After the storm (12 page)

But
there was more in store for him, and Yemi and her friends giggled
as they watched the proceedings from the TV monitor installed in
her room for that purpose. Her uncles took over from the ladies
when Akeem got into the sitting room and, in keeping with
tradition, Akeem was asked to prostrate full length on the floor to
ask Yemi's father for permission to marry her. It had all been so
hilarious to Yemi and her friends, and they had just kept
laughing.

Yemi
turned over and stretched herself languidly on the bed. A knock on
her door lifted her out of her reverie. It was her
mother.

"Hello
dear, I hope you slept well?" she asked as she sat down on the bed
beside Yemi.

"Yes I
did, Mum." She kissed her mum on the cheek before lying back
against the pillows. Tola turned over but did not wake
up.

Yemi's
mother smiled and shook her head slightly. "I still remember the
day you were born so vividly, and to think that you will be leaving
home today." She looked both happy and sad at the same
time.

"I'll be
just a few miles away, Mum. I'll still see you often."

"But it
won't be the same." Her mother sighed, but a smile hovered on her
lips. "I'm not complaining, though. I'm just going to miss you so
much." She glanced at the wall clock and stood up. "The hair
stylist should be here any moment from now. I think you girls
should get up and start getting ready."

Yemi
tapped Tola after her mother left the room. Tola groaned and
burrowed further under the duvet. Yemi tapped her again, and she
finally opened her eyes. 

She
looked at Yemi through bleary eyes. "Is it morning yet?"

"Yes, it is."
The morning of her
wedding to the man she loved.
Yemi felt
like dancing with excitement.

By the
time they took their baths, other members of the bridal party had
already begun to arrive. The hairstylist almost set everyone's
hearts racing when he arrived late, and they all heaved a sigh of
relief when he finally came in.

After
that, everything was a blur of activities to Yemi. Her dad brought
her back to earth as she saw him trying to blink back his tears
when he saw her fully dressed. That almost set her off too, but she
was immediately cautioned by the numerous aunts that flanked her
not to ruin her makeup.

She felt
like she was in a bubble when she arrived at the church. She had
already been told by the public relations department at KH that the
press would be there. Two media houses had approached her for
interviews before the wedding, but she had been advised to decline
them. But the public relations staff had prepared her to still
expect media presence at the wedding.

She was
nervous but kept a bright smile on her face as camera bulbs flashed
all around her as she got out of the car. She clung a little
tighter to her father's arm as it dawned on her afresh the kind of
man she was getting married to.

As she
walked down the aisle on her father's arm, she looked ahead of her
and saw Akeem standing at the front of the church with his best
man, Javier. He looked handsome and debonair in his grey suit,
silver waistcoat and cravat. At that moment, he turned and looked
in her direction. His eyes were so full of admiration and
tenderness that it felt like it was just the two of them in that
auditorium. A calmness settled over her, and it felt like she was
floating up to him.

After
she had exchanged vows with Akeem and signed the marriage register,
close family members and friends came forward to hug and
congratulate them. They had just been kissed and hugged by Yemi's
mother and as she left them, Yemi saw Akeem's mother by their side.
Yemi smiled and turned towards her, expecting to be hugged and
congratulated too, but as their eyes met, Yemi froze involuntarily
at the coldness in Mrs. Kadiri's eyes. She held Yemi's eyes for a
moment and then turned and hugged only Akeem.

∞∞∞

The next
day, Akeem and Yemi left for their honeymoon in the Maldives. The
days they spent in the Maldives were the loveliest that she had
ever experienced in her life. Their villa was located up in the
hills and had a view of the sea. She was so entranced by the view
that she spent a good amount of time gazing out of the windows, to
Akeem's amusement. They went snorkelling and exploring and, other
times, just lazed on the sun-kissed beaches.

Three
weeks after they returned from the Maldives, Yemi was excited when
she got a mail by special delivery informing her that she had been
offered a permanent position at Lavabre PLC. She had been invited
for an interview towards the end of her youth service year but had
decided not to tell Akeem about it. He was still not keen on her
working so soon after their wedding, but she was sure he would come
round if she was offered the job.

She was
really happy about the offer and felt it would be so exciting to
start a career in such a corporate setting. She decided to hold
onto the news until Akeem came back in the evening.

"See
what I've been missing." Akeem said as he kissed her when she
opened the door for him later that day.

"I
missed you too, honey." She savoured the feel of his strong arms
around her and snuggled closer to him. "How was your
day?"

"Good,
but I find myself looking forward so much to the end of the day
now."

"Same
here, honey." Yemi smiled. She was still getting used to the fact
that this ruggedly handsome man was now her husband. "I made you
something really scrumptious for dinner. Why don't you freshen up
while I set the table?"

He gave
her another quick kiss before releasing her. "Great. I'm famished.
I'll be downstairs shortly."

When
Akeem came back downstairs, they ate, discussed their day, and
retreated to the sitting room where Akeem flicked on the TV. He
selected a channel and put his arm around her as he settled more
comfortably on the sofa.

"I've
got some very good news," Yemi said, leaning towards the stool
where she had dropped the large envelope from Lavabre.

Akeem
raised his eyebrow quizzically as he took the letter from her. He
scanned through it. "I didn't know that you had interviewed for a
permanent job."

"I
wanted it to be a surprise," Yemi said excitedly.

"That
means that you really made a good impression on them. Well done."
He placed the letter back on the stool.

Yemi
studied his face. "You don't sound excited. Don't you want me to
take the job?"

He
rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Have I said
so?"

"Tell me
what's really going through your mind." Akeem reclined back on the
sofa but still said nothing. She touched his arm. "Come on, honey,
talk to me. What's going on in your mind?"

He
sighed. "I'm not against you getting a job, but we've only just
gotten married, and I wanted you to get used to all that without
the added stress of a new job."

Yemi's
eyes widened slightly. "But I can take that in my stride. Other
women do!"

His
voice was quiet. "My schedule is not really like a lot of other
men's, plus I travel quite a bit. If you get tied up in a regular
nine-to-five job, it's going to be a bit awkward synchronizing our
time together."

"But it
doesn't have to be that way," Yemi protested. "I'll definitely
still get home before you do, and I would have had enough time to
relax before you get home."

"Baby,
whatever you decide is fine by me."

She
looked into his eyes. "But you don't really want me to take the
job, do you?"

Akeem
did not answer her. Instead, he bent his head and kissed the tip of
her nose. "I'm a guy who just got married. I'm very much in love
with my wife, and I want to take care of her in every way
possible." He punctuated each statement with a kiss on her face and
neck. "Moreover, I don't want to have to share her just yet." He
touched his lips to hers again. "Well, maybe I can share, but not
with an organization," he murmured against her lips.

"Who do
you want to share me with?"

He
kissed her again. "My son."

She
smiled. "Or daughter."

He bent
his head and nuzzled her neck with his lips, sending delicious
tingles all over her body. "Yeah, but my son first. I've got a lot
of training to do on that little guy, and the earlier we start the
better." He ran his finger down her cheek. "And then, we will have
our cute little princess afterwards, someone for me to love and
cuddle, someone who looks exactly like her beautiful
mum."

"But
what am I going to be doing with myself all day while you are away
at work?" The idea was even a little scary. "I've never not done
anything in my life."

"Then
maybe it's time for you to have a holiday on me. Moreover, it's my
job to provide for you, so just relax and enjoy it,
okay?"

"It's
not just about the money," Yemi protested. "It's about the mental
stimulation."

"What
about this kind of stimulation?" His head dipped again, and he
kissed her. "And this type…or this type?"

His
kisses were making her feel like anything other than a serious
discussion. "Honey, I'm serious!" Yemi said, pulling away. She
looked at him reproachfully. "As I was saying, I need
the mental stimulation, plus the fact that I would like to
help out on the home front as well."

Akeem
smiled. "That's sweet of you, but we don't really need your money.
The help I need from you is to run this home and always look as
gorgeous as possible." He planted a quick kiss on her lips before
she could evade it. She smiled and shook her head at him. "But
besides my being very possessive…"

"Oh, so
you know?" she cut in with a mock frown.

"Of
course I do. Which sane man wouldn't be, with a wife like
you?"

Yemi giggled in spite of herself.
This guy was good for her ego
.

"So
besides that, are you really sure you want to get into the
corporate world? Very intelligent people like you sometimes feel
stifled by such an environment."

"But
I've got to use my degree. I'm an accountant!"

"You've
not got to do anything. You need to think about what you really
want to do and let me know, but for now…we're still on our
honeymoon,"

"Until
when?" Yemi was amazed that she was even contemplating the thought
of not working.

He
looked slyly at her belly. "Until we've had a couple of kids. Then
we'll take a break before having three more."

Her eyes
widened. "No way! We're having just two kids! That's what we agreed
on!" 

He
laughed at her expression. "That's what you told me, but okay,
we'll settle for four. How about that, huh?"

"Just
two kids!"

"Let's
wait and see how that goes. I may be able to convince you
otherwise."

"No
deal!" She looked towards the letter again. "Akeem, this is such a
wonderful opportunity…"

"Believe
me, baby, there will be plenty of other opportunities. And if you
get bored, you can always work at any of the branches of KH." He
winked at her. "But of course, your contract will be specially
drawn out by the CEO."

She made
a face. "Yeah, right. I may as well stay home." She could just
imagine the number of hours he would tell them to draw up for her.
She would probably be told to start work daily at noon and close by
three o'clock. That was the reason why she had declined working
there during her youth service. "Akeem, let me think about this,
okay?"

"That's
fine." He drew her back into his arms. "Now enough of all this
serious talk, it's not healthy during a honeymoon."

∞∞∞

Akeem
did not bring up the topic of Yemi working again. She knew he was
leaving the decision up to her, but she also knew what decision
would please him. Yemi had noticed during the period when they were
dating that most of Akeem's friends' wives did not work. Akeem was
also right about his schedule being different from a regular one.
He travelled quite a bit, and he also had important social
engagements that he had to attend. She knew she would have to
accompany him to many of these events, but she was sure she could
still have juggled that responsibility with a job.

The
bottom line, however, was that she wanted to please him. He had
never given her any cause to be unhappy since she met him. If
anything, he had surpassed all her expectations. She decided to
turn down the job offer and focus on her home. She would revisit
the job issue later on.

"What's
this I hear about you turning down the job?" Abby, her colleague at
Lavabre, asked her on the phone about a week after she had formally
declined the job offer. She and Abby had become friends over the
period of time that she had been at Lavabre. She was married with a
young son, and Yemi liked her a lot. "I thought you liked it when
you were here or…wait a minute, are you pregnant?"

Yemi
laughed. "No, not yet, at least not as far as I know."