Read Online The Reeducation of Cherry Truong by Aimee Phan - Free Book Online

months. We need to meet her family.”
    â€œMother, I need your support, especially when I tell Father about this. We can’t wait months, we can’t even wait weeks.”
    â€œI don’t understand.” First Yen, now Sanh. What had she done to deserve this?
    â€œShe’s a good girl, Mother. You’re going to love her. She’s from a respected family. Her father was a doctor in the army. But her mother isn’t fair to her. I don’t want her living there any longer. Tuyet needs to live with us.”
    â€œTuyet,” Hoa repeated.
    She did seem like a good girl. The day after the wedding, Tuyet immediately made herself useful, demonstrating she was not beneath any household chore. She sat to tea every afternoon with Hoa, learned to cook the proper family dishes, prepared the tobacco for Hung and his visiting friends. She cared for her nephew and niece, and befriended Trinh, who was relieved to have a new sister-in-law. Even Hung had to admit that perhaps Sanh’s bold decision had turned out to be correct.
    â€œMy new family is so kind to me,” Tuyet would say, with a different, personalized smile for every family member who looked at her. “I thank the Lord that he brought me to you.”
    But now, Tuyet’s face displayed no such smile when Hoa arrived at their shanty in Zone B. She did not offer tea or a seat. Instead, she avoided Hoa’s eyes as she slipped past her mother-in-law, carrying Lum away.
    *   *   *
    â€œWe weren’t lying,” Sanh said. “We had every intention of coming to France with you. But Tuyet’s mother is sick and she needs to leave Vietnam. And we have a better chance of getting her out if we’re in America.”
    â€œYou could have told us,” Hoa said, “before all the plans were made. Then we could have tried to stay together.”
    â€œYou know Father would never go to America.”
    â€œFamilies aren’t supposed to live in different countries.”
    â€œWell, we weren’t supposed to leave Tuyet’s family behind. If they were with us now, we wouldn’t have to separate.”
    If this, if that. So many conditions conspiring to take her son away from her. How could she remind Sanh now that their loyalty was to the Truongs, and not to his wife’s family? He would think she was being selfish. But Hoa had honored this tradition, placing Hung’s parents above her own when she married. Why wouldn’t Tuyet?
    Because of Tuyet’s pregnancy, their shelter was a slight improvement over the other shanties. They had a wooden roof, four walls, and a real mattress on the floor. Sanh motioned for Hoa to sit on the mattress. Despite the solid walls, they could still hear a group of older men outside, loudly chuckling over a game of cards.
    â€œYou know you could come with us,” Sanh said.
    Hoa laughed.
    â€œYou can,” Sanh said. “It’s a new beginning for all of us. You have the choice, Mother.”
    Hoa lowered her head, curling her hand into the thick folds of the mattress. She never considered it before, such an impossible, rash option, but the mere thought of it warmed her completely, dulling her anxieties. Perhaps America was not as bad as Hung declared. He’d always been one to react in the extreme. Look how severely he turned on Sanh, practically disowning him at the dinner table. In America, she would be the head of the family, the matriarch. How could she leave Sanh and Tuyet alone to raise the children? They were too young and naïve to live in a new country by themselves. She could offer advice, take care of the children. They needed her to do these things.
    Perhaps this was the best decision. Hung could take care of the rest of the family in France. Hoa could have America.
    â€œWhat am I saying?” Sanh shook his head. “Father would murder us both. He’s already on the verge of killing me. Never mind, it was a stupid