We're a Wonderful Wife Ch. 01

When Ralph returned to the living room the O27 scale Santa Fe Southwest Chief was running laps around the tree. Lanh and Don were on the floor watching it, Don sitting cross legged in front of the speed control and Lanh was on her knees wearing Don's old mattress tic engineers cap and watching the train, fascinated with what she saw. Ralph snapped a few pictures of them then turned to Bao and said, "That was your mom on the phone, she said that the roads are getting too bad to drive on, you should stay here tonight."

"We can't impose..." Bao started.

"This is North Central Minnesota, I can't let you out in all good conscience, especially knowing what you have in the trunk of your car," said Ralph.

"She told you?" Bao sighed, "Ok, sir. If I'm not back shortly, send the dogs out for me," and he grabbed his parka and stepped outside. Bao was back in a few minutes with three backpacks slung over his arm and carrying a medium size box. He looked over at Lanh and Don who were still playing with the train like little kids. Lanh was now setting up the train station and placing the little people on the platform, Don was setting up a pair of road crossing lights with lowering arms. Kim-ly had gotten into the act and was making a mountain out of boxes and a white sheet to give the train a tunnel in a snow-covered mountain to pass through.

"Come on," said Ralph, "I'll show you where you're bunking tonight." He led Bao upstairs to a bedroom with a pair of twin beds, the decor was nondescript, and the mattresses were bare but there were stuffed toys on the beds. "My nieces and nephews stay here when visiting so we'll put the girls here." After Bao placed the two overstuffed pink back packs on the beds, he followed Ralph down the hall, "This is my room, and here is another spare room, across the hall is a spare bedroom, and over there is Don's room."

"Where do you want me sir?" asked Bao.

"Well, I could put you in this spare room, or I could put you on a cot in Don's room to cut back on any possible commuting. I trust Don, I trust him with my entire farm, and I'm sure you feel the same way about your baby sister. But I don't trust teenage hormones if you get my meaning. So, I'll leave it up to you as to where you want to sleep."

Bao took a deep breath, he didn't know Don well at all, but he knew Lanh. She was a sweet girl but other than a goldfish and the occasional stray cat, she never had a friend, let alone a boyfriend. The emotions of first love are overpowering and he was sure that she wasn't ready for it. Bao understands the emotional overload of first love first-hand. His first love has always been his sister Kim-ly and woe to any man who dare get between them. If Don is feeling the overload that Bao has experienced... "Where can we find that cot sir?"

When Ralph and Bao returned to the living room their absence hadn't been noticed. The train was running with Lanh at the controls, while Don and Kim-ly finished draping the last of the tinsel on the branches. The uneven branches allows the tinsel to hang straight down, and it looks like the icicles that the tinsel is intended to reproduce. Memories of walking through the woods with Emily, looking at the sunlight glinting off the icicles on the trees caused by the sunlight melting the snow flooded back into Ralphs's mind and he felt his heart hitch on a beat or two...

The large twinkling Noma lights that were strung near the trunk of the tree filled the center of the tree with old fashioned joy, while the tiny mini-lights that were strung on the branches resembled multi-colored fireflies. Ralph had forgotten the beauty of the antique glass ornaments that had been stored for nearly a decade, and the angel atop the tree looking down on Ralph and Don resembled their lost Emily so much even she would understand why they chose to forego her favorite holiday for a few years.

Outside the wind and snow kicked up so much that the large size Christmas lights that Ralph hung earlier on the porch were swaying in the wind and the snow was piling up out there. The kids were having so much fun that Ralph was sorry to break it up, but this was a farm... He cleared his throat. "It's about that time Don."

Don looked at his watch. "Oops, sorry dad." He placed the last of his tinsel on the tree and stepped away.

"Where are you going?" asked Lanh, her voice sounded deeply concerned.

"Time to milk the cows," he said as he headed toward the kitchen. Lanh stopped the train at the station and followed Don. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"To help," she said. There was no question in her voice at all, she was going to help and that was that. Don pulled on his brown canvas one-piece insulated coverall while Lanh pulled on her pink parka with neon purple faux fur on the hood and the Sunshine Bunny! mittens. They stepped out into the farmyard and followed Ralph's footsteps in the snow to the barn, Lanh making sure she stepped in Don's footprints.

The dairy herd is only 18 producing cows and a small handful of yearling calves. The cows moved into the milking parlor with little encouragement and their heads were locked into the stalls. As Ralph and Don worked the milking equipment down the line, Lanh worked hard feeding the cows. Don had showed her how to fill the wheelbarrow with silage and she gave each of the cows an even share of feed. In short time the milking was done, and the herd was turned out to the yard, and the three headed back to the house.

In the kitchen Lanh stomped her feet and rubbed her hands together. "Cold!" she gasped.

"Your mittens aren't very warm," said Don. He stripped his coverall to the waist, opened his flannel shirt, and pressed her frigid fingers to his chest and held them there.

"You're so warm!" she gasped with a smile. It was the first time she touched another human being in years. When she was very young, she took baths with Tam. Bao and Kim-ly were too rambunctious for the tiny preemie, but she didn't remember that, but she did know that Tam always took a bath with her. She didn't know if she ever touched a man outside of her father, her brothers never seemed to be interested in her.

Don held her tiny hands to his chest and felt her fingers warm as she absorbed his body heat. He wanted to say something profound, to say how much her touch meant to him, to describe how important it was to him that she was there with him, and to put in to words the maelstrom of feelings that were swirling around his heart. However, all he could do was drink in the beauty of her almond shaped eyes and worry that she would think he's a dork for putting her delicate, perfect hands on his sweaty chest.

"A-HEM! ah, guys?" It was Kim-ly standing in the doorway to the dining room.

Lanh smiled but didn't move her hands. "Thank you for warming my hands," she finally said, but her hands stayed. She too had so many things to say, she wanted to describe how overwhelmed she was with emotion in a good way, that she wanted to kiss him again and again. She wanted to explain that her hands were touching the bare chest of a man for the first time in her life, and how she wanted it to go on and on forever.

"Thank YOU for helping with the cows." He held her hands to him, his large strong working hands covering her tiny, delicate little hands. She smiled and closed her eyes and even closed her eyes were beautiful, like tiny, sweet smiles.

"Guys, this is getting creepy," Kim-ly was getting annoyed.

Slowly, reluctantly Don pulled Lanh's hands away from his chest. She buttoned up his flannel shirt as he unzipped her parka for her. Finally, the trance was broken, but it was a moment that Don and Lanh carried in their hearts for a long time.

"It's almost time for dinner!" said Ralph as he entered the kitchen and unzipped his overall. "You guys ever have sauerkraut and knackwurst?"

To hide his blush Don opened the lid of a large soup pot and took a deep whiff. "Knoephla?" he grabbed a spoon and tasted a small sample. "Mmmm!" Lanh stood next to him with her head back and her mouth open. Remembering how she fed him just days ago, Don took a spoonful and brought it to her mouth. "Hot!" he warned.

Lanh's sweet lips closed around the spoon and savored every drop. "So good!" her eyes lit up at the flavor.

"It's a German/Russian potato and dumpling soup, it's perfect for warming up after working out in the cold," said Don as he carried the soup pot to the dining room table. "Knoephla is the German word for button, and I think it's called that because the knoephels, the dumplings, are the size of buttons."

"I thought you were Irish, not German," said Lanh.

"If I made you Pho will that make me Vietnamese?"

"It depends on how good it is," she said with a straight face as they returned to the kitchen and collected plates, bowls, and silverware.

Like good restauranters, the Nguyen teens inspected every bite of the simple farm food, trying to discover the meaning and nuance of every ingredient, down to the chopped apple and the caraway seeds in the sauerkraut. The potato/chicken broth of the knoephla soup was a huge hit with the soup experts, as were the knoephels which Ralph made the exact size and shape of the pieces of potato in the soup, so by sight alone you couldn't tell what was on your spoon, making each mouthful a bit of a surprise. As they finished, Ralph called for their attention.

"Don and I want to thank you so very much; this is the best Christmas Eve we've had in 8 years..."

"It's the ONLY Christmas eve we've had in 8 years," interrupted Don.

"That being said," with a withering glance at his son, "I have some good news and some bad news. The county has not shut down the roads, but your parents and I decided it was too dangerous for you to head home tonight, so you all will be staying as our guests."

Lanh's eyes shot wide open in happiness and below the table she grabbed Don's thigh as tight as she could. "What's the bad news?" Don asked trying not to wince from Lanh's forceful grip.

"The bad news is that you now have a room-mate. I spoke with Mai, and we're not going to tolerate late night visitations. Bao volunteered to ensure that Don stays in his room and if Lanh sleepwalks, she'll be rerouted back to her room. Kim-ly and Lanh, you have the room at the top of the stairs, your mom packed some clothes in backpacks in case this might happen."

"She overreacts," sighed Kim-ly.

"She watches the weather report," corrected Bao.

A well-timed gust of wind shook the house as Ralph continued. "Unfortunately, you're stuck here for Christmas with a pair of Norwegian Bachelor Farmers, and we are out of practice when it comes to celebrating the holiday."

"I have some ideas," said Lanh brightly.

"I'm sure you do!" grinned Kim-ly wagging a finger at her little sister.

"No!" cried Lanh in shock, then she paused, "Well, maybe a little, but no! I was thinking about baking Christmas cookies and stuff like that."

"Can you make lefse? It's not a holiday without lefse," said Ralph.

"We're cooks, of course we can make lefse," said Bao.

"Yeah, just one question," said his twin sister Kim-ly, "What's lefse?"

After dinner Kim-ly and Lanh insisted on washing the dishes and used the opportunity to inspect the kitchen and pantry while Bao scoured the cookbooks. He leaned on the kitchen counter going through an index file of recipes that Emily and her mother, and possibly her grandmother collected over the years. Some of the recipes appear to be quite old and written in a Nordic language with English translations penciled in. He finally said, "I found it... they want potatoes?"

After washing and drying the dishes, then a bit of rearranging the kitchen to meet her standards ("I am the lady of the house now," she reminded her brother and sister) Lanh started peeling some potatoes that she found, diced them, and put them in water to boil. While they boiled, she rearranged a bit more and then went into the living room and asked Don and Ralph what they do with the lefse. Their answers were frustratingly vague and all encompassing, such as "You can do anything with them!" and the only thing they actually agreed on was spreading some butter on them then sprinkling on some sugar, then rolling them up tight like a taquito.

Shaking her head, she drained the cooked potatoes and set them out to cool, then went upstairs to make her bed and see what her mother packed. She made her bed with crisp sheets and warm, fluffy blankets and a thick heavy hand sewn quilt. Then she looked at her Domo Kun backpack, bulging at the seams with enough clothing for a softball team. There was enough clean underwear for her to wear until February, two full changes of clothes, and a silly onesie pajama that was blue, with a light blue tummy and it even had a hood that had kitten ears.

She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. The onesie clearly showed her lack of curves and complete lack of breasts. It also emphasized her addiction to anything cute, which was something she is hoping and praying to outgrow. But considering the fact that her oldest sister Tam uses a Sunshine Bunny! notebook for her post graduate work, it may be a genetic problem.

She came downstairs wearing the one-piece pajama that her mom packed and saw Don sitting in a wing back chair reading a magazine. She pulled up her hood and stood in front of him, kitten ears and all, ready for the humiliating remarks. He just smiled and patted his lap and said, "Come sit with me." No laughter, no accusations, no disappointment, he appeared to be genuinely pleased to see her. Her heart leapt and she curled up in his lap and as he read his Field & Stream magazine, she opened up the latest Farmer's Almanac and learned what rural life was all about, happy to be simply close to him.

For his part Don was surprised how warm she felt against him, has it been that long since he's held someone? He loves his dad, but dad isn't a hugger, and if Don was honest with himself he'd realize he's not quite open either. He finally asked her, "Did you get the lefse figured out?"

"Yes, but I need a lefse roller, a flipper, and a grill."

"I'll find those for you in the morning." And he put his arm around her and pulled her close. She leaned her head on his shoulder and snuggled up to him, her heart leaping with joy. For his part he felt so at peace, he could die happy right now. Neither of them noticed the fascinated stares from Ralph, Bao, and Kim-ly.

The TV was turned to a local station that was exclusively showing short Christmas greetings from local residents and businesses, something Lanh never saw down in Minneapolis where she grew up. The gentle Christmas carols on the stereo, the snow drifting past the front window, the beautiful tree, the train, the fireplace, a hot bowl of knoefla, and Don. It was everything Lanh ever wanted for a Christmas eve, and soon she slipped into a contented sleep in his lap.

~~~~~*~~~~~

"Comeon sleepyhead, wake up! Let's see what Santa brought us!"

"Mmm?" Lanh finally woke up at Kim-ly's urging. There was light coming through the windows, but it was still snowing heavily, as Lanh looked out the window it looked like over two feet of snow fell last night. "How did I get to bed?" she groaned.

"You fell asleep on Don's lap last night, he carried you up here about 10:00 o'clock."

Lanh was crestfallen, she wasted an entire night with Don by sleeping? She pulled on a bathrobe she found hanging in the closet and the fluffy slippers her mother packed for her, then headed downstairs to see what was happening. The moment she stepped into the kitchen she found herself wrapped by Don's arms. "Good morning gorgeous! I missed you at morning milking."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you," she said sadly.

He scooped her up in his arms and said, "This is how I carried you upstairs last night," what he wanted to add was "and if it wasn't for your brother and sister, I would climbed in bed with you and not have let you go," but he didn't.

She giggled softly and she wanted to say, "Thank you, I felt so at peace and so secure in your arms." But all she was able to do was put her arms around his neck and bite down on her bottom lip and smile. He carried her into the dining room and sat down at the table with Lanh on his lap and he proceeded to spoon feed her like she fed him at her parents' restaurant. She didn't like the taste of his coffee, but when he added some real cream and a little sugar her beautiful brown eyes shot wide open in pleasure and she kept the cup, refusing to relinquish it back to him.

She almost gave up on the coffee when she tasted fresh whole milk for the first time in her life. So creamy! So sweet! For a while she held the coffee in one hand and the milk in her other hand refusing to release either. The rest of the breakfast was toast with strawberry preserves, fruit salad, and oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins. As they ate, they talked in hushed tones and laughed softly to each other, their noses touching as they laughed.

Kim-ly and Bao watched open mouthed as they saw their sister transform into a completely different human being, a huge change from the sulky girl they were used to living with. Normally stoic and withdrawn, this Lanh was craving Don's attention, and returning every bit of his affection! At one point Don wiped a stray blob of oatmeal off of Lanh's lip with a finger, she in turn cleaned his finger with the tip of her tongue, then sucked half of his finger into her mouth which caused Bao's blood to boil. He was about to explode when Kim-ly whispered in his ear "She doesn't understand the symbolism."

"But that's..."

"She doesn't know yet." Kim-ly has had talks with Lanh about boys was shocked at how much her little sister doesn't know. Judging from Don's reaction, he's equally as innocent himself. "Just let them be for now. Let them be cute." Their conversation was in Vietnamese so in case it was overheard, at least Don and Ralph wouldn't know what was said.

"Hey, you guys, don't you want to see what Santa brought?" called Ralph from the living room.

Kim-ly looked a little shocked, "Santa?"

"Santa Má sent a few gifts along in case we get snowed in," said Bao as he led his sister into the other room. Kim-ly wore a two-piece pajama that was loose and flowing and did nothing to hide her soft curves, something that Bao and Ralph worked hard to ignore, and something Don didn't seem to notice. You could have set the house on fire, as long as Lanh continued to sit on his lap, he was happy.

Don led Lanh into the living room where they immediately resumed their positions on the wingback chair from last night and they returned to their private conversation until Ralph had to remind Don why everyone was gathered in the living room. Lanh being 2 months older than he is made Don the youngest in the room, so it fell to him to deliver the packages. Don and Ralph exchanged simple gifts, shirts and tools, Bao got a pair of insulated work gloves, Kim-ly and Lanh received earmuffs and knit gloves, and all three got matching knit caps and scarves.

There was also two small packages, one for Lanh and one for Don, they each contained one pillowcase and embroidered on the pillowcase was a stick figure, a boy on Don's and a girl on Lanh's. When held side by side the figures were blowing kisses at each other, the kisses represented by little red hearts floating from one stick figure to another. On the reverse side of the pillowcase was the stick figures catching the floating hearts. The tag on Don's box said it came from Mai, and the tag on Lanh's box said that the gift came from Ralph. She hopped up and ran to Ralph and wrapped her arms around him crying "Thank you so much! They're so cute!"

He patted her on the back and said, "Your mom made them, I just came up with the idea, they're long-distance relationship pillowcases."