Aperture on the East Read Online Free PDF Page A

“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