Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah

by Melody Carlson

  Her dad hugged her and warned her not to speed on the way to the airport. Despite her excitement to get there fast, she took his advice seriously, focused on her driving, and tried not to daydream along the way. Then she parked her car and went to baggage claim, where she waited, thanks to a flight delay, for what seemed like hours but was actually only thirty minutes. Then suddenly Killiki was right in front of her, and he took her in his arms, and she clung to him and felt like everything was right with the world again.

  “I wish we could drive through a time warp so that today would become one week from now,” she said as Killiki drove them away from the airport terminal. “We would turn around and catch our flight to Maui.”

  “You’d skip the wedding?”

  “Oh, yeah. In a heartbeat.” She laughed. “I mean I’d want us to be officially married, but finished with the actual wedding.”

  “I know what you mean. But we don’t want to offend your family, sweetie, and one week isn’t all that far off.”

  “Now that you’re here, it’s not.” She reached over and ran her hand through his hair. “Oh, Killiki, I have missed you so much.”

  Kendall gave Killiki a tour of the city, including a walk through the Rose Gardens, and eventually they enjoyed a sunset dinner at a riverside restaurant. Just before dessert came, Killiki reached into his shirt pocket. “Hey, I almost forgot something.”

  “What?”

  “I know it’s a little late.” He held out a small blue velvet box, “But it took longer than I expected, and then I decided to present it to you in person.”

  “Oh, Killiki!” She anxiously opened the box, then gasped to see a diamond set above three smaller blue stones and surrounded by what looked like a wave of platinum. “It’s beautiful,” she told him. “Is the setting a wave?”

  “Exactly.” He grinned. “I had a friend design it. The diamond represents you, my drowning mermaid, and the lapis lazuli below it is me catching you.”

  “The day we met,” Kendall said, remembering how he’d pulled her out of the ocean after her surfing fiasco.

  “We’re both caught in the wave … that represents our love.”

  She handed it to him. “You put it on my finger.”

  He looked into her eyes. “I love you, Kendall.”

  “I love you too!” Then they kissed and he slipped the ring onto her finger, but he struggled to get it over her slightly swollen knuckle.

  “Does it fit?” He watched anxiously as she finished pushing the ring all the way on. “Lelani told me your ring size.”

  “It’s a little tight right now, but that’s just because of my pregnancy. My other rings are tight too.”

  “It won’t hurt your finger, will it?”

  “No, of course not.” She stared at the gorgeous ring. “I love it, Killiki. And I love you even more.”

  It was hard to say good night to Killiki, but since Gil had offered him a room, they didn’t want to get back too late. Plus there was the funeral service in the morning. For the time being, Killiki would use her car and perhaps get a rental car in a day or two.

  The house was quiet as Kendall went to the kitchen for her regular glass of bedtime milk. She suspected everyone had gone to bed by now. But she felt too happy to sleep. In fact, she felt so happy she wanted to sing and dance and jump up and down and scream. But she controlled herself. She remembered that tomorrow was Nana’s funeral and decided to go to bed.

  The service was scheduled for ten o’clock Monday, and Killiki came by to pick her up at nine thirty. Kendall wished she had something more funeral-like to wear, but thanks to her oversized tummy, combined with her commitment not to shop, she was forced to wear a coral-colored sundress that she’d gotten for their Maui vacation, back when she’d just started to show and needed some roomier clothes. This morning it was feeling a little snug. To camouflage this, she topped it with a little white cardigan and decided it would have to do.

  “Are you okay?” Killiki asked her as he drove them to the church that Kendall’s family had attended for holidays, weddings, and funerals. “You seem awfully quiet.”

  “Sorry.” She sighed. “Guess I was thinking.”

  “Missing your grandmother.”

  “Yeah, that and I’m still feeling like an outcast in my family. I mean they’ll all be there, but none of them will be glad to see me.”

  “What about your dad? You had that good talk with him yesterday.”

  “That’s true.” She nodded and wished that the rest of her family were as congenial as Dad. Maybe a funeral would soften them a little. But when Kendall entered the church, which wasn’t terribly crowded, she noticed that no one in her family had saved spaces for her and Killiki up in front. But to her surprise and relief, all of her housemates as well as Gil and Edmond were seated together just two rows behind the family, and so she and Killiki joined them.

  The service was less than impressive. It was clear the young pastor, who surely meant well, didn’t actually know Nana. He bumbled along until he seemed to be out of words, then he invited people to participate. “I welcome you to come on up and share fond memories of Gertrude Weis as we celebrate her life.”

  An uncomfortable silence followed, but after a couple of minutes, Kendall’s dad stood and made his way to the podium. He cleared his throat and began to tell a story about when he was ten years old and how his mother had shown up at his school and told the office that he had a dental appointment.

  “I was a little surprised,” he said with a small smile, “because I didn’t recall any appointment. But once I was safely off the school grounds, Mom explained that we were going to the circus.” He chuckled. “The circus had come to a town a couple hours away. Mom got us lunch, then drove us all the way over there, and even though the circus hadn’t started yet, we walked all around and saw everything, and when it was finally time for the circus to begin, we had front-row seats.” He dabbed his eye with a handkerchief. “That was one of the best days of my life.”

  Dad made his way back to his seat, and the sanctuary got very quiet again. Kendall stood up. With shaky knees, she walked to the front of the sanctuary and, despite her thundering heart and the distinct feeling that she might actually faint, she told everyone about how she and Nana had “gone to Paris” a couple of weeks ago.

  “Of course, it wasn’t Paris for real,” she explained, “but it was still really fun.” She told them about how Nana spoke French and how they had pastries and espresso. And how they window-shopped, then had French onion soup. She even mentioned the pretty red shoes that had caught Nana’s eye. “Unfortunately, they were two sizes too small, but we couldn’t have afforded them anyway.” Some people even chuckled.

  “My nana taught me a lot of things,” Kendall said finally. “Best of all, she taught me to use my imagination and to enjoy life. And I will always be thankful for her.”

  Kendall stepped away from the podium and walked past the family section, where some, like Dad, were smiling and others looked completely blank. She returned to her friends. Anna nodded approval, Lelani did a silent mini applause, and Megan gave her a thumbs-up. Kendall sighed as she sat down, and Killiki leaned over and kissed her cheek. Kendall smiled and knew that Nana would’ve appreciated that her friends had come.

  Twenty-seven

  Anna

  “Looks like the kids decided to play hooky this morning,” Lucy said in a condescending tone as Edmond and Anna returned to the office at one o’clock sharp. They’d grabbed a quick lunch following the service, then hurried to make it back at work on time. Several other employees were coming in at the same time, and for Lucy to speak like this was more than a little disturbing. Anna felt certain Lucy wouldn’t dare pull this stunt if Felicia or Rick were around to hear. Apparently, she wasn’t worried about Edmond’s authority.

  “We were at a funeral,�
� Edmond said stiffly. Anna controlled herself from responding at all but exchanged a glance with Chelsea, who had entered in time to witness Lucy’s little display.

  “Oh, right.” Lucy directed a knowing look to Crystal, the receptionist. “The old funeral excuse. Bet you never heard that one before, huh?”

  Crystal suppressed a giggle, then quickly diverted her attention to the ringing phone. “Erlinger Publishing, how may I direct your call?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business,” Chelsea said quietly to Lucy. “But they really were at a funeral and—”

  “Who asked you?” Lucy shot back.

  “I was just saying—”

  “Well, you’re right, it’s not any of your business, little Miss Frump Muffin.” Lucy chuckled. “We all know what they were really up to.”

  Chelsea’s brows arched high above her glasses, but Anna was thankful to see that she simply shook her head and continued walking toward the elevator. Good move, Chelsea. Anna would commend her later.

  “Lucy.” Edmond calmly tilted his head away from the reception area as he walked over to a more private niche near the restrooms. Without even thinking, or perhaps simply to be a witness, Anna followed him.

  Lucy followed too. Then she stood in front of Edmond with that same old flirty look on her face, almost as if she were challenging him. “What?”

  “I want you to collect your things and—”

  “Collect my things?” Her blue eyes flashed.

  “Your services are no longer needed here.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, right. Get serious, Ed.”

  “I’m dead serious, Lucy.” Edmond’s cheeks flushed now. Anna knew he hated to be called Ed by anyone.

  “News flash.” Lucy waved a French manicured fingernail under his nose. “You’re not my boss, Ed. And FYI, Felicia has offered me a full-time position in the marketing department as soon as my internship ends.”

  “Your internship ends today.”

  “Oh, good. Then I can start my new job and actually be on the payroll.” She grinned victoriously at him. “And I can get benefits.”

  Anna stared at Edmond in horror. What had he gotten himself into?

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Lucy,” he said firmly. “But you really do need to be on your way. Your work is finished here.”

  “Maybe you should take this up with Felicia.” Lucy remained planted right in front of him. “She might have a different opinion.”

  “There’s no need to speak to Felicia,” he told her. “In case you didn’t know, Rick Erlinger is Felicia’s boss.”

  “So?”

  “Rick and I discussed your termination earlier this week. He wanted to give you one last chance, and you just blew it.”

  Lucy’s eyes got big. “But I—”

  “Please collect your things and be on your way,” he said crisply. “The sooner the better.”

  “But I was only joking with you,” she said sweetly. “You know that. I like to kid around. That’s part of my charm.”

  Edmond ignored her as he slipped his hand beneath Anna’s elbow, then guided her out of the reception area and down the hallway toward her desk.

  “Wow.” Anna set her purse on her desk. “What a showdown.”

  He took in a deep breath. “Did I handle it okay?”

  “Perfectly.” She studied him. “But what you said was true, right? About Rick backing you on this?”

  He nodded. “Rick and I met about this earlier this week. Remember that day when I wanted to speak with you, and you saw me talking to Lucy in my car?”

  “Yes.”

  “That was right after my meeting with Rick. He asked me to warn Lucy privately that she had to back off from stalking me and act more professionally, or she would be let go with no recommendation for her internship.”

  “Guess she didn’t take you seriously.”

  He sighed. “To be honest, I’m glad she didn’t. Good riddance to Lucy.”

  “What about Felicia?”

  “She’ll get over it.” He chuckled. “Besides, she’s always asking me to exercise more authority around here. Guess I did that today.”

  Anna beamed at him. “You sure did.”

  “Guess who’s staying in my guest room?” Anna’s mother asked Anna on Wednesday afternoon.

  “I have no idea,” Anna told her with impatience, “but unless this is an emergency, you’re not supposed to call me at work, remember?”

  “Oh, mi’ja, don’t be such a spoilsport. I thought you’d want to know.”

  “The pope?”

  “No, don’t be silly. It’s Lelani’s father. Mr. Porter is our guest for the next week.”

  “He came?”

  “Yes. Lelani doesn’t even know about it yet. So don’t tell her. Mr. Porter set the whole thing up with Gil. I have Emma today. Right now she’s playing with Grandpa Porter, and when Lelani comes by after her final, we will surprise her.”

  “I’m happy for Lelani, but really I need to—”

  “Yes, yes, and I suppose you and Edmond are too busy to come over here for a little family dinner tonight.”

  “A little family dinner?” Anna laughed.

  “I already promised Gil I would keep it small, Anna. Only our immediate family, Mr. Porter and Lelani and Emma, of course, and I thought you might like to bring Edmond.”

  “Okay, I’ll ask him. What time?”

  “Gil is bringing food from the restaurant. I am too busy to cook.”

  Anna laughed. “Since when has that stopped you before?”

  “You be here by six,” her mother commanded.

  “Uh-oh,” Anna said as Edmond turned onto the street to her parents’ house.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I see cars, too many cars. This was supposed to be a small family dinner.”

  Edmond chuckled. “Does your mother do anything in a small way?”

  “Apparently not. I hope Gil isn’t too disappointed.”

  As it turned out, Anna’s grandparents had arrived a day early and were also houseguests at her parents’ house. Naturally, that meant some of the aunts and uncles couldn’t be left out. Consequently the “small” dinner had grown into a gathering of close to thirty guests.

  Anna and Edmond went directly to Mr. Porter, shaking his hand and welcoming him. “I see you’re getting to meet some of Lelani’s soon-to-be in-laws,” Anna told him. “I hope you don’t feel too overwhelmed.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your grandparents.”

  Anna frowned. “I hope my grandmother didn’t say anything too regrettable.”

  He winked at her. “She actually reminded me a bit of my wife.”

  Anna suppressed a giggle. “Yes, I can see that.”

  “Unfortunately, Lelani’s mother was unable to make the trip.” His expression was slightly grim, but Anna could tell he was trying to be polite. “She expresses her regrets.”

  “Here’s your grandpa now,” Lelani said as she brought Emma to join them. “She’s just had a change and is as fresh as a daisy.” Lelani handed Emma to her dad.

  “How’s my little princess?” Mr. Porter grinned at Emma. She looked adorable in the pink ruffled dress that Lelani had wanted her to wear for her birthday. Apparently Anna’s mother hadn’t gotten the final say in Emma’s wardrobe tonight. Soon Gil joined them, Mr. Porter handed him the baby, and the five of them visited pleasantly about the weather in Maui and snorkeling. Mr. Porter was just telling them that his guesthouse was always available to Lelani and her friends when Anna noticed a worried expression cross her brother’s face.

  “Warning,” he said quietly. “Trouble this way comes.”

  “Oh, Gil.” Lelani laughed. “It’s only your grandmother.
”

  “My point precisely.” He whispered something in Emma’s ear and she just cooed.

  “So here is the happy couple.” Abuela Castillo directed her attention to Lelani and Gil. “And the pretty baby.” She nodded. “You make a lovely picture.”

  “Thank you,” Lelani told her.

  “But a picture doesn’t always tell the whole story, does it?”

  “You remember Edmond, don’t you, Abuela?” Anna attempted to redirect her grandmother’s conversation. “I think you met before.”

  “Oh, yes. I see you two are still together.” She sighed as if this was just more bad news.

  “It was lovely for you to make this trip for our wedding,” Lelani told her with a big smile. “It means so much to us to have family here.”

  Abuela’s frown lines deepened. “Yes. I hear your mother has boycotted the wedding.”

  “I wouldn’t say boycott—”

  “Is she coming or not?” Abuela interrupted Lelani.

  “No, but—”

  “So she does not approve?”

  Mr. Porter put his arm around Lelani’s shoulders. “Lelani’s mother has some health issues,” he said solemnly, “that make travel difficult.”

  “So she approves of the marriage?” Abuela persisted.

  “Who wouldn’t approve of this marriage?” Mr. Porter said amicably. “Isn’t it obvious how much these two kids love each other?” He smiled at Gil. “Who could argue with that?” He looked directly at Abuela now. “You can be assured that I back my daughter wholeheartedly.”

  “That’s right.” Gil nodded. “Mr. Porter has been incredibly supportive.”

  “And I see Tia Elisa looking for you, Abuela.” Anna pointed across the room. “I’ll bet she hasn’t even seen you yet.”

  “Don’t let us keep you,” Gil added.

  To everyone’s relief, Abuela moved on.

  “Does Mother really have health issues?” Lelani asked with concern.

  He pointed to his head. “Just mental-health issues.”

  Lelani laughed and the others did too. But before the night ended, just as Gil and Lelani were preparing to leave, Abuela made yet another attempt to rain on their parade. “Lelani was certainly lucky to find such a hard-working young man to play father to her child. I hope she appreciates her good fortune.”