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A Dozen Red Roses

No matter how busy, Chi-an and Tom of Angkor Borei are always the gracious hosts.  Tonight their restaurant was filled with customers.  We were lucky to squeeze ourselves into its narrow hallway so we didn’t have to stand in the street to wait for a table.  Tom was surprised to see me.  Ever since we moved away from the neighborhood I hardly frequent the restaurant.  He gave me a big hug and went about with his take-out delivery.

There were times in the past when the restaurant was not so busy.  After they serve us lunch, Chi-an and Tom would come over and chat with us.  We learned that theirs was a second marriage for Chi-an.  When she met Tom she already had two children.

“Tom takes care of my children as if they were his own,” Chi-an told us.  “Every time I come back from Cambodia he comes to the airport with a dozen red roses.”

“Is that why you married him?” asked Dore.

You can tell when a woman is truly loved by her blushing smile, gleaming eyes, and her seemingly inexhaustible energy. And the man she loves has springy steps, a hearty laugh and generous disposition.

Photo from The Chronicle.

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At The Dinner Table

Conversations around the dining table reveal personalities. The cautious, the skilled, the frank, the bored, the easy to please and the hard to please. It is a tug of dynamics engaged in the most civilized way, with food and drinks and everyone sitting down. Most people try to get through dinner without causing too much of a stir and conversation usually falls on the mundane side. But why should we spar? Why get into agitating topics like politics and judgements on the most recent catastrophic relationship? To maintain an outward peace means we’ll never get to know each other.

But my family does not have to be my community. I think they represent the greater world, a sampling of characters with different views that will never understand each other. We come together by the bond of marriage and blood, and like the greater world, learn to coexist side by side.

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