Chapter 1 The Reunion

• It had been exactly a year and three months since 'jail bird' Barry Roderick Jackson got parole and started living with his wife and in-laws of five years.
• He flinched as he saw from the corner of his eye his mother-in-law throw something at him. The piece of cloth landed on the sofa. Barry nearly fell from the chair, but balanced and continued scrubbing.
• "Hurry up, finish washing those windows you piece of trash...what else can you do in this house? You can't cook, you don't want to work, you just want to remain a burden to my daughter," Susan scolded while looking for another object to throw at him. "My daughter should have divorced you a long time ago by now."
• Barry kept his cool and continued. Susan had been rushing him to finish his chores earlier today, as they all had to attend grandmother's birthday celebration later this afternoon.
• "Tanya has to cook for you today, don't get used to it. And I told you yesterday to buy my mother a birthday gift, I wonder what you bought as broke as you are. I hope my daughter gave you some money to buy something decent."
• The old women headed to her room as she continued, "finish up and get dressed." She peeped into the kitchen and called for her daughter."Tanya! How far is breakfast love, we have to go, okay."
• "Breakfast is about to get ready mother!" Tanya said stopping by the door. Her long braids spread out across her shoulders, with her innocent surprised face attentively expecting her mother to reply.
• Barry stared at his wife and thought she looked pretty with the apron on exposing her huge hips on the sides looking like sub-zeros outfit. He found himself smiling from ear to ear when Tanya also scolded, "And what are you smiling at huh? Get done and get ready for breakfast." And the feisty one dissaperead into the kitchen.
• Getting down, Barry closed the curtains, walked out the door to pour away the dirty water. Outside, he vented out his frustration, wondering how he got himself in such a state, from an ex-convict and an ex-gangster to a 'a useless son-in-law'. But he figured he had to endure it as his secrets could not be revealed to the Jefferson family. Otherwise, they would kick him out of the house and out of Tanya's life for good.
• "Old Woman! I'll tolerate you a while longer!" Barry said reassuring himself. And he walked into the room where his wife had placed a black branded suit on his bed.
• 'And now I have to wear this damn thing. A whole me, an ex-gangster wearing a suit. What would the gang say if they saw what had become of their leader.' Barry picked up the suit to his shoulders and contemptuously stared at it.
• "Are you going to wear that or continuously stare at it?" Tanya said, standing by the door. "Do you like it?"
• Tanya had always admired Barry's height. He had all the qualities of her ideal man, tall, masculine and handsome. It was a pity he had turned out to be useless nobody that only added burdens to her life.
• "Yes," Barry admitted, smiling at her.
• "Marcia picked it for you," she said and dissapeared.
• Barry frowned and said, "not so much anymore."
• After they had breakfast, Barry drove them out to grandmother's birthday celebrations. Reluctant to go inside, Barry followed way behind them. Tanya was also worried that he would embarrass her family again like he did last year after returning from prison.
• "Barry, please don't talk at all tonight, just stomach all they will say to you okay, and don't start with those prison stories again I beg you," she said whispering, "and oh, I hope you haven't forgotten grandmother's present."
• 'Oh no.'
• Barry whispered back, "I haven't," and gulped. They strode in to find everyone had arrived early and already seated on the big table. Marry, who was about to give grandmother a present halted and watched them sit before she said, "as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted grandma, here's your birthday gift." Grandmother laughed and happily received her gift before she glared at the new entrants.
• "Nice to see you finally managed to join us," she said sarcastically. "I hope your birthday gifts will be much better than last year's, please sit." Grandmother Lydia Jefferson was not happy about 'Petros' little family, as they always managed to ruin her big day. Especially last year when they brought their convicted son-in-law for the first time. Petros and Susan had spent alot of money this year to appease her. They had bought a jade necklace worth twenty thousand dollars.
• "Sorry mother for being late, Barry was on the wheel again. You can only blame him for us being late," Susan said as she gave Barry a contemptuous look.
• "Oh, poor Barry, driving slow again...afraid you will knock some poor woman and get locked up into prison again are we?" Marry dissed pouting mockingly.
• "Once a convict always a convict dear," tuned in Alicia Jefferson, Lydia's daughter and sister to Petros. "No matter what you do Barry, you can drive extra slow on the road, an accident is bound to happen when you are a convict and a useless son-in-law."
• Barry barely heard what she said, he was too focused on the beautiful melody's playing low on the background. He found it better to concentrate on other things while they spoke trash to him. He smiled internally, thinking about how they fell for his lies when he told them the reason he had spent four years in prison was because he ran over a woman after celebrating his wedding the night after. Barry even began to drive slower than an eighty-year-old woman on the high-way as pretence, proving his fear to drive faster. He smirked, knowing they had fallen hook-line and sink.
• "What are you smiling about you useless convincted son-in-law?" Alicia asked, startled by Barry's behaviour. She had hoped to anger him with her words. "Have you even brought grandmother anything?"
• Everyone started to mumble the same thing, wondering what Barry could have bought. He could feel Tanya's stare right next to him.
• "Go on, let's see what you bought grandmother," Susan said gritting her teeth, hoping this ludicrous son-in-law had bought something of value.
• "What could a good-for-nothing convict ever buy that's uselfull?" Members of the family began to whisper.
• "Perhaps he could have stolen something to present to grandmother." Timothy, the first grandson of the family mocked, simpering.
• "Even with the suit he still looks like a criminal," they mumbled, "he was better of with his ten dollar worn-out clothing rags." They giggled audibly, "or that orange jail uniform."
• "You guys go on presenting your gifts first," Barry said convincingly. "Mine will be the last one, the main event."
• Everyone was shocked.
• "Hey!"
• Susan was about to scold him when Tanya presented her gift quickly, shifting their attention to her instead, indirectly helping Barry. As they marvelled at Tanya's present, Barry got up and excused himself, asking for a bathroom.
• In the toilet, Barry cursed at himself, he had completely forgotten to buy the old woman her gift. He's visit to his mother's village yesterday had traumatised him, her living conditions were unbearable to him and he had stressed so much that he forgot to buy the old woman her gift. He pondored what to do to get out of this situation. He decided to wait it out at the bathroom.
• 'Yes, I'm insignificant, they won't remember that I'm here anyway. By the time they are done, I will walk out and they won't even realise I didn't give in any present.'
• When everyone had presented, Timothy remembered Barry. He couldn't wait to tease him for his bad gift. "Hey, where is Barry?" He asked surprised he had not yet returned.
• "Still in the bathroom I suppose," grandmother said. She had hoped everyone would have forgotten about him, just so that he did not embarass her on her birthday again.
• Timothy shot up from his table and went looking for Barry. 'Today you must be embarrassed Barry,' he thought as he entered the bathroom. Within seconds he came back and stood at the door.
• "Grandmother, he is in there waiting out his turn," he laughed. Everyone else laughed.
• "Barry, come out here now!" Timothy raised his voice, "granny is waiting to see your main-event present."
• Barry reluctantly came out, prodding his neck. "It's like this, see…"
• "Hey, no excuses okay," Timothy shouted, "where is your gift?" He extended his hand to Barry. "Granny, give me permission to throw him out once he admits that he has no gift tonight."
• Granny nodded, dissapointed.
• "It's like this okay…" Barry tried to connect words to explain himself but fumbled. "Tanya gave me the money to buy the gift but when I visited my mother in the village yesterday she had no food and so I bought-"
• Before Barry could finish his explaination Timothy had punched him straight into his face. He fell backwards and out the door. Everyone gasped at the punch thrown, but Timothy felt a sudden pain on his fist, punching that idiot felt like hitting a tree. He smiled back at the people sitting on the table, stomarching the pain.
• "And make sure you stay out, don't come back you useless piece of trash." Timothy said coming back to his seat.
• Outside, Barry gathered himself back on his feet. He woobled out the mansion and headed straight past the car. It was raining and soon he was soaking wet. Walking up the road, he laughed and felt he deserved that punch for not presenting any gift. But he also felt really humiliated. Either way, humiliation had become part of his life.
• As for Timothy's weak ass punch, he had merely made mince-meat of that situation and fell out of that room so he could escape their presence. The day Timothy will face him again, he will know how a real man punches. What was Tim's punch compared to the ones he had received while in prison. Was he not the ex-champion boxer with the fastest punches in the pen?
• Just then, a limosine stopped right infront of Barry blocking his way. All four doors opened up and four thugs jumped out the ride.
• "Well, I'll be damned…" cried one of the men closest to Barry. "It really is fucking Roderick Ricko, the boss."
• Staring in fear, Barry did not know whether to run or hide. With his back-hand, he reached for the 9mm pistol he always carried around. He knew with just one round, he wound put all nine bullets straight to the forehead of each man, with each receiving two in just five seconds. He still had 'the fastest gun in the city' after all. But Barry realised his hand touched nothing cold and hard behind him. He could feel nothing heavy either.
• 'Shit!' Barry remembered, he had left his 9mm at home for fear of shooting some idiots at grandmother's party should they aggrevate him to a point of no-return. Just as Barry prepared to punch, he noticed the man extending his arms apart, with a big smile on his face.
• "Boss, you have no idea how long we been looking for you," said the men giving Barry a short embrace each. Barry grinned confused.
• "Boss, where have you been?"
• "Oh shit! it really is the boss Ricko." The last man hugged him and held onto his waist astonished.
• "Hey boys," Barry said, and looked around to see if they were being spotted.
• "Hey, it's not safe here, I said I'd find you guys not the other way around." He sternly said and rushed into the limo. "Let's get out of here."
• 'I thought they would kill me, why are they calling me boss,' Barry wondered.
• Tyron told the driver to move and looked at Barry excitedly, he shook his hand vigorously, exctatic to see him. "Ricko, I can't believe it!"
• The four men laughed happily like they had won millions of dollars in the lottery. Soon they drove into a bar and headed upstairs. They locked the doors of the office and sat down to have a chat.
• "Okay, now Boss, what's going on, tell us the truth," Brian asked, "we visited the pen, and were told you were released. But you never came to us for more than a year."
• 'How could I come to you when you framed me and left me for dead in prison?' Barry thought.
• "Yeah Boss, look at what we have accomplished while you were gone," Tim said raising his hands at the building, refering to the bar. "Everything you outlined on the five year plan, we accomplished and more. Thanks to Brian 'the Devi'l Hayes for the brains."
• "It's true Boss, you won't believe it," added Brian Hayes, "but I lead the team just like you said I would. From the first Club you opened with drug money. We been cleaning it and opened a whole lot of businesses in the city. As a result Boss, today we are fucking billionaires, and you as our leader, are now a multi-billionaire."
• "What?"