Authors: Ong Xiong
“I’m afraid, I’m
on the
I’m-too-old-for-this
team.”
Yes, perhaps,
another possibility.
CHAPTER
2
Stubborn ass
!
Sue bit her tongue to prevent her thoughts from being spoken out loud. Michael
had insisted Sue didn’t need her own car. He had arrogantly explained that with
his instructions, she would master the New York public transportation system in
no time. But that would be unnecessary because she would get his driver for the
duration of her stay in New York. Sue had protested to no avail.
They were making
their way to her hotel and she still could not get over the shock of this
Michael.
Michael McHeney
was not what Sue had expected. Katie had said she would send a picture of
Michael but for unexplained reasons, Katie had forgotten. But even from Katie’s
description, Sue hadn’t expected him.
Michael was not
white, at least not completely. He was mixed, half Asian, Sue guessed. He had
high cheekbones, a chiseled jaw, thick black hair, and gray eyes. According to
Katie’s description, Michael was dark and handsome, charming, successful, and
single. Handsome? Sue turned to look at Michael. She adjusted her glasses. Yes,
handsome. Charming? Not at the moment. Successful…?
Sue had failed to
think of Michael beyond the fact that he was a man. Now, she was evaluating him
as something more than a man and in many ways that scared her extremely. She
shook her head in disgust at herself.
“Something
wrong?” Michael asked when Sue suddenly shook her head and slumped into her
seat.
“No. Nothing’s
wrong. Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering,”
Michael replied, giving Sue an evaluation of his own. He hadn’t expected…her.
Cute? He had been so worried about that and now the word…hmmm…he was still
debating whether the word fit her description. She was nerdy though. Yes, oh
yes, she was nerdy all right; he had been right about that.
Sue wore gray
Abercrombie sweat pants with an oversized maroon University of Minnesota
Medical School sweatshirt that came almost to her knees. Her hair was pulled
back into a ponytail with swooping bangs. She wore glasses, not the stylish
frames, but black rectangular framed glasses that seemed to cover most of her
face.
He quickly
glanced at her again, thinking she was maybe not cute. She was pretty, yet the
sight of her was still shocking. To his surprise, though, it was shocking in a
good way. He smiled, thinking how cute she was. She looked like a nerdy teenage
high school student, especially with that NorthFace backpack and that darn
book. She didn’t look like a doctor, that’s for sure.
“If you don’t
mind me asking—I’m just curious—are you Chinese?” Michael asked gazing at her,
breaking the silence between them. “I couldn’t tell from your name.”
“No,” Sue
answered.
“Japanese?”
“No.”
“Korean?”
“Hmong. I’m
Hmong.”
“Mung? Ahhh, like
in
Gran Torino,
that Clint Eastwood movie?”
“Hmong,” Sue
corrected. “There’s an H. H-M-O-N-G,” Sue spelled aloud.
“I see. And where
is Ha-mong?”
“On the border of
China and Mongolia,” Sue answered dryly.
“Really?” Michael
replied, skeptical. “I didn’t realize there’s another country in
there…somewhere.”
“It’s a very
small country. Newly emancipated, not fully recognized.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll
have to use Google.”
“You do that.”
Michael grinned.
A moment of
awkward silence followed.
“Aren’t you
curious about me?” Michael asked.
Not really.
You’re just fine to me
, she silently added. But, one shouldn’t be rude.
Besides, talking was better than the awkward silence that threatened the cabin
of the car again. “Okay, Michael, are you Chinese, Japanese, Korean, any
mixture thereof or from any Southeast Asian countries I failed to mention?” Sue
asked.
Rude, rude,
rude. Why am I being so rude to this stranger?
Michael was
watching her with amusement, which Sue failed to notice because her attention
was still on that haunting question she was asking herself. Grinning, Michael
replied, “A hybrid of European and Korean.”
“Which European
exactly?”
Michael shrugged.
“A mixture thereof.”
Sue smiled. “A
mixture thereof, huh? No elaboration?”
“Does it matter?”
“No.”
“There’s a
concert tonight,” Michael said. “Initially my sister Ada and my brother-in-law
were going to take the girls, but something came up and she asked me to take
them. If you’re not too tired, would you like to join us?”
“I’d love to. Who
are the girls?”
“My nieces.”
“How many nieces
do you have?”
“Five. You’ll
meet the three older ones tonight.”
“What are their
names?”
“Isabella, Rainy,
and Hana. Lily and Alexis are younger.”
“Nephews?
“Two, Renji and
Alec.”
“How many
siblings do you have?”
“I have two
sisters and a brother. All older,” Michael answered as he looked outside.
“Aren’t you interested in what kind of concert you will be attending tonight?”
“I was getting to
that,” she replied, turning her gaze to follow Michael’s. “All right, Michael,
what type of concert are we attending tonight?”
“K…” Michael
frowned. “K something. Sorry, forgot. Ada said it’s a Korean artist that
apparently the girls are in love with.”
When they arrived
at Michael’s townhouse, Sue was greatly disappointed. She had made reservations
at the hotel Katie had reserved for the wedding party, but neither Katie nor
Michael had mentioned anything about the change in her accommodations.
“Are you stopping
for something?” Sue asked when Michael’s car stopped in front of a picturesque
brownstone building.
“No. This is my
townhouse,” Michael said as he opened the car door. “Didn’t Katie tell you?
You’ll be staying here.”
“No. No she
didn’t,” Sue said, not following him out of the car. “Michael, thank you but I
would rather stay at the hotel.”
“Why? You can
stay here for free.”
“I’m not worried
about the cost.”
“Then what’s the
problem?”
“The problem is
that I made reservations which I intend to keep.”
“Your reservation
has been cancelled.”
“By whom?” Sue
demanded, unable to maintain her composure.
“By me,” Michael
said with a grin. “Now are you coming or are you going to stay in the car?”
While they had
been talking, Michael’s driver had unloaded her luggage and was already placing
them in the townhouse.
“Why did you
cancel my reservation without my consent?” Sue demanded.
Michael shrugged.
“Surprise?”
Sue was not
laughing.
“Look, if you are
worried about the arrangement, rest assured, you’ll have your privacy. You have
this place all to yourself,” Michael said.
“That’s not the
point, Mr. McHeney. I would rather stay in a hotel. I hate to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding
by any means.”
“And where will
you be staying if I’m staying here?” she asked.
“I’m staying at
my condo.”
“Condo?”
“Yes. A condo
is—”
“I know what a
condo is! Why do you have two homes in such close proximity?”
“I stay at the
condo when I work late and I stay here when I don’t. Look. It’s already too
late. All the rooms are taken. Besides, you get more space here. Come on, I’ll
give you a tour.”
Sue internally
groaned and finally agreed to stay at the townhouse, primarily because she had
had a long flight and was tired. She had never groaned with so much frustration
as she had in the last forty-eight hours. The next two weeks were going to be
long.
CHAPTER
3
“Sue, this is
Lily. Lily, this is Sue.”
“Hi, Lily,” Sue
said, extending her hand to shake Lily’s tiny hand. Lily looked up at her uncle
before shyly placing her hand in Sue’s. Sue gently shook Lily hands with a
smile and gave Michael a questioning look.
Michael told Lily
she could get a snack before they went to the concert. Lily nodded then ran to
the kitchen, leaving the adults to some privacy.
“Surprise,”
Michael said, trying to make light of the change. “I’m sorry. Heidi wanted to
go to the concert so we traded. We are still going to a concert, just, ah,
well, Yo Gabba Gabba?”
“Who’s Heidi?”
“My sister,
Lily’s mom.”
“Yo Gabba Gabba
will be fine,” Sue said, her eyes on Lily, who had picked Fruit Gushers and was
eating her snack neatly at the island counter. “How old is she?”
“Five.”
“She’s
beautiful.”
“Thanks, I’ll
tell her mom that.”
They left for the
concert but they never saw Yo Gabba Gabba. Michael’s driver dropped them off at
the venue. As they made their way to their seats, Lily fell, injuring her arm
and was taken to the emergency room.
“Sweetheart, look
at me.” Sue cupped Lily’s tiny face in her hands. She gently turned the child’s
face to her. Sue smiled warmly as she said, “It’s going to be okay. Dr.
Christine is going to help make the owie go away. While she’s doing that, keep
your eyes on auntie—can you do that?”
Lily nodded, her
eyes still filled with tears.
“Good girl,” Sue
said soothingly, wiping Lily’s tears. “Remember, keep your eyes on auntie.”
X-rays showed a
fractured ulna in Lily’s right arm. Lily needed a cast.
Sue held Lily and
caressed her tiny head to her chest, speaking softly to her. Soon, Lily stopped
crying and struggling. She hiccupped but there were no more tears.
Sue used the
stethoscope to distract Lily while her arm was casted. She placed the ear piece
in Lily’s ears then pressed the chest piece to her own chest. Lily giggled with
delight. “Did you hear auntie’s heartbeat?” Sue asked.
Still grinning,
Lily replied, “Uh-huh.”
“Would you like
to hear yours?”
Lily nodded,
wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Sue reached for the napkins and
gently wiped Lily’s eyes and nose. All the while, Lily listened to the
stethoscope.
Sue pressed the
diaphragm chest piece to Lily’s chest and the little girl listened intently to
the rhythmic beating of her tiny heart. She giggled and her eyes widened as her
giggles vibrated through the hollow tubing to her ears, changing the sound. She
took a deep breath and giggled at the new sound. Lily made different noises and
the joy of her newly discovered toy showed on her pretty face.
Sue looked with
longing.
“What about uncle?
Does he have beats, too?” Lily asked Sue.
“Yes,” Sue
quietly answered, finally remembering that Michael was there, too. She raised
her head to him and found him watching her. “Would you like to hear them?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Lily
replied.
“Okay, but keep
your eyes on auntie, otherwise it won’t work.”
Lily nodded,
wiping her nose with her sleeve.
Sue pressed the
chest piece to Michael’s chest and Lily giggled with joy at hearing her uncle’s
heartbeats. Sue smiled at such innocence. She glanced at Michael briefly and
saw that he was smiling from ear to ear, as if this was his first time hearing
heartbeats, too. Sue smiled as she returned her attention to Lily.
By the time Lily
was discharged, they had missed the concert.
“What about Yo
Gabba Gabba?” Lily asked, her eyes pooling with tears as they waited in the
hospital lobby for Michael’s driver to pick them up.
Michael checked
his watch. “Sorry, Lily. We missed it.”
“Oh no, uncle!
What are we going to do?”
“Well, what do
you like most about concerts?” Sue asked Lily. Lily sat between Sue and
Michael.
“Music and
dancing and treats. Daddy always gets me treats,” Lily said.
“How about, since
you were so brave tonight, Uncle Michael can get us treats. I hear there is a
big candy store with giant candy bars.”
“And gummy
bears?” Lily asked.
“And gummy
bears,” Sue answered. “So uncle, can we get treats?” Sue asked Michael.
Michael pretended
to think about it while Lily pleaded sweetly. He finally consented, giving Sue
a wink. Sue grinned.
Sue’s initial
reaction to Time Square was “Wow!” There were a lot of…a lot of things. Lights.
People. Cars. Michael carried Lily and Sue held on to his arm, afraid to let
go. Her hold on his arm tightened as they made their way through a sea of
people to get to Hershey’s. The sight of Time Square was both amazing and
overwhelming.
Sue’s eyes
widened at the sight of the candy store. She tilted her head back to look at
the lighted brand names of familiar candy bars she grew up munching on. Upon
entering Hershey’s, Sue was bombarded with the most variety of candies she had
ever seen. She was just as excited as Lily, maybe even more. They sampled
candies and Lily picked her gummies. Sue gawked at the candy bars with delight.
“Michael, what’s my budget?”
Michael shrugged,
“Whatever you can carry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Sue gave him a
wily grin. She clasped her hands together, pondering, enthusiastically looking
around the candy store. She felt like a child and she showed it. She had not
felt this excited or this free in years and the feeling of letting her inner
child out of its prison was exhilarating. She happily placed a kiss on Lily’s
cheek before setting off to explore.
Sue returned to
Michael and Lily with a giant five-pounds Hershey’s chocolate bar. “All set!”
she announced.
Michael laughed.
Lily giggled.
“How do you
intend to eat that thing?” Michael asked, gesturing toward the chocolate.