Healing the Single Dad's Heart

by Scarlet Wilson

  The nurse next to Joe quipped, ‘Just what we need—a plastic surgeon. Bet he lives in one of the gated communities in Tay Ho.’

  Joe had learned a little more about the city. He knew Tay Ho was one of the richest areas, and he’d passed by the gated communities on more than one occasion. Saying that they were opulent didn’t even come close to the truth. They had twenty-four-hour security guards, private schools, golf courses and the biggest houses he’d seen in a long time.

  Khiem waved his hand. ‘A plastic surgeon will be good. We have lots of patients on whom he might be able to do minor procedures. We’ve used the mini-theatre at the back on a number of occasions. This time will be no different.’ He smiled. ‘He’ll only be here one day a week.’

  Joe turned to his other side and jolted. Lien’s face was frozen and her body stiff. He could see the tense muscles at the base of her throat. Her fingers were clenching her legs. He reached over to touch her to ask what was wrong, but she jumped up.

  Khiem looked surprised but just continued speaking in his jovial manner. ‘And you two, Lien and Joe, there’s a special request for you to go to Uông Bí to cover holiday leave at the clinic there next week.’

  For a few seconds Joe wondered if Lien had heard the words, but then her face changed and she gave the briefest of nods. ‘Perfect,’ she said as she walked out the door.

  * * *

  She couldn’t hide her anger. Her skin had prickled, almost like a premonition before Khiem had said the name out loud. No one here knew about her previous relationship with Reuben. Once he’d found out where she lived he hadn’t exactly wanted the world to know about their connection. Reuben was the type of guy who wanted to move in the right circles and be seen with the ‘in’ crowd. Lien would never be one of those people.

  Even if the others had known about her past relationship, she wouldn’t expect them to turn down the services of a free plastic surgeon. She could think of a few patients straight off the top of her head who could really benefit from seeing him. As angry as she was at him for turning up at her hospital, she could be rational enough to put the needs of the patients first.

  She stalked down the corridor and into the nearest bathroom, closing the door behind her and splashing some water on her face, then she rested her hands at the side of the sink and just breathed.

  This wasn’t an accident. Reuben was far too calculating for that. She’d tried to ignore him over the last few years, but his reputation had grown and grown, and his publicity machine had been working overtime.

  His beaming face had adorned countless magazine covers as he’d become known as the ‘plastic surgeon to the stars’. There was much speculation about who he’d worked on. Hollywood film stars, a top British model, three Bollywood stars and numerous other celebrities had been seen on his arm, or in his company, over the last few years. It seemed deliberate. Every time things quietened down he would whirl along some pavement with some new star and the press would go mad again. The latest rumour involved politicians, a few of whom seemed to have reversed the aging process.

  Then there had been the interview given by a co-worker that had been slightly malicious. Even Lien had felt uncomfortable at its contents. Sad thing was, the words the co-worker had used about Reuben’s ego being larger than his clinic, his apparent self interest, and his lack of philanthropy, had caused Vietnam’s golden boy to lose a little of his shine. And Lien knew it was all entirely true.

  Helping at the hospital in one of the most deprived areas in Hanoi was a prediction she could have made herself. It had been inevitable. Reuben needed some good press again. She was sure he would sweep in here with a whole host of his own staff, plus camera crew, and perform a few minor surgeries to try to claw back some of his golden-boy image.

  She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a few seconds. Pressing her lips together, she straightened her shoulders.

  Last time around he’d made her feel small and worthless, all because of her address. She was older now, wiser. She’d worked hard to serve the people who lived here. She’d done a good job.

  The last thing she wanted was to come face to face with the smug surgeon again.

  She dabbed her face dry with a paper towel and walked back to Khiem’s office. Everyone else had already left. Khiem was sitting behind his desk.

  ‘I’ve had some thoughts,’ she said determinedly. ‘Let’s draw up a list of patients for our visiting surgeon.’

  She didn’t need to see him. She didn’t need to be involved in anything that he did here. But she wanted to be sure she’d served the needs of her patients.

  Khiem looked up and smiled, nodding his head. ‘What a good idea.’ He pulled his chair closer to Lien’s. ‘Let’s make a start.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  JOE COULD TELL something was off. Lien had been stilted this week. Not her usual relaxed self. Even Regan had noticed. ‘Where’s Lien? I want another dragon story,’ he’d said as Joe had tucked him into bed the night before.

  ‘Sorry, pal,’ he’d sighed. ‘I guess she’s just busy with work.’

  But as he watched her the next day, it seemed like anything but work that was on her mind. She was distracted. Tense.

  The nurses had to repeat things to her on a number of occasions, and her gaze kept wandering to the main door.

  He couldn’t pretend he hadn’t noticed her reaction the other day. Did she know this other doctor? If she did, it was clear she wasn’t enamoured with him.

  He’d just finished up immunising a few children when the main door opened and a guy swept in wearing a white doctor’s coat.

  Joe frowned in confusion, then tried not to laugh out loud. Really? No one here wore a white coat, and yet this guy had walked in off the street in one?

  The door was still open, and Joe could see the black limousine parked in the street outside.

  The guy smiled. ‘I’m here,’ he said loudly to no one in particular. ‘Reuben Le Gran, at your service.’ He started striding through the clinic, his head flicking from side to side. ‘Now, what do we have here?’

  Joe stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered after the guy. A few people—obviously his staff—had followed him inside the clinic, most of them carrying large boxes.

  Joe shook his head and walked over to the nearest woman and held out his arms. ‘Let me help you.’

  After a few moments Hoa appeared. Her smile was broad and she extended her hand towards the doctor. ‘Reuben, it’s a pleasure to meet you.’

  Reuben Le Gran was taller than average for Vietnam, with broad shoulders, extremely straight white teeth and light brown skin. His thick dark hair was a slightly strange colour. Was it dyed?

  Joe showed the staff through to the small theatre at the back of the hospital. He didn’t even get a chance to make any introductions before the staff looked around and started speaking rapidly to each other. It seemed they were a finely honed and confident team. There was also a hint of arrogance about them that made him a bit uncomfortable. They didn’t seem interested in any of the existing hospital staff, as they moved things around and set up their own equipment without a single question about whether it was convenient.

  Joe could see the baffled expressions on a few of his colleagues’ faces. Good. It wasn’t just him. It struck him just how discourteous Reuben and his team were being. He watched the initial welcome from Hoa—one of the nicest women he’d ever met. Reuben wasn’t particularly interested in her either, just immediately started talking about himself and his plans. He’d arranged to be interviewed by a TV journalist while he was working here. What was most interesting was that he seemed to favour talking in English rather than his native Vietnamese. Joe found it strange.

  The dazzling white teeth were even stranger, faker than the latest TV pop star who was apparently plucked from a pavement, even though she’d clearly had every plastic surgery known to man.

&n
bsp; Joe shook his head and took himself back off to the patients he was looking after. He wasn’t interested in meeting Reuben, and it seemed Reuben wasn’t interested in meeting him.

  He’d only taken a few steps when he heard the words, ‘Oh, you have a doctor here—Dang Van Lien. Is she on duty?’

  Joe’s footsteps seemed to freeze in mid-air. He sucked in a breath as he waited for Hoa’s reply. ‘Yes, Lien works here. Has for years. She’s one of our finest doctors.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure she is. Can you tell her I’m looking for her?’

  It was almost like a summons. Something flashed across Hoa’s face. Joe had only ever seen her in friendly mode, but he had heard a few tales that she wasn’t a woman to be messed with.

  ‘Tell her yourself,’ replied Hoa dryly. ‘Now, take a seat please, Dr Le Gran, and we’ll discuss the patients you will be seeing here.’ It was as if a switch had been flicked. Ice dripped from her voice.

  There was a pregnant pause.

  Joe held his breath, waiting to see what the response would be. He heard the scraping of a chair. ‘Of course.’

  Hoa continued, ‘And just so we’re clear, Dr Le Gran, I make decisions about television crews in my hospital, and I will only allow them with patient permission. You might be offering your services free—and we’re grateful to have you here—but patient confidentiality will not be breached.’

  Joe felt a shiver down his spine and a smile came to his lips. He might just love this older woman. There was a clear line in the sand. If Lien didn’t like this guy, she would love this. He glanced over his shoulder. She was strangely absent, though he was sure she’d been around a few minutes before.

  Joe kept out of sight, still listening to Hoa. The older woman commanded respect, and yet he’d seen her on her hands and knees cleaning vomit from the floor, and watched her playing games with some of the babies in the clinic.

  Reuben had already shown little respect for the hospital and its staff. It seemed Hoa had already determined that he might act the same way towards their patients. She wouldn’t tolerate that for a second.

  Joe heard one of the nurses mutter something under her breath. He turned his head as he hadn’t quite picked it up. ‘What was that?’

  The nurse rolled her eyes before turning her eyes back on the open office containing Reuben and Hoa. ‘We’ve had his type before. Better start digging the grave in the back. Hoa will chew him up and spit him out.’

  Joe let out a laugh. He couldn’t help it. ‘Well, show respect, get respect was what my old mentor taught me. For everyone—friends, colleagues and patients.’

  The nurse smiled. ‘Oh, don’t worry, Joe, you’re safe. We like you.’ She gave him a strange knowing glance. ‘In fact, we might have big plans for you.’

  He put one hand on his hip as she started to walk away. ‘Wait a minute, what does that mean?’

  The nurse laughed and waved her hand as she kept walking. ‘I’ll let you know!’

  * * *

  Lien felt as if she were dancing some kind of complicated choreography. Every time she knew Reuben was in the clinic she made herself scarce. He hadn’t deigned to give them his schedule to begin with, and just turned up whenever he saw fit. But Khiem took him aside and discussed with him the problems of co-ordinating patient care if they didn’t know in advance that he was coming. Some of the patients that they wanted him to see lived far outside the city limits. It wasn’t easy for them to reach the free clinic.

  What complicated things more was the fact that the patients seemed to love the idea of being treated by the celebrity doctor, and all of them agreed to being filmed. This meant that the rest of the staff had to put up with film crews trailing through the hospital at inopportune times.

  She could sense Joe standing at the door of one of the rooms in the ward today where she was sitting talking to a young mum. The woman was sick. Her blood tests and chest X-ray had revealed she was HIV-positive and had tuberculosis. Her lungs were under severe attack, and she’d only just been diagnosed; Lien was currently trying to balance a drug regime for both illnesses, alongside the pregnancy.

  She held the young mum’s hand and explained to her what her diagnosis meant.

  This young woman had had no idea she’d even been sick. She’d been tired, and had a severe night-time cough. She’d presented late into the pregnancy and been automatically brighter as soon as she knew she was pregnant—she seemed to think both of her other ailments were down to the pregnancy. Hoa had done the initial pregnancy booking, and a few simple tests had revealed the results that all the doctors had expected, with each disease speeding up the progress of the other.

  Now the woman had developed a high temperature and breathing difficulties. She was thirty-six weeks pregnant, and both she and the baby were currently at risk.

  Lien reached out and took the young woman’s hand and spoke quietly and steadily, pausing to make sure she understood what Lien was saying and comforting her when it seemed appropriate. By the time she was finished she felt positively drained.

  The young woman would be in hospital for the next few days. Hoa might even decide she needed a caesarean section if either the baby or the mum’s condition deteriorated rapidly.

  As Lien walked through to the office, she could feel tears brimming in her eyes. Some patients just got to her.

  She walked in and closed the door behind her, expecting the office to be empty, then jumped when she realised Joe was sitting in a chair to her left.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I was just waiting until you’d finished.’ He took one look at the expression on her face and jumped up. ‘Lien. What’s wrong?’

  He didn’t wait for her to reply, he just put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

  She burrowed her head in his shoulder and just started to sob. Once she started she couldn’t stop. ‘I’m sorry,’ she breathed. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong.’

  His grip was firm and comforting. She could feel the planes of his chest against hers. His voice was husky. ‘You’ve got a really sick girl who should be celebrating her pregnancy. Instead, you’ve had to give her bad news. We both know she might not live to see this baby grow up, Lien. You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t upset.’

  She sniffed and tried to wipe some of the tears away. ‘But I know all this. I’ve dealt with it before. I should be stronger.’

  He slid his hands to the tops of her shoulders and stepped back a little. He was still close enough that his breath warmed her forehead. She could see every little line around the corners of his eyes. ‘You’re strong. You’re still here, Lien. You work in one of the most challenging places in the world and you love it.’ He took a deep breath and gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘There’s always one that gets to you.’

  She was still trembling. ‘Who was yours?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Who was the last patient that got to you?’

  He closed his eyes. She actually felt him shiver as his expression grew dark. ‘That’s easy. A baby. A six-week-old baby with a spiral fracture in his forearm. Apparently he rolled off the bed and Dad reached out to grab him.’

  Lien held her breath. She knew how rare spiral fractures were, and what caused them. ‘A six-week-old baby doesn’t roll,’ she whispered.

  He opened his eyes. ‘No,’ he breathed. ‘I could have lost my job over that one. I put Dad up against the wall when he tried to grab the baby and leave.’

  She shivered. ‘What’s wrong with some people?’ She moved forward. This time it was her that wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight.

  His muscles were tense and it took a few moments for him to relax. After a second his hand went up to the back of her head, resting against her hair. It felt more personal.

  She felt herself relax even more. She liked being in his arms. She could smell his woody aftershave at the nape of his ne
ck. She could feel the muscles that lay underneath his lightweight top. It awakened senses in her that had been dormant for a while. One of her hands started running up the length of his back. As soon as she realised what she was doing, she froze.

  He moved his head. And she lifted hers.

  They were inches from each other. If either made the slightest movement their lips could connect.

  It was unnervingly intimate. She was currently at work, standing in the arms of a colleague. She’d never done this in her life before. When she’d dated Reuben, they’d still been students at uni. Since then she’d only dated a few guys with other occupations. Never anybody related to her workplace environment. It was like her own little rule.

  He blinked, and it broke the haze that felt as if it had descended between them. She couldn’t help but feel bereft.

  He gave a nervous smile and dropped his hands from her, stepping back. ‘Sorry, you just looked like a colleague in need of a hug.’

  ‘I was,’ she said quickly. Then she took another breath and met his gaze again. ‘And so did you.’

  He broke their gaze and glanced towards the floor.

  The silence seemed to last for ever. Did he want to say something else?

  After a moment he lifted his head and cleared his throat. ‘I came to speak to you about the prescribing regime for your patient. I’m unfamiliar with what can be prescribed for a pregnant woman with TB and HIV. I thought I should find out what protocols you have.’

  Work. He’d turned this back to work. Her stomach flipped. She was uncomfortable. For a moment there she’d thought he might kiss her. She’d thought he might just lean forward an inch and let his lips connect with hers. She’d felt it. She’d almost tasted it.

  What would she have done if he’d made that move? Would she have pulled back, or would she have responded?

  Did she really want to admit the answer to that question?

  She licked her lips and nodded. Work. This was work. ‘Of course,’ she said, her voice tight. ‘Let’s sit down. Hoa has made a flow chart for some of the protocols for pregnant women. There is a prescribing regime, but I actually planned to check with her once I got the results of some of the blood tests.’