We're a Wonderful Wife Ch. 13

"He's not going to say," said Lanh, "MARS operators don't discuss details of their calls."

Veronica looked surprised but Josh shook Don's shoulder with a quiet, "Thanks man." Josh then told Veronica, "It was to my sister, and she was..." he looked at Veronica and said, "you know my sister."

"Yes, I do," sighed Veronica. Josh's sister is an alcoholic crack addict who passionately hates her younger brother and blamed him for their parents alcohol related deaths.

"Is she anything like me?" asked Kim-ly as she eased into the seat next to Don and gave him a kiss.

Veronica and Josh tried to hide their shocked looks as two Asian beauties snuggled up to Don, and that didn't go unnoticed. "Speaking of sisters, this is my sister Kim-ly, and we have a unique relationship."

҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉

It was a cold yet sunny late winter morning, five minutes to eleven and Nguyen Pho was getting ready to open for the day, but no one was in the kitchen making preparations, the entire staff was in the dining room for a team meeting as they did every Tuesday morning, the first day of their business week. Lately it's been the only time for employees to see their business owners Duong and Mai who were semi-retired and spent most of their time with their grandsons Arlo and Danh and also Karole's daughter Krissy.

"One last thing, Daren Hovde is retiring. As you may or may not know, he slipped and fell on the ice and hit his head last month and he recently decided that this was a sign from God to get out of the business." Daren was a cantankerous old man who owned a diner next door named Your Host. Duong continued, "the new owner has decided to keep the place open for breakfast and lunch and no longer serve dinner."

After the murmuring died down, Mai took over. "So yes, we are no longer in competition with Your Host for the evening meal, but that means people who do not like or are afraid to try our cuisine no longer have a place to sit down and eat supper. Therefore, we will be adding more American dishes to our menu."

Rosa handed fliers to her daughters who distributed them through the staff advertising their expanded menu. The reaction of the employees was mixed, many were Asians who work at Nguyen Pho because of the Asian food and Asian staff, now some felt that their culture was being diluted or chipped away. Others were glad for more hours and more customers. "As you can see, many of these dishes are only on the evening menu, and there are more changes coming up, if any of you have friends or relatives that are looking for work, full or part time, let them know that we will be adding staff."

After the meeting was over, people went to their positions. Karole was already in her position at the cash register by the door seated in her wheelchair. "Are you ready?" smiled Rosa. "You said that this would be the day that you do it."

"Ah'm ready, juss get that door open first," said Karole, a look of nervousness on her face.

"Ok, but I want to watch," said Rosa as she unlocked the front door and flipped around the sign from closed to open and turned on the neon Open light on the front window.

"Yer juss evil," grinned Karole. A couple of women stepped through the door and Karole asked as usual, "How many... two?" When she got an affirmative response, Karole then asked, "Table or booth?" and she pulled two menus from the stack of plastic bound menus.

"Booth please."

"If ya'll would follow me," and she stood and walked slowly to a booth not too far from the register. Her steps were slow, she leaned heavily on her four-footed cane, and she limped horribly, but she was walking. After seating her customers and taking their drink order she turned to return to the register and found that Binna, an older Korean/American woman was at the register and Rosa was standing, arms crossed, a smile on her lips. "What's this?" asked Karole.

"I'm waiting..."

"I just seated the first customers of the day," said Karole with a whine to her voice that caused Binna to laugh.

"I've seen that trick before," said Rosa. "Come on, you promised."

"Ok," sighed Karole in defeat and slowly hobbled her way to the kitchen with Rosa following. In the kitchen the staff were getting their stations ready for the afternoon rush. Trung and Bao were in the corner discussing a document that Bao was holding, probably taxes, that's all Bao is going to be doing and talking about for the next couple of months, and with his partner Kim-ly on a short vacation, he's going to be swamped. Mai was also there with Danh and Krissy orbiting around their grandma.

Karole took a deep breath and walked up to Trung. She took the document from his hand, handed it to Bao, then stepped up to Trung and wrapped her arms around him. Trung looked very surprised and started to ask, "Wha..." but Karole's lips found his and they were kissing long and passionately, their tongues entwined. The entire kitchen staff watched and "cheered them on" with a long loud "Wooooo!"

"My goodness!" said Trung as their lips parted. He smiled broadly and asked, "what was that?"

"I think I'm ready to move to the next level," sighed Karole as she leaned in for another kiss.

As they kissed, Bao turned to his wife and said, "It's about time."

Rosa smiled and gave Bao a quick kiss. As she headed back out to the restaurant she said, "it sure is."

҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉

The little Zodiac "dinghy" purred along silently behind Andi's Dream, Kim-ly was at the tiller of the electric motor that was propelling the inflatable landing craft, keeping an eye on Don as he swam alongside the Zodiac. In the middle of the little boat knelt Lanh and as she kept her eyes on Don while he swam, she shouted "Nhanh lên! Nhanh lên!" Vietnamese for "Hurry up!"

Don wasn't hurrying, he was swimming at an easy pace, breathing on every stroke, a gentle flutter kick accompanying his strokes. He was concentrating on form and breathing and occasionally Lanh would make him stop and she would clip a pulse oximeter on his finger and check the reading. He's been hovering at 89 to 90%, when he hits 88% it's over, Lanh will make him stop, so he's taking it easy. It's been so long since he's been in the water, stretching it out, enjoying the buoyancy... he forgot how peaceful it was, and how much he loved Lanh's encouragement.

Up on the flying bridge of Andi's dream, Paul was driving from the aft helm out on the aft sundeck of the flybridge. From up there he was able to keep an eye on the Campbells making sure the yacht didn't get too far ahead of Don's practice and at the same time they purred along close enough in case of an emergency. On the swimming deck that extended from the stern Josh and Veronica swam and dove with Andi. The women were all topless and this was the first time that Veronica ever showed off her breasts. Years of photographers begging her to pose nude when she was a model were ignored. She knew that it cost her many modeling jobs, but she didn't care, her dad would have been heartbroken if he opened a fashion magazine to see his daughter's tits.

The sun felt so good on her breasts and Josh made sure that they were well covered with sunblock as ardently as Don applied protectant to Lanh and Kim-ly. Veronica wondered if this drove her to her current exhibitionist feelings, she loved the chance to be seen making love with her husband in motel and hotel rooms through open curtains. While giggling over wine last night, she let this slip to Kim-ly who responded with a smiling whisper, "We're in luck, I love to watch."

Two loud blasts on Andi's Dream's air horns signaled that it was time to bring in the dinghy. Paul cut the throttles and allowed Andi's Dream to coast with only the wind and the waves to stop it. Lanh's chant changed to a spirited cry of "Đi đi mau! Đi đi mau!" which very roughly translates to "Go! Go!" This was Don's cue to give it everything he had. He poured it on, swimming as hard as he could. He quickly ran out of air, but they were close to the swim platform he reached it in under 2 minutes and he didn't have anything left when Lanh called "TIME!" his cue to stop. All Don could do was cling on to one of the stern swim platform rails and pant, his oxygen level was below 85, but it was coming up fast. "No more sprints until after your operation," said Lanh.

"Si," gasped Don, too winded to get the full word "yes" out.

"Come on you guys, out of the water," said Yi. "We're going to secure the zodiac to the swim platform."

Using the hydraulics, they lowered the platform into the water which made it easier for a winded Don to get back on the boat, then they tugged the zodiac onto the submerged platform then lifted the platform raising the zodiac out of the water.

Lanh and Don joined Veronica, Josh, and Kim-ly on the bow as they watched the island slowly swimming toward them. As they saw the pier come close there was a soft rumbling from the belly of Andi's Dream and the big boat slowly turned 180 degrees as Paul gently spun the boat around with the thrusters. Andi's Dream gently drifted backwards into the bay propelled only by momentum. Yi and Kenny set out the fenders as Paul used a little forward thrust on the screws to bring the yacht to a stop, then with a couple of prods from the thrusters the boat eased sideways to the pier where Kenny and Yi tied it off quickly. As Paul, Yi, and Kenny tied up the boat more securely, Andi came forward to the bow and showed the folks how to put up a large sunshade over the bow's seating area. "What if we want to lay out in the sun?" asked Kim-ly.

"There is a huge island right here made out of beaches for you to enjoy," said Andi.

"Aww, I don't want to get dressed," said Kim-ly and her sentiments were echoed by a nod from Veronica. They were enjoying the feel of the sun and the breeze on their parts that spent years covered up. Just then Andi stepped onto the bow from the port side deck followed by a woman clearly in her later years. She had long silver hair combed out straight like Lanh's ebony locks and like Andi she was wearing only a sarong, her C cup breasts were either superbly modified or timeless in their glory.

"Folks, this is our hostess, Justice Nicoletta Atherton, she and her husband Donald own this island and are happy to have us come visit."

"Justice Atherton? From the New York State Supreme Court?" asked Veronica.

"That's me," said the silver haired beauty, "and am I correct in assuming that you are Veronica von Köster from the Miss America pageant a few years ago?"

"Quite a few years ago," chuckled Veronica as she rose to shake hands. One by one Justice Atherton walked around the bow patio shaking hands and welcoming her guests, and when she got to Kim-ly, the Asian hottie introduced herself as Kim-ly Campbell. Nicoletta sat down between Lanh and Kim-ly and said, "I've been told that there is quite a story here. Tell it to me."

"Not much to tell," said Don, "Lanh and I were high school sweethearts. I proposed to her in front of her parents on Christmas Eve, we got married after we graduated, and I went to basic training. I re-enlisted a couple of times then got out early because..."

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down there hoss!" cried Kim-ly. "You left out like... the ENTIRE STORY."

"Jeez, we'll be here all night," whined Don.

"I've got plenty of wine," said Nicoletta. "Andi told me that it is quite a story."

"Yeah!" grinned Veronica, "tell us."

"Aw, you done opened a bigass can a worms!" said Josh with a laugh. "We ain't gittin' outta here until she hears every word, and don't skimp on the spicy parts."

Don started again with, "If any of you want to wander off, I highly encourage it," and started again at the high school dance where he and Lanh first met. He couldn't skip any of the details, not with Kim-ly fact-checking his recitation. Every beating he took in high school, every call he made and embarrassed himself when researching their book until Tam, Bao, and Kim-ly helped him with translating what their relatives said. Nicoletta laughed until she cried at the story of Beached Whale and her embarrassment in front of all her students, then swooned like a teenage girl at their engagement on Christmas eve, and actually broke down in tears of joy when Lanh and Kim-ly told her about the apartment that Don made Lanh out of the old storage room that used to be a bunkhouse half a century before.

"He asked your father for your hand in marriage at a family dinner?" Nicoletta asked Lanh.

"Sort of," started Lanh.

"No, he asked for dad's blessing," said Kim-ly. "And later ba asked, "what would you have done if I didn't give you my blessing?" and Don said, "So what? You ain't the pope."

"Really?" Nicoletta whooped in laughter.

"In front of the whole damn family," grinned Lanh.

"Don't blame me, the whole thing was a Vietnamese custom," said Don.

They eventually moved onto the island and had a luau dinner on the large patio in front of Nicoletta and Donalds "cabin," and the story continued. When they reached the last four years, Don's jet blast injury drew a roar of rage from Josh. "That was you? Holy crap, I was out in the civilian world working in Buffalo when I heard about that!"

When Don looked confused Veronica pointed to Josh and said, "Gunner Network. They're always on the phone with each other."

Lanh pointed to Don and said, "Comm/Nav folks, same thing."

"The only one I talked to was Chief Brown," said Don. "The past two years... what a horror story." And with that he fell silent until Lanh and Nicoletta goaded him into continuing the story, his rehab, his surprise retirement ceremony which hurt even more realizing that it was the last time he saw Royce alive. Their decision to move to Colorado and how everything just fell apart. "It was so weird and confusing. I started having nightmares that Lanh was going to die, that I would end up married to Karole or Kim-ly." He turned to Lanh and said, "Remember that huge chunk of rose quartz that we brought home from Colorado?" When she nodded her head he said, "In my dreams that ended up marking your grave. When you were in Albuquerque at a conference, I had a bad nightmare and I woke up in the garden in the pouring rain hitting that thing with a hammer screaming for you."

"Oh my god!" gasped Andi, "why didn't you talk to somebody?"

"I was afraid they'd lock me up! The only sleep I was getting was with Lanh or Kim-ly. I didn't want to think what would happen if they put me in a hospital." And Don continued with the story, their horrific Christmas, and their 'Escape to Minnesota,' and how the only thing that saved his sanity was when Kim-ly brough Danh and put the nine-month-old in Don's lap when Karole was in a coma and Lanh was in surgery. "Honest to God, I thought I was going to die, my brain was pounding, I hadn't slept or eaten in days... I do remember thinking that I was glad Danh wasn't there, because if anything happened to Lanh, I could end it all very quickly and he'd never know."

"End it all... you don't mean..." Nicoletta looked horrified at Don, but he nodded affirming her fears that he meant suicide.

"Don and I love each other," said Kim-ly, "we really do but Lanh is his người thương, his beloved, and he is hers. I couldn't have taken her place if she had died, he would have stayed for Danh, but he would have been so miserable."

"Who is Danh?" asked Veronica, "you've mentioned him a couple of times."

Don, Lanh, and Kim-ly looked at each other a few times, finally Don said, "He's our son."

"I thought you said you couldn't have a baby," Nicoletta said to Lanh. Then she noticed the look on Kim-ly's face and said, Danh's your baby!" She turned to Lanh and said, "Did you know about this?"

"I knew about it, Don didn't. He was clueless," said Lanh.

"I didn't knock up Kim-ly," said Don, "I knocked up a test tube."

"WHAA?" Veronica was completely confused, and then Lanh explained how she and Kim-ly conspired to have Kim-ly carry Don's baby.

"I can't believe you had his baby!" cried Nicoletta as she hugged Kim-ly. "That is so beautiful!"

"Wait until you hear about Operation Sue Lin," said Don.

Without being asked Lanh said, "Dr Schaeffer, the doctor who made Danh a reality is going to take an ova from Kim-ly, fertilize it, then plant it in me!"

҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉

Nisi Arcadia was a beautiful little island covered in palm trees and ringed by beaches that were divided by cypress swamps and palmetto brush. One beautiful beach on the far end of the island was for women only and the girls spent a lot of time there chatting and making plans for a longer vacation next winter. Meanwhile Donald taught Paul, Don and Josh to sail on a small sailboat and they sailed around the island several times.

"I'm definitely getting one of these for my pond!" gushed Josh as he and Don glided past the girls' beach. Once again, they were frustrated, the girls saw the boat approaching and dashed into the water.

"I'm tempted myself," said Don. "There's quite a few big lakes near me."

They spent four days on Nisi Arcadia, the days were spent sailing and swimming, evenings were spent gathering together around a bonfire telling stories and singing songs, Donald and Josh often played guitar, everything from blues, to country, to rock and roll. Sometimes Justice Nicoletta would tell of courtroom antics she had run into in the past while Paul accompanied her on the guitar, playing background music to her story like an old-time organist in a silent movie.

"Did you ever think of renting this island out for couples n' stuff like that?" asked Don.

"You mean for couples on vacation or maybe their honeymoons?" asked Donald. When Don nodded, Donald said, "Yeah, we do it all the time, we're a fancy bed and beach and breakfast. Just reach out to us. Is there someone you have in mind?"

"You mean besides ourselves?" asked a laughing Veronica.

"Well, I think we know a couple that could use a proper honeymoon," said Don.

Later, after everyone had retreated to their rooms in the palatial mansion that the Atherton's called their "cabin," Lanh led Don off on the myriad of paths that crisscrossed the island to a narrow path that disappeared between palmetto bushes. "Justice Nicoletta showed me this earlier today," said Lanh as they worked their way through the bushes. Once they traveled through the dense undergrowth for about 3 feet the path opened up to a well-maintained path that couldn't be seen from the main path. After a curve that hid the objective of the path, it opened up to a small beach about ten yards wide and ten yards deep. "This is Miss Nicoletta's favorite beach," said Lanh. "She calls it "Honeymoon Beach." Lanh gave Don that smile, the one he can read like an open book.

"Second honeymoon? No, I didn't think so, but I had to ask." Then Kim-ly stepped out of the shadows with a nervous smile. Don heaved a sad sigh, "Ok girls, we need to talk."

"About what?" demanded Lanh.

"About us, you and me, about you and me and Kim-ly." The sisters looked at him confused. "Ok, what if something happens, what if Kim-ly and I get super pissed at each other, but you two are closer than ever, what happens then? Do I spend the rest of my life on the couch?"

"I would never do that," said Lanh.

"Look, if you don't want me around I will just back off," said Kim-ly. She looked nervous and started to edge back toward the shadows.

"No! I'm not saying any of that, I' just saying..." Don realized that he was on dangerously thin ice. He reached out to Kim-ly and gently tugged her into the embrace. He took a breath and nervously said, "the three of us have been through sadness, maybe too much sadness, I just don't want more if it can be avoided."