“She acted bad in school?” Huong was ready with profuse apologies. Wait till Viet finds out. She held a dark desire to see his sunny, all-loving exterior crack. If Mr. Professor didn’t reprimand the girl for this one, she would hoard this stone as proof against his indulgence for a lifetime.

But the woman said, “No, Mrs. Le. Elle’s teachers are concerned because she has bruises up and down her back.” For the first time during her visit, Irene Pacheco sat back against the couch.

Huong nodded. She wanted to show she understood so that Irene Pacheco would continue on with her point. Irene Pacheco picked up her water glass and drank. When she gulped down the entire glass and then set it down and didn’t say anything more, Huong realized that the other woman was waiting for her to speak. They sat facing each other in silence. Finally, Irene Pacheco leaned forward and said, “Do you have anything to say Mrs. Le?”

Huong thought it was an odd thing to say after the question and answer pattern that had already been established. Huong thought about the bruises Irene Pacheco had brought up. The wind had gotten in deep this winter. The bruises were darker than they had ever been in past treatments. My poor Elle, she thought. Huong wanted to try and explain this when she heard the other woman take a deep breath. Irene Pacheco said, “Mrs. Le,” and then she paused to take another deep breath. “Your daughter told her school counselor that you gave her the bruis es.”

Huong blinked. The way Irene Pacheco said “you” made her realize why this woman had come. She had sensed all along that the visit was out of the ordinary. But never would she have predicted the depths of her fall. A stranger had come into her home to accuse her of hurting her own child. In the most respected country in the world, such beast-like acts happened often enough that they actually had organizations to catch people at it. . And she, Huong Le who had come from one of Sàigòn’s best families was targeted as somebody to be caught.

Huong wanted to cry but forbade herself. She would never show weakness before this hateful woman. But then her throat closed up and she couldn’t stop coughing. Meanwhile, Irene Pacheco sat patiently and waited. She wanted Huong to say something. She handed Huong her now cold cup of tea.

When Huong said nothing, Irene Pacheco offered, “The other girls saw her back and told the teacher. Her P.E. teacher said she thought it strange that Elle was reluctant to participate. They were going to do soccer drills that day and that’s Elle’s favorite sport isn’t it? She plays on the girls junior varsity team doesn’t she?”

Huong remembered how she had discouraged Elle from joining. “The running around will build up your calves too big,” she’d warned. “It’s not pretty for a girl to have big legs,” she’d advised. But Elle had laughed it off and now it was being used as some sort of deceitful evidence against her.