"One day I got an opportunity of a lifetime. I met a travelling salesman who was retiring, going out of business, he had spent his entire life working hard and it had finally exhausted him. I actually helped this man sell the last of his stock and since he was very grateful for my help and he decided that he wanted to help me in return." said Ernest.
"Since he was retiring, he shared with me that he had some shares in a shipping container company, and to my surprise, he offered his shares to me free of charge." said Ernest.
"I could not believe it, it felt too unreal for me to be receiving something so good, so easily. He insisted that I receive his gift of goodwill without any charge at all, but I insisted that I was not a man who was an opportunist, the only way I would accept his goodwill was if I bought the shares from him legally." he continued.
"Luckily, he listened to me after minutes of going back and forth and finally, I paid for the shares, and just like that I bought my first shares in a shipping container company." said Ernest.
"Over the next three years I worked to secure my place in that company and use my shares to the best of my ability. I expanded my delivery business to outside the country, even though business in that area particularly was very slow, but I don't complain about it because it was during that time that I met the love of my life, my angel, the only woman in this world that I loved with my whole heart, my wife Mary." said Ernest as Natasha smiled.
"I met her during one of my deliveries that I met her. She was lovely, beautiful curly brown hair, her brown eyes lit up whenever she smiled. To me she was the most beautiful girl in the room. It was love at first sight, or at least it was for me." said Ernest as everyone chuckled.
"From that moment on I continued making deliveries to where she lived with her aunt. I did not pass up any opportunity to see her."
"I pursued her earnestly, I would ask her out, get her flowers and try to get her to notice me, of course she was not my wife yet, but in my mind, she already was." said Ernest.
"Slowly but surely, she started to open up to me and we found out that we had similar interests, we both loved watching movies, we loved taking long walks in the parks, she felt like my perfect soulmate." said Ernest with a smile.
"She began to trust me, then she told me about her family origins and how her parents had died when she was little and that was why she lived with her aunt and uncle."
"We took things slow, I shared my life with her and she shared hers with me, and then finally one faithful day I finally got the courage to propose and she said yes." said Ernest as he smiled fondly at the memory.
"We did not waste any time and we got married instantly. Then we started our new life together and I moved to her city so we could be closer to her family that she loved so much. Although it was not easy moving over here, I lost a lot of my customers, but I did it because of love." said Ernest.
"I used my entire year savings to buy us a house that I found cheap in an area outside the city and I got it at a discounted price since the owner of the house and land happened to be one of my valued customers." said Ernest as he smiled.
"And that was how we began our life together. Before long, Ernest Jr came along and with it the responsibilities of being a good parents came along as well. I strove hard to make a living for my family, we needed stability, we could not be always worrying about where the money for our next meal would come."
"It wasn't me alone any longer, it wasn't just me and Mary anymore, but it was me, Mary and our son who had needs and needed to grow up healthy. I knew that I could not continue travelling around the country frequently. I had to make a hard decision and I used all the money I had to buy a condemned building which later became our first headquarters." said Ernest.
"Over the next fifteen years everything became stable, we had a steady source of income, we had built a reputable name for ourselves, we were a well known delivery company with some abroad contacts, and it seemed like things were really going great."
"Then suddenly, tragedy struck, still to this day I am unsure of what exactly happened, but a fire started and burnt down the entire building. All our important documents, all our files of customers and orders were lost in just one night." said Ernest.
"I was distraught, inconsolable, I just lost my source of livelihood, my business, something I used my entire life to build."
"I felt like giving up, I had no heart to rebuild, where do I start from? What do I do? I could have been sued if I did not refund the customers who had paid for their orders in advance. I had to still pay the few employees that I had." said Ernest.
"I did not know what to do, I was depressed, angry and tired. Then my darling, in the midst of all my stress and worries, calmed down my raging heart with her sweet voice, she was always so supportive, even though she knew how serious this setback meant."
"She was always my voice of reason. She made me feel calm in the midst of a storm and we stayed up together, thinking of ways to move forward." said Ernest.
"I wanted to give up, I had no idea of how to start rebuilding, but she said that I could not just throw away me entire life's work just because of this fire, because if I did, it meant that I allowed the fire to win and she told me that I would regret it if I did not fight." said Ernest.
"Her words encouraged me so much to fight. I got up and left my depressed state, I shaved for the first time in weeks and left my house in search of a way forward." said Ernest.
"I decided that it would be impossible for me to build it up from scratch on my own. I needed help, I needed investors. Over the nest month I used my days trying to convince investors to invest in my business, I promised them shares and luckily some agreed." said Ernest.
"You see, sometimes, you need to know when to ask for help. You cannot always do everything on your own, you need to swallow your pride sometimes, because people need to help each other at all times."
"Slowly but surely, we built everything from the ground up, and in less than two years, we were even better than before the fire struck. I prayed seriously for no other problems like the fire to ever strike again, and thankfully, my prayers were answered."
"Everything was stable for the next fifteen years. Before long, my son had grown up to be a fine young man and he stayed by my side, helping me every single day. He never once complained about how I shouted at him and wanted him to get it, instead he got better." said Ernest as he laughed.
"Do you remember that junior? The times where I was certainly sure you were silently cursing me in your heart." said Ernest as he looked at Ernest Jr who laughed lightly and nodded.
"You couldn't hide it from me, you have such an expressive face like your mother." said Ernest as he laughed.
"But I am really proud of you my son, you never once disobeyed me, the one time was when you fell in love with someone who I thought would not be good for you, but I was proved wrong about that." said Ernest as he looked at Margaret who smiled.
"You defied me and married her. I did not like her initially because she was an employee I thought that she was just after money, but she was not. I was really angry with your decision, until your mother reminded me that I chose her by myself and I should allow you to do the same, so I did, and I was glad I did." said Ernest.
"Because Margaret, you are the best daughter in law that I could ever ask for. You support my son and you love him unconditionally, and you are the only woman I trust who can deal with him." said Ernest as he smiled at her and she mouthed the words 'thank you father' under her breath.
"And best of all you gave me two wonderful grandchildren which made me want more children so I got these three." said Ernest as he pointed at Charlie, Michael and Nine as they all laughed.
"I loved having the opportunity to watch you all grow up together into best friends, brothers, partners. Trust me when I say that without this family, the great feats we have reached would not have been a reality." said Ernest as he smiled sincerely.