We Belong Together

Chapter 9

Thai Viet is a well-connected person, he has many friends and working relationships. Most of them are funny people and know how to joke properly, like Phan for example. However, the very few that seemed to get angry very easily and had no idea what a joke was. Phuong Thuy is probably one of those rare people. Look at Thuy's face, with gnashing teeth under tightly pursed lips, hostile eyes and a dark look that make her face worthy of being put on the front page of "Health and Life" magazine. " with the title "How to easily get high blood pressure?" Of course, scowl is the main color showing on her beautiful face right now. Therefore, anyone, no matter how stupid, knows the way to stay away. and empty office, the constant clicking sound of the computer keyboard was clearly heard, by ten fingers tapping down harder than necessary On the screen, the last words of the decision to increase Hanh's salary are fighting.

It's only been two months, but it seems that things are becoming too favorable for Hanh. She is trusted by patients, loved by colleagues, and especially loved by Viet. So she robbed Thuy's position, she took everything, everything that should have been Thuy's, deserved to belong to Thuy, or at least that Thuy thought deserved to belong to her. .

Actually, Hanh can get a salary increase ten times like this, no matter how much people love or worship her, it doesn't make Thuy pay attention. Because she doesn't have to work hard, the monthly money her parents send from Germany is enough for her to spend comfortably. Thuy went to work for Viet for her own special reason. A very special reason, starting from when she accidentally met Viet at a bar, who can forbid people to fall in love with someone at first sight?

People are loving Hanh very much, it's obvious, and Thuy, she has never been loved at this hospital, even if it's just her appearance. Regardless, she always has a pride that she is a smart, talented, beautiful person, in short, a very elite person. So there are always people prying and hating her because of her low self-esteem, jealousy, and all sorts of reasons in the world. So, why should she care what those petty, petty people think of her? She just needs to feel good, and the rest of the world, a little bit care? People love her or hate her, it doesn't matter. To her, all those trifles were not worth glancing at. But there is one thing Thuy always cares about and can never forgive, that is when someone dares to surpass her. Like once, 12-year-old Phuong Thuy was angry, banned for a week with a very few friends who were considered close friends. Just because she commits a great sin and very rarely dares to pass her in an exam. With Thuy, she must be number one, anywhere, in any situation, and always.

- Thanh, where is Thanh? - Thuy clicked on the intercom, jerked her voice to call the employee in the next room - Come here, she told me something.

Without bothering to turn around, Thuy put her hand behind her back and handed the paper to a young man with a ponytail that looked very romantic.

- Give this decision sheet to your boss to sign.

- But the boss is away, sister?

- Where to go?

- Go check the system of regional clinics.

- Why check now? Do you have to go at the end of the month?

- I don't know, I saw yesterday that my boss told me to tell him when I asked him if he was gone.

Thuy turned around, sat up straight, perhaps she didn't notice, but her voice had begun to have a slightly harsh syllable.

- Why didn't you call me in advance?

- How do I know? - The bar stepped back a bit. - Am I the boss?

- So... where's Ms. Hanh? - Thuy herself doesn't know why she suddenly asked that question, but at the moment, she is giving rise to a very strange premonition.

- I don't know, it seems that I have taken a few days off to go back to my hometown.

- I know, - Thuy reason, grumpy for no - go to work.

The trash can next to the desk had just received another crumpled sheet of paper, apparently a decision that had just come out of the printer. Viet went on a business trip without meeting her to hand over the job? For a long time, as a truth that everyone implicitly admits, in this company, besides Viet, Thuy is the second person responsible for everything. But now, things are slipping out of control of Thuy, since Hanh appeared.

The first time Viet went on a business trip without meeting her, or at least calling her to advise her on the job. That has dealt a real blow to Thuy's self-esteem. Are you no longer in this company? It was impossible, after all she had sacrificed, to have contributed. No one can push her away from where she should be. Worthy of her, not a country boy whose nose is not clean like Hanh. If anyone wanted to surpass her, at least that person would have to "scratch off the scales" already...

The distance of more than 100 km from Hanoi to Hai Phong was solved by Viet in just two hours by car. On both sides of the road leading to the city, phoenix flowers are planted in long rows as if to explain to visitors why Hai Phong is known as the city of Red Phoenix flowers.

- I used to have seven wonderful years of my life under these trees - Hanh stretched out the car window, despite Viet's objections - It was a time full of memories for students. Perhaps he has never known the feeling of riding a bicycle under the trees, trying to avoid the bright rays of the summer sun, wriggling through the very thick foliage of the phoenix flower shining on the ground. Ask yourself if the yellow sun or the red phoenix is more brilliant? And daydreaming when a certain phoenix wing falls on his head. Because every schoolgirl in this city that, if you accidentally have a phoenix wing in your hair, dream, and your will come true.

- So, I guess you dreamed of a prince white horse?

- Wrong, and don't expect me to share that dream with you.

- Oh! He's not that optimistic. - Viet laughed, but stopped as soon as he saw her face that had just changed from dreaminess to worry, he comforted him - We're almost there, don't be impatient, we'll see your mother right away.

- No! I'm not impatient.

Hanh said she wasn't impatient, but her long fingers were her as they rattled on her knees. The small road leading to the city runs along the banks of the muddy Cam River. In the riverbed, each large transport ship is silent, swaying with each wave. The river runs directly to the seaport, which is the driving force, the source of life and the Prosperity of Hanh's hometown. The car turned sideways, bouncing on Nguyen Duc Canh Street, along the banks of Tam Bac Lake, formerly a branch of the Cam River running in the heart of the city. In the distance, the majestic statue of General Le Chan with a sword on her waist looks majestic, standing in the middle of a park with rows of tall ornamental coconut trees reflecting on the rectangular lake surrounded by stones. careful. Viet turned to Nha Thuong Street, running between rows of towering shelves filled with faulty export clothes that were sold for only a few tens of thousands of dong. He pulled over to the side of the road, where there was a rather large signboard, square letters and embossed: "Viet Tiep General Hospital".

Viet opened the car door for Hanh and let her know that he had decided to visit her mother with Hanh first, then start work later, anyway he was in no hurry. But she responded to him with disapproval:

- Go ahead and do your job, work is important. Then you can visit my mom later, she's fine.

- This! You thought we were friends? The boss is just to call at the company, at work. - Viet is gentle - I prefer you to consider me as a friend, okay? Let's promise.

- Yes! You just go ahead and finish your work, you can visit my mother later, work is important. - It's not early now, and at the beginning of the week, everyone must be busy, you can stop by in the afternoon. I gave you the room number my mother was in, I went to buy some gifts, then I came up later.

- What do you do with gifts? That's polite, okay, we're friends, remember?

- Never forgot, I'm sure. I'm your friend, that is, the children in the family, so you bought a gift, right? Just weigh oranges and tangerines. You go up with your mother first.

Buying a "weight of oranges and tangerines" as Viet said turned out to be not simple at all. The fruit saleswomen saw a young boy, dressed politely, but stupid, so they were free to challenge, joke, and tease. As for Viet, he was lost in a maze of colorful fruits that he only knew about when they were cleanly cut and neatly laid out on the plate.

When Viet found Hanh's mother's room, he found her sitting there, next to an old woman lying on a hospital bed. She was crying, tears silently falling. It seemed that for an hour when he went to buy things, she still sat like that and watched her mother, not daring to wake her up. On the bedside table, the Monitor monitors the patient on the ECG with the spikes of the QRS waveform, and the lamp on the top emits a flashing blue light that blends with the ticking of the heartbeat. resounded unanimously, emotionless. At the end of the bed the old woman was lying on, was the face of a boy, no, actually the face of a young man. A typical face of a patient with Down syndrome, he has a chubby face, a silly smile, and especially eyes, slanted eyes with a silly and lifeless look. He was sitting on a chair, face down on the hospital bed, his hand fidgeting with a plastic robot that Hanh must have bought for him. While playing, he clapped his hands and laughed, jokingly, like a child just 7 years old, 8 years old. He could not have known that there was a person standing at the door, watching his sister cry so painfully.

Viet looked at Hanh, then back at the old woman. Hanh once said that her mother was only about 55 years old, which means that she was about the same age as his mother, but look at this woman. His face was filled with wrinkles, austerity, as if all the hardships of life had taken over and put their mark on every existing wrinkle on it. In every wrinkle of hers, he would swear that any realist writer would have enough material to write a story a hundred chapters long. Stories about bitterness and hardship in life. And as if to adorn her face, which was full of austerity and realism, was her hair flecked with silver, making her look like she was over 70.

Viet walked over to Hanh, put his hand on her shoulder, nodded sympathetically and shared. She stopped crying, shyly wiped her tears with her hand and smiled softly thanking him. Along with that smile, it seems that all the distances between the boss and the employee that have been always built by Hanh have disappeared. Between them is only the close feelings of two friends, friends who sympathize and share with each other.

While Viet could not find a word to comfort Hanh, the mother woke up, her face dilated a little when she saw the two of them. She tried to smile, but she would rather not laugh, because when she saw her smile, Hanh burst into tears and sobbed. The cry made the younger brother bewildered to stop his favorite game, stare at her and then burst into tears, crying as if he had something wrong with him. Or suppose he saw the good person who gave him the toy crying, and he needed to show his gratitude with corresponding actions. Viet lightly patted Hanh's shoulder, he was confused, his weak point, anyway, was the fear of his daughter crying. The mother, with a trembling effort, raised her arm that was not attached to the IV line and gently stroked her hair:

- Behold! Why are you crying, mom is okay, just a little dizzy. - I'm sorry, it's just... - Hanh tried to hold back her tears, but her efforts only had the opposite effect, she sobbed. - I'm sorry.

- Oh good! What did I do to make you cry? You are busy with work, did your mother ever blame you? But... - She looked up at Viet - This is... - I'm Viet, Hanh's friend - Viet help - Do you feel better yet?p>

- Is that Vietnamese? So precious, are you going to visit your mother? Hanh kept talking about him all the time, - she paused for a moment, continued - her mother also wanted to see him once. Don't think that she's old enough to become dodgy, but when are you two going to let me have a grandchild?

- Oh, mother - Hanh interrupted, confused, it was clear that her mother mistook Thai Viet for Hoang Viet, the confusion made her feel a sharp pain - This is not...

- What are you still striving for, what else are you studying? At your age, you already have two older brothers. - She suppressed a sigh, her old eyes looking into the distance. - Unfortunately, the poison that my father brought back from the war did not let them live. Fortunately for me, it's okay, but my sister...

She sobbed again, looking at her brother fidgeting with the Robot, tears welling up in his old wrinkled eyes.

- I still have hope in each of you, but I don't have much longer to live...

- Mother ... - Hanh sobbed again, each word of her mother was like a knife cutting into her heart.

"We already know that," Viet interrupted again, in this situation, it's better to let the patient cheer up. Peace of mind, fun is also a great remedy. The old woman is sick, if she knew about Hanh's story with Hoang Viet, it would certainly not be of any benefit, adding more thoughts, only making the disease worse - We will try, mom can rest assured.

- Older brother...

Hanh looked at Viet, eyes wide and confused. It wasn't that she didn't understand Viet's point, but it was clear that what he did made her feel awkward. Viet just looked at her, smiled slightly and winked to push the meaning, his hand was on her shoulder again, gently squeezing. - Mom, I have a pretty big clinic in this city. Can I ask my mother to come over to my side for treatment? Anyway, there we have the conditions to take care of our mother. But who left her here like this?

- No need, mom is fine...

- Mom, we want to take better care of you. Besides, Hanh is a doctor anyway, so am I. Conditional, who let mom lie here, right?

Hanh pursed her lips, clearly embarrassed, she didn't know how to answer Viet, nor did she know that she was rubbing the bed sheet in her hand. - Oh, I think... ah, yes! You should move to the other side, there are better conditions there.

- Well, it's up to you, my mother is also old, whatever God gives, it's just ... my sister ... - She looked at her youngest child again, feeling sorry for her - Looking at both of you. ..

- Hey mom...

Hanh burst into tears again, sobbing, I don't know if she was crying because she loved her mother, loved her brother, or because she was sad for herself? Probably both. Viet sobbed, he wished someone could help him stop his fear of seeing the people he loves cry. In return, even if he had to pay his entire fortune, he would agree without hesitation.

Stuffed by the smell of Chloramine B used to disinfect in the hospital room, Viet stepped out into the corridor, the wind blew quite strongly, and it was a bit cold. From time to time he was still gnawed by a feeling of helplessness. At times like these, he usually goes to Phan and the two pull together to the sidewalk cafe in Nguyen Du, to let the scent of Milk flowers and Hale lake breeze blow away all their troubles. Unfortunately, right now Phan is hundreds of kilometers away from him, and he is probably working, cannot be here.