FOR HIS LIFE

For His Life

Part 1

“Carolyn, I told you that we don’t have enough money for that I cannot see how that will work.  She can go to school right here and be successful.”  said Barry.  It has been a long, long time I have spent with Barry.  Barry and I went through hell and high water to get what was needed to get him where  he is today.  I met Barry when I was a teller at the Bank of Nova Scotia he had an account there and he would always wait for me when he was in line.  At the time he was a student at the university of the West Indies and struggling.  On the 26th day of March Barry came in to the bank and asked me if I wanted to go on a date. I agreed because he was very polite and  very ambitious and I was not seeing anyone at the time.  When I met up with Barry he told me that we could watch a movie at his house.  Barry lived in a better than ordinary “big yard”  he rented a room there that had a small kitchen and bathroom.  His mattress was on the floor and his clothes was folded neatly in boxes on the side of the room.  His  house was clean considering that he was a man.  In the kitchen he had a stove, two pots, three plates and a pair of utensils.  There was no refrigerator.  While on the date he spoke about how education was important and the sacrifices that had to be made in order to elevate yourself.  I thought to myself that he was very ambitious and well read, although he spoke mainly about himself I did not think much of it.

Barry was very serious about his studies and whenever he had exams I did not see him at all.  It was as if he was off on another planet when he had to complete his assignments or study for an exam.  This made me feel his ambition, I was sure that he would be successful with his perseverance and discipline.  He talked a lot about us getting married and having children and said he hoped to do for his children what was not done for him. He told me how lucky I was to have a mother and father.  My mother and I had a close relationship and I told her everything.  She  was very happy that I was in a relationship with such a progressive young man even though she was yet to meet him.  Daddy was a stern man and I knew it would be harder to convince him so I decided to break the news to him slowly when the time was right.

Barry and I were in a relationship and he was very supportive and he even encouraged me to take evening classes and finish my degree.  I introduced Barry to my parents after a year of courting.  While my mother was impressed with him my father  did not approve, but I went on with the relationship anyway.  Barry told me that his mother was no longer alive and died when he was a teenager and he did not a lot of family support.   This he said made him put value on education.    He was very proud of his accomplishment and it motivated him even more.  Being as I was in the relationship with Barry I wanted to encourage him to be his best so when he decided to go to grad school I was behind him 100%.   The only problem was Barry did not have a real job he would only write papers for other students and they would pay him.   So I decided that I would help him to get a job. I was happy to buy the first suit that he needed for interviews.  The first interview he did he got an entry level job at the tax office.   Everything was going good for about six months when he decided to quit the job  because his colleague who was there for eighteen months got a promotion before he did. I never knew he could have gotten this angry, he walked off the job the same day his colleague got the promotion.  He was not listening to what I had to say he was just angry.    The worse part is he decided to quit  one month after we moved in together.

Written by Real/lKing