chris and john return, having failed to find kim. ellen tells them both that kim arrived and that she had to tell kim everything. chris and john blame themselves, realising that they were gone too long. ellen also tells them that kim wants to see chris at her place, and that she tried to give away her son to them. john realises that kim wants tam to be "an american boy." ellen then issues an ultimatum to chris: kim or her. chris reassures ellen, and they pledge their love for each other. chris will leave tam and kim in bangkok but offer them monetary support from america. john warns that kim will not find it acceptable to have tam stay in thailand ("the confrontation"). back at the club, kim lies to the engineer that they are still going to america ("paper dragons"). the engineer imagines the extravagant new life that he will lead in america ("the american dream"). chris, john, and ellen find the engineer and he takes them to see kim and tam.