am announcing that Beesiwa and I will be having our wedding in two weeks. Of course, you will be receiving invitations in the next couple of days’.

There was a respectful clap of some hands and some expressions of joy, but others stayed silence. The DJ took the microphone, and invited friends to react to the an­nouncement. Billy Ocran expressed his delight that his buddy Jeff was getting married, and wished him and his partner a very successful life together. Yaw took the microphone next, and said, ‘I am really excited to learn that Jeff and Beesiwa have found each other and are planning to get married.

They are two great individuals, and I know this is going to be a successful marriage. Let’s give them a round of applause.’Jeff stopped in front of the house, and Beesiwa managed to share his embrace and what appeared to be a very warm goodnight kiss, then she rushed into her mother’s room and collapsed tearfully. ‘What’s the problem, Beesiwa?’‘

Mama, Jeff announced at the dinner that we are going to get mar­ried, and that they will all receive invitations in the next couple of days. A few people reacted nicely, but most of them were shocked. Mama, there’s obviously something wrong. And what makes it more confusing is that Yaw was one of the two people who congratulated us. Something is definitely wrong’. Get some rest, my daughter. We have a long day ahead. I will speak with Jeff tomorrow morning. There may be something that needs to be thrashed out. Maybe you are overre­acting

By Ekow de Heer