by Osar Adeyemi
After the Storm
A Novel
By
Osar Adeyemi
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Osar Adeyemi
ISBN 978-0-9935390-1-5 (eBook)
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. The only exception is brief quotations in a book review.
Some scripture is taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.
Cover design by Amanda Matthews at amdesignstudios.net
This is a work of fiction. Any reference or similarities to actual events, organizations, real people, living or dead or to real locales is purely coincidental and is intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarities to other names, characters, place and incidents are entirely fictional and a product of the author's imagination.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the memory of my beloved sister, Faith Ogbeide; your selfless love and many acts of kindness continue to leave a fragrance in the lives of those who knew you.
Special Thanks
I am grateful to you, Lord, for the ability and inspiration to write this book. I pray that it brings people to your saving grace, as well as healing and restoration to every broken heart.
And to you, my precious husband, I can't appreciate you enough. Thanks for being there for me through the years. The things you do and the life you live convince me daily of God's love for me.
Special thanks to my parents in the Lord, Pastor Niyi and Gloria Olujobi; thanks so much for teaching me the undiluted word of God and also for living such exemplary lives.
To my sister-friend, Tomi Lawal, thanks for encouraging me and for being such a good sounding board during the process of writing this book.
What can I say about Edith Oise, Bimbo Fayokun, Kunbi Ajayi, and Tinuke Nwaokolo? I am so grateful for your help and support. May the Lord bless you richly.
To my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews: I am so glad I am related to you. Love you lots.
Chapter 1
The trees were in full bloom outside the Bluewater Shopping Mall. Blossoms of pinks and whites lined the edges of the road leading up to the parking deck. Yemi gazed at the trees and took in their breathtaking beauty. She loved spring. Taking out her mobile phone, she captured the scene, then reluctantly tore her eyes away from the trees and walked into the shopping mall.
She made her way into the River Island store, where they were having a sale. The prices were unbelievable. Many of the items were half price or less, and some items had even been marked down as much as 70 percent. She picked out three tops and a couple of pants and made her way over to the fitting room.
Three hours later, she had a number of shopping bags dangling from both arms, but she was not quite done. She walked to the Hawes and Curtis shop to get some shirts for her two older brothers, her cousin Tola, and for herself. She managed to pick out three men's shirts but was undecided about the fourth. While she stood there, trying to make up her mind, she decided it was best to go and pick out some women's shirts before returning to the men's section.
Picking out her own shirt was easy. She spotted a pink-patterned one she liked almost immediately. Then she looked at other shirts, trying to pick out one for her cousin. Tola would definitely not want something monochrome. She was a bit whacky, and the crazier the colours, the more she would like it.
As Yemi looked at the different shirts, she was not quite sure what made her glance up; as she did so, she looked straight into the eyes of a guy across the store. It was obvious he had been staring at her, and as their eyes met, he made no effort to look away. Instead, a small, lazy smile curved his lips.
She looked away, feeling slightly miffed. At least he could have looked away when he was caught staring.
A few minutes later, she finally made up her mind which shirt to pick for Tola and moved across the store to make the final selection in the men's section.
"I believe the blue shirt looks better." Yemi heard the deep, smooth voice before she saw the person speaking. She turned around and saw the guy who had been staring at her from across the store.
"Both shirts are nice, but the blue one looks nicer," he said to her with a slight smile.
Her first thought was to thank and dismiss him as quickly as possible, but as she cast another quick glance at him, she found herself unable to do so. She didn't know if it was the dark eyes with a hint of roguish charm or the chiselled, attractive face that arrested her, but she found herself feeling strangely tongue-tied.
"I think so too," she heard herself saying a little lamely. "Just that I like the purple shirt as well."
"Then get them both."
She looked at his face again. She was not short, but judging by how much she had to look up in order to see his face, he had to be well over six feet tall. His fitted beige polo shirt showed his lean, muscled arms, and his lithe frame suggested that he either had an active lifestyle or worked out a lot. He was an attractive man, and judging from the very confident air that exuded from him, he was probably very aware of it too.
"I've already gotten these ones," she replied, looking at the other shirts she was holding. "I'll just pick the blue shirt. Thanks for helping me decide."
"You're welcome," he replied, extending his hand towards her. "I'm Akeem Kadiri."
"Yemi Delano," she said, briefly clasping his extended hand. "Well, thanks again for helping me choose." She took the shirt and started to head towards the till.
"Hey, let me help you with those bags."
"I'm okay," she said. But Akeem reached for the bags anyway. "Really, I am," she insisted.
"I can't have a lady lugging all these bags around." He smiled charmingly as he took the bags from her. A faint whiff of his cologne, masculine and fresh, teased her nostrils.
"Thanks, that's very kind of you."
"My pleasure."
"Do you live here?" he asked as they made their way towards the till.
"No, I'm here on holidays. What about you?"
"I'm here on business, but my little sis does not understand that," he said ruefully as he glanced at his own shopping bags. "I've always got to get her something."
"But I can see that you've got some things already," Yemi said, looking at the shopping bags he was carrying. Some of them bore the names of shops she never bothered going into because their sale prices were higher than the full prices of items in other shops.
"I've actually bought everything I need, but she specifically asked for shirts from this shop. But that's it. I'm done now." He sounded relieved.
She was amused at the expression on his face. Typical male. It was obvious that he did not enjoy shopping. They got to the till and took their turn in the short queue. Akeem paid for the shirts he had picked for his sister and then attempted to pay for Yemi's too.
"Oh no, I've got that covered," Yemi said quickly, handing her money to the cashier. He must have noticed the determined look on her face because he said nothing more.
He shot her an amused glance as they walked out of the shop. "I didn't mean any harm."
"I'm sorry if I sounded ungrateful, but I had really budgeted for those shirts." She glanced at her wristwatch. "I've got to go now. It's been nice meeting you…" She held out her hands for her shopping bags.
A teasing smile curved his lips. "Trying to get rid of me? Not so fast. Are you done shopping?"
"No, but I can see you don't like shopping, and I don't want to hold you up."
"I'm not complaining. So long as you agree to have lunch with me afterwards."
Yemi hesitated. "What were you
planning to do after getting the shirts for your sister?"
"Have lunch, go home…nothing special planned."
She shrugged. "Very well then, but I want to pop into about three more stores, and then I'll be done."
"At your service." He made an exaggerated bow, and she was forced to laugh.
"Don't say you weren't warned," she told him as she led the way towards another store.
True to his word, Akeem followed her to all the stores she wanted to go to and waited patiently while she looked at different items and picked out what she wanted. She could feel his eyes on her all through her shopping. That seemed to be a habit with him, and he just smiled in that slow, attractive way of his whenever their eyes met.
"Phew!" she said a while later as they exited the last store. "I'm really tired now. You must be too," she said in an almost accusatory tone. There was no way he could have enjoyed what she had just put him through. She had actually expected him to tell her, at some point, that he had to go, but he had not.
He looked amused at her peeved tone. "I told you that I'm at your service. Are you sure you're done?"
"Now you're making fun of me."
"No, I'm not!" Akeem laughed. "And really, I'm quite okay if you still have any more shops to go to."
"Well, just one more actually," Yemi answered, smiling mischievously at him. "But this time, just to look. I'm not buying anything."
He arched his brows slightly. "Why is that?"
"You'll see when we get there," she said mysteriously. "I always go in there whenever I'm in Bluewater. But like I said, it's just to look."
She led the way towards the store, and a few minutes later they entered the Mulberry shop.
"See what I mean?" She laughed as she held up a bag and showed him the price tag. "That will cost me all the shopping money I brought to England!" She placed the bag back on the shelf.
"Nice bag, though," he said, looking at the bag closely. "Neat finishing, beautiful leather."
"Mulberry bags are always lovely, but way too expensive for a student like me." She picked up another one and giggled at the price tag. It was even more expensive than the first one.
"Hmmm…" Akeem was still busy looking at the different bags. "My sister would love one of these, but I wonder why ladies like bags?"
"No idea!" Yemi laughed. "We just do!"
"I think this is the prettiest." He held up one of the bags.
"I like this one best," Yemi said pointing to another one. "Tan is a lovely colour, would go with a lot of clothes. Tan somehow brings out the beauty of a bag more than black, I think."
"Seems like you know what you are talking about," Akeem teased.
"I love bags; I may not be able to afford a Mulberry bag now, but someday," she clicked her fingers. "I shall snap one up." She turned towards him with a satisfied smile on her face. "I think I'm done now."
Akeem took one final look at the bags before following her out of the store. "Where would you like to eat?" he asked as they went down the escalator towards the food court in the shopping mall.
Yemi shrugged. "I don't really mind. KFC, McDonald's, Nando's—any one of them will do."
"Sushi?"
She made a face. "Nah!"
He smiled. "It's very healthy, you know. Tastes good too."
She shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks!"
They settled for Nando's. The queue was surprisingly short, and they were almost immediately led to a table by the waiter. Once she was seated, Akeem went back to queue up for their orders and returned to the table a few minutes later.
They made light conversation as they waited for their orders to be brought over. Akeem had only arrived two days earlier and was going to be in the UK for two weeks. There was a quiet confidence about him, and the more Yemi talked with him, the more she felt he was not like the regular guys she had known in the past.
"What do you do?" she could not resist asking at some point.
"What do I do?" Akeem said, as if he was trying to remember. "Well, in broad terms, I'm a businessman."
"What kind of business do you do?"
"I don't want to bore your pretty head with business talk."
"That's patronising."
His lips twitched in amusement at her accusation. "My family is largely into oil and gas, real estate, and banking."
Yemi kept her face bland as she took in the information. He seemed to have loads of confidence, but she had not expected the answer he gave her. Her thoughts were interrupted when the waiter brought their food to the table.
"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Akeem asked later, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork.
"Go on and ask. No guarantees that I will give you an answer, though."
"How old are you?"
Yemi faked a stern look. "You should not ask a lady that question."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard that many times, and that's why I asked you for permission."
Yemi took a sip of her orange juice. "I turned twenty-one two months ago. This holiday is actually a birthday present from my parents and my brothers. What about you? How old are you?"
"I'll be twenty-nine on my next birthday."
"Hmmm…old man," she teased.
"Little girl," Akeem replied, smiling that slow, attractive smile at her again. "Little, beautiful girl."
Yemi looked away, feeling slightly flustered. He had such beautiful eyes. Dark with thick lashes. She shook herself mentally. She had to get a grip on herself. He seemed to have a way of making her feel unsettled with just one glance. She decided to concentrate on her chicken.
"So where do you live back home?"
Yemi was just about to answer him when her phone rang. It was Tola.
She excused herself to take the call. A few minutes later, she came back, looking slightly disappointed.
"Are you okay?" Akeem asked, looking concerned.
"I'm fine." Yemi sighed. "That was my cousin. She was supposed to pick me up, but she's held up in traffic. I'll have to catch a bus home."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I can take you home."
"You drive here?" Yemi asked, sort of surprised. "Oh, I see, you have an international driving license."
"I attended both my 'A' levels and university here. I got my UK driver's license back then." He took another sip of his drink without taking his eyes off her. "So back to my question: Where do you live in Lagos?"
"Akoka. My parents are both lecturers at the University of Lagos. We live in the staff quarters. What about you? You are from the North, aren't you?" She had been trying to figure that out for some time now. His accent didn't tell her much about him, but after struggling to fit him into a state, she had concluded that he was most likely from that region.
"Correct. I'm from Niger state, but my parents moved to Lagos when I was five."
Yemi looked at him thoughtfully. Akeem gazed back at her with an inscrutable look in his eyes. She was dying to ask him more questions but didn't want to appear to be prying.
"Go on and ask," Akeem said, a smile tugging the corners of his lips.
"What makes you think I want to ask you any more questions?"
"It's written all over your face."
"How is the chicken? I hope you like it?" she asked with an innocent expression on her face, and Akeem chuckled.
"You know that's not what you wanted to ask me." He was still laughing. "So go on and ask me what you want to know."
Definitely not, she thought to herself. That would be setting herself up, and he would think that she was interested in him. She glanced at her wristwatch. "I have to get going now, anyway."
"No need to rush off. I'm taking you home, remember?"
She hesitated. "I really don't want to take you out of your way." And I may have had lunch with you, but you are still practically a stranger. A girl can't be too careful. She glanced at his face and met his eyes on her.
Without speaking, he brought out his driver's license from his wallet an
d placed it in front of her. "It's no bother taking you home, and you can call your cousin to let her know who you are with."
She felt embarrassed that he had read her thoughts so accurately. "Thanks, Akeem." She said a little self consciously as she pushed his license back towards him. Somehow she knew within herself that there was nothing sinister about him.
They made their way to the parking lot, where he led her to his car. She didn't recognise the make of the car, but it was a metallic-grey, sleek-looking, low-sitting sports car. He held the door open for her, and she was again impressed with his manners.
Yemi tried not to stare at the plush interior of the car. Instead, she watched him key in the postcode of her aunt's house into the satnav. The strains of some soft jazz music filtered in from the speakers as he drove out of the parking lot.
They made light conversation as he drove on towards Darent Valley Park, where Yemi was staying with her aunt and her family.
As they got closer to the street where she lived, he glanced sideways at her. "My business meetings take up most of my mornings and afternoons, but I'd love to see you in the evenings. Is that okay?"
She did not reply immediately. He seemed like a nice guy, but someone as good looking as he was would likely have tonnes of girls around him. She wasn't joining that queue. "Let me have a think about it and get back to you," she said eventually.
He cast a quick glance at her before focussing on the road ahead.
"Are you in a relationship?" he asked after a brief silence.
"No, I'm not. Are you?"
"No," he replied. "So?"
"So, what?"
"So now that we have that out of the way, shall I pick you up tomorrow at about seven?"
"I'll let you know."
He glanced at her again but said nothing. A few minutes later, he drove onto the street where her auntie lived.
