Read Online After the storm by Osar Adeyemi - Free Book Online

caught Yemi's attention the most. She had
piercing, steely eyes, and those eyes were sweeping over Yemi at
the moment. From the expression in them when they rested on her
face again, Yemi felt as though she had been examined and found
wanting.
    Yemi
stood up. She had practised some words in Hausa, but for the life
of her, she could not remember a single one of them. "Good
afternoon, Ma."
    "Hello,
you must be Yemi," Mrs. Kadiri said, her lips stretching in what
appeared to be the semblance of a smile. "How are you?"
    "I'm very well, thank you, Ma," Yemi replied, trying hard to
relax. This was the mother of the man she
loved and her future mother in-law .
    "I hope
your parents are well?" Mrs. Kadiri asked as she sat opposite
them.
    "Yes,
Ma, they are very well, thank you."
    "Akeem
tells me that they are lecturers at the University of
Lagos?"
    "That's
correct, Ma."
    "And you
live on campus and have lived there for most of your
life?"
    "Yes,
Ma."
    "That
must be interesting." Yemi was not quite sure what she meant and
didn't know how to respond, but Mrs. Kadiri had already turned her
attention towards her son. "Aren't you going to offer her anything
to drink?"
    "I've
done so, Mum, but she's okay for now."
    Mrs.
Kadiri looked from Akeem to Yemi. Then she pressed a buzzer by her
side, and the maid appeared again. Mrs. Kadiri spoke rapidly to her
in Hausa, and the maid left the room. Akeem frowned at his mother
and then tried to smile when he caught Yemi watching
him.
    "I have
asked the maid to bring us some drinks," Mrs. Kadiri said to Yemi.
"It is customary for us to entertain visitors when we meet
them."
    "Thank
you, Ma," Yemi replied, wondering if she was a visitor or her son's
fiancée.
    Mrs.
Kadiri focused those piercing eyes on Yemi once again. "Akeem tells
me that you have just graduated from the university. So what plans
do you have now that you are done?"
    "Yemi
will be starting her youth service programme soon," Akeem
replied.
    "I know
that." His mother sounded mildly irritated. "I meant
afterwards."
    Yemi didn't think it would be appropriate to tell her that
she and Akeem planned on getting married afterwards. That
information was meant to come from Akeem, not her. "I was thinking
of doing my master's degree programme in England." Well, that had been what she and her parents had
planned initially before she met Akeem, anyway.
    The maid
came into the room at that moment, and Yemi almost sighed in relief
as Mrs. Kadiri looked away from her. The maid wheeled a small
trolley laden with different kinds of drinks towards them. Akeem
thanked her and then poured Yemi a glass of pineapple juice,
catching her eye and smiling as he did so. Yemi thanked his mother
for the drinks before taking a sip of the juice. The maid left the
room again, leaving the trolley behind.
    "Doing
your master's programme abroad sounds like a good idea," Mrs.
Kadiri said, picking up where she had left off. "You might even
find out that you like it over there and stay back in the UK after
you finish your programme."
    "We plan
on getting married before she does her master's programme," Akeem
said, looking steadily at his mother.
    "Oh
really?" Mrs. Kadiri said, arching one perfectly shaped
eyebrow.
    "Yes,
Mum. That's our plan."
    Akeem
and his mother appeared to wage an unspoken war with their eyes,
and the tension in the room was almost palpable.
    "Nadia
will be joining us for lunch," Mrs. Kadiri said, changing the
topic. "She is home for the weekend. She is out shopping but should
be here shortly."
    "That's
what she does best—shopping," Akeem said, standing up in one fluid
motion. "Mum, I want to show Yemi the house. We will join you for
lunch later."
    "Lunch
is in an hour," Mrs. Kadiri said stiffly. "It will be served in the
smaller dining room."
    "We will
be there." Akeem smiled as he held his arm out to Yemi, and
then led her out of the room. Yemi was so conscious of Mrs.
Kadiri's eyes boring into her back that she wondered how she
did not