'Echoes of the Past' - Chapter Two

Echoes of the past - Chapter two

     Teni saw Feyi's smiling face as soon as she stepped into the arrival hall of the Murtala Mohammed international airport in Lagos. Seeing her friend in the unfamiliar environment brought a sense of reassurance to the feelings of homesickness that had assailed her as she stepped off the plane. 
     "Good to see you, girl!" Feyi said as they hugged each other. "It's great to have you finally here for a visit!" 
     "Same here and thanks for having me. How have you been?"

     "Good, good" Feyi replied taking her baggage cart from her despite her protests "You’re my guest so just relax, okay?"      They chatted during the fifty minutes drive between the airport to Ikoyi where Feyi lived. Teni was grateful for the air conditioning in the car. The temperature was a whopping thirty two degrees centigrade and she had felt almost overwhelmed by the heat when they had stepped outside the airport.      She looked around at the passing cars and buildings. It was definitely a long way from Dartford, the town in Kent where she lived. The houses were all of varied styles and were painted rather than the brick same patterned style houses that she was used to. The traffic on the road was light but the the motorists and even the bikers were so very horn friendly. She almost winced as she heard another loud horn. That would definitely take some getting used to.       There was more traffic as they got farther into the city and as they waited at a set or traffic lights, she saw hawkers with their wares on their heads or shoulders darting amongst the cars and trying to sell to the motorists. She could not help being concerned about their safety but Feyi just laughed when she mentioned it to her and told her the hawkers were used to it and knew when not to get on the road.      They soon left the more rowdy part of town behind and Feyi told her they were approaching the island where her home was. About twenty five minutes later, they turned off the main road and drove into a nice looking neighbourhood with very large detached gated houses. From the little she could see, they were all architectural masterpieces and she didn't need anyone to tell her that they were in the posh part of town.         She could not prevent her eyes from widening when Feyi drove through the massive electronically controlled gates of her father's residence. Feyi was a nice girl without any airs whatsoever but during their year at LSE, it had been obvious that she came from affluent stock. From the brand new Audi TT that she drove, to the cool apartment she lived in at Central London when most of their colleagues lived in shared apartments and as far away from the expensive London apartments as they could manage.     Feyi waved at the security men at their duty posts and drove further down towards a large sprawling house nestled amongst tall ornamental trees. Teni glanced around the well manicured lawns and the different flower beds that dotted the large grounds. This was certainly different from her recollections of Nigeria when she had come for her grandma's funeral or maybe it was a question of differences in the status of the people involved.     "Finally home." Feyi smiled as they came out of the car.      The front door opened and a uniformed maid came out of the house. Feyi spoke to her in her native language. Teni knew they were speaking Yoruba because that was the language her mum spoke too.    "She's going to get Kevin, that's our general handy guy to help carry your luggage in." Feyi told Teni as the maid went back into the house. "It's going upstairs so it's better he takes them up right away."      Feyi's phone beeped as she led the way into the house. She gave Teni an apologetic hand signal as she took the call and mouthed to her that it was her dad.      Teni looked around as she waited for Feyi to complete her call. They were in some sort of spacious reception that looked even more so because of the high ceiling to floor windows bordered on each side by very attractive drapes. Her eyes took in the beatiful paintings on the wall and the polished solid oak wood floor. She could see through the arched doorway into a large lounge. 
     "Dad said to say hello to you and will see you later as soon as he can leave the office." Feyi said, turning back to her as she completed her call.      Teni nodded. They chatted as Feyi showed her to the room she would be staying in. Teni fell in love with the room immediately. It was a large ensuite room done up in magnolia and chocolate brown which gave it a cool welcoming air. Feyi smiled at the delight on her face as she looked through the French windows at the beautiful garden below.    "You’ve got such a lovely home, Feyi." Teni told her sincerely.   "Thanks." Feyi smiled as she stood up "I'll show you round the house later but let me get you some call cards so you can call your folks."     Teni sat down on the bed after Feyi left. It was a long way from home but she had a good feeling about being there and she was going to make the best of her time in Lagos and return back to the UK fully refreshed and ready to start life with vigour.


     "So How's the driving going?" Feyi's dad asked Teni, putting down the newspaper he was reading as she came further into the dining room.
     "Fine, thanks, Uncle Kola." Teni replied sitting across him. She congratulated herself inwardly at the effortless way the title had slipped out. She was learning her 'Nigerianese' very well. Feyi's dad had teased her to stop referring to him as 'Sir'. She had wondered what to call him since she was aware that calling people that were older than you by their first names was considered inapproapriate in Nigeria. She also knew that younger people automatically called every adult, uncle or Auntie, whether related to them or not. So she had decided to start calling Feyi's dad 'uncle Kola' and he had not appeared to mind.     "Phillip told me you have started driving yourself around a little bit." He asked referring to one of the drivers.     "Yes I have. I still need a few more lessons though. Feyi said I need to drive the Nigerian way." Feyi had been teasing her 'polite driving' as she called it since she started her driving lessons. Teni found the driving in Lagos a little rough and that was putting it mildly.       She relayed an incident that happened a couple of days earlier to Feyi's dad. Feyi had been beside her as she practiced her driving and as they got to a roundabout, Teni had waited to give right of way to those on the left as Phillip, Uncle Kola's driver had told her to do but Feyi had hissed at her to get going as the unwritten rule was whoever first got to the roundabout had right of way. The other motorists behind her had appeared to agree with Feyi's theory judging by the loud horns that had blared out behind her during those minutes she had waited at the roundabout.      Feyi's dad laughed at what she said "Please try to be safe always and safety is going by the rules as much as you can." He passed her the jug of fresh orange juice. "Take your time with the driving until you are confortable."     At that moment Deji, Feyi's twin brother, came into the dining room.   "Hi dad, Teni." He smiled at them as he grabbed a piece of toast and began buttering it.   "Hello Deji, in a hurry?" His father asked.  "Yeah, I’ve got a meeting this morning on the mainland and I want to avoid the traffic." He poured himself a cup of coffee, took a sip then grimaced as it burnt his tongue.   "Yes, I remember you told me about it but I thought it was at midday?"  "It was rescheduled by the clients. But that suits me as I can get to other things on time. I'm meeting up with Tade later on today too. He's worked on a similar project before and he helping me tie up some loose ends."     "Oh good, I like the way that young man handles business." His dad replied. "By the way, tell him that I would like to see him before the end of this week if he's free."  "I think his weekend may be full already though. His cousin is getting married and he invited Feyi and I."  Deji glanced towards Teni. "You're still coming along with us, aren't you? Tade said to tell you that you're his special guest."          Teni smiled and nodded. She had met Tade, Deji's friend and she liked him. He and Deji attended the same church and he was a regular visitor at the Ola-Daniel's.       "All right then, but let him know I'd like to see him as soon as possible. Now about your meeting this morning," Feyi's paused and glanced towards Teni. "Sorry, Teni, I just need to discuss a few things with Deji."       Teni assured him it was okay and continued with her breakfast. She knew Deji was the one most primed to take over their dad's company than Feyi was. Feyi didn't seem to mind. She had told Teni she was planning to work at Vantres, the business her dad owned because it was expected of her and not because she had any burning ambition to run a coporation.      "Feyi said you girls are going to the mainland today for some shopping?" Feyi's dad asked after Deji had left.

     "Yes, we are" Teni helped herself to another slice of toast "I’ve been having a relaxing time. I just hope I'll be able to get back into work mode after all this."     "Everyone needs a break once in a while." He smiled as he looked at her. "I know you said it's been a while since you visited Nigeria but do you still have any family over here?"     Teni shook her head "Not really or at least not anyone that can be called close family. My mum didn't visit much. We kind of knew our Caribbean relatives more than the Nigerian ones."     "Yeah...sometimes parents determine which side the kids tilt towards." He took a sip of his coffee "But at least your mum gave you a Nigerian name so that's some form of identity with us."     "It is and she insisted I spelt it correctly all the time" She grinned "I used to try to spell it with a double 'N' and a 'Y' when I was in secondary school but she was having none of it."    He smiled back at her. "Why would you want to spell it like that anyway?"    "I thought it sounded funkier."     He laughed. "Teniayo is a lovely name." He said pronuncing the full version of her name. "That was the name of my late twin sister."     "Feyi told me." She had teased Teni that that was probably why her dad liked Teni so much.  "She died before Feyi and Deji were born. In fact If I calculate right, she died about a year and three months before you were born because you are twelve months older than Feyi, aren't you?"   "Whoa! Can't quite follow the math but yes, I am about that much older than Feyi."   He smiled. "Having a first degree in maths does have its benefits but certain dates still get engraved in one's memory nevertheless."      Teni could identify with that. She would never forget the day her mum was diagnoed with cancer of the peritoneum, the day she died or the days preceding or following them either. She was about to ask him some questions about his late twin sister when Feyi came into the room.   "Hi dad!" She bent and kissed her dad's cheek and then grinned at Teni "I was faster than you expected, right?"   "Yeah, you’re getting better." Feyi had still been in bed when she had popped into her room a few minutes earlier and Teni had now learnt she also took her time to dress up so had not been expecting her downstairs anytime soon.  "Maybe a day out shopping was the magic word?" Her dad teased.   "Part of it but we’re not just going shopping today." Teni said as she helped herself to some scones, bacon and eggs "We'll be popping in to see mum as well and probably wind up at your office. Teni was saying she wanted to see the office and what Vantres is all about."   "Great. It will be nice to see you girls there. I was talking with Akeem Kadiri the other day and he was happy about the idea of you girls working at Kadiri holdings if you wanted to." He turned to Teni "Akeem is a family friend of ours. Deji did a year at one of his companies before he joined me at Vantres."      Teni listened as he told her more about Akeem Kadiri and Kadiri holdings which he referred to as KH. The guy was some sort of maverick business man that had achieved a lot in the Telecomms business.    "We’re still attending the dinner at his place in a few weeks time, aren't we?" Feyi asked her dad. He nodded and she turned towards Teni "His Company won the best Telecomms award third year running and he is having some sort of dinner party to celebrate." She explained to Teni "I'm sure it's going to be a really cool affair and who knows who one can meet?" She winked at Teni.   "I thought you had already met someone." Her dad cut in drily "Or who did you say that young man you introduced to me the other day was?"  "Well, he's not officially said anything yet so maybe coming along with us for the party and seeing how hot I am may just speed things up a bit!"   Her dad raised his brows. "Really? And who's getting him an invite?"   Feyi grinned "My dad, of course!"      Teni smiled as she watched both of them. She was already learning how close Feyi and her dad was during her one month stay at the Ola-Daniels. They pretty much joked about like friends and both Feyi and her twin brother, Deji were very free with him. They reminded her of the relationship Brendan and her had with their dad. She had also met Feyi's mum and thought her such a very nice person. She had almost gaped at Teni when Feyi introduced her to her. Feyi had laughed delightedly at the expression on her mum's face.   "I told you she was gorgeous, mum!" Feyi had teased, still laughing at the surprise on her mum's face.  "Indeed she is." Her mum had replied. "And obviously completely unaware of it too." She added, still looking at Teni's embarrassed face.    Teni had noticed that Feyi's mum had kept casting little side glances at her during that first visit.   'You guys never met my mum.' Teni had thought to herself.'Now that was someone really beautiful.'      Although she had always been told she was an exact replica of her mum at her age, she had never really believed that. To her, her mum was the epitome of beauty, both within and without and she didn't think she could ever attain that. Her mum had just had such depth, an inner strength of character that made her rise above anything petty. She had also had such a giving nature and the charities that she had faithfully worked with and helped raise funds for over the years had all turned up at her funeral to pay moving tributes to the kind of woman she was.      That strength of character had seemed even greater when she got more religious during that last year before her death and Teni had struggled to understand how she was able to retain it even during those terrible months when the cancer had ravaged her body.     She shrugged off her thoughts and forced herself to return back to the conversation between Feyi and her dad. Focus on the positives and the good times had been her mum's constant admonition to them when she took ill and Teni was going to do just that.



  "Now that Banji guy is what I call ultra cool!" Pamela, Feyi's friend sighed dramatically. "The guy is so fine!"   "And of course, miss Richie rich Feyi Ola-Daniels here has to be the one to snag him up." Nicole added as she stretched languidly on the lounger. "He practically ignored us and went straight to her." She rolled her eyes "Now that’s what I call so unfair!"      They had all gone out for a spot of shopping and were relaxing by the poolside at the Ola-Daniels. Teni looked longingly at the cool inviting water. The reflection on the sun made the surface appear glittery and inviting. She was certainly going to have a dip later.  "Was he supposed to fancy all of us at the same time?" Feyi quipped. "But not to worry, every girl's got her man. Some hot guys are going to be hounding you girls soon."  Nicole arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow "Yeah, I guess you can start handing out advice now, especially now that you've gone and caught the first decent guy I've seen in weeks." She grimaced "Seriously, girls, I can't wait to start dating properly again. It's been like three whole months I broke up with Alex and I'm yet to find a decent guy!" She scrunched her pretty face. "I'm going to have to put out an advert very soon."  Feyi grinned "I can just imagine how it would read, desperate chick looking for a hot man...." She paused. "Eh.....what are the specs you looking for?"  Nicole shrugged "You know me, I'm not fussy. Tall, dark, with a fine face of course." A dreamy expression crossed her face as she got more into her description "Rippling abs, six or maybe eight packs. Good dress sense, cool manners, and some coins in his pockets...."   "And you're not fussy?" Feyi laughed.  "Nope. That's what every girl really wants."  Pamela giggled. "I like the description but I like them a little older too. Any guy I date has to be at least five years older than me. I like being fussed over and those sort of guys know how to treat a girl right."  "Most older men may have been married before or have a baby mamma somewhere, don't you think?" Feyi said.  Pamela smirked. "There are ways to handle things like that. Baby mamma or not, I'll still have the guy eating out of my hand."    Nicole's lips curled cynically. "One'd have thought that history would have taught some people a few lessons but like they say, some people never learn."      Teni had heard that Pamela's mum had been a mistress or second wife as they called it over here to some wealthy man and had all the fine trappings until her dad passed away some years earlier. He had had a falling out with Nicole's mum before his demise and because of it, had left most of his wealth to his legal wife and kids. Feyi said that had made Pamela very bitter because it affected the lifestyle she was used to. Feyi's dad had even had to take over her school fees at some point and paid her way through University.  "I'll never allow myself to be cut out like my mum, she had her head in the clouds. I’m smarter than that."   "If you say so. But like I was saying, I love 'em muscles and a guy with a nice build gets to me anyday." She cast a sly glance at Feyi. "By the way, I saw that Tade guy the other day, now that's another guy I could so like, maybe I should....."   "He'll never look at a Jezebel like you." Feyi cut in a little abruptly. "Tade only dates 'saved girls' anyway."  Nicole smiled. "You know I used to think you liked that guy, and it's such a pity he never took any notice of you...." She shook her head in mock sympathy. "That's one guy that's been immune to little miss Richie Rich."   Teni tossed her hair. "I don't know what you are on about but I'm with Banji and I 'm more than satisfied."   Nicole just shot a mocking look at her before glancing over at Teni who had not joined the conversation. "What kind of guys do you like, Teni?"  Teni shrugged. "Well, I guess every one wants someone attractive but I'd get easily bored with a guy if he was just all about looks."   "But he shouldn't be too serious either." Pamela said. "The serious ones have all sorts of expectations about what a girl should be or not be. Remember Chris, girls?" She asked Feyi and Nicole and they both made disgusted faces. "We were classmates at Uni and I dated him briefly but the guy was so serious, he had made a set of plans for himself for the next five years and he wanted to draw up a list for me too." She wrinkled her nose distatefully. "He wanted to suffocate me. I discarded him as fast as I could."   Nicole laughed throatily. "He was already thinking you were just an airhead anyway!" She looked over at Feyi. "But no guy would let this babe walk away from him, not when he knows what he can gain by being affiliated to the great Ola-Daniels family."   "But you just said Tade never took any notice of me." Feyi said drily. "I guess he's the exception to your theory, right?"  "That's because of his weird beliefs." Nicole eyes glittered a little maliciously at Feyi. "Banji definitely ain't walking away. He must know he's onto gold by now."   "Are you saying guys fancy her because of her surname or what?" Pamela asked. "Sorry, I don't agree because my girl here is one hot chick!"   "The name definitely helps." Nicole maintained. "Now, if your dad owned one of the big companies around and your uncle was the governor of Lagos state, how many guys do you think you'll have eating out of your hand?"   Pamela shook her head at Nicole. "Feyi, don't even pay attention to Nicole. She's just green that Banji didn't go for her first."   "Darn right, I am." Nicole laughed. "The guy saw me first, chatted with me first but still went after Feyi so yes; I'm really green with envy."      Teni just listened to them talk. She was still getting used to Feyi's friends. Feyi told her they had all been friends since they were at secondary school and were supposedly close but somehow she just couldn't  warm up to them. Pamela was okay but Nicole just rubbed her the wrong way. She could also not shake the feeling that she was envious of Feyi. Oh, she smiled when she made subtle references to Feyi's father’s wealth or connections but Teni got the feeling it went deeper than that. Nicole appeared like someone who felt she always had to be the richest or prettiest girl in any group she belonged to.   "So seriously, you mean you’re really not getting us invites to the KH dinner party?" Pamela was asking Feyi.  Feyi sighed. "Unfortunately dad can only ask for so many invites and Deji, Teni, Banji, and I are going with him already."  Nicole took a sip out of the tall glass of fruit punch she had by her side "We've been displaced." Her eyes flicked over Teni. Her lips were smiling but her eyes had a cold mocking glint in them. "Displaced by Feyi's boyfriend and her new girl from UK."

     Teni dropped the groceries in the car boot, got behind the wheel and reversed out of the car park of the shopping mall. It was just perfect how things were working out. Feyi had just called Teni that she was not going to be home for some time yet.      It was Feyi and Deji's birthday the next day and Teni knew how much she liked Lasagne and wanted to surprise her with the dish and throw in a cake as well. Teni had been wondering how she was going to sneak out for the shopping without Feyi offering to go along with her when Feyi had told her she needed to fill out a prescription for her mum in Victoria Island and also run some other errands for her.      Teni could barely hide her excitement at the opportunity to dash to the shops and get things underway before she came back. She was so looking forward to making a nice meal for the family she had begun to think of as her adoptive family. They had done much more than she could imagine to make her welcome in the five weeks she had been with them that it would be an absolute pleasure to give something back, little though it was. Lasagne and carrot cake was something she could make with her eyes closed and she could even dare the Ola-Daniels's terrific cook, Peter to a contest over them.       She was lost in her thoughts as she got to a mini roundabout and without thinking, took the left turning. She realised in a split second that she was on the wrong side of the road and at the same time saw an oncoming car heading straight towards her; she veered wildly towards the right as she tried to avoid the car, her car skidded and she almost lost control. Heart racing wildly, she wrestled with the steering wheel as she tried hard not to apply her brakes too sharply but she knew her efforts were not going to be enough. But just as she almost gave up hope, the driver of the other car by some miracle managed to swerve towards the left and then pulled up sharply stopping just inches before the two cars collided.     Breathing heavily, Teni stopped the car and then realised she was still in the middle of the road, other cars had slowed down around them, thankfully It was not the typical busy Lagos road otherwise it may have been a different story and she would have caused multiple car crashes. She saw the the driver of the other car indicating to her to pull over to the other side of the road and out of the way of traffic.      She managed to drive a little way off the roundabout and pulled up by the side of the road, she turned off the ignition with trembling hands. She was still shaking all over, her heart racing at the near collision and what may have been. She took in gulps of air as she saw the driver of the other car striding towards her. She got out of the car shakily.  "Probably going to have a go at me." Teni thought to herself as she tried to steady her breathing. She had heard Nigerians could get quite irate when provoked and in this case, she deserved whatever she got.  "Are you okay?" The man asked as he got to where she was.  She was still panting and her legs felt slightly unsteady as she leaned against her car "I...I 'm really sorry. It was my fault, please do pardon me."  "I think you should sit down." The man's brows furrowed in a concerned frown as he looked at her still trembling form.  "I 'm fine." She shuddered to think why could have happened. Never mind what Phillip had told her, she definitely needed more lessons. Her driving was still not okay if she ran the risks of causing accidents  "Are you all right?" She asked the man, finally looking at his face fully.  "I think so." He replied, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He continued looking at her as if trying to make sense of what had just happened "You were driving on the wrong side of the road." He said quietly.   "I know and I' m really sorry." Teni said again, her apology sounded lame, even to her own ears. She knew then why had she done it?  The man shrugged "It's okay, thankfully, there's been no damage."  "Yeah." She glanced towards his black BMW four wheel drive. She was thankful that she had not collided with it. She would have hated having to give any problems to Feyi or uncle Kola. They were already nice enough without her giving them any extra bills.     The man looked like he was going to about to say something but appeared to change his mind, there was still a look of concern on his face as he looked at her. He must probably think I 'm a loony, Teni thought to herself, a loony on a suicide mission! Just as she was about to apologise again, his phone rang.   "Sorry I need to take this call." He said, holding up his hand before connecting the call.      She heard him apologising to someone about being late, she felt so guilty at what had happened and the obvious delay she had caused to his journey. He appeared to be coming from or going to the gym or something physical anyway. He was a tall guy with a lithe frame that showed he either had an active lifestyle or worked out a lot. His knee length chinos shorts revealing strong athletic looking legs and his V- necked tank top stretched tautly over his broad chest clearly defining the outline of his firm abdomen and chest.      She looked away quickly as she heard him rounding up his call. She didn't want him thinking she was checking him out on top of almost crashing into him.  "I think I’ll be on my way now." She told him when he had disconnected his call.   "Are you sure you are up to it? He asked, still looking a little concerned.  "I’ll be fine." Teni replied "Once again, I 'm really sorry." "Hey, quit apologising." The man said smiling in a slow attractive way as his eyes roamed over her face. Teni found herself looking back at him too. He had a rugged raw appeal about him. The chiseled attractive face, well defined cheekbones, strong jaw and those thick lashed eyes and brows made him someone that Feyi would refer to as a hottie.  "Like I said before, no damage done." He shrugged slightly "Well, if you are sure you are okay....I’ll be off too, you take care." He held up his hand in a slight salute as he moved off.     Yeah, take care and drive on the right side of the road, Teni added wryly to herself as she got into her car and drove off. She was still a bit shaken at what had almost happened. Such a nice guy though, she noticed he had waited in his car until she pulled away before driving off himself.     About ten minutes later, she looked in her rear mirror and noticed what she thought was the man's BMW behind her. She looked again to confirm and was sure that was certainly his car. She wondered if he lived in the same area as the Ola-Daniels.      He flashed his car indicator lights at her when she turned off into her street which meant he was aware that she was the one in front of him as well. She was a little puzzled. Had he deliberately followed her until he was sure she would get home safely? She found that difficult to believe. He couldn't be that gentlemanly, especially not when she had almost crashed into him! Nah! Maybe he had business doing in that area. 







© Osaradeyemi.blogspot 2013

All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from osaradeyemi.blogspot.