Healing The Single Dad's Heart / Just Friends To Just Married?

CHAPTER THREE

THEY’D FALLEN INTO an easy routine. Joe was keen and enthusiastic, and she couldn’t fault his clinical skills for a second. Which was just as well as the place was even busier than usual. Khiem and Hoa had returned for a week, and then gone to the other hospital in Uông Bí in the northeast of Vietnam.

They’d quickly given their approval of the latest employee, loving his enthusiasm and listening to his wide range of ideas.

She couldn’t help but admire the relationship Joe had with his son. When they weren’t working, he devoted all his time to Regan. The little boy seemed to love his new environment. He’d even tried a few Vietnamese words on Lien that he’d learned at nursery. She was impressed.

Her fears had started to settle. Even after the awkward first day, Joe didn’t seem inclined to jump on the first plane back home.

Dinner at her favourite restaurant had been…interesting. His dark green eyes often had a glint of cheekiness in them, and she liked that. She was beginning to believe that he really was looking for a fresh start—even if he was only here for six months. Apart from his mum and dad, he rarely mentioned home. It was almost as if he was putting things firmly behind him. He’d been learning the language basics from Mai Ahn, and had taken an interest in some of the wider public health issues in the area.

The biggest adult health problem in Hanoi was strokes. Joe had been keen to assess every adult who attended the clinic—with any condition—to see if they were at risk. Blood-pressure medications and dietary advice were at the top of his list of general patient care. She could be annoyed. He’d started something that was in her future plans. But sometimes new blood was needed to kick-start things, so she was happy to go along with his ideas.

He’d also followed up on the family with tuberculosis. The younger two children had tested negative and been vaccinated to protect them. The father and grandfather were being actively encouraged to keep taking their medications, and the other little girl was being regularly reviewed at the clinic.

Lien stretched her hands above her head to try and relieve her aching back.

‘Whoops.’ Joe put his hand up to his face as he walked in the door opposite.

Heat rushed into her cheeks as she pulled her shirt back down. He’d clearly got a flash of her abdomen.

‘What do you have?’ she asked quickly.

‘Just an adult with what could be appendicitis.’ He frowned. ‘I know there’s a theatre here, but I’m definitely no surgeon. What do we do with patients like this?’

Her hands gave her shirt another pull and she moved over to stand next to him. ‘We generally monitor for a few hours, then, if we have to, we arrange an ambulance and admission to one of the bigger hospitals.’

‘How does that work for payment?’

‘It’s an emergency surgery and should be covered. But things can be tricky. Sometimes patients get billed for the ambulance or for the nursing care. Sometimes they get billed for nothing at all.’

She pulled the notes towards her. ‘Let’s see. We have a few patients with grumbling appendices. They like to wait until they absolutely have to come out.’

Joe ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. ‘This guy is obviously in pain. I’ll go and give him something in the meantime.’ He put his hands on his hips. ‘Can’t you persuade someone to do free surgery for your patients?’

She smiled. ‘It’s on our wish list, along with free hospital care, free rehab, addiction and mental health services.’

He nodded slowly. ‘I guess it’s a long list, then.’

‘It is.’ She could tell he was feeling a bit despondent. She reached up to put her hand on his arm. ‘You’ll get used to the differences here. We all want to do more than we actually can.’

His eyes went to her fingers resting on his arm. He didn’t say anything or pull away. He just stayed still. His gaze made her self-conscious and she stepped back, feeling a bit flustered.

‘What are your plans for tomorrow?’

Joe blinked. It was as if she’d lost him for a moment. ‘What?’ He shook his head. ‘Nothing. Just spending some time with Regan.’

‘Would you like me to show you some of the sights?’

His head tilted to one side, as if he was considering the offer. She was still a little flustered and her mouth just kept talking. ‘There are a few places not too far away that you might not have had a chance to visit yet. Have you been to Hoàn Kiếm Lake yet? Or Ngoc Son Temple?’

Joe shook his head. ‘No. We haven’t really had a chance to see much of the city. Is it something Joe would like?’

She nodded and smiled. ‘Sure. It’s a lake with boats and turtles. He’s a kid. Of course he’ll like it.’

She said it so matter-of-factly that Joe burst out laughing.

She nodded. ‘Okay, then, let’s finish up with this patient and see if he needs to be transferred, or if he just needs to be monitored overnight. Neither of us is on call tomorrow so we can take Regan out for the day.’

Her skin prickled. Joe was looking at her a little strangely. ‘Thank you,’ he said after a few seconds.

‘What for?’

‘For thinking about Regan.’

She shrugged. ‘What are friends for?’

The next morning seemed to come around quickly. By nine o’clock they were walking to Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Even though it was a weekend morning, the lake seemed as popular with locals as it was with tourists. The large green lake was surrounded by grass and old trees. There was a whole variety of activities going on, from joggers circling the lake, to walking groups and people doing exercises beside the still water. Tourist groups with guides carrying bright umbrellas hurried around the lake shore, obviously anxious to complete this part of their tour before the sun rose too high in the sky.

Regan was excited and bounced on his toes. ‘It’s just like the one back home, Daddy,’ he said.

Joe nodded thoughtfully. ‘Maybe.’ He glanced at Lien. ‘There’s a park we go to back home.’ He paused. ‘There are a lot of parks actually, but Regan’s favourite is Rouken Glen. There’s a lake and a gorgeous boathouse for food.’ He smiled down affectionately at Regan and ruffled his hair. ‘But it’s not quite on this scale.’ He held up one hand. ‘This place seems more…elegant.’

He was struck by how many similarities he could see between Hanoi and Glasgow. It hadn’t even occurred to him before he’d got here. He’d partly hoped that moving to a new place would flood him with a whole host of new emotions—leaving no time or space for new ones. It seemed he was going to have to work a little harder at leaving Glasgow behind.

‘This is one of my favourite places for people-watching,’ said Lien as she showed them around. ‘Hoàn Kiếm Lake means “Lake of the Restored Sword”.’

Regan’s eyes went wide. ‘Wow,’ he said quickly.

She bent down next to him. ‘The legend says that Emperor Lê Lợi had just won a great battle against the Ming dynasty. It was rumoured he had a magical sword that helped him win that battle. The sword was supposed to have great power and be inscribed with the words “Thuận Thiên”, which means “The Will of Heaven”.’ She gave a broad smile. ‘I think you have a similar story back in the UK about King Arthur and his sword Excalibur. Didn’t he get his sword from the Lady of the Lake?’

Regan’s eyes flitted to Joe’s and back again. He tugged at Lien’s sleeve. ‘Tell me about this sword.’

She had an art for storytelling. She seemed able to pull them into the stories she was telling, putting her own special spin on them so they were suitable for Regan. ‘Well, one of Lê Lợi’s fishermen had found this sword. He caught the blade in his net. It was thought it had come from the Dragon King’s underwater palace. Once he had the blade, Lê Lợi found the hilt—the bottom of the sword—inside a banyan tree. His soldiers said that Lê Lợi grew very tall when he used the sword and that it gave him the strength of many men.’

‘Is that how he won the battle?’ asked Regan eagerly.

Lien smiled and nodded. ‘Lê Lợi won the battle and the Chinese accepted Vietnam as a country in its own right. Shortly after, Lê Lợi was boating on this lake—it was called Luc Thuy then, the Green Water Lake—when a golden turtle appeared. The turtle told him he’d been given the sword to protect the country against the enemy, but now it was time to return it. The turtle took the sword from Lê Lợi’s belt and dived back to the bottom of the lake with the glowing sword. At first, Lê Lợi tried to find the sword as he wanted it back, but then he realised it had gone back to its rightful owner, the Dragon King.’

Regan ran to the edge and peered into the green depths. ‘Do you think the sword is still down there?’

Lien grabbed his hand. She could almost see the tiny mind working. ‘I think it is, but it’s back with its rightful owner.’

Regan’s eyes remained wide. He was staring out across the expanse of the green lake when something else caught his eye. ‘Look!’ He pointed.

Joe and Lien followed his gaze and saw a wedding party gathered at the other side. She nodded. ‘This is a popular place to get married or to take wedding pictures. There are a few temples around here.’

‘What kind of temples?’

Joe had just opened his mouth to ask the same question but Regan got there first. Joe let out a laugh. It was almost as if Lien had his son under some kind of spell. He was literally hanging on her every word. And Joe could understand why.

She was animated when she talked to him, using her hands and gestures to draw him in. Her eyes were full of fire.

‘Let’s go to the Ngoc Son Temple. It’s on an island in the middle of the lake. We have to walk around this way.’

She guided them around the lake. Every now and then they stopped at some other sight—people doing yoga on mats, another group practising tai chi. Every time Regan spotted a ripple on the lake surface he would yell, ‘Is it a turtle?’

‘I wish it was,’ sighed Lien. ‘There are only a few left. But keep a lookout, we might spot one.’

They reached a brightly painted ornate red bridge that had a stream of people walking across it. ‘This is the Huc Bridge—that means “morning sunlight”. It leads us to Jade Island.’

Lien bought some tickets from a booth and they joined the crowd of people filing across the bridge. Regan kept staring expectantly into the water of the lake, hoping to spot an elusive turtle. Lien pointed further down the lake to what looked like an abandoned building on another island. ‘That’s the Turtle Tower. It’s the place where the turtles are supposed to live and breed.’ She gave a sad kind of shrug. ‘Here’s hoping there are still some left.’

She turned back and continued across the bridge. Joe caught his breath as the temple emerged. It was beautiful. Built in traditional Vietnamese style, it was grey in colour with splashes of white and blue.

Lien gave a smile as the people in front of them stopped to take some photos. ‘This was built in the eighteenth century and honours one of the military leaders. He fought against the Yuan Dynasty.’

Regan’s brow furrowed. ‘There was a lot of fighting.’

Lien knelt next to him. ‘There’s a lot of fighting all over the world. Thankfully this was all hundreds of years ago and we don’t need to worry now.’

She turned back to the temple as they walked forward. ‘It’s still used—and it’s been repaired a number of times over the years.’ She lowered her voice as they walked through the main entrance. ‘Monks pray here, and you can smell the burning incense.’ She showed them around the various buildings on the small island, explaining them all. There were many antiques displayed with the temple, along with the preserved remains of a turtle that had been captured on the lake many years before.

Lien said, ‘Some people think the last one died a few years ago.’ She bent down and whispered in Regan’s ear, ‘But I live in hope that there are a few still in there, and they’re hiding from all the people. I bet they come out at night.’

They spent a while on the island, taking pictures and looking at the displays. Joe could sense that Regan was starting to get distracted, and they led him back across the red bridge and back to the grounds around the lake.

They sat on the grass underneath one of the trees for a while as the sun climbed in the sky. Joe reapplied Regan’s insect repellent, then Lien took them to a nearby store that sold ice cream.

They walked along the busy streets with their ice creams dripping. It was only when they stopped at one of the crossings that Joe sucked in a breath.

He hadn’t thought about Esther today. Not at all.

Pain sliced through him. For a long, long time she’d been the first thing he’d thought about in the morning and the last thing he’d thought about at night.

This morning they’d just been so busy waking up and getting ready that they really hadn’t had a minute. All Joe’s thoughts had been on Regan and Lien.

He’d known this would happen at some point but guilt still flooded through him. He’d promised Esther he would keep her memory alive in his son, and how could he do that if he hadn’t even spared her a thought today?

‘Joe? What’s wrong?’

Lien was standing in front of him, her nose only inches below his, chocolate ice cream dripping down her hand.

He jerked back. ‘What?’ He felt a bit confused.

She gave him a curious smile and he noticed she was holding Regan’s hand. ‘The lights changed for us to cross, and you missed them. We had to come back for you.’

He flinched. Had he really been so lost in his own thoughts? Heat rushed into his cheeks. Not only was he embarrassed, he was angry with himself. What if something had happened to Regan?

He noticed the crossing lights change again behind Lien’s head. ‘Let’s go,’ she said easily, as if nothing had happened.

He sucked in a breath as he watched her slim figure in white loose trousers and a bright pink long-sleeved tunic walk in front of him. From the way the sun was striking her, he could see the outline of her body beneath the thin clothes.

They’d taken a hundred photos today. Some together, and some of just Regan and Lien.

He licked his lips as he tried to rationalise the blood racing around his body. She was good for him. She was good for them.

Of course, she was a colleague. It was quite likely she had a no-date rule for work. And that was fine. Because he had to deal with his feelings before he could even consider anything else.

This was the first time he’d felt this rush, this attraction, in for ever. At least it felt like for ever.

The only woman Regan had really had in his life since Esther had died had been Joe’s mother, and while she was great, it was nice to see him interact so well with someone else. He watched as they stopped at the other side of the street and Lien pulled some tissues from her bag so they could all wipe their sticky fingers.

She looked over the top of Regan’s head. ‘You okay?’ she asked softly.

It was almost like she knew. As if she’d read his mind.

His heart stuttered, partly because of the empathy she showed and partly from the thought that if she could read his mind, she might not be entirely happy with some of the thoughts he’d been having.

He gave a quick nod of his head. ‘I’m fine.’

He sucked a deep breath in and closed his eyes for a second, inhaling the scent from the nearby street vendor carts. As he opened his eyes again he took in the bright splashes of colour all around them, and his ears adjusted to the constant buzz of noise. He smiled. Vietnam. Something about this city was giving him a new lease on life.

The next two days were busy. No time to sightsee or do anything other than work. Lien liked that. It was normal for her. But she was conscious of the fact that Joe was used to more support back home. She also wondered how well he was sleeping. She’d noticed some dark circles under his eyes today. Her hand paused at the blue door, wondering if she should knock or not. She wasn’t being nosy but she hadn’t seen Regan for a few days.

From the smell wafting through the open window she could tell they’d already had dinner. Good. She wouldn’t be interrupting. She knocked at the door and pushed it open when she heard the shout telling her to enter.

Joe waved her inside. Regan was perched on the edge of the sofa and she could see they had an electronic tablet in their hands. ‘We’re just video-calling back home with my mum and dad,’ he explained. He moved over on the sofa. ‘Come and say hello.’

She shook her head quickly and backed up. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.’

‘Don’t go.’ He smiled and waved his hand, beckoning her inside. ‘Come. My mum and dad want to say hello.’

She smiled nervously. This definitely felt like an intrusion, but Regan waved her over too. ‘Come on, Lien, say hi to my grandma.’

Lien took a few steps and sat down nervously next to Joe. There was an older couple on the screen, waving at her.

‘Mum, Dad, this is Lien.’

Regan stuck his head across the screen. ‘She works with Daddy.’

Joe nodded to the screen. ‘Lien, this is Rob and Ann, my mum and dad.’

Lien laughed nervously and waved back.

The woman, Ann, stepped right up to the screen, obviously to get a better look at her. She clasped her hands together. ‘Lien, it’s so nice to meet you. Regan’s been talking about you and how you live in the house next door.’

Lien nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right. I’m next door.’

She’d spent her life talking to patients and relatives—usually complete strangers—and managed perfectly well. But right now she’d never felt so awkward. She had the strangest sensation of meeting a boyfriend’s mum when she was nineteen years old, and vowing not to set foot in that house again.

His mum had been nice, but it was clear she didn’t think anyone would be good enough for her son.

Ann kept talking. ‘How are they getting on? Regan says he likes the nursery, have you seen it? Does it have a good reputation? And Joe? Is he behaving? And how big is the laundry pile? Has he started wearing crumpled shirts yet?’

Lien’s head was buzzing, not least with the speed of the barrage of questions, but also with the broad Scottish accents. She actually started laughing.