The Black Rose Legacy Ch. 05

Our wedding had been in late November, and as was traditional before a Vietnamese wedding, we'd visited a local fortune teller to verify we'd make a good couple. Since I was a born in 1949, the year of the Ox, and Tuyen was born in 1957, the year of the Rooster, Madame Huyen the fortune teller had declared us a perfect match.

Madame Huyen told us the energetic character of the Rooster brings sunshine into an Ox's life, while the Ox's faithful character will bring the steadiness to the Rooster's. The fortune teller also pointed out that an Ox will listen to their wife, thinking they're always right. She said that in Vietnamese to Tuyen, then repeated it to me in English to make sure I got the message. Believe me, I heard her loud and clear.

Since Tuyen had no family, we bypassed the traditional Vietnamese engagement ceremony and had an abbreviated version: First, Greg and Dr. Nguyen, with bowls of fruit and bottles of cognac in hand, led me from the penthouse to the ceremony space where Mrs. Truong, acting as Tuyen's family, accepted the gifts. Then my mother led Tuyen out, clad in a traditional red silk áo dài and headpiece. She looked stunning; Mrs. Troung had done a great job of tailoring it to Tuyen's physique, as she had also done with my traditional blue silk jacket and headpiece, sort of an open-top turban.

We then walked to the altar and lit incense to honor our ancestors, then exchanged rings to become officially married, and the reception began. The cognac and champagne flowed, and the buffet line provided us and our guests absolute gastronomic ecstasy. I also slipped one of the San Jose Viet Boys some money to go bring back a bucket of chicken -- her favorite - for Tuyen.

After my mother got back on her feet, Dr. Nguyen fully began his campaign of wooing my mother, but it was a short battle -- after his devoted care and affection -- and his hands-on 'physical therapy' - she quickly surrendered. Madame Huyen having pronounced my mother, a charming and intelligent Snake, to be a good match for Dr. Nguyen, a courageous and independent Tiger, they were married in December of last year.

Mom sold the house in Portland and took up residence with her new husband in his penthouse apartment next to ours. Given Tuyen's love for my mother, this did a lot to help heal the loss of her own. Being with both of us every day also lessened her separation anxiety. My Mom, for her part, took immense joy in treating Tuyen as her daughter, buying baby clothes and attending every prenatal health appointment with her.

It was plain to see how much Henry adored Mom; she was happier than I'd seen her in years. (Now that he was married to my mother, still calling him 'Dr. Nguyen' would have felt weird.) While the walls weren't particularly thin, with my Sasquatch hearing I'd often hear them coupling, and Mom singing to Henry afterwards. I'm sure it came as a pleasant shock to him exactly how much Sasquatch women enjoyed coupling. These days he often looked slightly fatigued, but immensely gratified.

As for Tuyen and I, because of her pregnancy, her passion had increased -- not something I'd even thought possible - and I suspected Mom had overheard us coupling as well, given her hearing was just as acute as mine. After my primal awakening, that no longer bothered me; I was a Sasquatch and Tuyen was my mate, so was only natural.

~END~