“In Viet Nam it takes a long time for someone to say they are in love. But then they are in love. Yeu, I mean, not thuong. The kind of love that is forever. I think in the western countries they start out saying they are in love. And then they try to decide if it is true. So it is a different word in another language. Love and love, but different. Isn’t that true, Cong Ly?”

“What happened?”

“Khong co sao. Never mind. Thank you for coming.”

“You don’t want to tell me?”

“I am ashamed to tell you.” She looked away and then back at him again. “All right, I will tell you. He offered me to his friend. For an evening. For an evening, Cong Ly!”

“Forget it, Van. It’s over.”

She was crying. “You know my culture. What am I going to do? I’ve been with a foreigner. A rich man! People know this. Now I will be laughed at. And maybe worse.”

“You shouldn’t be thinking of that right now. You left with your dignity in place. That’s important.”

She pulled him more tightly to her, clutching his arm as if it were a life preserver, saying nothing. A cyclo passed them, creaking slowly by, and then a string of motorbikes. Her tears mixed with the rain, and then they stopped.

“So,” she finally said as they walked along the dark, wet sidewalk. “Are we together now?”

Her nearness, the strength of her grasp, and even the very warmth of her body were overwhelming. It was not logical to think that they could ever find happiness together. But he could not stop himself from wanting to fall inside this moment and keep it, at least until it ended.

“No,” he finally answered, nonetheless pulling her into him as they walked. “Not a good idea, Van.” But finally he stopped in the darkness, with the rain falling on them and the motorbikes beeping at them from the roadway, and kissed her for a very long time.

In minutes they reached the Vien Dong Hotel. Standing outside the door, she looked directly into his eyes. Her tears were gone. There was a strength in the firmness of her lips. “Take me to your room.”

“No.”

“I know you want to make love to me, Cong Ly. I knew it the first time I met you.”

“Let me say this as a friend, Van. You have to be careful with yourself. You can’t jump from one man to another.”

“I decided to leave Francois weeks ago. But I wanted to wait until you came back.”

How many women had he been with since Mai died? He could not even count. But it had never been complicated. “I need to call you a taxi.”

“Later.”