After the storm (15 page)

Akeem
smoothed her brows with his fingers. "Why that look?"

"Akeem,
I'm scared. Your mum doesn't like me, and I always feel like I
don't belong in your family."

"You are
married to me," he said, drawing her close. "I'll never allow
anyone to hurt you."

∞∞∞

A few
days later, Yemi found out that she was pregnant. Akeem was
ecstatic, and the news bonded them even more. He told her the baby
was going to be a boy and amused her by having regular business
talks with the baby, pretending he was seeking a second opinion on
some decisions.

"My dad
did that with me regularly," he told Yemi. "I gave him some rubbish
answers when I was younger, but he never laughed at them. Instead,
he would just explain the reason why he was choosing another option
over the one I had told him to take."

"But you
are consulting an unborn baby," Yemi reminded him.

He put
on a lofty look. "I've been told that babies can hear in the womb.
Anyway, who said I can't start earlier than my dad did?"

Yemi
gave up and let him carry on. She didn't care what sex the baby was
as long as it was healthy, but for Akeem's sake, she also began to
hope that it would be a boy. She knew he still missed his father a
lot, so maybe having a son with whom he could have the kind of
relationship he'd had with his father would help him gain
closure.

Her
mother-in-law still hardly visited. Yemi had felt she would be less
frosty because of her condition, but Akeem's mother still kept her
distance. Yemi was bothered by it, especially when she heard that
Akeem's mother regularly attended social events with
Leila.

She was
in her room one evening when Bassey informed her that Sara was
around to see her. Yemi was happy to see her and they exchanged
pleasantries. She got Sara a drink and some nibbles from the
kitchen.

"Thanks." Sara said as she took a sip of her orange juice.
"You looked amazing at Melody's wedding," She said, referring to
another cousin of Akeem's. "I could not stop staring at you. Don't
tell me you made that outfit yourself?"

"Yes, I
did,"

"I think
I have to make you my official fashion designer," Sara said. "No,
honestly!" she insisted when Yemi laughed. "I pay mine a fortune,
and yet her designs are nowhere as nice as yours."

Yemi was
flattered by the comment. "Thanks, now you're making me feel
big-headed." She looked thoughtfully at Sara, wondering if she
could open up to her or not. "You know about Leila, don't
you?"

Sara
looked surprised. "Who told you about her? Akeem?"

"No,
Nadia did. She pointed her out to me at Rhea's wedding."

Sara
grimaced. "Darling, spiteful Nadia!"

Yemi
totally agreed with the description but thought better about saying
it out aloud. "I understand that my mother-in-law wanted Akeem to
marry Leila?" she asked.

"That's
true. Leila is your mother-in-law's goddaughter, and both families
had hoped from time immemorial that Akeem would marry her, but
Akeem was having none of it."

"I guess
his mum wasn't happy about that?"

"Not
happy? Furious is more like it! Akeem is her favourite child but
also the most independent one. Your mother-in-law, as you know,
likes to be in control. She does that with Adil and Nadia, but
she's never been able to control Akeem. I'm sure she thought that
with Akeem marrying Leila, she would be able to get some level of
influence over him."

Yemi did
not say anything and just kept listening.

"Leila's
family is very wealthy and influential," Sara continued. "They are
into politics, just like your mother-in-law's family. In fact, her
dad's younger brother is the current governor of Niger state, and
he may well be the next president of this country
soon." 

Yemi had
heard about him; he was being touted as a possible presidential
candidate in the next elections because of his achievements in his
home state.

"Those
kinds of ties are important to your mother-in-law. So you can
imagine how mad she was at Akeem." Sara paused and took another sip
of her drink. "Akeem's mum has shares in KH, and she transferred
some of her shares to Adil just to spite Akeem."

"No, she
did not!" Yemi was shocked.

"Oh, yes
she did. Akeem's shares are still more than Adil's, but Adil's
stake in the company increased."

"My
word!" Yemi did not know how to comprehend what Sara was saying to
her. How could a mother pitch her sons against each
other?

Sara
laughed merrily. "Believe me, your mother-in-law has politics in
her blood, so I guess since she could not get into national
politics, she decided to do her bit with her own
children!" 

Yemi
could not see the joke. She felt so sorry for Akeem. "That's so
awful."

"But her
step backfired. Akeem never reacted. At least, not openly. However,
my husband told me that he was furious with his mother. A few
months later, he began to make plans to pull out of KH."

Yemi
sucked in her breath. "What was his mum's response?"

"At that
point she realized that she stood the risk of losing her son
altogether. Akeem had always said he could walk away from KH and
still be successful. She softened up and tried to make peace with
him and then got all his uncles to plead with him. I think she
finally got it that he could not be pushed around, but she did not
entirely give up on him still marrying Leila or at least someone
else of her choice, but then…you came along."

"And
spoilt her plans," Yemi finished quietly.

"Exactly. Small wonder that she can't stand you. But the good
thing is that Akeem adores you, so that is some cover for
you."

"I would
have liked to have a good or at least a cordial relationship with
my mother-in-law."

Sara
laughed. "All things are possible, my dear. Isn't that what the
good book says?" She asked the question in a way that made Yemi
know that she considered it an impossible feat.

Chapter
8

"Are you
sure you are going to be okay?" Akeem asked Yemi, looking a little
worried. "I can cancel my meeting and go with you."

She
smiled reassuringly at him. "Honey, I'll be fine. The scan doesn't
take long anyway, and I'll be back home in no
time." 

"Call me
when you are through, okay?"

"I will.
Go on, you're running late already."

Yemi lay
back in the bed after Akeem left for work. She would have preferred
him to go with her, but he was going through such a busy spell at
work. KH was about to send in its bid for the license to be the
second national carrier to Nitel, the government-owned telecoms
company, and Akeem was leaving nothing to chance. Its success would
mean another sector added to KH's already-established chain of
businesses. Moreover, it would also be Akeem's brainchild from
scratch, and she knew how much that meant to him. He had taken some
giant strides in KH, but he still felt he needed to establish
something new.

The scan
revealed that she was carrying a healthy baby girl. She was a
little disappointed, but only because Akeem was hoping so much for
a boy.

He also
looked disappointed when she told him the news later that day but
shrugged it off quickly.

"Okay…it
appears this little lady is in a hurry to meet her dad and start
the bonding sessions," he said as he stroked Yemi's belly gently.
"But I've got to work harder now because if her taste in bags is
anything like her mum's, then I'd better start shoring up the
pounds!"

"You
forgot about shoes," Yemi teased. "She's going to like shoes
too."

He
grinned. "Yeah…I forgot that bit. Two girls in my house? I better
start cracking!"

Yemi
touched his face tenderly with her fingers. "It's not about the
shoes or the bags. Your girls will always love you, and that's the
most important thing."

∞∞∞

Their
daughter, Aleena, was born six months later. She was a beautiful,
healthy girl who bawled her way gustily into the world.

Akeem
was simply thrilled to be a father, and Yemi was sure she would
never forget the look of awe on his face as he held the baby
awkwardly in his arms for the first time.

Mrs.
Kadiri came to visit. Her lips stretched into that mockery of a
smile that Yemi had grown familiar with as she held the baby
stiffly in her arms. She made small talk, mostly with Akeem, her
eyes occasionally flicking over Yemi. 

At some
point during her visit, she arched her eyebrows mockingly at Yemi
and said, "She's a pretty little girl, but Akeem has always wanted
a son as his firstborn."

Akeem
grinned. "My daughter is gorgeous, Mum! So I'm one very satisfied
man. But you'd better get your jewellery ready because my daughter
is going to need them!"

Mrs.
Kadiri allowed a genuine smile on her face as she looked
indulgently at him. "Your daughter will have more than enough
jewellery. After all, she is a Kadiri." She looked at Yemi towards
the end of the sentence, and Yemi got the impression that Akeem's
mother was saying that she was not.

Thankfully, she didn't stay long, and Yemi almost sighed with
relief when she left.

She
enjoyed the visits from other people a lot more and was amused when
Hasan and Fayona visited later in the day. Hasan sighed in an
exaggerated fashion as he looked at the baby in his wife's
arms.

"At
last, the search is over," he told his wife, who nodded and smiled
as they exchanged a look.

"What
search?" Yemi asked curiously.

"We've
finally found a wife for Jayden."

Yemi
stared at them and then started laughing. Was this how they did it?
No way! As much as she loved Akeem's godson, her daughter was going
to make her own choice when she grew up. No push, no hints, no
manipulation.

"Jayden
is my boy, but he will have to prove himself worthy of my
princess," Akeem replied, casting a glance at Yemi. She knew he
could read what was going through her mind.

Hasan smiled confidently. "He's like his dad, so he
would know what to do. Right, honey?" he asked his wife.

"Of
course." Fayona sounded just as confident as her
husband.

Akeem
just smiled. "We shall see, my good friend. We shall
see."

Yemi was
a little amused by it all and wondered why they were going at least
twenty-two years into the future, but she was very sure of one
thing: her daughter was going to be free from pressure when it came
to matters concerning her own life.

∞∞∞

Tola
came to visit from England when Aleena was four months old. She
could not get over Aleena and the fact that Yemi was now a mother.
Yemi was very happy to see her, and it was almost like old times.
They went shopping together, and Yemi took her to some of the
beauty spots that were now familiar to her.

"This is
the kind of life I want to live, all leisure," Tola sighed as they
left a spa one sunny Tuesday afternoon. Yemi had taken her to a
competitor's spa instead of the one owned by her mother-in-law. She
didn't want to risk being embarrassed by Akeem's mother in Tola's
presence.

"Shopping and getting spoiled all day," Tola continued.
"Simply blissful!"

Yemi was
not sure she liked that description very much. Was that the summary
of her life? "I'm still going to get a job as soon as Aleena is a
little older," she said.

Tola's
eyebrows shot up. "Whatever for? I thought you said Akeem prefers
you not to work?"

"It's
not a permanent decision. Plus, I want to do something useful with
my life."

"Believe
me, you're not missing out on anything. I have to catch the 6:40
a.m. train to London every morning, winter or summer, and sometimes
I can't help bemoaning my fate."

"Why
don't you move closer to London, then? That way you won't be that
far away from your office, and you can sleep in a little longer in
the mornings."

"Those
London apartments cost an arm and a leg! I can't afford that on top
of saving up for a mortgage, but I'm hoping to get rescued very
soon!" Her expression became dreamy. "Maybe I'll meet a loaded guy
while I'm over here, and my life will be transformed."

Yemi
just shook her head at her.

They got
to her car, and Yemi settled the sleeping Aleena in her car seat
before getting behind the wheel.

"Maybe
you should give Tobi some serious thought." She said to Tola as she
backed her car out of the parking lot. Tola had told her about the
guy, and she knew he had been on Tola's trail for quite some time
now. In spite of Tola's denial, Yemi actually felt that Tola had
finally fallen genuinely in love for the first time in her life.
"He sounds like a really nice guy." He had sent a present through
Tola to Aleena and Yemi had been impressed by his
thoughtfulness.