"We had a wonderful time, Evan," Harris Stringer said warmly shaking his hand as he and his wife were leaving. "It won't be long until you're back to work."
"Just a few weeks now."
"Do you think you'll be rested?"
"I think we're getting there. We haven't told many people yet, but Bailey is expecting, so I've been asking her to take it easy. I find that she does that better when I do."
"God knew what He was talking about with male leadership, didn't He?"
"Indeed." Evan laughed. "Have a safe trip home, Harris." "We'll do our best. We'll see you at Bible study tomorrow night."
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Harris Stringer waited only until Bible study ended the next night to nab Evan and ask for a word with him in private.
"Evan, am I stepping over my bounds to ask if Gabe and Lily are getting to know each other?"
"No, I don't think so." Barely managing not to smile, he asked, "What are you seeing?"
"Well, last night at the luau they seemed to be getting close, and now tonight they sat together."
Evan could no longer hold his smile. Harris, a bit of a romantic, smiled in self-congratulations.
"I'm right, aren't I?"
"Yes, but I don't know how much they're sharing right now" "But I can pray," the excited pastor said, nearly rubbing his hands together.
Evan could only laugh.
On Thursday evening, Lily checked her appearance for the last time before moving from her bedroom to the hallway and down the stairs. Gabe had said they were dressing up a bit, and for some reason this made her a little excited and nervous.
As she was descending the stairs, she heard a soft whistle and looked to see Ashton watching her from the sofa. Lily laughed.
"Were you hoping a taxi would come by?" Lily teased him as she reached the bottom.
"No!" The man was playfully outraged, coming off the sofa to be heard. "I was telling you that you look pretty!"
"With a whistle?" Lily was still teasing. Gabe had done this to her just the day before, and she had needed a full explanation.
"Well," Ashton said trying not to smile, "it is a bit crude, but I meant well."
"Thank you, Ash."
The two smiled at each other in genuine friendship. "Where are you two headed?"
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"I think Gabe said something about Turtle's Bay." "He's probably taking you to the Cove restaurant at the Turtle Bay Hilton."
"That's the place," Gabe confirmed as he came down the stairs, looking very nice in dress slacks and an Aloha shirt. "Are you ready?" he asked when he reached Lily's side.
"I have to put my sandals on," Ashton answered with as straight a face as he could manage. "And comb my hair."
"I hate to tell you, Ash, old buddy, but you're not invited."
"Why not? I'm a lot of fun."
"That's true," Gabe agreed. "You rate right up there with a toothache."
The couple exited on Ashton and Lily's laughter, but they weren't in the car five minutes when Lily asked, "How does Ash feel about our getting to know each other?"
"I think he's fine with it. Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted to be certain."
"Well," Gabe returned wryly, "as of last weekend he wanted to know why I hadn't asked you to marry me yet. So if that's any indication, he must be all for it."
Not only his words, but also his tone gave Lily the giggles something Gabe had never heard from her. He enjoyed thinking about it for the next few miles, a little sorry that they didn't have farther to go.
Once inside the elegant restaurant, however, Lily's giggles were nowhere to be heard. Lily and Gabe were soon seated, and hovering at their side was a perfectly groomed waiter in a white coat. He took Lily's napkin from the table and placed it in her lap. All expression had left her face, and Gabe immediately saw the signs. Gabe waited only for the man to step away from the table to speak.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me what you're thinking?"
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I'm thinking that I don't want to do anything to embarrass you."
Gabe slid his hand along the tablecloth so he could touch Lily's fingers. She relaxed a little.
"You're not going to embarrass me. If anything, I'm in great danger of having to confess the pride I feel over being with you. I wanted to come here because the setting is special. You can relax and enjoy this."
"Maybe you should just order for me."
"I can do that, or you can ask all the questions you want."
Lily nodded and tried to do as he told her.
"It is fancy, though, isn't it, Gabe?"
"Yes, but they pride themselves on making your dining experience a memorable one, so just ask for whatever you need and you'll enjoy yourself."
"All right."
Gabe took his hand back, and Lily smiled at him.
"Still like me?" Gabe teased a little.
"Yes, but I should be the one to ask you that question."
"Go ahead."
"Do you still like me?"
His dark eyes studied her for a moment before saying, "Oh, yes," very slowly.
At that moment the waiter returned with tall glasses of iced tea and began to explain the evening's specials. Gabe could tell that some of it was new to Lily, so when the man asked if they wanted more time, he said yes.
"Do they actually serve dolphin here?"
"Dolphin fish."
The silent "oh" was punctuated by the relief he saw on her face.
"So what sounds good?"
For the next five minutes they discussed their options. Lily began to worry about the time and then realized that this was
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their night; there was no need to rush. With this in mind, she finally sat back.
"Have you decided?"
"Yes. I'll have whatever you're having, or whatever you want to order for me, as long as I can just sit here, look at you, and talk to you."
"Do you have any idea how much you've changed?" "Good changes or bad ones?"
"Good. You've gone from a girl who couldn't look anyone but Bailey in the eye to a woman who knows what she wants."
Lily smiled but still said, "Let's just hope I can keep it up, even when I come face-to-face with Owen Walsh."
"I'll be pulling for you."
Lily needed an explanation for that expression. Gabe took care of that before ordering their food and doing what Lily wanted: talking and looking at each other for the remainder of the evening.
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Chapter 23
For a while it had seemed the weeks were going to last forever, but to Lily's amazement, time had moved on. Having gained definite confirmation from her brother, she had already written to her father about staying two extra weeks. Her return date was now December 15.
But that was not what was on Lily's mind today. Today her thoughts were wholly centered on her brother. He was flying in that afternoon. Lily could hardly stand the wait. She was working on her packing but kept growing distracted as she worked.
I need to talk to you, Lily Walsh." Bailey's disgruntled voice could be heard in the hall just before the woman herself appeared in Lily's doorway.
"Okay," Lily said with a laugh, knowing that her friend wasn't actually angry. Lily turned to Bailey but continued folding the blouse she was working on.
"Now you listen to me, Lily Walsh! You can move back to Jeff's, but before he goes to work in the mornings, he needs to bring you here."
"He's not going to work for about three weeks." Bailey's hands came to her expanding waist. "Then he can just move out here and stay with us!" "I've become very bold, Bailey, but I'm not sure I can order my brother to move out here."
Bailey perked up with a new idea.
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"Evan can order him."
Lily laughed and asked, "But who's going to convince Evan?" Bailey's look was a tad smug and a little bit provocative. "Leave that to me."
Leaving the you
nger woman shaking her head with amusement, Bailey went in search of her mate. Time had moved on for Bailey and the family as well. Their two months off were gone, and they had guests in all the cottages. Nevertheless, this was a Saturday, and Bailey knew her husband might still be in the vicinity. She was pleased to come down the stairs and find him making a phone call at her desk. She waited until he had hung up and then put her arms around his neck from the back.
"I'm here," she said into his ear, "to work my female wiles on you."
Evan held his laughter before saying, "I can hardly wait. What is it that you want?" Bailey sat in his lap. "Evan, Jeff comes home today." "Right."
"We can't let him take Lily away from us." "What do you want me to do?"
"Order him to move out here until he goes back to work."
Bailey tried not to smile when Evan hooted with laughter, but it didn't work. Unfortunately for Bailey's plan, the children heard their father's mirth, and a moment later Bailey and Evan weren't alone.
"Will you at least talk to him?" Bailey asked before both children tried to climb into her lap.
"Because you want Lily around even though Jeff is home?" "Don't you?"
"Yes, but she's waited two months to be with him. I think we'd better let them handle it." Bailey sighed.
"And don't forget, Bales, there's someone else's heart involved here too. I have a feeling we'll be seeing plenty of Lily."
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"So what you're saying is that I need to convince Gabe?"
Evan's brows rose. "That's a thought. He probably won't need much persuading at all."
Looking like a woman on a mission, Bailey asked the children if they wanted to take a walk and visit their Uncle Gabe.
"My sister accosted me in my office this morning,'' Gabe said to Lily on the way to the airport. "What did she do?"
"Well, she started out in a friendly enough fashion but ended up threatening to make my life miserable if I let Jeff take you away."
"What did you tell her?"
"That I would see what I could do, but even she had to agree that Jeff might wish to have some time with you."
"So we're taking our cue from Jeff?" Lily asked.
Gabe glanced at her as he realized what she'd just said.
"lily, would you rather stay at the resort than move back to Jeff's?"
"Certainly. Did you think otherwise?"
"I don't know what I thought. Will you tell Jeff?"
"No."
Gabe looked at her again. "Because you don't want to hurt him."
"Correct. Not even wanting to be with you would make me risk hurting Jeff." Gabe took her hand.
"We'll take our cue from Jeff," Gabe agreed, not sounding upset or resigned, just matter-of-fact.
Lily agreed with a nod, but she wasn't entirely certain how she felt at the moment.
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Lily put a hand to her chest as the first passengers came through the door. He was almost here. Jeff was almost back! Lily knew she was going to cry and didn't even care. Gabe was behind her, able to see over her head. So many people came through the door that Lily wondered if her brother had missed his plane. She was turning to ask Gabe about it when Jeff appeared.
Spotting them almost immediately, Jeff came their way with a huge smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around his sister, who was already getting teary.
"Oh, Lily," he said when he stepped back to look into her face, his mouth open in surprise. This was not the sister he had left. She was tanned, with a healthy bloom about her that had not been present when he'd left two months earlier. And her eyes! They were sparkling.
Jeff couldn't find any words, so he hugged Gabe and then stood looking at the two of them.
"How was your trip?" Gabe asked, giving Lily a moment to compose herself.
"Good. Everything was on time."
"And do you have to go back anytime soon?"
"Not for three months, and only then if I'm needed."
The threesome started walking toward the baggage claim area, but Jeff kept turning to look at Gabe and his sister. And his sister looked back!
"Well, it's a good thing you didn't try to keep your feelings a secret." Jeff finally said, finding the words he'd been looking for. "I would have known in an instant."
"Known what?" Lily teased, and Jeff had all he could do not to shake his head. The change in her was remarkable. And he learned a moment later that it wasn't just her appearance. As he watched she took a piece of gum from her pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
"My sister is chewing a piece of gum," Jeff commented to Gabe.
"It gets worse," Gabe informed him. "She's completely addicted."
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They had arrived at the baggage area, so Jeff was able to stop and face his sister. She blew a quick bubble. "You're addicted to gum?" "I think I am," she said brightly. "Want some?" All Jeff could do was laugh.
A loud buzzer sounded, and Lily stood back while the men went forward to gather Jeff's gear. Lily's heart filled with dozens of emotions as she watched the two men she loved. She couldn't stop smiling as they trooped out to Gabe's car. Gabe opened the trunk and shifted Lily's bag out of the way.
"Lily, why is your bag in here?" her brother asked, loading his gear.
Lily frowned in confusion. "I thought I was coming back to the apartment with you."
"Well, I plan to sleep in my own bed tonight, but I figured we would live at the resort until I went back to work."
"Are you certain?"
Jeff's brows rose. "Lily, if I had a choice between having Annika with me or five miles away from me, she would be with me."
"Bailey will be so pleased" was all Lily said before she climbed into the rear seat of the car so her brother could have the front, suddenly very glad they had taken their cue from Jeff.
"Now, as a lot of you know," Pastor Stringer said Sunday night as the evening service began, "Jeff Walsh was called away just as his sister arrived from Kashien. But now Jeff's back, and we've gotten to know Lily in his absence. For the next five weeks they've agreed to tell us a little about growing up in Kashien. We're going to start tonight and have just a ten-minute segment with them each week.
"Okay, Jeff and Lily, come on up and get us started." Jeff came out of the pew, Lily behind him. She had deliberately dressed in Kashienese garb, bamboo hat and all, and she
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walked ten paces behind Jeff, head down. Jeff went directly to the podium, but Lily stayed behind and to the side of him.
"What you just watched," Jeff began, "is the way a Kashienese woman lives her life. To show obeisance and respect to the male head of her household, be it her father, husband, or brother, she walks behind him with her head down. And her eyes must be lowered. She must not look a man in the eye unless she is commanded to do so."
With that, Lily removed the hat and came to the microphone with her brother.
"You may have noticed that even now Lily sometimes drops her eyes in the presence of the men here at church. It was something she was taught from early childhood. What Pastor has asked us to do now is have a short conversation in Kashienese. Lily is going to be better at this than I am since I've been away so long, and she's always had a better ear for languages.
"What we're going to act out for you is the buying of her hat. Watch the way Lily compliments me with just her stance and attitude, even as she tries to diplomatically dicker me down on the price."
Pastor Stringer came forward with a separate microphone. Jeff had given him the gist of the conversation, and in between Lily and Jeff's conversation, he "translated."
Lily came forward, head bowed. She spoke and indicated the hat. Jeff handed it to her and stated a price. Lily said very little, but by her hand movements and the way she handled the hat, she told Jeff she thought it was very nice. She spoke about the top of her head not being covered and said how the sun beat down on her. She drew out a tiny coin purse, opened it, and looked inside.
Everyone l
aughed when Jeff looked affronted and waved at her to put the coin purse away. Lily's manner of apology was fascinating. She bowed and groveled, and in a few moments Jeff forgave her and sold her the hat. Everyone clapped when Jeff turned back to the congregation.
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"Had we been in Kashien, it would have taken a lot more groveling on Lily's part to get me to notice her again. As Pastor pointed out, her offering price was insulting for what was obviously a fine work, and I was angry. I would have gone without a sale before I would have given in too soon."
"Can we take some questions, Jeff?" Pastor Stringer cut in.
"Certainly. Aleka," Jeff called on the woman whose hand came up first.
"Is there no compassion, Jeff? Would there be some caring that she didn't have a hat and had to work in the hot sun?"
"Not for a woman. As the seller, I might feel some compassion if I hoped to marry her someday, but even if that were the case, I would have to be careful not to show too much of that in public and lose face."
"Is the hat actually from Kashien?" was the next question from a girl in the back pew. Jeff looked to Lily.
"Yes, I brought it with me," Lily explained.
"She did more than that," Jeff interjected. "She made it herself. The weave is so tight you could carry water in it."
As people throughout the room murmured with appreciation and more questions were asked, Ashton leaned toward his brother.
"If that smile gets any bigger, Gabe, it's going to split your face."
Gabe didn't even try to hide it. His chest was out a mile as he watched lily up front. Her smile was on the shy side even as she worked not to drop her eyes before all the men of the church. Her gaze swung over in his direction repeatedly, and Gabe asked God to help her relax and do a good job.
A few minutes later she was back in the pew next to him.
"You did great," he told her softly.
Lily gave him a look, said a single word in Kashienese, and shook her head a little. Gabe waited only until the service ended to ask her about it.