A December To Remember

CHAPTER THREE

LUCA AIMED FOR relaxed, trying to ignore that something big was bugging Ellie. The defining strength of their friendship had taken a battering years back and he wasn’t prepared to push. Not yet anyway. He’d hate to lose her now he’d just found her again. Not that he’d been looking. He’d kind of shut off most things from his previous life, except the mantra he’d always lived by—Chirsky men were bad husbands and fathers.

‘I should head back to the compound,’ Ellie muttered.

What happened to spending the evening together? ‘Let’s have another beer and then we’ll eat.’ Not waiting for her to answer, he waved at the barman busy with another order and indicated their empty glasses. He didn’t want to walk even a few metres down the bar because Ellie looked as if she was about to bolt, and that was the last thing he wanted.

He went with, ‘It’s unbelievable. I was coming into that room to meet some doctor I’d never heard of and there you were, looking like my Ellie.’

She blanched. Then slowly she slipped off the stool, standing straight—and bewildered. ‘I really should go.’ There was a wobble in her voice.

Luca placed a hand firmly on her shoulder. ‘Sit down. The heat and travel hits you hard at first, but you need to stay awake till a reasonable hour to get your body clock back on track. The sooner the better.’ He doubted those were the reasons for her looking as if she’d been run down by a train, but he played along. ‘When I first arrived it took me ages to settle into a routine.’

‘How long have you been here?’ She still looked ready to flee.

‘Nine months, three to go.’

Leaning her elbow on the counter, she propped her chin in her hand. ‘Then what?’

‘Maybe a spell in Cambodia.’ Or Vietnam, or even Australia at a major hospital. He hadn’t made any decisions about a whole load of things that involved his future since he’d come over here. He was avoiding them, because it was easier that way.

Her eyes widened and at last she gave him a smile. There were long gaps between those and he was already learning to appreciate them. She asked, ‘Since when did you want to give up your goal of being head of the busiest A and E department in New Zealand?’

The problem with changing the subject so Ellie would relax was that he ended up in the hot seat. About to start telling her about the clinic’s pet pangolin instead, he paused. They used to tell each other just about everything. Shouldn’t he start renewing their friendship by doing what they’d always done? ‘Gaylene doing her little number on me was a shock.’ That’s an understatement, El, in case you don’t realise. ‘I thought I’d made myself invulnerable, invincible, so that no one would catch me out. How wrong could a guy be? Maybe I’d become arrogant. I don’t know.’ He glanced across at Ellie and smiled despite himself. ‘Okay, I was.’ Hopefully that had changed. He’d sure as hell been taken down a peg or three, though not for anything to do with his medical work.

‘I can understand wanting to protect your feelings but you’re sounding as if you don’t ever want to let anyone near, into your heart.’ She eased her butt back onto the stool.

Luca felt some of the tension in his belly lighten. At least she didn’t look quite so ready to run for the door anymore, but did she have to go straight to the centre of his problem? So easily? Maybe he hadn’t missed her as much as he’d thought. But of course he had. Strange how he hadn’t known that until he’d found her again. Should’ve done something about looking her up years ago, but he couldn’t stand Baldwin. Not at all. ‘I’ve never made any bones about the fact I do not want a family—no wife, no children.’ Okay, want was the wrong word. He wouldn’t risk having a wife and family. That was closer to the truth.

‘That was an excuse for bonking every moving female while you were young, but not forever, surely?’ She was laughing at him, soft and friendly-like but laughing nonetheless.

‘Wrong,’ he snapped. Telling her what made him who he’d become was a mistake after all. But then he’d known that, had always kept certain things to himself, even from this woman.

‘Hey.’ Her hand covered his. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you. You’ve got to admit you spent a lot of time chasing females back then.’

‘I didn’t have to chase anyone.’ Yep, maybe he still was a little bit arrogant. A sigh huffed across his lips. ‘You want to hear my story or not?’

The surprise in her eyes told him she hadn’t expected him to continue his tale. Well, Ellie, nor did I. But now he’d started he didn’t want to stop. He wanted her to know what drove him and how he’d arrived here. The idea of opening his heart to her appealed, when it had never done so in the past. Never. Which should be a warning.

So he stalled. ‘Let’s order some food. Want me to choose? Anything you won’t like?’

‘As I have no idea what the locals eat, you go ahead. I can’t think of anything I won’t enjoy. Tell you what, though, they brew great beer.’

‘Their food’s just as good.’ He beckoned to the waitress and rattled off a few dishes he thought would be a good introduction to Lao food. Then he drank deeply from his glass and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. ‘My father left before we were born.’ Ellie had met Angelique, his twin, when they were sharing that house in Auckland. Ange would often drop in for a night, sleeping on the floor in the corner of the lounge. ‘Growing up knowing he’d never wanted to meet us, to be a part of our lives, that he didn’t love us...’ He paused, looked directly at Ellie. ‘It was horrible. I used to look at men who were about the age I thought my father might be and wonder if they were our dad.’

Ellie ran her fingers down his arm. ‘That’s horrid. Did you never try to track him down through phone directories or electoral rolls when you were older?’

‘Mum refused to tell us his name or where he came from, not even what he did for a living. Nothing. It was as though he’d never existed.’

‘Her way of coping, maybe?’

‘Possibly, but as kids we didn’t understand that. Hell, as an adult I still find it hard to accept.’ He wasn’t admitting to the equally awful thought that maybe his mother hadn’t known who their father was because she’d slept with more than one man at the time they were conceived. As Gaylene had done with him, but they hadn’t been a couple until she’d learned she was pregnant.

As far as his mum was concerned, he wouldn’t judge her. His mother’s life hadn’t been easy growing up. Her father had been a bully and a thug to both her and her mother, and was not the kind of man a daughter could rely on for love and safety.

Understanding was blinking out at him from those hazel eyes less than a metre away. ‘So when Gaylene declared you were the father of her baby you stepped up because no child of yours would not know their father.’

‘Got it in one. Not that Gaylene knew my story, but she sure went for the jugular. In her eyes it didn’t hurt that I was destined to become that head of department I’d planned on and would be earning a fat salary when I got there.’ He tasted the sourness in his mouth. Thought he was long past letting what she’d done hurt him, huh? Thank goodness he hadn’t loved her. That would’ve really turned him beyond bitter.

‘You’d have married someone you didn’t love for your child? Wouldn’t it have been better for everyone to have remained single but fully involved with that child?’ Ellie made everything seem so simple. Was that how she looked at life? A memory rose of her spitting words in his face, defending Baldwin when he’d tried to make her see reality. He’s a real man, of course he’s played the field, but now he’s settling down—with me, she’d insisted.

Now she was here, without a wedding ring on her finger, and a change of name. Not so simple, eh?

‘Didn’t matter in the end,’ he sighed. It hadn’t been as straightforward as Ellie made it sound. Certainly not when Gaylene had been pressuring him so hard. He hadn’t wanted to appear not to be taking his responsibilities seriously but at the same time it hadn’t been easy to accept he was going to be a father when he’d spent his adult life doing his damnedest not to become one. ‘I would never put any child through what Angelique and I had to deal with. Never.’ Which was why he wasn’t going to have children. Not only hadn’t he known his father, his grandfather had been the worst example of a parent. He’d often wondered if having bad male role models on both sides of his family meant he’d be a terrible father, had inherited some chromosome that made men bad. He wasn’t going to find out because if he was like them then it would be too late for any offspring he procreated.

‘Oh, Luca, I never knew.’ She locked those eyes on his. ‘Not that I was meant to. I get that, too. But for the record I think you’d be a wonderful father. Just in case...’ Her words trailed off.

Had the bile rising in his throat been that obvious? ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence. It’s good to know someone believes in me so blindly.’

‘Ouch. You’re not playing fair. I know you, have seen you working with children when they’re in pain and terrified, still remember you cuddling Angelique’s wee boy only hours after he was born. You have the right instincts, believe me.’ This time she sipped her beer.

He’d like nothing more than to believe her, but that would be a huge leap of faith, right off the edge of the planet, in fact. He settled with, ‘Wee Johnny is now at school and whipping up merry hell with his teachers. He wants to be an All Black without having to go through the usual channels.’ Johnny was a great kid, so bright and busy and full of beans. He missed him.

‘Is he? Got a photo?’ Ellie seemed keen to get away from the uncomfortable conversation they’d been having.

He tugged his phone from the back pocket of his pants and tapped the icons. ‘There. Isn’t he a handsome dude?’

Snatching the phone from his grasp, Ellie stared at the picture. ‘Just like his uncle.’

‘I’m handsome?’

‘I meant cheeky and obviously up to mischief.’ She swiped the screen, moving on to more photos of his nephew. And Angelique. ‘Oh. Your sister looks so much like your mother now.’

As in sad and bitter? ‘Yes, the spitting image.’ In every way. ‘I tried to make up for Johnny not having a father, but for her I can’t be anything but a brother.’ Not even a good one now. Anger welled up. ‘How could she have done the same thing as Mum? She knew what it was like not having a dad around the place. Hated it, and swore she’d never let her kids go unloved.’

‘Hey.’ Ellie’s hand was back on his arm, warm and soft.

Almost sexy—if she wasn’t a friend and that wasn’t a friendly gesture. What was going on? Luca blinked. ‘What?’

‘Angelique’s not as strong as you. Never was. Remember when you used to insist she should be studying at university for a career and she wanted to work in a café? She liked what she was doing, and you couldn’t change who she was.’

‘Yeah, I’ve finally worked that out.’ Focus, man. On the conversation and nothing else. He had to be out of sorts because of Ellie’s sudden reappearance in his life. He’d missed her. A lot. Yeah, that was all that odd sensation around her touch was about.

She hadn’t finished. ‘But, Luca, you support her, stand by her and look out for her son. That’s huge.’ Ellie sounded so sure, it was scary.

‘Wrong. I’m over here, not at home, aren’t I?’ Guilt ramped up, but Angelique had told him to get out of her life and stop interfering with how she raised her son just about the time his carefully planned career was getting on top of him. It had begun to seem a hollow victory when there was no one to share it with. He’d started questioning everything he’d believed in. Except not being a parent. That was non-negotiable. No exceptions.

Hot spices wafted through the air and four small plates of mouth-watering food appeared on the counter in front of them. Perfect timing. This talking with Ellie was getting too deep and uncomfortable.

She was licking her lips and sniffing the air like a dog on the scent. He did what he always did when the going got tough—he grinned. Amazing how that helped all the tension fall away. However temporary, it felt good to be with her knowing she wouldn’t try to rip him off or take something from him he didn’t want to give. Good friends were rare and priceless. And El was the best. So why did he feel he had to keep reminding himself of that? It was as though something had changed between them that he couldn’t fathom. Luca shrugged. He had four weeks to work it out before she headed home again.

The woman distracting him said, ‘Tell me more about the clinic.’

A reprieve, then. ‘It’s heartbreaking seeing what these children deal with, and yet uplifting because of their sunny natures and how they take it all in their little strides.’

* * *

‘I was really moved today when the kids gathered around me, all chatter and laughter when they’d never met me.’ The sticky rice and peanut sauce were delicious. Ellie forked up more and watched Luca do the same. He’d told her more about his past tonight than in all the previous years she’d known him. He’d surprised her, but then today had been full of surprises on all fronts.

Thinking back, she saw where she’d missed little clues about his past. Whenever talk had got around to families he’d been reticent, and she couldn’t remember what he’d said about his father except he hadn’t been around. Not once had he said that the man had never been there, was basically unknown. Hell, she might’ve got her marriage all wrong but her family had always been there for her when she was growing up. It was different nowadays, though. Awkward and sometimes downright hostile with Caitlin still coming and going in her parents’ lives as though she’d done nothing wrong. But Luca had missed out on a lot, hadn’t had that loving childhood she’d had, so why wasn’t he wanting to have his own family and make up for that? Had he ever fallen in love? Come close, even? Sad, but she suspected not.

‘Are you listening to me?’ Luca elbowed her, causing rice to drop off her fork.

‘Heard every word.’ I hope, or I’ll be asking questions about what he’s just told me tomorrow and then he’ll give me stick. ‘The clinic is full to bursting at the moment.’

His grey eyes squinted at her. ‘I said there are four spare beds.’

‘You did not.’ She laughed, and even to her that sounded strained. She changed the subject and determined to concentrate on everything he said. ‘Who’s Baxter?’ She’d heard the kids talking about him when she was getting ready to come out with Luca.

‘The clinic’s pet pangolin.’ She must’ve looked bewildered because he explained further. ‘An anteater. They normally live in the trees. Apparently this one turned up one day with one leg half severed off. It was before my time. Aaron operated and now it slopes around minus a leg.’

‘So Baxter knew where to go for an amputation.’ This time her laughter was genuine.

Luca smiled back. ‘The kids adopted him and he’s stayed, sometimes foraging for ants farther afield, but he never goes very far. You’ll see him soon enough.’

He pushed their empty plates aside. ‘Feel up to a stroll beside the Mekong?’

Not really. She’d like nothing more than to fall into bed and get some more sleep. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was only just after eight thirty. And here she’d thought they’d been in the bar for hours. It was too early to go back to her room, especially after having slept most of the day. An evening stroll with Luca would be the next best thing. Maybe even better, and she could walk off the effects of all that beer. What had she been thinking having so much? Hadn’t been thinking at all, that was what. Standing up, she slung her bag over her shoulder. ‘Sure.’

Outside the air had cooled all of about two degrees. Ellie shook her head. ‘To think I was looking forward to the warmth after a particularly cold spring back home.’

Luca caught her hand in his and swung their arms between them. ‘I still haven’t got used to the heat. Especially at night when I’m desperately tired and sleep’s evasive.’

Ellie gently squeezed his hand, enjoying the strength of those firm fingers. This felt good. Being with someone who knew her and wouldn’t make up things about her, wouldn’t be sniggering behind her back, wouldn’t be breaking any vows.

Neither of them talked as they strolled along a path lined with bars and nightclubs. Despite the noise from those buildings the sound of the river seeped into Ellie’s mind, a steady pouring of an unbelievable amount of water carrying debris and fish along its path. Where had that branch come from? A few kilometres farther north? Or from another country? China, even? ‘Amazing.’

‘What is?’

‘The river and all the countries it runs through.’ Ellie turned towards Luca and missed her footing on the uneven surface.

He caught her waist, held her as she regained her balance. ‘Careful. Can’t have you breaking your ankle before you’ve even started working with us.’

‘That would make me very unpopular.’ Those hands were definitely showing their strength. And their heat. She could feel each finger distinctly from the others. A different kind of warmth than what the climate was producing caressed her feverish skin. Tipping her head back, she met Luca’s stunned look. Carefully taking a backwards step, she extricated herself from his hold and dropped her gaze. And instantly felt she’d lost something. Something important. But this was Luca. Not some hot guy she’d want to go to bed with.

Really? Luca wasn’t hot? Yes, he was, but she’d never thought of him like that. That would be too— Too strange? Or too hot to handle? She peeked up at him, found him staring out at the river now, an inscrutable look on his face. When had he got so good at those? Not back when she’d last knew him, for sure. Back then he used to make jokes to divert unwanted interest. These days she also had a few of her own special expressions that hadn’t been around in those days.

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