Bamboo and Lace (61 page)

“Today was special,” Lily told Ling, her hand coming to touch the other woman's arm. “I never expected a coorah. All the things Jasmine received were so nice.”

“Did you like the hat?”

Lily laughed. “I could never weave as small as you could. I was going to try before I left, but now you've done it.”

“When you arrive back in Hawaii, Jasmine can wear bamboo on her head and lace on her dress, and she'll be a child of both nations.”

Lily leaned to hug her.

“What would I do without you, Ling?”

“We will pray that we will never have to find out.”

Ling's new baby, Daniel, fussed a little in his sister's arms, and Ling rose to take him. She began to nurse him as the women kept talking.

In the living room the men were in deep conversation about a verse in Mark 10. Gabe had been doing an intense study on the life of Christ for more than a year, and in their discussion, he showed something to Owen that he had not seen before. The older man was captivated with the new thoughts and ideas it brought about.

“Yes, I see what you're saying,” Owen said as he studied verse 32. “Jesus is walking ahead of them, but His followers are amazed and fearful.”

“Exactly,” Gabe confirmed. “Something huge is happening here. We know the end of the story, but they were left to speculate and guess.”

“It's so easy to miss the details,” Lee Chen observed quietly, and Gabe was impressed with the kind way Owen spoke to him. As a man it was unusual to see kindness in this area of the world.

Interaction with women was limited, and the men seemed to be preoccupied with their reputations. For Gabe, however, the evening as a whole was enlightening. Lee Chen was loving to his wife and children, but beyond that, Gabe realized what a precious thing it was to fellowship with the body of Christ in another land and to see God's hand working across the miles.

It was hard to believe that they must be on their way. The time had gone so swiftly. On Tuesday, Gabe, Lily, and Jasmine had spent several hours with Lanling and the entire Sanyi family, who had cared for Jasmine when she'd been left on their doorstep. They even presented them with a gift, but there was no real way to explain how they felt.

But now Wednesday had come. After bidding the Chen family goodbye, Owen, Gabe, and his family left for Capital City. They would spend the night there so as to be more rested for the flight to Hawaii on Thursday morning.

Owen brought food to their rooms so they could have as much time alone as possible, and while Gabe and Lily ate, Owen held his granddaughter. His hands were large, and as he cradled her and Lily watched, her daughter smiled at him.

“She smiled at you!” she said, leaving her chair to come close. She watched in wonder as it happened again.

“She does often,” Owen said with obvious pleasure.

“She hasn't smiled at me,” Lily said, her face and tone telling them she was surprised.

“You haven't been with her for the last month,” Gabe put in conversationally, not aware of how this would affect his wife.

Lily stared at her father. She had no idea he had gone and seen the baby at the Sanyis. Traditionally men had little to do with the care of babies, so such an action on her father's part had never occurred to her.

“Did you see her, Father?”

“Yes, I did, every day,” he stated calmly, his eyes still on the baby.

Lily went back to her meal, asking God to help her to deal with her emotions. That Gabe knew her father had seen Jasmine every day meant they must have spoken of it. It reminded her that, to her father, she would always be a little less important.

At the moment, Lily's emotions tumbled out of control. Eating but not even tasting the food, Lily decided never to bring Jasmine back to this place where she would always be a second-class citizen.

“Lily,” Gabe said quietly, having watched her face and even knowing that Owen could hear, “you need to talk to your father about this.”

For a moment Lily didn't respond, but when she did look her father's way, he was watching her.

“You did not think I would visit this baby?” he asked.

“No, not in a million years,” she said rather brutally.

“Why is that, Lily Cathleen?”

His voice was only slightly tight, but the use of her full name told her he was angry. Right now, Lily's anger matched his own. She came to her feet and answered with a downward slash of her hand.

“Because you're so Kashienese! And to a Kashi male, women and babies are not important. I ought to know!”

The silence that fell after this statement was horrible. No one moved or did anything for several moments. Not even the baby seemed to have a need just then.

“Lily,” Owen spoke at last, his voice no longer indicating ire; indeed, he sounded rather helpless. “There are no words to describe how important you are to me. You and Jefferson are everything to me.”

Lily's hands moved helplessly, her voice now coming very softly as well.

“If you could just show me, Father, or tell me once in a while.” She shook her head as she worked to find the words. “I know you wanted to fit in here so you could have a ministry. And you've done that. But who better than you to show these men that according to Scripture a man is to cherish his wife and daughter. Jesus Himself gave deference to women and children, and not just the male children.”

Owen's face was so calm that Lily was swamped with guilt.

“I'm sorry,” she said, barely managing not to weep. “You've been so gracious to us, and now I treat your kindness with scorn. I'm sorry, Father.”

Owen put Jasmine into her basket. He came to his daughter and enfolded her in his arms. Lily hadn't wanted to cry, but this was too much for her.

“I too am sorry, Lily.” Owen's voice came from above her head as he hugged her slim frame. “I did think it important to be as the men of the village, but I could have been different at home. Chu Ying and Han Zhou do this with their families, even at church gatherings. I think they may have something that I have missed.”

Chu and Han were the younger elders about whom Lily had spoken to Gabe. She had not had a chance to speak with them, but their wives had been part of the coorah, and they were some of the happiest women in the village.

“I'm sorry, Papa. I'm sorry,” Lily said again.

“Shhh,” he hushed her quietly. “We will worry about this no more. I have sinned and you have sinned, but we have forgiven each other.”

Lily leaned back to look at him.

“I love you, Papa.”

Owen smiled. “And I love you, Lily. Do not forget that. Keep it in your heart always.”

The evening was nothing like Lily would have imagined. She sincerely regretted her outburst, but it was with total peace that Lily bid her father good night, more than happy to honor his request and deliver the baby into his room for the night.

In the morning, their time together was just as sweet at breakfast and again at the airport. Their plane was called all too soon, however, and Lily once again found herself saying goodbye and wondering when she would see this man again.

“Thank you, sir,” Gabe said, shaking Owen's hand, his grip firm and smile warm.

“You're welcome.” Owen smiled back, thinking that God had provided a fine husband for his Lily. “I'm praying for you, Gabriel.”

“And I for you.”

Owen looked to Lily then, his eyes taking in the top of her slightly bent head and then the tiny miracle in her arms. While he was looking down at her, Lily raised her eyes, knowing that it would be all right.

“Thank you, Papa,” Lily said softly. “Thank you for our baby.”

In a rare show of public affection, Owen's large hand came briefly to cup his daughter's cheek. Tears had come to his eyes, and he simply said, “Teach her the Way, Lily.”

Lily only nodded and watched as he bent and kissed Jasmine's tiny head. As Lily turned to board with her husband, the tears came. Not as worried about protocol on the airplane, Gabe simply took Jasmine so Lily could compose herself.

It took some time. They were well into the air before her tears were dry, but when she could finally see, she looked over to see Jasmine give a huge yawn. She laughed before leaning close to Gabe's shoulder to have a better look.

“Can you believe it?” she asked, her eyes on Jasmine.

“Not quite. When we get her home and in her own little bed, I might think it's real.”

Lily sighed softly, realizing she was tired. Another yawn from the smallest member of the Kapaia family told them she might be tired too. As they watched, Jasmine's little eyes closed, and with only a small whimper or two, she drifted off to sleep. Lily eventually joined her, her head still pillowed on her husband's wide shoulder.

Gabe stayed awake. He'd never given Kashien much thought before meeting Jefferson Walsh, and for many years it was just the place where Jeff had grown up. Today it meant so much more. Today Kashien held a special place in his heart, and the main reasons were snuggled against him, sound asleep.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Oahu

“Do you see them?” Deanne asked Ashton as she stood on her tiptoes to gain a glimpse of the door that led from the customs area.

“Not yet,” Ashton answered, just before Carson stepped in beside them, hoping for a better view.

“There they are!” Evan was the first to see.

“Do they have the baby?” Gloria asked, her voice anxious.

“Yes!” Evan said with a laugh, and the family had all they could do to stand still.

Weary as they were, the sight of the entire family brought smiles to Gabe and Lily's faces as they swiftly moved forward, Jasmine in Gabe's arms.

“Oh, Gabe; oh, Lily.”

“Oh, look at her. Isn't she beautiful?”

“She looks like a doll.”

“Do you see the baby, Celia?”

“What's her name?”

Questions and comments tumbled all over each other as hugs were exchanged, tears were shed, and everyone tried at once to meet the newest member of the family. Since they were blocking the flow of traffic, they shifted off to the side a bit and continued the reunion right in the airport.

Evan's voice finally got through. “What did you name her?”

“Jasmine Ling,” Gabe said as he offered her to his mother.

Gloria took the tiny person who was just starting to cry and stared down in wonder. A tear fell down her cheek as she spoke. “God gave my son a baby,” she said in amazement, looking between Gabe, Jasmine, and Lily. “God gave my son a baby that I didn't think he would ever have.”

It was a happy mob that finally made their way to the parking lot, where Gabe and Lily saw that the family had borrowed one of the church's 15-passenger vans for this occasion. They placed Jasmine in a car seat that had been adjusted as small as it would go for her first ride on Hawaiian soil. Gabe was glad that someone else was driving. He was so tired from the long flight and emotional trip that he just wanted to close his eyes. Lily had had a little more sleep on the plane, so she answered as many questions as she could. The only person who wasn't interested in all the facts and details was Jasmine's cousin Sarah, who was three months older.

“I've got to tell you, Lily,” Bailey said when there was a lull, “you had shared with me that things could fall through, so we didn't put up any banners or balloons.”

“That's fine, Bailey. I think we just want to see home the way it is.”

“Did you know,” Gabe began, his eyes still closed and his head back, “that in Lily's village you haul water for everything, and when the need hits, be it rain or shine, you walk 80 feet out of the house to a pit toilet?”

“Poor baby,” Ashton teased him.

“Oh, I'm not complaining,” Gabe clarified. “That was my way of telling my sister that all I need at home right now is a hot shower.”

“I guess now isn't the time to tell you the troubles we've been having with the hot water heater, is it, Gabe?” Evan said seriously from his place behind the wheel.