Chapter 22

Don, Lanh, Sydney, and Rosa arrived at the school and faced the ‘walk-in’ where couples entered through a gauntlet of parents, relatives, and friends, all armed with cameras. This was small town America at its best. The parents lining the walk into the school talked about the days when these young adults were merely five and just learning to play t-ball with each other. Old timers with no related children attending school still came to see the walk-in and catch a glimpse of the neighborhood kids who played hide and seek in their yards as seven year olds suddenly grown up.

Sometimes finding a prom date in a tiny town like this is difficult. These seniors have been going to school together since kindergarten and they were like brothers and sisters to each other. On rare occasions, a high school romance will determine the prom date, like Don and Lanh, but often a Woodcutter from Grant Valley high will find a friend in a nearby town to take to the date. There were a few Lumberjacks from Bemidji, several Flyers from Bagley High School, several Warriors from Battle View, and at least one Mustang from rival high school Shevlin Minnesota.

Bao and Kim-ly were already there at the school, having left the restaurant early while the photo sessions continued. It was a warm evening, and the couples looked resplendent in their gowns and suits, and Don and Lanh were the stars of the evening. Her Chinese Cheongsam dress and his tailored tuxedo were incredible, and the parents of their classmates took picture after picture. Don and Lanh spotted Mai and Sandy in the crowd. Both were tearful with pride over their children.

Finally, in the school, they entered the multi-purpose room, a gymnasium with a stage at one end and a kitchen at the other end. It was once used as the main auditorium, gymnasium, and cafeteria, but with the additions to the building, it is now primarily used as a secondary gymnasium and the stage is used for drama club and band practice. What was once the balcony became a weight room.

When they entered the multipurpose room, it was a symphony in blue and white, the school colors. Posters of Paul Bunyon and trees were everywhere, the walls were festooned with posters and cut-outs made from posterboard. Each table had a centerpiece made of tissue paper flowers and flowers sprouting from a glass vase filled with blue and clear glass beads.

Being members of the swim team and state champions in the 200 freestyle, Coach Mach wanted Don, Rosa, and Lanh front and center where they could be seen, and he wanted the Woodcutters of Grant Valley High to know their champions. But Don, Lanh, and Sydney wanted to stay as far out of the spotlight as possible. They settled on a table near where the chaperones were sitting which was good, Lanh and Don could lean over and chat with Bao and Kim-ly, and they were fairly close to the potluck table, so their waiter and waitress didn’t have far to go.

Kim-ly and Bao had a lot of fun being chaperones. They were only three years older than the students, and some of the younger students thought they were seniors. They danced together to some of the fast songs and all the slow songs and occasionally one of the students would ask them if they were married. At first, Bao would laugh at the question, but later, as the evening progressed, the couple would simply smile.

“Did they just kiss?” Don whispered to Lanh.

“Who?”

“Bao and Kim-ly, I swear they just kissed.” Don was quite shocked.

“Oh, them. They’ve always been kissy-kissy,” explained Lanh. “Má said that they were practically born holding hands. Do you have twins in your family?”

Don thought for a moment. “No, I’ll ask dad and Grumpy, but I don’t think so.”

Lanh laughed, “Grumpy? Who’s Grumpy?”

Don chuckled, “Haven’t I mentioned Grandpa Odie? We all call him Grumpy because he truly is grumpy. Grumpy Odie and Hilde are my mom’s folks. My mom was a bit like you, the youngest of seven, so I have a ton of cousins that are a lot older than me. Sandy knows Grumpy and Hilde and you’ll be meeting them pretty soon.”

Lanh shrugged nervously. Don has met so many of her relatives, but Lanh hasn’t met his relatives. What are they going to think when they come to the wedding and see their Norwegian/Irish relative marrying an Asian girl? What are they going to say when they find out that many of her relatives barely speak any English?

The kids that were serving the Juniors and Seniors generally congregated around the snack table and went to the senior that raised their hand to request something, but Don and Lanh’s table had a self-appointed dedicated pair of Sophomores who waited on them constantly and were invited to sit with them. Angela Stanbury was a member of the Lanh Sharks, which is what the debate team called themselves after four winning years in a row under the direction of Lanh, and Rob Kemner a member of the swim team, he’s heard the Dragon Lady “sing” as the swimmers called Lanh’s high-pitched shouting at Rosa and Don as they practiced. It was annoying, but it produced results.

“Miss ... Nguyen?” asked Rob quietly.

When Lanh didn’t respond, Don gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow. “He’s talking to you honey.”

“Huh? Oh, I didn’t realize, I’m not ... heh...” Lanh was not ready to be called “Miss Nguyen” by anyone younger than her. Finally, collecting herself, she asked, “What can I do for you Rob?”

“I was just wondering if you could train me in the 200-meter freestyle next year. I know you’re graduating and all but...”

Lanh considered his request. He is a good swimmer; he just needs some discipline and a lot of practice. However,... “Rob, I’d really love to help you, but I won’t be here.”

“Oh, you’re going to college I suppose,” said Rob.

“We’re getting married in May, and then we’re going somewhere,” smiled Lanh. She turned to Don and said, “Where do we want to go?” In all of their talks about what they want to do with this broad happy future laid out before them, they never once spoke about where they wanted to go while they were in the USAF.

“I want to go someplace warm,” said Don, “like Florida, or Texas. Where do you want to go?”

“Someplace exotic like Tahiti or Hawaii,” then she whispered in Don’s ear, “I’ll learn to do the Hula for you.”

“That would be so nice, on the beach, under a coconut palm...”

Lanh and Don were talking softly while Rob and Angie tried to politely get Lanh’s attention. “Ya blew it kid,” grinned Rosa. “You let them start dreaming.”

Besides Don and Sydney, Rosa Mendez was one of Lanh’s only friends in High School. At five foot six, Rosa is a full head taller than Lanh and she looks like a swimmer. She has strong, powerful legs, broad shoulders, and powerful arms. At the same time, she was slim. She kept her jet-black hair trimmed short and let it grow out the minute that swimming was over.

Sydney McCloskey nodded in agreement, “You let them get away champ.”

For a long time, Syd was Lanh’s only friend in High School. Syd is five foot two inches tall, putting her six inches taller than Lanh. They befriended each other on the first day of their freshman year, the day that Don fell in love with Lanh but didn’t have the courage to say anything to her. Syd was just on the edge of being chubby, she had large breasts and a round face which makes her appear to be fat (which she is not) and the guys avoided her throughout high school. Right now, she and last year’s senior swimming champ, Craig Lewicki, are making eyes at each other, but Craig is currently seeing Cindy Reese, the outgoing head cheerleader.

“What do you mean get away, they’re right here,” sputtered Rob.

“Their bodies are here,” said Kim-ly, “but their brains are on a beach somewhere.” She snapped her fingers loudly next to Don’s ear, breaking him out of the trance he was in, discussing topless hula dancing with Lanh.

“What?” asked the startled Don.

“You have guests!” said Kim-ly as she leaned over between Lanh and Don, giving Rob a nice eyeful down her neckline. Unlike her mother and her little sister, Kim-ly has marvelous breasts for her slim frame, so does her sister Tam. Kim-ly often teased Lanh, saying that the boob fairy passed her and their mom by.

“I’m sorry,” said Lanh. “What did you say?”

Blushing, Rob asked, “I was asking what I could do to improve my times in the two hundred.”

Lanh thought about it for a while, then she brightly said, “swim faster.” She waited and looked around the table for a reaction, and when she didn’t get a laughing response, she said, “What’s wrong with you guys? That was a good joke!”

“No,” said Rosa, “I know jokes, that one wasn’t a very good effort.”

“Nope,” said Syd shaking her head, “I expected more from you, I really did.” For his part, Don was having a tough time keeping a straight face.

“Aww, I thought it was pretty good,” moaned Lanh, then suddenly, the entire table started laughing. “You guys!” she pouted. She had been had. “Ok, you need a personal coach, someone like Angela.” Lanh knew Angela from the Debate team. She was cute, smart, and she was crazy about Rob. “Angie, you need to come to swim team practice on Tuesday.”

“I what?” asked the surprised blond.

“You’re in training to be the team timekeeper for next year.”

“What about debate?” asked Angie.

“Do both,” said Lanh, as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do. She didn’t realize that there were people on earth that considered maintaining an A+ average, planning a wedding, captaining the debate team, coaching two swimmers, working on a farm, and waiting tables in a restaurant an insurmountable challenge for a teenager. For Lanh, it was fun, and she was blessed that she found a lover who was able to keep up with her.

It was a wonderful evening. Their friends and teammates from the debate team and swim team stopped by their table to greet and congratulate them. A few of their classmates came to taunt them, a couple came by to congratulate Don and Lanh for getting back at Beached Whale over the grief she got last semester in Miss Weberman’s AP Literature class. Berniece Weberman, known to many of her students as “Beached Whale” was a teacher who, for some reason, harassed Lanh because of her Vietnamese heritage. She was there at the prom and was walking toward them until she recognized Don and changed course. Any student or teacher that came to give Don and Lanh grief found themselves intercepted by Bao and Kim-ly, who were looking out for their little sister.

“Who was that blob?” asked Bao, interrupting a conversation Lanh was having with a couple of girls from the debate team. The girls were shocked and delighted to see that their team captain had shown up to a dance.