Bamboo and Lace (43 page)

“What if he never lets you come back?” Gabe voiced the question that had been in the back of his mind for weeks.

Jeff and Lily both looked at him, but Jeff answered the question.

“He is a hard man, Gabe, but not completely unreasonable. If Lily writes and tells me that it has all fallen apart, I'll write to my father and introduce you so that you can write to him personally. He knows about you. I can't think how he could possibly object to such a man marrying his daughter. But if he does object, we'll do everything we can on this end to make it work.”

“Would it make it worse if I came to Kashien?”

“You mean right now, Gabe, or if he won't listen?” This came from Lily.

“I would love to go with you right now, Lily, but I was thinking more along the lines of if and when it didn't work.”

“I'll have to think on that one, Gabe. I mean, it would be wonderful to have you, but if my father is that upset, I can't think of how your presence would help.”

“I guess I thought it might help him to see that I'm serious and committed to us.”

The two looked at each other for a long moment. Jeff watched them.

It was one of the most wonderful things he'd ever experienced to have his sister and closest friend in love. And for just a moment, Jeff let himself forget that there might be a man in Kashien who could smash all their dreams to pieces.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“What did he have to say?” Evan asked from inside the garage the moment Bailey climbed from the car. She'd had her first doctor's appointment, and Evan had not been able to accompany her.

“He says everything looks great and that I'm due on June 1.”

“June 1? Okay. Any limitations or restrictions?” Evan asked with an arm around her as they walked toward the house.

“No surfing.”

“And what about your swollen ankles?”

“Prop my feet when I can and take brisk walks.”

“Okay.”

“How are the kids?”

“Having a blast with Lily.”

“What are they doing?”

“They took a picnic to the bay. I ran into Gabe, and he said he can't get a thing done for watching them out his window.”

Rather than go inside, the couple walked toward the surf until they could look down the beach toward the bay. Lily wasn't hard to spot.

“It looks like Ash joined them.”

As the couple looked on, Lily put her arms in the air and waved as though she was pretending to be a tree. Had Evan and Bailey known it, that was exactly what she was doing.

On the beach, both Peter and Celia were rapt with attention. Lily was telling a story. Ashton had come along in the middle of it and quietly joined them to listen.

“And when the little girl,” Lily continued, “saw how glad her mother was to have her home, she realized she'd been wrong to leave. Her mother put ointment on all her scratches, gave her a big bowl of rice, warm milk, and sugar, and tucked her into her own little bed. The little girl fell asleep knowing how deeply she was loved.”

“That was a good story,” Peter said. “I liked it.”

“I'm glad, Peter. Thank you.”

“Me too. Good store.”

“Thank you, CeCe.” Lily smiled at her before cupping her small face in her hands to kiss her. Watching Lily's actions, Ashton realized something for the first time.

“There are children in Kashien that you love, aren't there, Lily?”

Tears filled Lily's eyes so swiftly that she was surprised. She didn't break down, but emotions filled her very fast.

“Three little girls,” she said quietly.

“What are their names?”

“Faith, Hope, and Charity.”

“How old are they?”

“Faith and Hope are six and five. Charity is little more than a baby.”

“We're having a baby,” Peter put in.

“Yes, you are,” his uncle agreed. “Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?”

“I don't know. I think a boy would be fun, but a girl would be okay too.”

“I'n a girl,” Celia informed the group.

“You could have another Celia,” Ashton said to his nephew.

“Yeah,” Peter agreed, looking a bit uncertain.

“I must tell you, Peter,” Lily said, “that I think you are a wonderful big brother.”

Peter smiled shyly, but Lily could see he was pleased.

“Are you leaving soon, Lily?” Peter asked next.

“In three weeks, yes. I'll miss you.”

“I'll miss you too.”

Lily glanced at Celia, thinking this was the usual time for her to chime in with a comment, but she had found the grapes.

“How many of those have you had?” Lily asked.

Celia's answer was to put another one into her mouth.

“I think that means it's time to eat.”

Although the little group invited Ashton to join them for lunch, he said he had to get back to work. He took the cookies they offered him and went on his way, but he walked slowly so he could listen to the sound of Lily's gentle voice as she talked to the children. Hearing it reminded him to pray for Gabe. Deanne would be back very soon now; Ashton could count the days on the calendar. But when Lily left, Gabe had no idea when he would see her again.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked Gabe the next afternoon as she went with him toward the garage.

“Cottage nine has a problem that no one else can get to right now, so I'm going to check it out. And you know what?” Gabe asked just as they reached the garage.

“What?”

“You're going to drive.”

Lily stopped and Gabe laughed.

“I don't think this is a good idea.”

“I think this is a great idea,” he disagreed.

“Gabe,” Lily said seriously, “I'll smash into something or maybe kill someone.”

“You won't. I'll be right beside you.”

Lily glanced at the golf cart.

“You'll like it,” Gabe said enticingly.

Lily looked at him and tried not to smile.

“Come on. Just sit in the driver's seat and see how it feels.”

Lily did as she was told, and to her surprise it did look rather fun.

“Okay.” Gabe wasted no time, having her where he wanted her. “Here's the key. Put it in right there and start it up.”

“Will it move?”

“Not until you step on the gas.”

After much laughter, some panic, and a few jerks and starts, Lily found herself driving down the beach in the golf cart. She had liked riding in them all along but now discovered this was a whole new sensation. If she let off the gas, it slowed. If she braked, it stopped. She was in control!

“Oh, my,” was all she could say for the first minute. “I had no idea.”

“Maybe I'll just let you do all the driving from now on. If I have to move from my office, I'll call you to pick me up.”

“I can do that,” Lily said brightly.

“I love it when you smile.”

“Do you?” she teased him a little.

“Um-hm.”

“I can't look at you, Gabe,” Lily said, knowing he wanted her to. “I have to concentrate on my driving.”

“That's okay. I can look on my own.”

Lily smiled again.

“Here we go,” Gabe said, and suddenly it was time to show Lily where to stop. Telling her to leave the keys in the cart, he led her onto the porch and knocked on the door.

“Is someone staying here right now, Gabe?”

“Yes, but they said they would be out all day.”

“How will you get in?”

“The master key.”

“Why did you knock if they're not here and you have a key?”

“Because you never want to walk in on someone. You always take for granted that they are in until you find out otherwise.”

Amid this conversation Gabe had knocked again, received no response, and used his key. Lily came in behind him and stood still while he read the note he'd brought.

“Okay, it looks like there's a problem with the showerhead. The bathroom in this unit is a bit small, so you might want to wait here.”

“Okay.”

Gabe headed in the direction of the needed repair job, and Lily looked around. This cottage was different from the one Ashton had showed her, and of course the guests' belongings were scattered here and there, but certain aspects were familiar.

“Gabe?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a favorite cottage the way Ash does?”

“Yes, it's the same one, number six.”

“Why that one, do you think?”

“Oh, the layout is nice, and the size.”

Lily didn't answer. The toaster, an unusual model, had caught her attention, and she had moved in for a closer look. She didn't see the magazine until it was much too late.

In the bathroom, Gabe wrapped up the repair job quickly. The fitting was loose, and after a little tightening, Gabe ran the water and saw that it was fine. Not until he'd done all of that did he realize that Lily had become very quiet. He gathered his things and went looking for her. He found her standing stock-still, eyes glued on something. When he was close enough, he could see that a magazine had been left open on the kitchen counter. It showed a very intimate scene between a man and woman. Shocked as she was, Lily seemed incapable of taking her eyes from the picture.

“Lily?” Gabe called to her, and she seemed to snap out of her trance.

Face flaming with mortification, she turned away and moved to the door. Gabe double-checked to make sure he'd left all in order, exited, locked the door, and found Lily sitting in the passenger seat of the cart.

“Are you all right?” Gabe asked when he climbed behind the wheel.

“I don't know right now,” Lily answered honestly, her eyes on nothing.

Gabe knew they needed to talk. Thankful that he was not expected back for a while, he drove slowly toward the garage but parked outside of it in a shady, secluded area.

“Lily, can you look at me?”

Lily, who had been staring with unseeing eyes the whole time, turned to focus on Gabe.

“I think we need to talk about this.”

“The magazine?”

“Not unless you want to. What I'm wondering right now is if anyone has ever talked to you about the ways between men and women.”

Lily stared at him.

“Can we talk about this subject or are you too upset?”

Just hearing his calm voice, Lily relaxed. “We can talk, Gabe.”

“You're sure?”

“I'm sure.”

“Lily,” he asked gently. “Has anyone ever explained the act of physical intimacy to you?”

Lily's eyes grew worried, and Gabe could see she was on the verge of panic. For this reason, he reached over and took both of her hands in his.

“Lily, honey, listen to me.”

Lily looked at him, her mind racing to take all of this in.

“I want to marry you. I want to make you my wife. You understand that, don't you?”

“I'm sorry I looked at the picture,” she blurted and didn't even answer him. “I'm sorry, Gabe!”

Gabe took her in his arms. “It's all right. You were just shocked, and you never have to be sorry about telling me how you feel, even if you're afraid of our coming together. We'll always talk things out.”

Gabe moved back so he could look at the face that was so dear to him.

“Tell me something. Are you afraid when I hold your hand?”

“No, never.”

“And just now when I hugged you, did it frighten you?”

“No,” Lily said softly, already understanding what he going to say.

“It's just me, Lily. I would never hurt you or ask you to do something that was wrong.” Gabe smoothed the hair from her face. “When the time comes for us to do more than holds hands, we'll both be ready.”

“How will I be, Gabe, when I know so little?”

“Well, we can keep talking about it some, but also my sister has a book, written by a believer, that explains things very well.”

“I should read it.”