Free Small Bamboo by Tracy Vo

realised the plan had failed and she was disappointed for him.
    They hugged—and even kissed—and from then on they spent every spare moment together.
    Mum would be at Uncle Five’s house most nights, cooking and eating with them; she was truly part of the Vo family now. Even though times were difficult, the family would try and enjoy life as much as they could, and that meant huge family feasts full of eating, drinking, talking and laughing. The Vos knew, and still know, how to have a good time together.
    Mum also spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house in Gia Dinh. My grandpa was a quiet and gentle man. He let Grandma do all the talking—she was always the talker—but when he did speak, everyone listened because his words would be full of wisdom and warmth. When it came to my grandmother’s business—caring for their children and grandchildren, and in this case finding a wife for their son—he just let her do whatever she thought best, and kept out of the way! But he sure did love my mother too and he would tell Mum whenever he got the chance.
    By now Grandma was even more convinced that Mum was the right woman for her son. So one day she decided to visit my mum’s mother and have the talk. The mothers held hands.
    ‘Your daughter is so wonderful,’ my grandmother said. ‘She is perfect for Tai. And she’s so good with the rest of the family. She’s an excellent cook as well. I love her very much and I feel like she is already part of our family. Are you happy with my son?’
    ‘We are very happy with Tai,’ my Ba Ngoai (the Vietnamese term for maternal grandmother) replied. ‘He is a kind and gentle man. He always helps us when we need it. He has been very good with Lien and towards our family. Lien also loves spending time with your family. She’s very happy every time she comes home from being with them.’
    ‘If the opportunity comes, we would love for our son to marry your daughter,’ my grandma said.
    ‘We would be very happy for that to happen too,’ Ba Ngoai said.
    And so it was agreed that Mum and Dad would marry. But that didn’t mean there was going to be a wedding straight away. My grandparents weren’t completely old-fashioned. They wanted to leave it up to Mum and Dad to make the decision for themselves. They only hoped it would be done soon so the two families could celebrate their union while they were still all together. But with the way things were in South Vietnam, with the new Communist regime taking control of their lives, time was fast running out. The mood for celebrating was fading.

6

THE ESCAPE
    Uncle Five spent months planning the family’s escape from Vietnam. He spoke to several different people and considered many plans and offers. After all the different scenarios my Uncle Thirteen experienced and also Dad’s failed attempt, it was tough for Uncle Five to work out which one would be the best. There were so many options. People could hide in a house in the country, then be picked up by cars and driven to a waiting boat. Or they could go to the docks in South Vietnam and board a vessel that would take them straight out to sea. Uncle Five didn’t mind where they would board a boat. What made his plan quite difficult was the number of people he had to consider. He needed a big boat and an escape route that wouldn’t draw the attention of the authorities.
    After discussions with the family, which in itself took a while, there were sixteen names on the list: Uncle Five, Aunt Five and their three children, Chi To Oanh, Anh Hien and Anh Hung; Aunt Twelve; Aunt Sixteen; Uncle Tinh (my Uncle Seventeen); Uncle Ut (my Uncle Twenty); a son of Uncle Five’s close friend Anh Tuan; Uncle Five’s brother, his wife and daughter, and his wife’s two brothers; and my dad.
    The only Vo sibling left out was my Aunt Fifteen. She chose not to leave because her husband’s family were still in Vietnam. She also wanted to look after the members of Dad’s family who were staying,