She chuckled at the thought. Europe. Who didn’t want to go to Europe? Even the name, itself, sounded marvelous to her ears.
Yes, Europe was a place she always wanted to visit, and see, and smell, and be a part of. She also wanted to go to a manor. Not just any old, crumbling manor, but a livable manor in Scotland. Why a manor? Why Scotland? She didn’t know. All she knew was that she wanted to visit a manor in Scotland. There didn’t have to be a reason, right? And finally, she could fulfill that dream.
“’Allo? Anyone home?”
Ruby blinked, jolting back to reality; and noticed her friend, Nikita Buchannan, waving and trying to get her attention. Well, so what if she were gone for a wee while? she rationalized, albeit with a trace of guilt.
“Where were you, Ruby? La-la-land or Scotland?”
“Scotland,” Ruby replied automatically. “Sorry about that. This overseas trip of mine is getting me nervous and excited at the same time.” She changed the subject. “Now, I’m going to do your gum assessment.”
“Yes, I can totally understand that,” Nikita grumbled, meaning the opposite. “Do explain, Ruby! You know I get anxious coming to see you. Don’t leave me in the deep end.”
Ruby secretly grinned. She knew Niki was a bit cranky today after that weird, little accident with the hot guy at the supermarket.
“He was nice,” Ruby remarked, remembering the tall, muscular Asian-Australian who nearly drove into Nikita.
“He was rude!” Niki muttered promptly, knowing whom her friend was referring to. “And bloody arrogant, too. God, I hated his accent.”
“You might see him again.”
“He’s Australian!” Niki said with finality. “I will never see him again.”
Ruby knew how much Nikita hated Australians because of her dad, who was, un-surprisingly, an Australian. The man thoughtlessly abandoned her mother and her years ago for another woman. It hurt Niki very deeply, and Ruby could totally understand that. Thus, she simply grinned and said no more.
After probing around Niki’s mouth several times, she explained, “You have some bleeding around your posterior lower dentition. I’m concerned. You even have a four-millimeter pocket on the thirty-seven mesial lingual. Do you floss regularly?”
Niki pulled a face. “Hello! Could you just explain it in simple English? I don’t understand those dental terms you’re talking about. What the heck is a thirty-seven mesial lingual?”
Ruby shook her head at Niki’s demand.
As a hygienist, dental terms came so naturally to her that she forgot most people didn’t understand them. She might as well have spoken alien to Nikita, even though it was English.
“Okay! Your thirty-seven is your second left bottom molar. The gum around there is not looking too flashy. Just want you to floss some more around your back teeth. Got it?”
“Got it, Miss Dental Hygienist. I shall obey all of your orders. Brush and floss twice a day,” Niki said mockingly.
Ruby grinned as she removed her gloves. After washing her hands with soap thoroughly, she replaced the old gloves with a new pair and picked up the Piezon periodontal scaling tip before inserting it into the handpiece.
“What are you doing now?” Niki shrieked.
“Niki, I’m about to scale your teeth. Why are you always so alarmed? You come to see me every six months; you should already know the procedure.”
“You know I don’t like coming to the dentist,” Niki defended, folding her arms across her chest and crossing one leg over the other as she lay there, feeling helpless on the dental chair.
“I’m not a dentist, Niki. I’m a dental hygienist,” Ruby corrected her.
“Well, they’re all the same to me,” Niki muttered, pulling her protective glasses back on.
“No, they’re not.” At that point, Ruby aimed the light over Niki’s face. “Dentists focus on restoring teeth. I focus on preventing dental disease. That’s the difference. Now, I’m putting this suction in your mouth to remove the water while scaling.” She teasingly added, “So you won’t drown, okay?”
“Are you serious? People can drown?” Niki shrieked.
Ruby laughed. “Don’t be silly. I was just joking.”
Niki pulled a face. “Yeah, I knew that.” She sighed as though she were about to enter the dragon’s dungeon. Ruby noted it and shook her head.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah. Ready. No, wait! Be gentle, okay?”
“You know I’m always very gentle on you,” Ruby responded.
“And could you use that rubber thing to make my teeth smooth?”
“Oh, you mean polishing after scaling?”
“Yes.”
“Sure.” With that, Ruby started scaling Niki’s teeth, while the thought of her upcoming trip to Europe returned.
“Grr!”
Her patient yanked at her wrist, drawing Ruby’s attention. She paused at her scaling, raising her brows at Niki.
“Where were you, Ruby? You wanna drill a hole in my tooth or something?”
Ruby chuckled behind her mask. She expected her patient to be a bit difficult today, and she was right.
“Don’t be such a baby, Nikita. Now stop groaning and let me clean your teeth properly. Did you really floss and brush like I told you to?”
“Heck yeah! What am I supposed to do? Ignore your insistent nagging?”
Ruby laughed. “Okay, I’m gonna polish your teeth now. Gee, girl, hold still and don’t move so much; otherwise, I am going to drill a hole in your tooth.”
Nikita muttered something in her own invented slang, which Ruby didn’t care to translate into English. Her friend groaned and opened her mouth wider as Ruby started polishing her teeth.
Ten minutes later, when Ruby was finished, Nikita said, “Who are those from?” She was pointing to the bouquet of perfect white roses and a box of Cadbury Rose chocolate.
Her station cleaned, sanitized, and packed up, Ruby turned to her friend. “What?”
“The roses and chocolate.”
Ruby chuckled as she picked up her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. “Another marriage proposal.”
“Really?” Nikita said. “I swear to you, Ruby, ever since you got your braces off, you’ve had more proposals than I can count.”
“I know. Wouldn’t it be nice if one came from a young, hunky man? Like the Australian dude?” Ruby looked at her friend, her eyes twinkling.
Niki chose to ignore her remark as well as the look Ruby was giving her.
Ruby continued, “But most of my admirers are retirees with bad teeth that need unending attention… and pronto.” She picked up the bunch of roses and chocolate. “Must admit these are nice though.”
“Did you say yes?” Nikita asked curiously as they headed out to the empty reception area. It was after six in the evening, and everyone had gone home for the day. Ruby purposely stayed late at the clinic, where she worked part-time for the past three years, to scale her friend’s teeth.
“I told him I’d think about it,” Ruby said.
“Good answer,” Niki commented. “Hey, thanks for staying late and doing my teeth.”
“No problem,” Ruby replied. “Let’s get some dinner.”
An hour later, Ruby gleamed a smile at Isabella as the young woman opened the door for them. Ruby thought it was darned good of Nikita to share her flashy, inner city apartment with Isabella without accepting any rent—since she couldn’t have afforded to pay it anyway.
“Bought dinner,” Nikita announced as she displayed the plastic bags in the air for Isabella to see.
“Is there Char Satay?” Isabella queried eagerly, spotting the familiar logo on the plastic bag that said SAN Restaurant.
“Yes, my dear. There’s Char Satay just for you,” Nikita replied. “I knew you’d hit the roof if we didn’t buy you any.”
“Thanks, Nik. Oh, Alex is on Skype.”
After kicking her shoes off, Ruby rushed into the open plan living area, threw herself on the comfy sofa,
and pulled the laptop that was sitting on the coffee table onto her lap.
“Hey, how are you?” she said to the laptop.
Alexandra Stewart, who, at that precise moment, was in the lavish penthouse overlooking Central Park in New York City, grinned back at her best friend through the laptop screen.
Ruby recalled Alex and Jayden’s wedding over a year ago. It was fantastic, full of life and fun. It was also quoted as “the wedding of the decade in New York City.” Ruby—as the maid of honor—was very proud of her best friend indeed. She had to admit however, her own wedding—if she ever managed to find herself a man—wouldn’t be anywhere near as grand as Alex’s. How could it be? Alex married one of the most eligible bachelors—not to mention, one of the youngest multi-billionaires—in the States. A year ago, Ruby could never have imagined that shy, down-to-earth Alexandra Stewart would ever meet and fall in love with a man like Jayden McCartney. Life was eternally full of surprises.
“I have news,” Alex announced. Her voice hinted a sort of excitement that was very contagious.
“What is it? Tell us!” Nikita shrieked excitedly as she propped herself comfortably on the seat right next to Ruby. Isabella sat down at Ruby’s left—a bowl of Char Satay with rice in her hands. All three girls faced the laptop screen expectantly, waiting for the important news.
After a moment of silence, came the words, “I’m pregnant.”
“Holy cow!” Nikita shouted. “Now, you’re pregnant for real.”
“That is so cool,” Isabella exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you.”
Ruby butted in. “Do I get to be godmother?”
Alex laughed. “Of course.”
Nikita pulled the laptop from Ruby’s lap and put it on hers. “How about your hunky hubby?”
“He’s over the moon,” Alex replied. “And naturally, so was Beth when we told everyone.”
Ruby stole the laptop and placed it back on her lap. “Hey, Alex, I won’t be here next time.”
“Oh yeah. So are you nervous? It’s gonna be great. I have something else to tell you. Jay and I are going to London at the end of the month. If all goes according to plan, we can meet up there with you.”
“Oh gosh! That’s sounds great. I’m going to be in England for a week, and then off to Scotland for another week after that. Week three, I’m in Ireland, four in France, and then, last, but not least, week five in Rome. I’ll be back in London after that.”
“Right. I will have to ask Jay about the meeting with his new business partner. He’s Scottish.”
“Woo!” Nikita laughed. “Hot! Hot! Hot!”
On the screen, Alex turned to look behind her. “Jay? When are we meeting your future business partner?” She turned back to her friends. “Most of whom are, by the way, middle-aged men. I assume this one is no different.”
“Aw!” Nikita groaned in disappointment, and Isabella laughed.
A moment later, hunky Jayden McCartney appeared on the screen next to Alex. The girls sighed dreamily as they gazed at him. Was it possible that he looked even more handsome now, after marrying Alex?
“Hey, girls.” Jay waved at them, grinning.
The girls waved back, all three in silent awe.
“Don’t worry, Ruby, we’ll make sure we meet up with you in London. Just email Alex the details.”
“Sounds good,” Ruby replied, nodding furiously.
“What’s his name again?” Alex asked Jayden, who was actively placing kisses at the nape of her neck. “Not in front of my friends,” she whispered, pushing him away light-heartedly.
Jay chuckled. “Sorry, girls.”
The girls giggled knowingly.
“His name is Alec Hasting. He’s hosting a charity party at the end of the month to sponsor refugee relief in Africa and Cambodia. You should come with us, Ruby. You and Alex are both half-Cambodian.”
“Okay,” Ruby replied, thinking that she was already a fan of Jayden’s future business partner.
“Anyway, you all have a good day. Bye, girls.” He nodded as he left.
Alex moved closer to the screen. “Anyway, I should go. Ruby, please email me your plan before you leave. Bye, girls.”
“Bye,” the three girls said in unison. Once Skype was logged off, they moved over to have their dinner and chat about life in general. About an hour later, exhausted from the long day, Ruby said goodnight to her friends and drove home.
* * * * *
“Oh my God, Ruby, just relax,” Amethyst, or known simply as “Amee” to family and friends, muttered. “Stop fussing over everything. You know I can handle it. The houses will be fine. The family will be fine.”
Ruby sighed. “I trust you, Amee. I suppose it’s just me. I can’t get over the fact that I really am going on this trip. It’s ridiculous.”
Amee chuckled and folded her arms across her chest. “You know, you’ve been planning this trip for like… ages. You’re not going to back down now, are you?”
“Of course not! Don’t be silly!” Ruby muttered, neatly placing some panties into the large luggage. She held up a few more and wondered if she needed them.
“It’s not like you’re going to live there, Ruby,” Amee commented, smiling.
Ruby frowned. She was being overly cautious of course, as usual. “You’re right. I’m not going to live in Europe.” That said, she put the spare panties aside before turning her attention to her bras.
Rhonalite, known as Rhona, poked her head in through the door, followed by Emerald, known as Emm to them. The girls crashed onto Ruby’s bed, ruining Ruby’s carefully made-up duvet before dropping her clothes to the floor.
“Bet you can’t wait to meet that handsome English man of yours,” Emm chuckled, resting her pretty face in her palms as she looked at her sister. “I’m so jealous of you.”
“You’ll get your turn soon,” Ruby said, picking up her clothing from the floor. “And Brian is not my English man.”
Emm laughed. “Oh yeah? So why did he insist you stay at his place when you told him you’re coming over for a wee holiday?”
“He did not insist,” Ruby replied, neatly folding a pair of black skinny jeans before placing them into the luggage.
“Don’t lie, Ruby,” Rhona butted in. “See? You’re smiling. We know you like him.” Rhona kissed the air as though she were kissing a boy. “Oh, Brian, I love you. Let’s get married and make babies.”
Emm and Amee laughed.
“Stop it!” Ruby snapped, slapping Amee’s arm. “Don’t be silly. He’s a good friend, that’s all.”
“Okay,” Rhona chuckled. “He’s whatever you say he is. But deep down, you know what he is to you.”
Ruby frowned at her sister, indicating she should mind her own business.
The door opened at that moment, and Mrs. Chan came in.
“Mum?” Ruby said. Emm, Rhona, and Amee cleared some space on the double bed for their mother to sit.
“Come here, Ruby,” Mrs. Chan said. Ruby moved toward her mother, and they hugged. “You be careful, all right? And you ring us at least every second day.”
“Yes, of course I will,” Ruby answered.
“I love you,” Mrs. Chan said.
“I love you, too,” Ruby replied, hugging her mother again.
* * * * *
* * * * *
Chapter 2
Somewhere in the Middle East
Ruby felt like she was dying. She was feverish all day and hoped like hell she wouldn’t get any worse because then she knew she’d have to go to a hospital. She did not like hospitals. The very thought of them reminded her too much of her dead father, evoking the memories of familiar hope and desperation, routine checkups and chemotherapies, and what happened that final day, years ago when he took his last breath, and submitted to cancer. The images still caused her heart to ache painfully, while brewing fresh tears in her eyes.
No, she would definitely get better, Ruby told herself firmly. Her fever was only due to a change in climate because she was now i
n a different country; that was all. Or perhaps it was some sort of bug, nothing more. Could it be malaria? But how could she possibly have gotten malaria when she only spent one day in Kuala Lumpur? And most of that short time, she stayed in her hotel room, sleeping.
Groaning silently, she ruefully hoped she was not bothering the passenger sitting next to her. Gosh! What a nice kickoff for her big overseas trip! Suddenly, she felt like she was about to vomit. In response, she tightened her fingers around the elephant pendant on her chest while her other hand cupped her mouth. That way, she wouldn’t embarrass herself in front of the other passengers. Thank God, most were asleep.
With a shiver, the pain suddenly hit her with full force, making her groan in agony. She squeezed her eyelids shut tightly, tears burning behind them. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she yanked her glasses off to wipe the stubborn tears away. After silently struggling her way out of her seat, she headed toward the toilet, taking slow, painful steps and holding onto the aisle seats for support. She knew she was sweating like a pig, and wondered, contritely, if she smelled like one, too. Oh God, the world was spinning around her like crazy. Her breaths were coming in short, sharp gasps, and her vision started to blur. This was not good. Not good at all.
She bumped against somebody. A male body; hard, firm, and utterly warm against her cold, clammy skin.
“So—sorry,” she managed to murmur, her eyes on the floor, entirely focused on avoiding a fainting spell.
“Are you all right?” the deeply timbred voice of a Scottish accent drifted softly to her ears.
She felt the slight touch of his fingers against her arm and tilted her head to see a blurry face before her. She blinked, trying to make out who he was.
“I—I—no, I’m not all right,” she whispered. Involuntarily, she closed her eyes and felt herself falling.
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