After the storm (13 page)

Abby
laughed too. "But seriously, if you are not pregnant, then why did
you turn down the job?"

"I felt
I should try to get used to married life before taking on a job."
The excuse sounded a little lame even to her own ears. She'd
probably have snorted if someone else had told her the same thing a
while back. Whoa! The things a guy could make a girl do!

"Okay…"
Abby said, dragging out her response as if lost for more words.
"That's fine if you're happy with it, but please don't let all
those brains go to waste."

They
talked for a few more minutes before ending the call. Yemi put the
phone down slowly. That was one down. She knew she would still have
to answer more questions, especially from her family, but she had
her own home now, and this was her decision.

She
tried to get into the hang of married life over the next few weeks.
Akeem had a cook, Bassey, who was also paid extra to do some
cleaning. A proper cleaner came in at the weekends. Bassey was a
nice guy, and he and Yemi got along very well. She took over most
of the cooking from him but assured him that his job was safe. He
had been with Akeem for a long time, and Akeem trusted him around
the house. She didn't see any reason to upset that
balance.

They had
to attend quite a number of social engagements, and many of their
weekends were filled up. Yemi used to feel intimidated by the
caliber of people she met at these functions, but Akeem was very
supportive of her, and she gradually relaxed.

Sesan
had travelled to England for his master's degree shortly before her
wedding. Although she tried to keep in touch with him by calling
him on the phone, he hardly ever called her back. After a while,
Yemi stopped calling him and accepted what Teju had said. It was a
new season, and she had to go with the flow.

∞∞∞

Because
she had so much time on her hands, Yemi decided to focus on her
hobby. Part of the way she kept herself entertained when she was at
social events with Akeem was to mentally dress the ladies she
encountered. Some of them wore expensive outfits that did nothing
for their body shapes, and Yemi found herself mentally making
adjustments to what they were wearing.

You, my lady should stick strictly to classic
fits
, she would think to herself as she
saw well-endowed women in fitted dresses with bursting seams. And
for others, she would think,
A little less
frills here, a little tuck there, a fuller skirt to give an
impression of a smaller waistline, and a different choice of fabric
to draw attention away from a not-so-flattering
feature
. And she would go on and on until
she was satisfied.

She had
an old sewing machine but ordered a couple of more modern ones and
decided to start designing and making her own outfits. She
experimented with different fabrics and designs and felt satisfied
with the outcomes. But she still needed to muster a lot of
confidence before she could make up her mind to wear one of the
outfits to an event they had been invited to, a dinner in honour of
the new American ambassador to Nigeria.

She
stood in front of the mirror after dressing up, wondering if she
was being foolish or not. She had always been complimented on her
designs, but those were her family and friends, and they didn't
exactly move in the same realm as the Kadiri family and
friends.

She
examined the dress again critically. It was blush colored with
ruched, sleeveless shoulders, a fitted waist, and a side-draped,
floor-length skirt. She tugged at the hem of the skirt. It was
appearing a little lopsided to her, and then the bodice began to
look funny too. A worried frown furrowed her brows as she
calculated how much time she had to quickly change into one of the
dresses Akeem had recently bought for her.

"You
look good enough to eat!" Akeem said, coming into the room and
wrapping his arms around her as he stood behind her.

She
turned her head to look at him. "Really?"

His lips
quirked in amusement. "You're the one looking in the mirror; what
do you see?"

She
looked again and felt a little more confident. At least, he had not
even noticed that it was one of her own designs. That had to be a
good sign!

Akeem
was his usual confident self when they got to the function, and she
found herself following his lead as they mingled with other guests.
She was pleasantly surprised to see Akeem's cousin, Fadel, and his
wife, Sara. Sara had a fun personality, and Yemi enjoyed her
company. Fadel, Hasan, and Akeem had attended school together since
they were kids. Fadel and Sara were the only members of the Kadiri
family that had gone out of their way to be friendly to
her.

Yemi
felt more confident after that outing. Sara had admired her dress,
but Yemi felt she was just being polite. Women normally "oohed" and
"aahed" over each other's dresses at such events, and Yemi felt it
was all part of polite social chitchat. Nevertheless, she was glad
she had not received any strange looks. She decided that she would
begin to wear more of her own designs.

Sara and
Fayona soon got to know she designed her own clothes. Initially,
Yemi would either give a vague answer or would subtly change the
topic whenever they asked her where she bought her dress or who her
fashion designer was. But she gradually began to take their
compliments more seriously and finally told them she made her own
clothes. She was flattered when they asked her to sew for them, but
she declined. But they kept asking her until she finally gave in
but told them she would supply the fabrics, and of course, the
service was free too. In that way, she knew she would not feel very
bad if they didn't like what she made.

She was
absolutely chuffed when she saw Fayona wearing one of the dresses
she'd made for her to a wedding a few weeks later.

∞∞∞

Her
relationship with the Kadiris did not get any better. Mrs. Kadiri
rarely visited, and she preferred to go to Akeem's office to see
him. Apart from Fadel and Sara, Yemi got about the same kind of
treatment from other extended family members. She found out that
many of them had married within their circle, so it was a case of
everyone knowing every other person's family. Whenever they had to
attend any family-related function and Akeem happened to leave her
side, she would stand out like a sore thumb. Yemi didn't talk about
it anymore with Akeem, but it didn't stop her from worrying about
it either.

About
three months after their marriage, she was tidying up the second
bedroom in their suite when she came across a package. Mrs. Kadiri
liked a particular type of vitamin supplements that Akeem always
helped her order in from England. She knew that Mrs. Kadiri had
been talking to Akeem over the phone, asking him to send them over
to her, but he had kept forgetting to do so. He was currently away
on a trip to Abuja, and Yemi decided that she would take the pills
over to her mother-in-law herself.

She had
never gone to the house alone but felt it was high time she began
to do so. Moreover, she badly wanted Akeem's mother to see her as a
daughter and not just as Akeem's wife.

When she
got to the house, Yemi handed the fruits she had bought for Mrs.
Kadiri on her way to the house over to Nanzip, the housekeeper who
answered the doorbell. Then she was shown to the sitting room,
where Mrs. Kadiri sat watching a documentary on TV.

"Good
evening, Ma," Yemi said politely.

"Hello,
Yemi," Mrs. Kadiri said, looking up briefly at Yemi but as usual,
that glance was enough to shoot frosty darts at her. "I wasn't
expecting you. I hope you are well?"

"I'm
fine, thank you, Ma," Yemi replied. She brought out the package
from the bag she had carried it in and handed it over to Mrs.
Kadiri. "I brought the vitamin supplements Akeem ordered for you. I
know that he meant to send them over but kept forgetting to do
so."

"Thank
you," Mrs. Kadiri said, taking the package from Yemi. "I was going
to send my driver over for them."

They
both turned as Nadia came into the room. Yemi exchanged greetings
with her, and Nadia sat down with the bowl of grapes she had in her
hands.

"Akeem
is not with you?" Nadia asked, popping a grape into her
mouth.

"No, he
had to travel to Abuja this morning. He'll be back in a couple of
days."

"Oh, I
spoke to him yesterday morning, and he didn't mention it," Nadia
replied.

"It was
an impromptu trip. It came up suddenly."

"Well,
you should be used to your brother doing things like that by now,"
Mrs. Kadiri said to Nadia. "We are the least important people to
him." She pressed the buzzer by her side and told Nanzip to bring
drinks for Yemi.

The
silence stretched uncomfortably. Mrs. Kadiri spoke to Nadia in
Hausa, and Nadia replied back in Hausa, and that was how they
continued. Apart from one or two sentences directed at Yemi in
between their conversation, she was completely ignored for the rest
of her visit.

After
about thirty minutes of being ignored, Yemi felt very uncomfortable
and embarrassed by what they were doing. She knew it was
deliberate; they could have spoken English, being fully aware that
she didn't understand Hausa.

"I'll be
on my way, Ma," Yemi said, standing up.

Another
flick of those cold, haughty eyes. "Oh, all right. Thanks for
bringing the supplements."

Neither
Mrs. Kadiri nor Nadia made any attempt to walk Yemi to the
door.

"Have a
good night, Yemi!" Nadia called after her. "Say hello to that
brother of mine when he gets back."

Yemi
felt tears of embarrassment stinging her eyes as she got into her
car. She had tried over the last three months to crack the coldness
between Akeem's mother and her, but had met with a brick wall every
time. Nadia, on the other hand, blew hot and cold as the situation
suited her. She could be nice and chatty one day, and the next time
would be cold, distant, and haughty.

She got
home, still very troubled. Akeem had always waved off her fears and
tried to make light of the matter, and there were times when she
wondered if she was being too sensitive, but after what just
happened, she had no doubts in her mind that she had been right all
along.

Chapter
7

"Honey,
what are you reading?" Yemi asked Akeem as she joined him in the
study where he sat engrossed in a book.

Akeem
looked up with a smile. "It's a very interesting story about Alan
Davies. Have you heard of him?"

"No,"
Yemi replied, ignoring the smirk on his face. In spite of his
hectic schedule, Akeem still found time to read, and she was no
longer surprised why no subject matter ever seemed to throw
him.

"He is
an American millionaire who comes from really humble beginnings."
He paused, as if trying to decide if she was interested in what he
was saying.

She gave
him a cool look as she sat beside him. What did he think she was,
an airhead? "What's interesting about him?"

He
looked amused at her expression. "Well, right from when he was a
kid, he believed strongly that he could do anything he wanted to
do, and today he is listed as one of the richest men in
America."

"That's
very commendable," Yemi said, looking at the cover of the book.
"Maybe I'll read it when you're done."

"His
beliefs are very similar to mine," Akeem continued. "He believes in
the power of the human mind and its ability to help you achieve
anything you want to achieve. I totally agree with him."

"There's
some truth there."

"A lot
of truth, actually. I believe that battles are won or lost in the
mind. It's all a question of how much willpower one
has."

Yemi
didn't entirely agree with that. "But there are circumstances that
will not change, no matter the willpower."

Akeem
smiled. "That's already a negative mindset. You can achieve
anything you want to achieve. All you have to do is believe and go
for it."

"You're
talking about something like faith, right?"

"Not
really. Faith implies belief in something or someone else
supposedly higher than you. What I am talking about is right within
your control; the power is within you." He studied her face as
if deciding if he should go on or not. "I'm normally able to
achieve 95 percent of all my goals because I believe I can, and
that includes areas where other people have failed in the past. The
remaining 5 percent that were not achieved have been because I did
not desire them enough."

Yemi was
puzzled. "So if you believe so much in yourself, then where is the
place of God in all this?"

"How do
you even know that God exists?"

"Of
course God exists!"

He
smiled at her vehement tone. "I just wonder what your stance would
have been if you were not born a Christian."

Yemi
stared at him. She knew he wasn't overly religious, but this was a
different ball game. "I don't know what you're talking
about, but I'm a Christian, and I believe in God."