Counterfeit

Olivier is angry with Ava about her trip, and Henri cries through the entire flight to Hong Kong. When she takes her aunt and uncle to dinner at a restaurant, Ava’s credit card is declined. The bank explains that Olivier removed her as an authorized user.

Ava insists to the detective that this wasn’t due to a misogynist or control streak in Oli but reflects his concerns about their single-income household. She tells the detective she’s “not some deluded housewife, content to perpetuate the patriarchy” (60), but she does recall her mother advising Ava to have some money of her own. She tells the detective she couldn’t let Oli win, protesting, “You don’t earn straight A’s all your life without being uncommonly competitive” (61). When Ava asked Winnie if she still needed Ava to go to Guangzhou, Winnie replied with specific instructions.

Ava is nervous about her errand, but she can’t explain to her family why she has no money. She explains to the detective that it’s about “face—the figurative face, the image, reputation, honor that must be fought for her preserved at all costs” (68). She returns to the narrative: Her Mandarin is limited, so she feels intimidated as a driver takes her to China and an entire mall full of replica designer handbags.