The Icing on the Cake (9 page)

“Dad, he’s here,” I called out as I rushed to the kitchen. “Will you get the door for me?” Dad, who had been setting the table in the dining room, shook his head.

“Three grown girls and I still don’t understand why you all can’t just get the door yourselves.”

He answered the door anyway.

I listened as Isaac and Dad exchanged greetings, and then I entered the living room, followed by Mom.

“Hi, Isaac, I’m glad you made it,” I said, feeling slightly giddy at the sight of him. He was seated on the couch, looking terribly gorgeous, and I sat down next to him. My pulse immediately quickened.

“So did you find the place okay?” Mom asked, leaning against Dad’s recliner.

“Actually, Rona Bircheck drove me here so I wouldn’t get lost,” Isaac replied matter-of-factly.

So that was it? That was why she drove him? Oh, please. Hadn’t she ever heard of MapQuest?

“That was nice of her,” Mom said.

Yeah, real nice
, I thought bitterly.

Isaac regarded me for a moment. I had changed into a pair of slim black pants that I got for less than thirty bucks at Nordstrom Rack, and a pale blue top. “You look pretty,” he said quietly, his eyes sparkling.

“Thanks,” I responded. “You look good too.” And oh boy he did.

Isaac moved his eyes away from me and surveyed the room. “You have a very nice home,” he told my parents.

“Thank you,” Mom said.

Then, spotting Dad’s prized chess set, which was on the coffee table, Isaac asked, “Who’s the chess player?” Mom and I simultaneously pointed to Dad.

Dad, who had beaten every overconfident Scout at a chess tournament at Scout camp a month earlier, shrugged his shoulders. “I play a little.”

Mom excused herself and disappeared into the kitchen, and Dad and Isaac talked a bit about chess. I sat there watching Isaac as he and Dad talked. I couldn’t help it. He was just so handsome with his gorgeous hazel eyes and slightly mussed dark hair. And that smile. Oh, that smile.

After I had been shamelessly staring at him for quite a long time, he seemed to notice, and turned his head toward me. I quickly turned away and pretended to be enthralled by a piece of lint on my pants. Thankfully, at that instant, Mom came into the room and announced that dinner was ready.

“I know I’m hungry,” Dad said, patting his stomach.

We all moved into the dining room. Dad and Mom sat down in their usual places at the six-seat table, Dad at the head and Mom to his right. I sat next to Mom, and Isaac sat across from me. I eyed the steaming food eagerly.

“Isaac, would you offer the blessing on the food?” Dad asked.

I quickly shot Dad a what-are-you-doing glare, but he ignored me. I turned my eyes down to avoid making eye contact with Isaac.

“Of course,” Isaac said.

Isaac bowed his head and offered a reverent and sincere prayer. When he had finished praying, I opened my eyes slowly and turned them upward to look at him. He met my gaze and our eyes locked for a moment. I gave him a tiny smile. Then I thought I felt his foot touch mine under the table. But I’m not quite sure—it might have been Mom’s.

“Did you serve a mission, Isaac?” Dad asked as he served himself some drizzled chicken and passed the dish to Mom.

I shot Dad another look, but I was ignored again.

“Yes, sir, I served in the Philippines,” Isaac answered.

“What year did you get home from your mission?” Mom asked, sounding interested. She handed me the chicken.

“I’ve been home for about four years now.”

As I dished up some chicken, I did some quick math in my head. I figured out that if Isaac had gone on his mission when he was nineteen, then he was likely about one year older than me. Not too shabby
.

Mom obviously did some math in her head as well because seconds later she started listing off the names of anyone and everyone she knew who had served a mission in the Philippines during the years Isaac had served there.

I always find it funny when people do this. And I find it even funnier that they usually discover they have a friend or an acquaintance in common. It turned out that Mom’s previous visiting teaching companion had a daughter whose ex-fiancé served in Isaac’s last area. Mom and Isaac talked about him for a moment.

For the remainder of the meal, the conversation stayed mostly on Isaac and his mission. I listened intently as he spoke about what he learned and experienced in the mission field. I felt my admiration for him growing as he shared his stories and his thoughts with my family.

When we were through eating, Dad, remembering Isaac’s earlier interest in his chess set, asked Isaac if he would like to play.

Isaac looked at me as if asking for permission, which I thought was really adorable. “Go ahead,” I said. “I’m going to help clean up.” I stood up and started clearing dishes from the table.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Isaac asked in a way that let me know he really wanted to play chess.

“I’m sure. Mom and I both hate chess, so he doesn’t get a chance to play much. Go play.”

I put my hand gently on Isaac’s shoulder and suddenly felt an electric-like sensation that began in my fingers and spread all the way into the center of my chest. I moved my hand away quickly, but couldn’t help smiling sweetly at Isaac as he stood up from the chair. He returned my smile with a look that let me know he had enjoyed the simple touch as much as I had.

Dad and Isaac set up their game in the living room, and I helped Mom with the dishes. In the privacy of the kitchen, Mom and I talked.

“I really like him, Annabelle,” Mom said with a smile. “I liked him the second I met him at the café.”

“I really like him too,” I whispered dreamily, leaning against the counter.

“How does he know Rona Bircheck?” Mom asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice. Mom became a little wary of Rona after she watched me attempt to play croquet in my black prom dress.

“She asked him to take some photos for her,” I said in a resent-laden voice. “And now she won’t go away. She has some big-shot world-saving doctor for a fiancé, but she insists on spending time with a guy who may possibly be interested in me. I don’t know. She’s up to something.”

“Well, Annabelle, as your father and I have always told you: Leave it in the Lord’s hands, and everything will turn out the way it should.”

“I don’t want everything to turn out the way it should if it includes Isaac and Rona Bircheck being together.” I smiled to let Mom know I was joking. At least, halfway joking.

Mom and I heard a victorious holler coming from the living room. Grinning, we went to see what was going on.

Isaac looked up at me as I entered the living room. “Your Dad’s beating me.”

“Don’t give up hope,” I encouraged, standing behind Isaac. Without thinking, I began rubbing his shoulders the way I’ve seen trainers do to boxers in the movies. And there was that electric feeling again. I quickly moved my hands away.

Dad ended up winning the chess game, and Isaac accepted the defeat wonderfully. We were all talking and laughing as we ate strawberry shortcake in the living room when we heard the doorbell ring.

“Oh man, is it already eight o’clock?” Isaac asked, looking at the grandfather clock in surprise. “I told Rona to pick me up at eight. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.” He sounded apologetic, regretful even.

I closed my eyes and tried to think good thoughts about Rona.

Mom got up and answered the door. “Rona, please come in,” she offered kindly. Just like me, Mom has never been unkind to Rona, just a little . . . cautious.

Rona reluctantly entered the house, and I forced a smile onto my face.
Good thoughts,
I reminded myself.
Good thoughts.

“Would you like to join us for some shortcake?” Mom asked.

I turned my head away so no one could see the how-canyou-possibly-invite-her-to-have-shortcake-with-us look on my face.

“All right,” Rona replied slowly.

Mom sent Dad into the kitchen to serve the shortcake. Then she invited Rona to sit down. “Annabelle tells me you are engaged,” she said as Rona lowered herself onto Dad’s recliner. “Congratulations.”

Isaac looked at Rona like he was hearing the news for the first time, and silently I profusely thanked Mom for finding a way to reveal the news to Isaac.

“Yes, uh, I, uh,” Rona stammered, her eyes suddenly taking on a strange look. Then, without finishing her rambling sentence, she said, “My mom and sister threw me a surprise party yesterday. It was supposed to be a bridal shower, but it was more of a, well, anyway, it was down at Pebble Beach. The band Gidget Goes Graceland played. My mom surprised me with that. They had a show in San Jose last night, so she arranged for them to play at my party first.”

I looked at Rona. Was her little party supposed to impress us or something? I mean, sure it’s impossible to have a function at Pebble Beach unless you’re extremely rich or extremely famous, and it’s pretty much the most coveted party location ever. But who was this “Gidget Goes Graceland?” It didn’t even sound like a real band.

Then I remembered. That was the name of the band Isaac had played for me on our way to Vaz Plaza. His favorite band.

“That’s my favorite band,” Isaac said, his eyes wide with excitement.

Rona angled her body toward Isaac. “Really?”

“When does your fiancé get back?” I blurted out. The room grew extremely quiet, and everyone looked at me like my head had just fallen off. I shrugged my shoulders in it-was-just-an-innocent-question fashion.

A look of confusion came over Rona’s face. “I’m not quite sure, but . . .”

Then Mom attempted to save the day. “Speaking of bridal showers, Annabelle says you’re throwing Carrie a surprise bridal shower.”

“Yes,” Rona replied, obviously eager to change the subject. “Annabelle is arranging the menu for the shower.”

“Really, Annabelle?” Mom looked at me with surprise.

“Mm hmm.”

“By the way, how is that progressing?” Rona asked, taking the opportunity to put the hot lights on me.

Okay. It was bad enough that Rona was planning my best friend’s bridal shower instead of me. But now I was her underling. Now I had to report my progress to Rona Bircheck. My progress on the menu for
my
best friend’s bridal shower!

Mom, Dad, and Isaac all looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to respond to Rona.

“It’s going great,” I answered. It wasn’t a complete lie. I had bought a bridal magazine on the way home from the gym the day before. And I had intended to look through the magazine for tips on organizing the food for a bridal shower. It wasn’t my fault all the gorgeous dresses in the magazine distracted me from the task.

“Good. Since the party is so soon, I was worried it might be a little bit difficult.”

“Nope. Everything is going just fine,” I responded breezily.

“So you’ve decided on a caterer then?” Rona asked.

A caterer? I was planning on some nice fruit, veggie, and meat trays from the grocery store and a jumbo bag of Costco rolls. She was expecting me to get the party catered? “Oh, well, I haven’t found one yet, but I’m close,” I answered. It was basically true. Now that I knew I was supposed to be looking for a caterer, I was one step closer.

“Good,” Rona said. “Oh, and I forgot to tell you, plan for about twenty people. And as far as the budget, I was thinking about ten dollars per plate, so that’s two hundred dollars. I can put in a hundred and you can put in a hundred.”

“Okay,” I answered. “Anything for Carrie.”

“Just don’t dilly dally too long,” Rona instructed, standing up from her seat abruptly.

“We’d better go,” Rona announced.

She looked toward Isaac who was still sitting comfortably on the couch. He looked at her like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He stood up slowly and thanked my parents for dinner.

I opened my mouth to offer Isaac a ride home, but Rona interrupted me, almost as if she knew what I was going to say and she wanted to prevent me from saying it. “Thank you for the shortcake,” she said to my parents. She gingerly set her plate down on the coffee table and I noticed she hadn’t taken a single bite. This really bothered me for some reason. Probably because I would have happily eaten her serving.

Rona made her way to the front door, and the rest of us staggered behind her. I was still trying to find the words to offer to drive Isaac home.

“Goodnight Brother and Sister Pleasanton,” Rona said as she reached for the brass doorknob.

To my disappointment, Isaac said good-bye to my parents as well.

But then, after letting Rona open the door and walk out ahead of him, he spoke softly to me. “Will you be here for another twenty minutes?”

I stared at him blankly. “Yeah, probably.”

“Good. I’ll be back.”

“What?” I asked, completely confused.

But Isaac was already jogging toward the car, grinning at me over his shoulder as he went.