After the storm (41 page)

"I don't
think that suits me, Yemi," Akeem told her coolly. "That would
technically mean I get to see her for just one day in a
week."

Yemi
sighed. She had been expecting this. "Not really. It's just going
to be a few hours short of the time she currently spends with you.
She still comes to you on Friday evenings, and I can pick her up on
Sunday morning on my way to church, or your driver can bring her to
my place."

"I let
Aleena sleep late on Sunday mornings, so I'm not sure how that will
work," he replied. "Let me think about it and get back to
you."

She had
to be satisfied with that, but when he did not call her after two
weeks, she knew he wasn't keen on the idea. However, she made up
her mind that she was not going to let the matter rest. She wanted
her daughter to know God, and the earlier she did, the
better.

"Just
pray about it, Yemi," Abby said when Yemi told her about it. "God
can work on Akeem's heart, and you'll be surprised how easily he
will agree to your request." She smiled as she looked at Yemi.
"You're still a wonder to me. Self-righteous little moralist now so
hungry for the things of God!"

"I still
wonder at myself," Yemi admitted ruefully. "I've just been so blind
all these years."

Abby
looked at her carefully. "How do you feel about the divorce
now?"

Yemi
frowned. "How do you mean? I'm still going ahead with it, of
course."

"Have
you thought about letting go? Forgiving Akeem and trying to mend
things with him?"

Yemi
stared at Abby. "Akeem is in a serious relationship with another
woman, or have you forgotten that? The last time we saw each other,
he told me he had no interest in me anymore, and that's okay with
me too."

"Forget
about what he said. Just work at genuinely forgiving him. You'll be
amazed what God will do."

"Akeem
does not even believe in God. And it's not just about him; his
family hates me. Even if I mend things with him, which I'm not
interested in doing, how can I ever go back to such a
family?"

"One
step at a time, girl, and trust God."

Yemi
shook her head. "Even I won't trouble God that much. He's brought
so much peace and joy into my life, and I'm really grateful, but
concerning Akeem?" She shook her head. "Let's just forget about
him. He's a closed chapter in my life."

She
found herself feeling uneasy for the rest of the day. Uneasiness
and unrest had been a normal part of her life before she got born
again, and she cherished her relationship with God and the ensuing
peace it brought to her. So anytime she felt somewhat uneasy, she
could retrace her thoughts or steps to when it started, repent of
anything she had done or said, and she would again feel that
cherished peace enveloping her.

She did so now, and she knew that she had started feeling
that way right after her discussion with Abby.
But, Lord, I was just speaking the truth as I felt it to be.
There are too many complications concerning my relationship with
Akeem and his family. It's better to just let things be.

She
didn't feel any better. She watched T. D. Jakes's program on TV
later that night. His message was based on the almightiness of God.
"I am the Lord, is there anything too difficult for me?" was one of
the Bible verses that T. D. Jakes used. That phrase stuck to her
heart. She pondered on those words as they kept ringing in her
ears.

As she
lay down later that night after putting Aleena to bed, the
scripture came to her mind again. The thought of her in-laws
flashed through her mind almost immediately.

"She will never be a part of this family…"
Her mother-in-law's words that she had overheard
that day in the Kadiri country home came back clearly to her again,
as did the disdainful looks she had gotten over the years and the
constant rejection and attempts to humiliate her publicly. She
shook her head and tried to push the hurtful thoughts away. How
could she ever forgive them? She thought of her son. How could she
ever forgive Akeem?

"I've
given you everything, Lord," she whispered. "I've held nothing
back. The Kadiris hurt me too badly, and I don't ever want to be
vulnerable again."

She kept
talking to God and trying to convince Him why her decision was the
best as she faded off into a restless sleep.

∞∞∞

Akeem
looked lazily around the function hall of the five-star hotel where
Hasan and Fayona were celebrating Fayona's birthday and their
wedding anniversary. Everyone was looking sharp. The men were in
tuxedos, the ladies in glamorous evening dresses. He missed Lois's
vivacious presence. She was playing hostess to her dad at an event
and could not attend.

He
almost did a double take when he saw Tanya approaching their table
with Shona. She looked so different from the woman he occasionally
saw at the office. The wine-coloured evening dress she was wearing
did her figure all sorts of favours and set off her
light-complexioned skin beautifully. Religious or not, this girl
was attractive.

"Good of
you to come, Tanya," Justin said to Tanya as she joined them at the
table. "And I must say that you're looking very pretty."

Akeem
tilted his head to an angle as he surveyed her up close. "Very
pretty indeed."

"Thank
you, sir," Tanya replied.

"Please
call me Akeem. I much prefer it. Plus, I want to forget about the
office tonight."

"But,
sir," Justin quipped, "what if we occasionally forget to call you
Akeem, sir?"

Akeem
faked an irritated frown. "I wonder why they had to put me at the
same table with you?" He turned to Fadel, who was sitting beside
him. "Is it too late to ask for alternate sitting
arrangements?"

"Just
ignore Justin," Sara replied.

Tanya
smiled at their ribbing but he could see that she was still a bit
self conscious. The stand-up comic came on a few minutes later.
Akeem saw Tanya smiling politely but he knew she was struggling to
understand the jokes he was telling. Akeem hid a smile. Tanya had
lived all her life in England, and one would need to have lived in
Nigeria for a while to understand those jokes.

He took
a sip of his drink and turned to her. "So, how did you find the
church you went to?"

She
looked surprised that he had remembered. "It's really nice. I
decided to stay with them. I'm going through the membership classes
at the moment."

"Is that
some sort of orientation?"

"You got
it. They are classes designed to help new members know what the
church believes in and how it operates. Which church do you attend,
Mr. Kadiri?"

"Akeem,"
he corrected, and she smiled. "I really don't go to church
much."

"Um…"

He
arched his brow. "Um? Is that bad or good?"

She
laughed. "Um…neither."

He
smiled. "I'm sure you'd have said more if you didn't have 'boss'
stamped all over me. So c'mon, forget about me being your boss and
explain the 'um.'"

Tanya
looked at him for a moment as if deciding if she should continue or
not. "Have you always not gone to church?" she finally
asked.

"I've
been there a few times but lost interest. Don't get me wrong. I
have nothing against church, and if it makes people happy, why
not?" He took another sip of his drink. "I just don't like some of
the teachings."

"Teachings like what?"

He
smiled. "Teachings that brainwash people into thinking that their
lives or outcomes in life are dependent on a higher
being."

"By a
higher being, I assume you mean God?"

He
smiled. "There you go. You say "God" like you expect everyone to
believe he exists."

"Oh, but
He does."

"How do
you know? From what you've been taught?"

Tanya
shook her head. "No, from what I've experienced."

"From
what you think you've experienced," he corrected.

They
argued back and forth. He had to say he was impressed, though. This
woman knew what she was talking about. And misguided or not, she
was very confident in her beliefs.

Shona
came back to the table and listened to them. "I've been talking to
Akeem for a long time," she said, rolling her eyes. "Now I just
pray for him, but maybe you'll do better than me,
Tanya."

"Akeem
will become a believer someday, and he will go farther than all of
us," Justin stated.

"Dreams
are absolutely free." Akeem grinned. He shook his head as he looked
at Justin. "But I can't even believe a smart guy like you can
believe all that stuff you've been fed!"

"The
gospel has nothing to do with smartness. It's actually very simple,
and that's why people miss it."

"You
tell him 'im, Justin," Fadel quipped. "He needs to change all those
heathen ideas of his."

Sara turned around to look at her husband. "Honey, don't even
start! At least we all know Akeem's stand. Where do
you
stand?"

"I'm
still trying to get a religion that suits me," Fadel replied
loftily. "I'll let you know when I do."

They all looked up when the
compere
announced that they could
start making their way to the buffet tables for dinner. Akeem was
not really hungry, so he just picked up a few bits and pieces and
returned back to the table.

"Some
wine for you?" he asked Tanya as he attempted to pour some
champagne into her glass when they returned to the table. She
started to decline but stopped when she saw the teasing look in his
eyes. He had already noticed that she had stuck to non-alcoholic
beverages all evening. He poured himself a glass of wine and then
poured some of the non-alcoholic fruit wine she had been drinking
all evening into her glass.

"Mine is
only twelve percent alcohol. Does that make me a candidate for
hell?" Akeem teased.

"I don't
drink alcohol by choice. It's hard enough being sensible when
sober, not to talk of when one's under the influence of
alcohol."

"Hmmm…first reasonable argument I've heard from a non-alcohol
drinking Christian," Akeem replied, lifting up his glass of Dom
Perignon to her before taking a sip. "You're still missing
something, though."

She
lifted up her own glass and took a sip. "Very nice…and just
imagine, my ability to make sound judgement remains unimpaired
too."

He
chuckled at her statement. "My ability to make sound judgement also
remains unimpaired."

"What do
you do at Ka-Tell?" Sara asked Tanya.

Akeem
looked over at her. There was something about the way she was
looking at Tanya, as if she suspected that there might be something
going on between Akeem and her. Akeem smiled. He had a strictly "no
dating staff" policy. Anyway, with her religious views, Tanya
probably wouldn't even touch him with a long pole.

"I work
as a business analyst."

"Is that
what you did in England?"

"More or
less," Tanya replied.

But just as she was about to continue, the
compere
announced that
Fayona and Hasan were about to take the floor. Everyone's attention
turned towards them. Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" began to
play and Hasan drew his wife gently into his arms. He touched
Fayona's cheek with his finger before bending his head down to kiss
her, and there were catcalls and whistles all around. Akeem watched
them. They were still as loved up as when they first met—lucky for
some.

"So
think about what I told you," Akeem said to Tanya later that
evening. "You've got to discard what you've been taught and analyse
everything like the intelligent woman that you are."

"I have
a personal relationship with God, so it's not a question of what
I've been taught."

He
looked at her thoughtfully. He wanted to puncture her theory.
"Let's put this confidence of yours to the test, shall
we?"

"I don't
need to test God. I know He is real."

He
laughed. "You're already chickening out. See, that's the problem
with you guys. You're all talk and little action, but I'm not going
to let you get away with this." He was amused at the wary
expression that came over her face. "You said God exists? Prove it.
Are you ready?"

Tanya
just looked at him and did not reply.

He was
not deterred by her silence. "There's this person I know who is so
implacable." He swirled the drink in his wineglass as he looked at
her face. "I want you to tell God to make this person do something
uncharacteristic, and if this happens, then pronto, I'll become a
Christian. I'd even join a membership class somewhere.
Deal?"

"God
does not need to prove himself…" Tanya began.

He held
up a hand. He had been right. Confident or not, this woman was no
different from all the other so-called Christians he had met. "Save
it…I was just trying to see if you can put your money where your
mouth is. I'm pretty sure what I believe, and so far it's not
failed me. But you guys are the ones who need to check all these
stories you throw around." He smiled slightly again, trying to
lessen the harshness of his words. "That's just my viewpoint,
Tanya, no offence meant."