After the storm

by Osar Adeyemi

  "You've signed on mine too. At Bluewater, remember?" he asked her.

  She couldn't answer and just allowed herself to get lost in his eyes.

  He stayed overnight in her house for the first time that evening. She woke up briefly during the night and looked at him sleeping beside her, his face relaxed and boyishly handsome. She smiled to herself before closing her eyes again. She had become his mistress indeed.

  Deji called her the day after Akeem saw him in her office, but she gently told him that she was trying to work things out with Akeem. He understood—or so she hoped.

  Chapter 27

  "What's wrong, Akeem?" Yemi asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice. "Why're you sounding this way?"

  "I'll explain when you get here."

  Yemi drew in a shaky breath. "Akeem, you're freaking me out! What's going on?" A thought came to her mind, and she froze. "It's Aleena, isn't it? Something's wrong with Aleena!"

  His silence confirmed her worst fears. Her heart stopped momentarily and then started doing sick flips.

  "What's wrong with my daughter?" she asked, trying not to shout. "Akeem, what's wrong with Aleena?"

  His breath was raspy in her ears. Calm and controlled Akeem? That was a sign that something was terribly wrong.

  "Gunmen tried to kidnap Chloe. She and Aleena were walking out of the school gates together. Chloe's bodyguards resisted, and the kidnappers opened fire. Aleena was hit in the process."

  The words couldn't register and bounced around her. Her hands went clammy, and she transferred the phone from her right hand to the left and back again. "What do you mean by hit?"

  "She was shot."

  Yemi swayed as the room started swimming around her. Akeem's words reverberated in her head. Aleena had been shot. Shot. Shot…

  "Yemi, are you there?" Akeem's voice came to her over the phone.

  "Is she…?" She couldn't finish the question. Her breath was coming in short bursts.

  "She's alive but unconscious. I'm at the hospital. The driver should almost be at your place now."

  He kept her on the phone until the driver arrived. Yemi felt like she was in a bad dream. She was shaking so much that she could not control it. She called Sesan on the way to the hospital and asked him to pray.

  "Dear Jesus, please save my child," she kept saying over and over again.

  She didn't even know Chloe had bodyguards. That meant her parents knew her safety was threatened, and yet Charlotte had not thought to warn her. They had allowed her own daughter's life to be endangered. Tears flowed down her face. The thought that Aleena might already be dead flashed through her mind. She panicked and called Akeem.

  "Aleena is alive. Are you still far off?" he asked tersely.

  She looked outside, trying to focus on landmarks, but nothing was registering in her head. She asked the driver and then told Akeem.

  Akeem met her in the reception lobby when she arrived. He had taken off his suit jacket and tie. His eyes were red, his face tensed up. The only time she had seen him looking that way was when they lost their son. Were they about to lose their daughter too? No, Lord, she prayed feverishly. Please don't let my child die!

  "Where is she? Have you seen her?"

  "She's in the theatre at the moment. They're trying to stabilise her and stop the bleeding."

  She felt faint and swayed. Akeem put his arm around her and led her to a chair. From then onwards, everything was a blur. Her pastor called; Sesan had told him. He assured her that he was praying. Her parents and brothers arrived separately some time later. Akeem's mum and Nadia came shortly after them. Mrs. Kadiri talked in hushed tones with Akeem and then came over and just squeezed Yemi's hands. For the first time ever, Yemi saw something akin to compassion in her eyes.

  Senator Ola-Daniels came into the reception a few minutes later. He expressed his shock and sympathy at what had happened and told them the police were investigating the incident. He spoke outside with Akeem for a few more minutes. After he left, Yemi learnt from Akeem that Chloe had not been badly hurt. Hers was a flesh wound; the bullet had just grazed her shoulder. Her main bodyguard, however, was fighting for his life.

  "Please save my child, Lord. Don't let her die," Yemi began to sob.

  Everyone looked on helplessly.

  A doctor came into the room some time later. "Mr. and Mrs. Kadiri?" he asked. They stood up, and he took them to his office.

  "I'll be frank with you. The situation does not look good," he began. "She's lost a lot of blood, and we need to take out the bullet, but the position of the bullet makes it a high-risk surgery…"

  Fresh tears coursed down Yemi's face as the doctor continued. Was it really Aleena he was talking about? Leaving the bullet in was dangerous; taking it out was dangerous.

  "We've got one of the best doctors around," the doctor was saying. "He was recalled back from his annual leave because of Senator Ola-Daniels's influence. I believe he knows him personally. He is handling your daughter's surgery."

  She and Akeem went back to the waiting room after the doctor had finished briefing them. Sesan had arrived while they were with the doctor and was sitting near Dotun. They told her Ayo was talking with one of the doctors. Everyone looked tensed, their eyes filled with compassion as they looked at her. She averted her eyes.

  Was this the story of her life? People always gathering together because of one bad thing or the other that had happened to her. Was she always to be at the receiving end of sympathy? The loss of her son, breakup of her marriage, and now her daughter lying in a critical condition? Would they also gather to mourn with her if Aleena didn't make it through the surgery?

  No, she'd had enough. She was tired of it all. She didn't need anyone's sympathy. Aleena must not die. Akeem attempted to take her hand in his, but she shook it off. Her eyes stared straight ahead. Tears kept running down her face, but she wiped them away furiously. She didn't need anyone's sympathy. She needed God's intervention.

  ∞∞∞

  Akeem got up and made his way out of the waiting room. He needed to get out of there. He was fast losing it, and he needed time alone.

  His precious daughter's life hung in the balance, and he couldn't do anything about it. His money couldn't save her. He wanted to pound at something. Release his anger, and feelings of impotence on something. He remembered what Lois had told him about Ola-Daniels's opponents trying to get him to step down. He had not thought they could go as low as trying to kidnap a little girl to use her as bait to force her dad to comply with their demands, but that was exactly what the senator had told him.

  He didn't know how it had even skipped his mind that Aleena could be endangered by her relationship with Chloe. They could have found a way to minimise Aleena's contact with her, but then again, the two girls were in the same class. It would have been hard to do that without withdrawing Aleena from the school.

  Akeem remembered the way Yemi had shrugged his hand off. He didn't need anyone to tell him that his marriage would be effectively over if anything happened to Aleena. She had still been dragging her feet over moving back to his house, giving him one flimsy excuse after the other. This would be the last straw.

  He needed help, and fast. He needed a miracle, if there was really anything like that. He brought out his phone and considered calling Shona but changed his mind and called Justin, who was shocked to hear the situation with Aleena.

  "The doctors aren't very optimistic. I need you to…to pray for Aleena."

  Justin's voice was quiet. "I'm going to do that. I'll let Shona know as well."

  Akeem noticed a slight tremor in his hands and clenched his fists to try to stop it. He glanced at his wristwatch. It was still going to be another one and a half hours. He thought of Tanya and remembered her quiet confidence, her assurance that she had a relationship with God. But would she not remember him deriding her faith? He swallowed his pride. Who cared about that anyway?

  "Sesan has told me, and I'm already praying," she said to him quietl
y. "We're all trusting God to pull Aleena through the surgery."

  He muttered his thanks and went back to the waiting room. Everyone looked up when he entered. They were like two camps sitting on opposite sides of the room, and yet were all there because of a child who was as much a part of one family as the other. Yemi's parents had greeted him when they arrived but had looked on coldly and barely acknowledged his mother's and Nadia's greetings. Ayo had said hello to him too, but Dotun had ignored him. Neither family knew that he and Yemi had reconciled. She had told him she didn't want to tell her family yet. He had had no interest in telling his either.

  His eyes searched his wife's face. Her eyes were vacant and staring, reddened from constant tears. His heart tightened within him. She was in pain, and he was unable to help her. She had never wanted Aleena at Dartmouth International. He had arrogantly insisted that was the school the Kadiris had always attended. Maybe if he had listened to her, Aleena would not have come to any harm. He had caused her to lose their son and now this.

  His heart burned within him, and he walked out of the room again. He walked to the far end of the corridor outside and paced restlessly. Aleena couldn't die. He could not bear to lose her, could not lose another child. He lifted his eyes and looked heavenward.

  "Please…" He paused and didn't know how to continue. When was the last time he said a prayer? Well over twenty years ago. He swallowed hard. "I've scorned you and said you're not real. I'd still prefer to believe you are not, but at the same time, deep inside me, I know that you are." He was breathing hard. He stopped speaking and closed his eyes briefly. "I've seen firsthand the changes in people around me," he continued, his breathing a little more even. "Something or someone must have caused these changes." He paused and inhaled deeply. "Please, I beg you, save my child and don't let her die." His vision became blurry, and he wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. "Please keep her alive and…and I promise to serve you for the rest of my life."

  After those words, the rest was easier. He just basically kept pleading for Aleena's life, guidance and expertise for the doctors, and strength for Yemi. He didn't know how long he stood there, but by the time he was walking back to the waiting room, he felt a lot calmer.

  He got to the waiting room and sat down on one of the empty chairs. Yemi's head was bent over, and he couldn't see her face. He closed his eyes and just waited.

  "I thought they said two hours," Yemi asked aloud a while later, her eyes darting constantly towards the door. "It's been almost three hours now."

  "Sometimes it's just an estimate that is given," Ayo replied gently. "It could be plus or minus some minutes."

  "But this is almost a whole hour more," she said, twisting her fingers nervously.

  "I'm sure someone will come out soon," Ayo said soothingly.

  She flipped her phone open again. Akeem knew she was reading Bible verses because he could see her lips moving.

  About thirty minutes later, the doctor who had spoken to them earlier came out again. His face was grim. He motioned to Akeem to follow him. Yemi got up too. Akeem looked at the doctor's face. It was obvious that he didn't have good news. His heart squeezed painfully. He had been so sure that he had connected with God. Had he left his apology too late?

  "How's my daughter?" Yemi asked brokenly, tears running down her face. "Where's my daughter?"

  "Maybe Mrs. Kadiri can wait here for us," the doctor said.

  Yemi shook her head stubbornly. Ayo got up and put his arm around her. She shook it off. Her mother started crying. Nadia gripped his mother's hand tightly. Both their faces looked frightened. Everyone's eyes were riveted on the doctor.

  "Very well, then," the doctor said, indicating that Yemi could go with them.

  The walk between the reception area and the doctor's office was the longest Akeem had ever taken in his life, and yet it was barely three minutes. He prayed all the way through. Somehow he knew Aleena was not dead—the doctor would have said so immediately—but still, something was not quite right.

  "We've taken the bullet out and stopped the bleeding, but she has slipped into a coma," the doctor said as soon as they were seated. "We've done what we can. We can only just monitor her now and hope for the best."

  Yemi appeared to lose some of her fear, but her face still looked stricken at the doctor's words and tears were running down her cheeks.

  "Aleena will pull through. She'll be okay," Akeem said. He didn't know where the strength or confidence was coming from, but he believed with all his heart that she would be fine.

  Yemi's eyes searched his. He knew she might be thinking it was something to do with his old beliefs, the trust he had in himself. But he knew this was different. This was confidence in someone higher, someone who could help when everything looked hopeless. He wished he could tell her what had just happened to him, but there would be plenty of time to tell her later.

  He looked at her face, puffy and weary with her continuous weeping, and he longed to hold and comfort her. Instead, he just took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Stop crying. Our daughter will be fine."

  Chapter 28

  It was a clear cool evening and the stars seemed to sparkle like little diamonds in their dark blue velvety canopy. Yemi stood on the balcony just outside her bedroom and drank in the pretty sight. The weather had been very hot over the past few days, but it had rained earlier in the day and that had ushered in a refreshing coolness. The sweet earthy after-scent of rain still lingered and she breathed in the clean fresh air.

  Her eyes widened with delight as she saw a shooting star. The old myth about making a wish came to her mind but she smiled and shook her head.

  "I've got no requests, Lord," She whispered as she looked up to the heavens. "You 've already surpassed my expectations, and all I want to do is continually praise you." She did just that, praising God and thanking Him for His many mercies and love, and as usual, she felt His presence enveloping her like a cosy blanket.

  As she went back into her bedroom a while later, she heard the front door open and close. She knew it would be Akeem. He had gone out earlier that evening to get some takeaway for them. She went downstairs to join him and saw him in the kitchen bringing out the contents of the takeaway bags he had placed on the kitchen table.

  He looked up as she came in and his eyes roamed over her in her new frilly peach silk pyjama top and shorts. He winked at her and Yemi felt the familiar thrill that only Akeem could stir up shooting through her. He was right, she thought to herself ruefully, he had signed his name on her heart and she could not but hopelessly love him.

  She caught sight of the food he was dishing on the plates. "Sushi? No way am I eating that stuff! I asked for Nando's!"

  "And you have your Nando's," he said, pointing to the other bag. "But you need to lose your apathy for sushi, especially since you've never even tasted it."

  She shook her head. "No deal!" she moved past him towards the plate rack. "I'll just get another plate for my Nando's."

  "C'mon, have a taste," he said, coming after her and holding out a forkful to her. She shook her head, moving backwards. He followed her, and she backed farther away, laughing as she tried to dodge him. "Akeem, I don't want the sushi!" she protested.

  He took her wrist with his free hand and led her to the sofa in the sitting room.

  "Akeem…"

  "Just open that beautiful mouth and take a little bite," he said, holding the fork to her lips. "C'mon baby," he urged. "Just a little nibble…see, not bad, is it?"

  She made a face at him but took another bigger bite and chewed slowly. It was quite nice, actually. She didn't know why she had always felt she would not like it. Akeem looked amused as he fed her more bites.

  "Mummy…"

  They both turned at the sound of Aleena's voice. She stood there in her favourite PJs with Peppa Pig all over. Yemi's heart swelled again with thanksgiving to God. He had given her back her daughter from the gates of death.

  "What do you want, sweet
ie?" Akeem asked, putting the plate of sushi down and moving towards her.

  "Can I have some milk, please?"

  "Of course. Go back to bed, and I'll bring it up to you in a minute."

  Yemi blew her a kiss as she went back up the stairs towards her room.

  "I'll be back," Akeem told her as he went into the kitchen.

  Yemi thanked God again. She didn't think she would ever be able to thank Him enough even if she lived to be a thousand years old. Aleena's recovery had been nothing short of a miracle that had surprised even the doctors. She had woken up ten days after she slipped into the coma, and her cognitive abilities had returned almost immediately. She had recognised her parents, knew who she was, and got better faster than the doctors had thought she would. She was discharged from hospital a week after she came out of the coma. That had been two weeks earlier.

  Charlotte had finally found the courage to visit two days after the incident, and she had wept throughout the visit when she saw Aleena's motionless body on the bed. She had been very relieved when Aleena came out of the coma. She told Yemi that she and her kids were travelling out of the country until the elections were over. Yemi didn't blame her, but it was also almost a certainty that Chloe's dad would win the elections. There had been a huge public outrage against the shootings, and the polls had tilted even more favourably towards him.

  Both Akeem's family and hers were now aware that they were back together again. Mrs. Kadiri had come several times to Yemi's house to see Aleena since she was discharged from hospital. Nadia had come with her on two of those occasions, and somehow they had all conversed. Adil, Zara, and their boys had also flown in from Abuja. Their conversations were still all a little stilted, but compared to how it had been in the past, it was a miracle.

  "There is this ladies' meeting that I attend. It's for women in business and politics," Mrs. Kadiri had said to Yemi on her last visit. "I am one of the patrons, and there is another one taking place in a few weeks. I'll be glad if you can accompany me."