After the storm (35 page)

He
watched the animated look on her face as she talked about what she
had in mind. She had enough steam to plan the whole of his social
life for the next year if he allowed her to. She was a good social
hostess, dressed nicely, and could hold a conversation with anyone,
including his many business associates, without being fazed by
them.

Even his
precious daughter liked her. Aleena was not impressed with her
cooking, though, and she had told Lois candidly, after one
disastrous attempt by her to make lunch, that her mummy was the
best cook in the whole wide world. But despite that, they still got
on fine. Lois, on her part, had not been upset by Aleena's
statement. She was the first person to laugh at her own cooking
skills anyway. That was another reason why Akeem liked her. She
laughed at life and did not take things too seriously. What she
lacked in cooking skills, she made up by having a warm, lovable
nature. She loaded Aleena with gifts and arranged fun outings for
her.

Yes, she
would make a good partner. So he wondered to himself why the
thought of getting more committed to her did not thrill him. He was
okay with his relationship with her, but going a step further,
getting a divorce from Yemi, and actually proposing to her was
another matter altogether.

"Maybe I
should draw up a list, nothing too big, just a few close friends,"
Lois said, interrupting his thoughts. "Any particular people you'd
like to invite?"

He
shrugged. "You know my friends. Maybe you can add Fola Lawal from
my office. That guy needs to unwind a little. He's been working too
hard."

"See
who's talking about working too hard," Lois teased.

"I'm a
lot better now, aren't I? Especially now that I have you in my
life."

She
looked pleased at his comment, and for a moment she stared
searchingly into his eyes. "I can't fathom you out sometimes," she
finally said, shaking her head. "Sometimes I think I've got you all
figured out, and then bam! Just like that, you do or say something
to throw me off."

Akeem
smiled. "I thought I was a pretty easygoing guy."

She
sighed. "I wish, but well, my heart is stuck on you." She looked
quiet for a moment and then seemed to shrug off her mood and looked
bright again. "So, I shall add Fola to the guest list. My friends
will definitely like to see someone like him. That guy is such a
looker!"

"Hey,"
Akeem protested. "I better knock him off the list if my girl's
going to be looking at him."

Lois
giggled. "No need to sweat, handsome. Fola is good looking, but
he's got nothing on you!"

Akeem
pretended to breathe a sigh of relief. "That's better!"

Lois
made a face. "Like you have anything to worry about." She poked him
in the abdomen and pretended to wince with pain. "How can I look at
another guy when I've got you?" she asked, running her fingertips
over his abs.

He
smiled and looked into her eyes. At the same time, he wondered why
he could not take what he thought should be the next logical step
with this woman who obviously liked him so much.

∞∞∞

Yemi
looked at her phone as a call came in. She saw from the caller ID
that it was Deji. She decided she would call him back
later.

"You can
take your call," Bibi, the Nollywood actress whose dress she was
fitting, said to her. "I appreciate you seeing me at such short
notice, and I'm not in a hurry."

Yemi
smiled. "Thanks, but let's just sort out your dress
first."

Deji did
not know that she was at work. It was a Saturday, and she had told
him that she was not working that day, but Bibi had called that she
wanted to collect her dress that morning. Ken and Francis were in
the office, but Bibi was one of those clients whom she preferred to
handle herself, so she had gone to the office to do the fitting and
collection.

"Are you
sure you want me to take it in any farther than this?" Yemi asked
her. She had already taken the dress two inches tighter than what
her actual measurements were, but knowing Bibi, she was never
satisfied with a dress until it looked like she had been poured
into it.

"Yes, I
do," she replied, holding the two ends of the fabric together at
her waist. "Just a little bit tighter."

"All
right, no worries. I'll do that, but do you mind picking it up on
Monday?"

"I'll
send my driver to get it," Bibi said, unzipping the dress right
there and slipping out of it. Yemi had gotten used to ladies like
Bibi who stripped in her office without any thought of someone else
coming in through the unlocked door. There were changing rooms, but
they probably felt they had such great bodies that they could
flaunt it anywhere.

Bibi
looked at herself in her lacy underwear in the mirror for a long
moment before walking over to the changing room to put on her own
dress which she had left in there.

"Thanks,
Yemi, I'll let you know what designs I want from the ones you
showed me," she said when she came back into the office a couple of
minutes later. She stood before the mirror again and patted her
dress in place. "I have about five parties lined up over the next
few weeks, and I want to look seriously fabulous at each of
them."

"I'm
sure you will," Yemi replied. "Let me know as soon as you make up
your mind what designs you want."

"You
know what? I'm just going to allow you to choose for me. But be
careful, though. You know how fussy I can be," she
added.

Yemi
smiled to herself after Bibi left. In the past, Bibi could kick up
a fuss and would refuse a perfectly fitted dress depending on what
mood she was in. She was a lot calmer now. Yemi was thankful for
the fact that people's attitudes rarely bothered her, otherwise
there was no way she could have dealt with the divas that now
frequented her fashion house.

Doing
the charity fashion show with Cerys had been the best business
decision she had ever made. It had opened her up in a good way, and
celebs like Bibi felt she had to be good if Cerys was comfortable
wearing outfits that she had made. The newspaper reviews had also
helped. Now, she had a steady flow of customers, even in seasons
when she knew there was a bit of a drought in the fashion
world.

She
brought out her phone and called Deji.

"Hey, I
was just about to call you again," he said. "Still in
bed?"

"I wish.
I'm at work." She explained the situation with Bibi to
him.

"At
least you've sorted her out now," he said. "I'm going to get some
Chinese food and then come over to your place. Is there anything
you'd like?"

"Haagen-Dazs, chocolate flavour."

"Of
course, I should have thought about that." She could hear the smile
in his voice. He was getting used to her sweet tooth. "Alright, see
you in a bit."

Yemi
smiled as she disconnected the call. She had grown to like him a
lot in the six months since they had become friends. He had a way
of making her relax, and she absolutely loved his kids.

She
valued his friendship and thought him a great guy, but that was all
there was to it for her. There were none of the heady feelings she
had once had with Akeem. She and Akeem could have a roomful of
people between them, and yet one look was enough to convey their
feelings. So it was easy for her to know that what she felt for
Deji was very different. And even though she tried to will it, she
still could not bring herself to think of him in any way other than
as a friend.

∞∞∞

Deji arrived at her house about forty minutes after she got
in herself. She opened the door to see him laden with Chinese
takeaway bags and tubs of Haagen-Dazs.
Trust him to go the extra mile.

"Hey,"
he said, eyeing her in her pale-yellow, sleeveless dress
appreciatively. "You look like a slice of sunshine."

"Thanks." Yemi smiled. She relieved him of some of the things
he was carrying. "Whoa, you've brought lots to eat," she said,
eyeing the bags.

"I have
to work hard to get you to eat properly, so I got a variety of
dishes I knew you'd like," he said, following her into the kitchen.
He set the dishes on the granite work surface.

"Are the
twins still with your parents?" Yemi asked him after they had set
the table and settled down to eat.

"Yes,
they will be there until the weekend when we fly out to
Spain."

"I'm
going to miss you."

He
looked at her but did not say anything.

She knew
what was going through his mind. He had asked her several times to
come along with them, and each time, she had declined. "Don't you
believe me?" she said, rolling some Taiwanese stir noodles on her
fork and popping them into her mouth.

"Then
come with us," he said.

"That's
too late now. The cost of tickets will have skyrocketed by
now."

"Just
tell me you'll come and leave the tickets to me."

"The
airlines will likely not even have seats anyway."

He put
down his fork and brought out his phone "I have a very good travel
agent. She can normally arrange flights at very short notice. The
worst that can happen will be us going in separate
flights."

"That
won't be fun," Yemi hedged. "Let's leave this for another time, and
we'll plan it properly."

He
picked up his fork again and resumed eating. She looked at him, and
their eyes met. She looked away. They ate in silence for a while.
She was taking a sip of her drink when she noticed he was still
looking at her.

"What?"

He
smiled slowly. "Someday."

"Someday, what?"

"Just
someday."

They
finished eating and cleaned up together. They were discussing
Lola's upcoming wedding when the doorbell rang.

"Abby!"
she exclaimed with delight as she saw her friend standing on her
doorstep. "What good wind has blown you my way today?"

Abby
laughed as they hugged each other. "I decided to surprise you!
You're looking good, girl! Who did your hair?" she began, and then
stopped when she saw Deji. "Hi." She smiled at him "How're you
doing?"

"I'm
well, thank you," Deji replied. "How's the family?"

"Good,
good. My kids are with my husband so I decided to come see this
lady!"

They
chatted for a while, and then Deji said he had to be on his way.
Yemi walked him to the door, but he stopped her from following him
outside. "I'll call you later tonight."

"All
right then, thanks for coming around and also for the
food."

"You're
always welcome. Let me know if you change your mind about Spain,"
he added with a half-teasing expression on his face.

Yemi
smiled back at him. "You may be surprised!"

"I'd
love to be surprised." He held her eyes for a moment. "So, shall I
expect your call?"

"Let's
wait and see."

"Don't
want to get my hopes up for nothing, so I shall take that as a no."
He touched her cheek lightly. "Take care. Speak to you
later."

Yemi
closed the door to find Abby watching her with her raised
brows.

"What on
earth do you think you're doing, Yemi Kadiri?"

"How do
you mean?"

"Do you
realise that guy is in love with you?"

"Is he?
I've told him I'm not interested in a relationship with him, and he
said he's okay with us just being friends."

Abby
looked at her incredulously. "And you honestly believe that? His
feelings for you are as plain as the nose on my face!" She sighed
and shook her head "This is a dangerous game you're playing, and
someone is bound to get hurt."

"Can't I
have a friend?" Yemi asked defensively. "He's been very nice to me,
and I like him."

Abby
exhaled slowly. "Yemi, the guy is very nice, no doubt, and I would
fully support your relationship if you were single."

"I'm
single. A single mother."

"Feel
free to tell yourself that, but the last time I checked, you were
still Mrs. Yemi Kadiri."

"Thanks
for the reminder, but anyway, I'm not in a relationship with
Deji."

"Then
what do you call whatever it is that you guys have going
on?"

Yemi
rubbed her hand across the back of her neck. She didn't need a
lecture. "Believe me, I've tried to tell Deji several times how I
feel, and he has assured me that he is content with just being my
friend."

"He is
not being true to himself, and you're making yourself vulnerable by
being with him."

Yemi
frowned. Was Abby not getting things mixed up here? "Have you
forgotten that I'm no longer with Akeem? And anyway, it's not like
I'm having an affair with Deji or anything like that." She wrinkled
her nose. "At least I'm still better than Akeem, who is going about
with different women."