After the storm (19 page)

Yemi had
heard enough. She rose up from her seat. "I love my husband, and I
can't leave him," she said shakily, trying to wipe the tears
running down her face.

Akeem's
mother just looked at her coldly. "That's fine, then, but know that
this marriage or whatever you call it will not last, and I will be
there when it breaks up."

∞∞∞

Mrs.
Kadiri's words continued to echo in Yemi's head as she drove home.
She made no effort to stop the tears running down her face. She did
not think that she would ever be able to forget the venom in her
mother-in-law's eyes as she spat out those callous
words.

She was
glad that Akeem was away on a business trip because his absence
would give her a few days to calm down. She knew telling him what
had transpired between her and his mother would only cause more
problems. Akeem was bound to get very angry and would certainly
confront his mother about it.

"I
understand you not wanting to tell Akeem," Abby told her when she
confided in her a few days later. "But, girl, that's quite a load
for you to be carrying alone."

"It is,"
Yemi admitted. "Sometimes I get so scared of what she and Leila are
up to, and I frankly don't know what to do."

"Don't
let anyone make you out to be a victim. You are legally married to
your husband."

She
prayed with Yemi, and Yemi felt a gentle peace enveloping her. That
was the strange thing that happened whenever Abby or Teju prayed
with her. She didn't get that same feeling when she prayed by
herself; most times, it felt as if her prayers were banging against
the ceiling.

Akeem
was very busy at work in the following weeks. The euphoria of
Ka-Tell winning the telecoms bid had worn off for Yemi, and the
reality of the enormity of the task and it's impact on her home had
begun to sink in. Akeem had meetings that lasted late into the
evenings, and he travelled quite often. She could only hope that
the company would stabilize quickly so that she could have her
husband back. Akeem being away so often gave her too much time to
brood over her mother-in-law's evil plans, and she was getting
worried about not having conceived again after trying for several
months.

Hasan's
younger sister, Shona, unwittingly gave her an idea on how she
could occupy her time. She asked Yemi to design a dress for her.
Yemi did, but she was not completely satisfied with the end product
even though Shona gushed endlessly about it.

She
decided to enroll at a fashion institute. There were several of
them in Lagos, but the one that appealed to her the most was House
of Tetra. It was owned by Sharon Braithwaite, one of the top
fashion designers in the country. Sharon Braithwaite had won
several awards, both locally and internationally, and was regarded
as a legend in the fashion design world.

Yemi
made enquiries and opted for a specialized package that allowed her
flexible hours. Akeem was busy, and someone had to be there for
Aleena.

∞∞∞

"Nice
haircut," Abby said admiringly, looking at Yemi's short bangs
during their lunch date.

"Thanks.
Akeem doesn't like it, though. He prefers my hair long."

Abby
eyed her teasingly. "So of course that means it's going to be
changed as soon as possible."

"I've
got to please my man." Yemi grinned. "Nothing wrong with that, is
there?"

"No, not
at all. I wish I could borrow a leaf from you and become more
compliant about Richard's likes." she said with a twinkle in her
eye. "But I'll get there someday." Abby paused as a waiter brought
their lunch. "Just in time, I'm absolutely starving," she said,
digging into her food as soon as the waiter left.

Yemi
smiled as she looked at her friend's five-month-old bump. "Enjoy. I
can hardly wait for Aleena to have another sibling."

Abby
rolled her eyes. "Relax, Aleena is just two and a bit for goodness'
sake. I deliberately put off trying for a second child until Nathan
turned four."

"Yeah,
but that was your preference. I started trying even before Aleena
turned one." Yemi took a small bite of her chicken roll. She hadn't
had breakfast but didn't know why she wasn't feeling hungry. "I'd
prefer to have another baby now so that I can get on with my life
once he—" she rolled her eyes. "hopefully it's a 'he' this
time…turns one. I want to get a job and get back into the corporate
world."

"What
about your master's degree?"

Yemi
wrinkled her nose. "Maybe I'll start that at some point, but right
now, I have no zeal for that sort of thing." She told Abby about
her plans to start a course at House of Tetra.

"It's a
good idea, but just take it easy on yourself, though. Your husband
is a very busy man, and I think you're doing a great job being
there for Aleena. The rest will fall in place with
time."

Yemi
hoped so, and as she drove home later that afternoon, she chided
herself for her gloomy thoughts. She had a lot to be thankful for.
Apart from her mother-in-law, whom she had decided to ignore as
much as she could, she had a good home, and Akeem was everything
she had hoped for in a husband.

But
later that evening, as she looked expectantly at the pregnancy kit
in her hands, she could not help feeling low as she saw that the
test was negative again. She stood looking at the test stick for a
few minutes, willing the sign to change the other way by some
miracle. She had been filled with such hope when her period had
been delayed, but her hopes had been dashed yet again.

Yemi
heard their bedroom door open and knew Akeem had come upstairs. She
quickly wrapped the test stick in some tissue before tossing it in
the bin. He was very dismissive about her concerns and she didn't
want him to see her looking worried.

∞∞∞

Her
training at House of Tetra took off on a rather rocky start. Yemi
arrived early, but getting a parking space in the busy business
district of Victoria Island proved difficult. She had driven around
for some time and was glad when she finally saw a space right in
front of the building. She parked her car, stepped out, and just
when she was about to close the door, she saw a Lexus jeep pull up
behind her. The driver came down and walked towards her.

"That
space is reserved," he told Yemi gruffly.

Yemi
glanced back at the space where she had parked. There was no sign
saying that the spot was reserved. She looked back at the driver,
who was waiting on her to move her car. At that moment, the back
door opened, and a woman got out of the backseat.

"Is
there a problem, Alex?" she asked her driver while giving Yemi a
cool look.

Yemi
recognized her immediately. This was the esteemed Sharon
Braithwaite. She looked every inch the fashion guru, from her
perfectly coiffured hair to the elegant heels on her
feet.

"I was
just telling the lady that this space is reserved."

"There
was no sign to say that the space is reserved, but I'll move my
car," Yemi replied.

Sharon
glanced at Yemi's two-month-old silver Mercedes Benz before looking
her over again. Then, without another word, she got back into her
own car.

"No use
arguing with the boss," Yemi said to herself as she drove around
for another ten minutes before finally finding another
spot.

Sharon
Braithwaite showed no sign that she recognized Yemi as she took the
small group of people in Yemi's class about an hour later. There
were about eight people in that class, which was not surprising,
considering the package's steep price. They had to introduce
themselves as part of the icebreaking session. Four of her class
members already had their own fashion outfits. Three others said
they had plans to open one soon. She was the only one who seemed to
have just enrolled out of interest.

Sharon
Braithwaite's eyes flicked over her expressionlessly when she
introduced herself, but she made no comment. From the very
beginning, she seemed to have an attitude towards Yemi. It was as
if she considered her to be some bored rich man's wife who had come
in to while away her time. Yemi chose to ignore all of that.
Instead, she tried to learn as much as she could. She loved
Sharon's work and, even when she was free, would go around just
looking at the designs being made by the tailors in the basement of
the office.

Sharon
was very sparing in her praises and, most times, would only comment
on the things she wanted corrected. In fact, there were times when
Yemi actually felt as though she was learning everything anew. She
wondered what people had liked about her work in the past. It all
seemed like she had been play-acting.

So,
about a month later, she could not help the expression of pleasure
that flashed across her face when Sharon commended a particular
outfit she had made. "This is good," Sharon said matter-of-factly
before moving on to look at the next person's work.

"Thank
you," Yemi said, doing a little dance inside and imagining Akeem's
face when she told him in the evening. Praise from Sharon was like
finding water in a desert.

A couple
of weeks later, she was sketching some ideas on her pad during her
lunch break when Sharon came into the staff room. Yemi looked up
and smiled politely.

Sharon
made herself a cup of tea and walked over to where Yemi was
sitting. "So, how are you finding House of Tetra?" she asked
Yemi.

"It's
been awesome," Yemi said honestly. "Not a minute
wasted."

"And you
plan to use the experience for…" She raised her brows slightly.
"For yourself and some friends, you said?"

"Well,
this has always been like a hobby for me. I'm actually an
accountant, and I plan to work with my degree once my daughter gets
a little older."

Sharon
looked at her for a moment, and Yemi got the distinct impression
that she was not impressed. "I studied law at the university, and I
also have an MBA," she told her in that matter-of-fact way that
Yemi had gotten used to. She looked towards Yemi's sketchpad. "Let
me see those designs you're sketching."

Yemi
pushed the sketchpad towards Sharon, feeling a little
self-conscious. Sharon began to flip through the pages. Her face
remained expressionless, and Yemi could not tell if she liked the
designs or not. When she was done, she pushed the pad back to Yemi
and stood up.

"Thanks
for letting me see those." She said as she moved off.

Yemi
stared after her a little forlornly. She wondered if the designs
were so bad that Sharon did not think they were even worthy of a
comment. She flicked through the pages and cringed at some of them.
Yes, she had gone overboard on some, but there were others she
thought were not so bad.

But what
was she thinking of? This was Sharon Braithwaite, the woman who
dressed some of the most famous women in the country and had done
countless fashion shows. It would take a lot for her to be
impressed. Good thing she was only taking this as a hobby, Yemi
comforted herself. She would just go on and learn all she could
before her programme ended.

Nevertheless, she could not help feeling disappointed at the
end of the training when she heard that Sharon had offered two of
her course mates contracts with House of Tetra and had personal
discussions with most of the others. Sharon had not bothered
speaking with Yemi at all, and she wondered why. It certainly
didn't do anything for her confidence.

∞∞∞

"I was
wondering where you were when you did not come back downstairs,"
Akeem said when he came into the bathroom where Yemi lay soaking
herself in the bath.

"Sorry,
I thought I'd take a bath after putting away the clothes." Yemi
smiled up at him.

"No
worries, I'll be in the bedroom."

After he
left, Yemi lay back, allowing the water to run over her. It was so
soothing, and she felt like staying there for as long as possible.
A while later, she reluctantly climbed out of the bath, wrapped
herself in a towel, and padded over to the bedroom.

Akeem
was sitting up in bed with the television on, but he did not seem
to be watching it. He looked up when she came into the bedroom.
"Feel better?" he asked her.

"Yeah."
She sat down at the dressing table and began to apply some
moisturizer to her face. "I think I'll just have an early night.
Aleena was such a handful today."

"Growing
up quickly, isn't she?"

"And so
full of energy too. It's hard work just trying to keep up with
her."

Akeem
smiled absently at what she said. His mind seemed to be far away.
That was how he generally was these days—preoccupied and
distracted. She wished he would leave his work outside the walls of
their home.

"Are you
okay?" She asked him.

"I'm
fine. I just have a few things that I need to sort out."

"Some
things like what?" Yemi asked. Akeem wasn't one to volunteer
information easily on things that troubled him, and even when he
did, he skirted around the issues and tried to make light of
them.