We clinked our glasses of cognac, and then I asked if she had a toast for widowers.
“I don’t, but someone once said that widowers marry again because it makes their lives easier. Widows often don't, because it makes their lives harder.”
Linh Thi laughed. “We are a morbid trio.”
Janie-Marie laughed at that. “Yes, let’s change the subject.”
Then, looking at me, she said, “Linh Thi tells me you and Antonio were good friends, going all the way back to a place called Kansas.”
“Yes. He was a kind of father figure for me. My father was killed in the War of Rebellion—what people today call the War Between the States.”
“I must say, I respect you for honoring his memory and coming here to Cochinchine to help Linh Thi.”
I took a sip of my cognac. “I’m not sure how much I’ve helped. Do you know
