Levi

Levi woke up before dawn. He heard the rustling of palm leaves and the clip-clop of hooves of the cart rolling by his window.

His wife was fast asleep under the mosquito netting. She snored gently while lying on her back, she was 7 months pregnant with their third child.

His two sons slept in the front room with the nanny. He strained to hear them too but all he could hear was the morning breeze.

His pants were sharply pressed and his shirt, white with ivory buttons and short sleeves was starched stiff. Just as he liked it.

It was November of 1959, British Guyana and the house he built in Hampton Court, Anna Regina was the best he could do for his rapidly growing family. Levi worked for his father, Joseph, a well-adjusted (by British standards) business man who was on his 3rd wife. Levi's birth mother (Joseph's first wife) died when he was just a boy. She was from the interior of the Amazon, Wei-Wei tribe. He could barely remember her face.

Joseph was born in India, in the state of Bengal. He was a boy when he ended up on the British Raj's ship heading for the West Indies.

Levi's inherited wealth made him nothing but determined never to lose it, and so he worked like he was born with nothing. Hence his ability to wake at 4am, everyday even if he didn't have to.

"Jeanette, gyal, wake up and fix something?" Levi, whispered firmly into the darkness of his son's room. Jeanette, the maid, swiftly responded, covering herself with her house coat.

Jeanette was also from the same tribe as his mother. She was a small Amerindian woman with pitch black hair and almond shaped eyes. He often thought, this was how his own mother looked in her youth.

She quickly walked into the kitchen as Levi sat at the head of a cherry wood dining table, not without first stopping to gaze at himself in the hallway mirror.

Levi took pride in his appearance and believed nothing should be out of place. Not even the hair on his head. He used hair oil and a short black fine-tooth comb to fix every strand of his own black hair. And once that was perfectly placed, he combed his mustache neatly, with a fine point on each end. Jeanette polished his shoes to a buff so bright, he could see himself. But lately he's been letting the eldest boy buff his shoes, to teach him the importance of appearances.

A hot cup of tea, a tennis roll, boiled eggs tossed with onions, tomatoes and a hot bird pepper was placed at the head of the cherry wood table. Levi sat, and ate with enthusiasm.

The sun was just peaking over the front gate, a sign to collect his supplies and get moving. The day has already begun.

His final splash of Old Spice on his neck at the hallway sink, a quick glance in the mirror once more and he was out the door with a tiffin in hand.

Levi was born a Roman Catholic and was baptized as Oscar Elbertus Levi. He did the sign of the cross over his body out of habit however, he converted to Hinduism after he was arranged to marry Dulari.

They only met twice before marriage, once for him to see her and speak briefly, second was the engagement. Levi said yes when Joseph suggested marrying her.  "She's from a business family too, she'll understand when you when you choose to travel for work. Plus she is young and can keep up with kids and the house."

Dulari was 15 and he was 23 when they got married. It was an advantageous business marriage for both families.

He thought of the business first, and the house he lived in second. The house and business were to serve one single purpose, that was to make something of his father's legacy and keep that legacy going now that he has a family of his own.

He rode a silver painted bicycle with a wire basket at the back. The basket was stacked with habadashary and cloth, his wares to sell at the stall his father gave him in the market.

As he secured his bundle one last time, he thought about his goals for the day.

I need to sell yesterday's pant lengths plus the 12 I have today.

Mr. Ramsingh usually comes by on Thursday morning for the 3/4 inch bolts so I need to make an order with buddy Chin to get the supply from Hong Kong.

Daddy is doing month-end books so I need to show him the take-ins by Sunday morning.

His thoughts degressed as he peddled along the dusty road to market. He passed by a trench covered with large lotus flowers where some little Amerindian kids played naked in the rain water. His first son should be up by now and in his clothes for primary school. The second one is probably crying, he was always crying.

This next child I pray is a boy. These boys of mine will work hard for the business. Maybe go passed high school. College even.

It was 8am sharp when his thoughts finally lead him to the stall. Others were setting up their items as well. Hardware for building houses, fixing speed boats, nuts and bolts, putty, and fishing nets.

The market was alive and awake. And his job was to sell. Joseph taught him nothing else other than business.

Levi worked hard, building a reputation for himself aside from the stellar one he got from his father. Levi was an excellent negotiator, and could easily network his way into the highest of places. His father encouraged him to join The Lions Club of Georgetown as he felt that with his keen ability to charm anyone, his charm would prove more financially fruitful if he associated with the higher ups of the country.

He spoke to customers, laughed with other store keepers, thanked his regulars for the business and only stopped to break for lunch and a cup of tea.

His mind though, was rapid moving. Flipping from one thought to the next. No one believed he was smart outside of business smarts. His wife said he was too soft and gulible but he knew he wasn't. Levi barely made it through his education. But his purpose was not to be an intellectual, it was to be a successful business man like his father. That's it.

That's not to say he didn't contemplate life or had any philosophy of his own.

To this day, his family lives on not knowing what he knew. Not knowing what he felt. As his first grandchild, I write this only under the assumption this was a day in his life just before my mother was born in the house of Hampton Court that following January 1960.

He went on to have 7 children in all and moved to Georgetown to open his store before the British gave Guyana its independence in 1966. He lived through the riots, the communism and the revival of democracy in the tiny country. And to his dying day Levi sold habadash and hardwares. Making his entire family proud.

But did any of us really know Levi? The young man riding his cycle up a dusty road in the early morning light? The thoughts running through his head? His passions or his dreams?

This the Levi we wish we knew. The man from Anna Regina, Esiquibou River, British Guyana.

With Love,
Trishanna