Chapter 10 - AND THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

We had a nice big house, but with thirteen more occupants, I had to do a little rearranging, be a little creative. I had plenty of help, just as long as we could manage to understand each other. We had a very large space downstairs; the room was as large as the living room, dining room, and kitchen above, and it had its own bathroom. We had to go through the garage to enter or use the outside door to the laundry room so that space had its own entrance.

The first week they all stayed there, the church had put the first four mattresses there, so as the numbers from Loretta grew, they continued to sit all the mattresses there. A large space, with wall-to-wall mattresses. But I realized that Hung was extremely ill, and he and his wife Kan, had no privacy. They didn't seem to care, but his coughing was constant and the care he needed, often at night, woke all the others. So we cleared our extra room and brought their mattress there. I felt a young couple like this needs a space to be private.

Well at least until Jeanne Marie came over to "visit." " What are they doin'?" " Why are they carrying around that mattress like that?"

"They are gonna knock your pictures right off that wall!"

" Well, Jeanne Marie," I explained, " Kan and Hung are newlyweds, and he is so sick..." Up the steps, she marched.

" So you thought dumping them on the floor on a mattress would help? " There's nothin' in this room, Trish, nothing!" I wanted to scream I'm not the Hilton but bit my tongue. She came back down and ordered Bobby and Seng to follow her! I shrugged at them when they looked at me questioningly and nodded yes. They came back a while later, carrying a four-poster bed, then a box spring, and mattress, a set of bedside tables, and a lamp. Jeanne Marie came back tugging a large bag of linens, which she shoved towards the surprised Kan, and said " Why haven't you offered me some iced tea? Trish? " She sent them back for a comfy chair and some curtains.

" And has Fred been back yet? " She dove right in. " I can't wait to see his face! " she took pleasure in my worried look and enjoyed it until she left.

Just a few hours later Fred walked in the door. I heard his car pull up, so I met him at the door and Tess and Annabelle ran to meet him too. The girls were yelling, " Hello Daddy, we have Cambodians!" and yelling to the family, “ Come see our Daddy!” I was glad the girls were so enthusiastic….. Tess grabbed his hand and started to drag him into the living room, Annabelle took my hand, and we followed. We left his bags in the hall and went into the room, where Kan and Mary were working in their English notebooks, with Moi, and Soi.

Tess did the introductions, and the girls got to practice their English. Jenny ran in and slid in next to her sisters. Fred said hello, and looked at me. "Five?", he said. I smiled, just then Hung came out of the bathroom after his shower and came down to sit by Kan, and Li came in from the garden carrying some vegetables. Tess continued the introductions, they were all able now to say hello. They all spoke their English hello and then did the lovely Cambodian greeting, hands at the chest in a prayer position, and a graceful head bow. Seng and Bobby came running up from the room below to get a snack and were curious to see my husband.

By now my husband's face had changed, his eyes had widened his brows were knitted tightly together, and he looked at me incredulously. Annie, followed by the younger teens carrying cups, came in with tea. " Have I counted correctly? Are there 12 people here, and how many of them belong here? How many did you end up taking into our home?" Tek waved as he sailed by the front window on the mower. “ Thirteen!” my husband gasped. Fred stood up, put his teacup down, and said, " I would like to speak to you in our bedroom, assuming we still have one?"

We went up together, he slammed the door shut behind us. He raised his voice, just slightly, but for Fred that was amazing. He never really raised his voice, we never fought, and we had discussions. He prized logic and disliked emotional displays. He was half angry and fighting to control it, he looked at me, shaking his head, " Are you serious? Thirteen Refugees? Sometimes, I give up, I just give up." he threw his jacket on the bed and loosened his tie.

"They'll be gone before you know it! You had agreed to a family, you agreed we shouldn't break up a family. Cambodian families are typically larger than ours. it's really been amazing. Really the experience, it's just such a beautiful though overwhelming experience."

" I agreed to a small family, perhaps three or four, And felt pushed into that. Thirteen?"

" Yes, but, well we couldn't say no, they might have died! "

" You can't save the world. You can't take in everyone in a sad situation. But this will be your problem, I will only be here for a week, then I will go back to Houston, they asked me to come back. So I will be working long hours here to catch the local office up, then I go right back." he grunted. "I will have very little time to help you, but I warned you when you started all this. In the meantime, I will do my best to make the best of this. I had thought to spend some time with you and the girls this weekend. I can see alone time will be difficult. “No explosion, he never exploded, there might have been some anger or at least annoyance, but well below the surface. He then tried awkwardly to pull me closer, to kiss, but I pulled away, saying I needed to get back to Annabelle and the children.

Fred got back to his work, long hours, leaving very early and arriving around seven or later in the evening. He enjoyed the cooking that Li and Tek did since they had taken over my kitchen and had meals waiting for his arrival in the evening. Mary, Kan, and Li also assumed all the household chores and cleaning. After a few initial mishaps, for example, pledge furniture polish sprayed on the windows, and bleach on good wooden tables, they soon got the hang of it.

The men all gardened and did fixing jobs. They all liked to keep busy. Fred was happy with the help in our vegetable garden, spending time tying up the tomatoes with Tek, and weeding with Li. She didn't understand a word that he said, but was a sweet lady, she would just smile and nod at everything he said. Our marriage was in such bad shape, the Cambodians visiting kind of took our attention off the shambles for a time. The stress between us actually seemed less, at least for a short interval. The two weeks whizzed by, and it was time for him to leave again for Texas. By this time he seemed more at ease with our many house guests. He would be gone for at least another month or so, he had no precise date. We all waved him off, as he pulled out of the driveway. Without discussing it much, we knew this time apart was giving us some much-needed space, taking the pressure off our marriage situation. I couldn’t yet bring myself to tell him, but I knew it was over.

And the adventure continued.