Summary

"The Transplant" is told in the third person, past tense and follows the story of Arthur Arellano.

Arthur Arellano was a third generation Mexican American who lived in Orange County, California. When the story opens, he was looking at the stacks of boxes that contain counterfeit luxury goods that were being stored in his garage for Louis Vu. Arthur felt indebted to Louis because he received Louis's father's liver as a transplant months before, and he offered Louis the use of his garage to store the goods.

The story then moves forward in time to one of Louis and Arthur's weekly lunches as a Vietnamese restaurant in Little Saigon, Orange County. Arthur expressed his discomfort with the counterfeit good business, but Louis attempted to lessen Arthur's guilt by explaining how the counterfeit goods enable those without as much money to have the same...