ladiesbingo prompt: winter
Summary: Mai receives an unexpected visitor early on Christmas morning.
A/N: We never learn Mr. Huynh's name in canon (and it's also misspelled deliberately as Hyunh). I gave him the given name Duy for this fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine, just this story.
THE STRANGER
Mai Huynh-Le had no real memory of her birth father.
When she was a little older her adoptive parents told her about South Vietnam at the height of the war, when she was born; how bad it was, and how the American helicopters came to evacuate people a couple of years later. The Le family made it onto the last helicopter. There was only room for one more person and Huynh Duy handed his only daughter up to the soldier so she could go somewhere safe. The soldier shouted out the name of the town where they were going and when the helicopter door was shut Thi and Quang took Mai from him. They would care for her along with their own daughter Anh until their neighbor and friend Huynh Duy could come to America.
The years passed and he never came. They wrote to him in Vietnam but he didn't respond to any of their letters. Homes had been destroyed and he likely went somewhere else to live and work. Perhaps the mail never got through to him.
Mai loved her parents and older sister. They spoke the language of her native country with her and told her all about the place she'd been born and what a good man her birth father was. When she was old enough to start attending school they officially adopted her and she was registered with her name order Americanized – given name then family name – and their surname added.
But she never stopped wondering or longing for the day when she might finally meet her birth father, for the chance to get to know him.
Now this strange little girl with blonde pig-tails stood at her door early on Christmas morning with the news that she knew where her father was and a certain football-headed boy wanted to reunite them for Christmas. Helga was her name, and she told a story about a Secret Santa, a boy with a good heart but no sense of reality, a man named Mr. Bailey at the Hall of Records and Nancy Spumoni boots. Mai looked at the girl's feet and saw that she was standing in the cold snow in only her socks. She'd given Mr. Bailey her boots; in exchange they'd been working together all night to find her. The Hall of Records was behind the times getting everything stored electronically, so they'd been hunting through both computer and paper files. A clerical decision to store her records under Le instead of Huynh further delayed things.
Helga held out a piece of paper with 'Sunset Arms Boarding House' and an address written on it. "I can take you there now."
"Come inside first, Helga," Mai said, holding the door open and standing aside to let her in. "I have an extra pair of boots you can wear."
#
"Thank you for the boots," Helga said as they left Mai's house and headed for the Sunset Arms.
Helga had big feet for a nine-year-old and the boots just about fit. She was going to be tall when she grew up.
"You shouldn't have to walk around Hillwood in just your socks. Thank you for working all night so I can see my father again."
"How old were you when you last saw him?"
"Very young. I think I was only two or three."
"Do you remember him?"
"Not really. My family told me about him. They were evacuated in the same helicopter and they took care of me. I feel like I know him a little from their stories and I have images of him in my head that I think may be memories. I always wanted the chance to meet him again."
Mai left unspoken that she was both excited to see her father again and a little nervous now that the moment was here. She was so little when she last saw him. Everything had happened suddenly, she'd barely had time to realize it all. She wished she had a little more time to let it sink in.
Thi and Quang Le wanted to see him again too; he'd been a good friend and neighbor. The whole family had woken up to Helga's early morning call and they had all gathered around the kitchen table to talk about it among themselves (in a mix of Vietnamese and English) and ask Helga questions (in English). After an hour of discussion, and several cups of hot chocolate for Helga, they decided that Mai should have a chance to meet her father alone first.
The streets were empty of cars and pedestrians this early on a Christmas morning, the only sound the crunching snow under their footsteps. Helga broke the silence.
"It was really Arnold who came up with the idea."
"But you made it possible. Does he know?"
Helga shook her head. "I don't want him to."
"Does he know you like him?"
"No!" Her voice shot up in pitch and volume on the word. "I mean, I just wanted to help. It's Christmas and—"
Mai smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell. About you liking him or about this."
Relief settled over Helga's features and she smiled back.
"There's the boarding house," she said when they turned the next corner. She pointed to a large red brick building in the center of the block and they both stopped. The lights were on in the windows and Mai could see the shadows of people behind them. "It looks like people are up already."
Mai turned to her. "Well, I guess this is where I go on alone."
"Are you nervous?"
"I was a little but not anymore." She stared at the boarding house in wonder. "This place isn't that far from where I live. I might have passed him in the street these past few years and didn't recognize him."
"Well, you were very little when you last saw him."
"Yes." She took a deep breath and turned back to Helga. "It was very nice to meet you, Helga. I hope I have a chance to talk to you again."
"You will." Helga lifted a foot and wiggled it. "I have to come by and return these to you."
Mai hugged her and wished her a merry Christmas. She went on alone to the boarding house and climbed the front stoop. She raised her hand to ring the bell but hesitated and turned to look back to where she'd left Helga standing at the end of the block. Helga held up a mittened hand and gave her the thumbs up. Mai smiled and waved.
Then she turned back to the door and rang the bell.