Chapter 2

Charlie Shingle and Paul Santo stayed on the next day, to remove some of the smaller pieces of rock, with hammer and bar. Before noon a truck arrived, so we could start the footings.

That Friday morning, I had been at the site for almost four weeks straight. I was getting a little more than stir crazy. I knew I needed my oil changed, get the laundry done, and buy more supplies. I wanted to visit the Trans', as they had invited me for a home cooked meal. It would be good to see the couple again, and hear about Susan's last bit of training, in Vancouver.

Susan Tran had a devil-may-care attitude. A shear insolence that reminded me a little of myself. This drew me to her, even if her parents already hadn't already done so. I used my cell phone, and called Duc and Lam to let the Trans' know I was able to come. Susan, surprisingly happened to pick up the phone.

I said, "Hello, Susan. I didn't know you were back."

My plans for the night made a dramatic change, for some reason... No, it was because of Susan. I could picture her tall lithe body standing straight and proud, almost as if she were the queen of all the Earth. I wanted to be with her tonight, instead of continuing with my original plans of shopping, and laundry.

"I'm coming into town, around six tonight, with the boys. Your parents invited this old hermit over, for a home cooked meal. Are you going to be eating with us?"

"Oh, my hero. I would just love to. It has been a frustrating day, and I need to work off some of my aggression. Yes, I will be eating with you. But I have a date tonight, and don't like to go back on my word to him. I was going out dancing, and even bought some new clothes and shoes for the occasion."

Her voice rose and fell, and I could tell that she would really rather join her parents and me. And to tell the truth, I felt a little irritated that she was going out with another guy. But what was an old man like me, going to offer a young woman like Susan. I was almost double her age of twenty five. Shrugging the matter aside, I saw that this was another of her good points. She was honest in her dealings, and thought of the other person. A thing I tried to do most of the time, myself.

I had to pause for a while. I remembered, as if yesterday, a young girl of seven climbing into her favourite "uncle's" lap. She had told me of how much she loved me, and promised to marry me, when she got older. After the call, I asked the crew if they wanted to go into town, to blow off a little steam tonight.

"I'll be at the 'George and Dragon', later tonight."

I got calls of acceptance from all around me, and knew that we would have a good time. Most of the men had family, and usually took the weekend off to keep in touch. I offered the phone, and each made their own arrangements, if they could.

Around four we had quit, and tidied up the site. We all sort of washed up, and drove back to town in the trucks and vans. There, we would get properly cleaned and dressed. Carl and his sons rode with me. It was on my way, to drop them off at their home. I left Dog to guard the site, with a lot of food. The river was right beside us, for his water supply. He ran beside my van for a while, before returning to 'his' territory.

As we drove to town, we passed small lakes and rivers, some with a sandy margin. Carl said, "That beach reminds me of last summer, when we went to that party by the lake. Henry, you were with Megan at the time. I think it was the Michaels' party. His neighbour, I forget his name, with the 'wife beater' shirt, was doing just that."

Carl's adopted son, Paul asked, in a very concerned voice. "What happened?"

I quickly said, "We don't have to go into that, Carl," but of course, he continued anyway.

"Well, your uncle goes up to this big guy, and asks him quietly to not beat his wife or girlfriend. The conversation was very quiet, but the guy explodes! Then the guy stands up. He was about thirty kilos heavier, and twenty years younger than your uncle, too. He slaps his girl for emphasis, in an off handed way. Before he can ask Henry what he is going to do about it, he is on the sand, writhing in pain from one little touch."

"What did you do, Uncle Henry?" Paul asked. His eyes were wide, as I looked into the rear view mirror.

"I poked him in the solar plexus with my fingers. You've got to learn to ignore that old goat beside you, or he will have you believe everything he says. He is even more full of shit than he used to be. He had so much beer in him at the time, that it is amazing he could even remember his own name."

"I was not that drunk. And besides, I had the other people at the shindig tell me what happened, later. I ran into our host later in the week. He said he would like to have gotten the scene on video tape. He didn't like the guy, and only invited him because he was a neighbour. He also said the fight, if you want to call it that, was late in coming. The guy always got drunk, and took his aggression out on his wife. It's a good thing they had no children, because it was doubtful the marriage would last."

I just kept my tongue, and glared at Carl in the mirror. I don't like standing out like that. But I hated even worse, a man beating someone that could not fight back.

The trip was about half over. I just held the wheel, and looked as the scenery rolled by. I filtered out the conversations in the seats around me. The trees in the low lying areas were covered with water, and would die in a few years, while the tamarack would thrive.

Rough stone walls lined portions of highway 11. Lichen and moss held tenaciously to the small places, while saplings grew from larger niches. Blueberry bushes could be seen on the upper margins, as the rock sloped down to the high walls above the roadway. In the distance, a hawk coasted on a thermal. It was looking for its dinner, as we drove by. The birches were green and white. The wind turned the leaves, exposing their lighter undersides, in waves. The spruce, pine, and balsam, seemed to be preparing for the coming warmer weather.

The water looked silver in the sunlight. Occasionally, a duck or loon could be seen disturbing the perfect surface, as they too looked for their supper.

Duc and Lam had promised me a meal, just for the tree of us. They were now celebrating their daughter's return to the Bay as well. She had recently come from a sabbatical in Vancouver. It would be nice to get a home cooked, authentic, Vietnamese meal. Renewing our bond of friendship would be good, as we caught up on what happened to their family.

Susan was growing to be a very beautiful woman. She was 25, now. I remembered again, how she climbed onto my lap when I visited, and held me tight. I was her favourite 'uncle', it seemed. I knew that she was my favourite, and only, 'niece'. Even though we were not really related. All her real uncles were still in Nam, and did not have the money or perhaps inclination, to visit. I knew Lam and Duc would like to go back and see all their relatives, but their small business and financial concerns precluded this.

When Susan entered puberty, I had to keep my feelings in check. She reminded me a lot of Tuyen, and the love that had been ripped from me. Susan was much too young for me, and was the daughter of my friends. 'But if she were older, ' I'd thought, 'then the possibilities would be endless!'

The cutoff came, and I turned the van through the streets, to get Carl and the boys to their home. They got out of the van, and thanked me for the ride. The back door was opened, and bags of dirty laundry extracted. Carl's wife, Doris opened their front door, walked out on the veranda to wave at me, and greet her family with hugs.

Doris was still a good-looking woman. I almost felt jealous of the way their marriage had stood the test of time. You could almost see the love that flowed from each of them. This extended to her natural son, and her adopted one, too.

Carl kissed his wife fiercely, taking her breath away. He spoke to her for a few seconds. Calling to me he said, "Doris and I will see you at the pub tonight, if you have a chance to make it." I stuck my thumb into the air, to let them know I understood, and would try to be there.

I pulled away, and headed downtown to Duc's home and business. Two doors down, Susan's dojo stood. It looked much like any other business on the street from the back side. Except for the small sign, written in both Vietnamese and Japanese characters, stating the name of the dojo. I parked in back of the dojo, walked over to my small trailer, and threw the laundry in. The shower beckoned me, even though I'd just had a quick one. I wanted to change into better clothes, also. The only reason I could come up with, was that Susan would be at home, too.

I walked up the alley after a better cleaning, to knock on the side door of the store. This was the entry leading up to the living quarters, above. Padded footsteps came from behind the door, and an older but still very beautiful woman opened the door for me.

"Oh, Mister Buchanan, please come in," she said, in Vietnamese.

I adjusted my voice, and replied in kind saying, "Thank you Lam, it is always nice to visit here," I said, as I bowed. Then, leaving Vietnamese customs behind; I came forward, and hugged the petite woman to me, and kissed her.

"You are getting more beautiful, every time I see you."

The women's dark haired was sprinkled with white. She took my hand after we parted, pulled me in, and closed the door. "What will the neighbours think, when they see you holding me like that? Duc would be angry, and come after you with a stick."

This was the way our usual greetings went. I remembered the way I was drawn to this woman, when I was in Nam. If she had not been married, I would have married her, myself. This was about four months before I met Tuyen.

She smiled and said, "Duc is busy at the moment, and will be back soon. The store is closed, and the meal is almost ready. Why don't you go upstairs now? Susan is helping me, before going out on her date."

The phone conversation came back to me. I still wondered about how my little girl was going on a date. It felt that not only that I was getting old, but my little niece that I loved so much, was growing up and leaving me. I took off my shoes, and laid them to one side before we walked up the steps. I could smell the food already. The fish and spices were entirely different than anything I had run across, outside of the Far East.

Coming into the kitchen, I spied Susan over a pot. She seemed to have matured somehow, but I couldn't put my finger on how. She ran to me, and gave me a hug and a kiss. They seemed a lot different than anything I had gotten from her, before. She was thin and muscular. Her long straight black hair, hung down to her thin waist. Her breasts, though small, looked perfectly proportioned on her. Her face was even more beautiful than before, if that was possible. The wide smile told me I was really welcome.

"Hello, my hero," she whispered in my ear. "It has been quite a few months, since we have seen one another. You are always working or building your home. When am I going to get a chance to see it? We hardly ever talk." Immediately, I was flooded with the same feeling I knew Carl and Doris had. It was hard to let this young woman go.

"It is far from done, now. I brought the plans over once, to show your parents. But you were off to school at that time." I found my arms still around her, and reluctantly released her.

"We do use email, now," I added. "I seem to be writing to you at least a few times a week. How is your training going? Last I heard, you were having some trouble with boys."

"Just fine. I will be graduating next semester, with an honour's bachelor's degree in Sociology. And, as you know, my minor is in physical education. The training in Vancouver will give me an extra credit, as part of my course. Soon, I will be able run my dojo myself, instead of relying on others to do everything. It is a good thing, because I have to educate the heathen Canadians into the finer aspects of a civilized society. The 'boys', on the other hand, are not a problem. More of an annoyance. The one, that I sent to the clinic, is recovering nicely. The rest seem to have finally gotten the message."

Lam asked in her own language, even though she understood English well enough to get along with local customers, "What did you do?"

"Mom, it was only a boy that would not take 'no' for an answer. He just got too persistent, and I had to get his attention in a different way. There was little damage done, and the pain was mostly to his pride."

I too felt pride in my girl. For her scholastic abilities, and her physical ones, as well. She had other degrees. Sociology was just the latest. I did not feel badly for the boy, in any case.

Susan asked, "Are you going to be around, tomorrow? There are a lot of things we have to catch up on. I will be leaving in a while, on my date. I'll not be back till late."

"Yes, I will. I'll be sacking-out in the trailer, tonight. I'll do my shopping and laundry, tomorrow. I can call, around 11 tomorrow, if you want to talk," I said hopefully.

"Oh, fine."

The phone rang, and Susan ran to it. Lam was unexpectedly quiet as we listened to Susan's side of the conversation. A moment later she came out. I could see she was trying to control herself, as tears flowed down her cheeks.

I asked, "What happened, Susan?"

"My date cancelled at the last moment. I wanted to go dancing, tonight. Now I have nobody to take me," she said, with a voice that caught, because of the raw emotions running through her.

Lam who had always called me mister, and had always deferred to me now spoke in a way I had never heard before.

"Why don't you take Susan dancing. She really wanted to go. She bought a new dress and shoes, and was bothering me all day about it." I could see that Susan was now looking expectantly at me, as well as her mother. To tell the truth, I would enjoy a night of dancing.

"Well, my fair young lady. Will you grace my arm, if we go dancing tonight?" She was only a metre from me, but she jumped into my arms. I quickly held her tight, as her feet came off the floor.

"Oh! Thank you, my hero."

"I think it is me that should be thanking you. How many old men like me, get to be taking out such a beautiful young girl, as you?"

"Don't say things like that. You are only as old as you think you are. I know you are younger than most of the guys at school."

I reluctantly put her down, and turned to see Lam smiling at us in our joy. She pushed us out of the kitchen. "You two, go talk," she said, "while I finish in here."

We went into the living room, and talked about her now ex-boyfriend, and what her plans were for tonight. Susan sat close. Her hand reached out, and held mine in hers, on her lap. Moments later, Duc came in, and walked over to us. I stood up, and shook his hand after the obligatory bow.

Duc seemed to think something was humorous, because he had a big smile on his face when he started talking. "Good day, Mister Buchanan. I am sorry I was late, but I had a job to do." His eyes dropped, and his voice trailed off, and I wondered what this was all about. Lam finally got the meal on the table, and we all went in to eat.

I savoured the food, for it happened to be one of my favourite dishes. It took a long time to prepare correctly.

The discussion around the table centred around how the dojo was doing, and the possibilities of making it an even better business venture.

At the end of the meal, Lam shooed Susan off to get dressed for our outing. Lam hurried the cleanup, and went into the back room to help her daughter prepare.

Duc and I discussed things about his family back home, and their troubles. He and Lam regularly sent money to Binh Minh, to help. It invariably meant that the rest of the village would talk about their problems, in hopes of getting a similar hand out.

I did my own bit, by assisting the 'Foster Parents Plan for Vietnam'. I had three boys and a girl in one of the villages. I did my own arm twisting, to have the village, be the one that Duc and Lam grew up in. It was the one that I did so much fighting around. Again, Binh Minh was close to my heart. All of the children were related, in one way or another, to either Lam or Duc. Their pictures in my wallet rested beside those of Susan, as she grew up.

Duc had received some mail a week ago, and told me of recent additions to the family, and the death of an aged aunt. I could see that he was sorry that he could not attend either the births, or the funeral. His eyes closed, as he saw all the people he grew up with, passing on. He enjoyed a wealthy life, for a Vietnamese villager. But only a poor one, for a Canadian small businessman. Family was important to him and Lam, so most surplus cash went to the village.

A door down the hall opened. Voices became much louder, as Susan and her mother came to the living room.

Shocked, was the best word I could use to describe my feelings. Susan was dressed in a dark red, brocade and silk dress. A collar with intricate detail covered her throat. The dress shimmered, and seemed to change colours as it flowed down her body, to just below her knees. A slit ran up each side, to almost her hips. This was one, very provocative dress, to inflict upon any poor male. Red matching shoes adorned her feet. A long gold necklace, with a locket, graced her neck. Her long, dark, lustrous hair, was done up it a bun. It was held in place by old ivory combs.

With downcast eyes, she asked in a quiet voice, "Do you like the way I look?"

Forgetting both Lam and Duc, I said, "You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," I paused to think. "A man would be out of his mind, to stand you up." Her eyes raised just a little, as if trying to find out if I spoke the truth. She must have been reassured, for a small smile came to her face.

We drove to the 'George and Dragon', which was some way out of town.

"You don't look dressed for dancing," I said, "or eating, for that matter."

Susan pouted. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed? You liked it at home."

"It's a little... um... tight? I don't know how you can move in it, let alone dance or eat."

"You may not have noticed, my hero, that it has a slit right up the side. That takes care of the dancing. And us youngsters, don't bulge, when we've eaten."

"Point taken. But I'm usually glad of a little slack in my waistband, if I'm going out to eat."

"So, where are you taking me?" Asked Susan.

"An authentic English pub. At least, the landlord tells me it is."

"With food and dancing?"

"Oh, yes. The dancing isn't typical 'old country', John tells me, but everything else is."

Chapter 3 »