Before And After the Divorce - 32. The Visit, The Wedding, and The Future

Monday (Memorial Day)

Colton's anxiety has been ramping up throughout the month following the finalizing of Shi-Woo's travel plans. He initially went along with my idea of surprising his parents, although he waffled back and forth on that decision almost daily. Now, with only two days until he arrives, Colton is completely against surprising his parents. After we were both home from work, I could see that it had become an epic disturbance for him.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it was just an idea. Let's tell them if you're that concerned about it."

Beneath my hand, his shoulder relaxed. "Yes, I think that will be best. I do not wish to give one of them a heart attack with a surprise."

Colton called his parents, said we'd be over after dinner, and that he had something to tell them about the wedding. I guess that wasn't exactly a lie. Colton was good at stretching the truth when he needed to. Of course, his mother said there was plenty of food, come over for dinner. I swear, sometimes I think that woman is psychic. Why else would she pick today to cook more than usual?

Needless to say, his parents got emotional knowing they would soon be seeing their older son again. They had been in the U.S. for thirteen years, coming over shortly after Colton graduated high school. Shi-Woo had already graduated college and had a good job by then, so he decided to stay. He had visited around nine years ago when Colton graduated college, but they hadn't seen him in person since.

Knowing Shi-Woo was coming for a visit, Colton held off on renting his house. He incurred no additional expenses living with us, so it wasn't a financial burden yet. That decision would be quite fortuitous.

Friday

Colton rearranged his schedule and took off Friday so he could pick up his brother at the airport in Pittsburgh. Shi-Woo had said he had a lot of luggage, so Colton and I swapped vehicles for the day, knowing his car would be too small for that many bags. I wondered why he would have so much luggage for a three-week stay. I discovered that reason as soon as I arrived home from work.

After the in-person introductions, the six of us sat down to dinner. Colton had stopped for takeout on their way back from the airport. Shi-Woo was full of surprises, the first being that he had recently married. We were six because his wife, Min Jee, accompanied him.

Shi-Woo spoke to Colton in Korean, and Colton translated for Dom and me. Min Jee spoke even less English than he did. "I must thank you, Brother, for allowing us to stay in your house. The additional expense of being in a hotel may have been difficult."

Colton smiled. "What is family for if it is not to help one another? I am happy to be able to do it."

"We have more news other than our recent wedding. The visas we obtained were not simply for a relatively short time. We will be moving to the U.S. permanently."

Colton's eyes began to tear. "You will not be going back to Korea?"

"No. I have arranged a transfer to the manufacturing facility in Alabama. They have sponsored my work visa. I will be a line supervisor at our Hyundai plant there. Min Jee will initially be studying English and then wants to find a job. Her employment opportunities will be better here in the U.S."

All of us thought that was wonderful news. It would be possible for Colton and Jiho to see them more than once every ten years.

"Do Mother and Father know this?"

"That we are married, yes. Not the move. We were hoping to see them after dinner and share the news."

Colton nodded. "They live in the other half of the duplex, so you will be able to see them as much as you wish during these three weeks."

"That is excellent. We will spend a few days in Alabama looking for lodgings, but being able to spend much of the time with Mother and Father is an unexpected bonus."

Shi-Woo was anxious to see his parents, so we finished dinner quickly, opting to forgo dessert. Jiho stayed with Dominic and me while Colton took his brother and sister-in-law to see their parents and settle into the half of the house where they would be staying. Colton came home later looking like a child who had gotten everything he wanted for Christmas.

"You look happy."

Colton sighed in a good way. "Dylan, my life is becoming perfect. We are getting married. I am able to see my brother again. Mother and Father were ecstatic when Shi-Woo told them they were moving to the U.S. It would be almost impossible for anything else good to happen."

With a chuckle, I said, "You ought to play the lottery."

"Oh, no. I cannot do that. Father was a gambler before we came to America. He lost a lot of money. Not enough to bankrupt the family, but there were some difficult times. I would be afraid if I started to gamble, I would not be able to stop."

"With your good luck lately? Just give me ten dollars, and I'll buy the tickets for you."

"You are serious?"

"Yes. When things are going well, you should try to take advantage of it. That's one reason why I decided to ask you to marry me. Things had turned around so well in my life; I knew it was a good time to do it."

Handing me ten dollars, "Okay, I will try that. Ten dollars will not, how do you say it? Break the bank? Who knows? Maybe we will strike the jackpot!"

I giggled. “I think you mean either strike it rich or hit the jackpot.

Colton’s answering blush was adorable. I was so happy we found each other.

Monday

On the way home from work the next day in, I chipped in another ten and bought a twenty-dollar scratch-off. I had Colton perform the honors. I was right. It wasn't a big win, but we turned our twenty into five hundred.

Slapping Colton on the shoulder, I gloated. "There. Now, we've taken full advantage of the run of good luck we've had. We won, we quit. No further risk."

"What if the run is not over yet? We could take the five hundred and try for more."

"I can see why you were afraid to start. No. Have you ever heard the saying 'quit while you're ahead?'"

"Yes."

"That's exactly what we need to do. If we took the five hundred and bought more tickets, we'd probably end up with five dollars or nothing. Playing the lottery is a very easy way to throw money away. It’s fun to do occasionally, but we shouldn’t make a habit of it. Winning once does not lead to bigger and better wins."

"Yes. I suppose you are right. We should not be greedy. Let us split the five hundred into Jiho's and Dominic's savings accounts."

"Now you're thinking. Excellent idea."

Friday

The eve of the big day had arrived. Neither one of us wanted a bachelor party where we drank to excess and watched questionable entertainment. Our dads took the whole extended family out to dinner. The adults split three bottles of champagne, and the boys got sparkling cider. Everyone enjoyed themselves.

Shi-Woo had good news as well. They had spent Tuesday through Thursday in Montgomery, Alabama looking at houses. They found a four-bedroom, two-bath house for under two hundred thousand dollars. The offer they placed was accepted. Closing was scheduled in sixty days. We were all very happy for them. The Kang/Pastore run of good luck continued.

Saturday

Colton and I prepared for the wedding together. We decided to both wear a blue hanbok. I wore navy blue, and Colton wore royal blue. It felt odd wearing what was essentially a dress, but I wanted Colton to have everything he wanted on this day.

Part of my wedding gift to Colton was the cost of his brother’s ticket to the U.S. Colton bought us tickets for a cruise. He booked us on a twelve-night cruise starting near the end of July from Tokyo, including a stop in Busan, South Korea. After the cruise, we would spend three nights in Seoul, so he could show me where he was from. Because the cruise was a lot more expensive than a single airline ticket, I offered to purchase our flights for the cruise. We would share whatever expenses we incurred during the trip.

The wedding itself included many traditional Korean activities. We had the table with Mandarin-style wooden ducks (won-ang seteu), pinecones, bamboo, dates, chestnuts, persimmons, red beans, gourd cups, and a copper bowl. Rather than the traditional wild goose for the Jeonanyrye, I gave Joon the gift of wooden ducks. Granted, Colton wasn't the bride, but since he wouldn't have a mother-in-law to present the gift to, we did the best we could.

We took part in the Hapgeunrye, which is the drinking from the same copper cup and two halves of a gourd. We had a paebaek ceremony, where both sets of parents sat behind a low table full of food from the original wedding ceremony table. We used the traditional three platters of food: a tower of chestnuts and dates, flat beef jerky, and a third platter of eight little appetizers called anju. The post-ceremony meal also consisted of traditional Korean foods. We included Galbi (Grilled Short Ribs), Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup), Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake), Bulgogi (Marinated Grilled Beef), and Japchae (Stir-Fried Glass Noodles).

Colton and I invited a few friends from work and their spouses where applicable. The Madisons and the Wilkes' came, plus the families of a few of Jiho's friends that Colton was friendly with. Everybody enjoyed the ceremony and dinner. We got a lot of compliments on how beautiful the whole gathering was. I don't believe I had ever seen Colton as happy, either before or since. I was glad to have been able to give him the wedding he wanted. Hell, I was probably the happiest I'd ever been as well. We didn't go on a honeymoon immediately after the wedding, having the cruise roughly seven weeks later.

Epilogue

Four weeks after the wedding, I started the proceedings to adopt Jiho, and Colton did the same with Dominic. The boys had become inseparable.

Twenty-five years later, Colton and I are still as much in love as the day we wed. Jiho and Dominic graduated high school together, Dominic having skipped fifth grade. They went on to college and started great careers. Jiho graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree and followed in his uncle's footsteps, working in the automotive industry. Dominic, being the little brainiac that he was, graduated with a Criminal Justice degree, went on to law school, and is now a corporate litigator. We still see our sons often. Not often enough, of course. Dominic lives and works in Philadelphia, while Jiho is in Detroit. Since I did very well investing Lacy's windfall, Colton and I can take long weekends every few months to visit our sons and grandchildren.

Both Jiho and Dominic married wonderful girls, and each has provided us with two grandchildren. Jiho has a son, nine, and a daughter, seven. Having also gone to law school, Dominic's two boys are a little younger, four and six.

I often think fondly of Zach. His opening of my eyes to my homosexuality resulted in a great life. I still hope he and Jackson are suffering through their time in Hell, but if I'd never met Zach, I don't know if my life would have turned out as well.

The End