Bamboo and Lace (28 page)

“I'll have a hamburger, please.”

“How would you like it done?”

Lily blinked.

“Try medium, Lily,” Gabe helped her out.

“Medium, please.”

“And would you like cheese on that?”

After only a moment's hesitation this time, she managed, “Yes, please.” When the woman moved from their table, Lily admitted in a low voice, “I didn't know I could have it with cheese.”

“Have you not had a hamburger?” Bailey asked, trying to think if they had grilled out since Lily arrived.

“I don't think so. Will I like it?”

“I think you will. What did you get to drink?”

“I have water,” Lily said when she saw that nothing else had been delivered to her.

“We need to get the waitress back, Lily. You need to have a milk shake with your hamburger.”

“Bailey?” Lily made herself say.

“Yes?”

“I need to look at my money and make sure I can afford a milk shake.”

The only people at the table not to protest the idea of Lily paying for her meal were under the age of six. Lily listened to the chorus of arguments without comment. She sat very still until Gabe put a hand on her arm.

“Is there some reason you wanted to pay for your meal?”

“I think Jeff would not wish me to always be a burden to you.”

“What if you're not a burden to me? I did invite everyone out to lunch,” Gabe reminded her.

Lily had no comment for that.

“Here are the flavors,” Ashton said, reaching for the menu again and pointing to the right spot.

Just reading the selection made Lily's mouth water. When Evan called the waitress back, the novice diner ordered without further comment.

Lily rode home with Evan and Bailey. Peter was in the back with her and they had been talking, but now it was quiet and Evan's voice came from the front. Lily tried not to listen, but it was almost impossible.

“Zulu called when you were out,” he said, referring to one of the elders at church. Evan was preparing to become an elder and had been involved in a rather delicate matter with a certain family at the church.

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Things have come to a head with Ginny.”

Bailey sighed in irritation. “Honestly, Evan, the woman wants to homeschool her kids! I don't think it's that great of an idea in her situation, but if she wants to, what's the big deal? You and I have even talked about it for Pete and CeCe.”

“Well, you put your finger on it.”

“On what?”

“The crux of the matter: We've talked about it.”

Bailey could only stare at her husband.

“Ginny is the problem, Bailey,” Evan said gently, “not the homeschooling issue. At this point it's not about her wisdom on whether or not she should do this. It's about how tightly she's holding onto the entire issue. She won't even dialogue over it. She's made up her mind and feels that's the end of it.”

From the back, Lily heard no more. It was as if Evan had been describing her father. How many things did Owen Walsh hold onto too tightly? Lily knew she would never be able to count them all. And as far as dialoguing on an issue, well, that just didn't happen. Lily had been raised to accept that his word was law, and his decisions were not open for discussion, especially where his daughter was concerned.

Lily's thoughts raced wildly in the time it took to get home. She desperately wished she could talk to Jeff. She felt as if she had just gained a new understanding of her father. Jeff had offered to speak to her father on her behalf, and Lily now saw that this is what she would want him to say:
Can we please just talk about things, Father? Can we just do that much?

Lily was so eager to get home and write to Jeff that the rest of the trip was made in a blur.

When Evan came to the bedroom that night, he found a surprise on his pillow. Bailey was still in the bathroom, so for a moment he sat and simply held the newborn-size disposable diaper she had set on his pillow, his head shaking in wonder.

Even though Celia was still young, he realized he had forgotten just how tiny a new baby could be. He unfolded the diaper and smiled.

“You found it,” Bailey said as she joined him on the bed. She sat close and put her chin on his shoulder.

“Can you believe this size?”

“Isn't it cute? I knew it was a bit premature, but I'm so excited.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good. I'm tired after today's activities, but all in all, I'm in good shape.”

“Wang said he was coming to cook dinner tomorrow night.”

“Yes, he did! I had forgotten about that.”

“Did you also forget that next week we go to your mom's? She'll keep the kids, which means you can come home and lie around.”

“Well now, I can't miss with that plan.”

Evan looked into her eyes. “You're going to be more tired this time—you already are. So you have to take your rest when you can get it.”

“I'm not more tired!” she protested.

“You're a bit on the short-tempered side.”

Bailey sat up, suddenly very alert.

“Am I really?”

“Yes. It's slight and mostly with the kids.”

Even though she looked upset, Bailey said, “Thank you for telling me. I'll have to talk to them about it and apologize.” She then sat thinking and finally added, “But I don't feel tired.”

Evan's brows rose before he looked at his watch. “I followed you up here ten minutes ago when you said you were going to bed, and you're already in your nightgown. It's not even 10:00.”

Bailey looked at the bedroom clock. It read 9:54.

“Oh.”

Evan smiled.

“But if you're not tired…” he said, letting the sentence hang.

Bailey smiled in return and hugged his arm with both of her arms.

Still sitting on the side of the bed, Evan lay back, taking his wife gently with him.

“I've made a poor assumption where you're concerned, Lily,” Gabe confessed as they sat on the sofas by the television in the living room. Lily had stayed up to watch the 10:00 news with Ashton and Gabe, but now Ashton had gone to bed.

“How did you do that?”

“When Evan asked you about your home today, I learned two things. I thought because I was so close to Jeff that I knew most everything, and I don't. And then I thought that discussing Kashien would only make you feel worse, but I could see how pleased you were to talk about it. So for that, I'm sorry.”

“Thank you, Gabe, but I haven't been feeling left out at all.”

“That's good to hear. Now before I turn in, I do need to check with you on golfing, and I would request that you not answer too fast.”

“Okay.”

“Would you like me to show you how to golf tomorrow, or is there something else you would rather do?”

Lily kept her mouth shut but realized that she still wasn't doing what he had instructed. She had the answer already settled in her mind, but he had told her to think. Lily tried to do that swiftly: Bailey had not said anything about her plans. Wang was coming to cook that evening, but they would certainly be done golfing by then. Or would they?

Knowing she had done as Gabe had asked, Lily actually smiled a little before answering.

“Wang is coming to make dinner tomorrow night, and I rather hoped to watch him. Would we be done before he arrives?”

“Yes. We would go in the morning before it gets too warm.”

“Then I would like to golf very much tomorrow.”

Gabe couldn't help but smile at her. “Okay,” he said quietly, his heart filling with more new emotions. “It's a plan. They open at 7:00, so I'll call first thing and get a tee time.”

Lily was instantly at sea. She nodded but couldn't think why they would need to drink tea before they golfed. It must be some strange sort of tradition, but it sounded like something you would do in England, not Hawaii.

The two went back to watching the news. Lily was intent on an international story when a tiny scrap of knowledge emerged from the back of her mind, and she suddenly understood Gabe.

“You start a golf game by teeing off, don't you?”

“That's right. And since you need to golf in groups of two or four, you have to schedule a time so everyone is not at the same spot at the same time.”

Again Lily smiled, feeling quite pleased that she had figured it out.

Gabe stood, thinking that if he stayed near her any longer he would never fall asleep.

“I'll see you in the morning.”

“Okay. Thanks for everything, Gabe.”

“You're welcome. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Lily did watch a little more of the news, but she was distracted. She thought that Gabe Kapaia might be the kindest man she had ever known.

Chapter Sixteen

“It's not a very large ball, is it?” Lily asked as she stood with Gabe in the practice area at the golf course, studying the golf ball in her hand. They had gone ahead of their 8:15 tee time in order to practice.

“No, it's not.”

“And the whole point is to get it into the hole with as few hits as possible.”

“Correct.”

“How many other games have a low scoring system versus a high scoring system?”

“Let me see.” Gabe thought a moment before continuing, “In cross-country your score is your placement at the finish line, so you want to finish as soon as possible because all of the scores are added up.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are seven men or women to the team and the top five runners' places are added up for the team score. So if your team finishes third, seventh, tenth, fourteenth, and nineteenth, all those numbers get added together for a team score of 53. The team with the lowest number wins.”

This was met by one of Lily's silent “ohs,” something Gabe never tired of seeing. He was also finding it very distracting of late.

“Okay.” Gabe knew he'd better stick to business. “Let's work on your grip.”