We're a Wonderful Wife Ch. 14

"I deserve worse than that," said Bao sadly.

"At least you're honest."

Don and Lanh sailed around and around the rowboat, he sailed as much as he could at Nisi Arcadia and picked it up quickly and he made good on his promise of getting a small sailboat and according to the emails he exchanged with Josh Gravely, Josh and Veronica were considering getting a larger sailboat to sail on Lake Erie. As soon as Lanh gets up to speed, he intends to take their boat out to a larger lake, like Lake Itaska, headwaters of the Mississippi.

As Don watched Bao and Kim-ly take a few faltering swings with their oars, the sailboat lurched, and the jib swung and smacked him in the back of the head. "Jibe ho!" called Lanh brightly.

Don turned to her with a sigh. The order is to call, "Ready to Jibe," then you call "Jibe ho," then you turn and let the jib swing. Properly warned, the boat crew can avoid the swinging jib. Don looked at Lanh and her playful, impish grin told him everything he needed to know. He leaned over and kissed her deeply, and as they kissed, he reached over the gunnel, scooped up a handful of cool lake water and dribbled it down her back. Her shriek of surprise echoed across the lake followed by their playful, "We're even now."

"No, I owe you."

"We're even."

"I owe you!"

Bao and Kim-ly watched Don and Lanh's playful bantering evolve into a loving tickle fight sadly. "We used to be like that," said Bao sadly. "Is there a chance we can be that way again?"

Kim-ly looked at Bao for a long time then leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn't a brother-sister kiss, it was sweet and gentle, a reuniting lovers kiss. "Does that mean...?" Bao started to ask.

"It means thank you for trying. I haven't been ignoring you, I know you're trying... but it really hurt that much."

"What can I do?"

"Just keep trying. We'll never be lovers again, but we can love each other... again." They watched Don and Lanh orbit them in their tiny sailboat, then Kim-ly said, "Let's get back to the dock." They began trying to row together but they were horribly out of time with each other, finally Don sailed past and said, "Singing helps."

Bao and Kim-ly looked at each other confused but Don said, "Throughout history when men worked together at difficult jobs they would sing rhythmic songs to keep their efforts together. That's what sea shanties were all about."

Bao and Kim-ly looked at each other again, when they were young, they would sing old sea shanties when shoveling the snow off the driveway. They thought the songs were songs of protest to let the captain know they were angry. Might as well give it a try. They started off with a sea shanty that's used in almost every NFL Films production.

What will we do with a drunken sailor?

What will we do with a drunken sailor?

What will we do with a drunken sailor?

Early in the morning!

And soon they were rowing in time with each other - the ancient magic of the rhythmic song took over and guided their efforts and they were laughing and trying to pick a bar song to help with the job. They eventually found one from their 21st birthday bash when a raucous piano player from Buffalo nick-named "Doctor Dirty" appeared in Minneapolis. He sang some crude, disgusting, and insanely fun bar songs that they sang all night long.

There's a skeeter on my peter whack it off.

There's a skeeter on my peter whack it off.

There's a dozen on my cousin,

I can hear the fuckers buzzin.'

There's a skeeter on my peter whack it off.

"I thought you were crazy when you came up with this idea," said Lanh as she leaned back against Don who was now at the tiller.

"Working together heals a lot of wounds," said Don as he finished a final orbit around the laughing twins. "It's too early to cut hay, and look what that did for you, Tam, and Kim-ly. Lanh smiled fondly at the memory of the summer that Ralph let her and her sisters cut hay and let them keep some of the profits from those days of cutting. It was long hard work and it seemed like a hundred years ago but the togetherness it fostered remains strong today over a decade and a half later. They did one more quick downwind leg, then whirled around and headed back to the dock. Just in time too, Pastor Loomis and Father Steinbach were just pulling up to the campsite to go over the preparations for next week's ceremony.

~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~

The old wedding gazebo was still in the apple orchard and Lanh felt the same excitement she felt fifteen years ago for her wedding. The crowd of guests was smaller than it was fifteen years ago, but the number of participants in the ceremony was much larger than before. Father Steinbach celebrated a mass and Pastor Loomis gave a sermon on marriage then they asked those that were renewing their vows to step up. By agreement no one told their invitees that there would be multiple couples renewing their vows. First came Duong and Mai.

"My goodness," grinned Father Steinbach, forty-three years, and you truly don't look sixty, not after six children."

"I'm not," said Mai. "I just turned fifty-eight."

Father Steinbach was stunned, and Pastor Loomis said, "You were fifteen when you got married?"

"It was my fifteenth birthday," said Mai as a collective gasp ran through her children. "Duong just turned eighteen... His family was going back to Vietnam, so we gave him the ability and a reason to say no, I'm staying." The children of Mai and Duong all knew that much of their father's family went back, but there was some creative math going on when Mai and Duong's ages were mentioned.

Tam did a little math in her head then whispered to Jake, "Now I know why there's no graduation pictures of my mother, she was pregnant with me!"

"I normally don't encourage early marriage," said Father Steinbach, "but in your case, I'll make an exception."

Then one by one Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis took turns introducing the couples that were renewing their vows in order of their date of marriage. Don and Lanh were next, followed by Bao and Rosa, Ralph and Sandy, Tam and Jake, and their friends, Syd and Craig all were married in September following Don and Lanh's wedding here in the apple orchard. That was because that's when Don got leave after basic training and tech school before she shipped off to Germany. Trung and Angela followed two years later and six months after that Ahnjong passed the bar and she and Huy were able to wed.

If there was murmuring when Kim-ly joined Don and Lanh, it was quiet. Everybody knew that Kim-ly carried Don and Lanh's son Danh, and had agreed to carry one more for them, so her presence there next to them wasn't a big surprise, however Tam, Kim-ly, and Lanh were all now beginning to show baby bumps.

Don actually bristled at Pastor Loomis and Father Steinbach when they questioned Don and Lanh's decision to include Kim-ly. He didn't reveal that they considered Kim-ly part of their union but insisted that Kim-ly was important to them especially considering how much help and love she gave them in the medical and emotional trauma over the past four years. Father Steinbach took Tam aside and asked privately what she thought of Kim-ly being included in the ceremony and she shook her head.

"Please don't question it, Father. I have three young boys, a blind husband and a baby on the way. Don hired a social worker to help with Jake, a nurse to help with me, a cleaner to clean my house and do my laundry, and he calls every night to see if my boys need help with their homework and he will come to help any time one says yes. As far as I'm concerned, if he wants the Rockettes to be part of the ceremony, I'm all for it." After that no one questioned Kim-ly's presence in front of the crowd. In fact, Karole was there also, standing with Don and Lanh while Trung was standing with Huy and Ahnjong.

"I'm not going to blame any of this on Don and Lanh," said Father Steinbach as he started the ceremony. "I was getting ready to put in the paperwork to start my retirement."

"Personally," injected Pastor Loomis, "I'm blaming the whole thing on Sandy Campbell. It was a blustery cold winter afternoon when my receptionist informed me that she scheduled me for a wedding right here in this apple orchard that June fifteen years ago."

"Funny, same thing happened with me," said Father Steinbach. "A wedding which opened the flood gates of love for the Nguyen and Campbell families." Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis went back and forth with funny stories about the families gathered together. "Did you hear the one about the childless couple who couldn't have a baby via in vitro fertilization because she was pregnant?" asked Father Steinbach. The gathered crowd chuckled because everyone heard it... well almost everyone.

"Who?" asked Sydney Lewicki, Lanh's former debate club teammate. It took a moment and a whisper from Craig, Don's best man, before she noticed that Kim-ly and Tam were pointing at Lanh. With a shriek of joy Syd dashed over to Lanh and suddenly they were chattering and laughing like they were 18 years younger and sitting in the corner of the cafeteria at the table reserved for nerds.

"Ah HEM!" said Father Steinbach rolling his eyes.

"Missus Campbell? This little soiree was your idea..." said Pastor Loomis.

"Geez mom," groaned Syd and Craigs son but their daughter was laughing along with them.

Finally with the laughter quelled Don turned to Lanh and said, ""My dearest love, as we stand here today, I think back to all the wonderful memories we have shared. There is no greater feeling in life than having your best friend by your side every day. Though we have had our struggles, our love has been strong enough to conquer it all. I am thankful for you being in my life each and every day..."

The renewed vows were lovely if not a bit long. After the vows and a kiss, the couples renewing their vows returned to their seats, Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis stepped up to say their closing remarks but noticed that Tam and Karole were still standing in front of the assembled crowd. "Can I help you?" asked Pastor Loomis.

"If 'n you were a Baptist then maybe," said Karole causing Father Steinbach to break up into laughter.

"I asked her to wait a moment," said Tam. The eldest child of Mai and Duong Nguyen turned to the assembly and said, "Karole Krigbaum saved my baby sisters life and my mother's life on Christmas Eve. She risked her own life by throwing herself in front of an out-of-control car on an ice-covered parking lot and she shoved mom and Lanh out of the way, saving three lives that night, mom, Lanh, and my future niece or nephew."

She turned to Karole and took Karole's hands in hers and said, "Sweetheart none of us can ever thank you enough for what you did. You will probably bear the scars of that night forever and all I can say is thank you." They hugged and the crowd clapped and once the applause ended Tam continued. "But that's not why I asked you to stay up here. That is," and she pointed behind Karole.

Karole turned around and there was Trung looking more nervous than anyone had ever seen him act before. "Karole dear, I love you more than I could ever know, I can never put into words the love I feel for you, all I can ask..." and he sank to one knee and opened a jewelry box, "is will you marry me and save me too?"

Karole stared at the tiny diamond in disbelief and shrieked in joy. "YES!" she cried and begged him to get up, "Ah can't git down there, yer gunna havta stand."

~~~*~~~

Don and Lanh looked at the crowd that gathered for their renewal celebration, the big tent they had for their wedding was set up but the crowd wasn't as big as the crowd that gathered for their wedding. However, this year many children were there dashing between tables and feeding "cow babies" handfuls of hay through the barbed wire fence with Lanh and Kim-ly teaching them all how to be farmers. Another big difference was that more of the Vietnamese guests from Minneapolis spoke English than those at Don and Lanh's wedding.

"So, you really don't hang out with anyone from the old high school?" asked Craig as he and Don shared a beer for the first (legal) time in their lives.

"We've been gone," said Don. "I got myself blown up, survived rehab, moved to Colorado where Lanh got herself blown up, and now we're home with her in rehab and we just found out she's going to have a baby."

"Why the late start? too busy in the Air Force to fuck?" he asked quietly.

"Uhhh... no." Don realized that his only real male friend from high school didn't hear what happened to him so he brought Craig up to speed on Lanh's medical issues and his jet blast injuries.

"Holy crap! Why did you stay in? It sounds like the Air Force was a nightmare," said Craig.

"Actually, we had a lot of fun, we both earned our doctorates and there was time to..." Don chuckled. "I was stationed at an unaccompanied location, in Korea which means no wives and families. I had a local woman cleaning my dorm room and doing laundry. One day she walked in and found a skinny little Asian girl in my bed and thought I brought a hooker home. It was Lanh, she flew over and walked on base with her ID card, she even got my friend to open the room." Craig was laughing so hard his side hurt when Huy's twins Him-chan and Ahn came up and interrupted.

"Unka Don!" cried Ahnnie, "Him-chan says you're going to be principal; Chau says you're going to be the principal's boss." She pouted then putting her hands up in confusion and demanded, "what are you going to do?"

"You should listen to your cousin Chau," said Don as he pulled Ahnnie up on his lap. "I told her several days ago that I was going to be the principal's boss." Don tickled his tiny niece then noticed that there was only one child over by the calf pen with Lanh and Kim-ly. "Why aren't you two feeding the baby cows with Auntie Lanh?"

Ahnnie and Him-chan's eyes opened wide at the opportunity to feed Aunt Lanh's cows, Ahnnie wriggled off Don's lap then she and her brother dashed off to feed the cow babies.

"Principal's boss?" asked Craig with a smirk.

"Well, if I win the election. I'm running for school board supervisor."

"Currently running unopposed," said Rosa as she and Syd sat down with Don and Craig. "The other candidate pulled out when the school system said that they couldn't afford to pay her what she wanted.

"No shit?" gasped Syd. "Is the current superintendent breaking him in? Y'know, giving him some OJT?""

"The current superintendent quit months ago," said Rosa. "He had a heart attack and decided that there was a better way to spend his life than arguing with parents and teachers."

"So, you're the superintendent?" grinned Craig. "Way to go!"

Rosa slugged Don in the arm and said, "Oh no, Mister Play By The Rules reminded them that by the school system bylaws he has to wait for November to be sworn in."

"That's DOCTOR Play By The Rules, thank you very much," grinned Don.

"You jerk," laughed Rosa.

"Love you too sis." It's been ages since Don and Rosa taunted and teased each other. God, it felt good to be home!

~~~*~~~

The party was a good one, there were only two speeches, the collective anniversary speech started by Don and the mic was passed to Bao, then Jake, then Huy. But this was also Sandy, Ralph, Mai, and Duong's retirement party. Ownership of the restaurant was still in Duong and Mai's name but it will be purchased from them soon by their children with Rosa and Karole managing. Rosa and Bao were moving into the big house on the back of the restaurant and Karole and Trung were moving out. The ownership of Ralph and Don's farm was transferred to Don and Lanh while next door Karole purchased the old Gustafsson farm, a dairy farm on the west side of the Campbell farm.

Don and Lanh's house was on the northwest corner of their property, and Karole was building her new farmhouse on the northeast corner of her property which put it a very short walk from Don and Lanh's house. Karole and Trung also insured that their new dreamhouse contained a lot of extra bedrooms to ensure room for future Nguyens and room for sleepovers for the nieces and nephews, because if the birth of Don and Lanh's child allows them to adopt again, they are planning on adopting several children.

Karole wasn't sure what she wanted to do with the farm, but according to her personal agronomist (Trung) another year of sitting fallow will help the field and it gave Karole and Lanh a tract of land to practice their tractor skills. As far as Karole is concerned their marriage will be perfect, he likes chickens, she likes eggs; a match made in heaven. He wants to raise several species of chickens and ducks, which made the Nguyen restauranters happy because they have several recipes that require fresh duck meat and the children consider the farm a petting zoo.

Soon all the Nguyen children and their families gathered up with their parents. All the guys were wearing suit and tie, all the women, including Sandy, Rosa, and Karole, were wearing an áo dài. Pictures were posed for, then children were added and more pictures were posed for. Then Tam turned to her father and said, "We weren't planning to make a big deal out of this, but you can if you want..." and she handed him two key rings with the keys to a new house. "You worked hard for us, now you can relax.

"Ditto dad," said Don. "We love you," and he handed his dad the keys to a new house and as they hugged, he whispered, "let me know if you need help with the house." Ralph and Sandy had recently entered their sixties and for some reason Don was treating them like they received bad news from their doctors.

"Not having to climb stairs is all the blessings we will need," chuckled Ralph tearfully as he hugged his daughters Lanh and Kim-ly. The far back end of Don's property, which is mostly woods, fronts on a state road. They cleared two small plots of land and had two modular homes built there for their parents who were getting tired of climbing stairs.

"Does this mean I can finally hunt on your property?" said Duong as he shook Don's hand. Duong often cursed himself and congratulated himself for letting Don marry his baby, Lanh. This time was a hearty congratulations. Duong and Mai will be close enough to family to ensure visits from grandchildren and enjoy the privacy that living in a forest provides. Also, Sandy and Mai will enjoy a walk through the woods on a mile long path that Don, Bao, Huy, and Trung cut for them through the trees and into the woods on Karole's land. The path also skirts the south end of the lake where Duong and Ralph can go fishing anytime they like on a dock the boys built for them. If they want a boat or an ice-fishing hut they'll have to provide their own.

~~~*~~~

As the sun set and the lights were turned on in the tent, the folks that hate speeches and sermons but love good barbeque and cold beer began to arrive. The music played and the guests soon began dancing. Music from the 50's and early 60's drew the biggest numbers of dancers to the dance floor that was placed in the center of the big tent.

Don and Lanh sat by the dance floor chatting with guests, many of whom wanted to know about Don's plans for the school board and what plans he had for their children's education. Knowing that their friend, a guy that they went to school with, will be head of the school board, Craig and Sydney Lewicki began considering returning home to Grant Valley. "Can you do that?" gushed Lanh.

"Hell yeah," said Craig, "I'm a captain now and I can pretty much write my ticket with the state police where I want to go."