After the storm (50 page)

"I don't
trust you," he teased. "But you can come into partnership with me,
and then I won't have to worry about that."

"Hmmm…that will be something. Tell me, what will it cost
me?"

He
lowered his voice too. "Nothing you can't afford." He paused and
held her eyes with his. "Dinner and breakfast with me every day. An
occasional massage thrown in, easy stuff like that. You should be
able to handle it."

She
pretended to consider it and then frowned. "And just for that, I
become your business partner?"

He
nodded. "And cosignatory to all my accounts and anything else you'd
like added to it."

"Sounds
too good to be true. We will need to sign contracts before I take
you seriously."

He
leaned forward slightly. "I'm ready to sign it tonight if you are
game."

She
looked at him suspiciously. "This businessman is in too much of a
hurry. I will need my lawyer to look at the contract before I
commit."

"C'mon,
you don't need a lawyer," he urged. "Why are you scared? You only
live once."

Yemi
looked at him solemnly. "Not signing till I speak with my lawyer,
but anyway, those specs of yours don't even sound professional.
What are you looking for? Partner or mistress?"

"A
live-in mistress."

She
pretended to consider it. "All right…mistress it is then, but not
live-in. That will spoil all the fun."

He shook
his head, a wolfish gleam in his eyes. "Nah…this guy needs his
mistress permanently under his roof."

They
continued their banter, flirting with each other and laughing over
silly jokes. It was like old times. They had never had a shortage
of things to talk about. Somehow they talked and kept
talking.

When he
suggested that they take a walk along the pier at the back of the
restaurant after their dinner, she was more than happy to go with
him.

The
night looked fairytale-like. The soft, blue light from the full
moon bathed the pier, and they could see the bright city lights of
the town across the river gleaming like little diamonds. A light
breeze whispered along, rustling the leaves of the trees nearby and
keeping the night from being too warm.

They
strolled along the pier for a little while and then stood side by
side by the railings and looked over the bridge.

Yemi was
lost in the sights and sounds of the scenery before her. "This is
so beautiful," she said in an awed voice after a while.

"Very
beautiful," he replied quietly.

She
glanced towards him; he was looking at her face and not at the
water. He took her hand in his and just kept looking at her without
saying anything.

"What?"
she asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.

"Just
thinking…" he said quietly. "Remembering us, and then these past
two and half years. It's a bit hard taking it in that we are
together again."

"I
know."

She
tried to turn back towards the water, but he drew her gently into
his arms. She could feel his heart thudding against
hers.

"I love
you," he whispered as his head dipped towards her and he claimed
her lips. Yemi wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his
kiss. He drew back after a while but did not completely release
her. "I love you so much. I tried hard not to, but could never stop
loving you."

She
didn't know whose heart was beating faster, hers or his. "I love
you too."

His arms
tightened around her again, and he kissed her some more. They held
each other for a few minutes before she drew back
slightly.

"It's
getting late. Maybe we should start heading back?" she
asked.

He was
not in a hurry to release her and still held her close for a few
more minutes. Finally he loosened his arms slightly and kissed her
forehead gently.

"All
right," he said, putting his arm around her as they began to walk
back towards the car.

∞∞∞

Well,
whose business was it if she had just spent the past two days with
her husband? Yemi thought to herself smugly as she dressed up for
work the following Monday. And whose business was it if she also
admitted that she had thoroughly enjoyed being with him? He was her
husband, after all. Big deal!

After
their dinner that evening two nights earlier, they had been driving
towards her house when Akeem had suddenly taken another turn and
started heading back towards Lekki, where he lived.

"I
thought you were taking me home," she said, when she realised where
they were going.

"We're
going home, Yemi," he had said, glancing sideways at her. "Our
home."

She had
not bothered to protest, because frankly, she had not wanted their
time together to end either.

The next
morning, rather than allow her to go back home, he had popped out
to buy her a few things she needed. Again, that was all good with
her.

Bassey
had happened upon them the next day. He had returned from France
two days earlier and was unaware of their reunion. He stopped
midway into the sitting room, his mouth comically half-open as he
stared at Yemi snuggled against Akeem on the sofa. Then a pleased
expression had come over his face, and he proceeded to make one of
the nicest meals Yemi had ever sampled for lunch.

Akeem
wanted her to move back immediately, but Yemi found herself
hesitating. She felt they still needed a little time to gradually
get used to each other.

"Let's
take things a little slowly, okay? No rush, is there?" she had said
to him.

He had
not looked too happy at her suggestion but had reluctantly agreed
to give them some time to bond some more before she moved
back.

∞∞∞

Yemi
didn't know when it started. Maybe it was when Akeem ran his
fingers over her belly and told her that Aleena had asked him for a
younger sibling.

"Maybe I
should book us a trip to Portugal," he had said softly.

Maybe it
was then, or maybe it was when they were out together at the beach
and she saw a couple of ladies openly eyeballing Akeem.

How could you even think of going back to
him
? The malevolent voice
whispered.
He cheated on you before, and
he will do it again
.

"Akeem
loves me," she had responded feebly.

He loved you then too, and yet he cheated on
you
, the voice whispered again.
Don't be taken for a fool
twice
.

She
wrestled within herself to get rid of the thoughts, but just as she
managed to push them away, fresh fears arose within her as she
thought about her hormonal imbalance report. She knew Akeem wanted
more kids, especially a son with whom he could have the same kind
of relationship he had had with his father. What if she could not
conceive, or if it took a long time for her to conceive? Would he
be able to deal with it? She knew there would be many women who
would be more than happy to have babies for him. Akeem had yielded
to pressure before, even though of a different type, and there was
no guarantee he wouldn't do so again.

They
were supposed to meet for dinner, but she called and cancelled.
They talked over the phone, and she tried to keep her voice as
light as possible so that he would not get a hint of what she was
going through. She thought she had succeeded until he stopped
abruptly and asked her what the matter was.

She
sighed. She should have known it wouldn't work with him. "How do
you mean?" she said, still trying to feign ignorance.

"What's
up? You're not yourself. Is it your clients?" he asked and then
added teasingly, "Because if they are the ones stressing you, tell
them you're my wife and don't need that money they're paying
you."

"And go
back to being a kept woman, right?" she snapped before she could
stop herself.

She knew
her outburst took him by surprise because he was quiet for a long
moment. "Something is wrong, Yemi," he finally said. "Tell me what
it is."

"I'm
okay. Just a little tired."

"All
right then. I'll release you so you can go to bed early," he
replied, in a quiet tone.

After
the call, she felt sorry that she had been so waspish with him. How
she wished she could discuss her fears with him.

Stop deceiving yourself
. The ugly
voice she hated so much came back.
You'd
better ditch him before he hurts you again
.

"I
refuse your counsel!" she said furiously.

The
voice stopped.

She
decided to just stay home the next evening and not attend Bible
study. She was feeling a little out of sorts anyway, headachy and
sore. She ate her dinner, felt a little better, and decided to
watch a movie to help her sleep. Akeem would not call until much
later because he would think she was at church.

The
movie was about a man who cheated serially on his wife. The man's
wife got so psychologically traumatised that she tried to destroy
him with the damaging information she had on his business deals.
But the guy was smart, and as soon as he realised her intention, he
manipulated the evidence, got away with it, and then had his wife
sectioned.

Yemi
knew she should have changed channels during the movie. The movie's
plot was not healthy for her current state of mind, but her eyes
stayed glued to the TV set until it ended. There was going to be a
continuation the next day, but she already felt sick to her stomach
at what she had seen. The way the love between the couple had
turned so sour that they were out to destroy each other frightened
her. She hoped the lady would be able to get out of the psychiatric
institution her husband had placed her in, but she had no intention
of watching the continuation of the movie.

She
didn't take Akeem's call later that night. She held the phone in
her hand and just watched it ring until it stopped. She didn't know
what to do. The thought of moving back to his house actually
frightened her now. She wished she didn't love him so much; that
would have been some sort of immunity for her, but the guy had
taken over her heart once more and she was so scared of being hurt
again.

The next
day she was surprised to see Deji in her office.

"I
thought I'd drop by to say hello." He grinned at her surprised
look. "How have you been?"

"So-so,
and you?"

"Very
fine. Have you had lunch yet?" he asked after they had chatted for
a few minutes. She shook her head. "Why don't we pop out and get
something to eat?" He asked.

She
checked her wristwatch. It was half past two already. "All right,"
she replied, popping her phone in her bag.

They did
some catching up while they ate. He was enjoying his new
relationship with God; he told her about his conversion, and she
shared hers with him.

"That's
so amazing," he replied. "Almost about the same time
too."

It was a
weird coincidence indeed. The thought that maybe God wanted a
future for both of them ran through her mind. Otherwise, why would
He bring Deji back into her life now that she was so confused about
her reconciliation with Akeem? She and Deji were both saved. He had
two kids already, so he would not mind if they couldn't have more.
Moreover, the guy had a good track record. He'd had a lovely
marriage until the demise of his wife.

Akeem
was not a Christian, and did the Bible not say something about a
spouse being "free" if the other partner was unfaithful? She was
not exactly sure where it was in the Bible or the exact quote, but
she would get to it later that evening. In fact, she was going to
study all the Bible verses on divorce. She loved Akeem, but it
might just destroy her if he was unfaithful to her
again.

Deji
took her back to the office after their lunch. She was startled to
see Akeem in the reception area. He stood up when she came in. Both
men sized each other up. The look on Deji's face was a little wary,
Akeem's grim.

"Thanks
for lunch, Deji," she said quickly, turning towards him. She wanted
him to leave. The tension in the air was thick enough to slice
through with a knife.

"You're
welcome. I'll call you later," he said as he read her expression
correctly. He nodded at Akeem. Akeem didn't acknowledge
it.

"Let's
go inside," she said to him once Deji had left.

"Is this
the reason why you've been acting all funny?" he asked as soon as
she shut her office door behind them.

"He just
dropped by today," she said wearily. "I ran into him at Abby's
church a few weeks ago. Before then, I had not seen him in
months."

He
stared at her, a dark and brooding expression on his face. "I don't
want him hanging around you."

She
sighed. "He's not hanging around me."

His
expression softened. "Baby, what's going on? Why are you shutting
me out? What have I done?"