Bamboo and Lace (35 page)

Gloria nearly shot in from the kitchen. It was a family joke how much she enjoyed gifts and her own birthday in particular, and Carson's loud tone had worked.

“An early gift?” she asked the adorable children who were holding it for her.

“Here, Grandma! Open it.”

“Okay. Can you help me?” Gloria invited when she'd sat with the present in her lap.

“Mama's a baby,” Celia chose to announce just then.

“What's that?” Gloria asked, not looking at her but trying to help Peter with the ribbon. A moment later she withdrew a bib, rattle, teething ring, and soft cloth baby book.

The family that was gathered watched as Bailey's mother looked down at Celia—just realizing what she'd said—back to the baby gifts in the box, and then up to her daughter.

“Oh, Bailey,” Gloria said on a laugh as she came forward to hug her daughter. “When are you due?”

“It looks like June.”

“And how are you feeling?”

“Other than being tired, I'm fine.” Bailey lowered her voice and added, “I'm looking forward to having the kids stay with you.”

“Well, then we agree on that. You can ask Carson if it's all I've talked about for weeks.”

Mother and daughter hugged again, and Bailey thought, not for the first time, how wonderful a grandmother her mother had turned out to be.

Lily had stowed her things quite a while before, but she still lingered in the room assigned to her. In some ways, the resort's view of the ocean was better, but this was different, and thus fascinating. Lily watched a mother with two small children and then a couple who held hands and walked with heads close. She could see several runners, some running shoeless in the surf. Lily had brought her running shoes and shorts, but she didn't know if it would be appropriate to head out or not.

Now that's just what Gabe is talking about, Lily,
she thought to herself.
You are so afraid of doing the wrong thing that you do nothing. You're the only one who knows what you're interested in, so the least you can do is ask someone's opinion on the subject.

But even after this pep talk she sat still, not wanting to tell anyone what she was thinking. She was still sitting quietly when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” she called from her seat by the window.

“Hello,” Bailey said as she stuck her head around the corner. “Can CeCe and I visit?”

“Please do.”

The door was opened and Celia ran for Lily, climbing into her lap as fast as she could maneuver.

“Mama's having babies!”

“Mama's having a baby?”

Celia nodded so fast that it looked as though she made herself dizzy.

“So you're going to be a big sister?”

Celia nodded this time, but it was far slower, her brow drawn in puzzlement. She finally turned to her mother.

“Lilyee says I'm big.”

Bailey only laughed and then tried to explain. She was still speaking to her daughter when she looked up to see Lily looking back out the window, her eyes huge. Bailey followed her gaze and found herself thankful that it had first happened with just her and not when the men were present.

A woman was on the beach, and she had just slipped out of her cover-up to reveal a swimsuit of minuscule proportions. A two-piece outfit, it was little more than strings in the back with tiny scraps of fabric in the front. It wasn't unusual to see these types of suits on the beach at the resort, but of course the resort had been empty for Lily's visit.

Bailey's gaze now shifted to Lily, who had turned red in embarrassment.

“Haven't you ever seen a swimsuit like that, Lily?”

“No,” she whispered. “Is she not ashamed?”

“Evidently not.”

“I'm embarrassed for her.”

“I think you might have seen something similar to that at the resort before now if we had guests.”

Lily turned to Bailey with surprised eyes.

“Your guests dress like that?”

“Yes and no. We make it very clear that ours is a family atmosphere, so rarely does anyone come to the pool like that, but some couples want to swim only on the beach, and at times the women, and even the men, can be very immodest.”

“So you're used to it?”

“No, I've never grown accustomed to it, and we talk to the kids about modesty issues whenever the time seems right. But these events go with the job, I'm afraid.”

Lily nodded and glanced once more to the beach. The woman was lying down now, so her nudity wasn't as visible. Lily prayed for her, and then for her own attitude, finding it would be very easy to forget that this woman was loved by God.

“CeCe and I actually came with a mission, Lily,” Bailey said. “We're having a snack in the kitchen and wondered if you were hungry.”

“I am, thank you. Are you eating right now?”

“Yes. Come join us.”

The ladies made their way inside and found Gloria serving up food to Ashton and Peter.

“Here they are,” she said as the threesome approached. “Just in time for cheese and crackers. Have a seat, Lily, and tell me what you would like to drink.”

“Oh, anything is fine, Mrs. Hana.”

“Please call me Gloria. How about some juice?”

“Thank you.”

“I've been making plans,” Ashton told Lily when she sat across from him.

“Okay.”

“You're on a whole new island and you need to learn some new things.”

“Oh, all right. Do you have books for me to read and study?”

Ashton's grin was downright cheeky as he admitted, “No, my idea is for Gabe to take you around.”

Lily laughed a little. “Don't you think Gabe might have better things to do?”

“No,” Ashton blew her comment off, his hand waving to make his point. “As long as he doesn't have to take anyone to the zoo, he would love to show you around the area.”

Lily looked a bit skeptical, but Ashton only smiled again. And because Gloria was giving her something to eat and Peter was asking her a question, she let the matter go. However, not an hour after Evan, Gabe, and Carson arrived back, Gabe sought out Lily on the porch that led to her bedroom and invited her to go sightseeing in the morning.

“Do you really have time for that, Gabe?”

“Sure. We'll use Mom's car and see everything there is to see. I think you'll love it.”

“But will you?” Lily boldly asked for the first time.

Gabe nearly did a second glance but managed to keep his pleasure inside.

“Trust me, Lily, I would not have offered if I didn't want to. And I know all the great places to visit.”

“Have you lived here on the Big Island, Gabe?”

“No, but when I was in the midst of the cancer, I spent some of my recovery time here with Mom and Carson.”

“Will it bring back bad memories for you now?”

Gabe smiled. “It's nice of you to ask, but it feels so good to feel good, Lily, that the memories fade a little more all the time.”

“May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you ever fear it will come back? I mean, I'm dreading just the long plane ride back to Kashien. I can't imagine wondering what it would be like to dread the return of cancer.”

“I do have moments when I think that way, but I've learned that God doesn't do things without reason. The cancer won't come back unless that's what's best for me.”

“It's a huge trust issue, isn't it?”

“Yes, and I must be honest and tell you that it's harder to trust in some areas than others, but the possibility of the cancer returning is usually a settled issue for me.”

“What isn't so settled for you?” Lily asked, but immediately shook her head. “I'm sorry. That was intrusive of me. Please don't feel you must answer.”

“No, I don't mind at all. It's probably good for me to talk about it.”

Lily nodded and waited for Gabe to define what he meant by
it
.

“I was only 22 when the cancer was diagnosed. We were all in shock—mostly me—and so when the doctors told me I needed to prepare ahead of time if I ever wanted to have children of my own, I didn't do anything. I guess I had accepted the fact that I probably wouldn't live through the ordeal, so I missed my chance.”

“And that's what plagues you at times?”

“Yes.”

“So you don't believe in adoption?” Lily asked, hardly believing she had voiced that thought.

“I think adoption is wonderful, but I'm not certain with my medical history that I would ever qualify.”

Lily nodded. “I've read about how hard adoption can be in America.”

“It's not hard in Kashien?”

“To adopt a baby? No. In fact, if I don't marry, I hope to adopt at least two children. I think it's best if children have a father and a mother, but I would still like to try.”

“Is it easier for folks who live in Kashien?”

Lily looked at him and saw that he was listening very closely.

“Not necessarily. As you can guess, boys are more treasured, so more questions might be asked, but many babies leave the country every year.”

Gabe had many other things he wanted to know, but Evan and Peter joined them on the porch before he could continue.

“Am I interrupting?” Peter asked, and Lily could see that Evan had schooled him before they came out.

“We were talking, Peter, but that's fine,” Gabe said. “What did you need?”

“I want to know if Lily can go to the beach with me for a little while before supper.”

“Yes, I can,” Lily said right away. “Shall we go now?”

He nodded and looked so sweet that Lily didn't think she could deny him anything.

“I was going to ask you, Peter,” Lily said as she stood, “when is your grandma's birthday party?”

“Friday night. Niko will be here.”

“Who is Niko?”

“His real name is Nikolo, but we call him Niko.”

“How do you know him?” Lily tried again.

Still on the porch, Evan and Gabe missed the rest of Peter's answer as he and Lily walked toward the path that led to the beach.

“Did we come out at the worst possible time?” Evan asked, eyes on his brother-in-law.

“No, it's all right. We're headed off tomorrow, so if I want to pick the conversation up again, I'll have a chance then.”

“How are things going?”

Gabe sighed. “Well, all lights are green. I just don't know how to put my foot on the gas.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning Jeff couldn't be more happy, and all of you are ecstatic, but Lily doesn't have a clue.”

“What will you do?”

“I won't be sneaky; I can tell you that. If Lily and I can't dialogue over the way I'm feeling, then there's no hope.”

“I can see how you would want that, Gabe, but you might need to give her time once you bring the subject up.”

“That's true,” Gabe agreed, his eyes still on Lily and Peter's progress. “I know she's comfortable with me, and that's at least a start.”

“That's how things began with Bales and me.”

“Where is Bailey? I haven't seen her for hours.”

“Sleeping. She was in a bit of panic about not wanting to forget any of the kids' things and wore herself out before we left.”

“Her condition doesn't help, either. I remember at the end with Celia she slept all the time.”

“Yeah. It's pretty typical to be worn out at the beginning and end.”

Talk about naps made both men drowsy. Evan slouched down in his seat, and Gabe watched Lily in the distance until he couldn't keep his lids open. Not surprisingly, he dozed off with her on his mind.

Chapter Twenty

“The Big Island is famous for its orchids,” the tour guide at Orchids of Hawaii said. Lily hung on every word, Gabe at her side. The colors and varieties they were shown were spectacular. Following the brief tour, they were taken inside and shown how to make leis.