Would You All Leave Even a Tiny Shop at the Road Side in the Hands of an Inexperienced Person?

“Your mother told me they gave you a day off from work,” said my father as we entered the house.

“Yes, I got a day off,” I replied.

“That’s okay. How have you been?”

We kept having little conversations as we walked into the house. There were lots of changes done to the outside of the house, but the interior was very much the same from what I remembered of it, asides from the position of the television that was changed.

My father called out to my mother to tell her I had arrived, and she hurried downstairs to embrace me.

There was genuine happiness showing on their faces and also their actions. They had the maid bring the food prepared for me and, indeed, a prodigal son came back home.

The look and the aroma of the food were so good that it made my stomach rumble. I walked to the dining table and made myself comfortable while they dished the food out for me, and I ate.

My parents went to do various things for the day. My mother was working from home that day because she was preparing to travel the next day to France for a conference.

“The prodigal son returned. How has life as an independent man been?” said my sister Joan.

At least there was someone else who shared my thoughts on the similarities between me and the prodigal son. Joan was my only sibling, who I hadn’t seen for so long. I didn’t imagine seeing her at home this early because she was never one to miss work for anything in the world. She walked closer and got herself a chair, sat down and began to eat with me.

“So, you were the reason why this delicacy was prepared?” Joan carefully took a good look at me. “You look skinny."

“Be nice Joan. At least ask him how he is doing,” said my father standing behind her.

"Alright then, how are you doing?"

"I am —"

"Don't bother answering, I don't care."

Joan was angry because she hadn’t seen me for a long time and I didn’t make any effort to see her despite the many times she tried to see me. And to make matters worse, I missed her birthday, which was a few days ago. Apologizing wouldn’t have changed a thing. It’s not like I apologized anyway, but I should have.

My father sat down, and not long after, my mother was with us and then I knew that the business of the day was about to start.

All the hunger left immediately, and the tiredness came back. I suddenly wanted to sleep so badly.

There was an awkward silence for a while before I broke the silence.

“We all know why we are here. Why don’t we get right to it?”

“Very well then, it is not a secret that we aren’t happy about the way things have turned out for you, John,” said my dad.

“Look at your younger sister. She has things going on well for her. She is a doctor, partly overseeing the hospital and also the clothing company,” said my mom.

“And the clothes you are putting on right now are my brand. I know you wouldn’t know that because you have refused to check up on me for any reason,” said Joan.

“That’s enough,” my father challenged Joan.

My eyes drifted to the crest on the shirt I was putting on and saw it was her name that was on it. I never knew I had been wearing her brand until that day. Silence became my only friend for most of the meeting because every topic was aimed at condemning me or my decisions, and I was getting fed up with it all.

The meeting lasted for 2 hours and it was mostly about me, and why it wouldn’t be. I was the focus of the family meeting and my parents emphasized clearly how my younger sister was doing better than I was. It was not a competition between us, but I understood that they meant well.

Everyone in the family was doing well and I was the odd one out, it felt like I was bringing shame to the family name because I chose not to be dependent on the family wealth. Talking about family wealth, there were 6 businesses or organisations to the family name; Sol Oil and Gas, Sol’s House Lounge and Night Club, Joan’s Clothing, Base End Transportation Company, Base Microfinance Bank and New Era Hospital.

They wanted me to take over at least one of the businesses while they focused solely on their careers, but I instead chose not to take any because I wanted to live outside of all that and make something of myself and not depend solely on the family fortunes.

“If you don’t accept this now, we would cut you off completely,” said my mother.

“We handed the clothing company to Joan, and she is also one of the board members of the hospital. She has made quite a name and fortune for herself.

"Don’t you think you can make it big if you took charge of one of the others? We are offering you this on a platter of gold. Everyone would die for such an opportunity,” said my father.

The idea of being cut off didn’t sit well with me, I knew I had to eventually take over, but I felt I wasn’t ready and needed to sort myself out and gain experience while working for others, and then I would have gained enough experience to take over. The establishments were one of the top 10 in the country and I didn’t want to run them down because of my lack of experience. I tried to make them understand my reasons, but it all fell on deaf ears.

“Why are you being so difficult, John?" Joan forced a smile. “Mom and dad are trying so hard to fix you at a better place, but you choose not to go with it."

“Would you all leave even a tiny shop at the roadside in the hands of an inexperienced person? Would you all?” I asked.

There was no response from them because they knew I was not experienced enough but wanted to hand it over to me, anyway.

It didn’t seem right that they kept pushing it on me, so I asked them the same question again.

“Would you all leave an establishment to me, an inexperienced person? Would you all?”

“I was not experienced when I was handed over to the clothing company, but here I am now."

“Here’s the truth, my son. We come from a long line of wealthy families and you cannot be the odd one. We cannot have a poor son tarnish the image of the rest of us. What would people say?” said my father, trying to make me understand his point of view.