“The woman I have in mind is a woman in our mist who had made this family proud. I am convinced that with someone like her by Stephen’s side, he will be stable…”
Now, one of them interrupted him and requested, “With due respect, our Patriarch, can you stop dilly-dallying and tell us the female psychiatrist in our mind who is capable of marrying a madman like Stephen?”
His question erupted raucous laughter in the house. Denise, who had not said a word since the meeting, laughed too. Mr. Oscar and his wife laughed heartily.
Then, Gen. Bailey chuckled and continued, “It is all right. Moving forward, the woman I have in mind is Nichole, the widow of our late brother, Williams. She is a…”
Now, all eyes were on Denise. Gen. Bailey was aware that he had broached a delicate issue and avoided looking in his direction. However, whether he looked at him or not, it did not matter because Denise must make him do that compulsorily.
Then, he lifted his right hand and, without waiting for recognition, rose and interrupted him, “Our Patriarch, for your information, my mother is married, and I would not have you mention her name again. Thank you.”
At that point, Denise took his seat at once and fixed his unreadable gaze on Gen. Bailey.
Now, the hall was completely silent that one could hear a pin drop. Gen. Bailey, who must be bold enough to finish what he has begun, asked with a feigned boldness as he maintained eye contact with him.
“When did your mother get married and why are we not aware?”
He stood up and paid a careless obeisance.
“Our Patriarch, I don’t think it is your business or anyone else’s to know. Thank you,” he said and sat down.
Now, the calm Family Heads were switching their gazes from the Patriarch to Denise, who was staring at him without blinking his eye. They looked at his armored car, and many thoughts began to run through their minds.
‘No wonder he drove this car to the meeting.’
‘He came prepared.’
Now, Gen. Bailey was in a precarious situation. He mulled over Denise’s audacity – ‘Impulsive youth. He can bomb the barrack in one fell swoop.’
He chuckled and continued by dancing around the matter to save his integrity and please Denise too.
“Well, presently, we have to put the matter on hold…”
However, Denise would not be deceived. He stood up abruptly, interrupted him again, and stated, “Our Patriarch, don’t put my mother’s matter on hold. Strike it off completely.”
This time, he refused to sit down; rather, he stood with arms akimbo with a repulsive look on his face, waiting for the Patriarch to take a decision. Likewise, the Family Heads who had a good rapport with his late father could not speak on his behalf because he did not need them. Rather, he exhibited the spirit of a one-man squad.
Meanwhile, the Patriarch, who did not see Denise as a kinsman at that moment but as a grim reaper calling for his soul, smiled to cover up his fears.
Then, he declared, “My son, I was only pulling your legs. We are not putting your mother’s matter on hold, we are striking it out right away.”
He swiftly faced the Family Heads and asked, “Did I say your mind?”
“Yes,” they chorused and Denise took his seat with the confident demeanor of a tyrant.
Now, the Patriarch, who was confused, could not carry on with the meeting. He had suddenly exhausted his agenda and would not dare to look in Denise’s direction, nor could he look at the faces of the sixty-seven elders who could read his body language.
To extricate himself from the ignominious situation, he closed the meeting in trepidation by announcing, “Can someone move for the adjournment of this meeting?”
To the Patriarch’s consternation, none of the Family Heads was able to lift a hand; rather, they stole a glance at Denise, wanting to be certain that the adjournment of the meeting was what he wanted. Now, Denise checked his time; the meeting had just lasted for one hour and thirty minutes, and the Patriarch had called for an adjournment.
‘I can as well move for the adjournment to save some time,’ he concluded and lifted his right hand.
Meanwhile, the petrified Patriarch misunderstood his reason for lifting his hand and attempted hurriedly to close the meeting without anyone moving for an adjournment.
“This meeting is hereby…”
Then, Denise bulldozed his way and interrupted him. He stood up abruptly and announced, “I hereby move for the adjournment of this meeting.”
He took his seat at once, maintaining eye contact with the Patriarch.
Meanwhile, Denise’s unruly behavior was as harmless as the egret’s poop. They smiled and breathed freely as the tense atmosphere slacked. Now, the hands of the Family Heads were up, including Oscar’s hands, to support the adjournment.
His wife, who was sitting beside him and full of rage over how her matter was handled, glared at him and mocked silently.
“Now you can say something. Can’t you see how a little boy defended his family?”
Then, Oscar put his hand down immediately and watched another person support the adjournment and the meeting came to a close.
“I hereby adjourned this emergency meeting to some other time,” the Patriarch said.
Now, the crux of the matter was, who would be the first to leave the hall? The Patriarch, who felt that Denise may confront him after the meeting, glued his butt to his seat and pretended to be chatting with the secretary. The other Family Heads felt the same way and sat back silently in their seats.
To their disappointment, Denise got up and muttered, “Excuse me.”
Without waiting for a response, he walked out of the hall and headed for his pleasure car, which was an armored car for the Family Heads.
He got in and sat down to call Robin. He spent five minutes speaking with him, and the Family Heads waited for him to drive off before they could speak or move.
When he drove off, the troublesome Family Head who pushed Brown asked randomly, “When did Nichole get married?”