We're a Wonderful Wife Ch. 13

"Someone here wants to see you," said Don and he wheeled Karole over to a familiar booth near the front window.

Karole looked out the front window, it was just over a year ago when she looked out that window for the first time. Back then it was ringed with tinsel garland and Christmas lights, it was when Karole saw her very first snowstorm. She saw snow in Colorado but nothing like what she saw that peaceful day in Grant Valley. Now she was back, this time permanently, and it was snowing again, cars passed on Main Street silently, the snow muffling all of the sound. Her new truck was covered with snow already.

"Karole!" cried out a familiar voice, "My goodness, you act like you've never seen snow before!" and Karole was taken back to a day that seemed almost magical, big fairy-tale snowflakes swirling gently from heaven, the scene framed by garland, lights, holly, and ornaments, not like that hell spawned blizzard in Wyoming. She stood transfixed looking out at the snow that fell gently, but the voice came again, "Oh waitress!"

Karole looked and it was Mrs. Farstad and Mrs. Grady, her favorite customers. Karole almost wept with joy, once perfect strangers now old friends being happy to see her, this truly must be what having a home is all about. The two sweet old women gathered around her wheelchair along with several other regular customers who were eager to see the return of the waitress that talks like a truck driver. "Thank you so much y'all," wept Karole as flowers were piled up in her lap, "thank you all."

"We missed you so much," said Mrs. Grady, "you should have stayed here with us, you were healthy when you left!"

"Ah can't rightly argue with that," said Karole letting her voice slip into her deep South Georgia accent.

"Ohh there she is!" cooed Mrs. Farstad as Duong walked up carrying Krissy whose tiny hand was clutching a single flower that she plucked from a bouquet somewhere in the crush of well-wishers. Krissy found herself in the midst of a collection of adoring people, a position she happily held.

Mrs. Grady tickled Krissy and said, "The last time I saw you, you were inside your mommy's tummy." Krissy's response was a giggle, and she rubbed her tummy.

"Such a happy child!" said Mrs. Farstad, "not like her grumpy boyfriend." They all had a sympathetic little laugh for poor Danh who was not happy at all with being looked at. He was having a good nap and didn't want to be woken up and now people are bothering him. Kim-ly and Lanh were standing behind Karole trying to keep the crowd away as Karole talked to Mrs. Farstad and Mrs. Grady.

Danh didn't like the attention at all and clung to Kim-ly like a terrified spider monkey. He didn't even want Duong. When Kim-ly tried to hand the little guy over to his grandpa he began crying and he wouldn't let go of Kim-ly's blouse. He didn't even want Grandpa Ralph, who had been his mentor for 10 of his first 12 months of life. "Oh come on, don't you want to see your Aunty Lanh?" asked Lanh, her hands open, but Danh just turned his head away with a pout and a little grunt.

"He didn't want to wake up," said Kim-ly, "he was sleeping so good... lets go find your daddy."

"He's probably in the kitchen," said Rosa. "He said he has a project to work on."

"He's supposed to be setting up the big table for the family," said Tam as she leaned over from behind Karole and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I know I said it before but thank you for saving my mom and my sister."

"Who is this?" said Mrs. Grady.

"I don't know," said Mrs. Farstad, "but she looks like someone who used to work here."

"This is my big sister," said Karole with a smile and she patted Tam's hand with her good hand.

"Ok, ok you two," said Tam with a laugh as she greeted Mrs. Grady and Mrs. Farstad with a hug and a kiss, "I've been a little busy teaching college and raising four boys." They caught on quickly and realized that the fourth boy was Jake. "I'm sorry Mrs. Grady and Mrs. Farstad, but Mom wants everybody to get to the dinner table." And with that she wheeled Karole and Krissy to the long table that was made up by pushing tables together. She wheeled Karole to the long table and parked her across from Don who appeared from the kitchen and sat across from her at the end of the table. They placed Lanh at the head of the table so Don could have Lanh on his left and Kim-ly with Danh on his right.

Shortly after everyone sat down, Mai brought Karole out a bowl of pho. "What's this?" asked Karole.

Mai simply smiled and said, "Ask him," she said as she jerked her thumb toward Don.

Karole gave Don a questioning look and he answered, "It's a Nguyen family tradition, you save Lanh, you get a bowl of soup." He kissed a blushing Lanh and continued, "It's kind of how we met." This time Lanh returned his kiss warmly.

"He made this for you," said Mai, "Don cut everything, all the noodles, vegetables, and beef to spoon size for you so you wouldn't have a problem eating."

Karole smiled, she had a great humorous reply, but it caught in her throat when she realized that Don left his own welcome home party to work in the kitchen just for her. He showered her and Trung with gifts and souvenirs at Mount Rushmore, getting them a private cabin with a view of Mt. Rushmore, it had a jacuzzi and a fireplace, and when Huy couldn't get TBF Consulting (formerly Torgeson and Briggs Financial Consulting) to accept Karole's new truck as a moving expense, Don helped pay for it. She was going to repay him when her settlement money came, but it was so sweet.

She tried to say something, but Don beat her to it. "Eat up sweetie, it's getting late, we all want to lay down on a bed they're not going to try to take from us."

"Don, ah love ya, but sometimes you can be a dick, ah'm tryin' to say thank you."

Don took Lanh's hand and reached over and gently took Karole's hand. "I can never say thank you enough."

Their welcome home dinner lasted about an hour and soon it came time for Karole to make a decision that she didn't have the heart to make. Both Sandy and Mai had set up a room for her in their homes, out at Campbells farm and here at the restaurant. As the final dishes were cleared from the long table and Danh started to cheer up, Don asked Karole, "where are you going to sleep darling?"

Karole was torn, she had no idea where she wanted to sleep. She wanted to sleep out at the farm because she enjoyed her favorite Christmas out there, but Mai and Duong had been begging her to stay with them, the big empty house is getting on their nerves. Finally, she turned to Trung and asked him where he wanted to stay.

"Mom and dad asked me to stay here... and I miss them." Trung looked apologetic over his choice, but Karole patted his hand.

"Then you should stay here, and I think I'll stay here too... in case you get lonely... where did Krissy get to?" Karole immediately thought she was a bad mother; her baby was gone, and she just noticed now. But Krissy had been passed from hand to hand all evening, at one point she even toddled off to inspect the kitchen.

Before Karole could panic, Mai came up to her and said, "the poor little dear is sound asleep in her bed, so it looks like you're staying whether you want to or not. You look very tired too, let's get you off to bed."

"I think we should get going too," said Don, and he rose and started helping the staff bus the table until Rosa stopped him.

"You're not on the clock tonight, we're not paying you for this," said Rosa as she took the dirty dishes from Don's hands. "Why don't you take your wives and kid home, they look beat."

"I think I'll do that, thanks fish."

"Go get some sleep, fish. What was that you and Trung were talking to Coach Mach about?"

"We were trying to convince Trung to apply for the open position over at the high school," said Don. But when Rosa responded with a questioning look Don continued, "Mr. Mach is planning to retire. Trung was a college teacher and an athlete, there's no reason why he can't take the spot."

"They were also talking about you and the school board, what's that all about?" asked Rosa.

"School board? Me? That's just crazy talk! Don't let it worry you." But it did worry Rosa, her daughters are now fourteen and twelve and she doesn't like the way the school board has been acting. Don continued, "Now that I have one of my own, I may be interested in the way the school is run, that's all we're saying."

"Speaking of kids," said Lanh as she started to pull on her parka, "Here's one who is sad you didn't say hi."

Don turned and there was his little buddy Arlo. "Arlo! How ya doin pal?" Ignoring the pain in his back, Don picked up the four-year-old and gave him a big hug. "You're getting old! You must be in fifth grade by now!"

Arlo was playing with his own fingers, and he said, "Cats don't have hands, they have paws so they can climb trees."

"That's just silly!" said Don as he tickled Arlo's tummy.

"Guess who wants a cat," said Tam as she pulled her coat on.

"Well Arlo can come over and play in the barn all he wants, I'm sure there's a stray ol' barn cat or three in there. Auntie Lanh might need help naming all of them." Lanh always had an affinity for the grouchy feral creatures that prowled the cavernous, ancient barn. With all the feed and hay in the barn, a few cats are an important part of the barn's ecosystem to keep the rodent population under control.

"Ok!" and Arlo twisted around in Don's arms. Conversation was over, time to go. Don set the little guy down and Arlo immediately saw Danh who was standing, holding on to Kim-ly's chair while she pulled on her parka. "Hi Danh!" said Arlo excitedly. Finally, someone younger than him to play with! Danh let go of Kim-ly's chair and took a wobbly step toward his cousin and grinned, then took another as Kim-ly, Lanh, and Don watched in amazement. "Wanna play?" asked Arlo. "Come on!" and he ran off toward his brothers leaving Danh in his dust. Danh took one more step trying to chase Arlo and fell to the floor. Kim-ly scooped up her son before the howling could truly begin.

"Those were his first steps," said Don, still in shock at what he just witnessed.

"And nobody had a phone or camera out," said Lanh sadly.

"It happens all the time," said Tam. "All the video we have of first steps are usually the eighth or ninth attempts. By then you know what to look for and have the camera ready."

As Don was talking with Tam, Kim-ly came up to Don and gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "We're ready to go daddy," followed by a nibble on the earlobe That was followed by a hug from behind from Lanh that included a lot of groping.

"I suppose I should be expecting a big sister talk soon?" asked Don.

Tam smiled and patted Don's cheek. "Not quite yet, just take care of my girls, they're both in a fragile state right now." The gorgeous woman kissed Don's cheek and said, "We missed you, please don't run off again."

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Finally, home for good. This was something Don and Lanh originally dreamed of doing eight years ago, but careers kept them away until injuries finally dragged them home. "I'm not saying "I told you so" or anything like that, but doesn't it seem weird?" Don asked. "We decided to make the Air Force a career and I got jet blasted. We decide to make your career our future and you got run over."

"I wish you hadn't brought that up," said Lanh. "I was thinking the same thing all the way home." Don had built a fire in the fireplace and the wood was starting to burn merrily. Bach's aria Bist Du Bei Mir played gently on the stereo, outside the snow fell gently. Kim-ly was sitting in the wingback chair in front of the fire with a fussy Danh on her lap. The three days of traveling, not counting a day of souvenir shopping and sightseeing at Mount Rushmore didn't sit well with the little guy.

Lanh was naked, fresh from her shower, for the first time in a long time Don's cock began to rise, is it too soon after the accident? "Why don't we get one of those big soaking tubs that all three of us can fit in?" Lanh asked Don as she dried off from her shower.

"Where would we put it?"

"I was thinking right next to the shower," with a wave of her hands Lanh showed where it would fit.

"Where would we hang our clothes?" The area indicated by Lanh was the current walk-in closet. Once it was too big, but now Don's clothing was being moved out as Lanh and Kim-ly's wardrobes competed for space.

"Why don't we put it right here?" said Kim-ly as she lay a sleeping Danh down in his crib beneath the window in the sitting room. "Instead of a sitting room, a bedroom, and a bathroom, why don't we have a large bedroom with a fireplace and a water closet?"

Don got into the spirit of their plans. "We could take down this wall between the sitting room and the bedroom and make it all one room." He sat down in the wingback chair in front of the fireplace with an exhausted sigh. These chairs were older than him, and he loved them. There's something about the wingback design that collects the warmth from the fireplace.

"We could see the fireplace from the bed," said Lanh as Don pulled her into his lap. She was wearing a towel wrapped around her body, still warm from her shower, as did Kim-ly who leaned on his shoulder. Don was still dressed from travel and the evening's festivities; he was watching Danh as Kim-ly and Lanh took their showers. Now the little one was asleep and tucked away in his bed, happy to be home with his stuffed caterpillar that didn't get packed in the headlong rush to Colorado two months ago. Sucking on a favorite pacifier and cuddling his toy, the little guy was now sleeping the deepest, best sleep he's had in ages... months. Months are ages when you're only 11 months old.

They sat by the fire and let the magic of the dancing flames soothe their inner fears and drive away the horrors. Lanh's horrors were obvious, of being trapped under that mountain of iron forced to watch her best friend dying just inches from her. Add the helplessness she felt when she raced across the Atlantic ocean on a military charter flight, helpless while her husband was being medevac'd toward her, the horror of not knowing his condition.

Don's horrors were similar, being injured in Saudi Arabia, flown to Germany for a series of surgeries, laying helpless in the hospital listening to a friend die. He would do that over and over for eternity if it could erase the horrors he felt as he was forced to wait just yards away as they dug Lanh and Karole out from under the car.

For Kim-ly, twice she had to race to their sides after a horrific accident, twice she had to hold them, console them. Her major fear is that the holding would end, she even had Don's son to insure she could hold him... but Danh will leave her someday, and that was her greatest fear, the horror that only their touch could erase...

"Người thương," Don said softly as he stroked a finger gently behind Kim-ly's ear, which sent shivers through her body, as did hearing him say Người thương which means "my loved person." She's heard him saying it to Lanh for sixteen years, so she didn't think too much about it until she looked up and saw those sky-blue eyes were looking at her.

"Huh?" was all she could say, he said that to her?

"You had that look on your face, the look I see at night when your fears creep up," said Don.

"Huh?" she was so eloquent tonight.

"You talk in your sleep," said Lanh.

"I will make you a promise," said Don. "If you don't leave us, we won't leave you." And he gave his stunned sister-in-law a gentle kiss on the lips. "And with that, I'm going to go take my shower, it's almost bedtime." He lifted Lanh off his lap and stood, then gave Lanh a kiss, followed by a kiss for Kim-ly, then he headed off to the bathroom.

Kim-ly sat in stunned silence, neither woman missed the bulge in Don's trousers as he rose and headed off to the shower. Finally, she said, "Aren't you...?" The question hung in the air.

Lanh sadly shook her head, "not yet, I'm still not good at all." There comes a point where chronic pain crushes the sex drive, Don and Lanh were dealing with his pain and their sex life was getting back on track, then this happened to Lanh. Sometimes their sex life has been reduced to gentle mutual masturbation, other times it's solo masturbation while the aching partner rests and encourages, life just isn't fair sometimes.

Lanh leaned forward and whispered, "go, it's ok. You're part of us now." Kim-ly looked at her sister, confusion racked her mind and was easily readable on her face, so Lanh rose, and holding her towel with one hand she led Kim-ly by the hand into the bedroom and closed the door then led her to the bathroom and took Kim-ly's towel from her and opened the shower door for Kim-ly. "Go get him, just don't break him."

Don felt rather than heard the shower door open and there was Kim-ly standing there with him. They've showered together before, to help Lanh before she regained what mobility she has. Insecurity was clearly overwhelming Kim-ly, which was not a good look for the stunning Asian beauty. Don was sure that the terror and confusion that wracked his mind didn't translate to a confident good look for him either. A movement behind the droplet covered glass shower divider showed Don that Lanh was seated in her make-up chair at the vanity watching, and Don wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

Now Don allowed his eyes to roam over his sister-in-law's body. Like Lanh, Kim-ly's skin was light with just a hint of a golden complexion, but free from any blemish or tan-line. (Well, this is Minnesota.) While Lanh's breasts are well rounded and small, Kim-ly's breasts are large, a good handful, could this be from motherhood? And like Lanh, Kim-ly's nipples are coral pink but her areola and nipples are larger than Lanh's. Lanh's nipples are tiny nubbins of delight that make themselves profoundly noticed when she's turned on with areola just slightly bigger around than a penny, meanwhile Kim-ly's nipples are easily larger than Lanh's with areola as big around as a half dollar.

Don drank in the sight of Kim-ly's body, full breasts, slim waist, round hips, a body other woman would kill for, and here she was looking so unconfident alone with "just Don" as he thought of himself. The insecurity and taunting of his childhood has left Don insecure with himself well into manhood, especially now naked with the woman he once (and still) thought of as the most beautiful woman on earth, to be honest he's terrified.

Kim-ly broke the uncomfortable silence by cupping Don's soft cock and saying, "You don't like me anymore?" With a trembling hand Don tilted Kim-ly's chin up and leaned in for a kiss. Their kiss was sweet but spoke more about insecurity than passion.

Finally, Don pulled Kim-ly close, her lush body pressing against his. "What's wrong," he asked softly.

"Tell me this isn't some weird little fantasy that is going to end when you get tired of me..." she said, just barely audible over the sound of the shower.

"If I was ever going to tire of you, that would have happened long ago," said Don as he held Kim-ly close. "Remember when we were stationed at Spangdahlem and you came out to stay with us and I didn't see you, my wife, or my check book for a whole month?"

Kim-ly chuckled, "You were so mad at me." What a road trip! France! Belgium! Amsterdam!!! Actually Kim-ly didn't remember a whole lot about Amsterdam, but Lanh and Lanh's friend Annie Brown said she had a good time. Three Viet chicks touring Europe, what a summer. "I suppose you weren't really happy that I stole your new wife."

"I didn't mind that, but I wanted to see you," said Don. "You just started to be nice to us when we got married. Then you got off the plane, grabbed Lanh and Annie and disappeared and returned just in time to get back on the plane home. Then there was Grand Forks."