by Osar Adeyemi
"I'll call you later tonight. Drive safely."
∞∞∞
Akeem still didn't know about God and wasn't sure if he really existed, but he knew that there was something different about Yemi. The anger and bitterness were gone; in their place, there seemed to be an inner beauty and glow that radiated from her.
They had gone out for lunch a couple of times in the past two weeks. Short periods, lighthearted chats, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. They also spoke on the phone every day. He made sure of that. Speaking to her was the highlight of his day. For the first couple of days, he struggled to get over the fact that he could just pick up the phone and call her, and their conversation didn't have to be about Aleena. It was amazing.
He was still being very careful though, so he resisted the urge to call her more than once a day. He didn't want anything to stir up the animosity that he had experienced from her in the last three years. They still tried to keep their conversations light and easy. They avoided talking about the reason for their split, and he skirted around anything that could trigger bad memories.
He didn't think the change in her attitude towards him was just because of Hasan's death. After all, she had gone to see his mum in hospital before Hasan had died. Something had definitely changed in her, and it seemed real. She didn't bash him with her new beliefs, either, but she was more confident whenever it came into their conversations.
"I'm attending Bible study tomorrow, so I won't be able to talk with you in the evening," she had told him the third day that they spoke on the phone.
"What time do you get back home?"
"At about eight thirty."
"I'll call you at about nine thirty, is that okay?"
"That's fine," she had replied.
He had done just that. He was taking it easy with her, but he didn't intend to give her much space either. He had come to terms with his feelings. Lois had been right: Yemi still had his heart firmly in her hold.
∞∞∞
Yemi waited in her car outside the Ola-Daniels' residence. Aleena sat impatiently in the backseat as they waited to be let into the house. Yemi noticed the increase in the security detail at the house. She had already filled out the visitor's forms but she was still being told to wait for clearance.
She eyed the gun-toting security men with a little apprehension. Akeem had armed security men in his house, but their guns were always hidden away. These security men made theirs so obvious that it was frightening.
She tried Charlotte's number. It was switched off. She was on the verge of turning back home when she was finally allowed to drive in.
"So sorry, Yemi," Charlotte apologised when Yemi walked into the sitting room where she had been having what appeared to be a meeting with five other women. The women smiled politely at her as they left the room. "My husband is just trying to be a bit more careful with people going in and out of the house, now that the elections are so close."
"I understand, but are you sure you're okay with Aleena being around this weekend?" Yemi asked. She was feeling uneasy about leaving Aleena there now anyway. "I know it's a busy period for you. We can rearrange the sleepover."
Aleena turned towards her with a look of dismay on her face.
"Or better still, take Chloe with us," Yemi added hurriedly, preferring not to have to deal with Aleena's sulks.
"No, it's okay. They will be fine here," Charlotte insisted.
She reluctantly let Aleena stay. Aleena had set her heart so much on the sleepover, and Charlotte might have been a bit put off too if she had insisted on taking Aleena back with her. But Yemi made up her mind that she was not going to let Aleena do any more sleepovers at the Ola-Daniels house until the elections were over.
Akeem was coming over to her place that afternoon, and she was looking forward to seeing him. She knew that the attraction he had always had for her was back. It had been easy to convince herself that she no longer had any feelings for him when she'd been so angry with him, but with her bitterness gone, it was just like how it had always been, maybe more.
He arrived about an hour after she got home. It was the first time he had been there since their fight in her kitchen. How different things were now, she thought to herself as she heated up a meal for him while he walked casually around her kitchen, chatting with her and checking things out.
"Whoever fixed these cabinets did a lousy job," he said, inspecting the shelves in her kitchen.
"What's wrong with them?" she asked, peering over his shoulder and trying to see what he was talking about.
"Don't bother," he said with a knowing smile, and she laughed. They both knew he was a lot more detailed in such things than she was.
"I could send someone from the office to have a look at it. This wood will give way soon if not reinforced or changed outright," he said, still looking at the shelf. He turned back towards her. "But on second thoughts, I don't think that will be necessary."
She looked at the shelf and then back at him. He didn't say anything more. Just smiled and changed the topic.
"Would you like to play a game or watch a movie?" she asked after they had eaten.
"I don't really mind either. What would you like?"
"Let's play chess," she said.
She beat him twice at it and was beginning to feel quite smug when she noticed the very serious expression on his face, like he was struggling to keep his face straight, and the truth dawned on her.
"You're deliberately letting me win," she accused him.
The innocent look he gave her convinced her that she was right. "Certainly not!"
She knew he was not telling the truth. There was no sweetness in the victory if he was deliberately conceding it to her. That would tarnish her bragging rights over him.
"C'mon, Akeem, give it your all."
He did, and beat her soundly. She was not happy about the results.
"Let's have another go," she told him shortly, still smarting from the loss.
He obliged, and they started again, but three-quarters of the way through the game, she knew her efforts were futile as it was obvious he was going to win again. She glanced at him; he was still keeping his face studiously straight, but she could see the mirth dancing in his eyes.
"Stop looking so smug, you've not won yet," she said. He looked at her but said nothing. They continued playing, and a few minutes later, he won the game.
She looked up to see his eyes on her.
"What?" she asked a little crossly.
He shrugged "Nothing...I mean, I wouldn't dare say I've almost forgotten what a sore loser you are." He chuckled at the expression on her face.
Yemi scowled, but a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "You're going to make up for beating me. You owe me big time."
Akeem shook his head in protest. "I beat you and then I pay you? What if you had won?"
Yemi shrugged. That was how they had operated in the past. Anytime he beat her at a game, she would sulk until he agreed to treat her to anything she demanded.
"We'll deal with that when it happens. For now, just know that you owe me."
"What do you want?"
"Is that a blank check?" she queried. "Can I ask for anything I like?"
His expression remained unaltered. "Anything."
"Hmmm…" She tilted her head to an angle and eyed him. Buying her things was going to be easy stuff for him. She wanted something that would make him sweat. "Get ready."
"I'm waiting."
She cupped her chin in her hands and made a great show of appearing to think hard. He smiled and began to put the game into its pack.
"Is it that difficult?" he asked a couple of minutes later when she still hadn't said anything.
She put her finger to her lips. "Shhh…I'm trying to think here."
He sat back, watching her, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
A couple of minutes later, she tapped the table. "Aha! I know what I want!" she said triumphantly.
"What?"
She smirked. "You'll have to make me dinner from scratch. A three-course meal too, and not ordered from any restaurant."
He laughed. "Okay…I won't order it."
She looked at him suspiciously. He had given in too easily. Had his culinary skills improved so much in the time they had been apart?
He shot her a playful frown. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I said you can't order the food," she emphasised. "You have to cook it yourself."
"And I said I won't order it," he repeated. "As in order it from a restaurant. Satisfied?"
"You can't ask anyone else to do it either. You have to make everything yourself."
From the way he laughed, she knew that he had been planning to do just that.
"Hmmm…but be prepared to eat anything I cook, though," he told her, still smiling. "But I can't believe I'm paying for beating you! See why it's easier to just let you win?"
"Whatever." Yemi smiled and tossed her hair.
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes holding hers. "So what do I get for winning? Can I ask for anything too?"
She shook her head. "Nah."
"But that's not fair," he protested. "You should extend the same benefit to me. I can assure you that I won't take as much time to reply as you did." He smiled slowly, looking at her through half-hooded lids. "I know exactly what I want," he added softly.
Yemi felt heat radiating in her cheeks. There was no way she would give him that chance. She didn't trust him, and that roguish look in his eyes was anything but honourable.
"No, the way we've always played this game is that the winner pays the loser. That's the rule of the game."
He shook his head. "I'm being bullied here. Who can I complain to?"
"Your daughter," she replied, and he laughed.
∞∞∞
Yemi tried her best to eat the meal that Akeem prepared for her a couple of weeks later. Aleena and Kufre had opted to eat the pizza he bought for them instead. Smart choice!
She took another forkful of the marshy rice. She disliked her rice soft, and the sauce he had made to go along with it had so much seasoning in it that it was almost tangy in taste. Maybe he thought the more seasoning a food contained, the tastier it would be. Very wrong, Mr. CEO.
"You were warned," Akeem said, watching her.
"Am I complaining?"
"I can read your face, little girl."
She mouthed "old man" back at him, and he smiled. She pushed her plate back after a few more bites. "I think I'm done. Thank you for the meal. Please can I have the dessert now?"
He shook his head. "I'm not going to poison you." He got up from the table. "I'll just get you some ice cream instead."
She hid a smile, and they cleared up together before going back to the sitting room.
"When's Bassey coming back?" she asked as she settled in the sofa.
"In about ten days time, why?
She kept a straight face. "I wouldn't want to see you poison yourself either."
He laughed. "See, I knew you were just pretending. But not to worry, I'm going to take you out for a proper meal. What's your schedule like? Are you free next week?"
She shook her head, and they fixed it for the week after. The men's fellowship at her church was holding a business seminar the Saturday he had wanted them to go out. She had been hesitant about inviting him, but she decided to do so now that she knew he would be free.
"It's very informal, nothing heavy. More like a business session actually," she explained.
A shuttered look came over his face. "Um…I don't think so for now, but will let you know," he replied.
Yemi didn't push it. She had just wanted to try. However, she was surprised when he brought up the topic later on.
"I'm still not sure about so many things," he said to her. "I could just decide to go with the flow of all this 'born again' stuff because my wife is into it, but that's not really me."
That was another thing he liked to say. He called her his wife at every opportunity, whether necessary or not, as if to remind her who she was.
"I understand. I had a bit of a struggle as well, so I really do understand your hesitation."
"But I've got to say that you're a lot more confident about your beliefs now, though." He grinned, his face looking incredibly attractive. "Those days, your words lacked merit. It was simply a question of the blind trying to lead the blind, as they say."
She feigned a scowl and then turned round to grab a pillow from behind her to throw at him, but he was faster than her and grabbed her wrist. They laughed as they both wrestled over the pillow. He had the upper hand and held her hands firmly.
"Okay…I give up, I'm no longer throwing anything at you." She laughed, but he didn't release her.
"You're beautiful when you laugh," he said softly, looking into her eyes. She tried to look away, but he released one of her hands and used his other hand to tip her chin up so that she had to keep looking at him. Their laughter faded as their gaze locked.
Yemi felt her heart fluttering at the look in his eyes.
"You never asked me why Lois broke up with me," he said a little huskily.
She almost couldn't speak. It had always taken so little for this man to get to her. "Why?" she asked, hardly recognising her own voice.
He bent his head a little closer to hers, his cologne teasing her nostrils. "She said I was not over you," he said as he trailed a finger along her neckline, leaving a flame burning in its wake. "And you know what?" he continued softly, his head dipping a little bit more. "She was right," he added before covering her lips with his.
She didn't bother trying to resist and kissed him back. There was no use pretending anymore. Akeem owned her heart and would always do.
Aleena's coming into the sitting room a few minutes later was what made them draw shakily apart.
"Mummy, Aunt Kufre said…" The little girl stopped briefly when she saw them. She took in the scene and then continued as if it was the most natural thing in the world to see them like that.
It felt liberating to be able to admit to herself that she was still very much in love with Akeem, Yemi thought to herself as she drove Aleena and Kufre home later that evening. He wasn't perfect, but neither was she, and she had just been as much to blame for the breakup of their marriage as he was.
∞∞∞
Yemi was pleasantly surprised when Akeem told her a couple of days later that he would be attending the men's meeting.
He just wants you back, that's all. A malevolent voice tried to whisper into her thoughts, but she shoved it away before it took root. She was done suspecting his motives. It hadn't helped her in the past.
She prayed for him, as she was wont to do these days. She knew her pastor normally gave a short message during the programme, and she prayed that it would make an impact on him.
But as the day drew closer, she remembered his views on Christianity, and she soon forgot about praying and began stressing, hoping that he would understand the message. She even thought of dropping a hint to the pastor so that he could adjust his message appropriately to capture Akeem's attention. As she pondered on those thoughts, she almost despaired. Could any message touch a man who had so narrowly missed death and yet was still sticking to his views?
But in the midst of it all, she heard a gentle rebuke in her spirit. Since the incident with Mrs. Kadiri in England, she was beginning to know how to distinguish God's voice. So when the words is anything too hard for me? dropped quietly into her mind, she knew that it was God speaking, and she repented instantly and pushed all her doubtful thoughts away. If God could touch her, a person who had been such a self-righteous moralist, then He could touch self-sufficient Akeem also. She just had to keep on praying for him as people had prayed for her over the years.
"So how was it?" she asked him when they spoke on the phone after the programme.
"Not bad, actually. I enjoyed the break-out sessions. I got to talk with some sharp guys."
>
She tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but she was not interested in the business networking session. She was dying to know what he thought of the pastor's short message, but she refrained from asking him about it. She didn't want to appear like she was pushing him, so when he did not say anything about that part of the meeting, she had to leave it at that.
She attended a programme at Abby's church the next Sunday and was surprised to see Deji there. He told her he had gotten born again and had been attending the church for a few months. Yemi was even more surprised when she learnt that Abby was aware of it too.
"Well, I was planning to mention it to you at some point," Abby said when Yemi asked her about it. "But maybe after you were safely back in your husband's house," she added.
Yemi just shook her head.
Chapter 26
Two days before their dinner date, Akeem sent her flowers and a gift. She almost gasped at the sheer beauty of the necklace and earrings when she opened the parcel. Thoughts of the diamond necklace he had given her after his affair came to her mind, but she pushed them away.
She made arrangements with Ayo for Aleena and Kufre to stay the weekend at his place but didn't let him or his wife know that she was going out with Akeem. That was her private business for now.
When Akeem arrived at her house, his gaze lingered on the necklace around her neck for a few seconds before moving back to her face. Although he said nothing about the necklace, she could see that he was pleased that she had worn it.
"You look so beautiful," he complimented her again as they made their way to his car.
"Thank you," she replied, feeling strangely shy at the look in his eyes. One tender look from those dark, beautiful eyes had always been enough to melt her insides.
He didn't tell her where he was taking her, but from the landmarks, she guessed where they were going. It had been one of their favourite places when they were together, and they had spent many beautiful moments there. The look in his eyes, as he held out his arm to her when he helped her out of the car, made her know he was remembering those times too.
