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

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.’