As Mr Leonard, a factory worker in his early 40s, in a sizable office setting, he arranged his office belongings ready to close for the day. He paced worriedly through the room, the weight of responsibility rested on his shoulders, his factory job being the only source of his family's survival questioned his decision.
Getting back to the house he met his wife comfortably seated on the couch, her gaze glued to the television screen.
"Babe, this sitting room is still looking this way in the morning?" He refused to express his vexation.
"Honey, I will get that tidy up right away, it's not easy controlling these little kids all by myself and doing other chores. I need a maid."
"You need a what?! I will make it clear, this is a family affair, we must know how to live our life without getting anyone else involved. I disapprove of you needing a maid."
Mr Leonard had put it upon himself to bore the burden of providing all the family needs as the breadwinner. With his belief it was his duty and his alone to provide while it was his wife's to stay at home, do the chores and care for his kids.
All effort by Mrs Leonard to make him understand she needs to work fell on deaf ears, living an unfulfilled life, she accepted her husband's decision. But despite her everyday at home, the house remained disarranged. It was a constant reminder of her disapproval, Mr Leonard's high standard of cleanliness leaves the two living like cat and dog with nagging each passing day as he returns from work.
The family tension had a shift when Mr Leonard's employer announced to the staff to sit for a promotional examination. With a high level of confidence, he got into the examination hall with a high sense of optimism. His hard work was a passway for him.
A week after the examination, he walked confidently to the notice board. After a long scan for his name on the list of successful candidates, he noticed his name was missing. A shock that left sweating in the cool weather, disappointment was the only thing written on his face. He wearily walked away with no hope of what line of action to take.
With his dream destroyed and left with uncertainty, he searched tirelessly for a new job but his countless efforts were met with rejection. He lost hope on searching further, sitting at home daily was something that left Mr Alex worried knowing how serious and hard-working he was.
Seeing the sadness on his face, he encouraged him to chin up and consider starting his own business with the skills and resources he had. The advice was impossible to Mr Leonard as he never did anything of such in his life. After a week of idleness, he reflected on Mr Alex's words. With a determined mind, he decided to try a new line of business and see where creation of his own business would end.
The first three months in the business showed the family evidence they made the worst mistake by venturing into a business they know nothing about. Being in an environment where everybody sells the same thing made them sidelined as every seller had who they knew as their customers. All effort to understand how and what to do proved difficult.
Being advised by his wife, he went back to Me Alex, a kind soul and neighbor who again gave him the tip that changed his life. Though he wasn't into the motor parts business, he was an exposed businessman.
“You don't have to sit and expect anyone to walk into your store in a business like this. You have to standby and approach anyone you see walking towards the direction,” he informed.
With the new idea, he began the hustle of approaching customers before even getting to any store. Despite his uncertainty, his wife supported and stood firmly by any action he would take. As weeks turned into months and months to years with the new strategy. The family's business began to grow, an encouragement for them to work harder and keep striving.
@marynn, our AI detection tools tell us this story is mostly generated by AI, which we do not allow. We also explained in our recent monthly newsletter that writers should not be using rephrasing tools like Quillbot, as the result is stories that appear to be AI generated. You can read it here.
My bad, it's not far from the truth. I will go through the newsletter right away and I tried if the publication could be deleted but to know avail.
The mistake that most men make, consigning their potentially laden wives to the kitchen. A beautiful story you've got here.
Painfully, we have many of Mr. Leonard not allowing their spouses working which I do not agree with. Good to know he had a supportive wife. Good script