Within a few days, Beesiwa had made herself comfortable and useful in Yaw Awotwe’s home. Although he was generally a well organised person, the young bachelor was in the habit of leaving things at open spaces, obvious­ly thinking that because he lived alone, he would easily find them. Beesiwa got round to placing his money and important documents in files and drawers, and would inform him as soon as he came home. Yaw really appreciated that, and start­ed getting into the habit of asking Beesiwa where some of his stuff were. She organised his dresses, and was so glad to see how the choices she made impacted his looks. Yaw Awotwe was a very good looking young man, and it was so nice seeing him at the breakfast table looking so sharp. Yaw had been converted to her cooking, and had started bringing his friends home to share his fun. And she loved walking him to his car, handing him his snack and suitcase, and waving him off. She was enjoy­ing herself. She wished it would be possible for ‘something’ to change their relationship from reliable, efficient employee and appreciative, generous employer to something more interesting. But she was a very realistic person. Yaw was top class. He was way out of her range. Rather than spend precious time on emotional dreams that would never materialise, she decided to take ad­vantage of her presence in his home to improve herself.

Yaw was quite pleased to learn that she was interested in current af­fairs, and experimenting with cook­ing. He encouraged her to take both interests seriously because, as he put it, knowing the world around you places you way ahead of your peers, and people who cook really well often make big money. Whenever his friends commended her on her good cooking, Yaw would offer Beesiwa’s help with catering for small parties and family occasions. Of course, he quickly added, she had to be paid well, because she was already em­ployed and not looking for handouts. Within a couple of months, offers started flowing in, and Beesiwa told her boss that although the money was quite interesting, she didn’t want to stop working with him, so she was cutting the outside catering to manageable levels.

‘Thanks for wanting to continue working with me, Beesiwa, but why don’t you consider employing one or two people to help you? Talk to your mother, and train a couple of young people during the weekends, and then anytime you get a job or con­tract you can guide them to go and deliver. And with the kind of things people are saying about you, you will one day need to set up your own ca­tering company with quite a number of employees. So don’t throw away this opportunity. You don’t want to stop working with me, but let’s see whether you can find others to help. Think about it and join hands with your mum. Things will happen big time.’

And that is exactly what hap­pened. Within a year, Beesiwa had created space in her mother’s home for a well-equipped unit with four efficient young ladies that continu­ously delivered good quality dishes for all sorts of functions. Beesiwa was transformed into a gorgeous personality, and Yaw started thinking whether he should be looking closer home instead of farming afield for dates. He had been going out with Patricia, a doctor, for a few months, and they felt very comfortable in each other’s company, but their work schedules were a problem. Dr Patricia was more than a key person in the Children’s Hospital where she worked, and she had very little time for life outside the hospital. Yaw greatly respected her dedication to work, but he wondered whether, with his own business about to gain momentum, it was wise to enter into a commitment with a woman whom he would only meet at home once in a while. Beesiwa was not just a beautiful girl with good character and efficient home manager. She had been able to combine managing his home with starting a business enter­prise on the side which was doing very well. He started to approach the issue gently, and hopefully he could get her to see things his way.

Beesiwa, on the other hand, had been nursing some frustration about what appeared to be the fruitless dream of nursing ambitions of a rela­tionship with Yaw Awotwe. Although she had begun to make some good money and had therefore gained some self-confidence, Yaw was still streets ahead, and did not show any sign of being interested in her. Moreover, he and the lady doctor seemed on course to make their re­lationship permanent. And as if that was not enough, there were a couple of other ladies who were seeking to grab his attention, but did not seem to be getting very far. Around the same time, Jeffery Darkwa, a friend of Yaw who was regular at his home, started showing interest. He took her out on a couple of dates, both quite enjoyable, but Beesiwa made it quite clear that she was not interest­ed in a relationship with him. Jeff, however, had been nursing ambitions of winning her over for sometime, even though part of the reason was the deep jealousy he had been nurs­ing against Yaw for so long.

They had become friends in the course of meeting at business work­shops and lunches, and had helped each other with useful contacts and business tips. Jeff was almost ten years older than Yaw, and had devel­oped a resentment for him due to his quiet but effective way of con­ducting business, which had made him very successful, for a man at such a young age. And he wasn’t just good looking but very well dressed, and ladies often made their views about him known. And he had longed noticed Beesiwa’s deep affection for him. Winning Beesiwa would be a big personal victory. He invited her to lunch and put his plan into action.

‘Beesiwa, I need to discuss some­thing important with you. I am very interested in you. I really love you, and would like you to become my wife. But I realise that you are rejecting me because of your feel­ings for Yaw. I am not letting go, not only because of my feelings for you, but also because you don’t know Yaw very well. I will say this in great confidence. Yaw is not who you think he is. He is not a successful business man. In fact, he is covering a lot of debts which might end him in deep trouble, so I’m trying to help him. I can tell you that over the years, my business has grown, and apart from having financial muscle, I also have big contacts at the very top. So, I would ask you to be careful with Yaw. Give me the chance to make you a successful woman. We can be a good partnership. I am willing to give you a house if you accept my offer. I am talking this way because I really love you, and I want to marry you.’

Beesiwa’s head was spinning. She didn’t know how to process the ex­plosive stuff she was hearing. ‘But if you have these feelings against Yaw, why are you friends with him, spend­ing time with him regularly?’

‘I don’t have anything personal against him. In fact, I am helping him overcome some major financial issues because we are friends. But I see nothing wrong with wanting you more than him.’

“

Beesiwa, I need to dis­cuss something important with you. I am very inter­ested in you. I really love you, and would like you to become my wife.

“