After the storm (40 page)

"I
thought your phone was faulty until I got your text," Yemi said
grumpily when he got to her house later that evening.

"And a
good evening to you too, Yemi," he said, ignoring her comment. "You
look a bit better than you did yesterday. Are you
ready?"

"Am I
dressed properly?" she asked, still frowning slightly. She had just
worn jeans, a cotton top, and a light blazer. "Not sure what you
guys wear to functions like this."

"Your
outfit is just great."

Yemi was
quiet during the drive to the church. Sesan slipped a gospel CD
into the CD player, but he was in a quiet mood too and said very
little during the drive. They arrived at the church about twenty
minutes later. Sesan was obviously well known and liked at the
church. He exchanged greetings with so many people right from the
parking lot and all the way into the church auditorium that Yemi
got tired of smiling politely at them.

She
looked around when they finally sat down. She could not believe
that she was finally at Sesan's church. He had been inviting her
for a long time, but she had always declined.

The
programme started soon afterwards. Like Sesan had said, it was all
music. Different gospel artistes performed or "ministered," as
Sesan called it, and the quality of their music was surprisingly
good. After a while, she felt herself relaxing.

There
was a particular artiste who gave a testimony about her personal
life before she performed. Yemi was touched by the woman's tale of
how she had struggled with low self-esteem for many years because
of what she went through growing up in an orphanage. She had been
passed up several times for adoption because she was not considered
as good-looking as some of the other kids. As she grew older, her
constant craving for love and acceptance got her into a wrong
relationship with a drug addict, and she became an addict
herself.

Yemi
listened sympathetically as the woman told the audience how her
boyfriend eventually died from an overdose of drugs and she was
left all alone again. She had attempted suicide, but she eventually
met with Jesus when the doctor who saved her life invited her to
his church. She had also discovered her musical talents there, and
as of the time she was speaking, she had won several musical awards
and was also happily married.

The
story was very emotional. Yemi found herself on her feet, and
clapping along with other people at the end of it. By the end of
the evening, she felt strangely comforted. She could not understand
it, but she knew that she did not feel as low as she had felt
before the concert.

She
found herself accepting, this time with less resistance, Sesan's
invitation to attend church service the following Sunday. She would
not be missed at her own church anyway; it was quite large, and no
one would miss a once-in-a-few-weeks, keep-to-herself
attendee.

∞∞∞

Yemi
attended Sesan's church with him several times more. She liked it
there. Everyone was always so friendly, but what struck her the
most was the obvious joy radiating from the faces of the members.
They always appeared happy; this was certainly different from what
she was used to.

The
sermons were also very practical, and Yemi found them comforting.
It made God appear closer than she had imagined Him to be. She
still had bouts of moodiness, but they were less frequent and
further apart.

She was
happy to see Lola at her office a few weeks later. She dropped by
to say hello and to place an order for a dress. Yemi was initially
reserved, not knowing how much Deji had told her. But her doubts
were soon put to rest when Lola treated her with just as much
affection as before.

"I had
so looked forward to you and Deji getting together," she told Yemi.
"Deji really liked you, and I knew you would be the sort of person
Feyi would have loved as a mother for Tolu and Tope." She shrugged
with a regretful expression on her face. "But I guess it didn't
work out."

Yemi
felt sorry again for ever giving Deji the impression that she could
be with him. She hoped he would meet someone else soon, someone who
would love and appreciate him for the great guy that he
was.

She
continued to attend Sesan's church. There were times when she felt
guilty and would go back to her former church, but she never felt
the same way there, and she finally decided to go where she felt at
peace and received strength for everyday life.

One
particular Sunday, about three months later, Yemi attended and was
initially disappointed when she found out that a guest minister
would be preaching that day. She had begun to look forward to
hearing Sesan's pastor preach. There was always something useful in
his messages that she could apply to her everyday life.

But from
the moment the guest minister started speaking, Yemi was captivated
by everything the preacher said. Her sermon was simple, but every
word seemed to pierce right through Yemi's heart.

She
preached on the story of Ruth. Widowed and childless, Ruth did not
give up on life or on God. What touched Yemi the most was the
strength of character that Ruth had displayed in the face of
enormous challenges. She had remained strong through her
challenges, even offering to care for an old lady.

Yemi saw
the picture of her own life flash before her eyes. She had more to
be thankful to God for than Ruth, and yet she was far less
grateful. As she meditated on those thoughts, she felt as if God
was wrapping His hands around her. He was not condemning her nor
judging her, but instead, He was telling her that He loved her and
that He was going to be with her. Yemi felt tears well up in her
eyes, but they were not tears of hopelessness anymore. All she
could whisper over and over again was, "Please help me, Lord. Just
come into my life and help me."

After
the service, she did not wait to say hello to Sesan but went
straight home and just lay on her bed. She rolled from side to
side, still whispering the words to God and asking Him to come into
her life and take control. After a while, she felt peace and an
awesome feeling of cleanliness flooding her. The fears and
insecurities that had constantly plagued her appeared to dissolve.
They were replaced with an assurance that all would be
well.

The next
few days were some of the most amazing days she had ever
experienced in her life. There was an inner glow and peace within
her that she found difficult to comprehend, let alone explain to
anyone. She didn't look different. She was still Yemi outside but
yet so unlike Yemi inside.

She had
always appeared like a confident lady on the outside, but she was
the only one who knew that the confident look was just a façade,
because within her were deep fears of the unknown and its power to
hurt her. That was all gone now, and in its place was true
confidence—not in herself, brains, or hard work, but confidence in
God's ability to help her and carry her through.

Yemi
joined the foundation class at church. Sesan had advised her that
it would help her understand more about the change that had taken
place in her life. She attended each of the classes regularly and
tried to absorb as much as she could.

It was
as if she was in a love relationship with Jesus. He was her new
lover and friend. She could feel him all round her, so gentle and
yet so strong. She knew this lover would never fail her.

She now
also understood what Abby and Teju had been trying to tell her all
along, and knew that it was possible for someone to attend church
all their lives but never experience God.

"I wish
I had known you earlier, Lord!" she thought often to herself, but
she was determined to make up for lost time.

Chapter
22

Akeem
watched as Shona introduced her friend Tanya, to Hasan. They were
all at the opening ceremony of Shona's interior decor and furniture
shop. Shona and Tanya had attended University College, London,
together and had met up again when Tanya came into the country to
work for Ka-Tell as an expatriate staff member.

The
compere
came to the podium again, and they listened to him talk about
the different pieces of furniture on display. He then asked the
guests to feel free to move around the showroom after the event was
declared open.

The
furniture were classy and unique, and Akeem liked most of the
pieces. He could see that Lois was excited about them as well.
Maybe he would ask Shona to do up his house again.

"How're
you finding Ka-Tell?" Hasan asked Tanya as they returned to their
table some time later for some light refreshments. He looked
teasingly towards Akeem "I hope my friend here is treating you
well?"

Tanya
laughed. "I like it very much, thank you."

"I hope
you heard the lady?" Akeem said to Hasan. "We know how to treat
people well at Ka-Tell."

"If
you're not happy, just let Shona know and I'll fix you up," Hasan
said.

"Pretend
you didn't even hear that," Akeem said to the laughing Tanya. She
was a pretty lady. Smart too. Akeem had been present during a
presentation that Tanya had delivered just a few days earlier, and
he had been impressed. She had been a bit wobbly in the first
couple of minutes, no doubt trying to get over the fact that he was
present, but she had regained control and given a very brilliant
analysis.

"Are you
still going to Grace Tabernacle tomorrow?" Shona asked Tanya when
she joined them later. She looked pleased at the success of the
event.

"Yes, I
am, and I'm looking forward to it."

Akeem
looked at her. So she was religious? But well, he should have known
that since she was Shona's friend. Shona, Justin, and Fayona were
into all that stuff.

"Oh,
I've been to Grace Tabernacle a few times," Fayona said. "Very nice
place, you'll enjoy it."

"It
really is," Shona added. "But if you don't have a flow at Grace
Tabernacle tomorrow, you can try mine and see how it
goes."

"You'll
be fine, Tanya," Lois said in a slightly bored voice. "Church is
pretty much the same everywhere."

"Have
you told Shona what pieces of furniture you're ordering for your
house?" Akeem asked Lois.

"Yes, I
jotted down a few samples of what I want," Lois replied. "I'll look
through the catalogue and add a few more pieces."

"Let me
know when you're done," Akeem said, and Lois smiled at him. He saw
Tanya cast a quick look at them, but her face was expressionless.
He smiled inwardly. He was sure she knew Lois was not his wife and
was probably thinking what terrible sinners they were.

"I
absolutely love those burgundy pieces for the sitting room, but I
should get a good sister-in-law discount, shouldn't I?" Fayona
asked Shona.

"Your
husband is a rich guy, so no discounts allowed," Akeem said. He
turned to Hasan. "C'mon man, bring that chequebook out." he
taunted.

"Thanks,
Akeem." Shona laughed as she watched the two men.

Hasan
gave Akeem a cool look. "Don't worry about the price, honey," he
said to his wife. He signed a blank cheque and gave it to her.
"Order whatever you want." He smirked as he turned back to Akeem.
"Satisfied?"

Akeem
grinned and patted him on the back. "Yeah, way to go,
man!"

∞∞∞

Yemi sat
listening to the Sunday school teacher, Tomi. She normally enjoyed
her classes, but that was not the case today. Tomi was teaching on
the topic of forgiveness, and she was saying that there was no
wrong that could not be forgiven. The class was interactive. There
were lots of tricky questions being asked, but so far either Tomi
or someone else had been able to answer them well.

Yemi
said nothing. She felt a lot of the things that were being talked
about were theoretical. These people had never met anyone like Mrs.
Kadiri. How many twenty-five-year-old women had been offered money
by their mothers-in-law to go abroad in order to end their
marriages? How many women had not just had their hearts broken, but
also lost a child through their husband's infidelity? How many
women did their in-laws despise so much that they had never
bothered to ask about their whereabouts for over two years? No,
they certainly didn't know what they were talking about, and she
was not even going to bother taking any of it in.

The
pastor's message later that day was also centred on forgiveness.
Yemi was a little irritated. Obviously she was not going to gain
much from the church service. She would have to listen to a
recorded tape when she got back home, something that would
strengthen her for the week ahead.

She had
not seen Akeem since the last time he had come to her house. She
knew he was still seeing Lois. Ka-Tell had won an award recently,
and Lois had attended the ceremony with Akeem. Yemi had seen their
pictures in the papers. The press referred to her as Akeem's
girlfriend, which was just as well; they shouldn't make too much
fuss when the divorce became public.

But a
few days later, she decided to call him to talk about Aleena
attending church with her. Akeem had dropped all pretences of
attending church, and since Aleena was with him on Sundays, it
meant she didn't go either.