Kim leaned back against the sink’s edge and watched his long stubborn back leaving the kitchen. She wanted to let him sulk, be a baby, what did she care? But she couldn’t. She stopped him and said, “Here.” She opened the cupboard door. “Help yourself. This is where I keep all the spices and condiments. This is now your home too.” She placed the little plastic bear with the red tipped hat on the counter.

Duc picked up the bottle and rubbed the tips of his fingers together. She could hear its squish. He squeezed the rounded belly and when the bear’s hat plopped off, honey oozed out on the counter. He cursed. Kim reached to wipe it with a sponge. But Duc swiped up the honey with his finger, placed his finger in his mouth, and sucked it. She stood paralyzed, watching. The wet sponge dripped on her toes. He freed his mouth and bared his teeth to her. He said, “You don’t keep house the way you used to.” He looked at her feet. “The floor is wet.” She returned to the dishes. “Your back is wet too. Maybe you shouldn’t fill the sink so high.” Under his breath he said, “You’ve turned Ameri can.”

She asked, “How?” But when she turned around he was already gone. He used to call her his honeybee, give her bouquets and have her suck the stems, every single flower chosen for the sweetness of its nectar.

In the living room, Duc changed the channels incessantly. Images flickered by of human bodies loving or abusing each other. He stared ahead with the television set on mute. All the while his thumb beat on the buttons, click, click, clicking.

She said, “I guess it’s difficult finding anything worth watching.” She leaned on the sofa and dried her shriveled hands on a dishtowel. Duc said nothing. He butted the plastic remote against the cushions of the arm rest. It made a dull thudding sound like boots stomping through mud.

“Hey there.” She flicked his shoulder with the towel. He jumped and snatched it. He clutched the towel in his hand. They held on to opposite ends of the cloth. She thought of it as a playful gesture until she noticed that his lips had curled into what resembled a snarl. “Sorry,” she said. He flung his end at her and released it.