DEAR SON

36

Jacob's phone rang. Who could be calling him when an important board meeting was taking place?. He excused himself and stood walking towards a corner in the room and giving his back to the board members when he saw the caller was his wife Beatrice. She wasn't awake when he left this morning. Their third child, a boy, Divine was just about to clock a year and Beatrice was expecting their fourth. Both hope for another girl this time. He picked up the call.

"Eh... Jacob honey, are you there?". Jacob was to answer her angrily but then he noticed the uneasiness in her voice. His anger turned to concern.

"Yes, I am, dear. What's the problem? I didn't wake you this morning. Did you not sleep well?". She drew her nose.

"I don't know Jacob. I...just had a good dream. An unbelievable one".

"Is that it?. Just a dream?". She murmured a positive answer. Jacob seemed to collapse with relief. He was expecting a worse case maybe of miscarriage and had to quickly ask for forgiveness within for thinking about the loss of their child.

"You nearly scared me. I thought something bad might have happened. I'm in the board meeting now can't I hear the dream later? After all you said it's a good dream."

"No, Jacob. It can't wait."

"It's running away?. Okay to satisfy you, tell me. What dream was it?"

"I dreamt that Joseph came back."

Jacob only sighed and nodded. He could tell that as his wife talked she was crying and equally smiling. But...it was just a dream.
"Beatrice, we all miss Joseph. He's my brother, we grew up together and even wore each others clothes and ate each others food so I have the right to say I miss him the most. But its been a year now or almost and Joseph is in Nigeria and with the inheritance he has he is able to support more than half of the African countries' economy. He even cut ties with us and..." He had to rub his eyes real hard to fight his tears back.
"... I don't think your dream will become a reality..." The big door to the board doom bust open as Mr. Hopkins stormed in panting. Everyone turned to him. He was almost out of breath because of his weight. Someone more athletic in body size of a one-third of Mr. Hopkins size and weight could have ran the stairs to the fifth floor without much panting.

"Sir, Mr. Joseph...is back!",the security man announced out of breath. Mr. MacPherson took away his glasses and stared at Mr. Hopkins. He knew the man had served him for many years and also that the man knew better than to play expensive tricks on him since he knows more than many people, the effect the loss of his second son had on him.