Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,33

all of this?” He nodded, pointing up to a sign that read “Khang Farms” dangling from the awning.

“Well, I haven’t seen some of this stuff in a long time,” I smiled.

“Ah,” he said, “You like this? Come, come.” He beckoned for me to follow him behind the stand and I trailed after him, curious. There was a small umbrella table with some chairs where couple of market workers were seated, taking a lunch break. A panel truck stacked with crates and boxes of produce had a hot plate sitting on the tailgate that held a pot of something that smelled heavenly. I realized that I had skipped breakfast that morning and was hungry.

“Try my fish soup,” said Lue with a gracious smile, “My special family recipe.” I smiled back at him gratefully, “Sure,” I said, “Thank you.” He ladled each of us a bowl, and taking them in his gnarled hands, gestured for me to follow him out to the table. I decided to ask him what he knew about Lorelei.

As we rounded the corner I recognized the men at the table. It was Ethan, along with a tall good looking boy I had seen surfing along with him. Great, I thought, fighting to keep my composure even as my heart started racing.

“Sit down,” Lue commanded, as he pulled out a chair. There was nothing to do but comply.

“This is my grandson, Long,” said Lue, “and my best worker, Ethan.” Their eyes bugged out of their heads as I carefully slid into the chair. I would imagine that I was the last person Ethan expected to see as he sat down to lunch and I almost felt sorry for startling him.

“This is my good friend Marina,” Lue said, “She’s a lucky water girl.” Ethan’s jaw dropped and I felt my cheeks flush with blood. I noticed how he pulled back and sat up straight in his chair, regarding me intently.

“How do you know my Grand-pop?” asked Long, bewildered.

Lue injected, “She brings luck to the fishermen,” gesturing to the soup. He turned and winked at me as I squirmed in my chair.

“She’s a water girl alright, but I don’t know how lucky she is!” said Long, looking at Ethan and laughing. Ethan didn’t look amused.

Lue snapped something at him in a language I didn’t understand and Long excused himself, looking down as he skulked away.

Lue turned to Ethan, “She has strong water spirits in her. They call to her.” Ethan stared at me curiously, making me even more uncomfortable. Lue turned to me and ordered, “Eat!” I tasted the soup and it was wonderful, fragrant with lemon grass and herbs.

“It’s delicious,” I said, turning my attention to Lue, “It reminds me of a dish I had at a market very much like this... only it was on a river,” I said with a little smile, thinking about the time my dad and I visited the floating market.

Lue looked surprised, “Where?” he asked.

“A place called Pattaya,” I replied.

“I know it,” he said, a little surprised, “You been to Thailand?”

“Yes,” I said between spoonfuls, “I lived in Mukdahan province with my father for a season, but we took a few little trips around the country sometimes...” I trailed off, thinking about happier times traveling with my father.

“What does your father do in Thailand?” asked Lue.

“He’s an agronomist. We were there testing new strains of rice he developed for hardiness and disease resistance... he nearly doubled their yields,” I stopped myself, not wanting to blather on with all the agricultural jargon I was used to hearing. They both seemed interested, and when I thought about it, I realized that Lue would probably have a lot in common with my dad. I noticed Ethan was still openly staring.

“Are you Thai?” I asked Lue, trying to avoid Ethan’s eyes.

“Lue is Hmong,” Ethan jumped in to explain, forcing me to look over at him, “He was in a refugee camp in Thailand for a while before he could bring his family here.” He nodded towards Lue with admiration, “He worked with the C.I.A. in Vietnam.”

“And you work for him?” I asked.

He nodded, “I work for their family at their farm, and also at their stands here,” said Ethan.

He really was a hard worker, I realized, impressed.

“Ethan has strong earth spirits,” Lue said, matter of factly.

My phone rang and I fished it out of my bag. It was Abby looking for me.

“I’d better go,” I said, and stood up to leave. I turned to Lue and said, “kob