It was Fosuwa’s fifth day at the house of Sandra, one of the three children of Mrs. Gloria Anderson, CEO of the Anderson restaurant chain. Sandra was pleasant but certainly not friendly. She explained what she wanted done. Cleaning and dusting to be done by seven, dirty linen washed by seven-thirty, and breakfast served by eight. Sandra said she lived with her husband, Abeeku, although she was not wearing any rings. Abeeku, Sandra explained, had travelled for a funeral, and would be back in the evening.

Fosuwa had completed an HND course in Graphic Design at Takoradi Polytechnic, and topped it up with a three-month web design course. Her brother, Felix, in Connecticut had regularly sent money for their parents’ upkeep and her school bills. But over the last year, Felix had fallen on hard times, due mainly to COVID. The two companies that were paying so well had both folded up, and he was only managing to survive with welfare checks and food stamps. Things were really tough, and Fosuwa needed to find a job to help keep the house afloat. She called several employment agencies, but they only had jobs for house helps. Out of desperation she accepted the one that offered the highest pay of six hundred cedis, and started work straightaway. She would usually close at seven in the evening, but would be doing next to nothing during the day, when Sandra was at work, so she could start looking for some odd jobs designing invitation cards and other stuff for events, to earn badly needed extra income.

Just before Sandra left for work her mother stepped out of her car and walked in. Without acknowledging Fosuwa, she went towards the bedroom and addressed Sandra.                             

‘So this is the new girl. Have you had a good talk with her? Let’s do that now’.                          

‘My daughter has already had a discussion with you on what we want done in the house. There are a couple of things. First, we don’t allow visitors, especially during the day when Sandra is not at home. If anyone wishes to see you, they can wait till you close. In an emergency, you should call us first for our approval. And second, Felix is living here, but he does not take any decisions on anything, so you do not need to consult him. In fact, you do not need to do any errands for him. That will be all for now’. Then they left for work.

Wow, Fosuwa said to herself. She thought this was a perfect job in a perfect home, in the circumstances. But the elderly woman was certainly not a piece of cake. And who is this Abeeku who would walk into a marriage in which he did not have any powers at all? Poor guy. Anyway, all she needed was some peace of mind to earn her monthly income until she was able to find a better job. Mrs. Anderson had better behave herself.

Later that evening, as she was about to take leave of Sandra, there was a knock on the door, and she opened it and saw him. He smiled at her and picked up his small suitcase.                                

‘How are you, madam. Are you the lady who is going to be helping round here?’                             

‘Yes sir. My name is Fosuwa. You are welcome. May I take your bag?’                                             

 ‘No Fosuwa, but thank you very much. My name is Abeeku Daniels’. You are also welcome. He went to the room and emerged with a food pack, and sat in front of the TV and started to eat.     

‘Sir’, Fosuwa said as she walked to the kitchen, ‘I will be in the kitchen if you need anything’.    

‘I thought I told you a minute ago that my name is Abeeku’, he said smiling. ‘But know, I’m fine. You were just about leaving, weren’t you? So it’s okay. We will see you tomorrow.

‘So, how was the first day at work? Is it going to be manageable? Some of these wealthy home owners can be difficult to deal with’.                                                                                              

‘I think it’s going to be okay. My employer is Sandra Anderson, whose mother owns the Anderson restaurant chain. Sandra is quite okay, but her mother sounds like trouble, but thankfully she does not live there. She came there today, and warned me against bringing anybody to the house without their knowledge. Then she advised me not to pay any heed to Sandra’s husband. Her specific words are ‘he has no powers’, so I think she is either paying all the bills, or she does not approve of him. Or maybe the guy is not earning much’.                      

‘O dear. Then why did he marry into such a family. There will always be trouble’.                   

‘And Mama, the guy, Abeeku, he’s such a handsome guy. So respectful, really good looking’.   

‘What is that expression on your face?’ You just told me that he’s married, and he may not be very good husband material, but why do you look as if you have already fallen for him?’            

‘Oh Mama. I’m just sympathising with him. He’s obviously a decent guy, and I wish he would be treated well, but obviously he’s not getting much respect from that house’.                           

‘Perhaps he’s not working hard enough, or he’s lazy, which explains his mother in law’s stance’.  ‘You can’t be sure of that. Anyway, let me go and say hello to dad’.