Finally!

Craig Lewicki, one of Don's very few friends from High School and his best man arrived in time to help setup. He got out of his car just as Lanh stepped out of the barn, she was a mess covered with all forms of foul, wet, nasty... mud, blood... Craig didn't want to speculate, but she wore an ear-to-ear grin. "The last calf of the spring was born! Just in time!" called Lanh as she recognized him.

Lanh had been up all night with momma cow and was happy to report momma and baby were doing fine. They went in the house to find Kim-ly sitting in the kitchen staring at the coffee pot as it slowly filled. Kim-ly was on "Lanh-duty" this day, and was exhausted, just because Don and Lanh chose not to celebrate their graduation it didn't mean that Kim-ly couldn't. "Go take a shower," Kim-ly groaned, worried that her hangover was going to last past noon.

"Use my shower," said Ralph as Lanh reached for the bunkhouse door. "That one is still broke." Lanh shrugged and hurried off upstairs. The bunkhouse shower was ancient and gross, but it was convenient after the incidents that can occur on a dairy farm. There was talk about selling off the cows, the return was no longer exceeding the effort it took to maintain the herd, Ralph and Don were talking about growing feed crops for the local dairy farmers with larger herds. Lanh sighed, she would miss the herd, but on the other hand, corn doesn't poop on you. A few minutes later, after Lanh headed up the stairs to use "the only working shower," Don stepped out of the bunkhouse in clean clothes, drying his hair.

Mai and Duong arrived not long later and the boys Huy, Trung, and Bao arrived shortly after that. Several of Don's cousins arrived as a truck full of folding chairs from the Lutheran church arrived, followed by a pickup load of folding tables from the Catholic church, and the setup began. It was an all-day affair to set up the tables and chairs, the wedding gazebo, and the dance floor.

As the venue for the ceremony neared completion, Mai and Lanh halted the chair set up. "The gazebo needs to move back," called out Lanh.

"What?" asked Craig Lewicki, who was Chair Chairman. He and his crew had been working hard and have done a great job setting up the marriage venue.

"We just got another big batch of RSVPs, we have to add a few more rows of chairs, we need about three more rows," said Mai as she reviewed the diagram of the layout on her clipboard. "About fifteen feet."

"How much more power do we have?" asked Craig, referring to the extension cords for the sound system.

Bruce Campbell, Ralph's brother who is an electrician thought for a moment then said "Fifty feet, that's the max."

"Ok boys let's break it down," said Craig pointing to the lacy white gazebo, "We're going back fifty feet." There was good nature groaning that evaporated when Huy and Trung walked up with a cooler full of beer, and in less than 20 minutes the gazebo was moved. The guys were getting good at it, this was the third time they had had to move it.

With the marriage venue set up, now they concentrated on the reception area. A local tent company had set up a huge tent and the crew set up the head table and other tables and chairs with practiced precision. Tomorrow was the decorating, which Lanh promised would be even more intensive.

As the sun began to set, a beautiful black Lexus pulled up and stopped in the middle of the activities to the taunts and catcalls from everyone. To everyone's surprise it was Tam that got out of the car wearing a nervous smile. Gone was the ancient Toyota, the new luxury cruiser was purchased in honor of her new job at the University of Bemidji. "Just in time for the party, that's my big sister," called Kim-ly.

Tam walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and let out her passenger, a tall, handsome, black-haired man with a neatly trimmed beard, who was completely blind. He was wearing dark glasses and as he stepped out of the car, he unfolded a cane which he used to probe the ground ahead of him. "Everyone," called Tam as she took his arm and led him toward the group, "this is Jake Johnson."

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

The wedding party loaded lawn chairs and coolers onto Ralph's hay wagon, and with Lanh at the wheel of the old Ford tractor, they headed back to the pond where a large bonfire was set up waiting for them. Cold beer, soda, hotdogs, bratwurst, chips, macaroni salad, a boom box, good friends and family. That's all that Don and Lanh ever wanted from a bachelor/bachelorette party. Heck, this was all they wanted for a wedding. Bring on the preacher, let's get it done!

It was a beautiful night, one of the first really warm nights of spring. Rosa danced with one of Lanh's cousins by the fire to some rock music blaring from the boom box, Sydney took advantage of Cindy Reece's absence and sat next to Craig sipping an illicit beer as they grew closer. "Let me get this straight," Syd said to Craig, "you were in on a nasty trick to embarrass Don and Lanh in front of the entire school, and now you're the best man at their wedding."

Craig put on a good show of concentrating. "Mmmm... yeah, that about sums it up."

"How does that make any sense?" she asked as Craig handed her another beer.

"I was Don's swimming mentor when he joined the JV team right after that dance, and the next year, when he got all fucked up by Joshua Grimes, I helped with rehab, I got him in the pool, put a kick board in his hands and we started out kicking and splashing like a kid learning to swim for the first time."

"Oh wow," Sydney raised her beer in a toast. "So, you're like a hero!"

Craig clinked his beer can against hers. "It wasn't just me, Lanh was there, in the pool, every session, helping out and urging him on. The only sessions they'd miss were when he was at the debate team with her."

Bao and Trung set off fireworks for the entertainment of the crowd. The skyrockets were reflected in the mirror like pond, but that was lost on Lanh and Don who in the darkness, hidden by the reeds, they were wrapped in each other's arms, their lips engaged in kisses that grew hotter by the minute.

Jake's arrival took the attention away from Don and Lanh so they were able to remain at the edge of the circle of light from the bon fire and kiss, while everyone else tried to unravel the mystery of Jake Johnson. Tam wasn't offering an explanation, and she wasn't answering direct questions, but she was having fun fielding guesses, but all guesses so far were answered with "Nope, that's not what happened. Anyone else?" Jake was obviously under orders to play along.

Finally, Jake said "We haven't heard from the bride yet, I haven't even met the bride." Tam and Kim-ly looked around and they couldn't locate her.

"Lanh!" called Tam, but there was no answer. The chatter of the party died down as she called again, "LANH!" but there was no answer.

"Where are you tôm?" called out Kim-ly.

"I'm not saying," called Lanh from the darkness, "and don't call me shrimp!"

Once the laughter died down Tam called out, "come meet my date."

Don and Lanh walked into the firelight, straightening their clothes, and stepped up to Jake who was sitting in a chaise lounge, Tam lounging between his legs. "Way to steal the spotlight sis," grinned Don as he opened a root beer for Lanh.

"Hey," shrugged Tam, "I'm a diva, right?"

"I knew there had to be a reason behind that smile," said Don as he leaned over and hugged Tam. For the past few months Tam has been a different woman. Ever since Don met her Tam was a serious and somewhat cold person, her professional bearing being front and center during her waking hours. But now she's different, her beauty magnified one hundred percent by a smile on her lips and in her coal black eyes. Her icy demeanor is gone, and she became a warmer, a more caring and funnier person. "I didn't think getting rid of Lanh amused you that much. If you two are serious, there's room at the altar for you."

"Shush! This is your weekend, kiddo," and she actually gave Don a little kiss. "Tell you what, if it don't work out between you two, I'll swing by, and we can work on that case of yellow fever of yours."

"Stop!" warned Lanh with a growl and she latched on to Don's arm. "Damn, she's back for sure." This was the Tam Lanh remembered from her childhood, cheerful, funny, sexy.

"Jake honey, this is Lanh, the star of the show," said Tam.

Jake and Tam untangled from each other, and he stood and with Lanh's permission he began to touch her to get a good idea what she "looks like." Lanh thought it was just an excuse to tickle her. Finally, Jake said, "I need to ask you to stand up so I can tell how tall you are."

"I AM standing!" insisted Lanh, then seeing Jake's grin she turned to Tam and said, "He's as bad as you are!"

"So, what do you think? How did your sister and I meet?" Jake asked as he sat back down.

Lanh didn't even hesitate, "I'm not quite sure HOW it happened, but I know WHY it happened."

"It's not a why question," said Jake as he sat back down. "The challenge is HOW, but if you know why, I want to hear your guess."

"I want to whisper it in your ear," said Lanh, so she crouched down a little and whispered in his ear "She's attracted to you because you can't see the way she looks."

"Why? Why would she do that?" asked Jake.

"She's very pretty, and she probably gets hit on by a lot of jerks. She told me that she didn't date so I'm guessing she got sick of it."

"Is your little sister right dear?" asked Jake.

Tam was clearly uncomfortable, but she said, "That's pretty close, she's inside the ten ring."

Jake then asked Lanh, "Go on, guess how."

"Ok, someone walked up to you, out of the blue, introduced themself and asked you if you'd like to join Tam for lunch or coffee or something like that. Someone who knows her got tired of her drooling over you and walked over to you and said "Hey, can you take Tam off my hands for me?"

"You're pretty close. Your sister clearly confided in you," said Jake.

"She did, but not about you," replied Lanh, "Tam's courageous when it comes to defending me, but she's not so good with herself."

"So, what's wrong with her looks? She let me think she was disfigured," said Jake.

"I never said disfigured," said Tam.

"She probably said cursed," said Lanh.

Tam nodded and Jake said "Yeah, I believe that's what she said. So, who is the most beautiful of the three?" he asked with a grin that indicated he knew he may have started a ruckus.

"Lanh," said Tam and Kim-ly without a moment's hesitation.

"Má," said Lanh, who often calls Tam her mother unconsciously.

There was much more work to do tomorrow so the party broke up early, Don led Lanh to her bedroom in the big farmhouse and they kissed tenderly with increasing passion outside of the bedroom door, ignoring the glaring looks from Kim-ly and Bao who were their "escorts" for the night. "Only one more night and we'll never have to say goodbye again," Don whispered in Lanh's ear. The thrill of that idea coursed through Lanh's body and heart, and after a very long, painful goodnight Don and Bao went downstairs to the bunkhouse, they still had a lot of work to do.

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

Friday was more of the same, non-stop crazy "It'll never get done!" setup. This time they were dealing with decorations and tablecloths and rearranging almost everything that was set up on Thursday. Luckily, several girls from the debate team and the swim team showed up to help. Cousins of Don's from Red Lake Minnesota have a party catering service on the weekends, and they donated their time and equipment as a wedding gift. They came early in the morning and set up a huge fire pit and a large grill. The fire pit was for tomorrow's pig roast, and the grill was for steaks tonight, chicken tomorrow.

RSVPs had poured in, hotel rooms were reserved throughout Bemidji, relatives started arriving in town and many pitched in to help set up the festivities. Campbells, Odegaards, Phams, Trans, and Nguyens poured into the area from all over the state. For the Campbells the wedding became a family reunion, and it had been years, maybe a decade since that happened. Relatives of Don's mother were well represented, and Don was nervous. The Odegaard family was a large, cantankerous Norwegian family, he long heard stories of the dislike they had for his Irish dad when he married Emily, Don's mom.

At the busiest point of the setup, Grandpa Ode and Grandma Hilde arrived; they swept into the proceedings like royalty. Their relationship with Ralph was friendly but never warm, and their relationship with Don was warmer but they were never the "fun" grandparents that young Don always wanted, and desperately needed when his mom died, but they were there for him in their own way. Grandpa Ode was a typical grumpy old Norwegian farmer, and Grandma Hilde was a shy prairie "Loo-trin," which was often considered as haughty and cold by people who didn't know her.

"Oh shit," muttered Don, "they're here."

"Who?" asked Lanh. They were in the kitchen making coffee when the Odegaards arrived.

"My mom's folks, Grandma and Grandpa Odegaard." This was that part that worried Don the most, when he told Grandpa Ode that his future wife was Asian, Grandpa Ode went completely silent and didn't talk to him for several weeks. When they did talk again, neither Ode nor Hilde spoke about Lanh. Don didn't want to call his own grandfather a racist, but he is what he is.

"Where's this new granddaughter of mine?" rumbled Ode from the front yard. There was no warmth or humor in his voice, but then that's normal for Ode.

Lanh grabbed a wrapped piece of lefse from the refrigerator and they headed out on the front porch to meet the Odegaards. "There they are," said Don as he pointed out the tall, rail thin couple. "Don't let them scare you." He led her down the porch steps and under the shade of the beautiful old maple tree he introduced his grandparents to his bride. "Grandpa Ode, Grandma Hilde, this is my fiancée, Lanh Nguyen."

Lanh smiled nervously and shook their hands, but they didn't say anything. Grandpa Ode leaned on his cane and studied the young couple, while Hilde looked over their heads toward the activity out by the barn. After an uncomfortable silence, Lanh bowed and held out the lefse to Hilde, "I made this for you with your roller and grille," she said. The lefse was wrapped in red clingwrap left over from Christmas and a label said, "Don and Lanh Campbell, thank you for celebrating with us."

"Why is it wrapped in red?" asked Hilde as she slowly opened the lefse, "it's not Christmas."

"Red is the traditional wedding color of the Vietnamese," said Ode without taking his eyes off of Lanh.

"Yes, said Lanh, "but I'm wearing white tomorrow. Not an easy accomplishment with your grandson constantly tempting me."

Now Ode smiled a little, the first smile Don could ever remember seeing from his stoic grandfather. Both Ode and Hilde took a piece of the lefse and inspected it, Hilde glaring at her piece like a judge at the county fair reviewing the stitches on a hand sewn quilt. Then they tasted it, and as they chewed Lanh said, "Don's dad taught me how to make it, he said he learned from Emily. My mom and sister make it now too, we sell it at our restaurant."

"What kind of potatoes do you use?" asked Hilde.

"Russets mostly, I like to add a few reds, Don and I grow them here. We just planted a full acre," she said nervously.

Ode finally broke into a true smile. "Vietnamese lefse, if that don't beat all, and it's just as good as yours, Hilde."

"Maybe even better," said Hilde, but her stern face remained icy. "Donovan," she said in that schoolteacher voice of hers, "you didn't tell us that this young girl is so pretty."

"Ja sure," said Ode, "it's a sin not to share such beauty, look at that blush!"

Don looked at Lanh and sure enough, she was beet red, her shoulders scrunched up to hide her head as if she were a little box turtle. Her face was painted in a darling embarrassed smile.

"Come introduce me to your people, girl," said Ode, "I want to meet them, it's been a while since I've been to your family's homeland." He put his hand around her shoulder and Lanh led Ode and Hilde to the epicenter of activity where Mai and Duong directed the arrangement of tables, chairs, and the DJ's stage, which was the hay wagon. Ralph came up next to Don and both were shocked, neither had seen Ode or Hilde so much as a smile for nearly a decade. "Did Grandpa say anything to you about Lanh?" asked Don.

"All he said was 'At least she's not Irish," said Ralph, then shaking their heads they both headed back to the bunkhouse to prepare it for tomorrow.

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

That evening, after the volunteers and helpers went home, the wedding rehearsal was held. There was only electricity at the gazebo for the sound system, so they rehearsed using tiki torches and hurricane lanterns to illuminate the proceedings. Sandy Robertson played the electronic keyboard outside for the ceremony, and Bao played along with his guitar. The rehearsal went longer than planned, but mostly because Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis kept the occasion light and happy and there was plenty of jokes and stories. Don and Lanh wanted to recite their traditional vows, the vows they memorized, but Pastor Loomis said, "I like it, I really do, but what happens if you forget?"

"I agree," said Father Steinbach, "There's going to be a lot of emotions running wild tomorrow, I have had brides who are just as in love with their men as you are Lanh, but when I ask them "Do you take this man...?" they got the answer wrong."

"We have a set of vows here that will fit right in with your wedding," said Pastor Loomis, "they're not the traditional vows that everyone else says, but in the end, they are the same thing." They practiced with Pastor's untraditional, traditional vows and came up with a very untraditional compromise.

"Here's the best part," grinned Father Steinbach after they had practiced the processional, the order of the service, and their vows several times, "you get to practice the kiss!"

"We kinda know how to do that," grinned Don, while Lanh nodded in agreement with her own ear to ear grin.

"Of course, you've kissed before, at least I hope you have," said Pastor Loomis to Lanh, "but have you ever kissed under pressure? Have you ever kissed because you HAD to? In front of friends and relatives you haven't seen in years? In front of HIS relatives? In front of your team mates on the swim team or the debate team? Hmmm?"

Now Lanh tried to hide behind Don, she's inclined toward easy embarrassment, and now the thought of kissing in front of all those people! She's getting scared. She muttered something to Father Steinbach who laughed but the wedding party and parents sitting in the front row didn't hear what she said. "No dear," answered Father Steinback, "it's too late now to elope."

"Do that kiss that cost me five bucks!" yelled out Kim-ly.

"Dare ya!" laughed Trung.

"A five-dollar kiss?" asked Father Steinback.

"Thirty-five dollars," corrected Tam and explained the wager that Lanh arranged on Christmas Eve, the night that Don proposed, the kiss that netted her thirty-five dollars for a one-minute kiss.

"Ooooh Kay!" said Pastor Loomis, snapping his bible closed. "A thirty-five-dollar kiss! I like the way you're thinking, but let's keep this down to a seven-fifty kiss. Eight bucks tops, ok?" Lanh was laughing and blushing and burying her face in Don's side. "Don," started Pastor Loomis, "you may kiss your bride."

The first attempt was doomed to failure as Lanh was giggling too hard to get into the kiss, which caused Don to start laughing. "I'm sorry," apologized, Lanh.

"That's ok," said Father Steinbach in a soothing voice, "it happens to almost every bride, and I'm sure Don doesn't mind, that means he gets to kiss you again until you feel comfortable. Now remember, this kiss is to show everyone that this is the man you chose to be yours forever, the father of your children. Ready?"

Lanh composed herself, she held Don's hands and looked him in the eye and said "Yes." Then she broke up laughing again. She finally settled down and said "Ok, I'm ready now," and started laughing the minute she looked into Don's eyes.

Tam whispered into her ear, "Ok, relax, and don't think of a singing blue elephant, drive that image out of your mind." Lanh looked at Tam like she was drunk, but she was so busy with not thinking of a singing blue elephant, she was able to conquer her giggles.

"You may kiss the bride." As soon as Father Steinbach said that Lanh pounced. She hopped up and wrapped her arms and legs around Don, kissing fiercely, a kiss that evolved into something beyond clowning around and melted into passion. This was the kiss she wanted to give him when he saved her from Joshua Grimes, the kiss she almost gave him at regionals, state, and at their graduation. It will be the kiss he gets at his graduation from basic training. At first Don was taken by shock, but he held her tight, returning the kiss with all the passion he had. This was the kiss he always wanted to give her too but was always concerned about hurting her or scaring her.

"Well!" exclaimed a laughing Pastor Loomis as the laughter died down and Lanh finally detached from Don. "That was a first for me. What was that? A forty-five-dollar kiss?"

"Forty-nine fifty," said a panting Lanh. Her eyes were fixed on Don, and he had never seen such an aggressive fire in her eyes before. Maybe it was the flickering torch light, but whatever it was, it excited him as he lowered her to the ground.

"We were just, y'know, checking the limits," said Don.

"Ok, you got the high end and the low end," said Father Steinbach holding his hands about three feet apart. "This time let's shoot for the middle. Ready? Don, you may kiss the bride."

This time the kiss was perfect, sweet and loving, and maybe a touch too long. The kind of kiss that makes the rest of the world go away and leaves you and your darling alone in a gossamer bubble of love. When their lips finally parted their eyes remained joined, and their smiles said it all, the only sound was Tam quietly describing what was going on to Jake.

"That was perfect," said Father Steinbach. "I hope you took notes, there will be a quiz later."

There was plenty of humor during the practice to keep the participants smiling. While practicing the processional Sandy played a beautiful classical rendition of "chopsticks" which caused Lanh to start laughing again and she couldn't stop her giggles. Then practicing the solos Sydney and Sandy got together and came up with the bible camp version of Amazing Grace. The words are the same, but it was sung to the tune of the theme song from the 50's Mickey Mouse Club, and now it was Don's turn to laugh. He remembered singing that at bible camp as a child. The humor of the event continued as they rehearsed the recessional, Pastor Loomis provided the music on his banjo and did an incredible version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."

After the wedding ceremony rehearsal, the participants retired to the back lawn of the farmyard for the traditional rehearsal dinner. In keeping with the 'down home' theme of the wedding, rather than having it at a fancy restaurant, it was a cookout at the farm. They ate outdoors under the big tent, their lighting provided by strings of bare bulbs above the tables, and hurricane lanterns on the tables burning citronella oil.

Lanh and Don sat at a large table with Father Steinbach, Pastor Loomis and his wife, Tam her maid of honor and Jake, the best man Craig Lewicki and his date, Cindy Reece, a cheerleader whom Lanh was terrified of. Kim-ly also joined them, she sat next to Cindy and was ready to break the bitch's neck the moment she said something that Lanh disliked to any degree.

"At least you got over your fear of kissing," said Father Steinbach.

"I have no idea where that fear suddenly came from," exclaimed Tam, "it was never an issue in the past."

"Oh?" asked Father Steinbach, "do tell!"

"No, please don't," said Lanh in a tiny voice that either wasn't heard or was blatantly ignored.

"On their first study date they ended up under the table on the kitchen floor tickling each other. It was totally innocent until I walked in, and they went silent. They did something down there and I said, "I could hear that," you know, just to stir the pot," Tam grinned. "So, Lanh admits that Don stole a kiss."

Lanh was now glowing in embarrassment, "Wait... you didn't know?!?"

Tam continued, "There we were all together at the truck stop and I said, 'I saw something cute today.' I was going to say that Lanh was dressed as an elf during their study date, but Lanh is all paranoid, so she freaks out and yells out "I admit it, we kissed!"

The entire wedding party broke out in laughter, but Tam continued, "No wait! You're going to love this... Mom says, "That's nice dear, but your sister is talking," which caused even more raucous laughter. When it started to die down Tam said, "So Lanh gets upset thinking no one believes her, and she yells "We did kiss! like this" and lays one on Don in front of everyone... the look of surprise on that boy's face!" which brought riotous laughter through the tent.

As the laughter died down Duong added to Lanh's embarrassment by saying "And we haven't been able to pry their lips apart since." Which caused even more laughter. He continued, "We knew right then that this night was in our future with these two."

Tam nodded, a wistful tear in her eye. "Yes, we did," she whispered.

Jake patted Tam's hand softly. He understood how meaningful this bittersweet wedding was to Tam and he wanted to do everything he could to support her. He softly located her chin with his fingertips and held it gently, his signal that he wanted to give her a kiss on the cheek. They have a whole language of touches that help him "see" and help her understand his needs without him having to articulate with people around them. Jake found her cheek salty with her tears. "Are those happy tears?" he asked so softly she almost didn't hear him.

"I think so," Tam sniffed. "Ask me again on Sunday."

Lanh looked like she was mortified until her mom said "Our poor Lanh, she had such a hard childhood, we were afraid that we lost her so many times... I remember wondering if we'd ever see this day for her." Through the tears, she walked over to Don and hugged him from behind, "Thank you son, thank you for saving my baby."

Just then Billy and Geoff and Geoff's wife Heather arrived and announced, "On that note, dinner is served in honor of our very favorite Irish cousin," announced Billy.

"To heck with him, it's for our beautiful new cousin, Lanh," corrected Geoff, "come and get it."

The meal was served by Don's cousins Billy and Geoff Odegaard. It was delicious, steak hot off the grill, baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, and Amish broccoli salad made from broccoli, cauliflower, sunflower seeds, bacon, and raisins with ranch dressing. The folks lined up at the grill and Billy forked the steaks on their plates while Geoff supplied them with the potatoes, and asparagus and Heather dished out the salad.

Everyone was famished, and Lanh actually finished her entire steak, she rarely eats much so she shocked herself when she finished the rib-eye. "That was so good!" she gasped, "was it one of ours?"

Don nodded. When he swallowed his mouthful he said, "Donald."

"Really?" she squeaked. She picked up the bone from her plate and began nibbling on it.

Cindy scoffed and wrinkled her nose. "You name your steaks?"

"Donald was the first steer she ever raised," said Don. "She helped deliver, she did the inoculations, she raised him, she even did the Big Snip."

"You named your cow after your boyfriend?" asked Cindy.

Lanh shook her head, "He sounded like a duck, he didn't moo, he quacked."

Craig, being raised on a farm himself, began to ask Lanh about how she raised Donald and his feed when suddenly Cindy said fairly loudly, "Do you people name your rice too?"

Suddenly the conversation stopped. She looked at a shocked Lanh and gave her a sickening sweet smile and shrugged. "I mean, I don't know how things are done in a third-world Buddhist shit hole." Then she delicately took a bite of broccoli.

Kim-ly shot to her feet and was about to announce the various forms of bodily harm she was going to inflict on Cindy when Craig grabbed Cindy's wrist and without a word dragged her out of her seat and out of the tent. An embarrassed silence settled over the shocked wedding party. After the sound of tires spinning on gravel Craig returned and said "I apologize, but I screwed up and trusted her. That won't ever happen again, please forgive me."

"It's ok," said Don. "We really didn't think she could hold her ignorant tongue in her mouth."

Craig sighed, "But she promised, I'm really sorry, it was my mistake, it's my mess to clean up."

"At least you took out the trash," said Kim-ly to some laughter, but Lanh was deathly silent and clinging to Don's arm tightly.

Meanwhile at the next table, Rosa was urging Sydney to move into Cindy's vacated seat and Sydney kept finding excuses not to move, Trung rose and literally led Sydney to Cindy's seat by the hand and seated her next to Craig. As he did that, Bao moved and sat next to Rosa.

"Hi, I'm Bao. I'm Lanh's brother." He held his hand out.

Rosa shook his hand and said "Hi, I'm Rosa," she looked him up and down, he was actually pretty hot looking, "I'm... interested."

"How are you feeling?" Pastor Loomis asked Lanh as the meal wore down. Lanh was sitting in Don's lap praying that the usual "Cheerleader Freakout" didn't happen as it usually did after abuse at the hands of the "Blond Elite" of Grant Valley High School.

"Exhausted!" she sighed, leaning against Don. "I never thought it would be so tiring!" Don stroked her hair, something she found oddly soothing and hoped he would do it for the rest of her life.

"Well, I've got some bad news for you," said Father Steinbach with a grin, "it's going to be worse tomorrow."

"Oh great," moaned Lanh and she buried her face in Don's shoulder to chuckles around the party.

"And I've got some bad news for you too. When it's all over," continued Pastor Loomis who noticed that all conversations suddenly stopped, the entire wedding party hung on his every word. "And you can get away to a private little nest, you will finally be able to enjoy what you will look back on as the worst sex of your entire lives."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," groaned Don to the laughter of his friends and family. He wanted to bury his face in Lanh's shoulder, but she was clinging to his arm and welded to his shoulder, and he couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying.

"Sorry, but it's true," agreed Father Steinbach. "All couples who have saved themselves... you just don't know. You think you know, but it's awkward and confusing. You know the theory, but you don't know each other, at least not in that aspect. You're going to be so wound up from the wedding, so tired from everything, and worst of all you'll carry your own baggage to bed with you. Lanh, you are going to be terrified of disappointing Don, and Don, you're going to be in terror of hurting Lanh."

"Don't get me wrong, it's going to be amazing, and as you learn each other's needs and desires, it's going to get so much better," added Pastor Loomis, whose wife nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "Like I said, it's going to be the worst sex you'll ever have, but that's only because it's going to get so much better."

"Ain't that the truth!" said Grandpa Ode, to the surprise of Don and Ralph. Grandma Hilde's ice-cold features cracked, and she smiled and elbowed her husband of over forty years.

"Yes, it is," said Duong and Mai nodded in agreement.

Ralph nodded also, "Practice makes perfect."

"And Lanh," said Father Steinbach, "you're not a Xerox machine. Babies come when babies come, there's no copy button. Let God sort that out, you two just enjoy each other."

There was laughter around the gathering as Lanh and Don's desire for children was common knowledge.

"I like the way you guys work together," said Jake to Pastor Loomis and Father Steinbach. "You sound like you're quite a team."

"We've been friends for years," said Pastor Loomis.

"This isn't our first rodeo," said Father Steinbach.

"Don't," Tam whispered to Jake, "do it later."

But Jake continued, "We were wondering if you were available sometime this summer." He held up Tam's hand to display the engagement ring she was wearing.

Lanh gasped loudly then squealed an eardrum splitting squeal and threw her arms around her sister, the woman that raised her. Kim-ly appeared behind Tam and Jake and hugged them both, kissing them back and forth while Duong and Mai chuckled, and Ralph captured it all on film.

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

"Are you asleep yet?" Lanh whispered.

"I was," groaned Tam, "until you climbed in bed with me."

"I can't sleep." Lanh snuggled closer to Tam. "I'm so excited for you!" Then after a long pause she added "We were afraid you gave up on men."

"If I told you that I did, and Jake is just my beard, would you go back to your own bed?"

Lanh looked at her sister like she was crazy. "Jake has a beard."

Tam realized that if she didn't explain the beard reference, she'd get no peace. "Look, sometimes a gay person will date someone from the opposite sex so people will think they're straight. The person they're dating is called a beard."

Lanh sounded relieved, "I know Jake couldn't possibly be your beard."

"Good."

"Because you said you don't date."

"You're killing me tôm."

It was Lanh's last night as a Nguyen, and she agreed that she would sleep under her father's roof this one last time, but Tam was also sleeping under her father's roof. Being a Catholic father, Duong put up Jake in Bao's room, because even though they were in their late twenties and living together, this was not allowed, not under Duong's roof. Jake and Tam realized that rules were rules, so Tam was sleeping in her old room with Lanh, glad that the new Marissa wasn't bunking with them.

"I want to know!" Lanh was literally bouncing, "where did you meet? When did he ask you out? How did he propose? What did ba say when he met Jake? What did má say?"

"Ok, one story then it's off to bed for you, ok?"

"Yes má."

"Ok, Jake teaches English Lit at the University and we've known each other on a professional basis for a couple of years. It was Kim-ly who hooked us up when she was visiting last year."

"Kim-ly? How...?"

"I introduced her to Jake, and she said, "Hey buddy, are you dating anyone?" when he said no, she told him I was sensitive about my looks and maybe dating a blind guy would help me pull my head out of my ass."

"No!"

"She did. And he invited me to go to a concert right then and there."

"NO!"

"That was over a year ago, annnnnd, we've been living together for the past three months."

"That explains why you smile a lot now," whispered Lanh. "When did he propose?"

"Last month, I told him about your proposal at Christmas, so when má and ba came to visit for Easter he asked ba for permission to marry me. Ba gave him that grouchy old dad act but finally said yes, and he proposed to me right there in front of them."

"He asked for permission?" asked Lanh, she chuckled. "Don had balls when he told dad he wasn't going to ask for permission.

Tam smiled at the memory. "Yeah, Kim-ly and the boys were terrified that he was going to throw Don out of his own house."

"You weren't?"

"No. Mom, dad, Ralph, Sandy, and I all knew it was coming. Last Thanksgiving Dad had decided that tomorrow would be your wedding day. He was playing you two."

"Should have said something," muttered Lanh, "we could have had a double wedding."

"We're going to do it when Don comes to get you this summer. Would you like to be my maid of honor?"

"I hope my angels come tomorrow..." said Lanh softly.

"So will you Lanh?" but Tam got no response. "Tôm?" But the bride-to-be was fast asleep. "Brat."

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

After milking the cows Don returned to the house and finished putting the white paper and red ribbon on his gift for Lanh. He and Kim-ly were up past midnight finishing up the project and she fell asleep on the couch. Ralph went back up to his room to get a nap and Don shook Kim-ly awake and sent her home, then he sat down to a cup of coffee with the cordless phone next to him. He only had to wait a few minutes for the phone to ring. "Hello baby," he said without waiting to hear who it was that called.

"Mmmm good morning sweetie," whispered Lanh. "Were my girls good for you this morning?"

"They were fine, mostly. Bò Kho was a bad girl again."

"Do you think I'm going to be bad in bed tonight?" whispered Lanh into the phone.

"Heh, heh, that's what I'm hoping for," kidded Don.

"Oh you! I'm serious!"

"I think pastor was right, I know I'm going to be super tired, I didn't get any sleep last night, and at milking this morning, Bò Kho kicked me."

"Oh no! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, but she did come close to ruining your wedding night. Why did you name that thing Bò Kho?"

"It was a warning," explained Lanh, "she was a bad calf and I got tired of her antics. Bò Kho is beef stew. It used to be on the menu at the restaurant, if she kicks anyone again, it will be back on the menu."

"Ok, when you get here, your present will be waiting, it will be wrapped with a bright red ribbon and a big red bow. You need to open it right away."

"I can't save it for later?"

"No, you're going to want to use it right away. Oh baby, I can't wait to see you again, I miss you so much," said Don, hoping he didn't sound like he was whining. "I missed not seeing you in the morning."

"It's going to be so nice to wake up next to you tomorrow," sighed Lanh, "I love you."

"Love you." Don hung up and headed outside into the chill spring air. Rosa and Sydney were already busy arranging things in the bunkhouse, they got in through the outside door.

Don found that cousins Billy and Geoff Odegaard were up all ready and working at the grills they built out of a 55-gallon drum cut in half lengthwise. These became large charcoal grills for chicken, steak, burgers and brats. Next to the grills were three-foot-tall vertical metal panels arranged in an oval containing a huge cooking fire. It had heavy vertical rods at each end on which was mounted the spit and the electrical rotisserie motor. Don helped his cousins wrestle the pig onto the spit over the blazing hot fire and watched.

"Thanks man, that's always the worst part," said Geoff.

"Yeah man, it's good to see ya," said Billy. "It seems like every time we plan to get together, there's a hurricane in Louisiana or some damn thing." Billy and Geoff are tree surgeons full time and when there's a storm, they go help with fallen trees wherever a good hand at a chain saw is needed.

"I'm just glad you could make it, and hey, if something happens and you have to run off, leave the pig," grinned Don.

Once the motor was connected to the spit and the pig started rotating over the hickory wood fire, Don went for a walk. He wandered around the farmyard that he grew up on, second guessing his decision to enlist, but he knew he couldn't afford to go to college on what the farm pays, and he certainly couldn't afford to put Lanh through college either. They had talked long and hard about it and decided that to get a good start and still remain a Minnesota farmboy and farmgirl, a few years in the military is the most agreeable option.

He let Marissa out of her pen and led her on a walk like Lanh so often does, better let her get her exercise now before the guests start to arrive, and off they went. Before he knew it, he found himself back at the pond, feeling lonely and lost, with a tiny goat following him. He missed Lanh so much and knowing that in a few hours they would be reunited and together for the rest of their lives didn't help. Slowly the sun crept higher in the sky and the morning mist was beginning to part. Standing at the edge of the cat tails he looked up on the rise to the east side of the pond where the stand of pine trees is. A tent was pitched there for them to relax in later if they wanted, Lanh genuinely loves to come back to the pond to simply unwind. He was hoping they would get a warm evening before he heads out for basic training, he'd like to take Lanh camping here.

He was amusing himself with dreams of naked dips in the pond with Lanh when he noticed two women watching him from the edge of the wood, both tall and blond, one appeared to be a bit older than the slightly shorter one who had tinted the tips of her hair purple. They were almost hidden by the morning mist and if they hadn't have moved he never would have noticed them, but when he did notice them, their features became more discernable. The older one waved at him and shouted, "Love you both!" but it sounded like she was far, far away, at the end of a long tunnel, a weird, muffled echoing sound, so he could barely make out the words. Marissa charged up the hill at them but with a swirl of the morning mists on a puff of wind, they were gone leaving Don and the goat alone and confused.

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

Lanh didn't know what to do with herself. She wasn't hungry but she went to make a nervous breakfast, but her mother stopped her, "We have a meal waiting for us," she assured the anxious teen bride.

She went to take a warm shower and wash up for the day's activities, but she was told by Kim-ly "Don't worry about that, trust me."

In frustration and a mad desire for something to do, she went into the restaurant kitchen and started to scrub out a pot that didn't really need scrubbing. Tam found her and shrieked "Don't! You're getting a manicure in a few minutes!

"What can I do?" she cried in frustration.

"Get your stuff together and get in the car, we're leaving!"

She looked up at the large kitchen clock and found that the time, which refused to budge all morning long, had somehow jumped ahead an hour. "I'm going to be late!" she squeaked and ran back into the house to gather her áo dài, vest, and khăn vấn, the traditional hat worn with the áo dài, but her mother assured her that it was there at the farm, and it was anxiously waiting on its tardy owner.

"Where are ba and the boys?" Lanh asked nervously as Tam drove out to the farm.

"Relax! They're already out there too," said Kim-ly from the front passenger seat.

"Any second thoughts?" asked Mai.

"Yeah," grumbled Lanh, "we should have eloped back in September."

After the longest ten minutes in the history of minutes, they arrived at the farm and found that there were plenty of people already arriving. A fellow whom she recognized from the swim team stepped up to the car and opened the driver's door for Tam. He was wearing a black t-shirt that said "Valet" in gold letters. "Just leave the keys in the car ma'am... Hi Lanh!"

"Hi Davey." She did not expect to see him here.

But suddenly her door opened, and Bao was there in his black tuxedo, he was flanked by identically dressed Huy and Trung. Bao held out his hand and whispered kindly, "Come on Cinderella, your prince awaits." Lanh was shocked at the look in his eyes, he looked caring! Her other brothers always treated her like a fragile toy and left her alone but being closer in age Bao spent his life taunting and teasing her. She wasn't ready for this change in his demeanor. But she took his hand and stepped out of the car and all three kissed her on the cheek.

"You guys are going to be great," said Huy as he tweaked her nose playfully then hugged her, but Lanh was too overwhelmed to speak.

Like a princess escorted by her guard, Lanh was led by her three brothers and two sisters up the porch steps where Sandy waited for her. The photographer snapped shot after shot of her just climbing the porch stairs, is he going to run out of film before the ceremony?

"Smile honey," said Sandy who saw how overwhelmed Lanh was, "this is a happy day!" She saw that stunned and unbelieving look in all four of her daughters, now it's painted on Lanh's face.

"I... I just can't..."

"Don asked me to make sure that you opened your present before you do anything else," said Sandy leading her through the familiar living room and into the dining room.

Lanh looked around expecting to see a package with a red ribbon sitting on a table or the floor, but instead she noticed that the door to the bunkhouse was covered with white wrapping paper and a wide red ribbon with a huge red bow. A small card on the bow simply said, "For you my dear wife, on the day of our wedding, Don." She tore open the wrapping paper to find that the big ugly plywood doors to the bunkhouse were replaced with French doors that were covered with lace curtains. "Wha...?"

She opened the doors and found that the big ugly storeroom which eighty years ago was housing for the farm hands, had been magically transformed. "Welcome home dear," said Sandy, "this is yours."

The old wooden floors were sanded, stained, polished, and were beautiful! The old fireplace that probably hadn't been used in ages was cleaned down to the bare brick and a fire was crackling on the hearth, a new mantle shelf was installed and was proudly displaying the angel figurines that Lanh has been collecting for the past two years. "There's even a pot hook!" she gasped as she knelt in front of the fire. Thoughts of cooking a hearty warm stew over the open fire on a cold winter night, waiting for Don to come in from working in the barn or the tractor shed came to Lanh's mind.

The ratty old windows had been replaced with new windows that were open letting in a fresh breeze. The walls were beautifully painted, and the room was furnished with a couch, comfortable chairs and a sideboard which had wine, a coffee machine, a cooler full of soda, petit fours, and a chocolate fountain with all kinds of treats to dip into the cascading chocolate.

Standing in the middle of the room was a dress makers dummy with her áo dài and matching khăn vấn, and there was a second áo dài and matching khăn vấn, this one in brilliant scarlet and gold. "For pictures later," her mother said softly, "Your grandmother, father and I insist." There was another dress makers dummy with a traditional western white wedding gown. The western gown was a surprise for Ralph and all of Don's relatives. After the ceremony and several photo opportunities in the áo dài, she will dress in the western gown for the reception and more photo opportunities. Next to that was a rack with Tam and Kim-ly's áo dàis and khăn vấns stood next to it. Their áo dài's were gold to match the gold embroidery on Lanh's áo dài. An ironing board, iron, and her mother's sewing machine stood ready on a small table in case any last-minute adjustments were needed.

But this was just half of the room, a wall had been built dividing the room in two, hiding the nasty old shower stall and toilet. She opened the door and found a beautifully appointed bedroom with a queen size bed, walk-in closet with much of her clothing already there, and a new bathroom with new fixtures featuring a huge shower and a dual sink vanity. She tested every faucet and marveled at the shower, the fancy looking shower head, and new single lever controls. Much nicer than those rusty old iron pipes. She also remembered fondly her last foray into the bunkhouse shower with Don and looked forward to her next. There was even a brand-new toilet!

Lanh could only gasp and struggle to hold back the tears of joy.

"All of this was Don's dream," said Tam as she hugged Lanh from behind. "When you told him how much you loved it here, he wanted to build you a home of your own. There's so much more decorating to do, and that's all up to you."

Mai kissed Lanh's cheek. "Everyone pitched in to make his dream come real, even Kim-ly."

"I picked out the wine," Kim-ly said as she started to open a bottle.

"She also scrubbed up the paint drops on the floor," said Mai, "she was working past midnight last night with Don finishing up the bedroom and hanging the mirror in the bathroom." Lanh broke down in tears of gratitude and the women gathered around her in a group hug.

"I don't believe it," wept Lanh, "it's so beautiful!" Her eyes were huge and sparkling with tears of joy as she surveyed the apartment, her fingers tracing over every surface. The back window had a beautiful view of the orchard, and the gazebo was set up for their wedding ceremony. "I can't thank you all enough..." and suddenly she grew weak and dizzy, she broke out into a cold sweat and her legs gave out on her.

She remembered hearing Rosa shouting "She's going down!"

The next thing she realized was that she was looking up at the vaulted ceiling and she thought why didn't I notice the ceiling fan before? Then she realized she was lying on the floor with her feet up on a chair and her head in Sydney's lap. "Why am I on the floor?" she asked.

"You're ok, I caught you," said Sidney, her face a mask of concern.

Tam leaned into her field of view, "You fainted baby, how do you feel now?"

Suddenly Lanh gasped, fainted? Did I miss my wedding? Where is Don? She struggled to sit up but Tam and Kim-ly held her down. "Relax tôm," said Kim-ly as Lanh tried to get up, "take some deep breaths."

"How long was I out?" said a panicked Lanh. They all look so worried! I did miss my wedding!

"About fifteen seconds," said Mai as she crouched over Lanh. "It's just nerves, little one. You relax and let us get you ready."

Finally, when Lanh's head stopped spinning, her sisters helped her up and into a comfortable easy chair. Sandy and Mai served her coffee, ice cold milk, and her favorite: caramel rolls covered in frosting and chopped walnuts. "Mmmmm, sticky buns!" purred Lanh, trying not to drool. "Minnesota's finest addition to the culinary arts."

"I don't think they're a Minnesota invention," said Rosa, her eyes rolling in delight with every bite of the ooey gooey treat.

"It's not your day," replied Lanh around a delectable mouthful of stickybun, "you don't get a vote."

The photographer's assistant, a small blond girl named Kimberly, remained with Lanh, Tam, Kim-ly, Rosa, Sydney and Mai to photograph the fun as they prepared the bride, and Lanh insisted that Sandy stay, so all seven women had fun teasing the teenage bride. The women sat in a circle and Mai, Tam, and Kim-ly entertained Sandy, Sydney, and Rosa with stories of Lanh's youth.

"She was so tiny she could hide anywhere," said Mai, "and when she was mad, she would!"

"And it was my job to go find her," groused Tam. "Her favorite spot was in the kitchen in a cabinet, she'd crawl in there and build a wall of cereal boxes so we couldn't see her. Most of the time she was mad at the twins," she said pointing at Kim-ly.

"We were just playing with her," insisted Kim-ly with a well-practiced innocent look.

"There's a difference between playing with me, your sister, and playing with me, your toy!" shouted Lanh to the laughter of the women.

"It's a fine line I'll admit," Kim-ly shrugged.

"No! No, you don't get that 'fine line' defense. I was the only toy you two ever put away in the toybox when you were done playing!" insisted Lanh.

"You told me she was playing in there!" demanded Tam, trying to sound angry and failing horribly.

"That's where toys go to play by themselves!" insisted Kim-ly. Now they were all howling with laughter.

"Ok now, you go shower," said Mai, "or Donovan will think he is marrying one of your cows."

Lanh finished her sticky bun, grabbed another and a cup of coffee and headed off to her shower. While she was gone, Mai, Tam, and Kim-ly got busy bringing more clothing into the apartment. When Lanh returned from her shower wrapped in a fluffy soft bath sheet, she looked at the second dress maker's dummy in the room, this one wearing a traditional red and gold áo dài and matching khăn vấn. There were also additional áo dais on the dress rack, these being dark pink with white silk trousers.

"Wha...?" She looked at the new dress in confusion.

"It's for your father. He wants you dance one dance with him in the traditional red áo dài."

Kim-ly spun Lanh around by the shoulders and stared into her confused eyes. "You wear your white áo dài for the wedding and pictures, you wear the western gown for the reception and pictures, after that you and Don are going to have an hour to rest. I'm quite sure you won't qualify for a white dress after that, so you can wear the red áo dài for the wedding dance... and pictures."

Lanh hadn't thought of that, she always dreamed that their first time would be in a cabin by the lake. This didn't sound as romantic, but as eager as she was, it would work. Besides, girls in Asia do the exact same thing with multiple costume changes at their weddings. Smiling in anticipation, she inspected the new áo dài; it was a beautiful crimson work of art with golden dragons and flowers embroidered on it. The khăn vấn matched the dress perfectly.

"This is MY wedding dress," warned Tam, "do NOT mess it up."

"Ok, let's see what we have to work with," said Kim-ly as she yanked the towel off of a stunned Lanh. "Cute! Hey, did you go to a tanning salon?" Lanh's skin, normally ivory white, was now a gentle gold.

"No, I laid out," said Lanh as she desperately tried to get the towel back.

"Well, you don't have any tan lines, where did you lay out?"

"I'm not saying," said Lanh as she tried to cover herself.

"Good thing I brought a razor," said Tam, "come on, we have work to do." She and Kim-ly dragged their protesting baby sister to the bathroom.

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

Originally Lanh wanted to get married on the front lawn using the house as a backdrop, but the number of RSVPs made that idea an impossibility, so they changed to the east side of the house using the small orchard as a backdrop which worked out beautifully because the trees were covered in white blossoms.

Their altar was a small gazebo on a stage backed with a rose trellis decorated with white silk roses, a small table containing the chalice and wine for the Catholic communion portion of the ceremony. It was flanked by apple trees in full bloom and the sight was breathtaking for the guests as they found their way to their seats. The invitations were quite clear that this was going to be a "country" wedding; come dressed up, come dressed down, the only thing you need to bring is an appetite and a side dish, so the guests were not prepared for the beauty of the venue.

Guests filled the seats as a couple of guys from the swim team dressed in blue jeans and black t-shirts bearing the title "Usher" led the visitors and well-wishers to their seats, and finally Bao in a black tuxedo escorted Ralph and Sandy to their seats in the very front row. Rather than sitting, Sandy stepped up to the electric keyboard, made her settings, and set up her sheet music as Bao and Sydney took their place sitting next to Ralph. Sandy began playing various classical pieces as the guests took their seats.

As the appointed hour neared Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis walked up the aisle and took their place in the gazebo where they stood and looked welcoming.

When Sandy began playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy, Trung in a black tuxedo slowly escorted his mother in a turquoise áo dài with white trousers and slippers the length of the aisle to her seat. The non-Asian guests admired the simple, comfortable looking elegance of the knee length blouse and wide leg slacks that make up the traditional áo dài. After Trung returned to the farmhouse, Grandma Tri came slowly and carefully walking up the aisle wearing a matching turquoise áo dài, and she was being escorted by Grandpa Ode. They were followed by Grandma Hilde; she was being escorted by Grandpa Minh. They stopped at the front row and the old veteran shook the sweet old woman's hand. She gestured to him to lean over and when he did, she kissed his cheek, then whispered something in his ear, eliciting a smile from him. Grandma Hilde received a kiss from Grandpa Minh then she and Grandma Tri exchanged kisses then all four sat down on their sides of the aisle.

Pastor Loomis and Father Steinbach stepped up to their microphones as Sandy finished the piece. "Thank you everyone," said Pastor Loomis to start the ceremony. "Many of you know the grandfather of the groom, United States Army Staff Sergeant Lars Odegaard. Grandpa Ode tells me that he did three tours of duty in Vietnam and that he volunteered for all three." He paused for loud applause from the guests.

Then Father Steinbach continued, "The beautiful lady he escorted to her seat is Tri Pham, maternal grandmother of the bride, she did only one tour in Vietnam, and it lasted twenty years. Back in nineteen seventy-four the congregation of her church saw the writing on the wall. Knowing that if there was a communist takeover their lives would be in jeopardy, so they pooled their resources and emigrated here to America, to safety. Without the courage of Tri who made the crossing with her young daughter Mai the mother of the bride, and Minh who made the crossing with his son Duong, the father of the bride... well, we wouldn't be here today, celebrating in joy downwind from that delicious smelling barbeque." Again, there was more applause.

"For you wedding buffs, we have to warn you, this is going to be an untraditional ceremony but at the same time it is based on the traditions of two nationalities, two races, and two religions," said Pastor Loomis, "and two souls that felt rejected by society. They found each other in the nick of time, and the love that blossomed is what we're here to celebrate."

"So, if an untraditional wedding isn't your thing, it's ok if you want to head over to the barbeque now," said Father Steinbach, "we'll catch up with you in a few minutes. But the rest of us will stay here and share the love of these two utterly amazing young people."

In the Bunkhouse, now known as Lanh's Apartment, the three Nguyen sisters watched the crowd grow as they sipped wine and munched on petit fours. Two of the three did, Lanh was too nervous and excited to indulge. Lanh was expecting maybe 20 people at the most, now Tam estimated five times that number was out there and the valets from the swim team were setting up more chairs for the late arriving guests. "We are going to need a bigger pig," said Tam.

"Grandma Tri is here," whispered Kim-ly. "Grumpy Ode is escorting her up the aisle!" she said using Don's nickname for Grandpa Ode. "And look! Grandpa Minh is escorting Hilde!"

"Who woulda thunk it?" said Tam, "I just hope YOUR brother put Jake in an aisle seat."

"That ain't my brother, that's YOUR brother," said Kim-ly as Lanh stood with her back to the window and nervously drank the half glass of wine her mother left behind. "Grandma just kissed Grumpy Ode!... She just kissed Hilde!" gasped Kim-ly.

Now Lanh was starting to panic, Grandma Tri was a sweet old lady, but she didn't trust anyone that's not family, and now she's kissing someone she never met? A WHITE person? The world has gone crazy! "We should have eloped for my eighteenth birthday," groaned Lanh as she looked in vain for another glass of wine. "This should have been my baby shower."

"Come on," said Tam when she saw Don, Craig, Huy, and Trung begin to walk up to the stage. This was their cue to get ready. She urged her sisters and Rosa to the back door where the photographer and Duong waited for them.

Don looked at the orchard full of people and noticed that one wasn't in her expected place. "Where's Cindy?" he whispered to Craig.

"I asked her to make nice with Lanh because her attitude was scaring her. She refused, so I told her to take a hike," Craig replied.

"What about the recessional?" asked Don, starting to panic.

"Got it covered buddy," said Craig with a wink to Lanh's friend and singer Sydney McCloskey. Sydney smiled and surreptitiously waggled her fingers in a wave back.

"That's awesome pal," grinned Don. He chuckled, Craig was never short of girlfriends, then Don realized - he was getting ready to marry his very first girlfriend, is this stupid or first time lucky?

Don, Craig, Huy, and Trung were dressed in simple, yet elegant tuxedos, the same style is also currently being worn by Bao, Duong, and Ralph. The stylish yet timeless cut of the tuxedos gave them a suave look of James Bond handsomeness. They turned to each other and shook hands, Craig, Trung, and Huy encouraging Don with a slap on the back, then they turned to face the farmhouse and the room divider that the girls were hiding behind.

Behind the divider Kimberly and Duong helped make sure Rosa and the nervous sisters had their flowers and were lined up in order. Before Lanh realized that it was time, Sandy started playing the Prince of Denmark's March, her organ sounding for all the world like a brass quartet. The girls lined up behind the divider to hide them from the view of the crowd, and instead of stepping out as practiced, Rosa whirled and gave Lanh a hug. "I love you coach!" Then she turned around and stepped out and headed up the aisle.

Now it was Kim-ly's turn, but she too paused. She took a deep breath and hugged Lanh. "I know I teased you our whole lives, but it's because I didn't have the courage to tell you how much I love you," she said, her eyes sparkling with tears. "You and Don are so perfect together, and I'm so jealous of your love." She suddenly gave Lanh a kiss then turned and headed out from behind the screen.

"She's going to make me ruin my makeup," said Lanh fighting back the tears.

"You never answered my question last night," said Tam as she took Lanh's glasses and handed them to her father, then dabbed the tears from Lanh's eyes. "Will you be my maid of honor?"

"Yes, of course," Lanh was shocked that Tam thought she had to ask. "It should be you and Jake out there today, not me. You raised me; you are my momá, you should be first."

"No baby, Jake and I love each other, but you and Don, you are made perfectly for each other. You are both halves of one beautiful whole, it's so much more than love, and it would be criminal to keep you two apart one second longer than necessary."

Now both the girls were tearing up and it was their dad, Duong, who was dabbing their eyes. "Ok, honey, go," he said patting Tam's bottom. "You're late."

"I can blame it on Kim-ly," she said and with a kiss to Lanh she departed.

And now it was just Tam and Duong behind the divider. "I'm sorry I put you through so much hell daddy," sniffed Lanh now that they were alone.

"Baby no, Bao and Kim-ly put us through hell, it was because of them that Tam had to help raise you."

"No. I mean Don and I..."

"It wasn't hell, it was a joy watching you two so much in love, it made us feel young again. We wished we had more daughters."

"Really?" asked Lanh as Sandy started to play the Bridal March.

"Well, no, I was kidding about that last part, you three are enough. But watching you and Don has been wonderful." He led her around the divider and the guests rose as the little Asian woman, who was a girl only moments ago, walked toward her waiting man. "We love you two so much," continued Duong, "and we can't wait to see where your love will take you."

"Daddy..." sniffed Lanh, and then looking up to see Don, she realized she wasn't wearing her glasses! She took them off when Tam wiped her eyes, she could barely see anything, most importantly she couldn't see Don! "I have to go back; I lost my glasses." She stopped and was about to head back to the house, but Duong held her hand.

"Let me be your daddy one more time," he said and took her glasses out of his pocket and put them on her radiant face to the sound of a collective "Awwwww" from the guests. "Now let's go get you married." Lanh looked up and there was Don! Her face broke into a huge, joyful smile and she almost broke into a trot, her heart screamed at her to "throw the bouquet, grab him, and go!" but her dad held her tight and led her slowly up the aisle.

Lanh and Don's eyes remained locked on each other with every step up the aisle. The agonizing hours of separation were over, and no one could ever separate them again.

The guest's reaction to her choice of wedding dress was interesting to say the least. The Phams and the Nguyens saw the traditional áo dài and khăn vấn, but the color was all wrong, it should be bright red. The Odegaards and the Campbells saw the traditional color, but the dress is all wrong, she's wearing a long shirt and pants, it should be a flowing gown. But to Don she looked perfect, a beautiful porcelain doll, almost too beautiful to touch. His mouth went dry, and a lump caught in his throat as he realized that she was coming to him to be at his side for the rest of their lives.

Grandpa Ode sat stock still, his body was there in rural Minnesota, but his mind was far away and long ago. A brilliant oasis of beauty had emerged in the morass of a country ravaged by a civil war. Two superpowers were intervening and one of the players was a young army corporal Lars "Ode" Odegaard, and that oasis was a young Vietnamese girl named Thao. Thao was the whole world to Ode; he did everything he could to spend as much time with her as possible. Their love was real, and it was sweet, and they longed for a life together. But then came that horrible black day when she came to him and said "My father said no."

He endured two more tours in that hell hole so he would be able to see Thao, trying to convince her and her father that he would be a worthy husband, that he could provide, that he could be counted on. But in the end, he was a round-eye, and Thao's father forbade her from ever speaking to him again and she disappeared from his life. Broken, Ode gave up on everything. His brilliant Army career ended right there, he just hadn't taken off the uniform yet. He ended up back in Minnesota and put everything into farming and dreaming of returning to Vietnam as a civilian and maybe her father will change his mind. But when Saigon fell, he knew it was truly over. His younger sister introduced him to Hilde, and they eventually married, but every night when he closed his eyes, he returned to Thao.

Finally, Duong and Lanh stopped at the base of the stage. Pastor Loomis stepped forward and asked, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

After a pause that caused the guests to lean forward thinking something was wrong, Lanh called out "I give myself freely, in love and anticipation of our life together."

Father Steinbach asked, "Duong and Mai Nguyen, do you support Lanh's decision to join together in holy matrimony with Donovan Campbell and do you vow to receive him as a member of your family from this day on?"

"Yes, we do, with all of our heart."

The Pastor Loomis then asked, "And you Ralph Campbell, do you support Donovan's decision to join together in holy matrimony with Lanh Nguyen and do you vow to receive her as a member of your family from this day on?"

Ralph stood and said, "Yes sir, with joy and love."

Then Tam, Kim-ly, and Rose stepped forward and after kissing her daddy goodbye, Lanh allowed her bridesmaids to escort her those final steps to the stage and the man who waited for her. Lanh's pure white áo dài was breezy and comfortable and with the addition of the short white vest with glittering gold embroidery, it was as elegant as western wedding gowns. Her khăn vấn, that traditional Vietnamese headdress worn with the áo dài was a halo more than a hat, from the front it looked like a white wide brim sunbonnet worn far back on the head creating a halo, framing her cute face. From the back the center was open, and one could see her ebony locks of hair in a thick French braid, coiled up on the back of her head.

Tam, Kim-ly, and Rosa's áo dàis were pale gold and the long flowing trousers, which look like a skirt until they walk, were white. Their khăn vấns were the same gold color as their áo dais, and their hair was braided and coiled like Lanh's. Don, his best man Craig, and his groomsmen Huy and Trung and guitarist Bao were dressed in simple but elegant black tuxedos, with black bow ties were a perfect accompaniment to the three sisters, Rosa, and Sandy.

And that's how the entire ceremony went, very traditional, but the traditions got turned on their ears. For their part, neither Don nor Lanh was fully participating in the ceremony, it had been over 16 hours since they saw each other last, it had been months since they were separated that long. It was November when Don had a swim meet in Bagley, and Lanh had a debate in Hibbing, that separation was nearly 30 hours long and completely unbearable.

At one point during the ceremony Pastor Loomis and Father Steinbach was sure that the young couple was just going to wander off, hand in hand, to somewhere they could be alone. Most of the time they were holding hands and drowning in each other's eyes. They had to be invited twice to kneel for communion, and when they knelt, they continued to hold hands rather than fold their hands in prayer.

They wanted to light a candle together as part of the ceremony but being outside the potential of wind blowing out the candle was too great, so they took four white roses and as Bao played and Sydney sang "The Wedding Song" by Noel Paul Stookey, Don and Lanh gave a rose to Mai, one to Grandma Tri, one to Grandma Hilde, and one to Sandy. Don shook Duong's and Ralph's hand and thanked them for their support and love, and Lanh gave everyone a kiss. When she came to Sandy she smiled and said, "You're next." All the while Bao played, and Sydney sang...

A man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home

And they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one.

As it was in the beginning is now and til the end

Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again.

And there is Love....... there is Love.

Finally, after so long, so much pain and so much joy, it was time. Craig handed Don the tiny wedding band and he took Lanh's hand in his and poised the ring over her finger, while Pastor Loomis recited:

Donovan Aloysius Campbell, do you take Nguyen Huong Lanh to be your wife, to bathe her in love and friendship today, tomorrow, and for as long as the two of you live, to love, protect, to trust and honor her, to love her faithfully through the best and the worst, whatever may come, forsaking all others, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the family here that is willing to help you?

"Tôi có," he said, then in English, "I do," as he slid the ring on to Lanh's tiny finger. He never saw such a bright and beautiful smile on Lanh's face as when he slid the ring on her finger telling the world that he pledged himself to her. She kept looking at the ring on her finger and the smile on Don's face, she wanted to squeal with joy, she wanted to yank his pants down and swallow his cock,

Then Father Steinbach said, "Do you, Nguyen Huong Lanh, take Donovan Aloysius Campbell to be your husband, to trust his judgement and to cherish his friendship and love today, tomorrow and for as long as the two of you live, to stand by his side and support him, loving him through the best and the worst, whatever may come, forsaking all others, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the family here that is willing to help you?"

"YES!" she squealed, "I mean Tôi có - I DO!" eliciting a chuckle from the audience, and suddenly without prompting from Pastor Loomis or Father Steinbach they recited in unison the vows they had been practicing for weeks, with a little untraditional twist:

"I take you, my beloved, to my wedded partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, all the days of my life 'till death do us part."

And with that said they were kissing as deeply and as passionately as they ever had in the past.

Making a show of waiting for them to finish their kiss by checking their watches, Pastor Loomis and Father Steinbach stood back and eventually they broke the kiss and hugged each other, laughing and whispering endearments, completely oblivious to the gathered crowd. Pastor Loomis patted Don on the shoulder and whispered, "Let's pose for some pictures," and taking the hint, Don and Lanh faced the gathering for the first time.

"Friends and loved ones," called out Father Steinbach, "we are proud to FINALLY introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan and Lanh Campbell!"

Even the recessional was traditional yet was untraditional at the same time. The song they chose was Randy Travis, "I'm Going to Love You Forever," a sweet, up tempo, country love song. Don led Lanh up the aisle followed by their Maid of Honor, Tam, arm in arm with their Best Man, Craig Lewicki. Following them was the Bridesmaid Kim-ly and groomsman Huy, and they all sang along with Randy Travis.

You may think that I'm talkin' foolish

You've heard that I'm wild and I'm free

You may wonder how I can promise you now

This love that I feel for you always will be...

They walked up the asile three rows, practically dancing, and stopped. As Don and Lanh paused to kiss, Tam turned to her right and reached out to Jake, who rose and joined her, while Craig reached out to his left to Sydney who rose and joined him and Rosa pulled a surprised Bao along with her. Laughing she said to Bao "I told you last night I was interested." At the same time Huy and Kim-ly reached out to Grandma Tri while Trung reached out to Grandma Hilde who joined them in their joyful trek up the aisle.

Oh, baby, I'm gonna love you forever

Forever and ever amen

As long as old men sit and talk about the weather

As long as old women sit and talk about old men...

Now the crowd was in the song, singing along with the joyful rock-a-billy love song as Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis led them in singing. Lanh and Don moved up the aisle slowly, as if reluctant to leave the party even though they were aching to run off and lock themselves in a room and celebrate their union. As they moved forward, they were joined by Mai and Duong, Ralph and Sandy, Grandpa Ode and Grandpa Minh.

If you wonder how long I'll be faithful

Well, just listen to how this song ends

I'm gonna love you forever and ever

Forever and ever, amen

Don and Lanh finally reached the end of the aisle and stood before the divider that the Bridesmaids hid behind as they exited the house. There they slid easily into each other's arms and kissed through the entire last stanza of the song.

I'm gonna love you forever and ever

Forever and ever, forever and ever

Forever and ever, amen*

And suddenly Lanh and Don were the center of a group hug as the crowd gave a loud country whoop as the song finished, highly remarkable for a field full of shy Minnesota farmers and staid Vietnamese, but this was the emotion of the moment. Finally, as their lips parted, Don whispered to Lanh "Hello Mrs. Campbell."

She smiled and gave a faux evil laugh, "You have fallen into my trap Double Oh Seven and Five Eighths, now you are all mine!" she growled softly in his ear.

"Oh no!" gasped Don, "captured by the Dragon Lady..." He leaned in, their lips getting closer "...I'll never break free."

And just as they were going to kiss again, Tam gave Don a swat on the butt and said, "Put a cork in it you two, there's children present."

Their desperately desired passionate kiss was downgraded to a quick peck, then the newlyweds straightened themselves up and prepared to receive the well-wishers that descended on them. Soon they were inundated with congratulations and blessings, their parents on either side of them reminding them the names of relatives that they haven't seen in years. Quite often Lanh heard Don say to one of her own older relatives "It's so good to meet you in person! You really helped with my assignment!" even when she was translating for an older relative whose English was poor at best.

Over and over Don had to explain to his relatives that the áo dài was the traditional outfit of Vietnam, that it looks casual but is often formal, but all in all, the relatives of both sides were polite and loving as they bestowed wishes of good luck on the newlyweds. At one-point Lanh was able to peek through the crowd and saw obscured by folks queuing to wish them well, a pair of all blond women laughing and smiling, the one whose hair wasn't tinted purple at the ends gave Lanh a happy little wave. Lanh waved back and gasped "My angels are here!"

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

After the reception line and a grueling series of photographs, the wedding party retreated into the house for a short break before the next series of photos with Lanh in her wedding gown and then the reception. "What do you think of your house?" asked Don as Lanh swept into her new home.

"I love it!" she gasped as she twirled around, her arms outstretched. "Especially the chocolate fountain! I love that the most!" she grinned.

"That's not part of the decor, that goes back with your new cousins Billy and Geoff."

"You hear that Syd?" said Rosa, "they're going to take this back." She dipped a rice krispy treat into the flow of chocolate. "We've got our work cut out for us." Craig quickly found out where he stood compared to a chocolate fountain and a table full of goodies, he and Bao ended up watching the chocolate fest from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Don and Lanh were making plans for their apartment. "We can put a small table and chairs here in front of the window."

"Why? The dining room is right through those doors," asked Don.

Lanh rolled her gorgeous almond shaped eyes. "Intimate meals?" She huffed and dropped her shoulders.

"You're wasting your time, Lanh," called Kim-ly from the crowd at the chocolate fountain. "Guys ain't got no romance, they only got one thing on their mind."

"I'M the one with one thing on my mind," insisted Lanh. "I'm thinking naked brunch, and he's talking about the dining room!"

"Think of all the fun we could have if we both get on that big table in the dining room," Don whispered in Lanh's ear as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"I like the way you're thinking," she grinned as she rubbed her ass back at his growing erection. She turned around in his arms to kiss him.

Just as their lips touched, Mai, Tam, and Sandy swept into the room. "The photographer wants us on the porch in fifteen minutes. Sorry son, but you have to relinquish your wife." She pulled Lanh out of Don's arms and led her into the bedroom as Tam wheeled the dress maker's dummy with the wedding gown into the bedroom.

"Wait!" cried Don, "I just got her!"

As she stepped into the bedroom, Lanh turned and looked at Don. She smiled and opened the vest and Don could see her nipples in their erect glory through her silk blouse. She wagged her eyebrows at him and pulled the door closed.

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

Lanh's face was beginning to hurt from smiling so much, never in her life had she had a camera pointed at her so much. The throng of reporters after the state championship wanting pictures of the student coach was nothing compared to this. Over and over she and Don have been posed and reposed, then relocated and posed and reposed ad nauseum, and if she ever hears "Ok, Smile!" ever again... eventually her dreams of revenge were getting the better smiles. Don learned when he whispered "I want to lick your pussy" in her ear got the best smiles. Even when they paused for a much-needed kiss, it was a photo op, when they take a break and she collapses exhausted on his lap, it was a photo op, even one of her favorite things, sitting side by side relaxing in those ancient Adirondack chairs, holding hands in the cool shade of the porch became a photo op.

Lanh was hot and uncomfortable in the wedding gown; it was so heavy and to make matters worse she wore Grandma Tri's vest over it. The gown was purchased from a thrift store for twenty-five dollars and because she was wearing the matching white silk vest over it to cover a stain, it was that much warmer.

The skirt was fluffy and wide and traditional, and complaining aside it was a pretty dress, and Grandma Tri's vest gave this uncomfortable old dress life. The white silk of the vest matched the white of the gown perfectly, and the golden dragons and flower just glowed and folks who didn't realize she was wearing a vest asked her "How did you find a gown that matched your áo dài?" (In the case of Don's family substitute áo dài for "pants suit.") It was this beautiful, beautiful, embroidered vest. Wearing it over the gown was a random thought that Lanh had, and it worked so beautifully.

Kim-ly thought that the western wedding gown was a dumb idea, but Don's family loved it, they gushed "She looks like a beautiful little doll!" and "She looks like an angel!" Lanh wanted to scream, "I don't look like an angel! I know what an angel looks like, they're tall, and they're beautiful and they're blond and busty, and they're right there behind you!" Every now and then Lanh could see her angels watching her from the safety of the crowd, or from behind the grills. She could tell it was them because they were out of focus while everything around them was sharply in focus. Karole and Past Karole were beginning to realize that Lanh could see them, but they loved this part of Lanh and Don's life so much they didn't want to leave.

Don and Lanh were posing at the tractors, their last photo op before the reception started. The Ford and the John Deere were parked in the open, they were scrubbed and waxed, gleaming in the warm spring sun. Assured that both were free from grease, Mai "allowed" Lanh to clamber into the seat of the ancient John Deere. They posed for numerous shots on that beautiful old green tractor and when the photographer stopped to reload his camera Lanh put the tractor in neutral, turned on the key, and hit the starter button. There was a click, but nothing happened.

Don was standing on the left side of the tractor, and he said, "Give her quarter throttle and half choke." Lanh adjusted the throttle and choke levers and then Don grabbed the flywheel. He turned it toward Lanh a quarter turn, then another quarter turn, then with a tremendous heave he spun it forward as hard as he could. There was a sput, then another sput, then putt, putt, putt and the John Deere reluctantly coughed to life. Lanh's eyes opened wide in delight, and she patted the fender to her right, "Get on!" she called over the sputtering of the engine. Grinning, Don hopped up on the tractor and leaned on the fender next to Lanh. She put the tractor in second gear, eased out the clutch and as the photographer recorded their getaway they trundled off through the orchard.

"Where the hell are they going?" Mai demanded. This is going to throw off the timetable of her carefully scripted afternoon.

"I think it's a mutiny," smiled Tam.

"They won't be long," said Kim-ly.

Rosa dipped a beer out of the cooler, "Not this time anyhow." Tam grinned in agreement then explained to Jake what had happened, and he roared in laughter. Smiling, Tam led Jake up to the hayloft where they could be alone.

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

The John Deere ticked as it cooled off, parked next to the camp site in the grove of pines next to the pond. Lanh sat on the edge of the picnic table's tabletop, her bare bottom resting on the cool wood, the skirt of her gown pulled up around her. As she and Don kissed, she fumbled with his belt buckle while his thumb strummed her throbbing clit. "Stop that and help me with your belt."

"I want to make sure you're ready," he insisted.

"I've been ready for two years... please!" Lanh was on fire; she couldn't wait a moment more. The delight in Don's eyes when he reached under her wedding gown and found her pussy bare, no panties in his way, his touch damn near set her over the top. Her bare pussy gently kissing his finger damn near sent him over the top too. His thumb strumming on her sex was more than she needed, she wanted her man inside of her NOW!

His pants hit the ground and he eased his shorts to his knees, then he spit on his hand and lubed his cock while Lanh lay back and hoisted her skirt. His eyes basked on the sight of her sweet little pussy, and the silky ebony hairs of the "Black Forest." He fought the urge to drop to his knees and feast on her juices which were clearly visible, but they didn't have the time.

Lanh was a bit concerned, if she showed her pain Don was going to stop, so she steeled herself for the worst. He brought the head of his cock to her labia and eased his hips forward. Lanh propped herself up on her elbows to watch his cock push into her, she held her breath in anticipation and felt herself stretching, her hymen tearing. He paused and asked, "Are you ok?" his voice almost shaking with concern. Actually, the pain of her hymen tearing wasn't as bad as she was told, but the alien feeling of another human being pushed inside of her most private body part was strange. She was tempted to scream "Stop" because of that strange feeling.

Instead she nodded her head and smiled, "More," her voice was a whisper. He pushed deeper, her warm moist depths caressing his cock as he eased into her vagina. "Oh God!" she groaned, and she lay back on the table, her hands on her knees, pulling them back and holding herself open for him. The feeling of the pushing, the spreading, the stretching... the strange feeling became a good feeling... it's so good... it's a good thing they waited, because if they had done this earlier, it would be all she would want to do - no swimming, no debate, no graduation, just fucking! She mewled in pleasure, the pain was fading, and he was still pushing in slowly... so good...

She couldn't believe the pressure of his cock, stretching her walls, filling her up, and now his hips pressed against her, his pubic hair tickling her clit, he was in! She looked up at him, his eyes were full of concern for her, making her heart leap with love. "Fuck me," she whispered, "nice and easy."

There under the fragrant pines their gasps and cries mixed with the voices of the songbirds as the lovers consummated their love, sealing their vows with their bodies. "I can't hold back," gasped Don, his hips were no longer his to control as his cock slid in and out of her hot, wet, smooth, and strangling tight pussy.

"Don't hold back, give it to me... cum in me!" she demanded and as their bodies began to slap together for the first time. Slap! Slap! Slap! Then he reared back and with a roar shoved as deep as he could, their pubic areas slammed together, she could feel the head of his cock brush lightly against her cervix as it twitched and throbbed, a perfect fit! She could feel his cock pulse as he came in her, filling her up. She wished she could feel his semen splashing into her pussy the same way she could feel it in her mouth. She watched his body shake as his orgasm took control, twitching and grunting and it felt satisfying to know that SHE did that to him. Spent, he fell forward and they kissed, her legs locking around him to hold him tight, she wanted to feel him go soft inside her, and soon he did, the opposite feeling of when he hardened in her mouth and eased down her throat.

"I'm sorry you didn't cum," he whispered as his cock slid out of her. "Tonight..." She silenced him with a kiss. She was just glad he noticed.

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

As the time approached for the reception, Mai and Sandy were concerned that the kids ran off and did something stupid. Duong and Ralph meanwhile were positive that the kids ran off and did something worthwhile. The bridesmaids were gathered near the barbeque listening to Rosa discuss grilling with Billy Odegaard when they heard the tractor returning. Tam looked at her tiny watch and smiled, just in time, those kids are good she smiled. She turned to Jake who was sitting next to her getting ready for the show to start. "When Lanh gets here, check her face, tell me if you find something different."

"That didn't take long," said Sydney.

Rosa sipped her illicit beer, "Never does the first time."

Tam and Kim-ly laughed at the wisdom from the mouths of babes.

Soon the Campbells pulled up on their John Deere green limousine, Lanh sitting on Don's lap sideways, and the photographer was there to record their every move. Don parked behind the main tent, and they stepped off the tractor and were able to step around the tent wall and walk right to their seats. To many of the assembled guests it looked like a planned entrance.

"Did you plan it that way?" squealed Sydney as she hugged Lanh.

"Nah, it was that dipity thing," answered Don. The wedding party looked at him, then at each other and searched their minds. "Serendipity? Anyone?" Don rolled his eyes.

"I see what you did there," grinned Rosa, then her grin turned into a frown. "And I don't like it." which caused Lanh to start laughing.

"Wait a minute, something's off here," announced Tam. "That smile... Jake, check her out."

Jake motioned Lanh closer to him and said "Sorry dear, but I have orders, and as the assembled guests watched, Jake gently ran his fingers over her face. Finally, he leaned to her and whispered, "You shouldn't be wearing white, should you?"

She whispered in return, "No, not anymore, and we should be back at the pond finishing up the job."

Her reply made Jake laugh and he hugged her and said, "I'm going to love calling you my little sister, are you deformed like Tam?"

"She's not deformed, she's demented, so yes, I am," and with a faux innocent smile she detached and sat in the chair that Don was holding out for her. As she sat down, her brothers Huy and Trung finally showed up with their dates. First, they had reported to Mai and Duong, their dates apologizing over and over for being late. Then they reported to Ralph and Sandy who were sitting near the head table, then they came up to the head table which was elevated about six inches and made their introductions. First Huy came up with a sweet Asian girl who had died her hair silver blond. "Lanh, Don," started Huy, "you remember Ahnjong, guess what! she's studying to take the bar."

"That's awesome!" cried Lanh and hugged whom she hoped would be her future sister-in-law.

"How's your Korean coming?" asked Ahnjong.

"Not so much," grimaced Lanh, "been busy."

"You should learn, I hear you two are headed for the Air Force, you could end up in Korea," said Ahnjong with a smile.

Next was Trung, his date was a tall pretty white girl with thick dark blond hair and green eyes. "Don, Lanh, this is Angela, she's my... ahhh..."

"Your reason for being late?" asked Lanh. "You used her for an excuse at Christmas... and Thanksgiving if I remember correctly."

"He told me to say I had a blond moment," said Angela as she hugged Lanh.

Don was laughing at that when Bao stepped up to the table. "Hi, I'd like to introduce my date..."

"Wait, let me guess..." said Don, "Rosa Mendez, right?"

"Yeah!" grinned Rosa, "How did ya guess?"

"There's not a lot of Latinas wearing an áo dài running loose in north central Minnesota this time of year," he grinned.

"What's up here... you two... too?" asked a stunned Lanh looking back and forth between her friend and her brother.

"Well, we got to talking at the rehearsal dinner and..." Rosa shrugged with a huge smile.

Eventually everyone took their seats and a fellow with a microphone stepped out to the center of the dancing area. "Hi, I'm Paul Mach, I'll be your MC tonight, if you'll take your seats..." he smiled and waited until everyone was seated. "A couple things to start with, water and soda are free, alcohol is not. Sorry about that but think of it as a donation to Don and Lanh's new house. Also, those wooden mallets at your place setting? They're not for hitting each other, they are for a very special purpose." As soon as he said that several savvy guests started tapping their glassware with their mallets. The sound of the glassware ringing was a signal to Don and Lanh to kiss, which they did.

"That's fun," smiled Lanh.

"It's going to get real boring by the end of the evening," said Don.

"I got some chapstick for ya if you need it," said Rosa.

The MC handed the microphone to Duong. "For those of you that don't know me, I am Nguyen Hieu Duong, just call me Duong." Duong gave a wonderful speech about coming to America, marrying Mai, raising five healthy children and the heartbreak of a preemie that was touch-and-go for months. The miracle child that somehow survived but grew up without joy. And then came Don, "a young man who ignited joy in our baby's life, a child who previously only truly cared for one goldfish.

Suddenly she cared about life, and she blossomed into the joyful woman you see today because of their love. This young man not only loves Lanh, but he loves her family. When a teacher began to pick on Lanh for her race, Don researched her family and learned of our journey. While he was farming, and working at our restaurant, and going to school, and winning medals at swim meets, and romancing our daughter, he was interviewing our family and he wrote a book chronicling our journey here to America, to show that teacher just who she was disparaging. And that's the man that married my baby, and I'm so proud to call you son. Welcome all and please join me in a toast to Don and Lanh Campbell."

After a rousing cheer, followed by the clamor of little wooden mallets tapping on glassware, Don and Lanh kissed until the clamor stopped. Duong handed the microphone back to Paul Mach who continued. "We will begin eating now, once the head table has been served, we'll be calling you up by table numbers. Before we go eat, let's say grace. Father Steinbach and Pastor Loomis tossed a coin to see who would say grace, Father Steinbach won the toss and has elected to pray. Father?" Mr. Mach handed the microphone to Father Steinbach who said a traditional catholic grace.

After grace dinner was served - pulled pork fresh off the spit, barbequed chicken, and literally dozens of side dishes and desserts. Craig served Don while Tam served Lanh. Don looked at his plate, it had pork, a chicken thigh, several salads, and crispy skin from the pig. "Oh yes! Plenty of pork skin, thank you sir," Don said to Craig, "you are truly a scholar and a gentleman."

"Is that what this is?" Lanh said as she picked up a piece of crispy pork skin from his plate. She took a small bite then fell in love with the treat. "Is there a way to serve this in the restaurant?" Tam ended up going back for more pork skin for her baby sister.

Sitting back down Tam turned to Jake and asked, "Did you find a difference in her smile?"

Jake thought about it for a moment, stroked his neatly trimmed beard, and said "Yes, and I don't know how I could describe it."

"She's glowing," said Tam. "It's the best makeup a girl could wear, if we could put that in a bottle..."

Meanwhile a small blond girl, no more than four escaped from her parent, a cousin or family friend, and she crawled up on Don's lap. "Little kids like me," said Don as he fed the tyke some macaroni salad. A collective "Awwwww" went up from the guests in the tent when they saw the little girl on Don's lap.

The little girl pointed at Lanh and asked, "Is she a princess?"

"She is," said Don, "She's the prettiest princess in the kingdom, don't you think?"

The little girl nodded her head vigorously. "Uh huh!"

Lanh leaned forward and gave the little girl a taste of ambrosia, a combination of canned fruit salad, whipped topping, and coconut. "That man you're sitting on is my prince charming," said Lanh as she spoon fed the little girl.

"Really?" The little girl looked at Don with a look of shock and amazement.

Just then the little girl's mother came up and apologized profusely and led her back to their table, the little girl telling her mother the whole time how she sat on Prince Charming's lap. "You made that little girl's evening," smiled Lanh.

"There's another little girl whose evening I plan to make special," replied as he put a forkful of home-made apple slaw in Lanh's mouth.

As the main table finished eating Paul took his place at the microphone. "As Don and Lanh's coach and guidance counselor, I could tell you some stories..." He looked over at Lanh who was shaking her head side to side mouthing the words "no! no!" "... so, I think I will. Don was injured in his junior year so he couldn't compete, heck, he couldn't milk his cows or bus tables at Duong's restaurant where he worked. But Lanh stayed with him and trained him during his recovery. Thanks to her, the words n'yen yen and diddy mau will be in the Grant Valley lexicon for years to come.

"Before Don met Lanh, he was a C minus student and sinking fast. But since they met, he became an A plus student who wrote a research paper so profound that the school is having it published. Before they met, he rarely showed up for gym class, but with her encouragement and training he received a gold medal in regional competition and state swimming competition. As for Lanh, before they met, she was an A plus student who was ready to give up on school and on life in general. Sad and withdrawn, we were terrified that we lost her, and look at her now... four point oh GPA, captain of the three-time champion debate team, and every single swimmer she coached medaled in every competition. She coached two swimmers who went to state competitions, and both came back with the gold. The little girl we thought we lost became valedictorian and student of the year.

"And now here they are, holding hands as husband and wife, wishing I'd shut the hell up. Every teacher has a student that they'll never forget, I have two, and here they are, Mister and Missus Campbell." He raised his champaign flute in honor of the couple and the crowd responded with a loud "Hear hear!" The toast was followed by the banging of the little wooden mallets on the glassware requiring Don and Lanh to kiss.

Paul handed the microphone to Tam, who rose and said "I'm a teacher also, and I pray to God that I don't ever have to go through what these two put their teachers through..." She waited for the chuckling to die down then continued. "To watch these two slowly slip away from you, and there's nothing you can do... poor Donovan, having to watch his mom slowly and painfully pass away, a rural low-income son of a struggling single dad in a suburban school filled with the sons and daughters of affluent people, what does that do to a child?... poor Lanh, so tiny at birth, so weak and helpless, then isolated at school because of her race and jealousy over her academic achievements, the only Asian in her school... what does that do to a child?"

Mai, Duong, and Ralph never thought of it that way, their blood ran cold as they considered the enormity of the hell their babies had to go through. They had their own hell to overcome, but they're grownups, that's what grownups do, not children. This is what Grandma Tri and Grandpa Minh fought to overcome...

Tam continued, "Both felt so isolated that they knew in their hearts that if they left, they wouldn't be noticed. In Lanh's case, there was a boy who had a crush on her, and she never knew, no one ever told her... And then they met... Lanh told me that there were angels watching them the day they met, and I believe it. This was no puppy love, this was the real thing, and as a psychologist I was shocked with the maturity these two handled their love. They took their relationship seriously, more seriously than people twice their age. So serious that Lanh insisted on wearing a white áo dài instead of the traditional red. Wearing white at her wedding was very important to both of them... and, well, maybe not so much now... they did take a long break before dinner..."

Lanh nearly died of embarrassment as their families now all KNOW what they were doing. She tried to hide her face in Don's chest as he held her and tried not to laugh along with the audience.

Tam raised her champagne flute and said, "Here's to my baby sister and my new baby brother, I love you both, may all your struggles be consensual." The ring of the mallets on the glasses was deafening and Don and Lanh enjoyed the chance to kiss long and sweet.

After the toast, Paul handed the microphone to Craig Lewicki, who rose and made his speech while holding Sydney's hand. "Halfway through Don and Lanh's sophomore year both attended the Christmas dance, which shocked all of us that knew them, because neither has ever attended a school dance before. I had been trying to get Don to try out for the swim team because when he did show up for gym class, he showed great form when swimming. So, when two fellows from the baseball team enlisted me in trying to get Don and Lanh to dance, I jumped at the opportunity.

"I swear that I did not know that they wanted to humiliate Don and Lanh, I didn't know... who would do such a thing? But it felt sooooo good to watch their prank backfire in their faces. Don and Lanh danced three slow sappy romantic songs in a row, then they went and sat down and talked together and haven't been apart since. Like Dr. Nguyen said, this was the real thing, there really had to be angels there when they met." He squeezed Sydney's hand and said "I pray my relationships will be blessed like that. To Don and Lanh!" Again, the toast was followed by the ringing of the mallets on glassware.

Don and Lanh rose and stood close together and held the microphone between them. Don started speaking, "We just want to say thank you. If it wasn't for you, we would not be here today..." He paused as Lanh repeated his words in Vietnamese. "Thank you, Grandma Tri and Grandpa Minh, your courage in such dangerous circumstances brought Duong and Mai here so they could bring Lanh and I together... I was blessed and proud to be able to document your journey before it was lost in time..."

As Lanh finished translating that statement, a heavily accented voice in the back called out "How can we get a copy of that?"

Lanh and Don looked at each other in a bit of a panic, the document is over fifty pages long, the full document, the version the school was thinking of publishing was well over one hundred pages, they don't have the money to make many copies. Then Lanh spoke into the microphone nervously and said, "Uncle Chien, we will try to get copies for everyone that wants one..."

Before she could translate that into Vietnamese, Mrs. Gunderson raised her hand and said, "May I?"

A confused and desperate Don said "Please, by all means."

Mrs. Gunderson whispered to her husband, who left the tent quickly and Mr. Mach handed her a microphone. "I am Lina Gunderson, principal at Grant Valley High School..." she then realized she had to wait for Lanh to translate for her. "When Donovan invited the vice principal, Mr. Landry and myself to the presentation of his paper, I was excited... My degree in sociology was earned with a paper based on the movements of indigenous people... we realized that more people are going want to read this and after speaking with Lanh's father..."

Several of the guys from the swim team still wearing their Usher and Valet t-shirts appeared carrying boxes and set them on a table in the back of the tent. Mrs. Gunderson continued "The graphic arts department at Grant Valley High School has printed and bound one hundred copies for you today..."

Don and Lanh immediately started weeping with joy and gratitude and clung to each other as Duong finished the translation for Lanh who was overcome. Craig and Tam rose and hugged Don and Lanh, moving in front of them to block the guests' view as the couple tried to collect themselves. Finally, Don was able to resume, "Thank you Mrs. Gunderson, you have given me the opportunity to teach my Vietnamese relatives a new word - Verklempt... It means overcome with emotion... which is what happened to me as I learned your story... I fell in love with you as I wrote the book..."

A voice in the back called out something in Vietnamese, and Don turned to Lanh who smiled. She turned to Don and said, "Aunt Hao says that you're part of our story now, too." This was followed by a chorus of little mallets striking glassware, bringing Don and Lanh's lips together.

Don continued, "Mister and Missus Nguyen... má and ba..." Lanh translated that into English, "Mom and dad." Don continued, "Thank you so much for everything, your love, and generosity, and you soup mean so much to us... thank you for welcoming me, a lonely lost white boy into your family... Thank you for patching my wounds and raising Lanh for me... I'm sorry if I upset you when I told you I wasn't going to ask for your permission to marry Lanh... but look at all the fun you would have missed if you had said no..."

This caused a lot of laughter and the clanging of glassware. Then to Ralph Lanh said "Dad, thank you so much for everything, you've been a rock for me... I know it's been so hard for you, and never once did I hear you complain about having to raise Don alone... and I know we've given you cause..." Then gesturing to Sandy, she said, "please don't overlook what is right in front of you."

Don looked to the Vietnamese guests on his right and Lanh looked to the Irish and Norwegians to the left and they said in unison, "Thank you so much to my new family, I know it may be hard to accept someone of a different race into your life. All I ask is a chance, and some of the love that you give my spouse." Their speech was greeted with a raucous chorus of applause and the clanging of glassware, then after a short kiss, Don led his princess to the buffet where their cake awaited them. The cake was a simple circular cake with several layers separated by fancy looking Roman columns, it was decorated with white and gold roses by volunteers from Don's church.

The cake cutting went fairly quickly, Don cut Lanh a piece from the middle section, then he gently fed Lanh a small portion, and she took a large portion and made like she was going to stuff it in his mouth or smash it in his face, but instead she broke off a piece and fed it to him nicely, to the disappointment of all the women watching.

Don led Lanh to the center of the dance area where they reenacted two years ago when Don said "Care to... I mean would you... uhh... like..."

Lanh stared at him, then Kim-ly came up from behind Lanh and nudged her. "Dance? She'd love to."

"I don't really dance," muttered Don as he led her to the center of the dance floor.

"I don't either," said Lanh.

"It'll be fun," Don said as the opening strains of the song that they consider "Their Song" started. They melted into each other's arms and suddenly they were alone, gently swaying with what John Lennon called the greatest love song of the 70's.

"You remembered!" She smiled, his invitation to dance was exactly what he said two years ago.

And you can tell everybody

This is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind

That I put down in the words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world**

Their eyes were glued together, Don was completely lost in her sparkling dark eyes, his darling dragon lady, while Lanh wondered how she got so lucky to marry her white knight, with his lustrous blue eyes and his willingness to defend her. They didn't even realize they were kissing until the ringing of the glassware reached their ears.

"Oh damn it, I promised myself I wouldn't..." groaned Craig as he mopped his tears with a tissue.

"What's the matter?" asked Sydney, suddenly concerned for him. She leaned in close, not understanding what he said, she thought he might have something in his eye.

"This is the song," he shuddered trying to hold back the tears, "the first song they ever danced to..." he remembered how horrible he felt when he realized that he was played by those two bastards Tad Larson and Dale Swenson, then the warmth he felt when he saw Don and Lanh dance together, then spend the rest of the evening together. "Whenever I hear this song, I think of them and..." he sniffed and tried to fight back unmanly tears of joy for his friends.

Still leaning in close, Sydney moved even closer. Her crooked finger under his chin lifted his face and she looked into his teary gray eyes. He always seemed like a tough guy jock, but he's been nothing but nice to her, really nice, and he really was offended by that bitch Cindy Reece's antics. She moved in closer, "Maybe they'll let us borrow this song on occasion," whispered Sydney and their lips met and he didn't recoil! In fact, his tongue sought out hers and his arm wrapped around her as their gentle kiss grew more heated.

At the other end of the main table, Rosa and Bao were sitting close to each other, Rosa had her back to Bao and was leaning back on him, his arms were wrapped around her. "Are you a really macho tough guy?" she asked as she ran her fingers over his hands that held her close.

"Yes," he whispered in her ear.

"Are you the type of guy to take advantage of a girl and grab her boobs when no one is looking?"

"No, never."

"Are you lying to me?"

"Yes."

She moved his hand up to her breast and hid that hand with the loose sleeve of her blouse as he squeezed her boob. His lips sought out her neck and his teeth began to nibble at the most sensitive areas. "We're going to get along just fine," she sighed. Just as she was seriously beginning to enjoy the feeling of Bao's hand the song changed to a sweet country waltz that Lanh had fallen in love with.

Mr. Mach picked up the mic and announced, "Let's get the whole wedding party out here."

I'll always remember, the song they were playing

The first time we danced, and I knew

As we swayed to the music, and held to each other

I fell in love with you

Could I have this dance, for the rest of my life

Could you be my partner, every night

When we're together, it feels so right

Could I have this dance for the rest of my life***

They watched in shock as Tam led Jake to the dance floor. He nervously swung his cane side to side looking for obstacles. Tam urged him on, step by step, onto the dance floor. Once there he folded up his cane confidently and took Tam into his arms. To the entire crowd's delight the couple began to dance together, moving in perfect unison.

"Come on buddy, your sister picked this song, all of us dance," groaned Rosa as she untangled and stood up, tugging on Bao's wrist.

"Awww, we were comfortable," he complained.

"Let's go superstar, I know what you can do with your hands, let's see what you can do with your feet," said Rosa as they made it to the dance floor. "Don't trip over the blind guy, let's go... 1, 2, 3... 1, 2, 3..."

"Jake is dancing pretty good with Tam leading, we don't have to worry about him," said Bao into Rosa's ear.

"Not him, I mean Craig," laughed Rosa. "He hasn't looked at anything but Sydney for the past hour, he'll run us over." Then she noticed something and said "Awww! That's so sweet..."

"What's sweet, besides you?" asked Bao.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she smiled, "I mean Kim-ly, her date stood her up, so Lanh is taking turns with her to dance with Don."

"She always liked Don," said Bao and as the song came to an end, he stole a kiss from Rosa.

Finally, as the last note played, Duong tapped Don on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" Don graciously allowed Duong to dance with his daughter and turned to find Mai waiting for him. They stood to the side as the song played.

Oh I never saw that look in your eyes

And I never had you hold me that tight

And I never saw you dance with your feet off the ground

Oh but I see It Now****

Don stood alone on the side of dance floor watching and praying that his mother could see her new daughter from where she was and join him in their happiness. Then a song later, when Lanh switched to dancing with Ralph for the in-law dance.

"Fancy a waltz mom?" Don asked Mai.

"I thought you would never ask," and with that they were waltzing to another sweet country ballad.

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

Don carefully put Lanh's embroidered vest on a hanger and hung it in the closet then turned to face his bride who gently tossed him her bouquet. "I don't need this," he said as he placed it gently on the top of the dresser, "I'm already married." Like many brides, Lanh had two bouquets, a tossing bouquet, and a keeping bouquet, both identical.

"That was sweet what you did for that little girl," said Lanh as sitting on the bed he slipped off her shoes. When it came time to toss the bouquet Don noticed that the little girl that crawled on his lap was lined up with all the 'big girls,' so he took a flower from Lanh's bouquet and after the 'big girls' scrambled for the bouquet Don presented the little girl with a silk flower for trying so hard. "She now thinks you really are Prince Charming."

Don knelt beside the bed massaging Lanh's sore, tiny feet. "I think she's from your side of the family."

"I don't think so! Blond hair? Blue eyes? It's kind of easy to tell," said Lanh as she reveled in the foot massage. When Don and Lanh had become engaged a popular joke between them was that it is going to be easy to tell which side of the family folks at the wedding would be hailing from. This little girl was blond, clearly not an Asian.

"I saw her mom sitting with one of your cousins," said Don as he stood and hung up his tuxedo jacket. "I'm not the first white guy in the family."

"Yeah, you are!"

"Then who's that old white guy rubbing noses with Grandma Tri?" Don eased the shoes off of his aching feet with a sigh of relief. Protocol be damned, he's wearing his hi-tops when they go back out to the wedding dance.

Lanh blushed, "They're not married, so he doesn't count. At least I think they're not married, no one talks about it." She stood and began to untie Don's bow tie.

"I'm never going to get that tied right again," he complained. Tam was the only one who could tie a real bow tie, and she tied the ties of all the men in tuxedos today.

"Hush, you guys are switching to straight ties for the dance," said Lanh as she began to unbutton his shirt. Like many country weddings, theirs was set in three distinct parts. The ceremony, the reception, both of those were for invitees only, then the wedding dance, an open party where anyone could attend. In these little towns in northern Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana there were plenty of folks who would go wedding dance hopping like they would go bar hopping on a Friday night. The only way to keep the crowd to a minimum would be to hold your wedding on a Monday or Tuesday when they wouldn't want to get hammered.

"Let me get that zipper for you," said Don as he reached for the back zipper on her gown.

"No dressed man may unclothe the princess!" demanded Lanh, determined to play with her title of princess as long as she could.

"Yes, your highness," and soon Don was naked, his tuxedo draped across the dressing table chair, his erection standing up at a forty-five-degree angle and throbbing with desire, a drop of precum oozed from the slit. Lanh adjusted her veil and knelt before her man and gently licked the precum from the head of his cock. She then held his cock tightly with her teeth just behind the swollen head and ran her tongue over the head of his cock in maddening circles, and occasionally tried to force the tip of her tongue inside his cock.

Don was overwhelmed with the contradiction of experiences, the sharp bite of her teeth, the slithery smooth feeling of her tongue as it slides over the head of his cock, the weird, unexpected, almost painful feeling when the tip of her tongue as it tried to slither into his urethra, and the overall feeling of helplessness, which is fueled by looking down and seeing just how damn sexy Lanh is with his cock in her mouth, especially in a wedding gown.

"What does my princess desire?" gasped Don as the sensations washed over him.

Her small hand closed around his balls as she released his cock from her mouth. "I want to be fucked," she said with a grin. "I want my prince to throw me on the bed and fuck me silly. I want a screaming orgasm that wakes the neighbors, and I want my prince to impregnate me."

"Your wish is my command, my sexiness."

Lanh slowly stood, reluctant to release Don's cock and refusing to release eye contact with her husband until the last moment. She turned her back on him and scooped up her hair, "My gown?"

Don slowly ran the zipper of her gown down to the last tooth then gently pushed her hands down to her sides. His hands trembled as he eased the gown off her shoulders and let it pool up around her slim, tiny ankles. "Me thinks my lady is unclothed."

Lanh stood wearing only her white nylons, a sexy white garter belt, and her glasses. Her ebony hair hung perfectly straight down to her mid back; the hours spent being braded did little to put a kink in her hair. Her nipples were erect, reaching out for stimulation from anyone or anything, they were a constant source of embarrassment for Lanh, but for Don they were a constant source of delight. "My ladies noochers appear to be extended," said Don as he rubbed his palms gently in circles on her breasts creating intense stimulation for her nipples. "Shall I try to put them back in, your highness?" and he started pushing her nipples in like they were push-button switches, which was just as bad as rubbing them in circles.

Trying not to laugh Lanh put on a haughty air and ordered her prince, "Nay, sir prince, convey me hither to yon sleeping pallet and infuse me with thy seed." He scooped her up in his arms, trying desperately not to laugh, however a small, choked snort of laughter escaped his nose as he hoisted her into his arms. "This be not a laughing matter! Stifle thy commentary fair prince, lest ye be replaceth with a cucumber!" she cried.

"Replaced with a gourd?" growled Don in mock anger, "Never! Unless I can watch..." He plopped her on the bed, and she gazed up at him, her face turning red with suppressed laughter. He waved his cock at her and declared "Stifle thy vegetarian lusts and prepare to meet thy king!"

That did it, she burst out in raucous laughter, her body starting to curl up as she laughed. Don dropped to his knees, grabbed her thighs and roughly spread her legs open wide. She gasped in surprise but when Don's mouth clamped down on her sex and began to roughly nurse at her trembling clit, her eyes rolled back in her head as she groaned "YESSSSSSSS!" He eased a finger into her sodden pussy and began to gently saw it in and out stoking her already raging fires. Now he added a second finger, no longer worried about maintaining her virginity he began to roughly fuck her with his fingers, and with his free hand he roughly grabbed her breast and began to squeeze it while his thumb and forefinger pinched and tweaked her nipple.

Lanh has never been treated like this, only in her dreams has she been lovingly manhandled in such a fashion! Her legs fell open of their own accord, she had no control over them, she had no control over anything. Don has always been a gentle lover, sometimes too gentle. How do you tell the man that loves you so deeply, the man that will sacrifice himself for your safety, that he's being too gentle? That conundrum is miles away from her mind at the moment. One hand curled in his hair, holding his head to his task of sucking and lapping on her clit, her other hand grabbed her free breast and she pinched her nipple and stretched it out as hard as she could. The shockwaves of pure erotic energy from her breasts and clit and vagina clashed and slammed into each other and her little body began to tighten... this is going to be a big one.

"Oh my God! ... so good ... suck me! ... Oh God I love you! ... Don't stop ... don't stop ... oh my GOD!" Her little cries and gasps were music to Don's ears, her encouragement spurred him on to drive her out of her mind with pleasure. Her little feet planted on the bed and her pelvis began humping up against Don's voracious mouth. Little grunts escaped her lips as she shoved her pussy up to his mouth Uhhh ... uhhh ... uhhh ... UHHH!!!" And suddenly the dam broke! An explosion of erotic release crashed over her, the fires he lit out at the pond exploded in a blast furnace of utter rut, "I'M CUUUMMMIIINNNGGG!" she shrieked.

His fingers that were fucking her pussy sped up, fanning the fires of her orgasm, his tongue flickered over her clit, and as she came her mind melted. She babbled over and over "Please don't stop... Please don't stop... Please don't stop..." both hands were holding his head to her pussy and pushing him down hard. "Oh GOD eat me!" she cried, finally realizing what that request really means.

But he stopped! As she shuddered and shook from the orgasmic pounding her nervous system was taking, Don stopped drilling her with his fingers, his knuckles stopped slapping against her outer pussy lips, his mouth pulled away from her erect, throbbing clit! He rose up and moved up, his eyes were now even with her own eyes. His cock was now threatening to invade her... Her orgasm still ravishing her, her hips still shuddering with the relentless shocks of rapture, and now Don brought his cock to her pussy.

"Oh Donnnnnn!" she sighed as her husband pressed into her. Her arms wrapped around his back, his back muscles strengthened by uncounted hours of preparation for the state swimming championships, writhed under her fingers. Her legs wrapped around his waist of their own accord; her ankles locked as he pushed into her DEEP. He was so big! He was splitting her apart! He was stretching her out so wide! He was impaling her! She loved every moment of it!

She tipped her head back and opened her mouth with a groan, afraid the head of his cock would come out of her throat. "Oh babe!" she gasped. He reared his hips back, his cock retreating from her warm, wet sanctuary until the swollen head was all that remained inside her vagina, then he drove forward, plowing his way inside until their groins collided with a wet slap. She looked up at him, her eyes nearly crossed with shock and delight.

"Oh baby, I love you," he whispered.

She replied by pulling his head down and driving her tongue into his mouth. As they kissed his hips took over and he began to ease his cock in and out of her hot vagina. Breaking the kiss, she cupped his cheeks with her open hands and whispered, "I love you!" with every thudding stroke, her eyes rolling in delight. Then pulling him close she groaned into his ear, "Fuck me like you own me... I won't break..."

He began slamming into her, their groins slapping, their hearts racing... Don pushed himself up on his hands a little and watched his dearest love in the starting convulsions of another mind-bending orgasm. Her nipples were now being tickled as they rubbed against his chest with each shuddering thrust of his cock. "You fucker," she gasped over and over, "You fucker... Don't ever stop," she pleaded. He began fucking her so hard that her delightful little breasts wobbled with each pounding stroke, "Cum with me," she began to plead, then "Cum in me!" with each slap of their groins.

Don felt his orgasm starting to build. He started to fuck her even harder, his pounding thrusts threatening to drive her deep into the mattress. Now her legs went slack and were wide open in invitation, her hands went to his nipples, and she began to pinch his nipples trying to make him cum with her. And then she lost control. Her hands slammed down to the mattress and she clawed the sheets. Her hips slammed up to meet his pounding thrusts. Her head arched back, and she groaned through clenched teeth "Fuck MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

He was a madman, pounding into her... faster... harder... deeper when suddenly with a roar he was coming inside of her, his cock pulsing, his sperm jetting into her squirt after squirt. His roar caused her own orgasm to ignite, her pussy squeezing at his cock with the same rhythm that his cock shuddered inside of her. Their arms wrapped around each other as they held on for dear life, their lips sought each other's, and their tongues entwined. This mind-blowing roller coaster shook them to their very souls.

Eventually their shuddering stopped, and they snuggled together, their limbs wrapped around each other, their heartbeats starting to ease from the racing rate they recently had. They snuggled together whispering endearments until Lanh drifted off into a deeply contented sleep.

Not long later Don stepped up to the French doors as he adjusted his tie and buttoned his tuxedo jacket. The girls put on a great show of impatience as he unlocked the doors and let them into "Lanh's House" so Tam, Kim-ly, and Rosa could change into their pink áo dai's. "What the hell have you been doing in here?" demanded Sydney "We've been waiting out there forever!"

Rosa sniffed the air and grinned. "Take a guess, Sherlock Holms."

Kim-ly went into the bedroom to find a barely conscious and utterly sated Lanh who was sprawled on the bed and covered by a quilt, her face painted with an utterly satisfied smile. All could hear Kim-ly cry "Oh my god, what did you do to her?!?" followed by her plaintive "I want some too..."

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

It was the period of time between the reception and the wedding dance when the wedding party rested, and the crowds changed. Rosa and Sydney had made sure that all of their talkative friends knew about the wedding dance, so everyone would know. There were even handmade posters put up in areas where the local teens would see them, and of course there was the High School Girls WOMnet (Word Of Mouth Network) which predated today's social networking but was just as effective. Cars pulled in and out of the parking area (the east pasture) as folks who only stayed for the wedding and reception left, and folks arriving for the dance pulled in.

The wedding dance was held in the hayloft, which would make it warmer as the night cooled off. Officer Eddy Talbert arrived in his patrol car and drove up the ramp and into the hayloft where he parked, then he and a couple of guys from the swim team unloaded the beer kegs from the back of the car. Officer Eddy, an old high school buddy of Ralph's, volunteered to be the "Beer Tender" and would be checking IDs as he sold the beer. Yes, sold. At these wedding dances, quite a few events happened to raise money for the young couple, and half a buck for a beer was a popular way to do it.

The sun started to set as Don stood on the porch with his dad and Duong shaking hands and thanking guests as they left. Just as Grandpa Ode and Grandma Hilde mounted the stairs, Mai and Lanh emerged from the house after the girls "put Lanh back together." Lanh was dressed in Tam's bright red and gold wedding áo dài and wore a blissful (as Tam put it) "Just Fucked Stupid" smile. Kim-ly was still grousing over the fact that it took "Forever" to get Lanh's "bed head" back into a French braid for the turban that matches her áo dài.

Don and Lanh gently kissed and whispered to each other as Ralph and Duong thanked Grandpa Ode and Grandma Hilde for joining and taking part in the wedding. Grandpa Ode congratulated Don and Lanh again and said his goodbyes, then said "Donny, do you mind if I borrow your bride for a moment?"

Don was in shock, Grandpa Ode hasn't called him Donny since... that's something only Grandpa Ode and his mom called him a long time ago... "Uhh, sure. I guess..."

Lanh followed Lars out onto the front lawn where they spoke softly under the maple tree. Grandma Hilde shook hands with Duong and Ralph, then hugged Mai and icily ignored Sandy. "Typical Hilde," thought Don. He refused to get angry about it anymore, Hilde was always icy to people she didn't know. His dad told him that it was not because she was arrogant but because she's shy, and Don believed it, he knows how being shy can twist up your guts when you're in a room full of strange people.

"We are very proud of you Donovan," she always called him Donovan, she never had a pet nickname for him like she had for her other grandchildren, of which there were plenty. Lars and Hilde Odegaard had seven children, his mom Emily being the youngest. I suppose being one of the youngest of over 20 grandchildren, you grow tired of inventing nicknames, thought Don. "Your grandfather had a love before me," continued Hilde.

Wait... what?

"He met a girl when he was over there," she never said Vietnam, it was always 'over there.' Hilde continued, "he wanted to marry her, and her father said no, and he still hurts." Then in a soft yet scolding tone of voice, "Never pass up an opportunity to thank Duong for saying yes."

"I didn't ask..." Hilde interrupted Don with a raised finger.

"That doesn't matter, if Mr. Nguyen had it in his mind to say no, you never would have gotten the opportunity to ask. When you have a daughter, and I see several in your future, you will understand." And she turned and left. Don followed her down the stairs to where Grandpa Ode gave Lanh a hug and a kiss on each cheek. He turned to Don and hugged him! Grumpy Ode doesn't hug anyone!

"You be sure to help her with that gift," was all he said before he and Hilde got in their car and headed home.

Don asked Lanh about the gift Grandpa Ode mentioned as they were hustled over to the barn, it was time to start the wedding dance.

"I don't know, he said it was nice and clean, easy to keep warm and we just had to keep it in good shape, he'd take care of the rest." She shrugged and opened her hand and Don recognized what the gift was immediately when he saw it. She held a couple of keys on a key ring, the key ring also featured an old fishing lure with the hooks removed. The silver spoon lure stared at him with its red faux jewel eyes reminding him of happy, glorious days from his youth when life was easy, and cancer was an unheard-of monster far into his beautiful mom's future. It was the key to Grandpa Ode's cabin on Lost Long Lake.

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* Songwriters: Don Schlitz / Paul L Overstreet

Forever and Ever, Amen lyrics © Universal Music Corp., Scarlet Moon Music Inc

** Songwriters: Elton John / Bernie Taupin / Carole Bayer Sager / David W. Foster

Your Song

*** Songwriters: Wayland Holyfield / Bob House

Could I Have This Dance lyrics © Sony/atv Tree Publishing

**** Songwriters: Paul Nelson / Larry Boone / Woody Lee

I See It Now lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc