We're a Wonderful Wife - Mrs. Sergeant Campbell - Book 2 of 4

by Duleigh

©Copyright 2024 Duleigh

The award-winning story of Don Campbell and Lanh Nguyen continues as Don and Lanh marry and celebrate their love with friends and family, then it's off to tour the world with the United States Air Force. Don is first sent to Germany, where Lanh panics over the loss of friends and family, but their love carries them through, and they head home with joyful news. Their angels continue to follow them.

Chapter 1

Jake Johnson made his way down the hallway of Washington County College in blustery St. Paul, Minnesota. The only sound was the tapping of his cane. If you're a friend, you call him JJ or Jake, if you're a reader of his books, you call him J. E. Johnson, and if you're sitting in his classroom, you call him professor or Doctor Johnson.

Jake is an associate professor of literature at a small college in Minnesota, and he loves his job. The staff is good to him, his department chair gives him the academic freedom to tackle projects far outside the scope of his academic purview, he has a bevy of teaching assistants, and his apartment is a short walk from campus. On the downside, he is in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his apartment is too far for him to safely walk when the weather is bad, which is over half the year.

Outside, the snow was piling up in drifts and wind chills of minus fifteen degrees make walking home impossible for Jake. The conditions even make standing at the bus stop a suicidal undertaking for him. But now he says a prayer of thanks every day for having a ride home and not having to wait at the bus stop. He has a wonderful woman who loves him and insists on driving him home every evening… mostly to her house.

He walked past the old 1960s style metal water fountain, tapping on it gently with his cane to reassure himself that the sheet metal sides of the fountain were still intact, then he entered the second doorway past the fountain. Inside the office, Dr. Tam Nguyen was finishing up reviewing a stack of papers when she heard the tap, tap, tap on the drinking fountain outside, and sure enough, the door of her office soon opened. She turned and saw Jake standing inside the door. He stands five foot eight, five inches taller than her, his hair is as black as hers, a neatly trimmed beard (she trims it), aviator sunglasses, and is carrying a foldable white cane with a red tip. "Hey baby," she said, turning back to her work. "You're early."

"I know, my freshmen finished up their quiz in record time, I even have the grades complete." Jake tapped around until he found the second chair in her tiny office and sat down. "Any reason why it's so hot in here?"

"Don't know," she said. "Maintenance can't get to it until tonight." The office being so damn hot gave Tam the opportunity to mess with Jake a little. "That's why I'm working in the nude."

"You're nude." His statement was one of astonishment rather than a question. Tam was a passionate lover, but incredibly modest. He would be shocked if she had taken her shoes off, let alone anything else.

"Yeah, I go nude all the time," she said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. In truth, since moving out of her parent's home, the only time she's been nude outside of her, or Jake's apartments, were the times she has gone skinny dipping with her sisters in the lake on Don Campbell's farm. She looked at Jake and thought, how can a blind man look so astonished? He's never seen a stereotypical look of astonishment… it must be a universal thing. Just for good measure, she added, "Hey! My eyes are up here!"

"I have no answer for that… why did you even say that?"

"That's what we women say when men are staring at our tits," Tam said.

"I can assure you; I have never stared at any tit in my entire life."

"Maybe so, but you WANT to stare at them."

Jake just shook his head and smiled. He knew the shape and texture of Tam's breasts; he adored the topology of every inch of them. He knew a dozen ways to make her nipples hard to the touch, and he knew how to make her whimper in desire just by licking her nipples. He's even made her cum by stimulating her breasts. They were a creation he would love to see. "Put one in my mouth so I know where it is, then I will stare at it for you."

"Men always want to stare at our tits, it's a universal trait."

"Is that because western society has sexualized women's breasts?" Jake asked his girlfriend, the Doctor of Psychology.

"I would agree except for the fact that women's breasts are sexualized in eastern society too. Count yourself blessed that you can't see Japanese hentai anime."

"So why do you think men want to stare at your breasts?" As he asked that, Jake rose and took off his jacket. It really was hot in that tiny office.

"All three of my brothers have a theory."

"Which is?" He unbuttoned his shirt.

"They say it's because tits are pretty," she said as she went back to work. "I should be just a few moments with these papers."

"Your brothers are wise men. Tits feel gorgeous."

"Wise guys is more like it." Tam found it hard to concentrate on correcting these papers with Jake nearby. Maybe her mom was right when she said that Jake was her first adult crush. She had given up on men at fifteen years old when she was an incredibly young sophomore in college and her lab partner raped her. He was a nice guy that she thought was her protector with a cool car, but she found herself sprawled across the hood of a 1967 Camaro with his cock in her pussy. Tam shook her head. That was over 10 years ago and yes, it still bothers her. She still wakes up shaking in terror, hearing that asshole's words in her ears, "I can't help it, you're so beautiful!" Ten years later she's still dealing with it and Jake is an immense help.

Like all but one of her siblings, Tam blasted through elementary, middle and high school graduating high school at fourteen and matriculating immediately in Iron Range University, her younger brother Huy followed two years later at fourteen himself, then brother Trung graduating at fifteen, then the twins Bao and Kim-ly at sixteen. Their only sibling to spend the entire four years in High School is their baby sister Lanh, who graduates at eighteen in June. She was held back a year due to medical problems, and now she plans to marry her sweetheart immediately after graduating.

Despite the mental distractions, Tam was able to complete her task. One of her primary skills is the ability to stick to a task, no matter what the distraction, and Jake was up to something. She could hear him moving behind her. She tapped the papers into a neat pile, plopped them down on the desk and slapped her pocketbook on the stack of papers, just to seal the deal, so to speak.

"Ahem!" Jake cleared his throat just behind her. What is he up to? She turned her head and was poked in her cheek by something. She had just enough time to realize that the thing that bumped her when she turned her head was his erect cock, when suddenly he put something over her eyes, blocking her vision and plunging her into darkness.

"Wha…? I've got work to do!" she sputtered. She reached up to feel what it was and found he had put a sleep mask over her eyes.

"You're done with your work," he growled. He held the sleep mask in place, preventing her from pulling it off.

"How…?"

"When you finish your work, no matter what it is, you slap the stack of papers down on the desk and pat something down on top of it, I've heard it scores of times." His voice was gruff and firm. It gave her a scary feeling in her stomach, and a tingle in places that enjoyed tingling.

"Don't hurt me Doctor Johnson," she gasped, but her cry let him know she was in on the game as well. The only time they address each other as doctor is when they are teasing and taunting each other.

"You owe me Doctor Nguyen," growled Jake. "You assured me that you were naked, imagine my disappointment to discover that you were fully clothed!"

Tam almost burst out laughing. His statement sounds like something out of those kinky animes that her brothers love to watch. But wait a minute. He hasn't touched her anywhere except her head to put on the mask. How did he know? "How did you know I was dressed?"

"I could hear the fabric of your blouse rustling as you were typing. You owe me."

"I wasn't… you could hear that?" Tam was wearing a silk blouse. Silk doesn't rustle, does it? "Busted," she admitted, attempting to sound sad.

"Pay up," he demanded.

She paused for a few moments, then said, "What's my fine officer?"

"Let's get them clothes off."

"But…!" Tam is notoriously modest and stripping nude here in her office is unheard of!

"The door is locked, the blinds are pulled, and…" Tam heard a familiar click, "The lights are turned off. So, let's get with it lady."

The sleep mask he put on her wasn't perfect. She could see light where the mask didn't seal well around her nose, and she lost that when he turned off the lights. Now trapped in a world of total black in a closet sized office with a man who is at home in this environment, she felt a little fear. She has felt genuine fear before, which is why she now has a black belt in Vovinam, the Vietnamese martial art, and a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, so she will never be taken advantage of again. But she's not afraid of that. The man she's locked in the room with is her lover, the man she wants to marry, a man with a wicked sense of humor and the most wicked imagination. She doesn't know where his ideas come from, and now she's been blindsided by the blind guy.

In trying to level the playing field, he's actually put himself in the superior position. He lives in this environment and has lived here since birth. It only took moments for Tam to realize how much she depends on visual cues to survive, without those cues she's a fish out of water and ripe to be taken advantage of, and she can't wait to find out what he's got on his mind… besides her pussy.

"What do you want?" she said softly.

"I want you naked, NOW." He said 'now' a lot more loudly than Tam was comfortable with. She was used to him speaking either too loudly or too quietly because he has no way of knowing how far away she is, but he knows exactly how small this office is. He said it loud enough to show he wants her nude NOW.

"Yes… sir." She doesn't call anyone sir, except her father, and Jake knows that.

"And stack those clothes neatly, you'll be wearing that mask until we get outside," he growled.

Now she was shivering, both in fear and excitement. She'll be walking down the halls of this school wearing a sleep mask trying to find her way to the exit depending on him to lead her out. This is both terrifying and exhilarating and she found she liked this game. "I am undressed sir," she finally announced.

"Let me see," he ran his fingers over every inch of her body, carefully inspecting for any sign of unauthorized clothing while she stood at attention. Because she couldn't see, his hands felt more exciting than normal; she had little to no clue where his fingers would go next. He searched carefully, her nipples, her pussy, her ass, even between her toes. "Good," he finally exclaimed. "Now bend over, hands on knees."

"What…?"

"Is that how you answer me?" he thundered.

This was getting good, she thought. How many times has she tried to get some macho out of her man? Being blind makes him dependent on others, and this makes a person brusk in requesting help, so macho was part of his demeanor, but he was always polite toward her. This was truly exciting! "Yes sir," she said as she bent over.

Soon he was crouched behind her, his hands running over her muscular butt cheeks, honed by many angry hours of martial arts to marble like hardness. Now she felt his lips as he kissed her ass cheeks over and over, slowly tracing closer to her tiny, tight pucker. She whimpered in a combination of worry and excitement; they had discussed anal sex, but both had left the subject hanging. Would she give in? Here in her office? Maintenance could walk in for their evening cleaning and trash collection while Jake had his cock stuffed up her ass… the thought terrified her. It also excited her to no end. Her nipples crinkled hard with the illicit thought.

"Spread your legs," he ordered between kisses, but he did so quietly.

"What?" she asked quietly.

SMACK! His hand cracked down on her ass like a bolt of lightning. "Is that how you answer my demand?" he shouted.

That really stung! "No sir… I'm sorry sir," she gasped, the sudden pain was so perfect! But what if someone in the hallway heard?

SMACK! Another hard spank that brought tears to her eyes and moisture to her pussy. "Don't make me do this again," he warned in the most macho growl she has ever heard from the previously polite lit professor. The pain shot through her like a hot knife through butter, leaving a tingling trail of carnal excitement wherever it traveled.

She spread her feet wider than she felt she could adequately balance. Jake's fingers gently traveled up her inner thighs, such tender touches as he "read" her tender flesh made jolts of sensual delight rattle her mind. "Better," he growled, then suddenly he pried her butt cheeks apart and his tongue began stabbing at her virgin sphincter.

Tam began to whimper and wiggle. The sensations were surprising to her. She didn't know what to expect, and she didn't expect such pleasure from having her anus tongued, but it felt so good! The sensations were incredible, and before she knew it, she was beyond worrying about someone barging in. If someone does barge in, just take your pictures and leave. My man is slowly driving me out of my mind.

Soon a finger began stroking her tingling clit, and her eyes rolled back behind the mask. "That bastard," she muttered to herself as unmistakable waves of pleasure rocketed through her mind and body. "Is he trying to associate analingus with cunnilingus in my mind?" another spasm of pleasure surged through her body, radiating from his attention to her ass and her clit at the same time.

She felt something bump against her head. It was the edge of her desk. She found that she had leaned forward without noticing. With no visual references to guide her, she had slowly leaned forward until her head touched the desk. She now realized that she could lean against it, taking the pressure off of her hands. As Jake's tonguing of her ass increased its urgency, her breasts felt neglected. Her nipples were so hard they ached to be touched. Relying on the desk for support, she slowly reached for her hanging breast with her right hand and gently cupped it, hefting its size. It never felt this good to be touching her own breast before. Not as good as when Jake does it, but so much better that in those dark lonely nights not so long ago.

Jake's tongue slithered deep in her anus. It wriggled inside of her, bringing bizarre, snaky pleasure. At the same time, two fingers slipped deep into her cunt, reaching in and finding her g-spot. "Ahhhh!!!" Tam gasped, forgetting that there were students in the hallway just outside the door, Professor Lombardi just on the other side of the wall in the office next door. Tam would pay good money to see that wizen old prune in the same position she's in right now. The only thing that old bat has ever had up her ass is a stick.

Jake retracted his tongue and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm…" she didn't want to lie, so she said, "I'm leaning on the desk."

"Your hand, your right hand, what is it doing?"

How did he know? "I'm pinching my left nipple."

"How does it feel when you pinch your nipple?"

Might as well say it. "It feels good, not as good as when you do it, but my breasts were aching to be touched." Living with a blind man, you learn to become descriptive in your speech.

"And your clit? Does that need to be touched too?"

That bastard! Does he even know what embarrassment is? In a small voice, she whispered, "Yes, it needs to be touched."

"Then reach back and touch it."

Oh God! Does he mean it? I can't do that! Not in front of him! Not in my office! Not with people right outside! But her hand didn't have such a moral dilemma. Without a conscious effort, she reached down and began gently stroking her clit. At the same time, her mind was berating her lover for suggesting it. "Oh God!" she gasped in a tiny, strangled voice as her fingers found that rhythm that is guaranteed to make her cum. "I'm going to…"

"Yes you are," he said and drove his tongue back into her asshole. His fingers in her cunt began driving in and out in time, with her fingers circling her clit. She was overwhelmed. The intensity of the stimulation, and the utter naughtiness of getting her ass eaten out in her office were driving her to a peak that has never been equaled.

Her entire body tightened up. Behind the mask, her eyes squeezed closed as a silent explosion started in her clit and pussy shot through her body. She tried to keep silent, but little gasps and groans escaped. "You're cumming," Jake said as her pussy squeezed his fingers.

"Yyyyyyeeesss… unnnghhh God!" wave after wave of sexual relief washed over her. She used to be able to remain silent as she came, but with Jake encouraging her for the past months, it was now nearly impossible. She shuddered, fighting against the tide of explosive raunchy release. Tiny squeaks and squeals escaped. Then suddenly it hit, and she groaned loud and long. At the height of the maelstrom, the two fingers in her pussy slid into her ass, adding a shock of pain which was the equivalent of throwing a bucket of gasoline on a fire. She started pushing back at the invasion, grunting and groaning, trying to do it quietly, knowing that Professor Lombardi was listening.

She slowly came down from her explosive high, her left hand on the desk, her forehead leaning on that, her right hand still on her clit. Her trembling body was covered in a light sheen of sweat as she desperately tried to get her breath back, and behind her, Jake was standing up. What is he doing? Relief washed over her as his fingers slid out of her ass, but suddenly she felt his cock head pressing against her anus. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice shuddering.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to fuck you." His voice had that same tinge he used to shoot down clueless freshmen.

"My ass? You're going to fuck my ass?" she gasped.

"It appears that way." He sounded like he was talking to a student who has skipped class for over a month and is questioning an F. That dick! How dare he treat me like an underclassman! She shook, but was it in anger or anticipation? All she has to say is "no" and he would respect that. Their relationship was built on love and trust. He knows that anal scares her… so why is she pushing back?

As the head of his cock broached her sphincter, she realized his cock was lubricated… he's been planning this all along! She realized she was truly blindsided by the blind guy. His hands grabbed her slim hips, but he didn't pull her back. He didn't push forward; he was letting her do it all by herself.

Slowly, inch by inch, his cock entered her ass, and it was all done by her. "You bastard," she gasped as conflicting sensations coursed through her body. The stretching of her anus was uncomfortable, but her fingers still stroked her clit, rekindling the fires. "You're the one with the prostate," she groaned. "You would get more out of this than me."

"You're right. We will have to explore that," he said.

"Oh, we will," she threatened through gritted teeth as she felt his pubic hair beginning to tickle her ass cheeks.

"Where's my cock?" he said as he now took control and held her hips tight and pushed until he was firmly embedded in his lover's guts.

"I think it's in my lung," she groaned, but now thankfully she was getting used to the stretching and the sensation of her clitoral stimulation was coming to the forefront.

Jake wanted to come up with a witty comeback, but the sensation of Tam's cloying anus clutching his cock was too much. He lost any sense of reserve and began fucking. He had just enough self-control left to keep from hurting her as his cock slowly sawed in and out of her ass. He was totally unprepared for the sensation of her sphincter, a tight ring, sliding up and down his cock.

"Oh God fuck me," she gasped as her fingers became a blur on her pussy.

"So hot," he gasped, "so good…" He wasn't able to last long. The earlier sex play and now the sensation of his cock being held in the hot silken vice of her ass was too much. The slow, gentle strokes amplified the cloying grip of her sphincter. The sensation was mindboggling. Her cute little gasps and whimpers as she drove herself to another orgasm added to the thrills, and it was too much. There was no way he could hold back. "I'm going to cum," he groaned loudly, secretly hoping that Professor Lombardi was listening. "I'm going to cum in your ass!"

"Cum in me!" she squealed as, for a second time, an incredible orgasm crashed over her. She drove herself back, skewering her anus on his throbbing cock. He suddenly groaned in concert with her, and she could feel his scalding hot semen squirting into her bowels, driving her over the edge. Together, they grunted and groaned as sexual relief washed over them. "Stay in me," she whispered, trying to remain on her feet, but her legs were so weak. She wanted to feel him go soft inside of her. His deflating cock is a compliment of a sort. It's like a physical congratulation of a job well done.

They ended up on the floor, curled up in a ball of contentment and love. As their heart rates slowed to normal, they kissed and held each other gently. "What brought this on?" Tam asked.

"Oh… you've been so wound up about introducing me to your parents, I had to do something to distract you. I thought that maybe some time in my world would take your mind off of dinner tonight."

"Oh shit, dinner! Did I take the roast out? Oh damnit," her parents own a restaurant, they know good food, she can't serve them a rushed dinner.

"Don't worry about it," said Jake. "I made reservations at the Tack House."

The Tack House? That's the most popular restaurant in Minnesota! The waiting list is a month long to get into the Tack House. Even NFL players and other celebrities are turned away if they show up without reservations. "How did you do that?" Her parents announced their planned visit from their home in Grant Valley just a week ago. He couldn't have gotten reservations that quickly!

"I called the owner and told him that I'm meeting the parents of the woman I love, and I need to make a good impression."

"You did not!" But she knows that if Jake felt strongly about something, he'd call the White House, badger the switchboard operator until he got the Chief Executive on the line, then give the president an earful.

"I sure did. Called him last night."

"What did he say?"

"Uncle Sven? He said no problem."

Leave it to Jake to not mention that his uncle owns one of the most popular restaurants in St. Paul. "You dick," she laughed as she tried to get up.

"Leave your mask on until we get to the exit," he warned as she reached for her mask. How did he know? "Keep your hands and feet inside the car until the ride comes to a complete halt."

"Yes dear," she moaned, and she put her clothes back on. God, her ass hurt! Then she found out that she didn't know how difficult it was to dress when you're suddenly sightless. She completely gave up on her bra, and after getting her panties wrong three times in a row, she gave up on them too and shoved them in a desk drawer together for retrieval on Monday. When finally dressed and the papers she needed in her messenger bag (she hoped!) she reached up to kiss Jake one more time before heading out. "What are you wearing on your…" she touched around his head and face. "You're wearing a sleep mask too?"

"Yeah, let's try to get some laughs as we head out."

"You nut!" she laughed, and they kissed and headed out. She clung to his arm as they walked down the hall, leaning her cheek on his arm and holding on tight. It was scary and exciting at the same time to put her complete and total trust in a blind man to navigate her out of this building. Occasionally they would meet a colleague or student who chuckled and almost said something, but Jake shushed them and mouthed "She doesn't know."

They made quite a sight, the blind leading the blinded, his cane swinging side to side, tapping the wall as he explained to Tam how he navigated, counting the doorways and corners they came to. Two professors walking through the building, clinging to each other, his black sleep mask embossed with the word "Just" in red, hers with the word "Engaged."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 2

Craig Lewicki, one of Don's very few friends from High School and his best man, arrived in time to help set up. 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 that momma and baby were doing fine. They went in the house to find Kim-ly sitting in the kitchen, staring at the coffeepot 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 broken." 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. Don said he was fixing it and he sealed off the bunkhouse, so Lanh didn't step on a loose floorboard as he worked on the floors in there.

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 instead of raising their own. Lanh sighed sadly. She would miss the herd, but then, 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 had 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 an enormous 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 set on the farm, 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."

"Welcome Jake," said Don as he held out his hand to shake. "It's time to party, come join us."

Tam nudged Jake and whispered to him, and Jake held out his hand. "You must be the groom; I've heard so much about you."

"Well, we've heard nothing about you, but I read a book with your name on the cover," said Don. "Literary Patriots, is that your book?"

"Yes that is mine, did Tam give it to you?"

"In a way. I read it after she left it in my bedroom," which was close to true. She left it in a spare bedroom when she was on "Lanh Duty" at the farm.

"Jake," said Tam, desperately trying to re-route the conversation. "This is the bride, my kid sister Lanh."

"Ah, Lanh, I've heard a tremendous amount about you. Can I get a good look at you?"

"No, you may not," insisted Tam firmly, leaving Lanh a bit confused.

"Let's go people! Party time!" called Craig and 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 an enormous 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 wandered off in the darkness. They found a spot 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 bonfire 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 was 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 that 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 touched 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 showed 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.

The gang ate and drank as the stars came out and the fire crackled. However, it had been a long, long day, so when the beer ran out, there were no calls for more. There was so 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. Don was told long 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 Odie 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 Odie 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 Odie that his future wife was Asian, Grandpa Odie went completely silent and didn't talk to him for several weeks. When they spoke again, neither Odie 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 Odie from the front yard. There was no warmth or humor in his voice, but then that's normal for Odie.

Lanh grabbed a wrapped piece of lefse from the refrigerator and they headed out onto 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 Odie, Grandma Hilde, this is my fiancée, Lanh Nguyen."

Lanh smiled nervously and shook their hands, but they didn't speak. Grandpa Odie 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 cling wrap 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 Odie, 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 Odie smiled a little, the first smile Don could ever remember seeing from his stoic grandfather. Both Odie 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.

Odie finally broke into a genuine 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 Odie, "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 Odie, "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 Odie 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 Odie or Hilde so much as 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 were 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 the 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 was 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.

"Let's see it!" called Huy.

"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?" This caused Lanh to laugh and blush and she buried her face in Don's side, which caused the entire wedding party that was at Christmas dinner six months ago to laugh riotously. When everyone calmed down, Lanh pulled herself together and nodded to Pastor Loomis, telling him she was ready to try again. "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 laugh. "I'm sorry," apologized a furiously blushing Lanh. "I can't help it," and she burst into the giggles.

"That's ok," said Father Steinbach in a soothing voice, "it happens to almost every bride, this is why we practice until we get it right, and I'm sure Don doesn't mind. That means he gets to kiss you again until you feel comfortable." Don smiled and waggled his eyebrows at Lanh as Father Steinbach continued. "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 torchlight, 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. It was one of those kisses 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 laugh 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 50s 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, keeping the mosquitos away.

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 said something like, 'you did not hear us kiss.'"

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

Tam continued, "That night we were all together at the truck stop for French fries and coffee 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 died 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 cradled it, his signal that he wanted to give her a kiss on the cheek. They have an entire language of touches that help him "see" and helps 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, "It was Donald."

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

"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. "Right after he was born he made a funny sound. He sounded like a duck, he didn't moo, he quacked."

Craig, being raised on a farm himself, asked 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, she promised to behave, but I'm the one that screwed up and I 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 as long as she did."

Craig sighed, "But she promised, and I believed her. 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.

"Hey, you did great," said Don as he hugged Lanh. Then he said to Craig, "She's the one that instigated everything." He kissed Lanh's forehead and said, "If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have danced and we wouldn't be here."

"I don't understand," said Craig, but Don mouthed the word 'later.'

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 took Sydney's vacant seat 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," as 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 wound 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."

That was a preview of We're a Wonderful Wife - Book 2 of 4 - Mrs. Sergeant Campbell. To read the rest purchase the book.

Add «We're a Wonderful Wife - Book 2 of 4 - Mrs. Sergeant Campbell» to Cart