Page 63 of The Best Man: Unfinished Business

Chapter Thirty-nine

Robyn

On the second of their shut-down days for the week, Robyn wrapped up the last moments of planning tomorrow’s menu with Haniah and the staff.

There was no good day to shut down, but to regroup, replenish, and recharge Robyn had to do so.

Also to conserve much-needed funds. But today was also a day to have a reality check.

Food was getting more costly, some menu favorites had to be replaced or substituted, and some staff were calling out sick more regularly.

Robyn’s Nest was stretched and its owner was still struggling—trying to make a profit, praying for no rain, and waiting on the city to repair the drainage on the neighboring street.

Normally Robyn took obstacles as opportunities and something beautiful usually resulted.

Now all she had was frustration. The perennially optimistic Robyn Stewart certainly wasn’t seeing a glass half-full right now.

Robyn had met with her accountant earlier in the morning for a “come to Jesus” moment she had been kicking downfield for the better part of six months.

She didn’t have the funds to drop a year’s worth of rent without going into further debt.

Some debt was fine, but this was a ship that was literally taking on water.

Unless the restaurant started making significant profit Robyn would have to make other plans.

She was already paying people out of her own pocket.

It was a sobering conversation, one that permeated the tenor of the staff meeting with an onslaught of well-meaning suggestions.

“Smaller portions.”

“Loyal customers will notice…”

“No more fufu from scratch. Use the mix.”

“Can’t do that…”

“Raise the prices.”

“It’s fair market, but maybe…”

“Faster service, turn the tables over sooner.”

“I don’t want anyone rushed…”

“Use tilapia. It’s a perfectly good fish…”

“Ugh…”

“I know, Robyn…but we must do something. All options need to be on the table.”

That piece of advice had come from Haniah. She was just as optimistic as Robyn, but she also kept it real. Robyn knew she had to take her seriously.

“Yup. You’re right. Let me take all of this into consideration and we’ll regroup tomorrow.

Thanks, everyone.” The line cooks, dishwashers, and waitstaff all gathered their belongings and headed out.

Robyn turned to Haniah to do their usual debrief and saw a look of distress on the face of her closest Ghanaian confidant.

“What’s up? You okay?” Robyn asked. Haniah looked away.

“Can we talk?” Haniah said, finally, quietly. Robyn felt an ominous pit in her stomach based on Haniah’s tone, but she muscled through.

“Of course. Come to my office,” Robyn said, gently ushering her by the arm.

Haniah stepped past her across the threshold and Robyn closed the door behind them. “You wanna sit, have a cup of tea?” Robyn offered.

“No, thanks, Robyn. I don’t want to hold you up.

I know you’re having a family dinner.” Robyn gave a slight eye roll and nod.

“Plus, I still need to get Mawusi from school.” Before Robyn could say anything, Haniah continued, “You’re a great boss.

Everyone loves you and they want to keep working for you.

You have a lot of goodwill with people and they will do anything for you. ”

“I appreciate you saying that, Haniah….”

“But they have to think of themselves and their families,” Haniah continued.

“I understand…”

“You don’t,” Haniah said abruptly, startling Robyn. “I’m being recruited by the Polo Club.” Her disclosure sounded unusually businesslike. “And they’re talking about doubling my salary.”

“Haniah” was all Robyn could muster.

“I know.” Haniah’s face looked pained. “I love working with and for you, Robyn. You have an amazing vision, and you’ve built something so very special.

I love coming here to work. It’s not a job.

It’s part of my life, my passion.” As Haniah spoke, her voice broke with emotion.

But I have to think about Mawusi and keeping her at that school. And they just increased tuition.”

“I saw that,” Robyn said and looked away. The hits kept coming. “Sooo are you telling me because you’re giving me notice or are you hoping I can match it?”

“I haven’t given them an answer. And I think they’re looking at a few other managers.”

“They won’t find anyone better than you,” Robyn declared. Haniah smiled and a tear dropped from her eye.

“Thank you,” Haniah said. Robyn stepped toward her to take her hand, nodding her understanding.

“Of course. Thank you for telling me. I know it wasn’t easy. Give me a little time and let me know if they put any more pressure on you before you give them an answer. Deal?” Robyn made sure to meet Haniah’s eyes. The moment was heavy, but she wanted to make sure they were still in it together.

“Deal,” Haniah said. “I’m sorry, Robyn.”

Robyn sighed and reached out to hug Haniah. “I understand. I appreciate you.”

After Haniah left, Robyn locked up the restaurant and headed toward her vehicle with a heaviness that traveled from her head to her heart.

She’d become accustomed to looking at her phone as of late to check messages after work, especially now that Harper had made himself a factor.

He’d left her a text message informing her that he and Mia were home, that dinner was being made, and he had something he wanted to “discuss” with her.

Robyn sighed, dreading how his “help” would translate today, the thought of what her kitchen would look like after Harper’s attempt at dinner, but also whatever he wanted to discuss.

She’d been hoping he’d decided on an exit date and was gently pressing the issue with him.

Because that’s what she needed to discuss.

Having Harper’s extra set of hands around to run errands, pick up and take care of Mia helped a lot and it had admittedly been fortifying for Mia, though Robyn was still pissed at her for scaring Harper into coming.

Grow up, little girl… Robyn thought. But she was only eleven…

my baby, still. Sigh. Nonetheless, Harper was in her space, her life, her business and she was ready for him to leave.

Robyn simply responded to his text with OK before getting into her car and noticing a few missed phone calls from Candace.

The time difference… Robyn and Candace were always missing each other.

It was only 10:00 a.m. in New York so, the middle of her morning there.

Robyn could use a dose of their laughs and good vibes and hoped maybe Candace could talk. She dialed.

“Hey!” Candace picked up immediately, her voice bouncing from her car speakers.

Robyn smiled big. “Hey, Candace. How you doing?”

“I’m all right. How about you?”

Robyn let out a big sigh.

“Lay it on me, sis,” Candace declared. She was always a safe place and a good sounding board.

Other than Kwesi and Thema, anyone Robyn would tell about the business here in Accra depended on her so it was nice to just be able to reveal things to Candace—to get laughs, perspective, and comfort with no judgment.

Though she had her community here, speaking to Candace was home.

She caught her up on all the happenings in her life during the past week—the restaurant, Kwesi’s situationship, and Harper’s disruptive presence in Ghana. It was a lot.

“He’s gotta go home, ” Robyn announced to Candace’s disembodied voice in her RAV4.

“Didn’t you tell him the door’s always open?”

“Yeah, that was before I got settled and before Kwesi.”

Candace laughed. “Dick will do that.” Candace’s words made Robyn howl out loud.

“I don’t mean it like that,” Robyn finally corrected, still giggling. “Harper is Mia’s father, and she likes having him around. Maybe he should take her this summer.”

“That’s a good idea. You should come too.

” Candace sounded excited by the idea. “Just like a week. Let me lay eyes on you and this Ghanaian chocolate man.” The thought was a momentary warm one.

Kwesi and Robyn hanging out in New York for a week in the summer, showing him off to her friends and family.

It had been a while since Robyn had set foot on American soil, saw her friends, her folks.

Her parents had been to Accra a few times and she loved hosting them.

She’d just started feeling like she wanted to get back to see people and her old familiar places.

See America again, even though she didn’t miss it so much.

But Robyn didn’t see any trip that would take her away from Robyn’s Nest without it going under or closing, not right now, as things were so tenuous.

She was an integral part of its success—her problem-solving, her savings, her stitching together the necessities of one day to the next.

“I wish…” Robyn said wistfully. “Did I tell you Kwesi offered to help financially, but I refused?”

“Why?” Candace asked.

“Because I thought I could cover it. I want to do this on my own,” Robyn responded.

“Listen, I’m all for independence, but why run yourself into the ground trying to prove a point?”

Robyn took a pause to consider Candace’s question.

“Do you know I never lived on my own?” Robyn asked.

“No?”

“Nope. I’ve always been dependent or in partnership with someone else: my parents, college roommates, post-college roommates, boyfriends, then Harper.

” The disclosure was something that Robyn had been thinking about, but she’d never spoken it.

It felt even more urgent aloud. “I’ve always had someone to rely on.

I always had backup. Now I am the backup.

” Growing up and during most of her adult life, Robyn didn’t feel like it was an issue.

She was still a great source of support for everyone she loved. But over the years doubt seepedin.

“All that support I had…Was I failing the feminist movement? Did I qualify as a strong Black woman?” Robyn verbalized her younger self’s thoughts.

“Robyn, please…” Candace interjected.

“I’m serious. Was I less of a woman because I chose to allow Harper to lead and to support him?

” Robyn pondered. “It ate at me over the years. I was smart and capable, and I could do anything I set my mind to. Most important, I wanted to be an example to Mia. So part of me has something to prove—to myself, to Harper, to the world. And while some of that is scary, I was always looking forward to it. I want to be that lady in that old perfume commercial,” Robyn said.

“What lady?”

“You know,” Robyn sang, ‘I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a paaaan.’? ”

Candace giggled excitedly.“Right, right.” Then she continued singing with Robyn, “?‘And never let you forget you’re a maaan.’?”

“?‘Cuz I’m a wooooman! Enjoli!’?” She and Candace cracked up laughing.

“Remember that?” Robyn managed to get the words out between laughs.

“Hell yeah. I remember that. Bitches is old.” Robyn cracked up further to the point of tears coming to her eyes. They each had to catch their breath from laughing so hard.

“Oh my God. I miss you,” Robyn said.

“I miss you too, sis,” Candace returned between her cackles. “Ohhh, Robyn, I’m happy for you. I’m happy that you found your way and that you’re on your journey,” she said lovingly. “But I hate that you’re so far away.”

“Sometimes I feel like I’m sinking, but I’ve been managing.

And, I have to admit, having Harper here this week to help with Mia, things are a lot easier,” Robyn said, returning to her air of contemplation.

“I forgot how funny he could be sometimes. Harper Stewart still tickles my funny bone. I’m not gonna lie. ” She laughed a bit thinking aboutit.

“Uh-huh. What about with Kwesi there?”

“It’s complicated, Candace. I can’t be held hostage by Mia who called her daddy in to play police on my vagina.

More than that, my future. Whether I’m with Kwesi or not I don’t want to end up one of these divorced women who doesn’t have a life outside of her children,” she said.

“You see them, where their child becomes their best friend? Their life, all that they care about. All they have to look forward to. And when their children grow up and move on, what do these lonely women have? Nothing. No. That’s not going to be me. ”

“Some women don’t even have that, Rob.”

“Amen. I have to do what works for me. At some point I have to think about me and only me. Take a page out of Harper’s book. Hell, most men’s books. And worry only about myself.”

“Whether you’re in New York or the motherland, it doesn’t make any sense to run yourself ragged.

You’ve been healing. I hear it in your voice, see it in your face, it comes through on your posts.

You seem happy so I know you’re in the right place, but is running this restaurant too much? Is that really your dream?”

Robyn exhaled and shook her head. “I don’t know anymore, Candace.

I don’t want things to be so hard. I just want to live.

Be fulfilled. I deserve that.” Robyn pulled into her driveway next to Harper’s rental car and realized with a tinge of sadness that her time chatting with Candace was going to have to wrap quickly.

“You do.”

“Hey, Candace, let me go. I’m just getting home and have to see what kind of disaster I’m walking into.” Robyn put her car in park.

“Oh!” Candace said, sounding alarmed. “I was having such a good time catching up, I almost forgot why I called you. Harper. Has he…said anything to you about…anything or anybody ?”

Robyn looked at her speakers with curiosity. “Anything like what?”

“Check your phone. I just texted you something.” Robyn grabbed her phone to find Candace’s messages and opened the first one. It was a photograph that she couldn’t quite make out without her reading glasses.

“I need my readers.”

“Get them,” Candace said. “You’re going to want to see this clearly.”