When Laura Aparicio got invited to her friend’s daughter’s birthday party, she didn’t think she would meet the love of her life. But there he was, Jock Keomanyvong, her friend’s cousin. The two started to chat and Keomanyvong asked Aparicio for her number, and they decided to go out on a date.
“We drove around Fullerton because she couldn’t decide what to eat,” Keomanyvong says. They joked about how much money he spent on gas for them to end up eating at Coco’s.
“It went well because we went on a second date,” says Aparicio.
“Yeah, and the funny thing is we ended up at Carrows because she couldn’t decide again,” says Keomanyvong.
The two connected so well, that their age difference didn’t matter to either of them. At the time Aparicio was 21 and working at a company selling computers, while Keomanyvong was 36 and a truckdriver.
“The difference didn’t really bother me,” Aparicio says. “I don’t think age was on our minds.”
“It’s not like I went up to her and said ‘Hi I’m 36,’” Keomanyvong says. “We talked, we connected, and that is what made us want to go out with each other.”
One of the many things Aparicio loves about Keomanyvong is his humor. During their date, she says, she couldn’t stop laughing and that’s why she was so attracted to him. Keomanyvong returns the favor and jokingly says his favorite thing about Aparicio was her hair. He adds that he loves how she doesn’t let things bother her and goes with the flow.
A year after they got together Aparicio discovered she was pregnant with their first child, Grayson. What was really important for both parents was to teach their son about both of their cultures.
Keomanyvong and Aparicio were born on the opposite sides of the world. Aparicio is a Mexican American born in La Habra, Calif. Keomanyvong was born in Laos but has been in the United States since he was an adult. He speaks both Laotian and English, whereas Aparicio speaks English and Spanish.
“I’m a very multi-culture guy,” says Keomanyvong. “Every relationship I’ve had, has been bi-racial and that hasn’t been a problem.”
Keomanyvong and Aparicio joke that the only thing their cultures have in common is rice, but the thing they love about each other’s culture is the food.
“I’m learning how to cook Lao’s food right now,” says Aparicio. Her favorite is laap, which is a type of beef salad and sticky rice.
Keomanyvong is quick to respond, “I love mole, I could put it on my dirty socks and I’ll still eat it.” Mole is a Mexican dish with chicken covered in a dark sauces that could be either sweet or spicy.
They both think it’s important to understand each other’s culture. Keomanyvong says their son is “Lao-cano,” a neologism for “Lao” and “Chicano.”
Grayson is four years old and doesn’t understand the difference between cultures because to him both are normal. Keomanyvong’s mother only speaks Laotian, and Aparico’s mother only speaks Spanish. The couple communicates with each other’s parents through their son.
“We have a way of learning through Grayson, so when she teaches him Spanish and when my mom teaches him Laotian, we pick up words here and there,” says Keomanyvong. “So everyone benefits from him.”
On Valentine’s Day in 2018, Keomanyvong asked Aparicio to marry him. “I never really decided, it just happened,” he says. “I woke up that morning at 5 a.m. rolled over and asked.” Four months later, on July 26, they said I do. The couple got married and nothing about age or cultures had anything to do with that day. They made it clear that they got married because they love each other and wanted their son to see them as a married couple.
Now Aparicio is 26 and Keomanyvong is 41. They joke about his age often but they say when they go out nobody believes Keomanyvong is in his 40s. “They always say, ‘Oh he looks so young or I don’t think he’s 41,’” she says.
Being multi-cultural and from different parts of the world doesn’t matter to them because now they have a family of their own. “If you want the relationship to work, it doesn’t matter what the age difference is or where you were born, just treat her how she wants to be treated,” says Keomanyvong. “It doesn’t matter how I want to be treated because we’re different, she might want different things than I do.”
He asks Aparicio how she wants to be treated and she responds, “I guess a queen.” “You guess a queen?” he says.
They both laugh.
“Well,” he says, “I guess I want to be treated like a king.”