After the storm (30 page)

"I know
I'm asking a lot. I mean, you've got your own outfit to look after,
but I wonder if you can create some designs for me. Of course, I'd
expect to pay for the designs."

"Let's
leave the payment bit out for now," Yemi replied.

As
tempting as it was to charge for the designs, she still didn't
intend to take any payment. Goodwill from someone like Sharon
Braithwaite, along with the considerable influence she commanded in
the fashion world, had no price tag. She smiled ruefully at her
thoughts. She had not been married to a businessman like Akeem for
nothing after all. Having friends in the right places was equally
as important as making money.

Yemi
attended the fashion week every day that it was on. It was an
opportunity to see what the already-established names in the
fashion world were doing, and she could measure her talent against
theirs. Someday, my name will be up there with the greats, she
thought to herself. She just had to work a little bit
harder.

She was
very excited on the day that House of Tetra presented. Sharon had
almost outdone herself this time. The ovation was outstanding. Yemi
felt herself holding her breath by the time the first model wearing
the line she had designed for Sharon came out, but her fears were
unfounded. The applause was heartwarming. Sharon had secured a
front seat for her, so she had a clear view of the celebrities who
attended the event and felt like doing a little jig when she saw a
good number of them jotting down on their notepads as her designs
came out.

The
reviews in the papers the following days were very favorable. Of
course, the credit was all going to House of Tetra, but she still
felt like dancing with excitement when she read a popular fashion
columnist particularly compliment the Swida, a kind of African
print, collection which she had designed. She read it to herself
over and over again and then cut out the clip from the
newspaper.

So it
was a very happy Yemi who got dressed up for the gala on the last
night, which was also to be the climax of fashion week. The
doorbell rang at 6 p.m., and she knew that it had to be Sesan. She
had asked him to accompany her to the event.

"Wow!" Sesan exclaimed when he saw her. "You look so
beautiful!"

She was
pleased with his compliment. There was going to be a heavy media
presence, and she wanted to appear good in the pictures.

The
venue was well lit and glamorous, and several people were already
seated when they arrived. She took pictures on the red carpet with
Sharon and was later introduced to a few other big names in the
industry.

"Ah,
Sharon's protégé!" Ellen, another popular fashion designer
exclaimed, as she air-kissed Yemi. "I was impressed with the
designs you did for her collection about a year ago, but I was told
then that you were not interested in anything commercial." She
smiled as she handed Yemi her business card. "Let's talk
sometime."

It was a
very glamorous affair. There was good music, lots to eat and drink,
and plenty of entertainment by different artists. It was a good
ending to a hectic week, and Yemi enjoyed every bit of
it.

"Wow,
that was a lovely night," she sighed happily when she got back into
Sesan's car at the end of the evening. "Thanks for accompanying
me."

"You're
welcome. It was nice to rub shoulders with you
celebrities."

"Celebrities?" Yemi laughed. "I hope you remember who you're
with?"

"I
appreciate your modesty, but I saw how impressed some of those
designers were when Sharon told them what line you designed for
her."

"They're
still the biggies, though!" She felt happier and more relaxed than
she had been in a long time. "So what's been going on with you?"
she asked as he merged onto the motorway. "Are we hearing wedding
bells anytime soon?"

"Why do
you keep asking that question?" he teased. "But not to worry, it's
going to happen soon."

"Cool,
do I know the lucky lady?"

"What
lady?"

"Sesan,
you really have to get serious! Maybe I should start looking for
one for you myself," she turned slightly in her seat towards him.
"So tell me, what specs are looking out for?"

He
grimaced. "You make it sound like we're about to purchase a car.
But okay, let me see, she has to be tall, pretty, slim, honey-brown
complexioned with a single dimple on the right cheek, an accountant
turned celebrity fashion designer…." Sesan started laughing when
the realization that he was describing her finally dawned on Yemi.
He ducked when she playfully tried to smack him.

"You're
such a naughty boy!" Yemi scolded with a mock frown. "And here I
was getting all excited about pitching in on the search for the
future Mrs. Williams. But by the way, what happened to that girl
you told me about when we had just finished university?"

"The one
who made me run off to England?"

Yemi's
eyes widened. "Was she behind that as well?"

He
smiled ruefully. "Yeah, but she's married now, so that chapter is
firmly closed. But don't worry about me. God makes all things
beautiful in His time."

"Hmmm,
sounds nice. I guess that's from the Bible?"

"Yep."

"You
must have read the whole Bible through and through by now," Yemi
remarked thoughtfully. "How do you do that?"

"I guess
it's out of interest. When you have a close friend, you try to
learn as much as you can about them so that you can relate with
them better. It's the same with God. The more I know Him, the more
I study His word and the hungrier I get to know more about
Him."

"You
make Him sound so close."

"That's
because He is. And knowing that He's with me gives me the
confidence to go forward in life because I know that He's got my
back."

"Interesting, but a lot of bad things do happen on His watch,
though."

"Are
those things really on His watch?" Sesan asked. "Most people make
their decisions without consulting Him and then arrogantly expect
Him to back them up. God does not go barging where He's not been
invited."

"So are
you saying that bad things never happen to Christians?"

"Christians have trials too, but He is with them all the way
through them, and they come out better people if they hold on to
Him. There is a place in the Bible where God said that He will be
with us when we go through fire and floods, signifying troubled
times, but that we will not be drowned or burnt."

"I sure
have been through fires and floods, with no comfort in sight
either," Yemi replied drily. "Maybe God has forgotten all about
me."

"Why
don't you just surrender to Him and let Him deal with the issues
for you?" Sesan said quietly. "You need to release yourself over to
Him."

"Hey,
Sesan, I've always tried to be a good person, but what do I get
from it? Heartbreak!" She bit on her lower lip. "The other day,
Tianna came to my office…you remember Tianna, don't you? The girl
who used to live down the road from me?" Sesan nodded, and she
continued. "She was so boy crazy back then and already had quite a
reputation by the time she was sixteen. Well, she came to my office
two weeks ago to place an order. She was in the company of her
husband and two kids, and her husband was all over her. How do you
explain that? I didn't get into a fraction of her escapades, and
yet my marriage crashed after just a few years."

"Yemi,
being born again is not about how good you are. In fact, we dare
not come into His presence with our own righteousness because we
cannot measure up to His righteousness at all. We come by way of
mercy, grace, and by the blood of Christ. I can't judge Tianna;
that's left for God to do. But I'm concerned about you."

"I'll be
okay, Shez, and anyway, I'm already a Christian."

"He
loves you, Yemi. He feels your pain and wants a closer relationship
with you."

"I've
heard you." She was tired of the conversation. Maybe what he said
worked for some, but she didn't know what could ever heal the hurt
she had in her heart.

Chapter
17

During
the fashion week, Yemi's mind had begun to buzz with ideas of how
she could improve on her clientele base. She decided that she would
create and showcase a collection. While she was planning that, she
was excited to receive calls from some of the designers that Sharon
had introduced her to at the fashion week. Most of them just wanted
to establish contact, but one of them gave her a contract to do
some designs for her forthcoming collection.

She was
also relieved that the orders in her office had picked up a little
bit. Sharon had also begun to direct some of the people that she
couldn't take on to Yemi. The clients appeared skeptical when they
came in to see her, but she went out of her way to make lovely
designs for them. Apart from one or two of them who had made up
their minds that she would remain just an alternative until Sharon
was less busy, the others were satisfied and stayed with
her.

Yemi was
working in her office one evening when she was told that two women
were there to see her.

"Hello,
I'm Yemi Kadiri," she said, smiling at them when they were shown
into her office a few minutes later.

"I'm
Lola Carlson, and this is my friend, Lara Adele," one of the ladies
said, introducing herself and her friend.

"You're
welcome, please have a seat," Yemi said. They sat down across from
her. "How may I help you?"

They
explained that they were members of a charity that was trying to
raise awareness on ovarian cancer, and that they were organising a
programme to raise funds that would enable women to get free
screenings at some private hospitals. Among some of the events they
were planning was a fashion show, and they were out seeking
sponsors for their programme. They wanted Yemi to be a sponsor and
make the clothes that the models would wear. The money they got
from the sale of the clothes would then be donated to the
charity.

Yemi
knew she had her hands full and didn't want to stretch her finances
any more than she could help. She suggested that they try
approaching some of the bigger fashion houses, but they said they
already had and had been turned down by many of them because they
were more interested in supporting better-known causes like breast
cancer and AIDS.

Lola
sighed. "But ovarian cancer is just as important. I lost my elder
sister to it three years ago, and she was just twenty-nine years
old, younger than the age that it is known to affect. She died
because the disease was not caught on time. I'd hate to see this
ignorance continue, hence the drive for awareness."

Yemi was
moved. It must have been horrible to lose such a close relative.
"I'm really sorry to hear about your sister," she said gently, "but
I won't be able to take this on now."

A
resigned look came over Lola's face as she stood up. "Thanks for
your time anyway."

Something stirred within Yemi's heart when she saw the
dejected looks on their faces. She groaned inwardly. She could not
believe that she was even considering it. "How many models will you
be using?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Six,"
Lola said and then mentioned their names.

Yemi's
eyes widened when she heard the first name. "Cerys Briggs?" she
asked with a doubtful expression crossing her face.

"Yes,
she's a cousin to our friend, Dammy, who is also part of this
campaign. She agreed to do it as a favour to her. We're hoping she
would attract a lot of exposure to the event."

Fancy
dressing up Cerys Briggs. The idea of it alone was heady. Yemi had
seen her walk for Versace when she had attended the Paris fashion
week about three years back. The applause and the response she had
gotten had been almost hysterical. But she could hardly believe
that those fashion houses that Lola and Lara had approached had
actually turned down the opportunity to dress up Cerys.

"We
didn't even get to that part of the conversation before we were
politely declined by some of them," Lara said when Yemi asked them.
"And I think the others didn't really believe that we could get
Cerys. I guess they felt we were just trying to get their
sponsorship on false grounds."

Yemi
couldn't blame them. She looked at the women again. What did she
really know about them? "But is there a guarantee that she's really
going to be there?" Yemi asked them. "As far as I know, she lives
abroad and is hardly in Nigeria. How do we get her for fittings and
all that?"

"Cerys
is Dammy's first cousin, and we all went to secondary school
together before she won the MNET talent show," Lola replied. "My
older sister attended the same secondary school, and Cerys knew her
too. She has given her word, and we're very sure that she's going
to be around."

Yemi
shrugged off her doubts. After all, she had already wanted to help
out before she heard of Cerys being one of the models, so it would
be no big deal if she didn't show up. Cerys had been a sweet,
almost shy sixteen-year-old when she had won the competition, but
she could have transformed into a beautiful terror now that she was
walking for some of the world's top designers. The best thing to do
was to just focus on these passionate ladies and their drive to
help women.