The Capstone: Staying Strong in the Midst of Adversities Through Hope, Determination, and Compassion for Others.

By Walter Efe Tete

Scotty Stone grew up in a polygamous family in Africa with his father, Chief Eyikemi, a powerful Chief of an entire community. The Chief had seven wives at a time, one of whom was Scottys Mom, Victoria. She died early in life, leaving Scotty and his siblings in the hands of their stepmothers by default. Life was a total misery for Scotty throughout his stay at the Villa. However, he survived everything that was thrown at him, and he became a strong force to be reckoned with in the society.

Scotty migrated to the United States of America with the hope of making it big. He did, but not before going through many obstacles, the pains and sufferings that came with his quest for a better life in a foreign land. His dreadful challenges in life, coupled with his powerful survival skills are the key ingredients that make The Capstone a pleasurable must read for everyone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 19, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456815615

Walter Efe Tete

Professor Walter Tete holds a Bsc. in Professional Writing, and a Master Degree in Technical Communication from the University of Houston-Downtown in Texas. He also studied for a PhD in Leadership Skills at Our Lady of the Lakes University in San Antonio, Texas - U.S.A. He taught English and Communication Studies in several Colleges across the state of Texas. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor of English at Lone Star College - Kingwood, Texas. He is a talented writer and speaker often sought after by various professional organizations around the world.

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Copyright © 2010 by Walter Efe Tete.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4568-1560-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-1561-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Foreword

Chapter One

The Arrival

Chapter Two

UCE

Chapter Three

Lagos Jam

Chapter Four

Crocodile City

Chapter Five

Checking Out

Chapter Six

USA . . . USA!

Chapter Seven

The Reality

Chapter Eight

Entangled Relationships

Chapter Nine

Alexandria’s Mixed Bag

Chapter Ten

Support Systems

Chapter Eleven

The Capstone

I dedicate this book to my parents, Peter and Victoria Tete, and to my sisters, Eunice, Gladys, and Bridget, as well as to Joseph. This is also dedicated to all of Tete’s children all over the world.

Thank you for being there for me through thick and thin with compassion and love, and with your enduring kindness. Special thanks to my lovely wife, Chinyere Blessing Tete . . . you are indeed a true blessing; and to my mama . . . the best daughter in the whole wide world, Victoria Efe-Leona Tete. You are one in million!

Foreword

Judging from the cool breeze that was blowing from the Southern Hemisphere, Scotty arrived in autumn, kicking and screaming at the top of his little lungs. His loud voice indicated that he was not going to like it here as he silently wished to go back to his base where it was warm, cuddly, and friendly. But alas! It was too late as the jubilation of having a baby boy spread across the little village known as Erho in the remotest area of the midwestern part of Nigeria. This was where Scotty grew up with his siblings and half siblings in a nuclear family setup with his dad, Chief Eyikemi, the village chief and, indeed, the head of the household.

Chief Eyikemi ruled his home with an iron fist, instilling discipline in all of his children and wives. He was once a very rich merchant who owned several houses and cars with many concubines that befitted his randy status. He was revered and almost worshipped by everyone in the household. The main snag was the constant fighting among his wives, which then spread to his children of different mothers. Combine this volatile setting with the jealous attitude of the wives among themselves, and you’ve got a combustible brew ready to explode at a moment’s notice.

Scotty’s mother, Victoria, was the youngest of the chief’s seven wives, and going by the order of seniority, she was the one that got the leftover land for farming, leftover love from the chief, and with little or no regard for her from the other wives and their children. She died young of heartache, frustration, and poison in the hands of her noted enemies in this hideous household of the honorable Chief Eyikemi. The later charge was never proven since there was no autopsy report to confirm the well-known facts of the case.

Scotty and his little brother, Ossai, grew up without a loving mother, as the very hands that killed their mother, Vicky, as she was called, raised them. Life for these two brothers was a struggle from the very start. Scotty was particularly treated with disdain and hate from the chief’s other wives who became his stepmothers by default. He was accused repeatedly of practicing witchcraft, because he habitually ground his teeth at night while sleeping, which was simply a sign of some serious stress and depression on his young soul.

Wanda was the stepmother from hell who terrorized and threatened Scotty every chance she got. She used every bad name in the book on Scotty, from being in witchcraft to being stupid and dumb in order to castigate him to the den of rejection by all. This negative treatment affected Scotty’s self-esteem, which remained very low even into his adult life in the USA. He persevered, taking one day at a time, biding his time as he planned to move out of this household as soon as he was of age.

At eleven years old, Scotty assumed the responsibility of taking care of his little brother, Ossai, who appeared fragile and frail, easily evoking sympathy from anyone who cared to look his way. It was a daunting task for a small boy to care for another little boy on the side in such a ruthless household. However, the stone that the builder refused shall always be the head cornerstone . . . the capstone that cannot be denied its rightful place in the natural scheme of things. Therein lies the survival traits of the indomitable Scotty Stone . . . the powerful warrior in his battle called life.

Chapter One

The Arrival

A glorious day welcomed the arrival of Scotty Stone. It was indeed glorious with clear blue sky, cool wind blew across the horizon, and there was peace on earth, which was nothing but a momentary calm after the storm. Scotty’s mother, Victoria, had a hard time delivering this boy of seven pounds, six inches. Not a typical oversized baby, but it was almost impossible to push him out of the womb. Scotty seemed to have had a sense of what was ahead of him, as he struggled not to show up on time for his own delivery. The assistance of an African voodoo priest had to be sought in a remote village of Kokori to help deliver this troubled child. He did his thing, and forcefully, Scotty was delivered on that fateful spring day to Chief Eyikemi, a powerful chief in the entire clan of the Urhoborian community.

Scotty was raised in a large family of over sixteen children, mainly females, some of whom were his half sisters and a couple of half brothers, and a maternal little brother. Chief Eyikemi was in charge of his household, dealing squarely with any child of his who disobeyed any of his strict rules and regulations. He had seven wives at one time, owned many businesses, properties, and cars, which was typical of great chiefs of his status at that time. Scotty came out kicking, crying, and screaming at the very top of his lungs, while showing great signs of hesitation, not wanting to come into this world, or spend one extra minute in it.

However, he did not have a say on the matter that was decided between his mom and dad some nine months ago. He had been delivered to a semi-loving family of the chief and his many wives and children. From the very dawn of his rather complex life, it was quite obvious, even to Scotty at that stage of infancy, that life made no promises. It wasn’t going to be a kindergarten. It appeared that he was aware of the fact that life for him was going to be an endless struggle for survival. At birth, he seemed to have realized that life itself does not hold answers to its many problems and various mind-boggling questions.

For one thing, Scotty did not know why he was brought into this harsh, loveless, and less cozy world where capitalism reigned supreme. It was impossible to console him with pacifiers or baby food or even breast milk, his favorite as he cried constantly. He seemed to have murmured aloud as to why he wasn’t consulted on whether or not he’d wanted to visit a place called the Earth. No one asked him to vote on the matter, as it appeared that the breath of life was imposed upon him unsolicited.

Scotty wasn’t in any mood to become a permanent residence on Earth; if anything, he wanted to return to wherever he came from because the current atmosphere surrounding his very being seemed to choke the life out of him. But there he was, with no input whatsoever on a major decision that was made earlier by his parents to have him delivered into a family where it seemed that everyone was waiting to crucify him. In autumn, however, his mom’s protruding stomach was ready to pop as it gave way forcefully to the arrival of an innocent child. The journey had begun, as the plot thickened for Scotty.

He continued to blame the laws of nature in his mind, it seemed, for cooperating with his mom in that remote village known as Erho, by way of Kokori, in the midwestern part of Nigeria, West Africa, on that fateful day, in spite of his vigorous attempts at protesting, and obvious hesitations. Very quickly, and going by his intuition even at the tender age of three weeks old, his mind was already working around the clock with a view to avoiding the impending hazards that life was bound to throw his way. He knew that he had to make the best of the volatile situation that he found himself in. Scotty grew up faster than boys his age and even looked older as well. His physical appearance was such that the storms and turmoil going on inside of this little kid were decidedly hidden from everyone, including his own mom and dad.

The bare fact was quite clear. Scotty hated it here on Earth from the very beginning of his young