| Fan Fiction |
by Chandra
The day when Rick Lam had entered his room, Jimmy had wanted to give up his life. Yet, the moment he divulged a piece of information toward Jimmy that Ruby was still alive. The strength in his body and the will to live overpowered his frailty and motionlessness for years. Thus, he decided to become healthier and recover from this depression and sorrow. And when Jimmy had walked past the garden, a familiar figure in a wheelchair caught his attention. Thus, Jimmy knew Fate once again led him to her.
“This is all you could ask me when I have suffered twenty years waiting for you?” Jimmy asked quietly, the disappointment and grief expressed on his attractive face. Though times had gone through two decades already, yet it seemed to Ruby that Jimmy had never aged. He was still looking like he was in his late twenties.
When Ruby didn’t immediately reply, Jimmy’s eyes fell on her wheelchair. “What happens….?” The sentence trailed off, unfinished.
“So many things had happened after you left.” Ruby said softly.
She fought back the panic and fear, her mind suddenly thought of their baby Rain. But reality stared at her in the face because she discovered that Rain had no longer existed in the world. Rick’s words came back to haunt her.
Jimmy stood still as Ruby was observing his profile in the glow of the headlights in the garden. And she felt she was watching a stranger. She remembered when he was twenty years old – slim, almost wiry. A quarterback, a sprinter. But the now in front of her was at least an inch taller and considerably skinnier, frail in a way. The sight instinctively mustered thoughts she had no business thinking – until he took a step forward and looked at her straight in the eye. Reality descended like a blow. It was a gesture she knew all to well, coming from a person whom she had trusted and loved. He had been her sweetheart since high school. He was her boyfriend when they were in college. Yet somehow so many years apart, she still recognized him.
Tears rolled up behind her eyes as if someone had flipped a switch, and Ruby wished for another control to reverse them. She turned to hide her face, but Jimmy wouldn’t let her. He reached out and took one of her hands in his, then touched her chin, coaxing her to look at him. She turned her head back, but kept her eyes averted.
“I thought I would die before seeing you again. Fate is really cruel sometimes.” He whispered.
Jimmy hesitated a moment. His eyes met her, and she perceived some surprise. “You think?”
He asked softly. “Of course. Can’t you see? Now that I see you, everything’s too late.”
Ruby wanted to open her mouth and say something, but stopped herself. What was the point? His eyes turned away, but not before she glimpsed another hint of sadness. Not grief exactly, but more of a loneliness. An empty space was waiting to be filled. And Ruby knew he was missing her. Perhaps they could be together if not for her parents and their evil deed. A wave of resentment surged through her as she thought about her parents, but she struggled to suppress it. Time had gone and cannot be turned back. Ruby and Jimmy had shared a sorrow in losing each other, but he wouldn’t want her pity now. Nor, for that, did she want his.
Nonetheless, Ruby was ashamed of herself for needing a shoulder to cry on. It wasn’t like her; it was weakness. She should stiffen, draw back. Ruby didn’t move a muscle. His arms suddenly were around her, strong and warm, their grip gentle. His chest was solid, the curve of his shoulder seemingly molded for the task. His touch seemed to calm her, bestowed an uncanny sense of peacefulness, even safety. Ruby couldn’t seem to end it. It felt far too good. Ruby burrowed her face deeper, placing her cheek within the open V-neck of his scrubs. His skin felt smooth against her, and her senses were pervaded by a masculine aroma that seemed to intoxicate her.
“What are you two doing here?” The harshness of the voice penetrated through both Ruby and Jimmy that they suddenly jerked back to reality and stared at the face of a man.
___
Before arriving at her mother’s room, Tavia decided to visit Dr. Raymond Lam’s office. Luckily, she got a hold of him. Next to Raymond, was his father Rick Lam. Before Tavia could ask about her mother’s situation, Raymond already began to praise her.
“It was good she had you to take care of her.” Raymond smiled understandingly at Tavia as he put a hand on her shoulder, a comforting gesture. “She was lucky. Most people have to rely on strangers when they get sick.”
“Well, she did have nurses and my father,” Tavia said modestly, uncomfortable at the kind words.
“But you and your father did it.” “That’s really something. I don’t know anyone else who’s gone through something like that. I don’t see you how you handled it. You must really be a strong person.” His father added. Tavia could detect the pride and contentment in his voice.
“I don’t think I’m any stronger than anyone else.” Tavia said quietly.
There was a lull in the conversation. She could hear the wind rattling softly against the windows.
“I’ll bet you miss her and feel depressing seeing her like that, don’t you.” Raymond said softly.
Tavia blinked hard to keep the tears back. Yes, Tavia wished there was something she could to take away her mother’s pain. Guilt swelled inside her when Tavia realized that it seemed as if she now focused more on her love life than her mother’s battle with the disease.
“Yeah, I do.” She glanced out the window at the palm trees dancing in the evening breeze. Sometimes it was so hard to understand why such thing would happen to her family.
All of a sudden, Raymond disclosed the intriguing information Tavia had never expected.
“My cousin, Dr. Bosco Wong, has volunteered to be in charge of your mother’s medical exam. It seems as if he really wants take care of your mother and understand how her progress is going.”
Tavia kept silent, and yet so many curiosities formed in her mind. She had to wait to ask Bosco later. Then his words hit her.
“Your cousin?”
“My brother, Gilbert, and his wife, Jackie, don’t have children, so they adopted Bosco many years ago.” Rick Lam, this time, answered her question.
___
Rain locked herself in the bathroom stall. Numb, her mind barely functioning, Rain sat there staring off into space. She had felt so many things at first – grief, fear, anger, despair, deception – that such a strong response, such a combination of feelings, had rendered her emotionally impotent. Mentally she accepted the fact that her parents still existed.
Moments later the floodgates opened. Sobs racked her, even as Rain told herself she shouldn’t be so hurt. That Raymond hadn’t exactly lied to her. That she should have known from the beginning that he was not interested in her. He had a motive. He pitied her. All these times Raymond was with her because of what his father had done to her. The bitterness of the truth burned inside her.
Outside, Rain could hear the pounding on the Women’s Restroom door. Rain heard the panic and anxiety in his voice. With all of the courage she had, Rain opened the door and faced the man that she almost had given her heart to.
Her fists were clenched tight, and hot tears were forming behind her eyelids. How stupid had she been to fall for his charm in the first place? Could those darn ingenuous eyes of his override every instinct in her bones?
Rain drew herself up, her words practically a hiss. “I heard everything Raymond. The conversation between you and your father in your office.”
“Rain, it was all a misunderstanding. You didn’t hear the whole thing.”
“How could I be so stupid?” It seemed as if Rain were asking herself more instead.
“Please listen. Let me explain everything.” The eyes in question lobbied hard for her forgiveness and the gentleness of his voice was a strong backup. “Please try to understand. This isn’t just about you. I’ve never told anyone.”
Rain turned away from him again. Her legs weren’t the steadiest, but she bucked them up. No way was she coming off this altercation looking like the fragile female. After another deep breath, she realized she didn’t want to appear an irrational one, either. However, Rain didn’t want to hear his explanation. She suddenly turned her back to him and walked away. Tears of hurt, anger, and frustration burned her eyes.
___
The newfound discovery that Raymond was Bosco’s cousin was unbelievable. It made Tavia realize how small the world was. Tavia then decided that she would thank Bosco for wanting to take care of her mother and be her doctor. As Tavia had only gotten halfway around lobby and almost at her mother’s room, when Bosco he caught her.
“Hey, I’ve been looking for you.” He was smiling joyfully at her. “You know, I’m still waiting for your answer.”
Tavia couldn’t resist but smiled back at him. “Yes.”
“Do you mean,” Bosco asked under his breath, “that you’ll be with me?” He smiled at her again, and his brown eyes were twinkling.
“Of course, I’ll be with you. Who else should I be with?”
She hated dishonesty, and now Tavia understood how dishonest and disgusting she was. Tears unexpectedly emerged from behind her lids like a flood. Tavia knew that she couldn’t stop them this time, so she simply stood, frustrated and embarrassed, wishing for a hole to pen up in the wall – a cave that she could crawl into and hide. No cave appeared.
But with the slightest of motions, Bosco lifted his arms toward her, and her reaction was instantaneous. Tavia fell into them, and he swept her up as naturally as if he did so everyday. For a moment he simply stood, holding her. Holding her so close that she felt the tears stream harder.
The tears she shed because of joy. It also shed of the conscience of betrayal. She had said good-bye to Ron, and now she was blissfully in the arms of another man. Tavia didn’t know why she had done what she did, but being with Bosco felt rightfully amazing.
Bosco and Tavia kissed and again. The second kiss was even more passionate than the first. Tavia felt herself being transported. As long as this kiss lasted, they really were the only two people in the world, she thought. She was swept away by the delirious pleasure of the moment, but not so completely that Tavia didn’t notice a movement out of the corner of her eyes. Someone had entered the foyer. The doctor, or the nurse, Tavia thought distractedly, too happy to be embarrassed. Oh, well. Nothing this good could last forever.
With a delicious, regretful sigh, Tavia opened her eyes a little wider, looking past Bosco’s shoulder. Then she focused on the figure standing in the hallway, and her heart stopped beating. A rangy, broad-shoulder guy in khakis and blue polo shirt stood just inside the entrance of the lobby, an expression of mingled shock, hurt, and anger contorting his handsome face. Tavia’s heart startled up again, but now it was hammering with guilt and horror. She tore herself from Bosco’s embrace.
“Ron!” she cried.
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Chandra
07/11/07
A Preview for Upcoming Chapters
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“I don’t know, father… I thought I feel sorry for her at first, but soon, I think I….”
“Raymond, don’t get your emotions in the way.”
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I bet you must be surprised to see me all these years.” “I’m back, Alec Su, and I will do whatever it takes to hurt the peoples around you, especially your sick wife and your daughter.”
“But Ruby and Tavia are innocent; you have to deal it with me, not them.”
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