Aperture on the East Read online

  “Hi,” he said.

  Ana was surprised to be greeted by a total stranger, but she didn’t want to be rude.

  “Hi,” said Ana.

  “I saw the band come to chat with you earlier. Are you and the lead vocal related?” The man sat down next to Ana, without asking.

  “Yes, that’s my daughter,” said Ana, feeling alarmed. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Oh, no, I’m just curious. They are a really good band. I’ve enjoyed all their music so far. I just couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between you two, and I’d like a confirmation. That’s all.”

  “Well, there you go.” Ana looked away.

  “Do you come and see your daughter play much?”

  Ana, somewhat annoyed, turned to get a better look at the man. He was probably in his early forties, with an angular face framed by curly brown hair and a short beard that was barely there. He was wearing a white button down shirt loosely with a tan sport jacket, clutching a beer bottle in his left hand. Ana was not certain what she should do. He was good looking, but she was not in the mood to be picked up by anyone.

  “I’m McKenzie,” said the man. He reached out his free hand to Ana.

  Ana hesitated for a moment, then shook McKenzie’s hand and said, “Ana.”

  “Where are you from, Ana?”

  “Look, if you are trying to pick up a girl, I am not it,” said Ana. She tried to put up a stern face.

  “I’m sorry,” said McKenzie. “I’m just trying to make a friend. I just relocated from Sydney, and I don’t know anyone yet. You are the only person here who doesn’t seem to have company at the moment.”

  Ana looked around her. It was true. Everyone else was in groups of two or more. She let her guard down a little.

  “Sydney, Australia?” said Ana.

  “Sydney, Australia. Listen, if I am bothering you, I will leave now.” McKenzie stood up.

  “Sit down.”

  McKenzie sat back down and said, “Thank you.”

  “I’m from Russia, a city called Novosibirsk.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard of it. It’s the Capital of Siberia.”

  Ana chortled and said, “That’s actually not something to be proud of. I prefer being here than there.”

  “Nha Trang is beautiful. No doubt about it,” said McKenzie.

  “So what are you doing here?”

  “I’m just enjoying the band and a beer, and getting to know you.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” said Ana, taking a sip of her Coca Cola, which was now flat and diluted by melted ice cubes.

  “Oh, you want to know why I moved here from Sydney,” said McKenzie. “Actually I’m sort of on a very long vacation. My girlfriend left me a month ago, and I got tired of my desk job in Sydney. I have some savings and I’ve always wanted to travel a bit. Nha Trang was on the first brochure that I picked up from the travel agent. Then I decided that I should probably work since I’m about to run out of cash. I’m going for an interview tomorrow at the Sailing Club Dive Center. Did I mention my girlfriend left me?”

  “Wow, you said all that in one breath,” said Ana.

  “Sorry, I get carried away sometimes when I am in good company.”

  “I just moved here about three months ago myself.”

  “Great. So we can hang out,” said McKenzie.

  “I only get Mondays off, though. I work late shift at a restaurant.”

  “Ah, then we can meet tomorrow for lunch at the Sailing Club after my interview.”

  Ana thought about the luxurious walk-up beach bar that she had strolled by many times. It was right on the sand, fenced off by a knee-high, cream-colored wall reminiscent of a Greek isle villa, with wooden beach chairs and thatch umbrellas. When she walked by it on the street side, she could peek in and see those dreamy cabanas, with billowing white curtains and throw pillows in different shades of cerulean, that seemed to stretch all the way out to the sea.

  “What do you say?” said McKenzie after a few moments of silence.

  “I suppose we can,” said Ana. She was not sure if it was a good idea to go out with a man. She thought about Eduard, and how she had vowed not to be romantically involved with anyone after the divorce, not until she got back on her feet anyway.

  “Good. Meet me at the Sailing Club at noon. This is my number, just in case.” McKenzie wrote something down on a beverage napkin, and handed it to Ana. He got up from his chair and said, “Don’t stand me up.” He turned toward the exit.

  Ana didn’t know if it was a date, but that was what it felt like. The Cardinal’s Choir was playing “The Poison of Love” by Dark Princess. Ana felt a little tipsy, even though she had nothing alcoholic to drink.

  Chapter 10

  Ana took a sip of the chilled passion fruit juice and relished the sweet and sour nectar as it went down the back of her tongue. She was sitting at the bar of the Sailing Club and taking in her surroundings. The sky was a perfectly clear blue dome, and underneath it the gentle fingers of the South China Sea caressed the crescent curve of the Nha Trang Bay. The palm trees swayed in the breeze, the leaves brushing against one another, adding textural contrast to the sound of the waves, drowning out the clattering of silverware and the chattering of the customers.

  Ana observed the diners and savored the aromas and the colors of the dishes in front of them. The grilled pork stir-fried with vegetables was served in a pineapple shell. The steamy white rice came in a bamboo log, alongside a cup of pungent fish sauce. The seared beef tenderloin with ginger and garlic was directly skewered on blades of lemongrass, garnished by ubiquitous tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. The glasses were filled with juices of all colors of the rainbow. A family with young children had in front of them a slab of wood, on top of which sat slices of fresh dragon fruits, mangoes, papayas, and watermelons.

  As she was looking longingly at all the food, someone tapped on her shoulder.

  “Ana.”

  Ana turned and was surprised to see Vidal standing next to her. She hadn’t seen Vidal for a few weeks. She was reminded of Vo, whom she also hadn’t run into since the last encounter on the beach, where she had seen him come out of the ocean gleaming in the glory of the morning sun. Ana felt warm in her ears, and tried to stop thinking about it.

  “Well, did you forget about me?” said Vidal.

  “I’m sorry,” said Ana. “Hi. I was distracted for a moment.”

  Vidal was not alone. Kim was standing next to him.

  “Mind if we sat down?” said Vidal.

  “Not at all, please,” said Ana.

  Vidal and Kim sat down. Vidal asked the bartender for a Saigon Beer, and Kim ordered a fresh coconut.

  “Are you waiting for someone?” Vidal said, looking at Ana.

  “Yes, I am,” said Ana. “A friend of mine is having an interview for a scuba diving instructor position. We are to meet for lunch afterward.”

  “What a coincidence,” said Vidal. “We are also waiting for our scuba diver friend, Vo. You remember him.”

  “Vo is here?” Ana felt a tingle in her arms.

  “There he comes.” Vidal nudged his head toward two men who were approaching from the beach. Vo and McKenzie stopped in front of Ana.

  “Ana,” said Vo and McKenzie simultaneously. They then looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

  “You know her?” Vo and McKenzie said to each other.

  Ana pressed her lips together, not knowing what to say.

  “Okay,” said Vidal, “let’s get a table and figure this out later.” Vidal got up from his barstool and ushered everyone toward a large, low wooden table with wide wicker chairs and beige cushions. A waiter quickly came and dropped off a few menus. Vo and McKenzie ordered two bottles of Saigon Beer as well.

  “This is the girl I told you I was meeting after the interview,” said McKenzie to Vo.

  “I see,” said Vo. He looked at Ana. Ana couldn’t tell any emotion from his straight face.

  Vidal extended
a hand to McKenzie and said, “Antoine Vidal. Everyone calls me Vidal.”

  “McKenzie Clark.” They shook hands.

  “And this is Kim Pham,” Vo pointed at Kim, who joined her hands and bowed slightly to McKenzie. McKenzie returned the same gesture to Kim.

  Vidal said, “Vo and I have been friends since we were kids. His mom used to babysit me. I always said that the fall of South Vietnam was not all bad; it got me Vo.”

  Vo didn’t respond. The waiter returned with the beer, and left when he was told that no one was ready to order yet.

  “I am a PADI certified Divemaster,” said McKenzie. “Vo just hired me to teach scuba diving. He is the staff instructor, and has agreed to help me with the open water scuba instructor course.”

  Ana nodded even though she wasn’t paying much attention to what McKenzie just said.

  “Where are you from?” Kim said to McKenzie in English with a soft voice.

  “Sydney, Australia,” said McKenzie. “So, Kim, you are friends with Vo, too?”

  “Yes,” said Vo, “she is a family friend.”

  Ana looked at Vo, surprised that he did not mention that he and Kim intended to marry.

  “I’ve been tutoring Kim English while Vo is busy with scuba diving and teaching biology,” said Vidal.

  “You teach biology, too?” said McKenzie.

  “Yes,” said Vo, “I give a lecture in marine biology here and there at the schools. My real job involves a lot of boring research on sea creatures.”

  “Specifically the marine mammals of the South China Sea, such as the Chinese white dolphins,” said Vidal.

  “Incredible. What else do you do?” said McKenzie.

  “That’s it,” said Vo. “Between teaching scuba diving and doing research, I don’t have time for anything else.”

  Except for courting Kim, thought Ana.

  Kim said to Ana, “Is everything going well for you?”

  Ana didn’t expect to be the next subject of conversation. She was thinking about how to answer it when the waiter returned to take their orders. They hurriedly looked over the menus and placed their requests. The waiter left again.

  “So,” said Vo, “is everything going well for you, Ana?”

  The way Vo said her name made her feel dizzy. Ana was dazed for a moment. She only came to her senses again when she saw that everyone was staring at her.

  “I can’t complain,” said Ana. “For one thing, I am about to have a feast in a fancy beach restaurant with a gorgeous view.” She looked at Kim. Kim obviously did not pick up the intended sarcasm, and was nodding her head.

  McKenzie was curious about how the others had come to know Ana, and Vidal quickly filled him in.

  “I have lunch at Quan Bien Dong all the time,” said McKenzie. “My favorite dish there was the pakalana flowers sautéed with garlic. How come I’ve never seen you there?”

  “Well, I do work the dinner shift,” said Ana.

  Ana was glad when their orders were brought out so that she didn’t have to answer any more questions. She was having cá kho tộ, braised fish in clay pot, served with white rice. She thoroughly enjoyed the perfect balance of sweet and spicy as the caramel sauce with chili and cilantro saturated her taste buds.

  Everyone got quiet for a few minutes as they dug into their food. Ana eyed McKenzie’s dish; he was making a mess of the bánh xèo, turmeric crepe fried to a crisp then stuffed with shrimp, bean sprouts and fresh herbs. McKenzie caught her glance, and offered her a bite. Ana gladly accepted it. She washed the bite of bánh xèo down with a sip of her juice, and then gave McKenzie a piece of her fish as thanks. She glanced at Vo, who seemed to be looking her way, picking at his fried spring rolls with his chopsticks at the same time.

  Kim said something in Vietnamese to Vo, who then started eating in earnest, and conversed back and forth quietly with Kim in their native tongue.

  “What are you two doing afterward?” Vidal said to Ana and McKenzie.

  Ana hadn’t planned on doing anything else with McKenzie after lunch. She was going to put final touches to some photographs on her laptop, and enter a few into a number of online photography contests. She was also going to a camera shop to print a few photographs large enough to hang on her bedroom walls. In addition, she had to gather educational material and make lesson plans for the Russian tutoring business that she was about to start.

  McKenzie said to Ana, “Would you want to catch a movie by any chance?”

  Ana finished sipping her passion fruit juice, and, instead of answering the question directly, said, “What’s everyone else doing?”

  “I am heading out to Hon Mun to collect some samples with my team. I will be occupied into the evening,” said Vo.

  “That’s the Ebony Island, famous for its coral reefs, right?” said McKenzie.

  Vo nodded.

  “Kim and I will go to the Alexandre Yersin Museum, then. I want to look at those old machines, smell those old books, and converse with the spirit of Dr. Yersin,” said Vidal, nudging his eyeglasses upward slightly.

  “Again?” said Vo. “You go almost every day it seems.”

  “I can’t help it. I wonder what could have motivated him to move halfway across the planet and settle in a place where he had to learn a new language and a new way of life like a baby would.”

  Vidal paused, and then said to McKenzie and Ana, “You know Dr. Yersin lived here for more than half a century before he died. He was the one who identified the bacteria that caused bubonic plague and helped establish the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang to study prevention and treatment of that disease. That’s pretty amazing, right?”

  “Right,” said Ana. “But I thought the exhibit was mostly in French.”

  “Vidal can be quite a nerd sometimes,” said Vo. “He can speak and read French.”

  “Oui, madame,” said Vidal, and everyone chuckled.

  “So, Ana,” said McKenzie. “What do you think? A movie?”

  “Actually,” said Ana, “I was going to work on some projects at home. My kids will be out all day. You are welcome to come for tea.” She looked at Vo again; he was looking down on his plate with pursed lips.

  They finished the meal, and Vo paid the bill despite protest from the rest of the group. They thanked Vo and parted their ways. McKenzie and Ana decided to walk to her apartment via the beach promenade. When Ana turned a minute later to look back at the Sailing Club some distance away, she could still see Vo standing where they left him. Although she couldn’t tell for sure, she sensed that Vo was still gazing toward her, with the same intensity that she saw in his eyes the first night they met.

  Chapter 11

  It was a week night and the Rocking Waves Nightclub had a relatively light crowd. The Cardinal’s Choir finished another gothic metal hit song to the applause of a rowdy audience.

  “Zoe! Zoe!” the fans shouted.

  Zoe announced that the band would take a short break, and went off the stage. She and Tam headed toward the bar.

  “Yurik, give us the special tonight,” said Zoe toward the bartender.

  Yurik barked back and said, “I’m busy, woman.”

  “Zoe,” said Tam, “why can’t you be a little nicer to your boyfriend?” She brushed back her long, straight brown hair with her fingers.

  Yurik’s head was shaved except for the spiky black hair down the middle of his scalp. He had an eyebrow ring, and his over-developed biceps were covered with tattoos. He poured the drink from his cocktail maker into two glasses and set them down in front of Zoe and Tam, “Kamikaze. Enjoy.”

  “Thanks, Yurik,” said Tam.

  Zoe reached over the counter, grabbed Yurik’s head, and pressed her lips to his. It was not until Tam nearly emptied her glass that Yurik tore Zoe from his neck and went to attend to another customer. Zoe took a few sips of her drink, and asked Tam to go to the restroom with her. Zoe never finished a drink; she was merely interested in the taste, and didn’t want to get even a little tipsy.

  There
was another woman in the restroom when Zoe and Tam entered. Zoe glanced at the woman. This was not the first time they ran into her there. The woman with her platinum blond hair in an updo appeared to be in her twenties, tall and curvy in a tight and short red dress. Her breasts were half exposed, framed by the white fur on her shoulders. She had a glamorous face fit for a magazine cover. There was a small black mole next to the corner of her full, glossy red lips. For some reason, her eyes always looked like she had been crying.

  Zoe decided that she couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore. She said to the woman, “Are you a regular customer here?”

  The woman did not answer, still focused on her image in the mirror, applying her lipstick.

  Tam looked at the woman as well. The woman finally saw, in the mirror, that both Zoe and Tam were looking at her. She turned to Zoe with a puzzled expression.

  “So, do you come here a lot?” Zoe said again, secretly amused in her head as it sounded like a bad pick-up line.

  “I am sorry. I don’t speak English,” said the woman with a very heavy accent that Zoe immediately recognized as Russian.

  Zoe asked her the same question again in Russian.

  The woman gave a look of surprise, and then said, sounding hesitant, “I work here.”

  “You work here? We work here too.” Zoe pointed to Tam. “This is Tam, and I am Zoe. What’s your name?”

  “I should go.” The woman turned and hurried out of the restroom.

  “What was all that about?” said Tam.

  “I don’t know,” said Zoe. “She didn’t tell me her name. She just ran off. That was a little rude.”

  “She seemed kind of sad.”

  “That’s why I wanted to know what’s going on. She’s always here in this restroom with a sad face on.”

  “I’ve seen her out there laughing and dancing with men though,” said Tam. “There were a few other women whom I’ve definitely seen more than once or twice. Maybe they are all trying to get a boyfriend or something. I’m seeing a lot of Asian girls too. Weird, Asian girls usually don’t come to places like this.”

  “What are you trying to say? We white girls are tramps or something?”