Weddings and Wasabi (14 page)

Then again, now that Lex and Aiden were married (by elopement, no less), Lex no longer came to this church, instead going to Aiden’s. Jenn had also been going to Valley Bible Church with Lex, Aiden, Trish, and Spenser, and only Venus came to Santa Clara Church because she and Drake worked with the youth group on Saturday nights. So if Grandma and Mrs. Matsumoto were coming here, only Venus would have known.

During announcements, Venus wrote in her program and passed it to the three cousins, who hunched over Trish to read it.

Mrs. Matsumoto & Grandma have become friends w/ Mrs. Cathcart, who runs Sunday School pgrm. She invited them to Senior group that meets here after church. They’ve been coming for 2 months.

Two months? The three cousins hadn’t known that their staunchly Buddhist, verbally anti-Christian Grandma had been going to Venus’s church for two months?

Well, no, Jenn couldn’t say Grandma had been as snidely anti-Christian in the past half year, not since she and Mrs. Matsumoto were back to being BFFs. When they had broken up, Grandma had been a bit insulting to Lex and Trish about their faith, but she hadn’t said anything about the cousins’ faith in the past few months, to be honest.

The service dragged on forever. Jenn was dying to go up to Grandma. But really, what would she say? “Hi, Grandma, funny seeing you here, so have you become a Christian yet?”

Well, she’d think of something. The pastor was certainly talking an awfully long—

At that moment, she noticed the table standing to the side near the front of the sanctuary. Faux-silver, deep-rimmed plates stood stacked on top of each other.

Just when she thought the service would be wrapping up … nope. It was the weekend for the church’s quarterly communion. She’d have to wait an extra fifteen minutes to talk to Grandma.

The pastor started the communion, clarifying that all Christians were encouraged to take communion even if they weren’t members of this church, but that they asked non-believers to abstain.

The ushers passed some shallow-rimmed plates, each containing broken pieces of bread. While waiting, Jenn watched idly as people took their bread.

The plate got to Grandma, and Jenn was hardly paying attention, until it seemed Grandma dipped her hand in the plate.

What?

Jenn stared hard at her, but it was difficult to tell if she’d taken a piece of bread or not. She shook Trish’s arm. “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“Grandma.”

“Grandma what?”

Maybe Jenn had imagined it.

The pastor had asked everyone to hold their pieces of bread so they could take it all together to signify their unity as a body of Christ. Jenn, feeling guilty, didn’t really pay attention to him because she was watching Grandma like a hawk. But she didn’t have a good angle—she was further up the aisle as opposed to directly across from her—and when everyone else raised their hands to their mouths to take the bread, she couldn’t be sure Grandma had eaten anything.

Had she taken a piece of bread? Jenn’s heart picked up speed as the ushers then passed around the deep-rimmed plates, which each contained tiny plastic cups of grape juice.

When the plate got to Grandma, she didn’t even hesitate. Very matter-of-factly, she took a cup.

Jenn’s entire body suddenly jolted like she’d been hit by lightning. Beside Jenn, Trish yelped softly. Venus shushed them, but then caught sight of Grandma, whose outside hand clearly held a cup of juice. An intense look settled on Venus’s face.

“Seriously?” Lex whispered. “Seriously?”

“You didn’t know this?” Jenn asked Venus, who shook her head.

Grandma. A Christian.

The thought made her want to laugh. To cry. To shout.

But then her heart plummeted back to earth. Maybe Grandma was only taking the cup so she wouldn’t look weird to not be taking it in front of everybody.

But Mrs. Matsumoto, sitting next to Grandma, wouldn’t have let her do that. And Mrs. Matsumoto looked rather complacent as she sat there.

“Jenn.” Trish nudged her.

She looked down at the plate of grape juice cups. Oh, right. Communion. She took a cup.

The pastor had asked people to take the cup as they felt led, to signify each person’s individual commitment to Christ. Well, it was kind of a no-brainer what she wanted to talk to God about. She closed her eyes.

Whoa. God. How could I ever think something was too big for You?

Hadn’t the past week taught her that? Being rescued by Grandma, receiving her first check from the Yips only seven days after getting the news about Mom? (Granted, that had been a slightly stressful seven days.)

And now, this. Completely unexpected but utterly amazing, filled with the grace and power of God. Of all her relatives, she would never have imagined that hard-nosed businesswoman and matriarch Grandma Sakai would turn from her lifetime of faithfulness to Buddha to Jesus Christ.

Jenn shivered. It was too much for her to even comprehend. God was so much bigger than she’d ever imagined.

Jenn noticed movement next to her. Trish was standing with everyone else for the final song and the benediction.

Jenn hastily slammed back the grape juice and scrambled to her feet.

As soon as the worship leader dismissed them, Jenn shot out of her seat and zeroed in on Grandma. “Hi, Grandma!”

Unfortunately, her exuberance made her spit a little on Grandma’s linen suit. She winced as heat crept up her neck to engulf her ears. “Sorry about that.”

Her three cousins had followed and stood around her now, making her feel a little less like a dork as they greeted Grandma.

She eyed them all, face looking exactly like normal. “You’re blocking the aisle.”

The ordinariness of it all made Jenn wonder if she mistook what had happened. She exchanged a puzzled look with Lex, but they stood aside so she and Mrs. Matsumoto could exit the pew.

The cousins followed them into the Social Hall, where tea and coffee were set out on a table. “Lex,” Grandma said, “could you please get me some tea?”

“Sure, Grandma.”

As soon as she was gone, Grandma turned to Trish. “Oh, I forgot. Could you get Mrs. Matsumoto some tea, too?”

Trish’s face registered surprise, but she went.

“And Venus—”

“I’m disappearing, Grandma.” Venus turned to Mrs. Matsumoto. “I think Mrs. Cathcart brought in a box of doughnuts to serve with the coffee. Do you want to come with me to the kitchen to help me cut them up?”

When the two of them were gone, Grandma turned to Jenn, who was a bit alarmed at this impromptu meeting. “Um … I guess you wanted to talk to me alone?”

“Mrs. Matsumoto suggested I talk to you.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine.” Grandma waved the question away, but then paused, as if gathering her thoughts. “I was talking to her last week, right after we found out about your mom. I told her something that she suggested you might like to hear from me.”

Jenn was completely perplexed. This was not Grandma. This was someone who looked like Grandma but who had gone all touchy-feely-emo on her.

“Jenn, I have always thought of you as the good girl. Everyone in the family took advantage of you, but you were always helpful, you were always gentle, you were always nurturing. And you always mentioned Jesus and pointed to your faith.”

Really? Jenn didn’t think she talked as much about her faith as Trish did (well, except for those few months Trish was dating that weird artist guy, not going to church, and getting into all kinds of trouble, including conceiving Elyssa). Jenn had always thought she was singularly quiet about her faith.

“I was very glad when you quit your job to start your catering business,” Grandma said.

“You were?” Jenn chewed her lip. “At the time, I thought you might be upset at me, like Mom and all the aunties.”

“No, I was very pleased. Because for once in your life, you were showing some backbone.”

That made sense. Jenn had once told Venus that Grandma actually got along best with her because of their similar determined personalities, which would explain why Grandma was pleased about Jenn’s bid for independence.

“But when I saw that you were willing to give up your dreams to work for Aunty for your mom’s sake, when I saw what you were willing to do, it suddenly made sense to me why you’d been such a doormat before.”

“Gee. Thanks, Grandma.”

Grandma ignored her sarcasm and reached up to touch her cheek. “You helped your family members without complaining because of your faith. You were willing to work for Aunty Aikiko because of your love for your mom and because of your faith. Your faith made you a better person.”

Jenn squirmed. “I don’t think I’m a
better
person, Grandma.”

She pinched Jenn’s cheek lightly. “Don’t argue with me. You are. I had been going to church with Mrs. Matsumoto for a few weeks, so I knew what that ‘something’ in you was.”

Jenn had “something” in her? She’d always felt so un-something. So ordinary. So … Jenn.

“Jenn, you are the reason I went to see the pastor to become a Christian. I wanted you to know that.” Her hand fell away from Jenn’s face, and there was a serenity in the intelligent eyes that she hadn’t seen before.

Grandma was still Grandma. She hadn’t suddenly turned into another Mrs. Matsumoto with her fervent, out-loud prayers every time she felt the Spirit move, her computer-like memory for Bible verses, and her favorite quote, “Praise God!”

No, Grandma was still reserved, sharp as a whip, and the reigning matriarch of the Sakai family. But she had a softer understanding in her eyes that Jenn recognized on a deep, almost subconscious level.

God had put that there. God had used Jenn, and she hadn’t even known it.

She exhaled long and deep. She was humbled and honored.

Jenn’s cell phone vibrated against her body where her purse, slung over her shoulder, rested against her ribcage. At the same moment, Trish approached with Grandma’s tea. Lex had apparently seen that Grandma wanted to talk to Jenn and was trying to detain Trish, but Trish swatted aside her grasping hand and said, “No, Grandma said she wanted tea, lemme go, what are you doing?”

“Thank you, Trish.” Grandma took the tea and ended her conversation with Jenn. So Jenn dug out her phone and checked the caller ID.

Edward.

Grandma was in good hands with Trish and Lex, right? “Hello?”

“Hi, gorgeous.”

There was that melty chocolate lava cake feeling in her ribcage again. “H-hi.”

“I need to talk to you. I have a, um … business proposition for you.”

“Oh.” How dare he call her gorgeous and then want to talk about business?

“And, uh … I’ve missed you.” His voice hit a low note that vibrated in the pit of her stomach.

He was forgiven. “I’m cooking lunch for my family today. Want to join us?”

“Sure. I’ll even bring a present for Pookie.”

His present was a real feeding trough, which he’d dug out of his family’s storage barn. “It’s an old one of Aunty Lorena’s.” He presented it to the goat like Vanna White.

Jenn giggled. “I fed her this morning, so I’ll use it when I feed her tonight.” She made to move back into the house and thought she saw movement at the edge of the back door into the house.

But then Edward detained her with a hand on her arm. “Wait. I need to talk to you.”

“I need to start making lunch.”

Through the open kitchen window, someone shouted, “No, she doesn’t!” It sounded suspiciously like Trish. Or Lex. They sounded alike.

Jenn closed her eyes and set her teeth, but she still felt the sunburn firing up her neck to her ears. She whirled around to put her back to the prying eyes inside the house and sighed as she looked up at Edward. “Sorry.”

His eyes had crinkled. “You’ve met my family. They wouldn’t be trying to hide behind the edge of the door. They’d be pushing each other for front row seating.”

She would be willing to bet Venus was in the upstairs bedroom with a pair of binoculars and some high-tech microphone she got from work. Jenn cleared her throat. “You needed to tell me something?”

“I know you were going to give up your catering business because of your mom’s treatments. But what about your own restaurant?”

Her breath caught. That would be a dream, but … “I don’t have the money for something like that.”

“Well, it wouldn’t quite be your own restaurant … yet. But Castillo Winery has a bed and breakfast that’s been doing very well for the past several years. My uncle has tossed around the idea of opening a restaurant there since we already have a large dining area and the kitchen all set up, but none of the family wants to undertake it. So I mentioned you.”

Jenn’s heartbeat ramped up. Did he really mean it? Her own restaurant? “You talked to your uncle about me?”

“You’d technically be hired by the winery, so you’d have a salary and insurance—which I thought you might not mind because of your mom.”

She absolutely didn’t mind at all.