Mother of One and One to Come

"Vvvvrrrrrrroooooooooomm." A slight turn, straighten out, and we were parked in the parking lot of WalMart. There was six of us packed into a one small passenger car. We didn't care, we were Hmong. Hmong people always do that, it was our way of carpooling. We would always stack loads of people into one car as long as we could hold each other in our laps and the car would still be able to move, we were fine with it. "Bpumt, bpumt, bpumt, bpumt," our doors shut quickly and we flocked into the store. Straying across the parking like a pack of wolves in the burning cold of winter. The concrete ground was wet in melting snow as each step we took seemed heavier.

"Ahhhh," we had finally made it inside the warm store. It was like the Cambell soup commerical were the little child comes inside the house as a snowman, but the first sip of soup, she melts and becomes the lovable child again. I asked my sister, "Aren't you going to get a cart, we'll need one?" She didn't hear me due to the loudness of other conversations going on around. I asked her again and heard this time, grabbing a cart with it.

Luckily, this time we didn't get one of those retarded carts. You know, the ones where one of the wheels is lifted higher and when you push it, it makes this sound that catches everyone's attention. It rattles back and forth as if its life depended on it, but never falls off. Well, we continued to walk pass the WalMart greeter, "Hi, welcome to WalMart."

I glanced down the long strip of walkway and I saw someone I recognized. Nervous she would say something, I tucked behind my brother-in-laws. Blending in among them as if I were hidden, nobody could see me. We walked right pass her. She didn't recognize me. Then all the sudden, like a lion hiding from it's prey, she appeared.

It was my ex-girlfriend and her sister. She sighted my sisters and rushed towards them to greet them with hugs. I tried to appear as a shadow behind my brother-in-laws so she wouldn't notice me being there. It didn't work too well, she pushed through my brother-in-laws like the running back of a football team. The quaterback hands off the football to the running back and he rushes through the defensive linemen, pushing over whoever is in the way, until he is brung to a pit stop. Only to change his tires like in Nascar racing.

She grabbed hold onto me and hugged. I didn't know what to do, this girl was my ex-girlfriend and she was currently married. What am I supposed to do? My mind filled with guilt. I can't hug back this girl that I once left behind for she is married. She belongs to another man, if people were to see me do this, they would have said I wanted her back. All the sudden it seemed to me as if the whole world was looking at me, eyes peering one on one from every which corner of WalMart.

Her mom stood not too far away and walked up. I gently patted her on the back, hoping she would release me. Then, it was over. She let go and asked me how I was doing. Of course, we all know that if I was doing bad, I would just say I was doing good. And so I replied, "I'm good, how are you?" Suddenly, my sister interrupted. Thank goodness she did, and my ex-girlfriend's attention sway away from me.

I greeted her mom politely, "Nyob zoo os phauj." She glanced at me in confusion. She had forgotten who I was. She asked me who I was. I reminded her my name was Peter. In an instance, she asked about my schooling and if I was done yet. I told her I had just finished this year and was looking for a job. She then continued on to invite me to visit them. Polietly I told her when I had the chance to and wasn't so busy I would come and visit them. We all know that's a lie though, you just want to sound poliet.

When their daughter is your ex-girlfriend and is married, you never visit them anymore. Hugging a mother of one and one to come is a crime of the heart. Even as bad as she wants me back, she is a married woman. I rather not be included in a love scandal.