“You may ask whatever you like! No, your journey will not be long. We are in a place called Richmond. It is close to the American border. You will be in your new home in less than two hours.”
“In two hours!” Hang felt the adrenalin pump through her veins.
“I must apologize that you will have to ride in the trunk of my car. It will be uncomfortable, but I have put several pillows and a blanket in there to try and make it more comfortable. There is also some bottled water.”
“Thank you, Mister Dúc.”
“I have a rear seat that folds down and for a little while, we will leave it down so you can talk if you wish. Once we get close to the border you will have to pull the seat closed and be very quiet as I clear U.S. Customs. Leave it closed until I tell you that it is okay.”
“They will not search your trunk?” Hang asked.
Dúc smiled and said, “Some money will be passed. It is arranged, but it is still better if you are quiet.”
Dúc turned to Giang and said, “Be at the Orient Pleasure tonight at closing time. Bring the guys. I will be at a party and may be late. No matter if I am there or not. Start the ...” Dúc glanced at Hang before continuing, “the training without me.”
Hang could not help but notice the harsh tone of Dúc’s voice when he spoke with Giang, who nodded obediently while staring down at his own feet.
Mister Dúc may look like a spider monkey—but he is powerful!
Dúc opened up the trunk to his car and gestured for Hang to get in. She climbed in and made herself comfortable on some pillows. Dúc opened up half of the rear seat and from her position, Hang could see out the car windows at an angle looking up.
“When we get close to the U.S. border, I will tell you and you can just pull on that strap and the seat will close,” said Dúc.
Hang nodded, feeling her body tremble as the final leg of her journey began.
Street lights and overhead signs passed by quickly as they drove. Hang saw that they were on a highway marked 99.
“Up ahead, Hang!” yelled Dúc. “Look! See it?”
Hang strained her head up to see what Dúc was pointing at. Canada–U.S. Border! This is it! “I see it! I see it!” she said.
“Pull the seat closed! Quickly!” yelled Dúc.
Hang yanked hard on the strap and the seat closed tightly into position. She was now in complete darkness. She worried that the pounding of her heart could be heard. When she heard the blast of music as the radio was turned up she breathed easier. Mister Dúc knows what he is doing ...
Dúc smiled as he turned off at the 8th Avenue exit, just prior to the U.S. border. He made a couple of more turns and slowed down as he inched his way along in a lineup of cars.
Hang could hear little due to the loud music, but she felt the motion of the car as it would slowly pull ahead, stop, pull ahead some more. Her feet touched the plastic bag containing her clothes and it made a rustling sound. She froze, holding her breath, but the car inched forward again.
Dúc picked up his coffee at the drive-through window and continued on.
Hang breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the car pick up speed. Dúc turned the radio down and yelled back to her, “Don’t open the seat. We’re through, but there are lots of big trucks beside me. I don’t want anyone to look down and see you. Should only be about another twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes later, Hang felt the car stop and heard the sound of a garage door. Dúc pulled into the garage and she heard the garage door close. The trunk was opened.
Hang saw a large man standing next to Dúc. He was about the same age as her own father, but he was wearing sweat pants and a white T-shirt. Hang had never seen a man with arms bulging with such big muscles.
“Hang,” said Dúc, “I’d like you to meet ...”
“Pops,” the big man beside Dúc said. “Just call me Pops.” He smiled and said, “Here, let me help you out of there. I bet you’re really uncomfortable.”
Before Hang could answer, he bent over and lifted her out of the trunk and gently set her down beside him. “Welcome to the States,” he said. “Come, I’ll show you your new home,” he said, opening a door that led into the house. “You must be tired ... and hungry too, I bet!”
Hang felt dumbstruck as she was shown around the house. Dúc trailed along behind and seldom spoke. To Hang, the house was huge. There was a large kitchen and a sitting room with a fireplace.
“How many other families live here?” asked Hang.
Pops chuckled and said, “Just us. No other families.”
Hang shook her head in amazement, and asked, “Where is Mrs. Pops? Is she here? I have something to give her.”
“She is not home right now. Her mother is sick and she had to go away for a couple of days.”
“I am sorry,” said Hang, hoping her question did not cause discomfort.
“That is okay. Come, let me show you the rest of the house. For now, we have to keep the drapes and blinds shut. Nobody must know you are here until we receive the proper documentation.”
Pops shoved open a door and said, “This is my bedroom.”
Hang looked inside and saw that on the opposite side of the bedroom was the bathroom. To get to the bathroom you have to walk through Mister Pops’s bedroom! Poor to build a house in such a manner.
Hang was led farther down the hall and Pops opened the door to another room.
“This is your bedroom,” said Pops, placing Hang’s bag of clothes on the floor. “You can hang your jacket in the closet.”
Hang gazed around the room in awe. It was huge. Her eyes wandered from a big stuffed teddy bear lying on the bed to something that startled her.
“Mister Pops! There is a television in my room! Do we watch it in here?”
Pops laughed and said, “No, that is just for you.”
“For me!” Hang exclaimed, putting her hand over her mouth.
“You can watch it in here if you want to be alone. I’ll show you another television that you can watch if you do not wish to be alone. It is much bigger, but first, I want to finish showing you around up here.”
Hang opened the closet door and saw that the closet had more space than the area that both she and Linh had when they slept at home.
Pops opened another door beside her bedroom. “This is your bathroom,” he said. “If there is anything you are missing or anything you need, please just ask me.”
“Mister Pops, this is ... for me, too?”
He grinned and said, “Mister? No, no, no. Just call me Pops. Yes, this bathroom is for you until your sister comes. Then you’ll have to share the bathroom with her. Of course,” he said, opening the door to another bedroom, “she’ll have own her room.”
“I’ll go now,” interrupted Dúc. He handed Pops a cellphone and said, “For later.”
Pops had Hang wait in the kitchen while he went to the garage with Dúc. As soon as Dúc was gone, Pops returned and said, “Come, follow me. I’ll show you a real TV set.”
Hang was in a daze as Pops led her to the basement, where they entered a large room with wooden panelling on the walls and thick wall-to-wall carpet. There was a leather sofa, two upholstered chairs, and a coffee table in the room.
“Help yourself whenever you want,” said Pops, gesturing to a bowl full of candy on the table.
Hang gawked at the wall opposite the sofa. Hanging on the wall was the largest television set she had ever seen.
“And this room over here is just another bathroom,” said Pops, gesturing to another door. “The room beside it just has my weights for working out.”
Hang started to cry. She tried to stop, but she couldn’t help herself.
“What is wrong?” asked Pops.
Hang flung her arms around him and said, “Nothing. It is so much just for me. My tears are happy tears.”
Pops hugged her back and said, “Why don’t you go back upstairs and freshen up? Take a hot bath or a shower. There are clean towels in the bathroom for you. It is also lunchtime. While you’re doing that, I’ll order some pizza.”