China Dolls

China DollsOnce, in a back street in Calcutta, a wheezing Bengali snatched my arm and said, "You want Chinese girl?" I had been hurrying to get a train ticket at Howrah. I had promised to meet someone after that. It was midday, and the humid heat of the Hooghly River penetrated the crowded city and made it stink. I had wanted to get everything done--my ticket, my shopping, my appointments--and then head out of there. The Bengali had caught me just as I had set off on what I expected to...