by Eben Le Roux
Chapter 15
At about five o’clock, the car stopped in front of Josh Clayton’s house. Peter was noticeably tired, and so was Sean. They both became more concerned over Andrew as they got nearer to Bolton. His nervousness was starting to show and started telling them how he feared for his life. Peter spoke to him endlessly from then, trying at least get him to look calm throughout the time they would spend there. As they were getting out of the car, the front door of the house opened, and a big man came out to meet them at the gate.
Seeing his size, Sean could not help remarking; ‘Now that is how I know farmers. Oh dear, look at that man’s size. Don’t you dare look for trouble here, gentlemen.’
Peter turned to Sean and added, ‘There is already trouble here, do not forget that. That is why we are here.’ He realised too late what his words could do to Andrew. To show some comfort, he walked very close to him. He slapped Andrew on the shoulder in his bid to console him. Just as he wanted to say something, he saw Josh was too close, and gave him a firm grip on the arm instead.
‘Good afternoon, sir. We are looking for Mr Josh Clayton.’
Peter’s approach was very diplomatic, for he wanted to instil a very friendly atmosphere from the beginning.
‘That would be me, sir. Allow me to express my pleasure in having to welcome a man like you to my house.’
Peter was so bemused by the friendly welcome that he did not even have a clear enough mind to speak.
‘Oh . . . the pleasure is mine, sir. This is Sean, my manager,’ he joked with Josh.
Sean started laughing as he stretched his hand out to Josh. ‘Do not believe this man, sir. He cannot be managed. He always does as he pleases, but I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Clayton.’
Peter was happy with the pleasantness created as they all laughed, except for Andrew. He only could manage a grin, and noticing his discomfort, Peter acted hastily by saying, ‘Mr Clayton, I do not have to introduce Andrew to you. Seeing you were business associates, you would be more informed about him than us.’
He observed the change of expression on Josh’s face. There was more than disappointment in the person next to him, there was hate.
Avoiding for the two to get into conversation under such circumstances, Peter changed the subject.
‘Mr Clayton, what time did you schedule the meeting for . . . ? I mean, is it still on?’
‘Oh yes, it is definitely still on. I think we . . .’ He looked at his watch. ‘Yes, we still have time for a cup of tea. Please follow me.’
As they walked into the living room, a woman was standing in the middle of the floor inviting them inside.
‘Gentlemen, meet my wife, Linda.’ He spoke the words with so much gratification that Peter could feel the love between the two of them. The smile on Linda’s face was honest and welcoming, so much so that Peter could feel how this woman’s friendliness warmed up the place.
Three children came running from the room, and one was shouting at the others, ‘Look, the uncle from TV. He is the uncle from TV . . .’
‘Okay, okay enough now.’
Peter noticed how Josh was careful not to interrupt the child in an offensive way.
‘Come; meet the uncle from TV, and one day you can tell everybody at school you met him and that he was inside your house, okay?’
‘Mr Andrews and Mr Johnson meet the town’s most adorable kids, but also a father’s biggest problem . . . This one is Tracy.’ He pointed to the little girl who did the shouting. ‘Then there is Lloyd.’
Lloyd stood with his hands behind his back with a big smile that showed one front tooth missing.
‘There is Mommy’s image, my beautiful teenage daughter Lee-Ann. I will have to put guard dogs out front one of these days . . .’
‘Dad!’ Although smiling, she felt a bit uncomfortable at her father’s remark.
They all shook hands with both Peter and Sean.
‘Okay, you guys can go now. We will be in my study, and no disturbance, please. Did you hear that? I said no disturbance please.’
‘Yes, Dad.’
It seemed normal for them to say the same line with the exact timing and it got all the adults smiling.
Peter was so amazed by the happiness and the love within this family that his mind drifted twenty years back to when he had the same atmosphere in his house. He thought of how his children, when they were about the age of the Clayton’s, used to fight over sitting on his lap in front of the TV. He thought of all the excitement when they used to plan for a family picnic. A smile formed on his face as he visualised that era of his life.
‘Mr Johnson, we are waiting only for you, sir.’ Josh could sense that he had drifted away from this present-day and that something was amiss in his life. He looked at him as if trying to find that missing link but the next thing Peter said came as an answer to his thoughts.
‘You are blessed, Mr Clayton. You are very blessed. Let nobody and nothing take away what you have built in this house. There is nothing in this world as precious as a happy family.’
Josh realised with sorrow how much this man must be longing for his own family.
‘Thank you, sir, and I honestly hope that you meet up with yours soon.’
Without another word, they walked into his study where the other two were already seated. Peter did not realise how hungry he was until he saw the three plates with delicious pies and sandwiches on a trolley. Hurriedly he moved towards the trolley, stretched out his hand towards one of the plates, but realised his lack of discipline just in time. With his fingers already touching one of the pies, he turned to Linda and asked in a very apologetic manner, ‘Can I . . . ?’
She must have known he was very hungry, and with an open smile, she responded immediately, ‘Yes, sir, go ahead. We expected you to come hungry. With no shops on the road from town to here, we prepared this. I hope you don’t . . .’
‘Lady, you do not know when we last had something to eat. This is going to be a real feast for us. Mind you, we might even lose our table manners for a while.’
For the next ten minutes, they did not talk much and only after most of the food on the table had been consumed Peter sat backwards on his chair smiling. ‘I said I was going to have a feast, but now I think I have overdone it a bit.’
‘Linda will be happy to see how much you guys have eaten. Hope you enjoyed it,’ Josh said as he removed their plates from the table.
‘Good with food, sir, this woman of yours,’ Peter said while drinking tea from his cup.
‘I second that,’ Sean said, nearly shouting his words but their eyes all shifted to Andrew as he spoke for the first time.
‘You think this is good?’ Andrew paused, as if he was not supposed to say anything. ‘You should taste her full course meals. Fantastic, everything she makes is just the greatest,’ he finally managed to say.
‘Well, Josh, in that case, I think we should put up camp in your backyard for a week.’
As everybody was laughing at this, Peter was nodding at Andrew for having the courage to speak and turned his attention to Josh.
‘Josh, on a more serious note, I need a favour from you.’ Peter gave him a very sombre look.
‘What should that be?’ asked Josh as he placed himself into a chair.
‘Honestly, I have to take advantage of your generosity and your kindness. In fifteen minutes, we are going to face this town’s people. The only thing I am going to ask from you is your trust in me. I would not have asked you this favour if I did not believe this man. This is not about me, about him, or anything else. It is about what you have started in this town. We need to save this project. I expect the people to be a bit aggressive tonight, and I am going to need you on Andrew’s side should the need arise.’
‘For what this man has done?’ There was immediate resentment in Josh.
With a lift of his left hand and another straight look into his eyes, Peter interrupted him abruptly, ‘You should say, for what you think he has done, Josh, not for
what he has done.’
Again, with a hand gesture, Peter showed Josh not to say anything as he continued, ‘This man was supposed to be dead. He tried to commit suicide.’
‘He what?’
‘Yes, Josh, if we had arrived two minutes later, we would not have been standing here. We would not have known about this town and its ruin. In fact, this man could have told us a completely different story about why he wanted to end his life. He chose to speak the truth. You know I lived on the streets for a long time, a very long time. In the first year, we had three men who took their own lives. You should go there just for one day and listen to the stories of the people living out there. It is all about a lack of understanding, which made those men move away from people who were supposed to love them. Do not think that all those people are drunks or stinking bastards. Please do not make that mistake, Mr Clayton. Most of them wish for the life they once had. When you know what it is to have a refreshing bath or a good shower every day, imagine how you would feel if you knew that you did not have a chance in hell of enjoying those pleasures again. Nobody is ever going to offer you a plate of good food out there, sir. You are even chased away from toilets when you try to have a morning wash. Out there, you are left to stink forever. Worst of all, Mr Clayton, is that the people they really want to go home to, have rejected them forever. Do not do that to this man please, sir. I am not speaking under correction, sir, no. I speak from experience. I grew up in a house with good morals, strict rules, and lots of love – the same love I felt in this house when I walked in here. I, myself was also rejected by the people I love.
I could have called the police for this man, but I was not going to watch him kill himself while waiting for them to come. If I did, Mr Clayton, I would have made this town happy. They would have been happy to hear that this man was in police custody. I think you would agree with me that there would have been no long-lasting happiness for Bolton coming from either this man’s death or his arrest. None of you had bothered to ask the police about the statement he had given them. Everybody just joined in happily to see him removed from this town. Mr Clayton, this man came with the greatest idea this town ever had, and nobody could see the potential where he could have taken it. I will address this town’s people tonight, but I expect you to make it your duty to make sure this dream stays alive. If there should be any more people that want to see Andrew deported, you make sure you rather have them removed and carry on with the ones that have the desire to establish the success back into your project. I could not care what is going to happen in that hall tonight, I care about the results coming from there. By being here with you, I am making you part of the hopes and dreams I had on the street. So help me with this man. I promise that one day your children will tell your grandchildren about the good decision you are going to take for us tonight. You are a highly respected man in this town. Please use that respect to reawaken your town again.’
The silence was deadly in that room. Linda was staring at her husband. Josh moved over, and he pulled her close to him. He looked at Peter and said, ‘You can count on me, sir. We can go. I trust you completely.’
‘Thank you, Josh, thank you. You will never regret this day.’
Linda became very blissful and gave her husband a big smile confirming she agreed with his decision. She never agreed with the town’s people that Andrew was guilty. She and her husband had discussed the issue on numerous occasions, mostly with disagreement.
Ross was smiling when he walked out of the industrial supply store as they had everything he needed to build the stage. He saw Günter, the owner of the store at the far end of the store and walked straight to him. He knew Günter was hard to bargain with but if you buy in bulk as Pedro did, he was open for negotiations.
‘Ross, what brings you to my store, can I help you with something?’ he shouted as Ross approached him with an outstretched hand.
‘Not just something, I am going to need much more than that Günter. I might even clean out a shelf or two in you store and I am going to drive a hard bargain with you today. My profit depends on that.’
‘What, you started a business of your own?’
‘No, I’ve been subcontracted to build a stage at the stadium. You are going to treat me the same as Pedro if you want my business.’ Ross said with a smile on a very serious face.
Ok, Ok, seems Pedro trained you too good. Want to tell me more?’ he said with a chuckle.
It took Ray three minutes to inform Günter the details of his project as they walked towards the platform department.
‘So when do you think the stage will be completed?’ Günter asked him.
‘I’ll say two days and two nights, and I am not even sure with my team of rookies.’
‘Say do you still have space in your team for two more men?’ Günter asked him noticing the crises he was in.
‘Why would you ask that?’
‘Two of your colleagues from Diamond Steel came here looking for work. I told them I would ask around. Nick and Freddy . . . it looks as if they are a bit desperate.’
‘Hell, Günter, it’s good you should mention it. I can definitely fit them in. Do you have their phone numbers?’
‘Of course, come with me. It is in my notebook in the office. I am glad you can help, Ross.’
‘Well, with them on board, I can count on better success.’
‘And I know it will be a success, Ross.’
Collin was freaking out, as had a problem of his own. His friend was showing his true colours and has been bothering him for some time now.
For the last twenty minutes, Max had tried desperately to convince him to go for the Rolex.
‘You know you are really becoming a sissy now, Collin.’ Max said, not hiding his anger. To show his frustration, he was talking loudly. What annoyed Collin even more was that Max was walking up and down inside the room.
‘Max, why don’t you just sit? You are really pissing me off.’
‘Oh, listen who is pissed off . . . tell me, how many times have I put money in your pocket, and how many times have I set you up with some bitches, huh? Can’t you see that after this you won’t need to beg anybody for anything?’
‘Hey, Max, you fail to see the good in this. Ross is offering us a job. Two days, and we can walk out with some good money and . . .’
‘Then what, back to where we are? I am telling you Collin, that watch could be a solid gold Rolex as far as I know. Do you know what the black market pays for that, huh? I say not less than a hundred and fifty grand. We can buy all the shit we always wanted, just like that,’ he said, snapping his fingers. ‘We can be the men we’ve always been dreaming to be. For just twenty minutes inside that house and you still want to waste your time . . .’
‘Max, go find someone else. I am done with that shit you are talking about, and besides, I have a family to consider.’
‘What about Ross . . . ? He was going to break in there.’
‘Ross was desperate, Max. I know that man. He might even have pulled out minutes before doing it . . . I am done with that life, Max. In fact, I am done with you. Please leave.’
‘Oh shit, now you all are one happy holy family, huh?’
‘Get out, Max. Get the shit out of here!’ The tone in Collin’s voice had such force that it made Max realise how serious he was. With Collin moving aggressively moving towards him, Max was backing up, until he stood outside the door. Not bothered if any part of Max’s body was still in the way, he slammed the door close in his face. Seconds later, he stood at the window, watching him leave. It was a mixture of sadness and relief to see him walking out of his life. That man had taken care of his life until now. That man made him believe in a dream of quick money, fast cars, and plenty of women. It was a dream that, for the last five years, had never materialised. Still, he had one concern. Max was the man who always stood up for him. However bad his situation was, Max would always be next to him until it was sorted out. That brought some sadness within him.
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