Emily nodded as she felt disappointed, “I thought you were doing it for…” She didn’t finish the sentence. She simply looked at Anna and said, “Forget about it.” We’ll leave tomorrow and have a nice conversation tonight. Ryan’s been missing you.”
Anna smiled and said, “Great!”
The night remained humid. Those two surgeries lasted all night and were not completed until the following morning. Anna and Emily sat by the soldier’s bedside all night, talking.
Emily asked in curiosity, “So you’ve spent all these years in France? And Tammy was living there with you?”
Anna shook her head and said, “No. She’s living in a boarding school in the US. At first, Jasper insisted on having Tammy live with him. But back then, he had only recently married and was already raising Isabella, who was not related to him by blood. As a result, I felt that having Tammy live with him would be unfair to Lily. Before I told Jasper about my decision, Tammy finally took the initiative and said that she wanted to stay at school.”
Emily frowned and said, “Indeed, Tammy is a considerate and mature girl, given that she handled the situation herself. But, isn’t she being overly sensitive? Jasper is her legal guardian. So, under local law, he is required to support her. He’s even willing to let the kid on that island live with him! And Tammy’s always thought of him as a father, so why would she do that?”
“Well, Tammy later realized Jasper wasn’t her biological father, and she minded it. But I believe she did the right thing. She would be in an awkward situation if Jasper has his own child later.”
“How about Isabella?” Emily asked.
“Isabella chose to live with Jasper on her own. Jasper was the one who rescued her from the river at the time, so she chose to live with him.”
“Don’t you think that’s strange? You saved her, Normally, she would choose to live with you. Why would she want to live with Jasper?”
Anna said thoughtfully, “I can understand that. Jasper was the one who rescued her from the river, and he later looked after her in Birmingham. Jasper is therefore a little closer to her than I am. That child craves fatherly love and regards him as her father.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Emily said, nodding.
Emily remembered that Jasper was a gentle gentleman a little older than Wayne. He acted much more calmly than Wayne during the time when Anna was kidnapped by drug dealers. He was a very attractive man who was very bold in any decision he faced. Consequently, Emily assumed Anna would be with him after she left England.
Anna laughed teasingly and said, “Well, let’s talk about you! How are you and Ryan doing? Are you two married?”
Emily scratched her brow, the oil paint on her face concealing her already flushed face. She then answered somewhat awkwardly, “Not yet. We’ve both been swamped recently, and we have little time for vacations.”
“Then is the Wright family all right?” Anna asked.
Emily said, “They’re fine. Jennie is doing well and teaches painting at a local high school. Matthew is now being treated for all of his psychological issues. I’m not sure what Wayne was thinking, but he never allowed Matthew to attend school. He hired tutors to teach him lessons at home and frequently took him on business trips. Matthew is now participating in board decisions. As for Grandpa, he has not been in the best of health lately and has been resting at home.
At dawn, helicopters were hovering overhead. Emily packed her belongings and took the three wounded to the helicopter.
“Bon voyage,” Anna said as she waved at Emily from the helicopter.
***
A week later, Emily went back to Birmingham.
“Can you tell I got a little tan from the mission? I believe we should postpone the wedding for a while. I have an uneven tan and I am afraid I will scare everyone.”
“That’s okay, I can tell them that you got a horrible tanning job.”
“What?” Emily asked, glaring at Ryan.
“Why are you so worried about that?” Ryan chuckled, “Nobody will notice that your face and neck aren’t the same color. Also, you can cover it with makeup”
Emily punched him in the shoulder and said, “Fine, whatever. I’ll be back in the army as soon as the wedding is over anyway.”
Since Ryan returned to the Wrights, Peter had always been kind to him. Peter was nice to him as long as they didn’t bring up the marriage as if he was trying to compensate him for the past. However, Peter was treating Wayne poorly.
.
“Ah, I forgot to mention something just now,” Emily said, setting aside the bag of chips in her hand.
“What is it?”
“I met Anna at the aid station.”
Hearing that, Ryan was stunned for a few seconds before asking, “What?”
“I met her at the border aid station. Anna is a volunteer physician now. She attended medical school after leaving Birmingham that year. We talked all night and she asked how everyone was.”
Ryan froze for a moment before standing up.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see Wayne. I have to tell him about this!”
***
A week later, five trucks carrying supplies arrived at the border station. The commander stepped out of the truck wearing his military uniform.
After giving a military salute to his fellows, he said, “This is Mr. Wright, who donated the supplies this time. He is a well-known entrepreneur in Birmingham. He wishes to speak on behalf of the Birmingham city government to express condolences to the officers and soldiers of our border station, as well as the medical personnel. We saved a man from Birmingham a few days ago, and the government was so grateful to us that they let Mr. Wright come here.”
The officer examined Wayne and found the man in the suit to be oppressive. He didn’t think Wayne looked like an ordinary businessman. And he let Wayne in because the government had issued him a pass order.
Except for those on guard duty, everyone came to dinner in the evening. When Wayne couldn’t find the person he wanted to see, he asked, “Are all the medical staff here?”
“Sir, I’m a doctor from Birmingham Hospital, and my name is Vincent,” a young male doctor said to Matthew flatteringly.
Nodding, Wayne sat down and drained his glass of wine. It was evening, and the sound of birds chirping outside added to the eerie atmosphere.
Gabe walked around the station, stood next to Wayne and whispered, “I asked around, and all the doctors are new here. They only arrived here three days ago, but only that doctor named Vincent is always here. He was drunk, and I got some information from him.”
Wayne’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “What did he say?”
“Miss Gabriel did stay here for a while, but we were too late. She left three days ago with the previous group of volunteers. And it looks like there’s a conflict between Vincent and her. That doctor hinted to me to let us transfer him back to Birmingham. What do you think? “
Wayne said coldly, “Of course not.”
Gabe coughed awkwardly and replied, “I see.”
Wayne was depressed. He came here to see Anna, but she was not there. It’s a big world, but Emily was able to meet Anna while she was on a mission at this small aid station. He found an excuse to travel from afar but did not see her. As a result, he thought that maybe, they were not meant to be together.
A month later, it was summer, and the weather was scorching. Anna stood at the airport exit in her white dress, staring at her watch. Isabella’s plane had arrived long ago, but she still didn’t come over. At the moment, Anna had no idea what was going on. She waited for a long time until calling Isabella.
It took Isabella a long time to answer the phone and say, “Anna!”
“Has your plane arrived yet? Where have you gone?”
“Take it easy, Anna. I’m in the airport security office. There’s been a little accident here, and I’ll be out as soon as I resolve it.”
“What? Did you get into trouble?”
“No!”
“Stay right there! I’m coming over now.”
Anna went straight to the security office after hanging up the phone. Isabella called Anna about a week ago. She said she was on summer vacation and wanted to spend some time in England. So, Anna took a half-day leave from the hospital after booking Isabella’s flight.
Isabella grew up on the island and she was always bold and daring. She was even more daring after living with Jasper, knowing there would always be someone to look after her. However, they weren’t in America, so Anna didn’t think she’d be able to fix everything if Isabella got into trouble here.
Then Anna entered the airport police lobby and saw a girl with dreadlocks on her head as soon as she opened the door. She was wearing a colorful tie-dye t-shirt and ripped jeans.
“Isabella Thomas!” Anna said unhappily.
Isabella looked back, smiled and asked, “Wow! How did you get here so fast?”
“Cut the crap! Tell me, what have you gotten yourself into again?”
Isabella denied eagerly, “I didn’t! I swear to God I’m not in trouble! I was helping someone.”
“You say that every time!”
Isabella scratched her head and said, “It’s different this time. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the police.”
Anna looked at the few police officers and said awkwardly, “Excuse me, what did she get herself into this time?”
A female police officer smiled gently and said, “You misunderstood this young lady. She didn’t get herself into trouble. Actually, she helped someone.”
The policeman then told Anna about the incident. Isabella had noticed a man attempting to put his hand inside the little girl’s skirt as she got off the plane half an hour earlier. She rushed up and tried to stop him. The man became embarrassed and then began hitting her.
Hearing that, Anna got anxious. She spun Isabella around and asked anxiously, “Are you all right? Are you hurt, Isabella?”
Isabella shrugged indifferently and said, “Don’t worry! Nothing happened to me at all. He didn’t beat me hard, and I held him down.”
Anna was relieved to see that Isabella was actually okay. She said, “I was really scared! What else are you going to do here?”
“It’s okay, you just have to sign here.”
After they had left, Anna took Isabella’s suitcase and said, “You’re seventeen, and you’ll be an adult soon. I told you that if something like this happens, you can call the police. You don’t have to face it yourself.”
“Oh, I’m fine! Can you please stop nagging like a mom?”
Anna said, “Technically, I’ m your mom.”
Isabella smiled as she wrapped her arm around Anna’s shoulders and said, “I wouldn’t have a mother as young and beautiful as you. You’re always my sister in my heart.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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