Freedom { Shownu Series }

Chapter 8

Leann awoke to the sound of the cast iron radiator clanging and hissing. It took her a moment to place herself. She had just awoken from a dream about Shownu in which he had been rubbing his baby-soft face against hers. She realized that she had her plush blanket partially over her head. She felt a pang of regret that it had only been a dream.

After brushing her teeth, she stumbled to the kitchen where she found her Uncle Travis and her young cousin Mary Rose eating cereal at the small kitchen table that was covered with the same poinsettia tablecloth that was used year-round.

"Morning," mumbled Travis, more as a statement of fact than as a greeting. Mary Rose, however, gave Leann a bright smile before shoving an overloaded spoonful of Lucky Charms into her mouth.

"You'd best be gettin' your mamma something to eat 'fore she starts hollerin'," commented Uncle Travis.

"I know what to do," said Lean dryly as she filled a bowl with Mini Wheats. Her mother would complain that she didn't get Lucky Charms and Leann would have to explain for the millionth time that "Grown-ups eat grown-up food." She rolled her eyes at the thought of the impending battle.

"So, did you find yourself one of them Chinamen to date over there?" asked Uncle Travis, seemingly unaware of everything that was wrong with his question.

"Couple things," pointed out Leann. "I was in Korea. So, Korea is home to Koreans, not Chinese people. Secondly, no educated person uses the term 'Chinaman'," clarified an annoyed Leann.

"Well, no need to get your feathers all ruffled up. Just trying to be folksy," defended her uncle as he stood up to put his bowl in the sink. "People get all worked up these days if you don't speak to 'em all gentle-like. Bunch of liberal snowflakes!"

Leann rolled her eyes and whispered, "Jin-jja."

"Hey Dad, Leann's speaking foreign again," laughed Mary Rose who was interrupted by the sound of a cheap porcelain bell.

"Leann! Where the hell'd you get off to? I ain't had nothin' to eat yet!" yelled her mother from the living room sofa, signaling that she was now awake and the torment was about to commence.

After feeding her mother and giving her pain medication, Leann slipped out the back door for some much-needed peace and quiet. She missed Shownu. There was no internet or cell reception at the house. So, she had to drive out to the old schoolhouse to even send Shownu a text or leave him a voicemail. Opportunities to get over there were few and far between. So, she was left with playing his voicemails over and over just to hear his voice.

She hit play and listened to her favorite message.

"Hey, baby. How are you doing? I'm sorry I missed your call. It was midnight here and I was knocked out hard. I wish we could Facetime. I miss seeing your pretty face. I went for coffee at our spot and just sat there alone, pretending you were still sitting across from me. If you were here, I would kiss you all over your face --- your ears...and your eyelids...and your eyebrows...and your nose...." Shownu breathed a deep sigh and continued, "But especially your lips. They always taste like pomegranates." Shownu sighed once more and said, "Let me know when you're coming home. I miss you. I love you," he concluded.

Suddenly the need to talk to him became unbearable. She opened the door slightly and could hear the sound of Mary Rose watching Power Rangers.

"I'm gonna' go see Mamaw and Pap," said Leann determinedly. She had no intention of letting them guilt her into staying home all day. If her mom needed something, she could ask Uncle Travis or Mary Rose. It's high-time Travis did something useful anyhow, she thought. Before anyone could voice any objections, she quickly shut the door and ran to the old pick-up. She remembered when Pap had bought it. It was his pride and joy. He washed it and waxed it every Sunday, much to Mamaw's dismay at him working on "the Lord's Day." It was now rusted and had one original red door and one blue one which had been put on after Uncle Travis smashed the driver's-side door against the barn after coming home drunk on moonshine and youthful invincibility. She jumped in and slammed the mismatched door shut quickly to keep out the frigid air. Unfortunately, the air inside the truck was no less biting. She turned the key and the engine rolled over several times before roaring to life with a puff of black smoke from the tailpipe. So much for saving the environment, thought Leann ruefully as she began driving down the long lane that led to the main road.

The radio was forever set to Froggy 95, which had been her favorite station until she got out of rural PA and discovered that other music existed that wasn't Country. She didn't change the station, though, because they were playing one of her favorite songs.

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong,

West Virginia, mountain mamma

Take me home, country roads.

She sang a high harmony that had been perfected over years of sitting between Mamaw and Pap in the truck. Pap sang bass and Mamaw sang tenor which left Leann to find a note that was higher than the melody even though she would have preferred to sing the lower notes in her range. She sniffed slightly at the thought of her beloved grandparents. Pap had been gone for 5 years and Mamaw for 4 ½. She followed her man in death, much as she had in life, loyally and quickly. Leann wondered if she and Shownu could go the distance like her grandparents did. Those were certainly different times and Leann was not Mamaw, much as she might have liked to be.

She pulled the truck off into the dirt parking lot in front of the old schoolhouse. It had served as a schoolhouse and a church building for many years. Leann still remembered sitting on hard, metal chairs for hours during revival services. The church had moved to a new building several years ago and the school had long-since been closed down in favor of bussing the children to the larger schools in the area. It now stood faded with chipping white paint. The once-red door was mostly the gray color of aging wood with small red streaks where the old paint peeked through. Out back stood the old cemetery where the pillars of the church now lay in silent vigil. Leann found Mamaw and Pap's tombstone, one that they shared as they had shared all things in life. She brushed away some dead leaves that were covering the stone. She slowly lowered herself to her knees and bowed twice to the deceased in the tradition of her adoptive homeland. Something Leann had always connected with in Korea was the idea of respect for elders and for deceased family members.

She stood again because it was hard to kneel on the frozen mud. She took a quick look around to ensure that she was alone before talking to Mamaw and Pap.

"Y'ins know this is hard. I don't want to be here. I wish I were back in Korea with Shownu. My life is there now, but I'm here to tie up loose ends and come to peace with my past. Y'ins are the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I wouldn't be who I am without ya. So, I'm here to ask y'ins for help. Help me to know how to straighten things out so I can be with my man again."

A brisk wind blew through the trees surrounding the clearing which caused the bare branches to hit against each other with a rhythmless clacking. Honor thy father and thy mother, Leann heard in her heart. Mamaw had always said it was the only commandment with a promise, that we would live long upon the earth. It was easier said than done as she cared for a mother who had "made her own bed" so to speak by driving drunk and getting her legs broken.

Leann smiled as she heard her phone ping. She read the text.

"Thinking about you today," it said, followed by a string of various kinds of heart emojis. She texted back immediately and spend the next 20 minutes in blissful communication with Shownu until finally, she reluctantly signed off and climbed back in the truck to go back to the house and start it all over again.