After the storm (44 page)

"Expect
a miracle," was one of the pastor's favourite sayings. He believed
in it strongly, and he said those words to her before she left his
office that day.

She had
not been very expectant. To Yemi, her marriage was a closed case.
Now that she was saved, there was even more of a gulf between her
and Akeem. With all his funny beliefs, they were like two parallel
lines.

But the
basket of fruits in her kitchen was a miracle indeed. Mrs. Kadiri
was back in the country and had sent the fruits to her through her
driver. Yemi could hardly believe her eyes when she saw it. Mrs.
Kadiri had only ever given her birthday cards while she was with
Akeem and even then, Yemi was sure she had only felt compelled to
do so in order not to offend Akeem.

She was
very thankful to God that the feud appeared to be over. She didn't
feel any leading to get in touch with Nadia or Adil. She knew that
making peace with Akeem's mother meant that she had made peace with
them all, but she made a mental note to go out of her way to say
hello to Nadia the next time she saw her.

Chapter
24

Akeem
glanced at his wristwatch as he and Fola, the managing head of
Ka-Tell, strode towards the entrance of the office. It was six
forty in the evening, and the meeting they had just attended with
some government officials had taken longer than expected. He felt
tired but he still had a few things he needed to sort out in the
office before heading home.

"Still
got a lot to do this evening, Fola?" he asked the younger
man.

"A
couple of things. I should be done in about an hour or
so."

At that
moment, Tanya Lawson stepped out of the entrance of Ka-Tell. She
didn't see them at first, and then when she did, she slowed
down.

"Still
in the office?" Akeem smiled as she walked up to them. It was an
hour past her closing time.

She
smiled at both of them. "I had something I needed to finish. It's
Friday anyway, so there's no rush."

Fola
quirked his brows slightly. Tanya seemed to realise that her
admission of not being in a hurry to leave the office on a Friday
evening implied lack of a social life, but she didn't seem
embarrassed by it. She spoke to them for a few more minutes and
then headed towards her car.

Akeem
noticed the way Fola's eyes followed her.

"Perish
those thoughts," he said, as they continued into the reception. He
raised a hand in greeting to the janitor, who stood a little
straighter on seeing him and Fola.

Fola
grinned. "But she's a hot little number, isn't she?"

"She's
too good for you." Akeem liked Fola, and their relationship went
beyond that of boss and employee. But he also knew his reputation
with women. And the thought of Fola going after Tanya didn't sit
well with him.

Fola
laughed. "Who knows? She may well be the one to reform
me."

"How's
Zoe?" Akeem asked. "Oh sorry, it's Lorraine now, isn't
it?"

Fola
laughed. "Both of them were good the last time that I spoke to
them," he said. The elevator arrived, and they got into it. "Tanya
does not appear to be easy, though. She is religious."

"All the
more reason to stay away from her. Stick to the girls that
understand guys like you."

"But it
would be a sweet challenge to see how long her religious views can
stand against me."

Akeem
was not amused. "I thought you liked my policy on not dating
staff?" It was his personal policy and he could not hold anyone to
it, but a few senior staff members had adopted it too.

"Yeah…I
do," Fola replied as the elevator stopped on their floor. "Tanya
just got me temporarily reconsidering that resolve."

"Tanya
is close to Shona, and I really would not want anything unpleasant
to happen to her."

Fola
grinned. "Yes, boss, but what if I really fall in love with
her?"

Akeem
lifted his brows cynically. "Elephants may as well start flying
before that happens."

Fola
laughed, and they continued chatting as they went towards their
respective offices.

Akeem
got a call from his mum a few minutes later. She wanted him to stop
by her house the next day. He assured her he would and disconnected
the call a few minutes later.

He had
been almost confused when she had told him about Yemi's visit to
her in hospital. Wild horses could not have dragged Yemi to visit
his mum on her own when they were still together, and now she had
gone to see his mum even with a pending divorce lawsuit against
him.

His mind
had immediately gone to the conversation he had with Tanya. The
implacable person he had been referring to had been Yemi. But it
had to be a coincidence, because Tanya had not been confident
enough about God to accept his challenge.

The
following Saturday, he saw Tanya at Shona's when he dropped Aleena
off for her son's birthday party. He jokingly told her about the
"uncharacteristic incident" without revealing the identity of the
implacable person.

"Why do
you think it's not God?" she asked him quietly.

"Because
you weren't even sure He would answer you."

"I said
God does not need to prove himself." She paused for a moment. "Do
you always prove it to anyone that asks you if you are truly the
CEO of KH?"

He
chuckled. "You're trying to be smart."

"But do
you?"

"It
depends on the circumstances. For some people, yes. For others,
they will get to know sooner or later."

"That's
what I was trying to tell you." She didn't sound triumphant, just
quiet. "God can decide to prove himself, or He may decide not to.
He sees the motives in a man's heart, and He responds
accordingly."

He laughed. "So He saw my motives and responded?"
For goodness' sake, the only motive he'd had was
to disprove God's existence.

"You
know within you that God is real."

He shook
his head. "Oh no, I don't. But not to worry, I'll give what you've
said some thought."

She
didn't badger him; she just told him that she had been praying for
him and would continue to do so. He smiled to himself. That made
three people who were praying for him. Shona, Justin, and now
Tanya. God had to hear their prayers for his soul—except it was too
far gone, and he was not worth saving.

On the
way home, Yemi came to his mind again. He remembered his visit to
her house and the anger in her voice when she called him a filthy
player. He had known then and there that he had to kill any
thoughts he still harboured that they would ever work things out.
For Aleena's sake, he hoped that they could at least remain civil
to each other, because even that was a problem for her. She was
either ice cold or flaming mad.

But
maybe by going to see his mum, she was holding out an olive branch
to him. He would accept it but would maintain a safe distance from
her. He didn't think he could take any more bruises from
her.

His
phone vibrated. It was Lois. She had just arrived at his house. He
leaned back in his seat after talking with her. He knew she really
liked him. He couldn't say he felt the same way, but she was a nice
girl, and he was beginning to think more seriously about a future
with her.

∞∞∞

Yemi
looked around the field where her church was having the annual
family fun day. The weather was nice and sunny, and everyone was
gaily dressed. She glanced towards the barbecue stand where some of
the men were busy handing out burgers, roasted chicken, skewered
beef, corn, and other food items on disposable plates. Sesan was
not amongst them, and she wondered where he could be.

She
looked around the field, searching for him. She was looking forward
to telling him that Akeem had finally agreed that Aleena could
attend church with her. She had been planning on bringing it up
with him again and had been preparing herself for another round of
arguments, but he had surprised her by calling the day before and
agreeing to it.

"I'm so
expecting miracles now, Lord," she whispered. "Just keep them
coming."

"Hey,
Yemi!" She heard a voice behind her. She turned around, it was
Bola, one of the ladies in her department. She was sitting a few
yards away with some other women. "Looking good, as usual," She
said, looking at Yemi's outfit admiringly as she got closer. "I
love your cropped pants!"

 
"Thanks, looking great
yourself."

 
"Come join us!"

Yemi sat
down beside her. The ladies were playing Scrabble, and she watched
and cheered them on. The winners whooped with delight some minutes
later, and then they all went over to watch the choreography being
done by the teenagers.

About an
hour later, she finally saw Sesan approaching. He was with Tanya.
Yemi had noticed them getting progressively closer over the past
few weeks.

It had
been a bit clumsy when Tanya found out about her and Akeem before
she got the chance to tell her. Yemi had bumped into Shona and
Tanya at a shopping mall. Shona had assumed that Tanya was already
aware of Yemi's relationship with Akeem and she had talked freely
with Yemi about seeing Akeem and Aleena the day before. Although
Tanya had said very little that day, Yemi had seen the surprise on
her face.

Sesan
told her that Tanya's attitude towards him afterwards had become
rather cool, and it had made things uncomfortable between them at
the department. Yemi felt sorry for the mess and had gone ahead to
apologise to Tanya when she learnt of it.

"Hi, I'm
Yemi Kadiri." She had introduced herself again as if they were
meeting for the first time. "I'm the estranged wife of Akeem
Kadiri, CEO of the company you work for."

Tanya
had given her a small, rueful smile. "Yeah, I see what you
mean."

Yemi
could see the compassion in Tanya's eyes, but she had not said
anything more than that and had changed the topic. Yemi had
appreciated her discretion. Some Christians didn't know when to not
put their foot in it. She had been subjected to instant
exhortations from a few "well-meaning" brethren who had found out
that she was separated from her husband. She had tried to bear them
politely, all the while wishing they would just shut up. Silence
was more comforting than words at times, especially when you
weren't close to the person.

Yemi
watched Sesan and Tanya as they drew closer to where she was
sitting. Sesan was laughing at something Tanya had said. They made
a good-looking couple.

"Hello,
Yemi." Tanya smiled at her. "Looking good."

"Thanks,
Tanya, looking very nice yourself too. Are you guys just
arriving?"

"Yes,
Sesan was kind enough to pick me up. My car developed a fault this
morning, and he came over to my house to help me sort it
out."

"Hope
it's okay now?"

"Getting
fixed," Sesan replied. "The garage sent someone to pick it up. It
should be back by Monday."

"That's
good. It's such a nuisance when a car gets faulty."

"Tell me
about it," Tanya said, rolling her eyes. "Wow, that looks good!"
she said as someone passed by with a plate of food. "I'm starving,
going to get myself some food. Care for anything, Shez?"

"I'll
sort myself out later, thanks," Sesan replied, as Tanya moved
off.

Yemi found herself smiling at Tanya's use of Sesan's
childhood nickname. "Hmmm…
Shez
, indeed! When did she start
calling you that?"

"She
overheard you, and she said she liked it."

"That
name goes way back, and only those who want to join our inner
caucus can use it. So tell me, is Tanya such a one?"

"We're
just good friends."

"Remember, you're talking to me. So c'mon, 'fess
up!"

He
smiled. "What do you want me to say? She is friendly, easygoing,
pretty…"

"Aha!"
Yemi said excitedly. "I've been looking at you and that lady for
some time, and I sensed something there. Go on and tell me all
about it!"

"There's
not a lot to tell yet, but what do you think? Do you like her?"
Sesan asked.

"What's not to like? She is lovely, and like you said,
friendly and easygoing. So, do
you
like her?"

"How do
you mean?"

"Shez!"
Yemi said sternly.

"I do,"
Sesan replied a little bashfully. "She's really sweet."

"Finally!" Yemi laughed delightedly. "Does she
know?"

"Sort
of. I've been praying about it, but I think I have the all clear
now."

"I'm so
happy for you," Yemi said, giving him a hug. "You know that, don't
you?"

"I know,
Yemi," Sesan replied, squeezing her hand. "Now I just have to
convince her to stay in Nigeria."

∞∞∞

Akeem
made his way downstairs. He had just had a rigorous time at the gym
followed by a shower, and he was feeling energised. Lois smiled at
him as he entered the dining room.