Marsha Marsha Marsha

When I meet Nam this morning, the first thing he says to me is, "Sue - go home?"

Yes, I tell him, Sue go home.

He pantomimes that he saw me put her into the cab - he was on the street in his spot - and he waved as she drove by but she didn't see him.

When we get to school, I hand him a card that she wrote to him (with a 100,00 VND tip in it). I ask him if he would like me to have a student translate it, but he folds it up and says "My Minh." Minh will do the job.

After school, he calls a student over to translate. "Your friend Miss Sue is fantastic. Please tell her anytime she isn't busy I will drive her around the city." Then he hands me the above card to give to her. I hope she doesn't mind that I opened it (and that I am sharing it with the world) - it wasn't sealed so of course I had to read it. I loved that they called her "jolly" - a word I would not have thought of myself, but one that fits her so perfectly. I love the whole letter; it's just like him to be so thoughtful and to return the gesture.

Nam is taking me to get my implant today, and all the way there he points to places and says, "Miss Sue no like," (deep fried food stand) - or "Miss Sue eat pho there" (points to a stand) or "Miss Sue my friend." Ah, the memories...

At about Memory #5, it's like OK, OK, I get it. I am the one you are in a committed relationship with - you are driving me to my dental implant appointment instead of gallavanting across town to find all of the best eating establishments in the city, having the time of your life with your flashy, jolly firefighter friend Sue. I think you will realize in a few days that it was all just a fantasy, and that I am your bread and butter real life food client. And that we have had some good times, too...

Funny, for the past few weeks, a guard has been standing at the entrance to the road leading to the front of the school, telling all motorbike drivers to go around for drop off. Nam pays no attention to this guard, and has been driving right past him - always with a belly laugh (I am always laughing, too). Today he does it again and I say "Cowboy" as he does it. That really gets him.

Whether cutting rice in prison, escaping to America, winning over his wife or driving past school guards: Nam the Cowboy.

He had better bring me my breakfast treat tomorrow.