Empty Hand Revolution

Meeting the Family

At Sarah's request, Cosmo touched down at LAX first. The plan was to meet her parents before embarking on a fundraising campaign to launch a new ministry. The two of them had known each other for less than a year and had been dating for only a couple months. Cosmo hadn’t asked Sarah a second time to marry him, but he planned on doing so after his fundraising trip.

First, he would meet his future in-laws. After stepping off the plane, he shouldered his duffle and headed straight for passenger pickup. Bangkok had taught Cosmo a lesson: carry on all luggage.

When he had asked Sarah if he should wait until she could introduce him directly to her family, she had insisted everything would be fine. Besides, she intended to remain in Hong Kong for another year.

Cosmo navigated the busy terminal and stepped through the automatic doors leading to the ground-level pick up area for arrivals. Summer in Los Angeles was easily five degrees cooler than Delhi and less humid than Hong Kong.

Cosmo glanced up and down the row of idling vehicles. All he knew to look for was a white Chevy Cavalier. None of the waiting cars matched the description.

As he scanned the travelers milling around him, he realized he would be easy to spot. A nearby family of Hispanic origin came the closest in skin color, but no one in all of Asia would mistake them as bahadur.

Cosmo mused at a row of shiny, yellow taxis neatly awaiting customers. In Delhi, multiple autowallahs would have either solicited or insulted him by now.

Finally a taxi driver approached him. “Where to, buddy?”

Cosmo shook his head. “I’m waiting to meet my future mother-in-law.”

Confused, the driver made an act of scanning the nearby crowd. “Shouldn’t you be looking for your future wife first? Or do they do things differently where you come from?”

Cosmo grinned. “Maybe a little. The future wife is in Hong Kong.”

“And she sent you alone?”

Cosmo nodded as a white sedan that fit the bill approached. “She’s still making up her mind.”

“In that case, I'll repeat my offer. Where to, pal?”

“Thanks anyway, but I think my ride is here.” Cosmo pointed with his chin as the white Cavalier angled into a spot a dozen meters away.

“Good luck then. You got cojones. I'll give you that much.” The driver winked as he dissolved into the crowd to look for a fare.

Cosmo wasn’t sure what cojones meant. Based on the context, he could guess. If correct, he knew he had cojones. But he couldn’t figure out why his current situation required them.

A middle-aged woman, about Cosmo’s height, exited the driver’s seat of the car he had been watching. As she rounded the front bumper, she eyed Cosmo. "Cosmo Zimik?"

Cosmo puffed his chest and softened his expression. “Mrs. Lang, it is so nice to meet you.” He rushed forward, lowered his bags and bowed.

The woman didn't return the gesture. “It’s nice to meet you. Sarah has spoken enthusiastically.” She waited for Cosmo to straighten. “There’s room for your things in the trunk.” As she spoke, the trunk mechanically popped open.

Cosmo realized another woman in the passenger side front seat had released it. Sweeping his bags into the trunk, he closed it and reached the driver side door before Sarah's mother. He opened the door for her and stood back.

The woman hesitated. Her hair, while thinning slightly, held its dark, iron wood coloring. Perhaps a little softer around the edges than most Naga women her age, she preserved a degree of determination Cosmo appreciated at once. She sat behind the wheel and Cosmo closed her door.

While dropping into the back seat, Cosmo mulled over the possibility these two middle-aged, white women were not in fact Sarah’s family, but instead hired by one of his enemies to secret him away to a remote location. It was a plot worthy of Bollywood.

The woman in the front passenger seat turned to introduce herself. “Nice to meet you, Cosmo. I’m Sarah’s aunt.”

Cosmo shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs.—”

“Nolen.”

“Mrs. Nolen.” Cosmo repeated her name.

She turned front and tapped Sarah’s mother on the arm. “You’ve got an opening after this van.”

Mrs. Lang nodded. After the van passed, she stepped on the accelerator hard and lurched into the flow of traffic. The introductions were put on hold as the two women navigated their way back onto the interstate heading north.

As the car merged, Cosmo broke the silence. “I’m glad it worked out that I could visit my in-laws before the marriage.”

“Oh?” Sarah’s aunt turned to face Cosmo. Her smile quickly faded. “Wait.” She blinked several times, then looked at her sister. “Christi, did you know about this?”

“No.” Mrs. Lang shook her head. “I mean, there’s nothing to know. Sarah hasn’t said a thing.”

Cosmo cut in. “We haven’t set the date yet, if that’s what you are wondering. I only meant to say, it will be better that I meet Sarah’s family before I take her to the jungle to meet mine.”

Mrs. Nolen’s eyes widened. “Take her to the jungle?”

Cosmo nodded. “To meet my people. After Sarah and I are married we will minister to them.”

Sarah’s mother gripped the wheel, her knuckles white. “For goodness sake! Married and living in the jungle? You’ve only known each other for a handful of months.”

The aunt soothed the mother. “Calm down. I’ll handle this.” Without preamble, Mrs. Nolen shot straight to the point. “Cosmo, how do you expect to support Sarah? I mean, how do you plan to put food on the table as a missionary, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Cosmo thought about the question for a few seconds. Images of his own family sharing meager meals flashed through his mind. Times had changed. Cosmo was not his father. “With God’s help I’ve provided food enough for hundreds of children in Delhi slums on multiple occasions. I've fed literally thousands of people in India. Sarah is only one skinny American woman. Feeding her will not be a challenge.”

The car fell silent. Despite Cosmo's level response, he sensed the two women were upset at him. Obviously Sarah had not broached the topic of marriage with her family. But his traveling the globe to see them should have been some indication of his seriousness. He had expected them to be excited about the news.

The aunt continued the questioning without turning around in her seat. “How many people have you beat up, Cosmo?” Her tone indicated she meant the question quite seriously.

Cosmo blinked. Direct was one thing. This was another. She hadn’t even asked if he had beaten anyone, or under what circumstance, but how many. Cosmo laughed it off without answering. Either Sarah had underestimated her family’s resistance to him, or Cosmo had chosen the wrong approach.

Maybe he had a thing or two to learn still, but what was done was done. He sighed. The next day and a half in Hemet, California were going to be long ones. Cosmo knew courting Sarah would require all his patience. He had hoped he wouldn’t need to court her family as well. Patience, Cosmo repeated the word to himself.