Chapter 25. The Measure of Love Is to Be There Without Measure
The Measure of Love Is to Be There Without Measure
My grandfather never liked people fussing over him.
He never missed my birthday or Oma’s, always making sure to bring home flowers for her birthday, or cupcakes with pretty sprinkles for mine.
But he never celebrated his own, and whenever Oma tried to make a fuss, he’d wave her off and say he didn’t need anything fancy, as long as his two favorite people in the world were there with him.
Oma once told me that it stemmed from growing up in a modest family in Indonesia, and when they migrated overseas, he had to be very careful with his money to make ends meet.
But he’d turned eighty today. It was a huge milestone that had to be celebrated.
So I decided that he was having a party, and the response to the invitations I sent out had been heartwarmingly positive.
His friends and old coworkers had all jumped at the chance to celebrate him, and it warmed my heart to see how much he was loved by the people in his orbit.
The best surprise, though, was when I invited my dad.
I’d done it out of courtesy, because I knew he was overseas, and the odds of him coming were minuscule.
But he replied, saying that he was flying out to Tokyo that week for work, and since he had some time off, he’d make the trip back home to celebrate Opa’s birthday.
I wasn’t holding my breath, but if my dad really was coming, that would make Opa’s day.
As a cover story, I told my grandfather that instead of having our weekly dinner tomorrow, we were having it tonight instead to celebrate his birthday. He was wearing a big smile on his face when I picked him up at six.
“Selamat ulang tahun,* Opa.” I gave him a hug and a peck on his cheek. It was one of the more common Indonesian phrases that I knew how to say, and I always made sure to wish my grandparents happy birthday in the language.
“Thank you.” He beamed at me. “Delapan puluh!? I’m old, Kim.”
“Age is just a number. Didn’t you say that to me once?” I unlocked the car and opened the door for him. “Our dinner reservation is at seven, so do you mind if we swing by the store quickly? I forgot my laptop, and Nicole needed help with an online order.”
“Of course.” He settled into his seat as I navigated the car to the yarn store. “How was your day?”
“Busy, but good. We had someone from the tourism office come today for a tour of the precinct, and he’s going to write an article to highlight the businesses, which is awesome. Someone else from the local paper is supposed to come too next week, to chat with all of us.”
“Is that the person that Rob reached out to?” He adjusted his position to face me. “He texted me to say happy birthday, by the way.”
My heart thumped a little quicker, and possibly even multiplied a thousandfold at the mention of his name. I was that pathetic. And he remembered to text my grandfather?
“Who texted you, the guy from the tourism office?” I played dumb. “That’s nice of him.”
Opa let out a soft scoff. “You know perfectly well who I was talking about. I invited him to come to dinner tonight.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. And last week as well. Both times he said he was busy.”
“Maybe next time.”
“I said that to him, and his reply was, and I quote, ‘It’s probably best if I don’t come over while Kim is around.’ Why did he say that? Did you two have a fight?”
My heart dropped a little at hearing that. “No, and I don’t know why he said that. Why don’t you ask him?”
“Maybe I will.”
“Maybe you should.” I made a right turn into the Plaza complex and found a spot right in front of the yarn store. I told everyone to park a block or two away so Opa wouldn’t suspect anything, so the street was empty. “We’re here.”
My grandfather shook his head. “If you think I’m going to forget the conversation, I won’t. This isn’t over. We’ll talk more later.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. He’s probably just busy.” I turned the engine off and unbuckled my seat belt. “I don’t know how complicated the online order is, or how long I’ll be. I think you should go in, too.”
“Okay.” Opa heaved himself out of the car. “I need to use the restroom anyway.”
I suppressed my grin, glad he bought my excuse. Unlocking the front door, I pushed it open and stepped aside to let my grandfather through.
“I forgot my bag in the car,” I said. “You go in, I’ll catch up with you.”
“First your laptop, now your bag. When did you become so forgetful?”
I grinned. “When, indeed.”
The second he stepped inside, someone flicked on the light switch at the back of the store, and everyone yelled, “SURPRISE!”
Loud cheers followed by bright lights drenched the store, and Opa’s eyes widened as he took in the sights before him.
The entire store was decked out with balloons and buntings, and it couldn’t have looked more festive.
It was a team effort: Ellie, Jenna, and Nicole helped me rearrange the store after we closed yesterday.
The long wooden table in the middle of the store had been repurposed as a refreshment station, covered with a checkered tablecloth, brimming with plates of food and drinks.
Ellie had made cupcakes, kue lapis—Opa’s favorite Indonesian layer cake—and some cookies in the shapes of champagne flutes and birthday gifts, while Jenna spent last night helping me inflate balloons and make party buntings.
Alec had picked up the food I ordered from Java Spice, and Nicole had arranged to rent some folding chairs for the guests.
Opa was still staring at the scene in front of him, his eyes wide, his mouth forming an O.
Everyone was clapping and cheering and taking pictures of my shell-shocked grandfather, and then people started coming up to wish him a happy birthday, shaking his hand, giving him hugs.
His friends and their families, his old coworkers, and some of his neighbors came.
There were a few families from the Indonesian community in the city, several patients from his dialysis center, Dr. Nguyen, and some of his nurses.
While Opa was busy talking to the guests, I snuck away to check my phone.
My father’s flight was supposed to have arrived in the morning, but I hadn’t heard anything from him.
My last text to him a couple of hours ago was delivered and read, but there was no reply.
I sent him another text, then went into my message thread with Aiden and shot him a message too, to check if he had trouble finding the place.
I hadn’t seen him since the go-karting date, but he posted an Instagram story that he was back in town, so I assumed that he was still coming tonight.
But just as I finished sending the text to Aiden, a reply came in from my father.
Won’t be able to make it tonight. Flying last-minute to Beijing to cover a story.
What?
Anger and disappointment slammed into me. Fine, maybe he wasn’t able to turn down a work assignment, but couldn’t he at least have told me the minute he knew he couldn’t make it—before I had to ask where he was? Wasn’t that just common courtesy?
I should have known this would happen, and I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. Was I expecting too much for my father to show up for his own father? He was never there for either of us his entire life, so it was my own fault for expecting him to do so now.
I glanced at Opa, who was laughing and chatting with his friends. Good thing I hadn’t mentioned that I invited Dad, because he didn’t deserve to be disappointed on his birthday.
Blowing out a long breath, I cast my eyes around the room. Ellie was chatting with Nicole, and Jenna was at the other end of the room talking to someone else. Without thinking, I opened my WhatsApp thread with Rob.
Hey. I know you’re at your event, but I just needed to vent.
My dad was supposed to be here for my grandfather’s surprise party, but guess what?
He couldn’t make it. Too busy for his own father.
My own fault, though. Shouldn’t have expected too much from him. The only thing I can expect from him is disappointment.
The two blue checks appeared almost immediately.
I’m sorry. Are you okay?
Is Thomas okay?
Anything I can do to help?
No, there was nothing anyone could do. My father was probably beyond help, and I should really pull myself out of this funk, so I didn’t ruin Opa’s birthday night.
I only replied with a thumbs-up emoji, exited the chat, then checked on Opa.
Thirty minutes later, just as I was replenishing the drinks, the front door swung open. Rob walked in and caught my eyes, then made a beeline for me. My stomach flipped, and whatever resentment was brewing in my chest at my father suddenly didn’t appear all that significant.
“Hey.” I couldn’t help the smile that was tugging at the corners of my mouth. “I thought you had an event with your dad.”
“I left. Told him I wasn’t feeling well.” He returned my grin. “He probably didn’t believe me, but he wasn’t going to make a spectacle in front of his new business partners, so he had no choice but to let me go.”
Gratefulness and appreciation for this man welled up inside of me. My father might not have shown up for Opa and me, but Rob did. He had dropped whatever he was doing, again, to be here for me.
“Thanks for coming. It’ll mean a lot to my grandfather.” And me.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He was watching me. “Are you okay? About your dad not coming?”
I nodded. “Please don’t say anything to my grandfather. He didn’t know I invited him.”
“I won’t. I should probably go find Thomas.” He held up a brown paper bag. “Got him a woodworking book.”
“He’s over there with his doctor.” I gestured to where Opa was chatting with Dr. Nguyen.
He gave me one last look, before finally glancing in the direction I was pointing at, and color drained from his face.
“Why is Lucy here?”
“Lucy?” I frowned at him. “As in your ex? What do you mean?”
He pointed in my grandfather’s direction. “Lucy. My ex. Lucy Nguyen.”