It had been well over a year since Mike and Lily first landed on the island. Davy, Peter, and Micky finally decided to give up on music all together. After Davy and Micky severed their friendship for almost a year over the situation, they finally decided to make amends and agree that their group just wasn't the same without Mike. Peter, who had so much trouble with Mike's sudden death, had turned to pills for a time, but then sought help after waking up in a neighborhood he didn't recognize.
Mike and Lily were expecting their first child. Several months after their island wedding, Lily started to get worn out way too easily, and the sight of fish made her ill. Mike was really scared, fearing that Lily may have been bitten by some insect that carried terrible diseases like Malaria. After about a month or two of this behavior, Mike insisted that Lily go see Miha. She was no doctor, but was the closest thing the village had to one. She took Lilly into her tent and looked her over closely. Not finding any insect bites, she became puzzled. Suddenly, she noticed Lily's stomach was hard and her breasts were swollen. The huge grin on Miha's face gave Lily a sense of relief.
As Miha walked out of the tent, Mike stood and asked, "Well?" He knew he couldn't understand Miha, but her expression would tell him if it was good news or bad news. Miha took her graddaughter from Kiki's arms and handed her to Mike. She then went over to the now dressed Lily and placed a hand on her stomach and rubbed. Mike's eyes about popped out of his head when he finally figured out what Miha was saying.
"A baby? We're going to have a baby?" Mike said, pointing to Miha's granddaughter to make the connection. Miha nodded. Unable to speak, Mike handed the baby back to Kiki and then took Lily in his arms. Her feet came off the ground as he spun her.
"Wow, I'm going to be a mother," Lily said in shock, "and you're going to be a daddy. Oh Mike, I love you so much." Mike reached down to touch her stomach and he whispered, "I love you too."
******************************
Within the next few months, Miha and Kiki had taken Lily under their wing, trying to show her how to care for a baby. Their ways were different from what Lily was accustomed to, but she was a very intentative student. She knew that if her and Mike remained on this island forever, they would have to raise their child according to whatever resources they had available.
Since Kiki had her own child, she spent alot of time showing Lily how she would feed her baby without the aid of bottles. Though Kiki was only about sixteen or seventeen, she was a very mature and nurturing mother to baby Kashi. Lily admired her very much, for she was a kind and happy person. She was embarrassed at first to watch Kiki feed her baby the natural way, but as the weeks went on, she found it amazing, as Kiki would look down at her baby and smile as she drank.
"You know Kiki," Lily said one day," I know you can't understand what I'm saying, but I wanted to thank you for all you and your parents have done for Mike and me. Without all of you, we would probably be dead. You have taught us so much." Kiki looked at Lily as she talked, then smiled. True, she had no idea what she was saying, but from Lily's tone of voice, Kiki knew it was something nice.
"You know what? You're beautiful," Lily continued, "you have no clothes, no make-up, and no jewelry, but you are so beautiful. Your face just glows when you feed that baby. I was really scared when I first found out I was pregnant, but now I'm anxious. You make motherhood seem so wonderful. You know, my father has a friend who is an oil painter. I wish he were here now so he could do a portrait of you and that baby." Lily looked down and rubbed her tummy as her baby tumbled around. "It's funny, I can't remember the last time I said I wished I was home, and now I just wished someone else was here. I guess home really can be anywhere your heart is." What happened next really surprised Lily. Kiki reached over and took Lily's hand.
"Lily friend," Kiki said as she looked up at Lily. Lily had never heard Kiki speak a word of English. She had heard Shatzu and Miha repeat Mike on several occasions, but never Kiki.
"Kiki friend," Lily said as she squeezed Kiki's hand and smiled.
Chapter 16
Chapter 18
Back To Jan's Stories
Home