ROBBED TO RICHES

Robbed to Riches

It was not hard to see that my mother was a hustler, she did not really have a real job but always had enough money. Grandma was a black woman but my mother’s father was a Syrian man from a prominent family that never owned her because he was married. I was born when my mother was supposed to be attending commercial school. So that is something my mother could not really live down she was my grandmothers second child and her mother basically disowned her eldest daughter to give her an education. My two younger siblings were from a marriage that did not last, there father left when the youngest was three. My aunt my mothers oldest sister basically helped to take care of all of us because she did not have any children. The difference with my aunt and my mother was clear my aunt was responsible but my mother was lackadaisical. Nevertheless there was a good balance, my grandmother was a quiet woman and did not speak much about her life but she was very kind. Being the oldest child I was named Susanna by my grandmother who taught me to cook and clean which I did exceptionally well. I never really worried about how I would make it in life until I was finished high school and had no means of going to college. Although I was not rich myself I went to a prominent high school which was the good thing about taking about common entrance placement. Fredrice was a nice girl a very humble person she was the third child and was name after her father and had a totally different life from I did. She had a driver that brought her to school, she had two helpers in her home and basically had people at her beck and call. Strangely her best friend would only exchange hi and byes with me simply because I was not in her class. Fedrice invited me to her house and at that time I was amazed I never new people lived like that but the relationship she had with her mother was what made me speechless. Her mother behaved very high class and was very attractive, Fedrice was also very pretty but she looked more like her father who was mullato. Fedriced ignored her mother and only gave her one liners for an answer. Anyway I told Frederica that I did not know what I was going to do after I was finished sixth form and she told me that I could apply for a student loan. She told me that she had an aunt that worked at the bank that could help me with the paper work.

Frederica went away to school and I was able to secure a student loan for CAST now UTECH. My first year of school I did very well and I got a lot of support from my aunt who would travel to come and see me more often than my mother did. Due to the fact that I wanted to improve my situation school was very easy and at the time I was involved with a young man four years my senior who gave me some support. The relationship did not develop merely out of love but mostly because I needed financial support. In my second year of school the relationship was getting hard because I was trying to focus on school and he wanted more out of the relationship. One evening Frederica contacted me and told me that she was visiting for the weekend and wanted to meet up with me and I told her that I would love to. That night she was happy to see me and of course her best friend was there and occurs she gave me the cold shoulder. By the end of the night I met several people one of those people was William Keane a very good looking older man.

Mr. Keane was a man that I heard about before but never really seen in person I new his family were wealthy and dealt in real estate and tobacco and other businesses. Mr. Keane was very charming and charismatic he looked and smell expensive and always seemed important. I was shy immature and poor but that night I made my self available. He smiled with me and nodded his head and I smiled back at him to show my interest in his notion. He bought drinks for Frederica, Thalia and I and to her he was known as Uncle Bill. Although I was two months shy of 21 years I new the way that this man looked at me was different from how he looked at everyone else. After the night ended I was given a phone number on a piece of paper by a man who walked up to me and stuck it in my hand. On the paper it said Billy Keane with three telephone numbers written on it. Although I was shocked I was receptive. For days I had the number and decided that I would not call because I was so afraid that I would say the wrong thing. One week passed and I got brave and gave “Billy” a call, but I did not get an answer. The next day while I was preparing to go to school I got a phone call and it was Billy. He asked me how I was doing and wanted to know when I would be available for a date. I did not want to seem eager so I told him that I would be available on Saturday which would be four days after his phone call he accepted and the conversation ended with me having butterflies in my stomach.

The night before the date I could not sleep I lied to my boyfriend and told him that I had to study for exams the following week. Mr. Keane came right on time and I bought a new green dress with money I had saved for a rainy day. When I walked up to the car Mr. Keane came out of the car and opened the door for me and told me that green was his favourite colour and that I looked beautiful in it. Mr. Keane did not ask me if I had a boyfriend or anything about relationships, he asked me about my parents, my religious beliefs, my ethnicity and my major in school. I asked him about his interest and he told me that he was interested in life and he smiled. Never once did he touch me or made me uncomfortable at the end of the date he asked me when I would be available again and I told him Tuesday. On my second date he told me to wear something comfortable and I did not go to school that day because I was so anxious about the date as he said that our destination was a surprise. That day I saw him for the second official date and I recognized that I wanted the life that this man had to offer me. It was clear that he was happy to see me because his hazel eyes lit up when I walked up to his car and he came out of the car and greeted me and told me that I was beautiful. After driving for about an hour he told me that he was going to take me to his farm and asked me if I like animal and such and I told him yes. This farm had to be about 80 acres it had a house and there was some persons working on the farm it was beautiful and he took the time to explain to me what he was doing and that it was his “hobby”.

We had gone out every week since we met and I was very impressed with this man. my aunt had called me because my birthday was coming up. She told me that she was coming to visit me and I politely declined and told her I had to study. She understood and then told me that she would wait to see me the following week. It was my birthday and I knew that my boyfriend would try to see me and I had to avoid him because I didn’t know how to break it off. On my birthday I got a call very early in the morning from Mr. Keane who told me that he was overseas but he will return before the days end to give me a gift. I thought to myself I just saw him three days ago and he was away needless to say I only had a passport I had never been on a plane. He did keep his word and gave me a kiss for the first time and handed me a small box light blue in colour with Tiffany written on it. In the box was a pair of earrings it seemed to be diamonds with a green stone at that time I was happy I didn’t even know what Tiffany was until months after. This would be a beginning of presents that I would receive from Billy for my presence.
Written By lKing/Real