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Several of her patients had HIV and tuberculosis. They still didn’t have a permanent obstetrician, but Joe had an interest in tuberculosis and helped her out with the complicated prescription regimes for her patients.
She was completing the paperwork for a new patient when Lien wandered into the treatment room.
‘Hey.’ She smiled as she started loading up a trolley for a chest drain.
‘Hey. Oh, who needs a chest drain?’
‘The tourist, Mr Hom. We’ve just done a chest X-ray.’
‘Do you need a hand?’ Viv couldn’t help herself. She always offered to help.
Lien shook her head then leaned against the wall. ‘No, I’m good, thanks. But how’s things? How are you finding it?’
Viv was a little surprised by the question. ‘It’s great. I’m loving it.’ She gave a shrug of her shoulders. ‘Obviously it will be better when there’s a permanent obstetrician. But the closing date has passed, and Duc said he’ll look at the applications tonight.’
‘Yeah, Duc.’ Lien kept smiling, her eyes fixed on Vivienne. ‘How long have you two been friends exactly?’
There was something about the way she said the word exactly that made Vivienne straighten up a little.
‘Since he was a medical student.’ She waved her hand. ‘Not quite as long as you two, but I met Duc in his last year when he was on one of his placements in England.’ She almost bit her tongue in an attempt to stop her babbling. What was wrong with her?
‘Were you always so tactile?’
The question took her unawares. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You and Duc, you link arms, you hug, you hold pinkies.’ She smiled and wagged her finger at Viv. ‘It seems so natural to you both. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.’
Viv frowned. ‘It is. It always has been.’
Lien gave a careful nod. She bit her bottom lip. ‘You’ve never thought about doing anything more? Becoming anything more?’
Viv leaned back. It wasn’t like people hadn’t asked questions about their closeness before. But she’d always laughed it off with a wave of her hand. And being asked about it in the middle of the treatment room seemed odd.
‘He’s my best friend,’ she stumbled.
Lien had the most careful expression on her face. Vivienne knew that her and Joe had recently married. They were a perfect match. Maybe she was one of those people that just tried to match up all those around her?
But even as she had that thought, somehow, Vivienne knew Lien was nothing like that.
Lien kept pressing. ‘Do you ever think it was meant to be more than that?’
Her dark eyes met Vivienne’s gaze steadily.
It was like a ripple of breeze from the sea back home had just jumped across the ocean to prickle her skin. She wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question. But Lien’s gaze was unwavering. It seemed that not answering wasn’t an option.
Viv knew she wasn’t jealous. Lien had her own husband and her own ready-made family. But she’d gone to medical school with Duc and had worked with his parents. Of course she would be protective of him.
Maybe she was worried that Duc was vulnerable right now. Maybe, if the shoe were on the other foot, Viv would be the one asking the questions.
Her stomach rolled over. The fleeting imaginary thought of Duc and Lien didn’t sit comfortably with her at all. Even if it wasn’t remotely possible. What on earth was wrong with her?
A bead of sweat seemed to form instantly between her shoulder blades and snake its way down her back. ‘Once you take that step,’ she said throatily, her voice shaking just a little, ‘you can’t go back.’
Lien licked her lips. Her gaze felt like some kind of laser beam cutting into Viv’s brain, exposing all the mixed-up thoughts and feelings she’d had for the last few weeks. ‘No,’ she said carefully. ‘You can’t.’ Her voice was clipped. She nodded her head at Viv, then put her hands on the trolley and turned and walked out.
* * *
Duc sifted through the application forms. Sen had written some notes on the top corner of each. She’d double-checked their résumés and their references. He couldn’t help but wonder who his mother would have picked to work alongside, who would have met her seal of approval.
He sighed and leaned back. His mother had had things down to a fine art. She’d never offered someone a job then changed her mind when she’d actually met them. It was like she’d had a sixth sense for who would be a good fit for May M?n. And Duc just didn’t have that.
He didn’t want to make a mistake. This was a crucial post. It was essential he get this right.
He needed someone else’s opinion on this. Someone who was grounded. Who could see past the padding on a CV. He smiled. There was one person he knew who could always cut to the heart of the matter.
He looked out of the window. Viv wasn’t working today. She’d gone shopping to the local market, offering to buy them both something for dinner. He got up and walked over to the bungalow, quickly changing into a loose, long-sleeved top and a pair of jeans.
He wandered through the streets, searching above the milling heads. There. A flash of the telltale red.
She was haggling with the fish seller. The old man was looking at her in complete amusement as she spoke Vietnamese with a very Scottish accent. She was gesturing with her hands, and he could tell the seller was, in part, mesmerised by her. Just like a few others round about.
Viv was wearing skinny jeans and a white long-sleeved tunic top. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, reminding him of a picture of Guinevere from a childhood storybook.
She finally pulled some money from her pocket, shaking hands with the man with a broad smile on her face.
‘I take it you just used your Scottish charm?’
She jumped at the sound of his voice. ‘Where did you spring from?’ But before he got a chance to answer, she raised her eyebrows. ‘And, no, I didn’t use my Scottish charm. I decided to just be crazy Scot number one—that is what you’ve been calling me, isn’t it?’ She planted one hand on her hip.
The man behind her started to laugh, shooting a look at Duc as he handed over her fish wrapped in paper.
Duc pulled a face, cringing. ‘Okay, busted. But, hey...’ he held up his hands in defence ‘...at least I made you number one instead of number two.’
She shook her head and put the fish in the bag that she carried. He leaned in for a closer look. She’d managed to find some fresh vegetables and spices too.
‘Looks great. What’s for dinner?’
‘Aha.’ She smiled. ‘It’s a secret recipe.’ They started walking back down the crowded street.
Duc was definitely surprised. ‘You have secret recipes?’
‘You know.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s a secret to me too. I’m just going to bung it all in the wok and hope for the best.’
‘How about some wine?’ He steered her into a nearby store. ‘Or some beer?’
Viv gave a shrug. ‘Whatever.’
Duc grabbed a bottle of wine and a few bottles of beer. As he paid for them, he noticed Viv watching him, biting her bottom lip. ‘Something wrong?’
She jerked, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. ‘What? No.’
He shook the strange feeling off and joined her back in the street. ‘I was wondering if I could ask a favour?’
She groaned. ‘You want me to do the night shift again.’
He shook his head. ‘No. And thank you for the night shifts you did do.’ Not only had she helped with the large sick family—who had all recovered well—she was also more or less on call every night in case a woman arrived in labour. He spent most days just relieved that she was there. ‘What I was actually wondering was if you wanted to interview with me for the new obstetrician.’
Her footsteps faltered. She stared at him. ‘Wh
at? Me?’
He nodded. ‘Who else knows exactly what we need? I’ve got two potential candidates that we can interview via a video call. Will you help me?’
She paused, and he could see her biting the inside of her cheek. ‘What’s a consultant obstetrician going to think about being interviewed by a midwife?’
Duc shrugged. ‘Who cares? He or she needs to know that we are a team here. The normal hierarchy doesn’t apply.’
She gave him a stunned smile, then gave an appreciative nod of her head. ‘Actually, I’d love it. Can I prepare some questions?’
‘You can prepare all the questions.’
She nodded. ‘Okay, then, let’s find May M?n an obstetrician.’
* * *
She’d changed back into her denim shorts and had thrown all the food into the wok, where it was currently sizzling. Nothing had turned black yet so it seemed as though dinner might actually be a success. Duc had appeared and was watching her with unguarded amusement. He’d changed into a fitted black T-shirt and jeans. The clothes seemed to hug his frame, highlighting his broad shoulders and the planes of his chest. She couldn’t help but notice the way the jeans moulded to his thighs and heat flooded her cheeks as she realised what she was thinking.
She tugged at the bottom of her own denim shorts. Maybe they were too short? She was so used to being casual and comfortable around Duc that she hadn’t really given the clothes she wore much thought.
