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She shrugged. ‘What are friends for?’
* * *
The next morning seemed to come around quickly. By nine o’clock they were walking to Hoàn Ki?m 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 Ki?m 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 L?i 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 “Thu?n 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 L?i’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 L?i found the hilt—the bottom of the sword—inside a banyan tree. His soldiers said that Lê L?i 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 L?i won the battle and the Chinese accepted Vietnam as a country in its own right. Shortly after, Lê L?i 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 L?i’s belt and dived back to the bottom of the lake with the glowing sword. At first, Lê L?i 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 thou
ghts 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.
