Goodbye, Vietnam Read Online Free Page A

“You are the Vinh family? You have brought your tools?”
    My father opened his chest, proudly displaying what was inside. The man nodded his approval. “Your boat is owned by Captain Muoi. I am sure there will be no trouble. It will be a pleasure trip. You must buy your food for the journey. I know a place where it can be had with no questions asked. I will go with you. First you must all have a cup of tea.” Loc indicated that we should be seated.
    We dropped our baskets with relief and sank down onto the floor mats. The man appeared friendly, but he smiled too much. I began to be afraid.
    “I believed the food would be provided,” my father said.
    “Provided! No, indeed. You are lucky to have a passage on the boat. Provided! Some people are never satisfied. But my wife will provide you with tea. Yes, indeed. Quach Loc knows how to be hospitable.”
    While the tea was being poured out, I glanced quickly about the room and saw that a woman and a girl were sitting in the shadows. The girl was about my age and was wearing American blue jeans. I knew what they were because I had once seen a boy come through our village in the dark blue trousers.
    Quach Loc called to the woman, “ Bac si Hong, you and your daughter Kim must join us.” We were surprised, for bac si is a title that indicates honor is due the person. Loc turned to us and in a low voice said, “Bac si Hong is a doctor. It is very strange to call a woman bac si.”
    I saw that the doctor lady disliked the fat little man. The girl, Kim, moved shyly to her mother’s side andhung on to her mother’s hand. They seated themselves a little apart from us. I knew it was rude, but I couldn’t help staring at the woman. I had never seen a doctor before. A doctor who was a woman seemed almost unimaginable.
    Quach Loc whispered to us, “ Bac si Hong has had a most sad time. Her husband, who was once a well-known university professor in Ho Chi Minh City, was taken away by the police. Only last month he returned a sick man and died. Bac si Hong and her daughter will be on the boat with you.”
    Bac si Hong and Kim did not drink their tea. Their faces were empty of expression. I saw that both the mother and daughter had squares of white material pinned to their clothes to let others know they were in mourning. I looked hastily away, but Thant could not take his eyes off the two strangers. He inched his way to the bac si , who was very beautiful, and touched the soft material of her skirt. My mother was horrified at this rudeness and pulled him back, but the bac si had come to life and reached out for Thant’s hand.
    Our grandmother was frowning at the bac si . We had heard the grandmother scoff at doctors, becausethey had to go to school to learn to heal. “You cannot buy such knowledge,” she always said. “It must be passed down from one sorcerer to another.”
    Our father excused himself. “If food is needed, I had better go and find it. We thank you for your tea.”
    Quach Loc followed him. “I am known here, and the storekeepers will give you a better bargain when they see you are my friend.”
    We all waited silently for my father and Quach Loc to return. Our mother and grandmother didn’t take their eyes from the door, but Thant and Anh fell asleep, Thant with his head on my mother’s lap, Anh sitting against the wall, one hand holding on to me. I sometimes thought Anh was as much a part of me as my arm or leg.
    I wanted to move closer to the girl, Kim, and maybe even talk with her. Ho Chi Minh City was a huge place. Much, much bigger than even Go Cong. I wondered what it would be like to live in such a city. I had a thousand questions to ask, but I didn’t want to awaken Anh by moving and I couldn’t catch the girl’s eye. Before I knew it my eyes fluttered shut and I was asleep.
    When I awoke, my father had returned and was talking in a quick, hushed whisper to my mother. “It took all of our money,” he was saying, “and I know that thief Quach