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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 3 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.

“Why, Michael, one bite at a time of course,” she replied, grinning and proudly displaying the candy bar in her hands.

Michael was still grinning when he paid for their purchases.

“You may laugh now, Mr. McHeney. Just wait till you have cravings. You’ll wish you had one of these, too.”

“At least, I’ll know where one is,” Michael replied.

Sue took hold of his arm again as they made their way back to his waiting car. She saw McKs—the lights—and for a brief moment she thought of Jae.

“You okay?” Michael asked. Sue had stopped moving and Michael looked at her with concern.

“Oh … I’m sorry. McKs … it’s soo … big.”

“You hungry? We can grab something from there if you’d like,” Michael offered, gesturing toward the fast food joint. Sue shook her head no and took hold of his arm again. They walked in silence the rest of the way back to Michael’s car. The bright lights, the people … it all became … just scary to her now. It no longer held excitement and she silently cursed her stupid mind for straying.

“We could walk around if you’d like,” Michael offered, seeing her change in mood. She had gone from childish excitement to gloom in the span of a second.

“It’s all right. Maybe another night,” Sue replied, placing Lily into her booster seat when they reached his car. Lily offered her a gummy bear and Sue opened her mouth to receive it. She dramatically ate the gummy, pretending to savor the delicious bite. Lily giggled. Lily placed another in Sue’s mouth while Sue finished strapping Lily in her booster. Sue discovered Michael watching her after she finished the task and wondered how long he had been doing so. She couldn’t fathom why she blushed. “It was delicious,” Sue told Michael, thinking her action needed an explanation.

He smiled at her.

Sue sat silently during most of the drive back to Michael’s townhouse. She listened to the chattering between Michael and Lily on the proper ways to eat gummy bears. Sue cracked a smile when Lily scolded Michael for biting off the head first.

High on sugar and youth, Lily was restless with her new confinement once they returned to the townhouse. To calm her, Sue played Lily’s favorite songs on the grand piano in the family room. Sue had tried her best to dance like Yo Gabba Gabba as Lily attempted at a song, but Sue tripped on her own feet and fell with such drama that Lily laughed. Michael joined Sue at the dancing and together they made a good duo. At least they thought so, but dance coordination was not Sue’s strongest talent and she took to the piano instead.

Sue and Lily tortured Michael as they sang and were entertained by his clumsiness at:

“If you’re happy and you know it, wiggle your toes.

If you’re happy and you know it, wiggle your toes.

If you’re happy and you know it, if you truly wanna show it, if you’re happy and you know it…wiggle your toes, touch your nose, stick out your tongue, tap your head, turn around, flap your arms and say, ooh ooh ahh ahh!”

“Ooh ooh ahh ahh?” Michael frowned as he flapped his arms. “You think I’m a flying monkey?” The question was directed at Sue.

“If it’s any consolation, you are the best looking monkey there is.” Sue smiled at him and he smiled back.

Eventually, Lily tired and fell asleep on the chaise by the fireplace. Sue stopped playing the lullabies and children’s songs. She looked out the window into a snow-covered backyard. Beyond that was nothing more than a tall wooden fence. Before she could stop herself, she began to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. She supposed, at that time, she felt just as lonely as the music she was playing.

Michael joined her at the piano and Sue stopped playing. “Don’t stop. Please … continue,” Michael encouraged.

“Do you play?”

“Not as well as you.”

“Here. Play something.” Sue scooted over on the bench and Michael sat next to her.

“Brace yourself for a master-piece,” Michael said. He laced his fingers together and flexed them before finding his place on the piano keys. He played Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Sue laughed. “Master-piece indeed.”

“Told you,” Michael said with a grin. Still grinning, he artfully changed the keys and smoothly transitioned into Beethoven’s Fur Elise.

Sue quietly listened to Michael played the piano. She shouldn’t have invited him to play the piano, she thought.

“Thank you,” Michael said.

“For what?”

“For helping with Lily tonight. I would have been less … calm.”

“You are welcome,” she said.

Michael received a phone call and excused himself to answer it. Sue returned to the piano, but she could no longer will her fingers to play a note. She stared at the keys until she heard a cry from Lily and quickly abandoned the piano. Lily was looking for her mommy and Sue lay down next to her to soothe her. 

Weariness from the day finally caught up with her and Sue fell asleep on the chaise, next to Lily.

Michael watched Sue sleeping next to his niece. Sue had not panicked as he had when Lily fell and injured her arm. She had immediately taken control of the situation, instructing him to call for help while she calmed Lily.  

In the emergency room, while he held onto Lily during the casting, Sue had distracted Lily and him with that stethoscope. She had looked at Lily so longingly and so affectionately that Michael couldn’t stop thinking about her nor had he stopped looking at her since. Gone was the ice queen he had met at the airport.

There was something about her. The way she smiled. The way she laughed. So unguarded with his niece, he wished she would do the same with him. He found himself watching her the whole evening.

What was it about her really? She looked nothing like Judith; in fact, this woman had turned out to be everything the opposite of Judith. Judith didn’t want children. Judith never teased him, never ate chocolate nor found any enjoyment in candy stores. Judith…ah, Judith.

Michael tucked a wisp of Sue’s hair behind her ear and she stirred. He smiled. Ah, yes, she was nothing like Judith. Judith wouldn’t be caught dead, sleeping on the couch with a 5-year-old in her arms or wipe the runny nose of a teary eyed 5-year-old.

The doorbell rang and Michael answered. His sister, Heidi, was at the door along with his three teenage nieces.

“How did it go with Lily?” Heidi asked.

“We, ah, missed it,” Michael replied. “Shhh, girls, Lily and Sue are sleeping,” he told his nieces. They were already talking excitedly when he opened the door. They all lowered their excited voices before entering the townhouse, unzipping their coats and modeling their new T-shirts.

Heidi frowned.

“There was an accident and we missed it,” he said closing the door.

“What kind of accident?” Heidi asked, alarmed.

Michael led his nieces and sister to his study where he recapped the evening in full detail to his sister. Heidi turned pale when Michael told her of Lily’s injuries and assured her that Lily was fine. Sue had kept an eye on her all evening and Lily was in great care, he told her. Heidi went into the living room to get a look at her daughter and the woman her brother had so fondly spoken about. At least this woman had a heart, thought Heidi.

Chapter 4

             “I thank you for joining me this evening,” Khyba said into his microphone flashing a breath-taking smile. He wiped his sweaty forehead with his white muscle shirt, exposing his six pack abs and the audience cheered. Laughing, he teased the audience by pulling his shirt and they cheered in response. He danced, tugging at his shirt, exposing a well-sculpted body. His cargos hugged his hips as he proceeded to rip his shirt and the audience was deafening. Music played, dancers danced and Khyba moved perfectly into steps as he tore off his shirt completely and tossed it into the audience.

The music ended and Khyba stopped dancing. The stage darkened, the background changed and a soft, acoustic guitar played in the background. He quickly took a gulp of water from a bottle a stage assistance handed him, threw on a shirt and positioned himself as a spotlight found him. “This last song is special to me and I hope you love it as well,” he said. The audience became silent and he sang in Korean, “I vow to you upon my soul, to cherish you I would…”

            As he sang, his eyes roamed the crowd. He couldn’t see any of their faces, only the lighted “K” they held and the reflection of signs they made. Every time he sang the song, every time he performed, he searched for her.

There was an air of mystery surrounding him. Not so much the man he was or the man Father thought he ought to be. Maybe it wasn’t mystery so much as it was curiosity. Yes. It was more curiosity than mystery. But the curiosity was not about him. It was Khyba and the mysterious beauty who inspired the song he sang.

His publicists had released an elaborate story of romance involving a mysterious beauty who had given him his name before she stole his heart.

If only they knew. He never mentioned her name. He had only revealed that a special girl had come up with the name for him a long time ago. Her name was too painful to mention, too painful to remember. He had given nothing more.

A special girl indeed.

The last image he had of her was of a puppy-eyed seductress in a purple dress, crying beneath the weeping branches of a willow tree. In the brief period he had come to love her, that time was the first and only time he saw her in a dress. He wished he could have left her smiling, laughing. But he had told her they didn’t fit and left her crying.

If he had known how much that image of her would haunt him, he wouldn’t have done what he did. Had he known he would miss her every day of his life since, he would have allowed her to explain. Maybe he would have learned the truth and it would have hurt like hell but at least he wouldn’t be haunted by the image of her looking at him the way she had done. Maybe then, he wouldn’t be scanning the faceless audience for the one face that still haunted him.

It had been eight years and seven months and he still wondered if she missed him the way he missed her. He wondered if she looked into the faces of strangers, searching for him. Maybe it was those questions that led him to look for her, to search for her, only if to learn she was doing fine and had moved on. Perhaps that knowledge would set him free and he would be able to move on with his own life. He would be able to return home and face Sister Jamie and Father, and Sister Mary would forgive him from her grave.

He couldn’t remember the feel of her skin or the scent of her hair, but he could remember the way she looked when she was mad. “Oh sa-nap!” she’d say. Or the way she held onto him when he kissed her. “I love you,” she’d say.

“I vow to you, to love you for eternity…” He closed his eyes and he could feel her finger tracing the bump on his nose. “I vow to you, to cherish you…” He could feel her soft lips on his chin. “I pray each night we’ll meet again, to show you that I’ve kept my vows…” He opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. “I vow to you … to love you…” (End of Sample)

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