Chapter 44: Matters of Timing

Monday, December 24, 1984

Mom had breakfast on the table by the time we got up. Angie and Paige slept even later than we did, but Mom had enough food no one was at any risk of going hungry.

We had few plans today. Mostly, we were going to hang around the house until mid-afternoon, when we’d take Jas and Paige to their parents’ houses, then come back here for church with Mom and Dad.

All of that gave us a lot of ‘togetherness.’ The first part of the day wound up being a quiet time for everyone to hang out and talk about a whole lot of nothing or read whatever we were reading.

Jess called around one-thirty from the airport. That would be the Los Angeles airport. She was getting out of there fairly late, but she was very upbeat about things. At one point I thought she was going to give me a clue, but I didn’t ask and she didn’t tell. Maybe I’d misinterpreted where she was going, but I knew her pretty well by now. She would’ve given me a hint if I’d sounded like I wanted one, but I think she was happier I was content to wait.

I promised to see her in a couple of days. She said she couldn’t wait. There was almost certainly a hint of something more in her tone. She’d never found anyone she considered worthy of dating at USC and I suspected she most likely never would. If she did, I was pretty sure he’d have my blessing. Jess had very high standards, after all.

My first life Jess had, too, but nothing compared to this one. But, then, knowing what happened to that Jess likely made this Jess that much pickier.

The Jess who had married ... um... ‘me?’ I could only guess at her standards. That guy was an asshole, pure and simple, but he might have treated Jess like a princess in the ways that mattered to her. Maybe that Jess was a bit of an asshole, too. There was no way for any of us to know, after all.

We changed a Marshall family tradition this afternoon out of necessity. It’d always been our tradition to open one present after church and before bedtime, but Jas and Paige wouldn’t be here then and there was no way we would exclude them.

So, we made a new rule: if everyone couldn’t be together at night, we’d open a present in the afternoon!

Jas and Paige went first, mostly because the rest of us deferred to them. Jas picked a present from Angie and Paige (we’d decided couples would give one present to each person — unless they were related, or Angie would have been annoyed! — so this didn’t get exponentially more complicated) that turned out to be a little stained-glass window ornament with some jasmine flowers on it. I had no idea where she’d gotten it, but it was pretty awesome!

Paige’s present was the one from Jas and me. We’d gotten her a new A&M umbrella. She’d broken two of them in the monsoon rains and lost a third. Hopefully, this one would last. It had her name on it, too, carved into the handle. The things you can do with a Dremel tool if you’re patient!

I wound up going next. The present I picked turned out to be the one from Angie. She’d gotten me a book cover that zipped up around whatever hardback I was reading and had a built-in bookmark. It matched one I’d owned ten years from now, or thirty years ago. She had no way of knowing that, though. I’d never mentioned it.

I got the tiniest bit teary-eyed, but I think Mom and Dad missed it. That, or they probably guessed there was a story there. There was, of course. Just not one they would even imagine.

Jas caught it, though, and I’m sure guessed it meant something.

Angie was the last of ‘us kids,’ and she picked the present from Jas and me. We’d gotten her a new keychain. The one she had was in danger of falling apart. This one also had a neat little utility knife and a bottle opener. Not that she needed a bottle opener, but it might come in handy.

Mom and Dad deviated from tradition, too. They’d always arranged to pick the ‘traditional’ presents from Angie and me. This time, they picked ones from the couples.

Jas and I had gotten Mom a maroon knit cap. She complained about the cold off and on. That was ‘new,’ but it didn’t worry me. ‘Old Mom’ had been fifty pounds heavier in 1984 than ‘new Mom’ was, and that probably left her colder. I was nearly certain the weight loss was from exercise and a somewhat better diet, not anything less sanguine. She seemed to cherish the cap already.

Dad picked Angie and Paige’s present. They’d gotten him (and Mom, perhaps) a nice key organizer to hang by the back door. Those wouldn’t be for Dad’s personal set of keys, but he kept spare house and car keys in a bowl near the door. I didn’t actually like the habit myself — a thief who got into the house could unlock the deadbolt and take the car — but it was a favorite of Dad’s and he’d done it in my other life. I think his father had done that, and I would never try to talk him out of it.

Everyone seemed quite happy with their gifts, thankfully. Not that I’d expect anything else, but it all seemed heartfelt.

We dropped Paige off first. Jas and I hugged her, then Angie gave her a big kiss goodbye before going inside to say a quick hello to Tony, Jean, Ted, and Monique. She would see them all tomorrow, while Jas and I probably wouldn’t see Paige again until Wednesday. That would be the longest we’d gone without seeing Paige in ... well, pretty much forever, it felt like!

We did much the same at Jasmine’s house, except Angie came in to hang out for a bit. Andrew was in town, and he and I hugged and shook hands. Now that fences were mended, I liked and respected the guy. He’d only wanted the best for his sister. I understood that. One day I hoped to have half-Vietnamese children, and I wouldn’t be thrilled about someone who wanted to be with them just because of how they looked. Looks are important, but they’re not the only thing.

Camille and Francis both hugged me, and Camille gave me her usual cheek-kisses. We talked for a bit, hanging out in the living room, before Camille went off to do something in the kitchen.

At least, that’s what I thought she was doing. After a few minutes, though, she reappeared and gave me a quick ‘come here’ gesture with her fingers. I don’t think anyone else saw except for Andrew, and he seemed to realize it was for me.

I got up and headed into the kitchen. Camille led me on into Francis’s office. I’d never been in there, and doing so now felt a bit strange, but not bad.

“Sit!” she said, closing the door. “I don’t mean to be ominous or anything. It’s just that Francis and I were talking and I wanted to check with you before we do something.”

I smiled and nodded, saying, “Of course!”

“We want to give you and Jasmine a gift. You both do very well at managing money, and we know that you can travel with your own resources, but we’d like to gift you a nice vacation to somewhere that would be special to you. Not Europe — we think you’ll do that yourselves before too long. For now, our family ... well...”

She paused and actually blushed slightly. It was unusual for her.

“I will ask something I should perhaps not ask. You are not planning on...”

I saw where she was going.

“Yes...”

She blushed a bit more.

“But what I think you’re asking is when...”

That got a bit of a grin and a nod.

“Not soon, and not a long time, is the best I can say. We’d both be fine saying it tomorrow, but...”

“But there are traditions. Once it’s said, actions are expected to follow,” she said, nodding.

“I have nothing against a moderately long engagement...”

Having had one in the past, that is. Another in a long line of things I couldn’t say.

“ ... but it wouldn’t fit expectations,” I said, shrugging a bit. “We’re eighteen. People expect us to wait a bit before making a formal commitment. If we made one now, they wouldn’t feel the same way about it as if we waited.”

“Indeed,” she said, smiling. “And some of our relatives ... they would not take you seriously if you were not engaged. Some would not even if you were but not yet married. There is time enough for that. None will matter to you. None of them will be offended if you become engaged before meeting them. Some may be annoyed with Jasmine if she brings a mere ‘boyfriend’ to meet them, though, and will put inappropriate pressures on both of you.”

I nodded, then said, “That’s good to know, actually. It was somewhat touch and go with my relatives, but it helps greatly that my step-grandfather has very much taken a liking to not only Jasmine but also Paige and Cammie. My grandmother on my father’s side was always the biggest question mark, but his support answered that question. No one I would consider would be suitable for one aunt on my mother’s side, so she’s hardly a question mark.”

“This is the one we’ve discussed before — your aunt Helen.”

I nodded again. “Anyone religious and traditional enough for Aunt Helen wouldn’t work at all for me.”

Camille chuckled. “Indeed! In any case, back to what I was saying. We don’t want to give you such a present if it would be an issue, but we would like to, otherwise. As you well know, we consider you a son-in-law, or at least a son-in-law-in-waiting, and we’re expecting you will have time to travel.”

“It wouldn’t be an issue for me. I very much doubt it would be an issue for Jasmine, but I can’t answer for her.”

Camille’s eyes sparkled a bit.