Bamboo and Lace (24 page)

It was luau night at the cove. The children had been talking about it all day, and because Lily had never been to a luau or visited the cove, she was excited too. Guests started arriving at 4:00, and by 4:30 everyone was headed toward a secluded rocky area of beach, each person laden with items for the ensuing feast.

To Lily's surprise, Ashton was already there, tending the pig that was roasting on a spit. She had seen the barbecue pit and picnic area that was closer to the cottages, but this area, she learned, was private, reserved for the family and friends. And the meal was delicious. Lily didn't think she would ever get used to tasting new dishes that she thought could melt in her mouth.

After blankets were spread out, Lily sat with Pastor Harris Stringer, his wife, Barb, and their youngest son, along with Ashton and the McFarland family, a couple fairly new to the church who had a six-month-old baby.

“Let's have a sharing time,” Ashton suggested when most folks were almost finished eating. “And then maybe we can sing a little.”

“What'll we share?” Mrs. Stringer asked.

“I think it would be fun to hear how the different couples in the group met and fell in love.”

Gabe, who had been working on the last of his fruit salad, looked up at his brother. Nearly everyone was teasing Ashton about having romance on the brain because he was missing Deanne, but he only smiled. Gabe, on the other hand, was not saying a thing. His eyes were trained on his brother, who eventually looked in his direction, his expression too innocent to be real.

From there Gabe looked to Evan. He too looked much too nonchalant, and Gabe knew he had been had. It looked to him as though these two were going to give Wang Ho a run for his money.

“Harris,” Evan spoke up in an effort to dodge Gabe's perceptive eyes, “why don't you start?”

“All right. Well, as most of you know, I'm originally from Texas.”

Everyone smiled over this since the man still had a slight twang to his voice.

“I did my seminary training down there. That's where Barb and I met. Barb's father was one of my instructors, and I needed his help on a special project he had given me in my senior year. I went to his home, and who should answer the door but this lovely young woman.”

“Barb,” some in the group guessed.

Harris and Barb Stringer exchanged smiles.

“As a matter of fact,” the pastor went on, “it was Barb's sister, Linda. Not until I had walked into the living room and saw a woman who was even prettier than the first did I meet Barb. To put it mildly, I was distracted. I heard almost nothing my instructor said, and when I look back on it now, I know for a fact that he had me figured out.”

Everyone was smiling in delight as Harris told his story, Lily included. Gabe was trying to listen, but his eyes kept straying to Lily's face, which was wreathed in soft smiles.

Selfish as it is, Lord, I don't want to suddenly find myself in love alone,
Gabe's heart prayed.
I don't know what to do with these feelings I'm starting to have, and I'm filled with so many fears. What if I get close to Lily, but her feelings for me never get strong? Or I get close and she falls for me, but I realize she's not the one? I can't stand the thought of her being hurt.

“After I made a fool of myself for almost an hour,” Harris continued, and Gabe made himself listen, “Barb's father took pity on me and asked her to drive me back to my dorm. I asked if she was free to attend a lecture with me the next week, and she said yes. I can't tell you who spoke or what was said at the meeting, but Barb and I were engaged to be married by the time I graduated.”

Everyone clapped in delight as the Stringers leaned close for a moment and kissed. Ashton then called on his brother-in-law.

“I think everyone knows our story,” Evan protested.

“Lily doesn't,” Gabe put in, working to look as innocent as his family. His and Evan's eyes met for a moment, and the older man had to fight laughter as he began.

“Well, okay,” Evan said, even as his eyes swung to his mate. “Be sure and fill in the parts I miss.”

“All right.”

“I was finishing up college when I decided to get a weekend job in case nothing panned out right after I graduated. Since we lived out in this area and I had heard there was an opening, I applied at the Little Bay. The manager was out, so Wang interviewed me, and to my surprise he never once asked me if I had any expertise in restaurant work. He barely glanced at my application, and we spent the whole time talking about my schooling, where I had grown up, what church I went to, and what my life's goals were.

“Wang was charming, and because he ended up giving me the job, I thought little of it for a long time. Later I realized I had been interviewed for a much different job.”

Everyone laughed as Bailey threw a paper cup at her spouse. Not deterred, Evan only caught it and kept on.

“I remember Wang kept asking me if I was a person who would stick with something. I told him I thought I was, but he kept questioning me in different ways. Well, anyway, it wasn't a month after I began that I discovered what he meant. Each weekend this beautiful girl came to help in the kitchen, and every single guy in the restaurant fell apart. We forgot orders, dropped things, and in general, made fools of ourselves. We all knew she lived at the resort, but she was so shy and quiet that we couldn't get ten words out of her—not even her last name.”

Evan turned to smile at Bailey, who was shaking her head at him.

“I think maybe I should have told this story,” Bailey started. “I don't remember it quite that way.”

“Like I was saying,” Evan jumped back in, much to everyone's amusement, “this beautiful girl kept coming in. Prior to that I had never known the meaning of the word ‘perseverance.' I did everything in my power to get her to talk to me, but nothing worked. Then Wang, foxy old matchmaker that he is, deliberately put us together to clean out the big cooler. I was supposed to be waiting tables—they were even shorthanded—but I was in the cooler with the girl of my dreams for two hours.” Evan gave a dramatic sigh that had everyone laughing again. “Somewhere along the line I finally got permission to see her outside of work.”

Evan looked at his wife again.

“I didn't find out until much later that she liked me all along.”

This story was also greeted by cheers and clapping before the McFarlands were asked to share. Ashton ended the topic with his story about Deanne, and by then everyone realized that a sing-along was not going to work. Darkness was falling, and they still had the fire going, but the children were beginning to droop. As a group they returned to the house, remains of the meal in hand. Spirits were still high for the adults, but sleepy little ones could not be ignored. The family saw everyone to the door, and when they got back inside, Lily had already started on the dishes. Since Evan and Bailey needed to put the kids to bed, the boys helped Lily in the kitchen.

“That was fun,” she said, a smile on her face, her arms elbow-deep in suds.

Ashton was on the verge of telling her she might have her own story one day, but something stopped him. In that instant he realized he didn't know Lily all that well. His heart had been saddened over the way she had been so painfully uncomfortable around them when she first arrived, and at the beginning he had done everything in his power not to make it worse for her. Lately he teased her and she always laughed, but this was different. This was a matter of the heart.

“How did your parents meet, Lily?” Ashton, having a brainstorm, asked as he turned to watch her face.

Lily smiled. “In an airplane. My father was already living in Kashien, and on one of his trips back to the States, he and my mother sat next to each other on a flight from California. He had never planned to marry, but by the time they landed, he couldn't stop thinking about her.”

“How long before they were married?”

“Only three months.”

“And where were your parents originally from?”

“My father was born in Chicago, but he was placed in an orphanage before he was a week old. My mother's family was from the South, New Orleans, but when she came to Christ, her family wanted nothing to do with her. She tried writing and being in touch with them her entire life, but they never responded. They didn't reply even when my father wrote to tell them she had died.”

“How did she die?” Ashton wished to know; Gabe could have told him but stayed quiet.

“Breast cancer. My father was ready for us to return to the States, even though we wouldn't have had a home. But by the time they discovered the cancer, it had started to spread all through her. We went back to the village and lived as normally as possible until she could no longer function. Then we made her as comfortable as we could until she died.”

“How old were you?”

“I was 12 and Jeff was 16.”

The men were silent after this, and Lily glanced at them, wondering if maybe she had said too much.

“And you said they were both believers when they met?” This also came from Ashton.

“Yes. My father had already put together a small church, and the village was coming to respect him. When he told my mother about the work he was doing, she got very excited. That was another reason he was so drawn to her.”

The threesome fell quiet then, each with his or her own thoughts. Lily's mind was transported back to a time when she lay in her mother's bed and heard about life before she was born. Ashton's mind was on Gabe, and Gabe was thinking of Lily.

“So tell me,” Gabe began, “why didn't you feel you could tell Evan and Peter that the skating wasn't going well?”

Lily looked up to find they were alone. She didn't know when Ashton had exited the room, but Gabe was watching her, one hip leaned against the counter as though he had all the time in the world.

For a few minutes, Lily's eyes went back to the sink. The dishes were all washed, but she took her time washing the suds down the drain.

“I think there were a few reasons,” she began, eyes still on her work. “I wanted to try my hardest, and I didn't want to disappoint Peter.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes, but I'm not sure how to put it.”

“Please try.”

Lily glanced at him and then away.

“You've all taken your time and energy to help me. I'm not going to be foolish and tell myself that I owe you for the rest of my life or anything like that, but the least I can do is be appreciative of your efforts.”

“Even when you don't like something or you're being hurt?”

Her voice matter-of-fact, Lily said, “Yes, even then.”

“If you can, I want you to do something for me tomorrow, Lily.”

“All right.”

“I want you to come to me and complain.”

“Complain?”

“Yes.”

“About what?”

“About something you don't like.”

She frowned in confusion but still asked, “What if there isn't anything?”

Gabe thought about this before saying, “Will you please try this instead: Complain about something from today.”

Lily stared at him. Was he serious? She looked for some sign of teasing and saw none. Her mind cast about for something to say, but she was too surprised.

“Was there any sand on your plate or in your food at dinner tonight?” Gabe prompted. “Did you get tired of sitting with your legs to one side for so long? Did you like the juice Bailey served at breakfast this morning, or did you just make yourself drink it? Did the in-line skates kill your feet because they were too small?”

This all asked, Gabe kept watching her. He wasn't sure he was going about this the right way, but he knew they had to start somewhere.

“May I ask you something?” Lily sounded breathless and confused, but Gabe tried to ignore it.

“Yes.”

“Why would you want me to be unthankful and complain about such small matters?”

“Because you need someone you can talk to. You need someone you can be completely truthful with, instead of always being forced to hide your opinion for fear of bothering or hurting someone else.”

Lily looked completely shaken. How he had known that no complaining or grumbling whatsoever was allowed in her father's home she did not know, but this was so unsettling that she could barely think. In fact, it was so much so that she almost turned from Gabe and walked across the room.

“Go ahead,” Gabe instructed gently. “You can walk away from me if you like.”

Lily had all she could do to keep her mouth closed.

“But that would be rude.”

“Not to me. If you're upset and need to move around, that's perfectly fine. Or if you want to tell me that you don't wish to discuss this right now, I'll drop it on the spot and ask you about it later.”

The tone of his voice, the look in his eyes—had anyone ever shown her such compassion? Lily actually felt as if she could cry. She didn't. Instead she turned back to the sink, her eyes on nothing.

“Is this a bad time?” Bailey suddenly said from the door.

“Actually, it is, Bailey. Thank you,” Gabe said as she gave a little wave and slipped out the door. He turned back to see that Lily was staring at him in horror.

“What if she needed something?” Lily asked, thinking this man had lost his mind. “This is her kitchen.”

“You're important too.”

At first Lily didn't comprehend his words. She heard them, but they were said so plainly and simply that Lily didn't at first catch on. When she did understand his meaning, she couldn't take her eyes from the man across from her.

At last she admitted, “I don't have a single argument in my head.”

Gabe's gaze grew very tender.

“But you can argue with me, Lily. I want you to know that.”

Lily looked at a complete loss and needed to blink away the moisture that threatened to fill her eyes. She took a moment to compose herself and found that she had a question after all.