Oahu
“How are you?” Evan asked Bailey when he found her alone on the veranda.
Bailey looked at him as he sat down in the lounge chair next to hers. She was as in love with the man and as attracted to him as ever, but things had changed, and they’d only been married for eight years.
“Were you just looking for quiet?” Evan tried again.
“No, but if I say what I’m thinking the wrong way, I might be misunderstood.”
“Well, if I don’t get it the first time, tell me again.”
Bailey looked at him, knowing he would listen; he always did.
“I’ve been thinking all this time that Ashton and Deanne took one of the cottages so they could have privacy and time alone this first year, but it’s become very clear to me that it’s easier for me that way too.”
“Why is that?”
“Because at times it’s so hard to watch Gabe and Lily interact. We’ve been married eight years, and we don’t act the way we did at first. I would say I love you even more now, Evan, but we’re not captivated with each other the way Gabe and Lily are.” She looked at him, feeling terrible for having opened her mouth.
Evan reached for her hand.
“I’m glad you told me.”
“You’re not hurt?”
“No, because you’re right. We are in a different place right now for many reasons.”
“Like what?”
“Just to name two: We’re eight years older than we were on our wedding day, and we now have three children.”
Bailey looked frustrated.
“But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still fascinated by each other,” Evan added, and Bailey looked back at him. “What it means is that I’ve gotten lazy. I think about you more than I say. I’m still as attracted to you, I still desire you, but you don’t know that, so I’ve got to step it up a little bit.”
“But it’s not all your fault, Evan. I don’t come to you like I used to.”
“Well, then you’ve got to step it up too. Our relationship isn’t going to look like Gabe and Lily, we have to face that, Bales, but if we’ve gotten too busy and too distracted to show each other how much we’re in love, that’s got to change.”
“You’re not upset with me and what I said?”
“Not in the least. But like most men, if I’m sexually satisfied, I forget to show tenderness at other times. I need you to remind me and tell me what you need.”
“So your needs are being met?”
Evan looked at his wife.
“I guess it would be nice to have you pay attention to me a little more often too.”
Bailey nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Bailey, please keep in mind that our youngest is still a very little person, and you’re nursing her. We’re both going to be more tired—you the most—and I’m not sitting here disappointed in you and wishing my life away.”
“Like I was doing?” Bailey said, still feeling crabby at herself and about the whole situation.
“Do you still want me, Bailey Markham, or is there someone else involved here?” Evan asked firmly.
“No—” she looked shocked—“I just want you.”
“And you’re who I want. As soon as Gabe and Lily arrive back with that little girl, things are going to change around here for the newlyweds. But the next time you see Gabe put his arms around Lily or look up and find their door shut, come and kiss me or hug me. I’ll do the same for you. If we need those little reminders to be more affectionate, so be it!”
Bailey smiled at him.
“I like you an awful lot; do you know that, Evan Markham?”
“I do know that, but it’s nice to hear.”
“Have you got any room left on your chair?”
“For the woman I love? Plenty.”
Bailey stood up and squeezed into the lounge chair with her husband. It wasn’t built for two—and Peter could come looking for them at any moment—but for right now, they needed this closeness. They needed to remember the vows they’d made eight years earlier and be committed all over again to cherish each other in their marriage.
Lhasa
On her first day home, it was very special for Lily to take her daughter and husband to the church in the village where her father was the pastor.
The service would be in Kashienese, so Lily and Gabe sat in the back so she could translate quietly for him. Before they even sang a song, however, Pastor Walsh, with great pleasure in his voice, introduced his son-in-law, welcomed his daughter back, and told the congregation that he was now a grandfather.
The group of 27 adult believers, plus their children, most of whom had greeted Lily and the baby earlier, cheered with delight over this news. Owen then asked Gabe to stand and say a few words. Gabe had not been expecting this, but he gladly came forward and spoke slowly so Owen could translate his short speech.
“Thank you for this warm welcome to your church and beautiful village. It’s a delight to be here with you and finally see the village that my wife loves so well. Thank you to all of you who prayed for us and helped in any way with the adoption of our daughter. Please know that we will take her home with plans to teach her about God’s saving love and to raise her to fear and serve Him with all of her heart.”
Gabe returned to his seat amid respectful bows of the head from men on all sides.
“That was wonderful,” Lily whispered as soon as he sat down.
“Was it appropriate?”
“Yes, very.”
Gabe experienced great relief, having known some trepidation that he would unintentionally make a cultural or social blunder. However, in the next few minutes his mind was taken completely off himself. They sang several songs, but the moment Owen opened his Bible, every head in the place was up looking at Lily’s father, even the women’s!
“The women are looking up,” he whispered to Lily, whose eyes he found looking forward as well.
“In church, during the reading of God’s Word, yes. My father instituted it years ago. At first the men were against it, but Papa wanted the men and women to respect and have great awe for God’s Word. He believes that if God were here speaking to us in person, He would expect all eyes to be trained on Him. We’ve done it this way for all of my life.”
Gabe wondered when the surprises would end. Things were not as he’d expected them to be. He thought he would arrive in this village and find dozens of Owen Walshes, but that wasn’t the case. As they had walked to church, he saw many men leading their families, the women and children dutifully behind, but once inside the simple wooden structure that was their church building, the men showed more care for their wives than Gabe would have expected. That Owen did not act this way with Lily made it even more of a curiosity.
At the moment, Gabe knew he needed to let Lily translate for him so he could get something out of the sermon, but he planned to ask her about his confusion as soon as he had a chance.
The chance came sooner than he expected. They had just finished lunch when Owen was called away. Jasmine was sleeping in her basket, and Lily was washing a few dishes.
“I noticed it too,” Lily said thoughtfully.
“So it hasn’t always been that way?”
“No, but there are more elders now. For years there were only two who served with my father; now there are five. Two of them are rather young men, and I think they might be introducing some new ideas. My father is all for such changes, as long as the men can prove from Scripture that God would approve.”
“Lily,” Gabe asked something that had only just now occurred to him, “why didn’t you marry right here in the village?”
Lily smiled.
“I read one time that when blond women go to Mexico, the men go wild. Fair women look so different and attractive to them. It’s not the same way here. Kashien men love Kashien women. I’m not particularly attractive to the men here, and although many men marry just to have someone to cook for them, they at least want to find their wives tolerable to look at.”
“So are you telling me that you grew up thinking yourself rather homely?”
“I don’t know if I gave it much thought, Gabe, but you were the first person to ever tell me that I was somewhat appealing.”
Gabe had all he could do not to gawk at her. Somewhat appealing! He found his wife downright gorgeous. Her dark-green eyes, small nose and mouth, wonderful skin, and dark straight hair were more attractive to him now than ever. Were the men here blind?
Lily laughed at his face. “Have I surprised you?”
“Tremendously.”
Lily only chuckled, her face a picture of contentment.
“You don’t care, do you?” Gabe suddenly realized.
“No. I didn’t want anyone to notice me before I met you.”
Gabe came and put his arms around her.
“I love you.”
“And I love you,” Lily said as she turned in his embrace, having told him the absolute truth. Gabe Kapaia was the first and only man to ever seriously catch her eye. That she caught his eye as well was something for which she would give thanks for as long as she lived.
“She sleeps a lot,” Gabe complained as he looked down into his daughter’s basket. Lily had set it on the kitchen table Monday morning. Breakfast was over, and Lily was soaking some beans for lunch.
“What did you expect?” Lily asked.
“I want to play with her.”
Both Owen and Lily had a good laugh over this.
“It won’t be long,” Owen warned, “and you’ll be wishing she would sleep more.”
“You’re probably right, but I wanted to get a picture of her with her eyes open, and they never are.”
Gabe’s wife and father-in-law were still very amused when they heard a commotion outside. Owen went to the window and then turned to Lily.
“I believe you and Jasmine are wanted outside.”
Lily smiled with sudden excitement. She knew instantly what was going on, but having one for herself never once occurred to her.
“Gabe—” Owen called him to the window—“you’ll want to come and watch this.”
While the men stood looking outside, a circle of 11 women formed directly in front of the house. As they watched, Lily walked out, Jasmine in her arms, to stand in the midst of them.
“It’s called a coorah,” Owen explained. “It a village tradition and the equivalent of an American baby shower.”
“A coorah?”
“Yes. It means ‘new gift,’ which refers to the baby who has been born.”
As Gabe watched in delight, Lily faced first one woman and then another. She would walk to the woman, hand Jasmine to her and, in exchange, receive a simply wrapped baby gift. Someone had set a basket at Lily’s feet, and after bowing in thanks, she would put the gift in the basket, take the baby back, and turn to the next woman.
“As she hands Jasmine to this next woman,” Owen explained, “she says to her daughter, ‘Jasmine Ling, please be honored to meet Mei-sun.’ Mei-sun will hold Jasmine and say a few words of advice or encouragement to Lily and then admonish Lily’s daughter to be obedient and bring honor to her family. Then it’s repeated with the next woman.”
“Wow,” Gabe could only say. He couldn’t believe how special this was and only wished his mother and sister could be a part of it.
“The gifts will be simple and not all new: a little shirt, a tiny hat, a wooden rattle, but almost all will have been made right here in the village.”
Outwardly Gabe was speechless, but in his heart he prayed.
I know that not all days will be this sunny, Lord. There will be times when Jasmine is sick or I’m tired of being a parent, but I thank You for the blessings You keep giving. Thank You for the love being shown to us in this special act.
Help me to remember that on days when I can’t see the sunshine, You’re still there. Thank You that You never change, and that You died for my Jasmine as You did for Lily and me.
“She is perfect,” Ling proclaimed of the infant in Lily’s arms. The families had dinner together that night. The men were talking in the living area, and the women were at the kitchen table, the children nearby.
“Isn’t she special?” Lily asked, her eyes on her daughter as well.
“This is what you always dreamed of, my friend,” Ling said. “Your heart has always yearned to adopt, and now here she is.”
“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.