After the storm

by Osar Adeyemi

  Yemi wondered how those fashion designers who had turned them down must be feeling now. Sharon Braithwaite had given her a call two days earlier and congratulated her.

  "I learnt that you're the one designing the clothes for the charity ball. It's drawing a lot of attention because of Cerys," she told Yemi. "I just got myself a ticket to attend, and I'm really looking forward to the event."

  Yemi thanked her. She was refusing to think too much about how all this was going to impact her and her business.

  Just as she had expected, the advert ran again on TV about an hour later. She could not keep the smile off her face as she heard the opening lines: "Hi, I'm Cerys Briggs, and I'll be walking for Matrix Kreations on the twenty-fourth of September in support of the Ovarian Cancer Awareness charity."

  Yemi was so excited that she barely heard the rest of the message. She flopped back on the bed and hugged a pillow to herself. This was so worth all of the hard work she and her staff had done to create the outfits.

  ∞∞∞

  "The hall is more than halfway full, and the programme is not starting for another thirty minutes!" Ken told Yemi excitedly as they walked towards where Cerys's makeup was being done by the artist.

  Cerys saw them and smiled. Yemi waggled her fingers at her. Cerys had relaxed her guard with Yemi, and they had now become quite friendly. She was opening the fashion show, which was just as well because a lot of the people were there to see her.

  The rest of the evening passed in a flurry of activities for Yemi. Model after model came backstage to change. The wardrobe assistants she had hired to help them change were swift and efficient in helping the girls into their next outfits; their makeup and their hair were quickly touched up and then they were back out on the runway.

  Finally, Yemi was called out as the designer of the clothes. She walked out to a standing ovation and flashing camera lights. The faces of the people in the audience were a blur to her, but she knew that the two governors' wives had indeed come, and along with them came other female dignitaries and celebrities. She could hardly believe that the event that had seemed like it would be a low-key event run by three unknown ladies in honour of their unknown late sister and friend had become such a successful must-attend event, all because of a famous name, Cerys Briggs.

  Of course, the other models had been great too, even the diva-like model, but the highlight of the show had been Cerys. Everyone liked success and wanted to be associated with it.

  "Whoa, did you hear that?" Ken asked Yemi when she came back from her runway walk. "It's like they couldn't stop clapping for you!"

  Yemi was just too happy. She saw Francis dancing towards her and held out her hands to him. She felt so lucky to have such dedicated staff. There was no way she could have done this without them.

  "Mrs. K, go have a seat in the hall. We'll sort everything out back here," Francis said when they had disengaged from their group hug. "Really, we will," he insisted.

  Yemi walked back to the hall through a side entrance and took a seat at the table that Lola had reserved for her. She saw the look of admiration on the faces of the people already seated there as she exchanged greetings with them.

  "That was awesome," said the man seated beside her.

  She smiled politely at him. "Thank you."

  "I'm Deji Phillips, Lola's brother-in-law," he said.

  Her eyes widened slightly. So this was the husband of Lola's late sister. She had seen his kids when Lola brought them to her office during one of their meetings. They were twins and about Aleena's age.

  "Pleased to meet you," she replied. "I've heard a lot about your wife. She must have been a very special lady for her to be remembered this way."

  "That she was indeed. Thanks so much for agreeing to participate in today's event. Your designs were really beautiful. I was almost envious that you only make ladies' clothing. Aren't you tempted to make men's as well?"

  Yemi couldn't help smiling back at him. "I could—that is, if you don't mind the trousers being made with taffeta, silk, or organza, to mention a few."

  "That would be something, but who knows? I could be starting a new fashion trend."

  Yemi laughed. They continued talking intermittently for the rest of the evening. During the cocktail session, lots of people came over to congratulate her and to ask for her business card.

  "Can I have one too?" Deji asked, appearing by her side again. He had gone around to say hello to some people he knew, but he must have seen her handing out her business cards. She handed him one of the cards. "Even though men are being discriminated against by Matrix Kreations," he murmured as he tucked the card in his pocket.

  Yemi smiled. They were interrupted when Dammy took the podium. The programme was rounding up.

  As she drove home later that night, she didn't need anyone to tell her that it had been a success, much more than the expectation of the organisers and much more than she had ever dreamed.

  ∞∞∞

  The next few days convinced Yemi that she had indeed made a good decision in sponsoring the charity event. They had so many new orders for clothes that her staff was hard-pressed to keep up with them. She had fully donated the proceeds from the clothes that were modelled at the charity event. And she was also giving a percentage to the charity from any repeated orders that came in over the next month.

  Another sponsor, a popular women's magazine, had gotten the official right to cover the event. They had some very beautiful things to say about Matrix Kreations, but even better still was the review given by another independent, highly rated fashion magazine. It referred to her designs as "a fresh breeze on the fashion scene." It had also called Yemi the new fashion designer to watch out for.

  Yemi felt even more elated when Cerys was photographed at a dinner party wearing one of the outfits that Yemi had made for her.

  Flowers and chocolates were delivered to her office a week after the ball. She was puzzled until she saw the card attached. "Nice meeting you at the charity ball. Deji."

  She sent him a "thank you" via text message and got a reply back almost immediately.

  "You're more than welcome. How're you doing?"

  She wondered whether she should reply, and then she shrugged and texted him back. "Fine, thanks. The euphoria of the charity ball is gradually settling down."

  He texted her back: "Everyone is raving about your designs. You were absolutely great!"

  "Thanks, you're too kind."

  "Just being truthful. Can I send my measurements as discussed?"

  "Of course. What fabric would you like, taffeta or silk?"

  "Pink taffeta, what do you think?"

  "Perfect, great taste."

  He sent her a smiley face attached to his next message: "Will send the measurements as soon as possible, or better still, I can come over to choose the designs I want. Pink taffeta trousers require a lot of mulling over."

  "You don't have to do that," she responded. "You can trust me to create a nice design for you." She finished typing, looked at it, and then decided it was time to end the conversation. "It was nice chatting with you. Love to Lola."

  He must have gotten the hint because he typed: "Same here. Take care."

  Chapter 18

  Yemi checked the best-before date on the cheese packaging before tossing it into her trolley and continuing to another side of the store for some pasta.

  It was Aleena's birthday on Saturday, and she wanted lasagne. Akeem was allowing her to stay at her place this weekend so that she could have Eniola, and Chloe, her best friend at Dartmouth, over for a sleepover. Yemi liked Chloe. She was polite and was generally well behaved, and Yemi had to admit that so far, her fears of Aleena picking up a snooty attitude or becoming friends with girls who put such ideas in her head, had subsided. Chloe's mother, Charlotte, also appeared to be a pleasant person. Her father was a politician who lived in Abuja and only came to Lagos on weekends.

  Having found the pasta, Yemi continued towards the aisle that held the s
preads. As she pushed her trolley around the corner, she almost bumped into a little boy who was coming from the opposite side of the aisle. He had obviously been going a little too fast and was not looking where he was going. Yemi stretched out a hand involuntarily to catch him before he tripped.

  "Are you okay?" she asked him when she had helped to steady him.

  "Yes, I am." The little boy replied.

  Yemi recognised him. It was Lola's nephew, but just as she was about to ask who he was with, she saw Deji walking towards them with the little boy's twin sister.

  "How many times do I need to tell you not to run around in shops?" Deji scolded him before turning to Yemi. "I'm so sorry about that. Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." Yemi smiled, looking down at the little boy, who was looking very chastised indeed.

  "Now apologize to the lady, Tolu," Deji instructed him.

  "I'm sorry," Tolu said, his face slightly downcast.

  Yemi smiled at him. He was so cute. "Not to worry, no harm was done." She looked at his twin sister, who was holding onto her father's hand. She looked very pretty in her sleeveless yellow-and-blue-patterned dress. From the look of her hair, it had just recently been done and had pretty coloured beads at the end of each braid.

  "I like your hair," Yemi said to her. "Maybe I can have mine done like it. What do you think?"

  The little girl looked at Yemi as if she couldn't quite make up her mind whether Yemi was serious or not.

  "Those are some lovely kids you have here," Yemi said, turning her attention to Deji. "I met them when Lola brought them to my office sometime before the charity event."

  "Thanks. Nice seeing you again. How have you been?"

  "Fine, thank you. Thanks again for the flowers and chocolates. My staff and I enjoyed them."

  A smile curved his lips. "I'll have to send some more, then. That couldn't have been enough to go around."

  "Oh no, you don't have to do that! I wasn't even expecting the ones you sent, anyway. That was very kind of you."

  "The pleasure was all mine," he said, his gaze lingering on her face. "Did you get my text yesterday?" he asked her.

  She had, but she didn't want chatting with him to become a habit and had ignored his "How is your day going?" message. "Yes, I did, and I'm so sorry I didn't reply, but yes to the question you asked, my day was great."

  Deji just looked at her. She could see a mixture of curiosity and something else she could not quite define in his eyes. She looked away and glanced towards where his kids were looking at the bottles of Nutella on display. Tolu was whispering to his sister. Yemi smiled; they reminded her of Aleena.

  "Let me not hold you guys up," she said, taking hold of the handles of her trolley.

  "It's the twins' birthday in two weeks," Deji said as Yemi attempted to move forward. "I know it's rather short notice, but it will be nice to have you and your daughter over."

  Yemi wondered how he knew that she had a daughter. She shrugged inwardly; getting that piece of information would be easy for anyone to do.

  "I've got the invites in the car," he continued. "I can drop one off in the office for you if you like."

  "All right, I'll expect it," she said as she prepared to move off.

  He smiled teasingly at her. "Am I getting my clothes soon?"

  She could not help smiling back at him. She could see where his kids got their cuteness. "Pink taffeta, wasn't it?"

  "Correct. I'm sure I'll look nicer than Cerys in it."

  "I'm sure you will," Yemi said, laughing. Her eyes moved over his broad shoulders and denim-clad long legs. Nah, taffeta would not do him justice at all.

  Yemi said good-bye to them and walked off with her trolley. She knew Deji was curious about her. It was there in the way he looked at her face searchingly, as if there were many questions he would have liked to ask her. She had caught it during the charity event and today as well. Well, his questions would have to go unanswered. She had no intention of getting close enough for him to have that liberty.

  ∞∞∞

  She received the invitation but delayed a response until the day before the party, when she sent gifts for Tolu and Tope by special delivery to Deji's address.

  She received a text message from Deji the evening of the party that said, "Thanks a lot for the presents. The twins loved them. I was really looking forward to seeing you, though."

  She texted her apologies again and left it at that. About a week later, she was in her office reception area when he dropped by with party packs in his hands.

  "I thought I'd stop by and give this to you," he said, handing them over to her.

  "Thanks, that's kind of you. Aleena is going to love them," she said, taking the packs from him. "I hope the twins had a good time?"

  "They did. They are still talking about all the fun they had with their friends." He glanced around her reception area where some customers were waiting to collect or place orders. "I don't want to hold you up. I can see you're busy."

  Yemi walked him to his car. He unlocked his car but made no attempt to get in.

  "Are you free for dinner any day this week?" he asked, leaning slightly against the car and turning towards her.

  "I don't think so. I'm trying to get back to meeting my deadlines, so I'm a little busy this week."

  "What about next week? Saturday evening, maybe?"

  She was happy she had a ready excuse. "I'm seeing my parents that day."

  He smiled slightly. "My timing is a little off, then. Probably we can do dinner some other time soon?"

  "We'll see," Yemi said noncommittally. "Thanks once again for the party packs."

  He did not look too put out by her refusal and gave her a small wave as he got into his car. He was probably just trying to be nice anyway, Yemi thought to herself. She waited for him to drive off before going back into her office.

  ∞∞∞

  Two weeks later, Lola and her friends treated her to a "thank you dinner" at Da-livio, a restaurant in Victoria Island. She had told them not to bother, but they brushed her protests aside.

  "You took us on when nobody else was willing to give us the time of day," Dammy said to her. "They didn't even believe that Cerys was really coming."

  "It's their loss," Lara said gleefully. "Now that Yemi is being celebrated by the media, I'm sure some of them must be wishing that they had not been so dismissive."

  Yemi enjoyed her time with them. She liked the way they related amongst themselves. They were obviously very close.

  "We've been like this since secondary school," Lola said when Yemi voiced her thoughts. "Believe me, I've tried to lose them along the way, but they just keep sticking on."

  "We know you'll be lost without us guiding you in life," Dammy teased.

  "At least until we safely deliver you over to Nifemi next year," Lara added, referring to Lola's fiancé "You've kept the guy waiting long enough."

  "I know…" Lola sighed. "Well, the twins are older now, so I guess I can leave them with Deji with a freer heart."

  "But Deji has done very well," Lara said. "And I've got a feeling the guy himself will be moving on soon. I mean, from the comments he's been dropping recently, I won't be surprised."

  Dammy giggled. "Yeah, heard about that too. Glad our Deji has finally opened his eyes again. Can't wait to see how it unfolds…" She suddenly stopped and grimaced. "Ouch, why did you kick me?" she asked, glaring at Lola.

  "Did I?" Lola asked innocently. "Pardon me, you know what long legs I have."

  "I wonder why you were not one of the models for the charity event," Dammy muttered sarcastically. "Then we wouldn't have needed Cerys."

  Lola made a face at her. "You guys don't appreciate my beauty." She turned to Yemi. "How did you get into fashion designing? I know you studied accountancy."

  "I've always liked fashion, I guess. Not in a crazy 'Have to have all the latest trends' manner, but I believe everything a lady puts on should make her more beautiful, and that in itself is an art." She smiled a
s she saw the rapt attention on their faces. "So to me, it does not matter whether the clothes are picked up at a bargain or at a top designer shop. The important thing is that it should flow with your body lines. Your clothes should tell a story about you. It's you in essence."

  Dammy looked down at her dress. "I hope this flows with my body lines?" she asked teasingly.

  Lara shook her head solemnly. "I don't think so, but at least there's hope for you now that Yemi is our friend."

  Yemi enjoyed her time with the girls. She had never been someone who could have more than one girlfriend at a time, but these three girls could actually be mistaken for blood sisters in the way they related.

  ∞∞∞

  When Deji sent her another "How're you doing?" text message the next day, Yemi didn't respond. She wasn't dumb and knew she was the one that Lola and her friends had been referring to. There was no point encouraging him. She was not interested in him in that way.

  She was in her office a few days later when he dropped by.

  "Surprise," she said a little coolly as he was shown into her office.

  "I hope it's a good one," he replied, smiling at her. "New hairdo. Very nice, it suits you," he said as he gave her long tresses an admiring look. "How have you been?"

  "Fine, just trying to keep on top of my work. And you?"

  "I'm good too, and work is fine as well." He sat in the chair she offered him. He complimented her office decor and Yemi thanked him. She remembered he had only stopped at her reception the other time.

  "I learnt you went out with the girls the other day. I hope you had a good time?"

  Yemi smiled. "I did. They're really nice, and I like the way they relate with each other."

  He smiled. "They've always been very close. Meet one and you have to meet the other two."

  They chatted about Lola and her friends. He was obviously as fond of them as they were of him.