Shallow Graves

homogeneous Vietnamese.
    “The children of the mothers who stay in Vietnam , they have nothing. The America soldiers are fathers but not husbands. They come to Vietnam and leave, but the mothers stay and the children stay and they have nothing.
    “But my husband find out I am pregnant, he is happy. He say, ‘I will marry you, Claudette. I will take you back to The World in the plane.’ The other girls, they say, ‘Claudette, all the soldiers say that, so you will still bum-bum with them until near time baby come.’ But my husband is different. He find out I am pregnant, he take me out to big dinner. Celebration. We coming home to my apartment, we see two QC.“
    “QC“ was short for “Quart Canh,“ the South Vietnamese military police.
    “My husband, he want to tell them how he is happy. They curse at him in Vietnam words. He know some words, he hear other girls use. He get mad, he punch one QC. The other hit him with stick and break stick. I scream and use my“—her hands fluttered up—“nails to scratch his face. QC use his stick that is broke to hit me in face. My…“ This time her hand fluttered toward her glass eye, but stopped and came back to her lap. “They run away from us. I get other America soldier to stop, get ambulance, to get...“
    She stopped, took a breath. “I am in hospital. I do not lose my baby, but my eye is... gone. Not in my head. My husband come see me. He have bandage around his head, and he cry. My husband cry for my eye, Mr. Cuddy. He is honorable man, and he ‘sponsor’ me. I must see government officials, Vietnam men and America men, every day for many day. I must give some money, then same ones more money. But I get out, my daughter still inside me. I come to The World. And you know what I find?“
    “No.“
    “I find The World is strange place. In Vietnam , new wife go to house of the mother of her husband and work for mother. Work hard. What the mother want new wife to do, new wife must do, no questions. Here, the father of my husband is not please with new Vietnam wife. The friends of my husband not please with new Vietnam wife. But the mother of my husband is a beautiful woman. I have so little English, I say to her, ‘What need you done?’ She say, ‘You talk like I do, I first come to America . You pregnant, Claudette. You... eye. You sit. I work for you.’ I love my husband, and I love the mother of my husband, who make me call her ‘Amatina.’ Her name from Italy . So when my daughter is born, and she has the beautiful eyes, the violet eyes, we give her name ‘Amatina,’ too.“
    Claudette Danucci swallowed with difficulty. “We call my daughter ‘Tina,’ because the mother of my husband say she cannot tell who we want when we call ‘Amatina.’ The mother of my husband teach me the things of Italy my husband like. In Vietnam , I learn to cook with mint and basil, cilantro and nuoc mam from the fish. From Amatina, I learn to cook with mozzarella and oregano, but also the fish, the anchovy, they use too. From Amatina, I learn to behave for the father of my husband, and even he start to like Vietnam wife of his son. And daughter of his son, with the eyes of his wife from Italy . Six, seven year ago, when Amatina... get sick, my daughter and me, we take care of her here, in this house. When Amatina... die, we take care of the father of my husband, who has the heart attack in his house and cannot care for himself. We are family, Mr. Cuddy. Like in Vietnam , I teach my daughter respect for the family of her father.“
    “Even though her father’s family was a crime family.“
    Claudette Danucci fired up. “What is crime, Mr. Cuddy? What is crime when you are rape by America ‘protectors’ and beat by your own police and rob by your own government? What is crime when your whole country is victim?“
    I didn’t have an answer for her. “When did your daughter move to Boston ?“
    She lost the fire. “Year ago.“
    “Why?“
    “She...“ Danucci stopped, thought, and started again. “She want to be model in pictures. Many people in Boston tell her she is beautiful for model.“
    “How did you feel about that?“
    “I did not like it. A daughter stay with her family until she find a husband. That is still the best way.“
    “How did your husband feel?“
    “He did not like it, too. The city is... not safe, he say.“
    “Your daughter stayed for a while with her uncle?“
    “Yes, but then my husband say, ‘Tina, you must stay in the