Page 55 of Crash
“I…I loved her…very much.”
Quynh’s lips parted.
“I’m s-so sorry. I tried t-to find you. After…”
She knew what he meant by after. Her mother packed their bags and left in the middle of the night after the incident at the park.
After a moment, he huffed out a breath of frustration. This was the most words he’d spoken to her since she started visiting him.
“I love you, Quynh.”
The words were clear. Not punctuated with gasping breaths.
Quynh didn’t know what to do. A part of her had been waiting to hear those words for so long, but her chest tightened as tears pooled in her eyes. A high-pitched noise filled her ears as she thought of all the pain and suffering she and her mother went through in the years following the incident.
The right thing to do was to probably forgive him. She knew he wanted her forgiveness before he met his maker.
Am I ready to forgive him for everything?
“Oh, um, I should get going.” She plopped the coffee mug on the table a little harder than intended. Quynh winced as some coffee spilled over the edge. “Shit.”
She used the napkins to clean up the mess she had made before bowing her head and making a hasty retreat.
“I’ll…uh…I’ll see you soon.”
Typically, Griffin would drop her off and come gether after about an hour. Today’s visit was shorter, so she didn’t expect Griffin to show up for at least another few minutes.
She hid in the sitting room. That’s where Cindy found her pacing the floors.
“Are you okay, dear?”
Quynh jumped at the sound of Cindy’s voice. She hadn’t heard her approach.
“I’m fine.” Quynh shook out her hands.
What’s happening to me?
“Is it alright if I sit with you for a moment?” Cindy didn’t wait for an answer before she sat down gracefully on the loveseat.
Quynh stopped her pacing and sat down across from Cindy. It was an awkward silence as they both took each other in.
“I don’t mean to overstep, but…you see, I’ve been with Arthur for most of his life.” Quynh stopped breathing as she watched Cindy. She must be having some internal struggle as her lips twisted in a thoughtful pout.
“You see…you and I…we’ve met before…before this,” Cindy gestured vaguely at Quynh. “You were probably too young to remember me. That’s okay, dear, but I used to take care of you when you were a baby.”
Quynh’s stomach bottomed out.
“Your mother and father met when he was in town doing business. Love at first sight, I imagine. Theywere both young, but times were different back then. Your mother being…well…you know…of a different ethnic background…it just wasn’t allowed.”
Quynh knew what Cindy meant. Interracial marriages were illegal until 1967. Her mother and aunt were both Vietnamese refugees who came to America looking for work. The sisters had to leave their parents behind, though they always sent money back home to their family. Quynh never got to meet her grandparents. They died when she was young.
From what she recalled from her mother’s stories, the sisters were together for the first year but eventually separated to pursue different job opportunities. Her mother went east, while her aunt went west. They remained apart for nearly a decade before Quynh and her mother showed up on her aunt’s front step.
“Your parents tried to keep it a secret, but your mother became pregnant. She had to work long hours, so she would leave you with me when you were a babe. Eventually, she could take you to work with her.” Cindy continued. “Your grandparents were furious when they found out, naturally. They tried to keep it a secret. They gave your father an ultimatum. Either he joined the family business, or they’d make your mother disappear. Now, I don’t pretend to know what that meant, but it scared your father an awful lot. He joined the family business, and his father made it a mission to keep him awayfrom your mother as much as possible. That meant he was frequently sent away on business trips.”
Quynh listened with her heart in her throat. This was all so much to take in. She grew up most of her life thinking her father never wanted her in his life. To find out maybe he didn’t have a choice was…devastating. It threatened to fracture everything she believed to be true about her world.
“That summer…before you and your mother…disappeared…your grandfather had forced your father into an arranged marriage. A business merger, really. Sara was a widow with a little girl, Ruth. The marriage was important for the family business.”
