After the storm (47 page)

"Not
really, but trying to be," he admitted. "What about
you?"

"Trying
to be too."

She
would have wanted to go over to his place, at least for that day.
There was something about losing someone dear that made everyone
that knew the person want to bunch up together and just talk about
him and the times they had all shared together, but she was too
wary about bumping into Lois. Aleena had told her a few weeks
earlier that "Aunt Lois" no longer came to her daddy's house, but
she had not known if the little girl was right or not. She had seen
Lois from afar at the funeral, and she and Akeem had still acted
pretty close.

"Is…is
someone with you?" she asked warily.

"Sara
and Fadel are here, and some other friends too," he replied. He
paused for a moment. "You want to come over?"

She was
almost tempted to answer in the affirmative, but she felt Lois
would likely be there too. That would make the place crowded as far
as she was concerned.

"Um, I
was thinking of it, but you've got people with you
already."

He
didn't say anything, and they were both silent for a long
moment.

"Okay,
then, Akeem. Take care," she said.

"Thanks." His voice was quiet. "Take care, Yemi."

∞∞∞

"Ready
to go?" Shona asked Tanya.

Akeem
glanced at Shona. It had been over a week since Hasan's burial, but
her eyes were still reddened and puffy. He had just been to
Fayona's a little while earlier that day, and she was pretty much
the same.

"I am,"
Tanya responded.

"Akeem
said he will drop you off at home," Shona told her.

Tanya
hesitated. "I can just catch a taxi. I don't want to be in the
way."

"You're
not in the way," Akeem assured her.

"Thanks," Tanya said, still looking like she would have
preferred to decline. She said good-bye to Justin and Shona before
walking with him to his car. He opened the door for her.

"Thank
you," she said, as she did up her belt. "I'm really sorry about
your friend," she told him quietly.

"Thanks." He had seen her during the funeral from a distance.
He had been surprised to see Yemi chatting with her. Shona had
explained to him that Yemi and Tanya attended the same
church.

He drove
in silence for a few minutes. "I didn't really get what the pastor
was talking about during the service of songs," he said
abruptly.

Tanya
turned slightly in her seat. "I don't understand."

He
stared straight ahead. "The pastor's message. He said for people
not to be sad because Hasan has gone to a better place." His voice
was tight as he recollected how annoying the pastor's words had
been to him then. "That's pure balderdash if I ever heard
any."

Tanya
was quiet for a long time. "I know it may sound like that, but
anyone who dies as a Christian really does go to a better
place."

"Why
can't you all face up to the obvious fact that God, if he exists,
failed Hasan by letting him die like that? Why be hypocritical
about it?"

"God
never fails," she said quietly. "I don't claim to know all the
answers or even to begin to understand it, but God never
fails."

He
snorted derisively. "This sure looks like failure to me. Hasan
believed in God. He should have protected him."

"The two
most accurate witnesses in any situation is the person involved
and, of course, God who knows all things. It's a pity that we may
not be able to get what really happened in this case, but Hasan
really has gone to a better place, albeit a little
early."

"I know my friend had great plans for life. He wasn't
planning to go to a
better place
any time soon."

Tanya's
voice was quiet. "Shona told me that he had actually rescheduled
his flight but changed his mind at the last minute."

"Good
excuse. So you mean there was no other way he could have known that
he was not meant to get on that plane?" He inhaled deeply, trying
to calm down. "In fact, the plane could have been prevented from
crashing altogether!"

He
stopped at a traffic light. He was sorry he was taking it out on
her, but he was angry, and the pastor's message had been like
adding salt to the festering sore in his heart over the loss of his
friend.

"But do
we also blame God for human error?" she asked gently. "I know the
official report about the cause of the plane crash is not yet out,
but we may well find out that the crash was due to that. Some
people may have simply failed to do their jobs."

He moved
again when the lights changed. A few minutes later, he turned off
the main road onto the street where she lived.

"And who
knows, God may have tried to use you to get Hasan off that flight,"
she said.

"I
didn't get on that flight because I had a rescheduled meeting.
There was nothing supernatural about it."

"There
are some things we may just never understand on this side of life."
She paused for a moment and glanced at him. "But the state in which
a man dies is what's important. Everyone close to Hasan testifies
to the fact that he had a healthy relationship with God. Such a
person would have been at peace right to the very end."

"I'm
afraid I don't see it that way." The anger had drained out of him,
and he felt weary. "But I'm sorry for taking it out on
you."

"That's
okay. I understand," she replied quietly.

∞∞∞

Akeem
felt better after his shower. He knew he needed to eat something,
but he did not feel like it. Bassey was away in France on a
catering course. He had discussed his plans to open a restaurant in
the near future, and Akeem fully supported the idea. Bassey had
been a faithful employee for many years, and even though Akeem knew
he would have to look for a new cook soon, he had been happy to
sponsor the course.

He
poured himself a drink and turned on the TV. He hoped the drink
coupled with his tired body would be able to lull him to
sleep.

He
settled on CNN and tried to listen to the newscaster, but Tanya's
words kept flitting through his mind. She always sounded so sure of
her beliefs. He knew he had been bullish with her, but he had been
irked by what Hasan's pastor had preached during the service of
songs. To him, there was nothing remotely joyful about his friend's
death. And he resented anyone calling it anything other than the
tragedy that it was.

He took
another sip of his drink as Tanya's words about Hasan being at
peace to the end came back to him. That had struck a chord. From
the conversation they had that last afternoon at the hotel, he was
almost certain that Hasan would not have been afraid of death. He
wondered how he would have felt had he been on that flight. Fear
was not an emotion he entertained, but would he have succumbed to
it then? Would he have wondered if there really was anything to a
life after death, as people like Tanya claimed? And if there was
really a God, would he have been ready to meet with him?

Fayona
talked about Hasan like she would see him again someday. Oh, she
wept for long periods when the pain of his departure became too
unbearable, but she was still strong even in the midst of her pain.
She had even found the strength to encourage him. Akeem felt he
should be the one encouraging her, but he had nothing to offer
other than financial help, and Fayona would not need that
anyway.

He took
another sip of his brandy. Hasan's death had made him begin to
wonder what life was all about. Moreover, he had to admit that
there was really something different about his friends since they
started all their religious stuff, a kind of inner serenity that
puzzled him. Something he lacked. He had money, connections, and
privileges that many men would envy, but he also had an emptiness
inside him that no amount of success had been able to
fill.

He
stared broodingly into space. "If you are real as they say, then
show yourself to me," he muttered.

He
looked around as if he expected to see something, but came to
himself and laughed out loud. What was he thinking? Losing his
friend must be affecting his reasoning. He took another sip of his
brandy and concentrated on the news.

∞∞∞

"Mummy,
Daddy is…" Aleena brought her voice down to a whisper, as if she
did not want to be overheard. "Daddy is very sad," she told Yemi
over the phone. "Aunt Kufre said he didn't eat any dinner, just
keeps drinking coffee. He is missing Uncle Hasan."

"I
know…" Yemi sighed. She was missing him too. It was all still so
unreal.

Aleena
was on holidays and was with Akeem. Yemi knew he had taken some
time off work and had sent Aleena over to stay with him. She felt
that Aleena would create a welcome distraction for him, but Aleena
was meant to be returning back to her place that day.

"You
know what? I'm going to come over there to see you both today,"
Yemi said, making up her mind on the spur of the moment. She would
also tell Akeem that Aleena could stay with him a little
longer.

"Yay!
I'm going to tell Aunt Kufre!" Aleena squealed. "But Mummy," she
said, hushing her voice again, "don't tell Daddy that I told you
that he's sad."

"Of
course not, baby. I won't, and don't tell your dad I'm coming over
either."

Aleena
was excited about the secret and promised not to tell. Yemi
hesitated a bit but decided to ask the question burning in her
mind. "Is Lois there in the house?"

"No,
she's not. I've not seen Auntie Lois for a long time, but maybe I
should ask Daddy if she's going…"

"No,
don't do that, Alee," Yemi said quickly. "I'll see you soon. Let me
speak with Kufre."

She
finished up what she had to do in the office and went back home to
change. She had been thinking of Akeem a lot lately and wondering
how he was faring. Sara had also been dropping hints that she
should go and see him, but it was Aleena's statement that had
finally made her decide to go. If the little girl had noticed that
he wasn't fine, then he really wasn't fine.

"Hey,
Akeem, I'm outside your gate. Can you tell the security to let me
in, please?" she said to him on the phone when she arrived at the
house about an hour later.

She
gazed at the wrought-iron gates. Her once-upon-a-time
home.

He was
waiting for her at the door when she got there. His face looked
leaner. His chin was unshaven, making him look even more rugged. If
he was surprised to see her, he wasn't showing it.

"Thanks
for sending Aleena over," he said to her as he led the way to the
sitting room. "I was going to ask the driver to bring her back,
though."

"Does
that mean you're not happy to see me?" she asked lightly as she sat
down in the sitting room. It felt so strange being there after such
a long time, and yet it was all still so familiar. She could see
some changes. Shona must have been there.

"I've
been hoping you'd come by," he said, sitting down. He stretched his
long legs out in front of him. "At least because of
Hasan."

She
tried not to stare at his legs or at the lean, muscular arms that
showed through the polo shirt he had on over the knee-length cargo
shorts. He seemed even more toned than she remembered.

"Didn't
want to barge in…I knew Lois would be with you, anyway."

"She
broke up with me a while ago."

She shot
him a quick look, and his eyes met hers. Was she supposed to say
something in response to his statement? Because she didn't have
anything to say.

"Maybe
you should let Aleena know I'm here," she said, looking away. "But
I've not actually come to pick her up. She can stay with you for
the rest of the week. That is, if it doesn't affect your
schedule."

He
snorted. "My schedule? Hasan's death has taught me a few lessons.
The sun continues to rise and fall irrespective of anyone. I've
made up my mind to begin to appreciate the simple things of life
from henceforth."

She
smiled slightly. "Like bonding with your daughter?"

"Yeah…and other things." His eyes flicked over her face as he
reached beside him for the intercom.

Aleena
bounded into the sitting room a few minutes later. She was very
excited to see her mother, and her chattering began immediately.
Yemi rolled her eyes at Akeem over Aleena's head, and he nodded
knowingly. They had always wondered where she got her ability to
chatter ceaselessly from. Certainly not from either one of
them.

"Have
you eaten?" she asked him when Aleena had gone back with Kufre to
the other sitting room to continue watching her
cartoons.

"Not
really hungry."

She
glanced at her wristwatch. It was almost four in the evening. Small
wonder his face was looking leaner. "Right, let's see what we can
rustle up for lunch, or is it dinner now?"

He
smiled and followed her into the kitchen. A wave of nostalgia hit
her. Her kitchen. How many times had she lovingly cooked their
meals there before her nightmare began? She pushed the thoughts
away. God had healed her heart, and it was permanent.