Bamboo and Lace (9 page)

She followed the family back to the house, going in by way of one of the sliding doors that looked out over the ocean. After taking her Bible to her room, she made herself find Bailey. That proved to be easy—she was still in the living room.

“Mrs. Markham?”

“Why don't you call me Bailey?”

“Oh, all right. Would it be okay if I fixed a little something to eat?”

“Absolutely. We all snacked, but that must have been when you went up to unpack, so go make the kitchen your own.”

“Thank you.”

Lily went toward the only logical door, and when she got close enough to see through the round window on that door, she realized she had indeed found the kitchen. The sun was headed toward the horizon and filling the room with light, so Lily didn't bother to look for a light switch. It was a wonderful kitchen, all decorated in navy blue and yellow, and large enough to work in comfortably. There were many feet of countertop.

The counter space was Lily's downfall, or rather the contents of the counters. She didn't know that many appliances existed. Starting with what appeared to be a small grinder, Lily began to investigate. She lifted the lid and smelled coffee.

“I wonder why Jeff doesn't grind his own beans,” she whispered absently. “It smells so good.”

With the lid back in place, she hit the button and started at how fast the little blade turned. She monkeyed with the grinder for a time and then moved to the coffeepot itself. It was similar to but not exactly like Jeff's, and Lily gave it a good going over.

She had just gotten to a machine that she suspected made a loaf of bread when the kitchen door opened. Lily dropped her eyes and turned from the counter.

“Is everything all right, Lily?” Bailey asked.

Lily looked up with eagerness that was not feigned.

“May I ask you a question, Bailey?”

“Certainly.”

“Does this machine make loaves of bread?”

“Yes, it does.”

“How?”

Out of habit, Bailey hit the switch which turned on the overhead fluorescent lights, came over to the counter, and showed Lily every aspect of the machine.

“And these little bars turn and do the kneading too, not just the mixing?”

“Yes.”

Lily's intelligent green eyes came back to her. “But how does the bread rise?”

Bailey took the pan out and showed her the heating element.

“The coils warm things up enough to cause the bread to rise, and then they get very hot to bake it.”

“How long does it take?”

“About three and a half hours.”

Lily shook her head in wonder, and Bailey started to laugh.

“I'm sorry.” Lily was immediately apologetic.

“No, don't be sorry, Lily. You've just made my day.”

“How did I do that?”

“Well, for a little while there, I was worried about you. But if you can get this excited over a bread machine, you're going to do just fine.”

Lily now laughed a little too, hoping as she did that Bailey's prediction would turn out to be true.

Chapter Five

“So have you eaten anything?”

“Actually, I haven't.”

Taking pity on Lily, Bailey began to make her a sandwich but soon found out she was not easily distracted.

“Is this some of the bread from the machine?” Lily asked when Bailey set a ham-and-cheese sandwich, chips, and a sliced apple in front of her.

“That's the stuff.”

Lily examined the bread on her sandwich as though she were conducting an experiment. Bailey watched her, knowing she had to be hungry, and now understanding why the younger woman was so thin.

Lily, completely unaware of her scrutiny, finally picked up the sandwich and started to eat.

“Oh, this is good.”

“Thank you. How about something to drink?”

“Oh, yes, please. Anything will be fine.”

Bailey, who had taken a place at the small kitchen table with Lily, stood and got her a large glass of milk. She had just set the milk on the table when the door opened. It was Evan.

“I have a little boy here who wants to bid you ladies good night.”

Peter ran to his mother's arms, and Bailey cuddled him close.

“Good night, Mama.”

“Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Lily's eyes were down, so she knew the exact moment that Peter came to her. She smiled into his eyes, and he smiled back.

“Good night, Lily.”

“Good night, Peter, and thank you for inviting me to watch Winnie the Pooh videos with you.”

“We can watch more tomorrow.”

“I would like that.”

Peter surprised Lily by reaching up to give her a hug too, but she recovered swiftly enough to hug him back and then watched as he went out the door.

“He's precious,” she said to Bailey as soon as they were alone.

The mother laughed a little and admitted, “I certainly think so.”

“Will Celia not come to say good night?”

“She's already down. She was grouchy and unthankful today, and as part of her punishment she was sent to bed early.”

Lily smiled as she remembered the little girl telling her not to sit on the sofa. Sin was never funny, but Celia was so cute that Lily couldn't contain herself.

“You're laughing at something,” Bailey said. She had continued to watch Lily.

“Celia didn't want me to sit next to her on the sofa today. It's so hard not to smile at her. She's so cute, even when she's cross.”

“Yes, she is,” Bailey agreed and then shook her head. “We're trying to break the strong attachment she has to her thumb. We let her suck it if she's sleepy, but not if she's upset with us or crabby about something. You'll see as you get to know her that she knows exactly when she can have her thumb. When she knows she
can't
have it, and we're in the room, she puts her other hand over her mouth to try to cover up what she's doing. It's hysterical, but we can't laugh at her.”

Lily laughed at the demonstration Bailey gave. She could just imagine Celia doing that, and Lily was certain the other woman was right: She was going to want to laugh.

“How are you doing?” Bailey surprised her by suddenly asking.

“I'm all right, thank you.”

Bailey leaned a little closer. “How are you
really
doing, Lily?”

Lily fiddled with one of the chips on her plate and then picked up an apple slice. At last she looked back to Bailey.

“I told Jefferson I wanted him to be proud of me, but I'm not sure he would be.”

“Why is that?”

Lily sighed. “I can't bring myself to look up at the men, and I feel lost and alone.” Lily's hand came suddenly to her mouth. “What a rude thing to say. You've offered me your home and been hospitable, and then I say that. I'm so sorry.”

Bailey put a hand on Lily's arm.

“Don't be sorry. Of course you feel lost and alone. For a moment I was so angry at Jeff I couldn't think straight.”

“You were?”

“Yes. I just didn't know how he could leave you alone like this. I'm still not sure I understand.”

Lily was shocked but hid it. However, her impassive face still managed to alert Bailey.

“Don't get me wrong, Lily. You're welcome here for as long as you need, but you came to see your brother, and he's not here. We all understand how painful that must be. Gabe's heart was genuine in his offer to Jeff, and we're glad you could come, but talking about it and watching you go through it have turned out to be two different things.”

This Lily understood. A part of her mind wanted to panic that she had not pretended to be having a good time, but then she saw how foolish this was. If she was miserable, it was best that they knew this. Even as the thought surfaced, Lily's face heated. How would she ever explain her feelings to these strangers? She glanced up to see Bailey smiling at her—a kind and understanding smile. But anything Bailey might have been preparing to say had to wait as her husband and brothers came on the scene.

“Can we get some food?” Evan said.

“Sure. What do you want?”

“We'll get it. Do you want anything, Bailey?”

“Yes. I'll have a sandwich, I think.”

In what felt like a heartbeat, the atmosphere of the kitchen changed for Lily. She was not afraid of men, but neither was she as comfortable around them as she could be around women and children.

The four family members worked on a snack, sending occasional comments and questions to Lily. But unless she was told to, she did not raise her eyes.

When it was at last time to head to bed, Lily was relieved. Her own efforts had wearied her, not to mention her failures. She wondered until she fell asleep whether she would ever grow comfortable with these people.

When dinner ended on Thursday night, Lily immediately went to work on the pots and pans that had been left in the kitchen. Peter trailed behind her, and Ashton went to give a hand, but Gabe stayed back to question Bailey. Having extended the invitation to Jeff, Gabe felt the most responsible for their guest, but the week had flown by. He had even missed two evening meals with the family because he had meetings. It was time to do some make-up work.

Lily's feelings about her brother leaving and her new position in their family had been greatly on his mind, but he had not had time to act on them. He knew now, with the week almost over, that this must change.

“So what does Lily do all day?” Gabe asked his sister as soon as the room was emptied of everyone but himself, Bailey, Evan, and Celia.

“She works, reads, or plays with the children. When Terri arrived Monday and again today to help me clean, the three of us started on the house. Lily has fallen into our schedule, either with the kids or the house, as though she's been living here for years.”

“And did she seem comfortable?”

“As long as no men are in the room. The quiet woman you see at the dinner table and in the evenings is not the woman who works and plays all day in this house. The kids have already fallen in love with her.”

Gabe nodded but had no comment. He had already talked to his brother before dinner, which left just Lily. In truth they would all be rather busy for another week, but they could still squeeze in time to teach Lily some new pursuits. Gabe had worked it out on paper. Now he had only to explain the first step to Lily.

“So what did you do today, Pete?” the little boy's uncle asked.

“I played and watched videos with Lily and CeCe. Lily likes Pooh Bear.”

“She has good taste.”

“Lily and I like Tigger too.”

“Well!” Ashton said, his voice managing to sound matter-of-fact and comical all at the same time. “Who doesn't like Tigger?”

“Rabbit,” Peter told him, and Lily heard Ashton hoot with laughter.

“How's it going?” Gabe came on the scene just then, a stack of dishes in his hands.

“We're almost done with these pots,” Ashton filled him in. “Who's doing plates?”