Chapter 36: Chapter 36

There was silence again on Jack’s side.  Suddenly he sighed.  “Not sure if you can be sure.”

What does this mean?  A riddle?

“What do you want me to be sure of?”  She asked.

“’Sure of……” He paused again.  “Sure of your courage.”

“Don’t scare me.  I’m very timid.”  Arya admitted she was useless without even a fight.

Jack was again silent for a long while.

“Hey…….Dr. Jack.  What is it that needs me to be sure of my courage?”

“I’ll tell you when if you will come down.”

“Dr. Jack, are you teasing me again?”

Jack sighed again.  “Are you coming down or not?”

“You still have not apologized yet.”

“Heyyy.”

“You see?  Your attitude is still fierce.”

“Arya.”

“What?”

“Come down.  Let’s meet.”

“No.  I want to hear your apology first.”

The other side was silent again.  Her heart jumped very fast.  She did not know why she was behaving so willfully as if she was possessed by a ghost.

After waiting for a while, she finally heard Jack say.  “Forget it.  This time, I’ll let you win.  A gentleman must be able to apologize  I’m sorry, Miss Arya Du Vin, I was impolite to you and I was in the wrong.  Is that ok?”

“In the future, you must be polite to me.”

“Okay.”

“You must have manners.”

“Okay.”

“Really?”

“Arya!”

She laughed with a feeling of satisfaction.  Then she said.  “I haven’t had dinner yet.”

“I will treat you to dinner, is that alright?”

“Okay.”  Her tone was a bit reluctant, but on her face was a big smile.  She saw Jack opened the car door and got down.  He raised his head and when he saw her, he waved at her and gestured her to come down.

“Wait a moment.  I’ve to change my clothes.”  She quickly hung up the phone and rushed to her closet.

Pink dress?……not good.  maroon skirt?…….not good.  Black jumpsuit……This looks fine.

She wanted to pick again but was afraid to keep Jack waiting for too long.  In the end, she chose the black jumpsuit and felt she looked slim in it.

After Arya was ready, she picked up her bag and sneaked a look downstairs again.

Jack was leaning leisurely against his car and looked like he was immersed in his thoughts.  She laughed and rushed to the door.  She opened it, closed it and locked it before hurrying to the elevator.

The elevator slowly climbed up and she stared at the changing numbers with a bit of anxiety.  Her cell phone rang and she thought it was Jack but when she looked, it was the number of her parent’s home.  Quickly she picked up the call.

The person who called was Arya’s Father.  He asked.  “Arya, are you busy?”

“Not busy father.  I’m already off work.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. I’m getting ready to eat.”  Arya was a little on guard.  She did not want to let her parents know she was going out to dinner with a friend, to avoid having them ask too many questions.  She feels it is better not to let her parents know about Jack.

“Oh, then you continue. I will call later. Needed to tell you something.”

The elevator had arrived and as she walked into it, she asked.  “What happened?  What is the matter?”

Arya’s Father seemed to hesitate for a moment but he still said.  “Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow is the weekend, do you have to work?  Your Mom is sick.  She wants you to come home to see her.”

“Sick?”  Arya jumped with fright.  “What is wrong with her?  What happened?”  It is so serious that she is requested to go home, so her mother must be very ill.

“Her chest pain is not very good.  It’s better for you to make a trip home.”

Arya suddenly understood.  “Is Mom still angry with me?”  All this while, her Mother’s heart always had minor problems.  The doctor had said it was not a big problem.  He had also advised to keep her in a happy mood and avoid being overly tired.  All these years, there were no major problems.  Now suddenly she had fallen ill.  It was inevitable for Arya to think of her recent disputes and unhappiness with her family.

Did her mother fall sick because of her anger?

“Don’t think of it like that.  Your Mom misses you, so come home.”

“Okay, I’ll take the bus home tomorrow morning.”  She felt very anxious and agreed readily.  She asked again.  “Dad, did you take Mom to the hospital?  What did the doctor say?”

“Don’t worry.  Come back and then we’ll talk.  First, I’ll tell your Mom to make her feel happy.  I’m hanging up.”  Arya’s Father finished talking and he hung up the phone.

Arya felt anxiety in her heart and when the elevator reached the ground floor, she was distracted.  When she walked out of the building, she saw Jack’s expression and only then did she realized the worry and anxiety on her face must have shocked him.

“What happened to you?”  Jack asked her in concerned voice.

“Dr. Jack, I can’t have dinner with you.  My Mom is sick and I want to go home.”

“Sick?  What happened?”

“I also don’t know.  I heard she has chest pain.  However, they called me to specifically tell me to go home, so it must be very serious.  During this period of time, the relationship between me and my family is not very good and I had lied to them.  I also canceled my phone number so they can’t find me and my Mom was very angry.  She did not like my work and we had quarreled over the phone.  She must have fallen sick because of me.”

She had met someone whom she could talk to and could not help but complained about herself.

“Don’t worry, you must not feel anxious.  You’ve to ask clearly first.  Heart problems are uncertain and may not be as serious as you assume.  What is the result of the diagnosis?  What did the doctor say?  What tests had been done?”  Very quickly, Jack had slipped into the role of a doctor.

“My Dad did not say anything.  He told me to come back and then he’ll tell me.  Are there complications?  Is it inconvenient to talk on the phone?  Dr. Jack, will anything happen to my Mom?   I, I…..I don’t want to wait until tomorrow morning.  I want to go back now.”

“Now?”  Jack frowned.

“There is a night bus and the bus will reach my city in a little over 5 hours.  I……I’m very worried and even if I stay here for the night, I will not be able to sleep, so I might as well go back now.”

“It’s so late.  How can it be safe for a girl to travel by bus at night?”

“It doesn’t matter.  The bus company is not a triad gang and there are no rogues.”

“That’s a lousy figure of speech.”  Jack’s brow wrinkled again.  She felt he was angry again.

“I don’t know how to speak properly, so it doesn’t matter.  The bus is very safe and I have traveled on it before.  It’s okay.  I want to leave tonight.  I’m really worried.”

Jack frowned and thought for a while.  “I will send you.”

“What?”  Arya shouted.  “How can you do this?  Are you not on duty tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“The journey to and fro is 8 hours and you still have to work.  Are you crazy?  No……I don’t want you to send me.”

“When I take on the day and night shifts continuously, I often don’t sleep.”

“That is night shift and not sending a friend home.  Driving at night is very dangerous and you can easily get involved in an accident.  Don’t scare me like this or else after reaching home, I’ll keep thinking of your safety and I’ll not be able to sleep as well.

Jack gave her a look, his eyebrows no longer wrinkled and the corners of his mouth curved up in a smile.

This time, it was Arya who scowled and she continued to say.  “You are a doctor and if you don’t have an alert mind, how are you going to treat your patients?  What if you give the wrong diagnosis and prescribed the wrong medicine?  If I know the doctor who is treating my Mom had driven throughout the night without rest and prescribed the wrong medicine, I will certainly bash him up.”

Jack laughed and Arya gave him a light slap on his arm.  “Don’t laugh.  I’m serious.  You are a doctor and not an insurance agent like me.  It doesn’t matter if I don’t rest and fall asleep but you can’t.”

“Okay, I know.  You’re really rough.”  Why does she always like to hit him?

Arya twitched her mouth and felt a bit reluctant.  “After I come back, will you still ask me out for a meal?”

“Yes.”  Jack looked helplessly at her.

Arya smiled and felt a kind of joy as if she had taken advantage of him.  “You should go back first.  I’ll go up to do some packing and leave for the bus station.”

“I’ll send you to the bus station.”  Jack said and watched as Arya looked back at him with surprise.  He spread his hands and said.  “Sending you to the bus station is not considered as a tiring drive, is it?”

She bit her lip and had a happy feeling.  She nodded and said.  “Okay.”

Jack let out a sigh and accompanied her upstairs. She told him to sit in the living room and she quickly went into her room to pack a small bag.  Then she called Sophia and said she had to make a trip home.  She also said she would be back on Sunday night and when she said this, Jack gave her a glare.

“At night again?  If nothing is the matter, then you should come back on Sunday on a day bus.  If something crops up, you should take leave, stay for a few days, and return during the daytime.  Do you really think traveling on a night bus is very safe?”

“Okay, I will decide later.”

“Take the day bus!”  Jack insisted.

“Okay, I’ll take the day bus.”  She quickly promised for fear that this man would suddenly become unreasonable and prevent her from leaving tonight.

As soon as the two people reached the bus station, Jack who had not taken a bus before went up to the bus and when he saw that the bus was clean, his expression looked a bit better.  After Arya had bought the ticket and Jack saw that there was enough time, he took her to the nearby McDonald’s for dinner.

She was very worried about her mother’s heart problem and Jack imparted to her some general knowledge.  He also reminded her to call him if her mother’s condition was serious.  He could assist in transferring her mother to here for consultation.  In short, she is not to worry about the illness.  He will do everything.

After Arya was comforted by him, her emotions became calmer.  She talked to Jack about her family’s situation and also her own problems.  When she spoke of her mistakes and her family’s expectations of her, she felt a bit upset again.  She had only told him half of her problems and she wanted to continue talking to him but it was already time to leave.

Jack took her to the bus and patted her head.  “It doesn’t matter how late it is, when you reach home, give me a call.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry.  Don’t be afraid of illness, there is always a doctor.”

“Okay.”

“If you feel nervous and sad on the journey, you can call me.”

“Okay.”

“Every family also has its own problems.  Whatever happens, it’s best to talk it over.  After all, they are your parents and there is nothing that cannot be settled.  Take it slowly, give them some patience and they will be able to understand you.”

She nodded, felt something stuck in her throat and could not speak up.

“Get in.  Be careful on the journey and don’t fall asleep on the bus.  Pay attention to your safety.”

She nodded again.  She carried her bag and walked to the bus.  Suddenly, she felt very nervous…….she is going home.  Will her mother still be angry with her and ignore her?  Will her mother blame her?  If her mother is really sick, what should she do?

Her thoughts became muddled and her footsteps became very heavy.

“Arya.”  Suddenly Jack called out to her.

She looked back slowly and saw Jack facing her with his arms wide open.  He said.  “Come here!”

She blinked her eyes, then blinked again and her eye rims became hot and pooled with tears.  She ran towards him and crashed into his arms.

Jack hugged and consoled her.

It was a hug of encouragement and comfort.  Arya was touched.

“Don’t think too much.”  He hugged her tightly and patted her head.  “I’ll wait for you to slowly make a decision.”

Decide what?  She did not ask but looked at him in confusion.

The bus was ready to leave.

Arya turned around to take a look and ran to the bus.  When she reached the bus entrance, she waved back at him and said.  “Thank you, Jack.”

When she saw Jack suddenly frowned with a gloomy expression, she did not know why she felt more relaxed.

She got up the bus, sat in her seat and the bus quickly left the station.  She turned her head around and when she could no longer see Jack, she let out a sigh.

She was going home.