After the storm

by Osar Adeyemi

  "And I thought your apartment in London was nice," Yemi said as they entered into another, larger sitting room. "It's not even half as lovely as this." She wandered around, admiring the soft leather furniture and beautiful paintings. She did not need to ask this time around; no one but a professional interior decorator could have perfected the colour scheme and the furniture arrangement that she had seen so far.

  Akeem smiled as he watched her moving around. "Glad you like it. That's a plus, since you're going to be spending a lot of time here."

  "Are you sure about that?" Yemi teased.

  "Remember my threat in London?" he growled, coming closer to her. "My ancestors didn't waste time in those days. They carried off their women and sought parental consent later."

  "Somebody help me!" Yemi said playfully. "But like I told you then, I'd be such a willing captive that my parents will be thoroughly ashamed of me."

  "They will get used to it." He touched her cheek lightly with his finger. "Drinks, or do I show you around first?"

  She linked her arm through his. "Let's go around first."

  "So how's the Prof and his wife?" Akeem asked as they made their way out of the sitting room.

  "They're good."

  "I'll take you home this evening, so hopefully I can see them?"

  Yemi hesitated. She knew her family and had no fears that they would like and accept Akeem, but she did not want to just spring him on them like that without any prior notice.

  "Let's do it this way," she said, as they climbed the wide spiral staircase, "I'll speak to my mum about you, and then you can meet them at another time."

  He appeared to think about it and then nodded, "All right, but I want to register my presence in your family." He pulled her close for a moment. "And all those Unilag boys had better not come anywhere near my girl!"

  "There's no competition." Yemi giggled at the possessive look in his eyes. "They could not get me interested in the four years that I've been there, and they definitely aren't succeeding now."

  "Good to hear that, but I'm still not letting my guard down."

  "What if a lady gets ideas about you?" she asked. "Come to think of it, how am I sure that there aren't loads of them hanging around you all the time?"

  "To borrow your words," Akeem said, looking down at her, "there's no competition."

  Yemi looked into his eyes. She loved him, and that included trusting everything that he told her. "Then there's nothing for either one of us to worry about." She linked her arm around his. "Come show me the rest of this beautiful house."

  Chapter 3

  Yemi heaved a sigh of relief when she finished the assignment she had to hand in the following Monday. She was going out with Akeem later that day and wanted to have as little work to think about as possible. She packed up her laptop, gathered her books, and walked out of the library.

  There were two girls walking in front of her, but her eyes were drawn to the one dressed in denim pants and a cropped top. She had such a great figure—a proper mannequin. Yemi found herself mentally dressing her up in couture and then in smart casual gear. She wished she could sketch down the designs right there and then but grinned to herself as she thought of the weird looks she might attract.

  Her eyes were still focused on the girl when she heard her name being called from across the street. It was her course mate, Ada. She looked excited and was waving madly at Yemi.

  "Whoa, Yemi, aren't you a dark horse!" Ada exclaimed as she made her way across the street to meet Yemi.

  Yemi looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about?"

  Ada grinned. "You, my girl, are one lucky chick!" She rummaged in her big bag and brought out a magazine. "I saw this picture in the new edition of City Buzz, and my eyes almost popped out!"

  Ada flipped hurriedly through the popular magazine to the centre page. She turned the page around and jabbed her finger at a picture at the top. It was of Yemi and Akeem. Yemi just stared at it. She had attended a party with him the previous Saturday, but she had no idea that they had been photographed.

  "You're going out with Akeem Kadiri!" Ada continued, looking at her with something akin to awe on her face. "I can't believe it!" She was almost dancing with excitement. "Small wonder you've never been interested in any guy on campus. You had your eyes set on much bigger fry!"

  Yemi looked at her indignantly. "Bigger fry? You know I'm not like that." She looked at the picture again. It had been taken during one of the moments that Akeem had his arm around her and she was gazing up at him. The caption beneath the picture said: Akeem Kadiri, scion of the famous Kadiri family and CEO of Kadiri Holdings, with the beautiful Yemi… The article went on to talk about Akeem and his family, but apart from that reference, there was nothing more about her. They had not even bothered with her surname.

  "Girl, I'm so impressed with you! How does it feel like to be dating one of the most eligible guys in the country?"

  Yemi inhaled slowly. She didn't even remember any of that when they were together. "He's just a nice guy."

  Ada's eyes widened. "Oh, so it's true? You're really in a relationship with him?" She was getting more and more excited. "I told Brenda and Paula that you're much too straightforward to deny if anything was really going on, but they didn't believe me!"

  Yemi sighed. Brenda and Paula were girls in her department. They were pretty loud, and that meant many people would get to know very soon. "I've got to go now," she said to Ada. "I'm really tired. I've been in the library all morning."

  Ada winked at her. "You don't need to swot anymore. With a catch like Akeem Kadiri, you're settled for life!" She paused for a moment. "But wait a minute. What about Sesan?"

  "What about him? I've always told you that he is just a friend."

  "And I'm believing that story for the very first time! The guy is so hot, and I didn't know how you could claim to be just friends when you're always together!"

  "Sesan is just like a brother…"

  Ada grinned. "Save your breath, girl. I'm going after him now that I know for sure!"

  Yemi shook her head and smiled. "Go ahead. I can even chip in a good word for you."

  She waved at Ada and continued towards home. She called Akeem and told him about the magazine. He did not seem surprised at the news.

  "I haven't seen it, but does it bother you?"

  Did it? She wasn't sure. "I'm just not used to being the center of attention." She could just imagine the curious stares she would get at school on Monday.

  His voice was quiet. "I don't really get chased by the paparazzi. I'm just a businessman, and there are enough celebs to keep them busy. But I do get photographed once in a while at public functions, so this can happen again."

  Yemi grimaced. Her life was getting "interesting." She only hoped it would be "nice interesting." and not the other way around.

  "But tell your friend I'm the one who's lucky to have you," he added softly.

  Yemi could not help smiling after the call. Well, so long as he knew that she did not consider him a big catch or anything like that, then it didn't matter if anyone else thought so. She would just smile through Monday and whatever comments her classmates made. She stopped and bought a copy of the magazine at a shop near her house. She wanted to read it again when she got home.

  Her parents were not in when she arrived at her house some fifteen minutes later. She snacked on some cake and pineapple juice and decided to take a quick nap. But just as she settled down, she heard a knock on the door and the voice of her immediate elder brother, Dotun.

  "Come in," Yemi responded wearily. Her brother entered the room. "You sure know when to come for a visit."

  "Someone is sounding very grumpy. What's the matter?"

  "I just got home from the library, and I'm a little tired." She rubbed her hand across her forehead. "How've you been?"

  "Good. I decided to come see you. You don't bother about us anymore since the entrance of that guy into your life, er…what's his name again?" Dotun asked,
pretending to think hard.

  "I won't even answer you," Yemi said, sitting up. Obviously, she was not going to be sleeping now. At that very moment, her phone vibrated. It was a text message from Akeem. She read it and smiled. He must still be thinking she was bothered about the picture in the magazine.

  "From your smile, I can guess who that is from." Dotun looked at her amusedly. "Whoa! I can't believe any guy can sweep you off your feet like this!"

  Yemi tossed her hair. "Deal with it."

  "We're all trying to. Do we have a choice?" Dotun reached for her hand and pulled her off the bed. "C'mon. Up you get. I came with Shez, and he is downstairs.."

  "Oh, really? Where did you guys meet up?"

  "At the gym. He was planning to come here afterwards anyway."

  "I've not seen Shez for a while. The guy has abandoned me."

  "Well, his best friend has found a new best friend."

  Yemi poked Dotun in the ribs with her elbow. "Who told you Akeem is my best friend?"

  "Sorry, my mistake. He's my new best friend." Yemi swatted at him, and he ducked out of her reach.

  "Hey! What's going on with you two?" Sesan said, standing up as they entered the sitting room with Yemi still trying to smack Dotun.

  "She's assaulting me because of her Hausa guy!" Dotun laughed, quickly moving out of her reach again.

  Dotun's phone rang at that moment, and he signalled to Yemi and Sesan to excuse him. From his face, Yemi knew it had to be Laide, his girlfriend. She turned her attention to Sesan, and they began to chat about school.

  Dotun finished his call a few minutes later and turned towards Yemi. "Laide's really tripping up. She says you're in some magazine or something."

  "What magazine?" Yemi asked coolly.

  Dotun was not fooled. "You've always been a bad liar." A frown creased his brow. "I don't know how you are going to cope with all the attention this guy is bound to draw to you. I still wonder why Dad did not make a fuss about you dating him."

  Yemi glared at him. "Excuse me…have you forgotten the fact that I am an adult?" She turned back to Sesan, who was watching their exchange. "Shez, dear, would you like some cake?"

  "Yes, please," Sesan replied.

  "Hey, what about me?" Dotun protested, following them into the kitchen. "I'm not even interested in cake anyway. I need some real food." He opened the fridge and grinned like a Cheshire cat at the contents. "Shez, I'm sure you must be hungry too after that workout. Not to worry, I'll fix us up soon."

  "Funny how some people who don't live here anymore keep coming back here to eat," Yemi grumbled, as Dotun pulled out a bowl of jollof rice from the fridge.

  Dotun ignored her and whistled tunelessly as he served himself and Sesan large portions of the rice. Yemi eyed the heaped plates and wondered how they could eat so much and yet still have such impressive washboard abs. Must be all the working out that they did.

  "Exams are gradually getting closer, aren't they?" Sesan said to Yemi as he tucked into the food. "Everything just appears to be going so fast."

  Yemi made a face. "Yeah, it is. I hope I'll be able to go through smoothly with the grades I need." She had tried to study as hard as she could but still felt she hadn't been as serious as she should be with her studies that semester, thanks to Akeem wanting her to spend so much time with him.

  "You'll be okay; you've been pretty steady all along."

  "I'm sure you'll be fine, Yemi," Dotun chipped in. "Like Shez has said, you've always been a hard worker."

  "First positive thing I've heard from you today!" Yemi said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

  Sesan laughed and stood up to get some water from the fridge. Yemi looked at his muscular frame in the tank top and knee-length cargo shorts he had on. She could understand why Ada would have a crush on him. She was occupied with Akeem now, so maybe it was time she helped matchmake him with someone too.

  "Someone's got their eyes on you." She winked at him as he sat back at the table with his glass of water. "Very nice girl, too. Hot and all that!"

  Sesan just looked at her without saying anything.

  "Maybe I should introduce her to you," Yemi continued, wondering why Sesan and Dotun were looking at her like she had grown horns.

  Dotun snickered. "Shez can do his own pulling when he wants. He doesn't need any help from you."

  "I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to my dear friend, Sesan."

  "Dear friend, huh?" Dotun guffawed and then turned it into a cough when Sesan glared at him. He pushed aside his empty plate. "Can I have that cake now, please?" he said to Yemi as he sat back in his chair. "And there is no need looking at me like that. You know you can't stop loving me."

  Yemi shot him an evil look. "Unfortunately."

  "Lucky guy," Sesan said quietly, addressing Dotun but following Yemi with his eyes as she made her way to get some cake from the fridge.

  ∞∞∞

  Yemi forced herself to focus on the Sunday morning sermon. Her mind had drifted off halfway during the message. It wasn't her fault; the reverend always took too long to deliver the sermons. But at least the elderly people didn't snooze off the way they used to during the time of his predecessor. Drift off in their thoughts maybe, but no one could really sleep. The guy was too fiery. He was so different from their former reverend, who had retired a year earlier. He didn't seem to take into consideration that their church was orthodox and that the congregation was not used to preachers who left the podium and pranced across the altar.

  She glanced across at Teju, Sesan's older sister. She was sitting a few seats away and appeared to be listening intently to the sermon. Yemi wondered what she found so interesting. Teju and some other friends had started saying they were "saved" about a year ago, courtesy of the new singles/youth group the reverend had formed. They had all been pretty much decent girls before, and Yemi did not understand what they had needed "saving" from.

  Nevertheless, Teju was taking her newfound status very seriously. She had even broken up with her boyfriend, Banji, because she said he was not saved. Yemi had been baffled by her decision, because she knew that Teju really liked Banji. She and Teju had run into him a few weeks after the breakup and she could see the effect that Banji still had on her, but yet, she stuck to her guns. Yemi thought it all so weird. She had made up her mind that she was not going anywhere near the youth group.

  Yemi knew she was a Christian. She had been born one and had grown up as someone who was used as an example of a nice person. She had always had excellent peer relationships, and she was yet to meet anyone that she couldn't get along with.

  Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone vibrated. It was a text from Akeem, letting her know what time he would pick her up later that day. She texted him back. She was so looking forward to seeing him too.

  She turned her attention back to the reverend. He must have said something funny, because many people in the congregation were laughing. He continued preaching, and she tried to listen. The guy was so passionate and exerted himself so much. Small wonder he had to keep wiping the sweat off his forehead with his handkerchief even though the church was fully air conditioned.

  Her thoughts switched to Akeem again. He was even more chilled out about religion than she was and felt people were just emotional about it. He was a member of some posh orthodox church in Victoria Island, but he rarely attended services.

  "It's amazing how intelligent people seem to lose all ability to be analytical when it comes to religion, and that puts me off," he had told her the last time they had talked about religion.

  Yemi didn't completely agree with him. She didn't want to be like Teju and her so-called "saved" friends, but she had been brought up to attend church, and she liked the feeling she got from doing so. She was definitely going to keep trying to persuade Akeem to attend services regularly.

  ∞∞∞

  "How did your game with Javier go?" Yemi asked Akeem as they waited in the restaurant for the food they had ordered to be packed up.
>
  Akeem grinned. "It was a draw. He felt he had a score to settle since I beat him last time. Pity he couldn't claim a victory this time."

  "Maybe he would ask for a rematch."

  "Probably. Our battle for supremacy goes way back. The guy's good, though. A very worthy opponent."

  Javier was a family friend of Akeem's. They had grown up together and attended the same schools. Javier's younger brother, Devin, was engaged to Nadia, Akeem's younger sister. Yemi had heard that rich people loved to walk in the same circles, but she did not know how true it was until she got to know Akeem. He was not very forthcoming with information about his family, but from the little that she had heard from him, almost all the people connected to him were people of means, and they all appeared to have such a strong network between them.

  Yemi glanced at Akeem and met his eyes. She felt the familiar rush of emotions that assailed her at the look in his eyes.

  "You look so gorgeous in that dress, and I can't get over the fact that you made it," he said.

  Yemi bobbed her head teasingly. "Thank you, kind sir." She hadn't had much time for sewing because of her school workload, but she was looking forward to picking up her hobby again after her exams.

  The waiter brought out the bags of food a few minutes later, and they made their way to Akeem's car. Yemi leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Despite the nap she'd had earlier in the day, she still felt so tired. She could hardly wait to be over and done with her exams and uni.

  "Are you okay?"

  She opened her eyes and saw the concerned expression on Akeem's face. "Just a little tired."

  "You need to take it easy. You're working too hard." He started the engine and eased his way out of the parking lot. "I'll definitely breathe a sigh of relief when your exams are over. I hardly even get to see you these days."

  Yemi was amused at his tone. "Well, it's just a month to go, but come to think of it, I see and talk to you more than anybody else, including my brothers. Even Dotun has started complaining about me abandoning him."