We're a Wonderful Wife Ch. 11

"Why is that?" asked Tam.

"Remember that bottle of pills that Lanh had when we first started dating?"

Tam tried not to show the terror that gripped her. As a teenager Lanh was in such emotional dire straits that she began stealing her mother's sleeping pills one by one until she had a means of suicide. Tam was able to get Lanh to give them up in exchange for a ride out to the Campbell's farm to see Don on a frigid winter day. "Yes," said Tam, "I remember," her mouth was so dry that the word came out sounding hoarse, she remembered that bottle of pills quite well.

He looked at Tam with such intensity that it scared her. "I have one now. If something happens to Lanh, I won't be far behind."

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Tam Nguyen-Johnson was depressed herself. She passionately loves large family get-togethers for the holidays, and she loves the huge task of putting them together. However, everyone in the family has a significant other and they can't ignore the in-laws, so for every year that was a Nguyen holiday, the other years were spent with in-laws. This year Tam's family was broken up too. Her oldest son Chip wanted to help Kim-ly at the farm and was spending Thanksgiving with her. Her middle son Liam was going to travel with his grandparents Mai and Duong, they were thinking of going to Hill City South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. Jake's parents were in the south of France for the holidays (meaning until May) that left Tam with her husband Jake and their youngest son Arlo who was now almost four.

She was talking about that with Lanh recently, "Why don't the three of you come out here for Thanksgiving? We have spare bedrooms, we have a suite in the basement now, and Don would love to see you guys. He's been so grumpy this year."

"Maybe I could talk to him about his grumpiness," thought Tam, and without asking Jake she said, "Yes, we haven't gone anywhere in ages, this will be exciting."

Reservations were made, cars were rented, bags were packed, and the boys were shipped out leaving her alone with Jake and Arlo. It's been years since there were only two other people in the house with her, and the relative quiet was relaxing. She came back home from the University where she is chair of the Psychology department to find the house neat and orderly, something that she finds vitally necessary with a blind husband but virtually impossible with three boys.

Immediately upon entering the house Tam was attacked by a black-haired rocket powered moppet. "MOMMEEEE!" He wrapped his arms around her knees and started bouncing up and down. "Mommy home, mommy home, mommy home!" It was Arlo, their youngest boy, singing "Mommy Home" at the top of his lungs.

"What is with you honeybug?" She knew exactly what was up, Jake asked Arlo to let him know when mommy got home. With Arlo's lungs it was a sure bet that the whole neighborhood knew. "All right, all right, come here you," said Tam as she hoisted Arlo up into her arms for a wet sloppy kiddy kiss. Only when he got his welcome home kiss did the tyke stop his caroling.

"Hi mommeee," he sighed as he threw his arms around Tam's neck.

"Where's your daddy?"

"I dunno!" He shrugged and threw his hands up, but he had a broad smile on his face.

"You do too know, you stinker," Tam laughed.

"I no stinker, YOU a stinker!" He slapped his tiny hand on Tam's shoulder for emphasis.

Just then Tam saw a familiar bundle of white sticks on the floor, it was her husband's collapsible walking stick. "What's that on the floor?" gasped Tam in faux shock.

"Daddy eyes!" gasped Arlo.

Tam tried not to laugh, but Arlo's older brothers convinced Arlo that the white collapsible walking stick with a red end was their father's eyes. "Yes, Daddy's eyes. Go give it to him!" and she set the tyke down.

"K mommeee!" Arlo snatched up the folded stick then dashed off to the basement.

Tam followed him down the stairs and there was Jake folding laundry. "You didn't know where daddy was?" Arlo giggled and hid behind Jake's leg.

"Don't hide behind my leg you little sneak," scolded Jake. Tam gently touched Jake to let him know she was there, then wrapped her arms around him. Jake basked in her caress then turned in her arms to kiss her. "Is it time to go?" he asked as his fingers traced over her face. Like his brothers Arlo didn't think anything of their dad tracing his fingertips over his mom's face, they knew that's how he "sees" her, and the boys grew up loving the same touches from their dad.

"It's almost time," said Tam between kisses, "Shall we get going?"

"Go?" asked Arlo, his little dark brown eyes open wide in anticipation.

Tam smiled; her little boy loved going. It didn't matter where, as long as he had a few French fries and his apple juice, he'd go anywhere with mom and dad. Jake bent down and picked up Arlo and the three of them hugged reminding Tam and Jake of when it was just them and Chip, their oldest. The last time they hugged like this was when it was just Chip, Tam had just found out she was pregnant with Liam and they were telling him that he was going to be a big brother. "I know," said Tam. "Let's go visit Uncle Don and Aunt Lanh."

Arlo's eyes flew open wider, and his jaw dropped in surprise, Uncle Don? Don was his very favorite uncle; of his four uncles and five aunts he liked Don the most. Why? Tam was sure it was all the extra cuddling that Arlo got while Don was recovering from his accident in Saudi Arabia. Arlo liked the idea of visiting Don and Lanh so much all he could do was give his big happy grin and nod his head vigorously. Jake gently touched Arlo's face causing the little boy to grin even broader.

An hour later they were packed, in the van, Arlo was in Happy Meal heaven and Jake had his quarter pounder. "We there yet?" called out Arlo.

"Don't start!" warned Tam as they headed to the airport.

"His brothers taught him that," said Jake as he tried to steal a French fry from the child who eventually offered his dad a fry. "Thank you," said Jake.

"Wekim," responded Arlo.

"Are you ready to ride on an airplane?"

"AIRPLANE???" Arlo's face was a combination of fear and wonder, he's heard of airplanes and seen them on TV. The thought of riding on an airplane kept him wide awake for a full fifteen more minutes and then the comfort of his car seat and the warm air in the van put him to sleep.

Late November was frosty cold, but Lanh reported that the weather in Colorado was in the 50's, which for a Minnesotan is tropical. Tam made sure to pack swimsuits because she wanted to soak in Don and Lanh's hot tub in the cool weather. It was a two-hour drive to the airport and Arlo slept most of the way.

It was a bit of a challenge for Tam to get her two guys out of the van, get the luggage organized then a short walk through the shallow snow to the waiting area for the bus to the terminal. Arlo was in charge of pushing his own stroller to the bus stop, Tam hauled two suitcases and Jake followed her, one hand pulling a suitcase the other hand with his cane tap-tap-tapping all around him and against the suitcases she was pulling.

They didn't have to wait too long in the bus stop, which looked like a city bus stop but there was a heater which was nice considering it was 20 (-7 C) degrees. When the bus pulled up and the doors slid open, the driver saw Jake wearing his sunglasses at 7:00 PM on a dark night, he was tapping with his cane looking for the door and leading a toddler, the driver turned around to a full bus and yelled, "What's wrong with you people, get down there and help these folk!"

A young fellow in a camouflage uniform hopped out and immediately helped Tam with the baggage, "Thank you so much!" said Tam, "Are you Army?"

"Air Force ma'am, and it's a pleasure to help," he said as he helped Arlo with his stroller which contained his car seat.

"We're going to see my sister and her husband, he was in the Air Force until he got hurt by an airplane," said Tam.

"Uncle Don!" cried Arlo. He's known since birth that "Hurt by an airplane" means "Uncle Don."

"My goodness, what happened, if I may ask."

"He got blown over by an F-15."

"Ugghh, that's the worst," said the young Airman. "They briefed us about an incident in Saudi Arabia where two people were killed and a dozen injured. It's part of a flightline safety briefing."

"That was my brother-in-law," said Tam sadly as she pulled Arlo on her lap. "He was injured before this little guy was born and they learned to walk together."

Reaching the terminal, they piled off the bus and went inside and got in line and Airman Graham got in line with them. It turned out that Airman Graham was going to Buckley AFB in Aurora, Colorado and was on their same flight. As they stood in line Arlo began an animated conversation with his father complete with hand gestures. Tam leaned over and said, "Arlo honey, daddy can't see your hands, you have to use your words." She then turned to Airman Graham and said, "He's trying to describe you to his father, I hope you don't mind."

"No problem," chuckled the Airman who noticed that Arlo was standing in front of him looking up. "What is it little guy?"

"Do you taste good?" asked Arlo, which elicited a poorly suppressed burst of laughter from Jake.

"What?" laughed Graham.

Arlo launched into a long chattering explanation, but Tam rescued the airman by saying, "He was trying to explain your skin color to his dad and settled on chocolate, and his father, being a wise guy, asked Arlo if you taste good like chocolate."

"My wife says that I'm an acquired taste," said Graham to Arlo's expectant gaze.

The little boy turned to Tam, and she said, "That means yes, he tastes good."

Arlo immediately cheered up and turned to his dad, but then an agent from the airline came over and said, "We can take you over here." And with goodbyes to their new friend the Johnson family was checked in at a different ticket counter. As soon as they had their luggage checked in and their boarding passes in hand, a large golf cart appeared, and they were whisked away to TSA where they were given the pre-flight screening. The agent scared Arlo who was near tears when they were done, and Jake wasn't much help, being as obstinate as possible. From there another cart whisked them to the gate.

They had an hour to wait so while Jake entertained Arlo, Tam went to get some snacks. As they waited a connection was made in Arlo's mind and he began to cry. "What's the matter buddy?" Jake asked, but Arlo was crying too hard to get the words out. Jake pulled him up on his lap and held him close and tried to settle him down, but it did no good. When Tam arrived with the snacks Arlo was still weeping.

"What's wrong baby?" said Tam as Arlo crawled from Jake's lap to hers. The little guy leaned against his mother and pointed off into the distance.

"He's pointing at something, but I can't tell what it is, and he keeps talking about pain," said Jake. "I've never felt so useless," Jake muttered. All he could think was "my little boy needed me, and I couldn't help..."

"Shhhhh," said Tam patting Arlo but it was directed at both of her boys. Arlo settled down but a movement outside the terminal window caught his attention and he pointed again and cried, "PAIN!" he sniffed then wailed "Unka Donnnn!"

"Ohhhh, baby, that's a GOOD airplane out there, Uncle Don was hurt by a very, very bad airplane."

Arlo looked at Tam confused; his crying stopped, and he looked unsure. "Bad plane?"

"Yes, there's some very bad airplanes out there, and Uncle Don found the very worst bad airplane and he stopped it before it hurt anyone else." Arlo looked concerned but Tam continued. "It was a very, very good airplane that took Uncle Don to the doctor to get fixed. Another good airplane took Aunty Lanh to take care of him, and that very, very good airplane brought Don home from the doctor."

Arlo pointed to the window again and looked worried. "Pain."

"When you were inside mommy's tummy, we flew in a good airplane to visit Uncle Don when he was hurt, and then we flew in a good airplane home," said Tam.

"You have already flown in an airplane," said Jake.

Outside it was dark but you could see the marker lights of the airplanes as they taxied around. "Those are good airplanes, see the flashing lights on their wings and tails? That means they're happy." They got up and walked to the window to look at the planes. "See all the windows on the sides? You can see the people in the airplane. They got to fly, and they got snacks, and the airplane is happy that they're happy."

"People are in the plane's tummy?" Arlo asked, he was truly surprised.

"Yes, planes like it, it tickles," and she tickled his tummy. Arlo laughed and curled up trying to avoid the

tickles. "Should we go tickle the airplane's tummy?"

"Yeah, tickle!" grinned Arlo as they sat back down next to daddy.

"Is my happy boy feeling better?" Jake asked as Arlo climbed in his lap.

"Yes, we're happy that Uncle Don chased all the bad airplanes away, aren't we?" Arlo grinned and nodded. "Good, because it's time we get on our plane and tickle it's tummy!"

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"Who the hell could be ringing our doorbell at midnight?" asked Don.

Lanh was sitting up reading, she was wearing her nerd glasses, the ones with the black frames that were way too big and made her look so cute and innocent. Lanh called these her "business" glasses, and when she's wearing them, she's so cute that Don always wants to 'get down to business.' "I dunno," she shrugged her shoulders and went back to her reading. "Are you going to get that? I'm in my nightgown."

Don, who was only wearing boxers, gave her a sideways look and said, "sure, I'll hop up and get dressed."

"Thank you dear." She completely missed the sarcasm, or she ignored it.

Don pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-Shirt that Duong gave him years ago that said "You can't scare me, I'm married to a Vietnamese woman," and headed out to the front door. The shadow on the door's lace curtains showed that whoever it was, wasn't very tall. The first thought that came to Don's mind was a very late trick-or-treater. Don opened the door and looked down; it was Arlo holding a plush toy that was a smiling airplane. The tyke cried "Unka Don!" and threw his arms around Don's knees.

"Arlo! My favorite youngest nephew!" Don picked the boy up then noticed Jake standing in the distance, Tam had to be nearby somewhere. Don guessed that when you're blind it's hard to tell if you're hiding or not. Don gestured to Jake to come in, he knew that Jake couldn't see his gesture, but Tam probably could see it wherever she was hiding. "Where did you leave your parents Arlo; did you leave them at home?"

Arlo gave him a big toothy grin and nodded his head vigorously, his baby-fine mop of ebony hair waved as he nodded.

"You come with me, you can sleep with Aunt Lanh and me, in the morning you can pick out which room is yours and we'll have your mom send your toys, ok?" Arlo nodded again but not as enthusiastically. "Lanh dear, we have a visitor, he wants to move in with us."

Arlo turned and saw Lanh reading in bed and dove out of Don's arms. "Aunt Yaaaannnn!"

"Lanh," said Lanh, "Say it slowly..." She held up a finger showing that she meant Speech Pathologist business. Arlo has difficulty with pronouncing the letter L. "Lanh."

"Yan."

"My name is Lanh, LLLLLLLLLanh. Say it..."

"Yan."

"Oh you silly boy," Lanh began hugging and tickling the giggling moppet. Don joined in and Arlo squealed and laughed as his aunt and uncle tickled him. Their play only stopped when someone tapped on the bedroom door.

"Sshh! It's the cops," said Don and he covered Arlo with a blanket, "Pretend you're not here." When Arlo was covered Don said, "Come in!"

Tam led Jake into the room and said, "Hey, did anyone see a small child come through here?"

"Small child?" asked Don, "I don't rightly remember one... Can you describe it?"

"It's about this big, with black hair," said Tam holding her hands three feet apart.

"I think it's a girl," said Jake.

"I'm a BOY!" came a muffled shout from under the blanket.

"Well, we're going to have pizza," said Tam, "You're welcome to join us."

"PIZZA!" Cried Arlo as he threw off the blanket.

"There you are you stinker!" teased Tam as she scooped up Arlo.

"I no stinker, YOU a stinker!"

Don and Lanh watched Tam and her boys head off to the kitchen with not a little jealousy. They heard Tam laughing and Arlo giggling in the kitchen, and both thought, "that would be nice if it were us." Neither one made a move to get up until they heard a gentle tap-tap-tap coming down the hall followed by a gentle knock on the door. "Are you coming to join us?" asked Jake, then he added, "Please?"

Don and Lanh looked at each other and smiled sadly, they didn't want to intrude on Tam and Jake, but they were invited. "Ok, we'll be right there," said Josh as Lanh got up and put on a robe. "Do you mind if we invite Karole?"

"Not at all," said Jake as he tapped his way back to the kitchen. Lanh headed down the basement stairs and Don went to the kitchen to find Jake and Tam seated at the table with a large pie freshly delivered in the middle of the table. "We were surprised to find you had a booster chair," said Jake.

"It's not ours," said Don as Lanh emerged from the basement with Karole and Krissy.

"Kissy!" cried Arlo, but for her part Krissy didn't seem to remember Arlo which was to be expected being only 10 months old.

"Hey y'all," said a sleepy Karole who leaned over, and kissed Tam then let Jake touch her face. She did have to gently slap his hand away, it's an on-going struggle with them as his fingertips left her face, traveled down her neck edging lower and lower. "No peeking!"

"Just wanted you to know I still love you," retorted Jake. Their struggle came to a head this summer when he came upon Tam and Karole discussing Karole's new bikini and Tam asked Karole, "Don't you think that's a bit revealing?"

"I'd like to render an opinion," said Jake. His method of looking at Karole's bikini involved touching.

"Here, tell me what you think," said Karole and she handed the bikini to a very disappointed Jake. Score one for Karole, but now it was after midnight, and she was barely awake.

"We didn't realize that you were here," said Jake.

"They shut off my 'lectricity last week," groaned Karole. "Lanh and Don took us in."

"We shouldn't have woken you up," said Tam as Karole sat down.

"Nah, if ah heard y'all were here and Lanh didn't come git me, we woulda had words." Lanh nodded her agreement to that. They spent a half hour getting reacquainted and enjoying a midnight snack, then it was time to turn in. Karole and a sleeping Krissy returned to the suite in the basement and Don checked his phone, he received a text from Huy, Tam's younger brother. The text simply said, "Tam and Jake have an envelope for you."

"Huy said he sent an envelope for me with you?" Don wasn't expecting anything from Huy, even though he is Don's lawyer.

"Hang on a second," said Jake, and he took his glasses off and placed them on a table that was set up for him. Watch, wallet, glasses, keys, each one set out in a specific location, then he poured what coins he had in a dish for loose change. Jake didn't need the black lens glasses; sighted people needed his glasses. His eyes didn't focus, and they didn't point to wherever he was "looking" which was unnerving for sighted people, so he wore an old pair of glasses with the lenses painted black to hide his eyes. Jake rifled through his backpack and found an envelope and handed it to Don. "Huy said to carefully read these documents, everything is explained."