Aperture on the East Read online

  Ana would really appreciate the opportunity to meet other people from her country, but she had to decline. For one thing, she would probably be the oldest in the group by at least fifteen years, and she didn’t want to stand out being the only one without any college education. She said, “I have to get home to my kids. Thanks so much for inviting me though.”

  “That’s fine,” said Olga. “I’ll ask you again next time. There is a really nice place here with vodka and pickled herring, if you ever get home sick.”

  Ana’s gustatory memory of her motherland was instantly aroused, and she could almost taste the vodka and the pickled herring right now. She swallowed hard, and helped Olga put away the groceries.

  “Olga!”

  Ana could tell that it was Mr. Tran calling on the other side of the kitchen door.

  “There we go again,” said Olga as she walked out.

  Mai giggled. She turned on the stove to heat the frying oil and said, “How do you say spring roll in Russian?”

  Ana replied in Russian, and then she asked Mai to say it in Vietnamese. They went back and forth teaching each other the items on the menu in their respective native languages, laughing the whole time and trying not to get their tongues twisted.

  The kitchen door swung open, and Mr. Tran came in to say, “Ana, I sent Olga out on an errand. Could you take care of Mr. Vo Nguyen out there? Be nice. He is one of my regulars and he is about to be engaged to the daughter of my biggest investor. I have to go to a meeting across town, or I will be taking his orders myself.” With that, Mr. Tran left through the backdoor.

  Ana put on the black waitress apron, and went out to greet the only two customers at the restaurant right now.

  “It’s you,” said one of the two men as Ana approached. Ana did not recognize them right away. The speaker was a handsome black man, with a smooth face and black rim glasses. His companion, who just looked up from the menu, was the tall Vietnamese man she encountered on the night she came for her job interview.

  Ana immediately felt warm in the face, but managed to say, “Hi, I’m Ana, and I’m your waitress. Sorry about the other night.” She held an order pad in her left hand and a pen in her right; both of her hands were trembling slightly, and her heart was doing somersaults in her chest.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” said the black man. “My name is Vidal, and this is Vo,” Vidal pointed to his friend. “Vo. Say something.”

  “Uh, don’t worry about the other night. I didn’t remember any of it until my friend Vidal here brought it up,” said Vo with an intriguing accent, which was also shared by Vidal.

  After a few seconds of silence, Ana said, “Can I get you anything to drink?”

  “I’ll have a Saigon Beer,” said Vidal.

  “Same here,” said Vo.

  “I’ll be right back,” Ana turned toward the kitchen.

  When Ana disappeared from their sight, Vidal said, “You didn’t remember any of it? Who could forget a beautiful brunette like that?”

  “I don’t pay attention to women like you do,” said Vo. He was thinking about the blush he saw on Ana’s face a minute ago. Her deep emerald eyes were as mystifying as the waters of the South China Sea.

  “Sure. You are so focused on Kim right now, you are missing the forest.”

  Vo didn’t say anything back.

  “Which is a good thing,” said Vidal. “Your mother asked me to keep you away from wonton women lusting after your money, and help you and Kim ‘progress’ as fast as possible.” Vidal did air quotes with his fingers.

  “Kim and I are fine,” said Vo. He was annoyed by Vidal’s comment. “You don’t need to babysit us. Plus I am just a poor marine biologist. No one is lusting after my money.”

  Vidal opened his mouth, but Vo didn’t let him respond. “Speaking of money,” said Vo, “I can’t believe that your law firm lets you off this long. You are the big shot in corporate laws. When are you going back to New Orleans?”

  “My orders are to stay here until you and Kim get engaged. Your mother worked something out with my boss. You know, she practically owns half of Versailles.”

  “You are exaggerating,” said Vo. “Folks just like to eat in her restaurant.”

  “But no one wants to be on her black list, that’s for sure. If she banned you from her restaurant, you are as good as an outcast.”

  They both laughed.

  “Seriously,” said Vidal, “I feel responsible for your happiness. I need to see this thing through. You are turning forty soon and you need to make your mother a grandbaby before you get too old.”

  “Speak for yourself,” said Vo. He saw from the corner of his eye that Ana was returning.

  She set two bottles of Saigon Beer down on the table and said, “So, gentlemen. Are you ready to order?”

  Chapter 6

  Ana got in at ten-thirty at night. She went to check on Ivan first. He was sleeping soundly, shirtless with only a pair of boxers on. His floor fan was going at full blast. Ana turned down the fan a little, and then went to Zoe’s room. Zoe was not there. Ana, worried, took a deep breath in and looked around the room. The guitar was gone, but Zoe’s clothes and music albums were still there. Ana let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Zoe would return.

  Ana washed up a little, and then sad down on the bench in the living room to wait for Zoe. She turned on the television, but was too tired to really watch anything. She soon fell asleep.

  She woke up at the sound of a key scratching at the front door. She lifted her heavy eyelids and saw Zoe sneak in with her guitar.

  “Where have you been?” said Ana, turning off the television.

  Zoe stopped on her way to her room, turned around and said, “Since when do you care?” She went into her room and slammed the door.

  Ana stared at Zoe’s bedroom door, thinking that Zoe’s behaviors required some kind of a parental intervention, something like a disciplinary action, a stern lecture, or a heart-to-heart conversation. But how? How was she to carry out any of those measures? Her mind was a blank, wishing that some wisdom would just come to her from above. She couldn’t help but think that perhaps it was too late, that she should have learned the craft when Zoe was little. Zoe was fully grown now, and no matter how hard Ana tried, even if she knew how to do it at all, she could not shape Zoe into anything else.

  Ana looked at the clock on the wall, and was surprised to find that it was already five o’clock in the morning. She had slept on the bench all night, and her back was aching as terribly as her head. Nothing constructive regarding Zoe was going to come into light. Ana got up, grabbed her camera bag, and left the apartment.

  It was still dark when she got to the beach, with only a sliver of electric blue on the horizon. The locals were already gathering for their morning activities. Ana walked north, observing and photographing the people around her.

  Soon, a little bit of orange crept in beneath the electric blue, and Ana sat down on a bench to see the wispy clouds turn pink with purple mixed in. She photographed the fishing boats in the distance, floating on the calm water that reflected the bright red globe as it ascended. There were people talking all around her, but the wide open ocean and its gentle waves absorbed all the chatters. It felt quiet and peaceful.

  Ana trained her camera on the boats and the sun until it became an enormous burning orange, and she had to focus her camera elsewhere. The locals were now cleaning up, possibly having to go to work. Friends said their goodbyes and couples embraced. The motorcycles paraded up and down the Tran Phu Boulevard, and taxi drivers pumped their horns at the audacious pedestrians crossing the street. The ambient noise, as well as the temperature, began to climb.

  After taking a few shots of the busy traffic and the stately hotels on the other side of Tran Phu Boulevard, Ana turned her camera back toward the ocean to photograph the early swimmers, and as she was doing so, she noticed a familiar figure in her lens.

  The tall man emerged from the water slowly, taking in rapid but d
eep breaths. As his chest rose and fell Ana could see his well-defined muscles gleam in the sunlight. He removed his swim cap and goggles, and then with a hand wiped the water from his face. It was Vo.

  Ana felt as if her heart stopped for a second. She let the camera sink to her lap, and gawked at Vo as his bulging thighs propelled him toward land, toward her. Ana’s head was telling her to look away, that it was rude to stare, but she was in a trance. Suddenly, she heard a voice.

  “Ana.”

  “Oh, hi,” said Ana. Her heart was pounding fast in her chest, and she felt as if she had just been caught doing something criminal.

  “Morning,” said Vo, standing like a tower in front of Ana with his hands on his waist, breathing deep and fast.

  “Morning,” said Ana. Vo’s eyes, the color of mahogany, were beaming straight at hers again. She withdrew her gaze from his face to her camera, and stowed it in the carrying bag.

  “Mind if I sat down?” Vo was looking at the space next to Ana.

  “Oh, no, please. You need to rest.” Ana moved a little to the other end, trying to create some physical distance from Vo. Vo sat down and rested his elbows on his knees. Ana didn’t know if she was supposed to make small talk; she was so nervous that she wanted to get up and leave, but she didn’t think it would be polite.

  Vo’s breathing slowed down to normal. He sat up a little, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and set his eyes on the other swimmers in the open sea.

  Ana looked down; she was digging in and out of the soft sand underneath the bench with her bare feet. The sand was still relatively cool compared to the air, which by now was well heated by the sun. Ana raised her hand to wipe the sweat away from her brow.

  “You are up early,” said Vo. “Most tourists get here late.”

  “I’m not a tourist,” said Ana.

  “Oh, right. You have a job. You live here, don’t you?”

  Ana nodded her head, still looking down.

  “I am guessing you are Russian,” said Vo.

  “That’s correct.”

  “When I first got here a year ago, I didn’t expect to be living among so many Russians. It’s been interesting.”

  “In a good way, I hope,” said Ana, turning her head a little to look at Vo.

  “Good and bad,” said Vo, looking at Ana. “It’s good you are here. I mean, you can’t be bad.”

  Ana couldn’t help but smile. It was endearing the way he stumbled to find words. “So, you swim early. How’s the water?” said Ana.

  “I come to swim every morning. It’s the best time. Just look at the locals. The water is calm and cool.” Vo looked at Ana’s camera bag. “I saw your professional camera. Are you a photographer?”

  “Not really. I just like to take pictures.”

  They sat in silence for a minute. The vendors were raising the beach umbrellas as the foreigners poured in and took over the beach.

  “Vo,” said a voice from behind them. It was the petite woman Ana bumped into the other night. She was holding a beach towel.

  Vo stood up and smiled at the woman. He said something in Vietnamese to her, and mentioned Ana’s name. Then he said to Ana, “This is Kim. She walks. I swim. She insists on carrying a towel for me. I normally just air dry.” He chuckled.

  Kim smiled at Ana and said, “Hello, Ana.”

  “Hello, Kim.” Ana stood up too.

  “I guess we’ll see you around,” said Vo. “Nha Trang is a small town.” He took the towel from Kim, and they walked toward the street. They stopped at a motorcycle. Vo removed a helmet that was hanging on the handle bar and placed it on Kim’s head, buckled the straps and adjusted them under her chin. He put one on himself, and they both got on the motorcycle. Kim encircled Vo’s waist with her arms when he turned on the ignition. With a loud rumble, they rode away.

  Ana watched them until they turned a corner and disappeared. So that was his fiancée, she thought, feeling somewhat disappointed, but couldn’t say why.

  Chapter 7

  Ana woke up with a fright. There was an incessant crying of a newborn, the smell of blood and vomit, and shadowy figures hovering above her. She could hardly breathe, and she could hear herself screaming. She was trying to stop something from happening but it happened anyway. She could feel the tears on her face and her pillow was wet with her sweat. She gasped and took in a big deep breath, and when she let it out she realized, yet again, that it was just a dream.

  She sat up and got out of bed. The sunlight was peeping in through a gap in the curtains. She thought of Vo for some reason, and their chance encounter on the beach. Was that also a dream?

  After she washed up, she went to look for her children. Ivan was eating cereal in the kitchen, alone.

  “Good morning, Ivan. Where is Zoe?” said Ana.

  Ivan shrugged his shoulders. “Sleeping, I guess. She’s been coming home late, you know.”

  Ana walked to Zoe’s room and tried to open the door, but it was locked. She knocked on the door rapidly.

  “Wake up, Zoe. You’re going to be late for school.”

  “Ma, Zoe hasn’t been to school at all,” Ivan said with a mouthful.

  “I know,” said Ana. She knocked on Zoe’s door again.

  “So,” said Ivan, “the summer vacation is almost here. I want to do the camp at the Institute of Oceanography. I saw a poster in school. I’ll get to feed sharks, and it’ll be awesome.”

  “Zoe, we need to talk,” said Ana, feeling frustrated.

  She heard a movement, and turned to see Ivan heading toward the apartment door with his skateboard.

  “Wait a minute. Where are you going with that thing? You can’t take it to school,” said Ana.

  “It’s Sunday, Ma. I’ll be home for lunch.” Ivan shut the metal door behind him.

  Ana felt a little uneasy. The streets were always so busy with cars and motorcycles. Sidewalks were not always present. Skateboarding was dangerous even under the best circumstances. Why did Eduard have to give Ivan that skateboard? Ivan never did anything risky before he delved into the sport. Thankfully, Ivan was a sensible and self-reliant boy. Ana would just have to trust him to take care of himself.

  She beat on Zoe’s door again. “Come on out, Zoe.”

  She almost hit Zoe in the face when Zoe finally opened the door. Zoe went back to her bed and lay down on it, and put her pillow over her head.

  Ana walked to Zoe’s bed and said, “Where have you been? I know you haven’t been to school. Why can’t you stay out of trouble?”

  Zoe didn’t respond.

  Ana sat down on Zoe’s bed and removed Zoe’s pillow.

  “Are you going to grow up or are you going to be a big baby?” said Ana.

  “You are the big baby,” said Zoe. “You are always having nightmares and crying in your sleep. Leave me alone.”

  Ana could feel her face turn hot. Surely Zoe would get a spanking now if she were Mai’s daughter. Ana resisted the urge to strike Zoe. She had never physically punished either of her children, although she really felt like doing it sometimes, especially when Zoe was acting out.

  “If you weren’t only sixteen,” said Ana, “I’d tell you to leave. All you ever do is break my heart. Why can’t you be a normal teenager?”

  “Why can’t you be a normal mother?”

  “I am trying, can’t you see? Why won’t you try to be normal, too?”

  “What’s normal?” Zoe sat up and stared at Ana. “Is it not normal to follow one’s passion, and pursue one’s dreams? School is not for me. I’ve had enough school.”

  “What are you talking about? What passion? What dreams?”

  “I’m talking about the music,” said Zoe. “I can support myself now. I play at a nightclub, and I make good money.”

  “What? How long have you been doing this? What nightclub?” Ana couldn’t believe her ears.

  “If you really want to know, I’ll show you later. Right now, can I go back to sleep? I have a big gig tonight.”

  �
�You are going to tell me right now the name and address of this nightclub and who your boss is. I can’t believe they let a sixteen-year-old girl work in a nightclub.”

  “Will you please not ruin it like you did everything else that mattered to me? I finally got a good thing going and you want to go and destroy it. What’s wrong with you?”

  “I am trying to protect you,” said Ana. “This is not our country. You don’t know the language. You don’t know the laws. You don’t know the people. What if you get hurt?”

  “Please, since when do you care if I get hurt? You are just trying to save yourself from embarrassment because, what would people say after you dragged your daughter all the way to Vietnam and she got raped, or worse, killed.”

  Ana was very angry by now. She stood up, her body shaking, not sure what she was supposed to do. She thought of her grandmother, Zoe’s great grandmother. “Zoe,” said Ana, “remember what you promised your prababushka before she died? She wanted you to listen to me and be a good daughter. She’d turn in her grave if she could see you now.”

  “Don’t bring Prababushka into this. She was the only mother I ever had.”

  Ana stopped herself from slapping Zoe in the face. She walked toward the door, thinking that there was no use talking to Zoe anymore. Then she remembered that she had also promised her grandmother to take care of Zoe, no matter what. She turned around.

  “Zoe,” said Ana, softening her voice, “it’s all right if you don’t want to go to school, but I need to know that you are safe. Could you at least give me that?”

  Zoe sighed and said, “It was the Rocking Waves on Tran Phu Boulevard. The boss is a guy named Boris.”

  “Boris? He’s Russian?”

  “Yes, he’s Russian. Why are you so surprised? There are Russians everywhere in Nha Trang. Isn’t that why you brought us here in the first place? Anyway, Boris and his people take good care of me and my band. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

  “You’ve got a band?”

  “Yes. We are ‘the Cardinal’s Choir,’” said Zoe.

  “What kind of name is that?”