Chapter 8 The Expeditor
Since Shane had asked to go with him the previous weekend, Oliver picked Shane up on the way to church. She came out dressed in one of her blue dresses with her hair partially pulled back. As Oliver held the door to the car open for her, she leaned up to kiss him lingering for a moment. "Morning Shane," he said with a smile.
"Morning Oliver." Shane asked questions about the choir on the way to the church curious as to who else he spent time with every week.
Oliver's dad arrived at the church around the same time they did. "I need to go pick up my choir robe," Oliver said reluctantly letting go of Shane's hand.
"Let's find a place to sit." Joe suggested to Shane.
Sitting down in a pew Shane asked, "Do you attend with Oliver often?"
"Occasionally. I understand why Oliver comes to church, but I tend to find God outside. Watching the sun break through the clouds on the side of a mountain or a mama bear find fish in a stream for its cubs. Seeing what God's created makes it easier for me to get closer to him. Sporadically I attend a man-made church and I like to hear Oliver sing," Joe answered. "He mentioned he didn't want you to sit by yourself the first time you came."
"Thank you. You didn't have to come for me." Shane responded pleased Oliver was so thoughtful but a little uncomfortable he'd pushed his dad into attending.
"I didn't mind. Especially for a nice Irish lass," Joe said with a grin.
Shane rolled her eyes, "Oliver told you about the tea."
"I wish I could have seen his face when he took that first sip." Joe said chuckling. "I'll take comfort when the time comes for such a sweet Irish lass to carry on the O'Toole name." Shane's mouth dropped open stunned. Joe looked at her fondly, "I've seen the way you look at each other Shane. It may take time for his head to catch up with his heart, but it is only a matter of time."
"Is it that obvious I'm completely in love with him?" Shane asked concerned and blushing slightly.
"Only to the people that really care about you both." Joe sighed slightly, "Oliver was born ready to be settled down. He doesn't always handle change well and moves at the pace of a mule delivering mail in the Grand Canyon." Joe answered trying to explain his son's nature to one that already knew it quite well.
"I've noticed." Shane smiled wryly before adding quietly, "He's worth every minute of the wait Joe."
"I feel that way. I've been hoping you did as well. I think you're really good for him."
"I'd heard you had a reputation as an expeditor." Shane said teasingly.
"Oliver's been trying to teach me that sometimes you have to trust the timing. It goes against my natural tendencies that I cultivated during my entire career." Joe admitted smiling. The service began pausing any further conversation.
The pastor based his sermon from Matthew. "Let your light shine before others…" He spoke about using your God given talents and resources to be the light in other's lives. He talked about everyone having different gifts and that you never knew what small act makes a large difference in someone else's life. Shane thought about when Norman told her his grandmother called him her sliver of light. When the choir rose to sing, Shane could see why Joe came to hear Oliver. She'd not heard him other than at Eleanor's funeral. It brought tears to her eyes as she wondered why he didn't sing more often outside of church.
Oliver joined them after the service. "Dad do you have time for lunch with us?"
"I'd enjoy that." Joe said exchanging a look with Shane that Oliver completely missed.
After they ordered Shane asked, "Someone has a birthday coming up. Have you decided how you'd like to celebrate Oliver?"
He smiled a bit sheepishly, "No, I haven't."
"I could have everyone over to my place. Have a little gathering if you're amenable?" She asked already starting to think about what to serve and if Ramon would be free to DJ.
Joe chimed in, "That sounds like fun."
"A small gathering would be enjoyable." Oliver answered pleased with the idea.
They spent the rest of lunch discussing work and Joe's next hiking trip.
Two weeks later Oliver arrived at Shane's house for his birthday party. He noticed multiple cars already parked along the street. Knocking on her door Norman answered letting him in. "Happy Birthday Oliver!"
"Thanks Norman." Rita and Shane were in the kitchen preparing food. Ramon was getting music ready to DJ and Joe & Bill were organizing drinks. Shane came up to Oliver and kissed him on the cheek, "Happy Birthday! Why don't you hang out with Norman and Ramon while we finish the food?"
"That's a lot of food." Oliver commented looking back while Norman steered him over to help Ramon prep music.
Soon people were arriving. As different people from work and church streamed in and his separate lives intermingled, Oliver was surprised at what the "small gathering" had morphed into. An hour later Oliver found Shane passing around food, "Shane I thought this was going to be a small get together?"
"It is. There can't be more than fifteen to twenty people here." Shane said in response. Joe approached hearing the comment and chuckled knowing to Oliver that would be considered a raucous crowd. "Oh, Joe can you get the birthday boy a drink. Have a glass of wine Oliver, relax, have fun!" She headed off with her tray of food.
Joe steered Oliver back over to the drinks, "We've got wine, beer, soda, lemonade or I can mix you something?"
"We?" Oliver asked bemused looking at the array of beverages.
"I got assigned bartending duties." Joe said with a grin, "Shane knows how to throw a party."
Glancing back at her, Oliver thought about the other times that had come up since they started dating that they had completely different definitions of the same thing. "Dad I thought we talked about a small gathering?" Oliver asked perplexed.
Seeing his son's distraction Joe decided for him pouring a class of wine. "Son, you and Shane are quite different. To her this is a small gathering. She wanted you to be able to spend time with friends. All your friends." Handing him the wine he pointed out the obvious while gently suggesting Oliver stop and think about Shane's point of view, "She went to a lot of work to put this together. You might want to let her know at some point you appreciate her effort."
"I will Dad." Oliver said thoughtfully before asking, "How did she get the people from choir here?"
"She called Dale and asked her who to invite from church." Joe watched his son keeping an eye on Shane. She was currently talking to Dale and some of his friends from church laughing with them about a story Ramon had just told.
"Shane is thorough when she takes on a project." Oliver commented taking a drink.
"Well, I second Shane's suggestion. Relax, have fun and enjoy her current project." Joe said patting his son on his shoulder. He watched Oliver meander back over to join Shane while he got someone else a drink.
After singing Happy Birthday and passing around cake and ice cream, people slowly started departing. Norman, Rita, and Joe stayed longer to help clean up and then they left as well. Oliver joined Shane in the backyard as she was picking up some chairs she'd placed outside. After putting them in the garage for her, they went back into the house. Remembering the conversation with his dad, "Shane thank you for organizing and putting all of this together."
Shane smiled knowingly running her hand down his arm. "Were you ok that it turned into a party? When you asked about the amount of people, I realized it might not have been what you were expecting."
Oliver laughed softly, "Picked up on that did you. I should have known when I arrived and there was enough food for a sports team." He slid his arms around her pulling her close while reassuring her. "I had fun. It was great to see everyone and spend time with them. Even if it was slightly unexpected."
Shane leaned into him brushing her lips against his, "Why don't you sit on the sofa and I'll bring the rest of the wine." She returned quickly with the wine and his birthday gift. Sitting next to him, "I didn't want to give you your gift in front of everyone. It's…rather…personal." Intrigued at her hesitancy, Oliver picked up the package starting to open it. "I found it after we talked a couple weeks ago." After taking the wrapping off the package, Oliver saw it was an ancestry health DNA kit. "You mentioned having no one to ask about your history. I thought this way you could at least know your genetic history."
Oliver was extremely moved. "Shane...thank you. This is incredible." He leaned over to kiss her before resting back against the sofa. She curled up next to him as he looked at the package. "How does it work?"
Shane smiled slightly leaning against him laying her head against his chest, "You spit in a tube and mail it off. Then they send you an email notification when your report is ready. You log into a computer site to get your report." She slid her hand up his chest fiddling a little with the pocket on his shirt. "I'll take care of the technical end."
"Who knew one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever gotten would involve spitting in a tube." Oliver said with a grin his free hand running over her hair before resting on her back.
Shane laughed leaning her head back to look up at him. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about the idea. Joe's an incredible father. Being a good parent has nothing to do with biology and we've both had parents that walked away." She took a breath, "I don't want to take anything away from your relationship with Joe. Knowing about your family history is more than knowing who your parents are though. When we talked a couple weeks ago, I could tell it bothered you not knowing anything about the other side of your history."
"It's hard to explain. I still embrace the O'Toole family history. It's what I was raised hearing stories about. What I identify with and it will always be a part of me. Then there's the other half of me that comes from my mother and a father that I know nothing about." He didn't add that as his relationship with Shane changed, he'd started thinking about having children. It made him pause to think about what stories he'd pass down to his own children. He absently played with her hair streaming down her back as she laid her head down on his chest. Imagining a blond-haired blue eyed girl, the image of her mother, Oliver wondered how Shane felt about children, but felt it was too early to ask.
Completely unaware of Oliver's thoughts about their future, Shane snuggled tiredly against him, "Well this can't answer questions from them, but it can tell you where they came from. Reading online there's lots of stories about people getting surprised thinking their families were from one area and getting a report back completely different. You never know what your great, great someone got up to secretly." She grinned widely before suggesting mischievously, "What if you turned out to be long lost cousins with Ramon?"
Oliver stilled shocked at the thought, "Shane be careful what suggestions you put out in the world." She giggled fatigue making her slightly giddy. Oliver finally put the box down on the side table and took a sip of wine. Glancing down to notice her almost falling asleep against him, "Shane I should go so you can get some sleep."
Sliding an arm up around his neck, she was so comfortable curled up next to him she didn't want to move. Her hand started playing in his hair. "Stay a little longer," she requested quietly.
Helpless against her request, the feel of her hand in his hair, and her nestled against his chest he capitulated. He cupped her face bringing her lips up to meet his. "Maybe a little longer," he said softly before kissing her slowly, tenderly. It only took moments for him to completely forget why he'd suggested he leave at all.