Chapter 7

“First wife?” I am not a Moslem, Joy.”

“That should not prevent you having more than one wife. You have a big heart; big enough for more than one woman. You are an educated, well-spoken man with money, so you will be expected to have more than one wife. My father could never afford a second wife, not that I ever heard him saying he regretted it. He loves my mother dearly.”

John spoke unthinkingly, “I would probably be the same with you.” Joy/Ayodele listened to his words, and smiled to herself, saying nothing more. She knew when she was getting to where she wanted to be, and when to stop when she was ahead.

John remembered that he had the cash from the President’s widow, so decided that Tom and Bronwyn deserved 500 dollars of it. He dug it out to hand to Tom. He encountered a problem with that. Tom was offended at the idea of payment for helping a colleague. Having failed to persuade Tom to accept money from him, John handed the five hundred dollars to Bronwen. “Bronwen, you will find a use for this money, won’t you? Tom doesn’t seem to want it. Your clothing allowance could probably do with a boost.” She accepted it, without a word, but smiled gratefully and gave him a quick kiss.

John and Ayodele finally got away and John drove silently for most of the trip. He eventually reached the parental residence, and once there he told Ayodele to stay in the car temporarily. He got out and walked to the door. He knocked, and the girl’s mother appeared.

She appeared shocked at his return, saying “There is nothing wrong with Ayodele? I hope she has not offended you in any way.”

John smiled and said, “No, nothing wrong. I will probably be taking your daughter with me to a foreign country, so I wanted to assure you she will be well looked after. Where is your husband?”

She relaxed with a sigh, and said, “He is in the back, working on our finances.”

“Call him here, please. I need to speak to him and you, together.”

She went back inside and returned shortly with her husband. John announced, “You, the parents of Ayodele, have entrusted her in my hands. I will be taking her out of the country, so, due to her age, I require a letter signed by you both, saying that she is with me, with your approval and blessing.”

The mother said, “I cannot read or write, but my husband is able to do so, I think.” He concurred, “Yes, I can, but not well.”

“Very well, I had assumed that might be the case. I have drafted out a suitable letter. Please read it over, and if you are in agreement, please sign it.” The father took it and laid it against the door, so that he could run his finger over each word as he read it to himself. He grunted, “What is this word?”

“That is “Parental”. It means by or of the parents.”

“And this one?”

“Approval”. It means you approve of something. Perhaps if I read the whole letter out to you?” The father accepted the offer. John read it right through and asked, “Is this accurate? It is what you are happy with?”

The father looked at his wife, for her opinion. “She will be in good hands, I think,” she responded. “Much better than being with The President; and I think she will benefit from being with this man. She looked happy to be with him. It is the best solution. Sign.” He added his laboriously scrawled signature to the paper. His wife added a cross, after asking how she should indicate her agreement. John retrieved the letter and, after folding it and putting it into his wallet, said to them, “Thank you. Would you like to say goodbye to your young daughter? It may be years before you see her again, and she may look different when she matures, but she will be better dressed.”

Both parents rushed out to the car. Ayodele got out of the passenger door and allowed them to embrace her fondly, with tears in their eyes as they said goodbye. Her mother instructed, “This is a wonderful second chance for our family. Do nothing to bring shame on us, daughter. We are depending on you to make us proud of you in your new life with John. Make him pleased with you.”

The girl hugged them both, and held herself from crying. “I shall be John’s woman, and make him proud of me also. You will not be disappointed in me, Mama and Papa. Goodbye. Give my love to my brother and sisters, please. Tell them I have set a good example for them.”

She deliberately turned and climbed back into her seat, not letting her parents see the tears now flowing. Her father put his arm round his wife, and they went to return home. John said, “Oh, before we go, please take this small token of thanks for your generosity in granting me this developing vision of loveliness. It is from both of us in gratitude for Ayodele’s years of good upbringing in a loving home.” He handed her father a small bundle of paper. “Look at it once you are inside. Farewell and thank you.”

The parents watched tearfully and waved as the car drove off. The dust of the departure was fading in the distance by the time the girl’s father went inside and unfolded the money, expecting about ten dollars. In shock, he counted it again, and got the same result. His wife looked at his flushed and shocked-looking face, and asked, “What is wrong, husband?”

He gestured at the money. “This. The money John handed to me. He has given us one thousand US dollars. I have never seen so much money in my life! This will see us through for several years at least. Mama, God has blessed us through our daughter. If John showers her with money also, she will be a rich lady eventually. God is finally being good to our family, Mama.”

She chided him, “Husband, you have it wrong. God has always been good to us, giving us each other, and giving us lovely children, even if I have to punish them at times. This money is just an extra blessing on our family. I ask only one thing of you: Put some money aside as a dowry for our other daughters. Put it in the bank in town, so that it will still be there when our daughters need it. We shall not touch it no matter what else happens. Agreed?”

He looked into her eyes, kissed her tenderly and said, “Agreed.”

John now headed for his appointment to collect the passport. Armed with the parental letter, he entered the state offices in the district capital, and said he was here to collect his fiancée’s passport, stating her name. An officious clerk called him over with the girl. “This document says she is just fifteen. It cannot be authorised for use without parental approval.”

John wordlessly got out his wallet, removed the letter, and handed it over. The clerk read it, muttered to himself, but initialled the official handover of the document, and gave it to John, with the letter carelessly tucked inside it. John thanked the man for his courtesy and efficiency, took Joy’s hand, and left.

Outside, as they got into the vehicle, John told her, “My girl, you are now officially Joy Kofi, and can prove it by showing your passport to any official who demands proof of identity.”

Surprising her, he reached over and shook her hand. He declared,”Congratulations, Joy. You are now my second cousin, if anyone asks.” She leaned in to him and kissed him. “Thank you, Master. Your concubine is overwhelmed with emotion.”

John announced, “Correction: you are not my concubine. You are formally my fiancée, my wife-to-be, unless you do not want that.” Her eyes lit up, her smile beamed, and her arms came across to hold his face, while she smothered him in kisses. She finally drew back to announce, “You will never regret this decision, John. I will love you for ever, and give you many children, when my body is ready for the task. I shall start looking for a second wife for you, immediately. Does she have to be black, or do you want a white woman to reflect your high status?”

“First things first, young lady. I will ask you questions, when you are not expecting them. You must answer correctly, every time. What is your name?”

“Ummm, ah, Joy. Joy Kofi.”

“Not good enough. You hesitated. How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

“Better. Be right on the ball, every time, with these questions. Who am I?”

“My John. Oh, you mean ... John Kofi, my second cousin.”

“That’s the idea. The response should be automatic; you shouldn’t have to think. Practice it: Say it to yourself, and I will ask you at intervals.”

“Where are we going now, John?”

“With a bit of luck, we are booking seats for a flight to London.”

“London, ENGLAND?”

“Yes.”

“Wow! I am flying to England! If only Mama and Papa knew!”

“If you are asked, they DO know. Remember, they have approved you going with me, wherever I go.”

John’s phone rang. He answered it. “John.” He listened, then “I am pleased to hear that. It rounds off the mission.” Pause. “ Yes, boss, I have the young lady with me. She intends to be my fiancée, chief, so she is coming with me. I have her parents’ approval.” Pause. “Yes, chief, I am well aware of that. She is mature for her age: she has had to become so. I am quite impressed with her, and surprised with myself.” Pause. “No, boss. Her main language is Akan, so her English is limited, but she understands it well, for her age.” Pause. “Officially fifteen: that is what her passport says; and yes, it is brand new, as my second cousin. Her name is Joy Kofi.” Pause. “Well, boss, a fiancée is easier to get through customs than a cousin, but I think it will stick, in my humble opinion. I know I must sound daft, but that’s life, as Tom said to me earlier.

She is a lovely girl, with strong ideas. She intends to be my first wife, and says she will select my second wife.” Pause. “As I said before, boss, but in spades.” Pause. “Diamonds? Not in the possession of the corpse? Was there supposed to be diamonds involved? Well ... perhaps a light-fingered policeman?” Pause. “Are you sure he was actually carrying diamonds at the time? I was not shown or told what the President might have collected, so I am not in position to say one way or another. I was taken to a different room, where there was a safe, and handed a package to convey for the President. I later handed that over to the widow, unopened. It appeared to be entirely US dollars. She paid me ten thousand out of it, as a severance package. A thousand went to Joy’s parents to help them get by, and five hundred to Bronwen, Tom’s spouse, to recompense them for looking after Joy for me. I have enough left to get us home, unless you have other proposals? No, then I shall report on my arrival.”