'After the Storm' - Chapter Two

'After the Storm' - Chapter Two
 

            "Delivery for you, Yemi." Tola said, coming into the room carrying a parcel. It was the day after Yemi’s dinner date with Akeem. 

            "What delivery?" Yemi sat up in bed, tearing her eyes away from the London fashion show she was watching on TV. She hit the record button on the remote and looked at the parcel in Tola's hands with raised eyebrows, "But I didn't order anything."

            "Well, it definitely has your name on it," Tola said, handing the large parcel over to her. "Open it, let's see what's inside."

            Yemi opened the parcel. What could it be? She unwrapped the parcel, her eyes widening in disbelief. 

            "Oh my goodness!" It was the Mulberry bag she had admired at the Shop with Akeem.

            "Wow!” Tola exclaimed, admiring the bag. “No guessing where that came from, I guess. There is a card attached." Tola ripped open the card as if it were addressed to her and read the words out loud, for my little girl, from your old man. “What on earth are you guys talking about?"

            "Remember I said he calls me a little girl?!" Yemi cupped her cheeks with both hands. She was still so dazed by the gift. "This guy is so sweet! Do you think I should accept it?"

            "No, don't." Tola said, "Or, you can just accept it and give it to me. What kind of question is that?"

            "But I don’t want him to think that I took him to the Shop to make him buy it for me!"

            "What are you going on about?" Tola askedin an exasperated tone. "Did you beg him or ask him for it?"

            "Of course not!You know I'd never do that!"

            "So then, what is your problem? Gracefully text him a nice 'thank you' and tell him you have a cousin who also loves Mulberry bags." They both smiled.

            "Go and tell that to your Andy or is it Mike? Not even sure anymore, I've lost count.”

            "Whatever!" Tola retorted, "I’m going to ditch him right away anyway. He's never thought of buying me a Mulberry bag. Andy just keeps taking me from McDonalds to KFC. Occasionally, he throws in some Chinese in the evenings, what am I going to get from that?"

            "Calories!" Yemi laughed, "But c’mon, it’s not about the value of the gift or the outings, but the thought behind it that counts, right?"

            "Same thing, girl" Tola replied unrepentantly. "The thought behind it should make a guy give one valuable gifts"

            "You're impossible!" Yemi laughed, bringing out her phone, "I need to text my thanks to my Prince Charming as you call him."

            "Don't forget the bit about your so very nice cousin who also loves Mulberry Bags."

            Yemi would have preferred to call Akeem, but she knew he was going to be busy all day. Plus, he was coming to take her out in the evening so she would thank him properly then.

∞∞∞

Yemi continued to see Akeem frequently throughout the rest of her stay in the UK and found herself liking him a little bit more with every meeting and every phone call.

Two days before her return to Nigeria, they agreed to meet at his apartment in Canary Wharf. He wanted to come over and pick her up from Kent, but she declined. Tola was going to London, so she decided that she would go with Tola instead.

            Tola dropped Yemi off at the London Bridge station and Yemi continued on to Canary Wharf. When she came out of the station, Akeem was already there waiting for her.

            "You look very pretty," he said to her after he hugged her. He looked admiringly at her knee length blue denim skirt and orange tank top. "Very summery, or is it springy?"

            "Thanks," Yemi giggled.

"Is your apartment far from here?" She asked, when they got to his car.

"It’s about fifteen minutes from here," Akeem replied, putting the car in reverse and driving out of the car park.

"I can't believe I'm going back home in two days," she said, as she worked the seatbelt around her waist.

Akeem simply nodded, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.She noticed that he was in a rather quiet mood as he drove towards the fairly busy streets. Eventually Akeem pulled up to a nice looking block of apartments. He helped her out of the car and they took the lifts that took them to the third floor. He inserted a key, turned it and ushered her into one of the most beautifully decorated apartments she had seen so far in the UK.  

            "Mmmm, this is a really nice place you have here," Yemi said as she moved slowly around the room, admiring the paintings that hung on the wall. She particularly loved the art deco furniture.

Did you decorate yourself?” She asked as she came to a stop by the oak finished dining table.

            “I wish I could lay claim to that,” He walked towards her, but no, I hired an interior decorator."

            "Well, he or she did a really good job.” Yemi walked over to the tall French windows and looked out, “Whoa, look at that view! I could stand here for hours."

            Akeem walked over to her side. "That was one of the things that attracted me to this place,” he said turning her around to face him. "But today you're not going to spend hours gazing out of the window, I need your full attention to be on me."

            Yemi smiled, "But you have my full attention always, even when I 'm gazing out of the window."

            Akeem looked down at her smiling face for a moment, then tweaked her nose lightly, "I’m going to miss you."

            "Me too," Yemi said. Akeem still had about five days left in England to complete his work. "But at least we'll talk every day." She shook her head slightly "It still seems amazing though that I've known you for just seven days!"

            Akeem cupped her face in the palm of his hands and said, "I've known you forever, I’ve just been waiting for you to show up."

            Yemi felt the now familiar fluttering stirring within her at the look in his eyes. She had decided to 'go with the flow' as Tola had advised her to. She had no choice anyway, the guy had completely taken over her heart."And to think that we had to meet outside Nigeria.”

“We could have bumped into each other on the street, you never know."

  "What street? We live miles apart," Yemi said, smiling.

            Akeem moved a little closer, his hands still clasping her face, his gaze holding hers intensely. "Our hearts have managed to pull us together somehow," he said huskily.

            Yemi lowered her eyes. The air was getting too charged up. She hoped that coming to his apartment was not a bad idea "“Have you eaten?" She asked lightly.

            "No,I was waiting for you before ordering something to eat."

            "You don't have to do that. I brought some food with me, that's what's in the other bag,” she said, pointing to the second bag she had brought along with her.

            "Oh, you shouldn't have bothered,” Akeem said, as he watched her pull out a Tupperware dish from the bag."I 'm sure you had to wake up early to prepare that."

            "It was no trouble. I love cooking.”

Yemi talked as they ate and Akeem listened to her, smiling occasionally at what she said. Other than that, he was mostly quiet and appeared somewhatdistracted.

            "Where's your mind, Akeem?" She asked after a while, a little puzzled by his attitude. Apparently, Yemi had been talking to herself for quite some time.

            A guilty expression washed over Akeem’s face."I‘m sorry. Just running a few things around in my head."

            "What kind of things?" Yemi dropped her cutlery and looked at him, puzzled. This was not like him.

            "Would you like to live here?" He asked a little abruptly.

            “You mean here in England?”

            "Yes, here in England."

            "I haven't thought about that," Yemi replied a little slowly. "Yes, my family lived here for a while and we had a good time, but I like it in Nigeria."

            "So, I take that as a no?" 

            "Well, not exactly. Let’s just say that it will take a lot for me to do that."She paused and looked at him. “Why do you ask? Would you like to live here?"

            "I can't because of my work, but I wouldn't mind my family living here."

“So your family would only see you occasionally? That’s not cool."

            "Yeah, I know that, but there are other advantages to that kind of arrangement. The educational system, for instancewill be better for the kids."

            "I had a good education in Nigeria and I didn't even have to go to schools half as expensive as the ones you went to. But hey, what's all this relocation business? You sound like you don't like Nigeria."

            "No, that’s not it, not at all. Of course I like Nigeria, but like I said, I was just thinking of the possibilities."     

∞∞∞

              After they finished eating, they did the washing up together. Akeem got out a bottle of wine and they returned to the lounge.He was still rather quiet and she caught him looking at her when he thought she was not looking. He handed her the remote control and asked her to pick out a movie for them to watch. He made a face when she picked a chick flick, but he did not change the channel.

            "You are rounding up your meetings now, aren't you?" She asked him after a while. "Are you satisfied with the outcomes?"

            "They've actually exceeded my expectations." Akeem replied. "I was able to tie up some stubborn deals that have been lingering for some time" He cradled her a bit closer. "It must be you. Your presence in my life has helped me function better."

            Yemi smiled. "That's so sweet." 

            "I mean it," Akeem said, trailing a finger along her cheek. "And so you have to remain with me so I can continue to do well in business."

            "I’ll think about it," She replied and they both smiled.

            "I’ll simply carry you off if you keep me waiting too long." 

            Yemi smiled mischievously, "I won't mind being kidnapped by you. You'd find me a very willing captive."

            He cupped her cheek with his palm, "Don't go back on Monday," He said looking into her eyes, "Stay back until I'm done."

            "But my ticket is for Monday."

            "I can easily change that, and also upgrade it so we can fly back together."

            She looked at him indignantly, "Upgrade? How do you know what kind of ticket I have?"

            He smiled. "My apologies. I meant I'll upgrade mine to yours."

            She giggled. "That's better."

            "So is that a yes?"

            "But what will I tell my parents? Besides, my cousin is getting married on Saturday."

            He just kept looking at her. She lowered her gaze. He was making her feel guilty. She was very tempted to do what he was asking, but her parents would want to know the reason why she wanted to stay a little longer. What was supposed to tell them when they were already aware that she had spent all her money? There would be too many questions and she didn't want them to know about Akeem just yet.

            "We'll talk every day and I’ll see you as soon as you come in on Sunday," Yemi said, looking up at him a little pleadingly. "Is that okay?"

            "Do I have a choice?”

            Yemi knew he did not, and neither did she. She had to go back home, no matter how tempted she was to stay. "But things will change very soon. The professor's consent will not be needed when I want to spend time with my girl" Akeem replied.

            Yemi smiled, “Well, not really, but I’m looking forward to that as well. Now where were we in this movie?"

            He laughed, "What movie? Have you watched any part of it at all?"

            "That's always the problem when we are together. We just get so wrapped up in each other"

            "That's how it should be"

            She turned round to look at him "Will it always be so?"

            "Always." He leaned forward towards her, tipped her chin up gently and kissed her slowly. "Always," he repeated, kissing her again.

            His kiss was everything she had imagined it would be, sweet and tender, and awakening all sorts of weird emotions within her. He had given her light pecks in the past and she felt he was deliberately holding back because he sensed her inexperience but he wasn’t doing so now.

            Yemi drew back to catch her breath. "Hey! My dad said I should not kiss any man except my prince," She said a little shakily, while trying to still her racing heart.

            "And am I not your prince?" He asked huskily, his face inching closer to hers again.

            "Mmmm... “ She pretended to be thinkingreally hard. "I may need another kiss to convince me." She jumped up as he lunged at her, "Oh no! I am convinced; you are definitely the one, my northern prince!"

            "I don't mind convincing you,” Akeem replied softly. His gaze moved to her lips again and her heart skipped at the look in his eyes. 

            "I 'm fully convinced," Yemi replied, keeping her distance. "Absolutely no doubt in my mind at all."

            "Pity....just when I was looking forward to helping you make up your mind." He patted the seat beside him, "Come back and sit down."

            She smiled at him but made no move to sit back down.

            “Don't worry, little girl, you're quite safe." He looked a little amused at the hesitant look on her face "Honestly.”

            She gingerly sat down beside him and he laughed softly as he placed his arm around her and drew her close to his side, "How old are you again? Twenty-one or fifteen?"

            She giggled, "Almost fifteen."

            "Yeah...seems like that."

            They continued to talk, and tried to watch the movie intermittently. Yemi had not known that it was possible to feel so much at peace with someone, or to feel so complete just by being with him. The thought that she did not have to worry about who he was or how much more experienced he appeared to be was refreshing. So long as she had the assurance that he loved her, she knew she was going to be okay.

∞∞∞

            Two days later, her older brother, Ayo, picked Yemi up at the airport in Nigeria. The heat enveloped her the moment they stepped out of the airport. Yeah, she was back home, the land of perpetual summer!

            Ayo saw her face and grinned "Don't worry, you'll soon get used to it again."

            "I hope so.Right now, I feel like I'm roasting."

            She was glad when they got into the car and Ayo turned on the air-conditioner. Little beads of perspiration had already formed on her forehead; and to think she had only been away for a month!

            "Derin said she will pop in tomorrow to see you," Ayo said, referring to his wife.

            "That will be cool, I've missed everyone," Yemi said, stifling a yawn with her palm. She looked out at the familiar road networks. Hot weather or not, it was good to be back on her own turf. She yawned again and Ayo glanced at her.

            "You must be really tired."

            "I am," She leaned her head against the seat. "I had to get up really early this morning to catch my flight."

            "You'll feel better after a nap. I have a surgery to perform later this afternoon so I'm just going to drop you off and head back to the hospital."

            Yemi smiled at him gratefully. She knew how busy he was. Her parents were attending a conference out of town, so Ayo had offered to pick her up from the airport.

            When they arrived at their parent’s house, Ayo helped Yemi with her bags and quickly left for the hospital as planned. Once settled, Yemi made a call to her auntie and uncle in the UK to let them know that she had arrived safely. She knew that Tola was attending a job interview and would not be home until later in the day.Not too long after her phone call to the UK, Bose, the house-keeper, knocked on her bedroom door. Yemi let her in. Bose informed Yemi that she had prepared Yemi’s favorite dish, fried rice and plantain, and that it was in the kitchen whenever she was ready to eat.

            "Thanks, Aunt Bose, you are the best! I’ll just freshen up, then eat later." Bose was not a blood relative, but in Nigeria, every older adult was automatically called Auntie or Uncle.

            Yemi showered and decided to take a nap. She was already missing Akeem so much. It was amazing how much he had come to mean to her in such a short period of time. She wondered if his feelings for her would still be the same when he got back to Nigeria. She was curious to find that out before she told anyone in her family about him. Until then, it was just a waiting game.  

Tola had googled him up while she was still in England and they had read about his business profile, but there had also been other bits about his social life, bits that had worried her. Akeem had been linked with so many beautiful women in the past and even quite recently. Women far more sophisticated than her, not to talk of their cool careers and wealthy backgrounds. She had again had doubts about their relationship but somehow, those doubts always faded anytime she was with him. 

            She sighed and rolled over on the bed. She sincerely hoped that everything would be okay when he came back. She had fallen too hard for him and didn't think she could bear it if they broke up.

            The next time Yemi opened her eyes, it was three hours later. Out of habit, she reached for her phone. There were several missed calls from Akeem, as well as a text saying that he would call her back later. Yemi smiled. She had not expected that he would call so soon.

            In the sitting room, she found her parents.

            "Welcome back, darling," Her mother beamed as she enveloped her in a hug. "Good to have you back, this house has just been too quiet!"

            "Good to be back, Mum!" Yemi hugged her back, then went over to hug her Dad. "Good to see you again, dad, thanks so much for super hols!"

            "You are welcome, dear. I can see you enjoyed yourself."

            "Very much so, Dad."

            "Go and eat," Her mother said. "Bose says you have not eaten anything since you got back."

            "Better still, bring your food out here and come sit with us," Her dad added.

            Just then, her phone rang. It was Akeem. She broke out into a very wide smile and entered the kitchen to take the call, but they did not speak for long. Akeem promised to call her back when she was done eating and getting caught up with her parents.

            She took her food back to the sitting room and joined her parents.

            "Your holiday has done wonders for you! It's a good thing the weather was nice all throughout" Her mum said, looking at her smiling face fondly. "You are practically glowing!" 

            Yemi smiled at the compliment. If only you knew, Mum. She thought to herself. This glow has nothing to do with the English spring weather.”

∞∞∞

            Yemi attended her cousin’s wedding that weekend. She had been asked to make the bridesmaids’ dresses and felt very pleased to see how good they looked in them. She knew that her cousin had been trying to cut costs by asking her to make the clothes, but that hadn't dampened her enthusiasm. Designing and sewing was something she enjoyed. It was more of a natural talent, but she had done a few courses over the years when her mother had noticed her interest in it.         

She was often teased by her friends about why she hadn't taken up fashion designing as a course instead of accounting but to her, that was just a hobby she enjoyed and accounting was serious stuff. Something everyone would expect from the daughter of professor Delano.

            She was so excited when Akeem came in on Sunday. They were not going to be able to meet that day because she had to attend her cousin's wedding thanksgiving service along with the rest of her family but nevertheless it felt good to know that he was now only a few miles away.

            School resumed the next day. She and her classmates swapped stories about their holidays and what they had done. Lectures were not that serious yet, so she had only a couple scheduled for that morning.

            "Aren't you just looking good, girl!" A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts as she hurried out after her last class. Akeem had already called to let her know that he had sent his driver to pick her up. 

            "Hello Ada," she smiled on seeing her course mate behind her. "You are looking good yourself, how was your hols?"

            "So" Ada replied, admiring Yemi’s top. "How was yours? I learnt you went to England."

            "Yes, and it was lovely," Yemi replied, glancing at her wristwatch. She had a few minutes to walk down to the library where Akeem’s driver was waiting. 

            "So what goodies did you bring back?" 

            "Hugs and kisses!"

            "Thanks but you can keep those," Ada retorted. "I'll pop by your house later in the week, so have my goodies ready."

            Yemi’s phone vibrated. It was Akeem’s driver.

            "Ada, I've got to dash off now."

            "Okay, no worries. I'll let you know what day I’ll be coming to your place," Ada called out after Yemi as she hurried off.  

            Yemi called the driver’s number to let him know she was on her way.

            "Hey Yemi!" She heard her friend Sesan's voice and turned around. 

            "Hi Shez!" She said calling him by his nickname "How've you been?"

            "Good," he replied, catching up with her. "Looking great," he said, looking her up and down.

            She flashed him a smile. "Thanks, Shez." She hoped Akeem would think so too. She had taken extra care with her appearance before leaving home.

            "Finished lectures for today?"

            "Yep, I only had a couple of lectures, what about you?"

            "I'm done as well. I'm off to the Library now."

            "I’m heading in that direction as well. I’m meeting up with someone there."

            "Good, we can walk together then," Sesan replied falling in step with her. "We've not really had time for a proper talk since you returned from the UK. How was your trip?"

            "Super!" Yemi smiled "Best holiday I've had in a while."

            "Really? You really did say you had something to tell me when we spoke on the phone. Was that what made your holidays nice?"

            "Yes, but we need plenty of time to talk about that.” She was definitely going to need his masculine view on Akeem.

            When they rounded the corner in front of the Library, Akeem’s car was waiting for her. It was easy to spot by the description he had given her. The driver was standing by it and Yemi waved to him. He waved back.

            Sesan arched his brows as he looked at Akeem's black BMW jeep and the driver standing beside it."Is that the person you are meeting up with?"

            "Yes," Yemi replied, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. “Or rather, he's the driver of the person I'm going to see."

            Sesan's brows arched up even further. "Okay..."

            Yemi glanced quickly at Sesan's face. His voice had disconcerted her but his face was expressionless, "Let me leave you then," he said quietly. "I'll talk to you later."

            "Okay, Shez," Yemi called after him as she hurried towards the car. "We've got lots of stuff to talk about."

            He stopped and gave her a wave, although his face was lacking in cheerfulness. She wondered what was wrong with him, but she had no time now. She decided to catch up with him later to find out.

            "Hello, you must be Mike," she said to the driver as she approached. "I 'm Yemi, thanks for coming to pick me up."

            "You're welcome," he replied, opening the door to the back seat for her. "Are you ready to go now?"

            "Yes, thank you," Yemi said settling into the car as the door slammed shut.

            She brought out the magazine she had bought earlier and looked through it during the drive to Lekki where Akeem lived. There was traffic on the road, but it was not as bad as she had expected it to be. They arrived at the house about forty minutes later.

            The house was picturesque, as was typical of houses in Lekki. It was surrounded by well-manicured lawns and beautiful flowers. But she paid no more than a cursory glance at it as her attention was taken up by Akeem came walking out the front door.

            He hugged her tightly. "So good to see you, baby. I've really missed you."

            "Same here," she said, breathing in his familiar cologne. It felt so good to be with him again.

            Akeem put his arm around her and led her into the house. They went through what looked like a reception area, the oak floor was polished and glimmered beneath the Venetian style furniture that was finished with pale gold painted finish. The sofas were upholstered in a floral beige damask fabric and beautiful drapes in a darker shade of beige bordered each side of the ceiling to floor windows. 

            "And I thought your apartment in London was nice...," Yemi said as they entered the sitting room. She wandered around, admiring the unusually shaped leather furniture and beautiful paintings. She did not need to ask this time around, no one but a professional interior decorator could have perfected the colour scheme and furniture arrangement that well.  "It's not even half as lovely as this"

Akeem smiled. "Glad you like it. That’s a plus since you're going to be spending a lot of time here."

            "Are you sure about that?" Yemi teased.

            "Remember my threat in London?" He growled. "My ancestors didn't waste time those days. They carried off their women and sought parental consent later."

            "Somebody help me!" Yemi said playfully. "But like I told you then, I'd be such a willing captive that my parents will be thoroughly ashamed of me."

            "They will get used to it," Akeem said, smiling back at her. “Drinks, or do I show you around first?"

            She linked her arm through his, "let's go around first."

            "So how's the Prof and his wife?" Akeem asked as they made their way out of the sitting room.

            "They're good."

            "I'll take you home this evening, so hopefully I can see them?"

            Yemi hesitated. She knew her family, and although she had no fears that they would like and accept Akeem, she did not want to just spring him up on them. She would like to ease him in.

            "Let's do it this way," she said, as they climbed the wide spiral staircase, "I will speak to my mum about you and then you can meet them at another time."

            He appeared to think about it and then said, "All right, but I want to register my presence in your family." He pulled her close for a moment. "I get a little scared sometimes at the thought of another guy having any ideas about you."

            "It’s hard to imagine you scared." Yemi smiled. "But for the record, there is absolutely no competition.”

            "Those Uni boys had better not come anywhere near my girl!"

            Yemi giggled at the possessive look in his eyes, "they could not get me interested in the four years that I've been there, and I doubt they can now."

            "Good to hear that, but I'm still not letting my guard down."

            "What if a lady gets ideas about you?" She asked. "Come to think of it, how am I sure that there aren’t loads of them hanging around you all the time?"

            "To borrow your words," Akeem said, looking down at her, "no competition."

            Yemi looked into his eyes. She loved him, and that included trusting everything that he told her. "Then there’s nothing for either one of us to worry about. Now show me the rest of this beautiful house!”

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