24
Lee peered into her eyes and saw that the confident, spirited, vibrant Jennifer had returned.
“You hungry?”
“Famished. Where would you like to go?”
“How about a good, old-fashioned American diner? After this weekend I don’t want anything foreign for a long time.”
He took her arm. They walked slowly around the building towards the parking lot. “Sounds great. I know just the place.”
Jennifer pointed towards the entrance to the church building. “It seems like a lifetime ago that we walked into the church.”
“In one sense for you, it was. In walked the old Jenn and now the one with the new life is walking out.” He opened the driver’s side door.
There was no protest.
Jennifer appeared deep in thought. A calm, peaceful look appeared on her face. It only enhanced her beauty.
Maybe the Source of her peace was now completing the wonderful creation He had in mind when He first thought of creating Jennifer.
In a few moments the vehicle rolled through the parking lot. When it reached the street, Jennifer stopped the big SUV. “OK, where is this great place?”
“Hang a left. Go about two miles and the restaurant will be on our left.”
“This is an American restaurant, right?”
“The best one I know of. I wouldn’t give you a bum steer. If you like steak the restaurant won’t either.”
Jennifer smiled. “No, you wouldn’t. I guess you have always pointed me in the right direction.”
Double meanings, maybe triple meanings this time, but he no longer minded them.
Jennifer was silent.
He waited for a few moments, and then broke the silence. “You look like you’re trying to digest everything we’ve experienced in the last forty-eight hours.”
She glanced at him and flashed him a smile. “Something like that.”
Lee cleared his throat. “Let’s see if I can sum it up for you. Two days that combined the worst of times with best of times, in the nick of time—a tale of two days.”
“So Lee Brandt thinks he is Dickens?”
“No. Lee Brandt thinks he is hungry. The restaurant is one block ahead on the left.”
Jennifer looked up at the big neon sign. “The All American Diner? I guess you really meant it when you said the greatest American place.”
“Wait until you taste the food. Nothing but the best American food for my all-American woman.”
She gave him a warm smile. “All-American woman is the best compliment you could have given me. I love this country. That’s why I do the kind of work that I do. But things like the plot we stumbled onto—I’m afraid for the future of our country.”
“I’m afraid too. If I hadn’t called Howie, or if I had turned down his offer for your help I hate to think about what might have happened. One success just emboldens more terrorists.”
“I’m glad you didn’t turn down Howie, too. I hate to think of all I would have missed out on. God and—”
“God already had his eye on you. He would’ve drawn you to Himself, regardless. That’s part of His sovereignty.”
Jennifer sat still and stared out the windshield. “Sovereignty. Does that mean something like people can’t thwart His will?”
Lee nodded. “That’s a good way to put it.”
Jennifer laid her hand over his, clasping it. “And it was a very good way He worked things out for me and for us, don’t you think?”
“Very good, except I would’ve gotten the SWAT team to the church on time. About five minutes earlier. I don’t ever want to come that close to losing you.”
“Lee, we wouldn’t have lost each other forever. Not after this morning.”
“No.” He frowned. “Not forever. But I kind of like the thought of spending our lives together here on planet Earth, first.”
Her almond-shaped eyes squinted as she peered at him. “Do you want to explain exactly what you meant by that?”
Lee braced himself for some kind of outburst. “No, I don’t.”
Instead of giving him an outburst of anger she gave him a coy smile. “I didn’t think so. But, at least you didn’t lie to me. Now, let’s go in and have some of that All-American food.”
Forgiveness? Is that what she just gave me?
When Lee escorted Jennifer through the door into the diner it seemed they entered into another time. “Well, what do you think?”
Jennifer stopped, smiled, and scanned the large, open room. “Black-and-white checkered floor, red vinyl seats, booths along the wall. Looks like America, circa nineteen fifty-five.”
He gestured towards an empty table in the middle of the room. “My mom and dad have tried to describe what life as a child was like in the late fifties and early sixties. They said it was an innocent time. Listen to the music, Jenn.”
Words that said only one person could make this world seem right came from the big jukebox in the corner creating a soothing atmosphere.
Jennifer sighed as she walked towards the table. “Yes, being here almost makes me forget what we experienced this weekend. Life in twenty-first century America. Not an innocent time.”
After seating Jennifer he sat opposite her and folded his hands on the table. “I wish we could recapture some of what that generation had.” Lee’s gaze wandered down the directory of songs listed on the mini-jukebox on their table. “Maybe we can. And look, Jenn, there’s not a single British group listed. Only American music. Is this American enough to suit you?”
Jennifer had already opened a menu. “It’s perfect,” she replied, as she turned to address the approaching waiter. Before Lee could speak, she placed their order. “Prime rib and potatoes with a garden salad for both of us, please. You can choose our drinks, Lee.”
Her order stopped any protest he might have voiced. Once again he smiled and let his gaze rest on Jennifer. “Two cherry cokes, please.”
After the waiter left with their order Jennifer leaned forward onto the table and looked into Lee’s eyes. “OK. Now that we’ve ordered the next item on the agenda is—”
“Is you. In some ways I feel like I know everything about you, yet in others almost nothing at all. There’s a lot more I want to know.”
She reached across, unfolded his hands and took one of them. “As long as I get a turn at this too, you can ask away.”
“You can have your turn, but only if you go easier on me than you did coming home yesterday.”
The warmth in her eyes conveyed the message, even before her words reached him. “You don’t have to worry about that. You already passed my test.”
“Just for your information I like my test better.” Today the subject of tests brought no protest from Jennifer. “Now. Questions. Let’s see. Have you ever been convicted of a felony?”
“Come on. I have a Top Secret SCI clearance. What do you think?”
“OK, what about traffic tickets?”
“None.”
“Well you should have gotten several. I’ve seen you speeding, running red lights—”
“You’re not funny. I’m squeaky clean and you know it. “
“You already told me your dad died. But what about your mom?”
She stared across the room. “She moved back to Hawaii not long after Dad died.” Her gaze came back and met his. “It was a hard time for us all.”
He placed his free hand over hers. “I’m sorry you had to experience that.” He paused. “Your last name is Japanese. Is your Mom Japanese, too?”
“My dad was Japanese, as was nearly fifty percent of the island population eighty years ago. No. Mom is Hawaiian.”
“That explains it then. Two beautiful races of beautiful people and you get—”
“Look, we’re not going to talk about appearances today.”
He was looking and he couldn’t help thinking about her appearance. Nor could he forget her temper, which seemed to have mellowed.
Maybe she just oscillates between aloha and hara-kiri.
A penetrating look from Jennifer made him fear she had read his thoughts. He decided continue the questioning while he still had the floor.
“OK. Do you have relatives here on the mainland?”
“Yes. My grandfather on Dad’s side lives about two hours south of here.”
“What about brothers and sisters?”
“Despite what you think I’m not an only child. I have two younger sisters—much younger than me. Both live on Oahu with Mom.”
He wanted to ask about her sisters. How much younger? What were their ages? He changed his line of questioning. “Did you like church today?”
“You know I did. After the sermon, the last song really grabbed my heart. But tell me something, does your church always test a new Christian’s faith by threatening their life? That’s pretty brutal.”
He laughed. “No, it doesn’t. If it did though, you would’ve passed with flying colors. But can we please stick to more pleasant subjects?”
“Do you mean like the looks we’re getting from three-fourths of the people in the restaurant?”
“Are we—”
“Yes. We’re in a fishbowl here.”
As he glanced around the room eyes from nearly every table were focused on them.
He supposed Jennifer was drawing much of the attention.
But they had definitely been recognized.
“Do you want to leave?”
“No, but I’m not comfortable with—”
“I think we just need to break the ice. Then we might find this place will warm up nicely.” He looked to his right and smiled. “In fact, there’s an icebreaker headed our way right now.”
Jennifer looked up into the smiling face of a white-haired gentleman. She was fidgeting—definitely uncomfortable.
He related to people more easily than her. He would frequently take her out of her comfort zone. Maybe it would be a good thing.
Lee looked into the man’s face and smiled, but Jennifer continued to shift uncomfortably in her chair with the uninvited attention.
“Miss Akihara, Mr. Brandt, please pardon my intrusion on your dinner. But a lot of folks here tonight want to thank you two for what you did for all of us. Now, I know the news never tells things as they really are and probably some of what you did will never be told to the public. But, may God bless you for your service to us and to the USA.”
It sounded like the media told more than they should have even known. Those prying reporters probably found a loose tongue or two in Kerbyville.
Jennifer smiled at the heartfelt thanks.
Lee stood and reached for the man’s hand. “Thank you sir. You’re a veteran, aren’t you?”
“Yes, son. I was in the Army. Infantry, World War II.”
“I thought so. Jennifer and I owe you a much deeper debt of gratitude for your service.”
“Did you serve too, son?”
“Air Force, five years. I served in Iraq briefly. But due to my job I was mostly stateside.”
After only a few short words he felt the bond between the two men, one-half century apart in age, being cemented. When the two vets embraced as men do, patting each other on the back, he noticed the music had stopped.
Applause broke out throughout the diner. Above the applause, he heard, “God bless you and God bless the USA.”
He smiled as he watched Jennifer being swept into the sense of community warming the atmosphere of the restaurant. It was the right thing for the World War II vet and for Jennifer, too.
Her face relaxed and she was smiling now.
With a simple greeting and an embrace as catalysts, the diner morphed from a room partitioned into many isolated family groups to the atmosphere of a family reunion.
He shook his head and chuckled. “I think sometimes celebrities would be better off if they didn’t run and hide. Just think of the bonds they could build with their fans.”
With friendly chatter creating a comfortable background he turned his attention back to their dinner, which was now being served, and, of course, to Jennifer.
“Did you know how the conversation would go when you stood up?”
“No. But by the man’s age and bearing I was pretty sure he was a World War II vet so who was I to turn him away? He was a hero because of a heroic choice. We just got terrorized into the part.”
“Don’t remind me, please. I don’t feel like a hero either, just a survivor. But I heard you tell him you were in the Air Force.”
“Yes. Five years. That’s where I got into meteorology. They sent me to school for a year to get my degree.”
“So you didn’t go here to the University of Washington for your undergraduate work?”
“No. I went to Texas A&M.”
“Do you mean Lee Brandt is a real, live Texas Aggie?”
“Guilty as charged. And no Aggie jokes, please.”
“No jokes.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “But since it’s my turn now I’ve got some more questions for you.”
“As Peterson says, ‘OK, shoot’.”
She gave him a mock frown. “You just had to say that, didn’t you?”
“Sorry. Bad joke.”
Her smile replaced the frown. “You’re forgiven—”
“Jenn, I think you’re growing soft. Did God do that to your heart?”
“Maybe God and a certain meteorologist I know.”
“Good for them. Maybe now I can forget about running through the flea cave and—”
“Don’t count on it. If you ever lie to me, Lee Brandt, you’ll find yourself in a cave on Iron Mountain in your underwear. And I can get you there pretty quickly.”
“So I’ve observed. But, if you ever drive that recklessly again you’ll probably kill us both.”
She ignored his comment. “Now. Regarding your family, tell me about your parents, brothers, and sisters.”
“Mom and Dad retired early. They live in Arizona. Lake Havasu City. I have a brother living in New Mexico and a sister who married and moved back east. Ohio. It’s not the East Coast, but that’s back east to me.”
“Birth order, Lee. Out with it.”
“You sure can be demanding. I’m the oldest.”
“I knew it. But you know something?”
“What, Jenn?”
Jennifer looked down at her dinner. “We’d better eat our steaks before they get cold.”
“Good idea. Can’t live on love.”
Her coy smile returned. “How do you know? Have you ever tried?”
“Never had the opportunity before.”
“Before what?”
“Before you. But let’s not try that now. I’m hungry.”