After the storm (27 page)

She had
gone home feeling morose. It was not like she was joyfully hopping
into Akeem's bed; in fact, she slept more in the other room than
theirs, but it would be good to know that everything was okay if
their lives ever returned to normal.

"You
have to find a way to forgive Akeem and move on," Abby continued,
interrupting her thoughts.

Yemi
stared into her glass of water. "I so badly wanted my marriage to
be perfect, but it hasn't turned out that way. Maybe I just have to
accept the cards that fate has dealt me."

Abby
shook her head in disagreement. "You don't have to accept anything.
You have the power to make your home what you want it to
be."

"It's
tough, Abby. He hurt me so much. What if he does it
again?"

"And
what if he does not? Are you just going to throw everything away
because of one mistake?" Abby looked at Yemi with compassion in her
eyes. "It could also help to talk with Akeem about how you
feel."

"What is
he going to do about it? Make the pain go away? Give me back my
son?"

"No, but
he would understand some of the hurt you're carrying. And believe
me, I'm sure he is hurting too."

Yemi
shook her head and looked gloomily at Abby. "Not sure about that. I
just don't trust Akeem anymore." She suspected his every move. She
had even taken to buying soft-sell magazines and scouring the
internet for news about him and any woman he may secretly be
involved with. She didn't want to be as stupid as she had been in
the past. So far she had seen nothing, but he was obviously an
expert at hiding his affairs.

"You
trust God for people," Abby said gently. "And you really do need to
get closer to God, especially now."

"I don't
see the point," Yemi said. She hardly went to church anymore; once
a month was a lot for her.

"God
loves you, Yemi. He knows what you're going through, and He wants
to heal your heart."

That was
what Abby kept telling her, but it didn't seem that way to her.
After yet another fight with Akeem a few days later, she was even
more convinced that God didn't love her.

This
time it was over Aleena's school. She was just about to start
primary school, and Akeem wanted her to attend Dartmouth
International, a British school in Lagos. It was where he and his
siblings, and many of their family friends, had gone to school.
Yemi didn't like the school. The fees were ridiculous, and she felt
that it was a good breeding ground for snobbish behavior. She had
gone ahead to apply and had obtained admission for Aleena at two
other schools. They had talked about it in the past, and she had
thought that Akeem agreed with her reasoning, but he was singing a
different tune now.

"Dartmouth International is where the Kadiris have always
attended," he said to her coolly. "Besides, it's one of the best
schools in the country."

Yeah, with snooty kids who think they are better than
everyone else.
"I just don't want Aleena
in that school," Yemi maintained.

"You've
not given any good reason why she should not go there."

"I don't
want my daughter becoming all snooty. Besides, the other schools
I've suggested are equally good, and they don't even cost a
fraction of the fees that Dartmouth charges!"

"Dartmouth has consistently had excellent ratings for over
sixty years, and as for the fees, don't worry about it. I can
afford them."

She
glared at him. "Bringing up a child is not just about throwing
money around!" She could see that her words annoyed him, but she
didn't care. Her child was not going to end up becoming all uppity
like Nadia or any of his nasty relatives.

"And
what makes you an expert on good schools?"

She eyed
him sarcastically. "Maybe because my parents are teachers, plus we
just don't throw money around?"

He
smiled cynically. "You're pretty snooty yourself. You know
that?"

"Well,
I've been around the Kadiris for a while," she taunted. "It must be
infectious."

He
stared at her. "Talking with you these days is rather
challenging."

"Believe
me, the feeling is mutual!"

His face
was taut as he looked at her, but his voice remained dangerously
calm. "Well, listen to me. Aleena is going to attend Dartmouth
unless you can come up with some really reasonable objections as to
why she shouldn't."

He went
out that night and didn't come home until the early hours of the
morning.

∞∞∞

Yemi
looked at Akeem furiously. She had just had a grueling day at the
office and didn't need this fight. "I just told you why I stayed
back at the office, or weren't you listening?"

The
Brother C6015 sewing machine that she had just ordered had refused
to work for some reason. She had been on the phone with the company
she ordered it from for a good part of the day as they talked her
through the manual, and she had to keep calling them back as what
they told her to do didn't seem to be working. Then she had had to
stay behind to finish up some clothes that she was running behind
schedule on.

A nerve
clenched in Akeem's jaw. "And I just told you that I'm not happy
with you coming home at this time of the night."

She
shook her head exasperatedly. "It's only 9:30 p.m. It's not as if I
came home at midnight or something."

"You
have consistently done this for the past week, and I'm not happy
about it."

"Oh
please, come off it, Akeem. You've consistently come home late
every day since we got married, and I don't growl at
you!"

"So this
is about you trying to prove a point? Don't you care that Aleena
goes to bed before you get in?"

Yemi
attempted to walk past him. "I spend more time looking after Aleena
in a week than you can claim in six months!"

"Don't
walk out on me!" Akeem looked like he was about to explode with
anger. "What's wrong with you?"

Yemi was
just as furious. "And don't you yell at me!"

"Yemi,
you're really pushing me…" Akeem began furiously.

"Daddy!"
Aleena's tearful voice came from the doorway. They both turned
towards the little girl. They had not heard her come in and did not
know how long she had been standing there. Aleena turned away, and
they heard her running towards the direction of her
room.

"Now see
what you have done!" Akeem said, as he hurried out of the room
after Aleena.

"It's
all your fault!" Yemi said, following him. She had thought Aleena
was fast asleep. Trust him not to be able to do even that simple
chore. He was able to manage hundreds of employees, yet he couldn't
put a little girl to bed properly.

Aleena
was lying on her bed and clutching her doll to herself when they
entered her room.

"Are you
okay, princess?" Akeem asked, sitting down beside her.

Aleena
did not answer. She just looked from his face to Yemi's as if
seeking some kind of reassurance that all was okay between them.
The scared look on her face brought an instant ache to Yemi's
heart.

"It's
okay, baby," Yemi whispered, stroking her daughter's hair, unable
to meet her gaze.

This was not the first time that Aleena would be walking
in on one of their fights. Yemi's heart ached as she thought about
the damage they must be doing to their child. She and Akeem fought
over everything these days, including the simplest of issues. She
could not get rid of her bitterness towards him, and he didn't seem
to care anymore either.

They
stayed with Aleena and maintained a show of peace between them
until the little girl fell asleep again. Afterwards, Yemi trudged
slowly downstairs. She felt weary right down to her
soul.

Two
weeks later, Ms. Harley, Aleena's class teacher, sent a note asking
Yemi to see her when she picked Aleena up from school. Yemi
wondered what it was all about.

When she
met with Ms. Harley, the teacher subtly asked her if everything was
okay with Aleena. According to her, Aleena had been looking rather
subdued of late. She also told Yemi that Aleena no longer engaged
with other pupils, and it took very little to upset her. The last
incidence of her bursting into tears for no apparent reason had
been the day before, when all she had been asked to do was to bring
out her workbook.

Yemi
felt her heart sinking as the teacher spoke. She thanked the
teacher for her observations and promised to look into it, but as
she left the office, she felt so hopeless. Aleena was the main
reason why she was staying on in her marriage in the first place.
But it seemed that she was doing even more damage to the little
girl.

She and
Akeem had tried to hide the fact that they were having problems,
but she knew that Aleena was aware that something was not quite
right between them. The atmosphere in the house was constantly
tensed up, and when they were not fighting, she and Akeem pretty
much acted like two strangers sharing a roof: polite and trying to
stay out of each other's way.

She
rubbed her hand across her forehead. Maybe it was time she went
along with Abby's suggestion that they seek professional counseling
about their problems, at least for Aleena's sake.

∞∞∞

Yemi
sighed as she remembered that she was yet to sign the consent forms
from Aleena's school. The forms were to authorize a school trip to
a theme park in the neigbouring town. She knew that Aleena would be
upset if she missed out on the trip, and today was the last day for
parents to send the form back. She grimaced when she remembered
that Akeem needed to sign the forms too. Aleena's school was just
too fussy.

She
thought of calling Aleena's teacher to extend the date for dropping
off the forms but changed her mind. She didn't want to draw any
more attention to her daughter. Akeem had left the house very early
for work. She would have to go over to his office later in the day
to get him to sign the papers. She would then drop them off at
Aleena's school on her way back to the office.

But she
got so busy at work that she almost forgot about the forms until
the reminder that she had set on her phone beeped. She glanced at
her wristwatch; traffic on the island would still be light at that
time of the day. She quickly rounded up what she had to do and left
for Akeem's office.

∞∞∞

Akeem
almost turned back when he entered his office lobby and saw Coral
and a lady he did not know being attended to by his personal
assistant, Linda. They had obviously just arrived at his office,
and although he had left standing instructions with Linda that he
neither wanted to see her nor take her calls, he couldn't decline
seeing her now that she was standing right there in his reception
lobby.

Coral
smiled a little warily when she saw him. "Hi, Akeem, it's good to
see you again."

He knew
his face was the furthest thing from smiling, and he did not make
any effort to look more friendly. "Hi, Coral."

Linda's
face was creased in a concerned frown. "I was just telling Ms.
Damisa that you have a very busy schedule and can't see visitors…"
she began.

Akeem
nodded reassuringly at her. It wasn't her fault, after all.
"Thanks, Linda. I'll handle it from here."

He
greeted the lady who was with Coral and led them to his office.
Coral introduced her friend to him once they were inside. Her
friend sat on the settee while Coral sat down on a seat across the
table, opposite him. She immediately began to apologize again for
the night that Yemi had walked in on them at the restaurant, but
Akeem brushed it off. He did not want to remember that night, and
he took full responsibility for what had happened, anyway. Coral's
eyes appeared to search his, but he deliberately kept his
expression bland. "So how is business going?" she asked.

"Fine,
thanks."

"I'm
happy for you. I've been following Ka-Tell on the news, and it all
appears really good." She sighed and interlinked her fingers before
looking at him again. "Things are not so smooth on my end. It's
been a bit of a struggle getting things back on track."

"These
things take time, Coral. You just have to keep at it."

"That's
what I keep telling myself." She sighed again. "Sometimes I wish I
had a business partner, someone who would share the burden of
decision making, and every other thing, with me." Her eyes roved
over his face. "It's tough when one is doing it all
alone."

Akeem
strummed his desk with his forefinger. "Partnership does have its
advantages, and you could always source for a partner if you really
think you need one."

"I know.
I'm still turning the prospect over in my mind." She smiled
slightly. "Of course, you wouldn't be interested in something like
that, would you?"

He
stared at her, not quite sure whether to laugh or to be irritated.
Her expression was deadpan as she met his gaze, and then she burst
into laughter.

"Just
kidding, Akeem. I know a spa is small fry for someone like you, but
there's no harm in trying, is there?"