The Capstone Saga

Scotty’s life in Houston, Texas, was what dreams were made of. He was relatively rich, comfortably well-off, single, and ready to mingle. Barely four years in the States, and under a special government program, he purchased his first home in the USA. Life was good as he continued to fill the void in his heart with friends, lovers, and more friends, some of who were just fair-weather friends that took advantage of Scotty’s good nature and generosity. In his quest for a real family connection, Scotty tried to form one in the absence of his maternal or paternal relatives. He longed for that family closeness, something that he’d always wanted in his younger days growing up at the villa in Nigeria. He found a close friend in the person of Patsy, a lovely lady with great personality and charm. They dated for a while before things got real serious between the two lovebirds. The relationship blossomed from one stage to the other. Patsy moved in with Scotty for a while as her home underwent renovations. Scotty was filled with joy, having a lady that he truly loved thrilled him up to the high heavens. His life seemed complete with Patsy as his missing rib. Patsy played the role of a dutiful wife, a best friend, and a lover to Scotty. In fact, the relationship lasted for over six years, which was the longest that Scotty had ever been in any relationship with someone of the opposite sex. During the relationship, Patsy assisted Scotty with some of his college assignments as he pursued degrees from the city’s university. Her assistance helped Scotty accomplish his main educational goals with relative ease. Thereafter, he established a small sole proprietorship business and promptly hired Patsy’s younger brother as the manager. He did his best at managing the business until they both fell out over a very minor incident not even worth mentioning. Still trying to keep it in the family, Scotty replaced him with yet another of Patsy’s in-laws; a young, dedicated, and hardworking gentleman who also did the best that he could for the business until nemesis caught up with the arrangement. Burglars invaded the business in the wee hours of the night, carting away all of the tools and machineries used for its operations. A police report followed, but nothing came out of the investigation. Thus, Scotty was stuck with the bills, as he had to continue the payments of the credits extended to his company by various banks. Scotty’s once-great credit ratings went belly up as his stocks were downgraded to junk status as far as credit ratings were concerned. The business died an unnatural death as Scotty decided to close it down barely six months after its “grand opening.” The dark days had begun again for Scotty, as he had to take up several jobs to keep up with the many bills of his home and the non-existent business. The American dream was fast becoming a nightmare for Scotty, but he persevered, taking one day at a time, paying his bills on time and remaining focused on his goals of getting out of debt in a year or two. He accomplished his goals as scheduled, but not without some bruises along the way. He endured the pains of working day and night, doing without the many good things of life and cutting out his fair-weather friends. It wasn’t easy for Scotty being a social person that he was, but he had to do whatever it took to get out of the deep financial hole that he found himself in. It took Scotty a little over two years to be free of debts and constant creditor calls that often invaded his quiet moments. He did it through perseverance and hard work; and having freed himself from the chains of indebtedness, he began to build up his finances once again by keeping his tedious work schedule for another year or two. At last, he saw some lights at the end of the tunnel, as he gave a sigh of relief and went back to his old ways of keeping more friends than he could handle. Next in line was his relationship with another lady called Lora, a lady that he’d met at an African church owned by one of his friends. The relationship was doomed from the very start. Lora had two daughters from a previous marriage, but Scotty wasn’t concerned about that issue. All he wanted was Lora despite the obvious problems associated with raising someone else’s children. Scotty hadn’t raised any child before, so he considered himself a novice in child upbringing, and he was not quite ready mentally to settle down with Lora and the baggage that came with her. On the other hand, all that Lora ever wanted was marriage to just about anyone that could provide the needed security for her and her kids. At the African church where they’d met, there was backbiting and gossiping among church members who were either jealous of the relationship between Scotty and Lora, or were just against it outright for no obvious reason. In spite of the problems of this relationship, it continued to blossom, and in no time, Lora became pregnant for Scotty. Playtime seemed over for Scotty who had his good times with Lora, but it appeared to be all over for him now. He had to plan on how to support a sizeable family with a view to taking good care of everyone in his future household. He had sleepless nights on this issue as Lora continued to pressure him into a quick marriage before the people, especially when church members began to notice her protruding stomach. They hurried to the marriage registry and took out a marriage license as butterflies played a game or two in Scotty’s entire body. Scotty had heard that a “man is not complete unless he is married, but after marriage the man is finished.” An anonymous author once defined marriage as “The end