After the storm (43 page)

She
called Sara to get the details of the hospital where Akeem's mother
had been admitted. Sara didn't know it either and had to call
Nadia. Yemi had sworn Sara to secrecy, so Nadia had no idea that it
was Yemi who was requesting the address. A surprised Mrs. Kadiri
would be easier to deal with, and hopefully she would be able to
make her escape before she recovered from it.

"You
mean you're actually going to see her?" Sara asked again
incredulously, after giving Yemi the details.

"Yes, I am," Yemi replied grimly.
And heaven help me if God has nothing to do with
this
. She would have just walked into the
lion's den presumptuously.

She
thought of dressing up in something classy to boost her confidence.
An armour, as she used to call it those days when she had to meet
with the Kadiris. She brought out all her new designer gear and
looked at them.

"Lord,
you're my armour," she said, discarding the idea.

She
dressed simply in blue denim pants and a fitted, short-sleeved,
blue and red striped, button-down shirt. She slipped on her black
loafers and appraised herself in the mirror. All good and simple,
she thought to herself as she slung her duffel bag over her
shoulder.

∞∞∞

She got
off at the tube station closest to the Royal Brompton Hospital,
where Mrs. Kadiri was being treated. It was a ten-minute walk, and
she had thought that she would walk to steady her nerves. However,
upon exiting the station, she changed her mind and took a taxi. She
didn't trust herself not to turn tail and run if she had too much
time to think.

Several
emotions played in quick succession across Mrs. Kadiri's face when
she saw Yemi. Initially she looked dazed. Then a frown appeared,
and then she looked wary.

"I was
wondering which Yemi was here to see me," Mrs. Kadiri said as Yemi
came farther into the room. "I'd never have thought it was
you."

"Hello,
ma'am," Yemi said. She had deliberately left her surname out when
filling the visitor's slip. But despite Mrs. Kadiri's somewhat
hostile words, her voice did not sound very strong, and the fact
that she was ill was apparent. She also looked like she had lost
some weight. "I learnt you were in hospital, and I thought to look
in on you."

Mrs.
Kadiri still looked slightly confused. "I didn't know you were in
England," she finally said.

"I came
in about a week ago," Yemi replied. She didn't know whether to sit
or remain standing.

"You can
sit down," Mrs. Kadiri said, as if reading her mind. "Kande just
left to get some things for me."

That was
good, Yemi thought to herself. Akeem's aunt had never hidden her
feelings about her.

"She
should be back in a couple of hours," Mrs. Kadiri continued. She
closed her eyes briefly as an expression of pain crossed her
face.

"Are you
okay, Ma?"

She
nodded. "That happens intermittently. That's one of the reasons why
they want me to do the surgery."

Yemi
felt sorry for her. Akeem had told her in the past that his mother
dreaded the thought of surgery because she had lost an elder
brother through it.

"Have
they fixed a date yet?"

"In a
couple of days," she replied, looking a little pensive.

"I'm
sure everything will be okay," Yemi said. "I learnt Royal Brompton
is one of the best for heart conditions."

"That's
why I use them," Mrs. Kadiri said, a hint of her old arrogance in
her tone. She inhaled deeply. "But I've always hoped I wouldn't
ever need surgery." She looked into space as she spoke.

She
suddenly looked very frail, a look of anxiety flashing across her
face. Yemi could sense her fear. It was so unlike her strong and
haughty mother-in-law.

"I'm
sure everything will be fine," Yemi said gently.

Mrs.
Kadiri didn't look very convinced. She looked towards the
television in her room. CNN was on, and they were talking about the
ash cloud. Her face fell as she listened to the not-so-cheery news.
Airlines were still cautious about flying. Mrs Kadiri heaved a
sigh. "I wish my son were here. He has a way of instilling
confidence in me…just like his father."

Yemi did not have to ask which son she was referring to.
Akeem was
her son
, the "buy one," and Adil was the "get one free." Unhealthy
way for a mother to treat her children, but that was Mrs. Kadiri
for you. She liked Akeem's strong character, yet it was that same
character she sought so much to control. Yemi forced herself to
push the thoughts away. There was no point in dwelling on them
anymore.

The
silence stretched between them, and she was beginning to think that
it was time that she made her exit. She had been there longer than
she had thought she would be able to stay, anyway.

"Who's
Aleena with? Your parents?" Mrs. Kadiri asked, just as Yemi was
about to tell her she would be on her way.

"She's
with my elder brother, Ayo. Going to school from there would be
easier than if she was on the mainland with my parents."

"She's
growing so fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that she was
born," Mrs. Kadiri mused.

"She
is," Yemi replied, smiling genuinely for the first time. "I can
hardly believe it myself."

"Just
wait until she gets to be a teenager, and then you will wonder even
more." Mrs. Kadiri smiled slightly. "Kids? They grow too fast." She
tried to sit up a little and winced, her face contorting with
pain.

"Are you
okay, Ma?"

"My
chest is hurting a lot more now. Maybe the painkiller is wearing
off," she replied, breathing in and out slowly as if the effort was
hurting her.

"Should
I speak to the nurse outside?"

"I'll
just press the bell," Mrs. Kadiri said.

Yemi had
to wait outside while the nurse administered some new medication.
She came back into the room after the nurse left and stayed for
another twenty minutes before she finally left.

"When
are you going back to Nigeria?" Mrs. Kadiri asked her just before
she left.

"This
weekend."

"Okay,
then," she said. "Akeem should be here before then,
hopefully."

"I'm
sure he will," Yemi replied. She could sense the fear in Mrs.
Kadiri again and prayed inwardly for the success of the
surgery.

Yemi
gave thanks to God with all her heart on her way back to the tube
station. The visit had gone better than she had even dared to
hope.

She
found herself going back the next day. She felt so much bolder the
second time. She didn't think she could ever be afraid or
intimidated by Mrs. Kadiri again. By taking the step to visit her,
she had also set herself free. She had no enemies—not Mrs. Kadiri
nor any member of the Kadiri family.

This
time around, Akeem's aunt was there. She didn't appear too
surprised to see Yemi. Mrs. Kadiri must have already told her that
Yemi had been there the day before. She was acting scared too at
the thought of the impending surgery. That obviously was a
weightier matter for her to consider than a visit by her nephew's
estranged wife. That suited Yemi just fine.

She
learnt from them that the surgery had been scheduled for the next
day and that Akeem had managed to get a flight and would be in
England that evening. Yemi was not planning to return for another
visit. She felt she had obeyed God, and she still had things to
sort out before her trip back home that weekend.

"Akeem
was not aware that you came to see me," Mrs. Kadiri told her during
the visit. "He was surprised when I told him over the phone. I
thought he asked you to visit."

"No, he
didn't," Yemi replied, shaking her head.

Mrs.
Kadiri and her sister looked at her a little strangely. Yemi
maintained a neutral face as she met their eyes. Maybe Akeem's mum
felt that she and Akeem were still seeing each other secretly. She
wished she could tell her that her son had categorically told her
that he was no longer interested in her. How had he put it that day
in her kitchen?

"You no
longer hold any appeal for me," he had told her brusquely before
leaving her house with Aleena.

They had
attended two open days together at Aleena's school since then, but
he had been cool and distant to her all through.

∞∞∞

The sky
was aglow with the golden rays of the setting sun as Yemi parked
her car in front of the church auditorium. She sat for a few
minutes and admired the beautiful view before getting out of the
car. She had barely taken a few steps when she heard her name. She
turned round and saw Sesan getting out of his car a few yards away.
They swapped stories on how their day had gone as they walked
towards the church auditorium. Just before they got to the
entrance, they saw Tanya, the new teacher that had just joined the
teens department, which Sesan headed. Yemi smiled and waved at
her.

"We are
a little early, aren't we?" Tanya asked after they had all
exchanged greetings. "But I didn't want to get stuck in traffic, so
I left the office early."

"Same
thing here," Yemi replied. "But well, we can just sit in the
auditorium until it's time." She turned towards Tanya. "So how are
you finding Nigeria?"

"That
question again!" Tanya groaned. "I wonder why people don't
recognise my Abeokuta accent," she said, referring to one of the
suburban towns around Lagos.

Yemi
laughed. The only Nigerian thing about Tanya was maybe her skin
tone and even then, she was very fair complexioned.

"You
can't even pronounce 'Abeokuta' the right way," Yemi
teased.

"Or
maybe Abeokuta is a borough in England," Sesan added.

"It's
part of Essex! But all right, I give up. I came into the country
about four months ago. I was recruited from England for a telecoms
company."

"Hmm…cool, so how is the job going?" Yemi asked.

"It's
been an amazing experience, and I'm loving it so far!" she said
enthusiastically.

"Where
do you actually work?" Sesan asked.

"Ka-Tell," Tanya replied. "It's a telecommunications company
and part of the Kadiri holdings group."

There
was an awkward silence that lasted for a moment.

"Interesting…" Sesan finally said, shooting Yemi a quick
glance.

"Glad
you're enjoying yourself," Yemi said, ignoring Sesan. What did he
expect her to do, give Tanya her autobiography on the
spot?

"I sure
am," Tanya replied. "I had my reservations before I came in, but
that's all disappeared now." She began to tell them some more about
Ka-Tell and the expansion going on in their networks. Yemi saw
Sesan almost begin to squirm with discomfort when Tanya started
describing her brilliant CEO. She knew he was expecting her to say
something about her connection to Ka-Tell, but the words wouldn't
come.

"So
sorry, Tanya, but please excuse me for a moment," Yemi said,
cutting in and turning to Sesan. "Since we are a bit early, Shez,
why don't you take a look at my satnav? Remember I said it was slow
in picking up signals?"

Sesan
shot her a hard stare before he turned to Tanya. "Well, I guess
we'll see you later."

Tanya
smiled politely at them, but Yemi could see the quick look she gave
them before continuing on her way to the auditorium.

"She's
bound to find out sooner or later about your connection to Akeem,"
Sesan said as they made their way back to the parking
lot.

Yemi bit
on her lower lip. "I know." Her marriage was not something she
spoke about easily, and Tanya had caught her by surprise. Not many
people in the church were aware that she was married, and even
fewer people knew that she had a daughter.

"I don't
want it to appear like we deliberately kept her in the dark," Sesan
added.

Yemi
glanced at him. Why was he acting like he had a bee in his bonnet?
Or was he sweet on Tanya? He had introduced Tanya to her a couple
of weeks earlier when she joined his department, but he had not
said anything much about her since then. She would probe him some
more later.

"I guess
I'll have to tell her at some point, but for now, I don't want to
say anything if I don't have to."

∞∞∞

Yemi
wondered why she had not told Tanya about her relationship to KH.
But it had taken her by surprise, and the reaction had been
automatic. It was not the first time she'd met people who worked at
KH. There were a couple more in the church that she knew about, but
she always avoided them.

She had
told her pastor a little bit about her marriage. She had initially
just wanted to remain in the background at the church, but it was
impossible to do so with someone like Sesan as her close friend.
His likeable personality meant he was friends with practically
everyone, and somehow the pastor had gotten to know her through
him.