Things We Lost to the Water

Hương, Tuấn, and Ben are now American citizens. In third grade, Ben meets Addy, an immigrant from Haiti. They become friends. Addy and her father, like most residents of Versailles, are Catholic. This fascinates Ben because Hương rejects the religion. A Vietnamese priest comes to their neighborhood to create the first Vietnamese church in their area. Hương declines to join.

Ben encounters Father Hiệu playing volleyball with the Versailles teenage boys. They invite Ben to join and take photos together. Hương finds the photo and angrily cuts up the photo in front of Ben, telling him Công would disapprove. She scolds Tuấn, much to Tuấn’s consternation. On another day, Tuấn and Ben play can-ball, and Tuấn tells Ben anecdotes about Công. Nearby, Father Hiệu is playing volleyball with the teens; they invite Tuấn and Ben to join them. Tuấn reluctantly refuses.

Hương allows Ben to have regular weekend sleepovers at Addy’s house. One day, Ben convinces Addy’s father to take them (and him) to the Vietnamese church for Sunday worship. Hương discovers him at the church and drags him out, interrupting the service and humiliating Ben.