I found nothing comical about being separated for two days. My lips must have formed into a pout.
“Love, it’s only two more days,” he consoled me. “After that, I won’t let anything or anybody separate us again, OK?” He lifted up my sullen face. “I’ll see you at the altar.” Jake leaned in and placed his lips on my forehead.
This was the last time I saw Jake till I walked down the aisle.
Saturday morning we all slept in. We consisted of Mom, me, four aunts, eleven female cousins, Gram and her staff. Even with our huge house, everyone jostled for space. No one wanted to spend the night in our room, as all the ladies thought it would be weird to spend the night in what they termed, “the honeymoon suite.” As much as I liked company, I was happy to be by myself while everyone crowded in the extra bedrooms. I heard a light knock on the door and I knew alone time was over.
Laney, the chief’s daughter, walked in. “Can I use your shower? It’s crazy how all ten showers can be taken at the same time. Do you need to use it?”
“I think Gram is taking all of us to the spa today as my bachelorette party/bridal shower. I’m probably going to go use the shower there after my treatments.”
“Oh, well if that’s the case, I guess I’ll do the same. Can I hang out here with you for a while?”
“Of course.” I was only too happy to get to know more family members.
Laney sat on the couch and proceeded to tell me a fascinating story.
“Did you know that you and I were in Japan at the same time?”
“No way!” I answered, coming off the bed and sitting on the couch with her. “When were you there?”
“All last year. I participated in a student exchange program and did my sophomore year at Tokyo University.”
“Oh, I wish we had met earlier, Laney. We could’ve been friends in Japan. It was lonely living there without a friend. I took the bullet train many times into the city. What fun that was.” Memories of Tokyo flooded my mind.
“Jake was so frantic when you left for Japan. He was such a mess. He flew to Japan and we looked for you, but it was too difficult to figure out where you were staying. Eventually, he went back home, but called me daily asking me to help him find you. It makes me want to cry when I think about him searching for you. He was really devastated.” Her pretty face turned dour.
It made me want to cry as well. Those were not the happiest days, but I guess it solidified our feelings for each other. Those days also made me a stronger person knowing that I could live alone—lonely, but alone.
“So where exactly were you staying? I tried to help, but it was too random looking for you in every village.” Laney’s shoulders slightly shrugged and she looked apologetic.
We talked about where we lived in Japan and all the fun places we had visited. Not surprisingly, our paths crossed many times even in such a big country. Laney had even visited our village after I had left. I enjoyed my talk with her.
Spa time provided more revelations about Jake during our separation. Gram treated all the ladies to a full day at the spa. Because of the enormity of our group, the spa separated us into three groups of six. Mom and the aunts chaperoned Gram through all of their treatments. Jane, Sarah, Laney, and I hung with Uncle Billy’s two daughters. We started with a body wrap in the mud room, and ended with a Shiatsu massage before meeting up with our group for lunch.
We sat in our private patio and Aunt Barbara asked Gram the question that apparently was on everyone’s mind.
“Estelle,” Barbara spoke. It never occurred to me that Gram had a name. “What finally convinced you to give up your most treasured ring? I thought you weren’t going to let go of it till you passed away. We were all curious as to who it would be passed down to, although we figured it would be Sandy.”
I never realized the importance of this ring to the family. Envy was not the motive for their curiosity, as each aunt could purchase one for herself if she so desired.
“This ring does mean a lot to me. My father bought it for my mother as a present after she had me, her firstborn. My dad loved my mother more than all nine of us combined. All I remember from my youth till the day my parents died was how they put each other high above everything and everyone else. When Jakey first told me about Emily, I thought it was a passing phase. He spoke so ardently about a girl he’d just met. Then when Emily left for Japan, I’d never seen Jake so distraught. I had dinner with him in Paris in February and he grieved for this girl who was alone in the world. He believed it was entirely his fault that she had left. There was nothing anyone could do to comfort him. That was when I knew he truly loved her and would do anything to be with her again.”