Saving Fish from Drowning - Heal Burma

AMY TAN
younger years, this presentation of the mint was a cryptogram for
wishing to engage in more kissing. Now he no longer had to speak
in ridiculous codes. He could say what he meant. A mint was a mint.
A kiss was a kiss. Yes indeed, he was well on his way to love, perfect
understanding.
Marlena took the mint, hoping Harry would not try to act too
amorous in front of her daughter. Esmé, meanwhile, threw sidelong
glances at her mother holding Harry’s hand. She wrinkled her nose,
but this time it was not because she disapproved of Harry. He was
her hero of sorts. But handholding, no matter who was doing it, was
embarrassing. That woman Wendy had glanced back, Esmé noted,
and seen what her mother and Harry were doing. Now she and her
boyfriend were flashing knowing smiles at each other. What did they
know that she did not? Had her mother and Harry done it? What­
ever they did, the handholding stuff looked pathetic and possessive,
not to mention that their palms were probably sweaty in this heat.
An hour later, Walter and Bennie returned from the checkpoint
shack. Bennie spoke first: “We’re provisionally approved, but we have
to go to another town to record the paperwork line by line, and we’ll
need everyone’s passports.”
Groans emanated from the bus.
Walter held up his hand. “Once we reach this town, while I take
care of these tedious details, you will be free to explore the town of
Muse for an hour or so. There is a rather lively market, many shop­
keepers with textiles and the like—”
“We’ll be free to get off the bus?” Wendy said.
“Yes, it is quite all right. You can go about and wander. As Mr.
Bennie said, you are all provisionally approved to enter. We simply
need to copy the information about your itinerary and dot the i’s and
cross the t’s, as you Americans say. But before you go, I suggest you
change your money with me. I will give you the highest legal rate al­
lowed, three hundred and eighty kyats per dollar. This is the same
152