A December To Remember. Sue MacKay

       CHAPTER ONE

      ‘PHA THAT LUANG,’ the jumbo driver said over his shoulder, pointing to a stunning white temple behind high gates with two guards standing to attention outside. On elegantly crafted pillars gold gleamed in the bright sunlight. ‘Stupa.’

      ‘Wow, it’s beautiful,’ Ellie Thompson whispered. She even hadn’t noticed they’d driven into the centre of Vientiane, her brain being half–shut down with sleep deprivation. Wake up and smell the roses. You’re in Laos, she admonished herself. But she was shattered. Too bad. New start to life, remember? Probably no roses in Laos. Definitely no ex.

      Right. Forget tiredness. Forget the humiliation of everyone from the CEO right down to the laundry junior at Wellington Hospital knowing her husband had left her for her sister. Forget the pain and anger. Start enjoying every day for what it could bring. There’d be no nasty surprises for the next four weeks while in Laos. She could relax.

      Holding up her phone, Ellie leaned over the side to click away continuously until the temple was out of sight. Slumping back against the hard seat, she thought longingly of the air-conditioned taxis that had been waiting outside the border crossing at Nong Khai railway station. With the sweat trickling down between her shoulder blades adding to her unkempt appearance, this windowless mode of transport open to the air, dust and insects kind of said she’d had a brain fade when she’d chosen the jumbo over a taxi. But taxis were old hat, jumbos were not. Except right now a shower and bed were looking more and more tempting, and sightseeing a distant second.

      Leaning forward, she asked the driver, ‘How far?’

      ‘Not long.’ He shrugged.

      Guess that could mean anything from five minutes to an hour. Shuffling her backside to try to get comfortable, she watched the spectacular sights they passed, nothing like New Zealand at all. Vientiane might be small and compact but there were people everywhere. Locals moved slowly with an air of having all day to accomplish whatever it was they had to do, while jostling tourists were snapping photos of everything from temples to bugs crawling on the pavement as if their lives depended on it.

      After a twelve-hour flight from Wellington to Bangkok, followed by a thirteen-hour turned into sixteen-hour train trip to Laos, Ellie’s exhaustion overshadowed the excitement only days ago she’d struggled to keep under control. Yep, she’d had a few days after she’d finished at the hospital for good when she’d begun to look forward to her trip instead of constantly looking over her shoulder to see who was talking about her. That excitement was still there; it just needed a kick in the backside to come out of hiding.

      This was her first visit to Indochina and her driver was taking her to the amputee centre and hospital where she’d signed on until the second week of December. Ellie pinched herself. This was real. She’d finally taken the first step towards moving beyond the mess that had become her life and recharging the batteries so she could make some decisions about her future. ‘Where to from here?’ had been the question nagging her relentlessly for months. Laos was only a stopgap. But it was a start. Then there was the six-month stint to come in Auckland. It was the gap of nearly four weeks between jobs that worried her. Those weeks included Christmas and had her stomach twisting in knots. She was not going to her parents’ place to play happy families when her sister would be there.

      As the jumbo bumped down a road that had lost most of its seal the yawns were rolling out of her. Damn, but the air was thick with heat. Her make-up was barely sticking to her face and where her sunglasses touched her cheeks they slid up and down, no doubt making a right royal mess. So not the look she wanted to present to her new colleagues, but trying to fix the problem with more make-up would only exacerbate her untidy appearance. Nor did she carry an iron in her handbag to tidy up the rumpled look sported by her cotton trousers and sleeveless T-shirt. Today a fashion statement she was not. Hopefully everyone would see past that and accept her for her doctoring skills, if nothing else. That was all that was required of her anyway, besides being all she had to give these days.

      Taking that train instead of flying from Bangkok hadn’t been her wisest decision but back home it had sounded wonderful when the travel agent showed her the photos—highly enhanced pictures, she now realised. Face it, even riding all the way here on an elephant would’ve been tempting compared to living in the shadow of her ex and the woman he now lived with. Caitlin. Her sister. Her ex-sister. Her supposedly close and loving sister. Pain lanced her. The really awful thing was she still missed Caitlin, missed their closeness, the talks— Huh, the talks that obviously hadn’t mentioned anything about both of them loving the same man. Her husband.

      Sounding bitter, Ellie. Damn right she was bitter. Freddy had slept with Caitlin—while still married to her. She shook her head. The self-pity was back in New Zealand, as was the humiliation from having people knowing what happened. Putting up with everyone’s apparent sympathy when most of those so-called concerned friends enjoyed keeping the hospital gossip mill rolling along had been gross.

      But no more. Her contract was at an end, and nothing the CEO had said or offered had tempted her in the slightest to stay on. From now on she’d look the world in the eye, and make plans for Ellie Thompson. Taking back her maiden name had only been the first step. She liked her brand-new passport with its first stamps for a journey she was taking alone, in a place no one knew her or her history. It was a sign of things to come.

      She patted her stomach. Down, butterflies, down.

      Then they turned the corner and at the end of the street a muddy river flowed past and she leaned forward again.

      ‘Is that the Mekong?’ When the driver didn’t answer she raised her voice and enunciated clearly, ‘The river? The Mekong?’

      He turned to nod and smile his toothless smile. ‘Yes. Mekong.’

      The mighty Mekong. She’d always wanted to see the famous river and now it was less than a kilometre away. ‘Wow,’ she repeated. She knew where she’d be going for her first walk in this delightful place. Another yawn stretched her mouth. That would have to be after she’d slept round the clock.

      ‘I show you.’ A sharp turn and they were heading straight for the river. Their stop was abrupt, with Ellie putting her hands out to prevent slamming against the seat in front of her.

      ‘Out, out.’ Her new friend smiled. ‘See Mekong.’

      He was so enthusiastic she couldn’t find it in her to say she really wanted to get to her destination. Anyway, wasn’t she supposed to be grabbing this adventure with both hands? Climbing down, she went to stand on the edge of the river beside the driver. It looked like running mud, nothing like the clear waters of New Zealand rivers. But it was the Mekong. ‘It’s real. I’m here right by the river my dad used to talk about.’ Except he’d seen it in Vietnam. ‘Hard to imagine all the countries this water flows through.’

      The driver stared at her blankly. Her English obviously beyond his comprehension. Or too fast. She tried again, a lot slower this time, and was rewarded with a glower at the mention of Vietnam.

      ‘Go now.’

      Okay, lesson learned. Avoid mentioning the neighbours. After a few quick photos she climbed back into the jumbo, fingers crossed they were nearly at the clinic.

      The next thing Ellie knew she was jerking forward and sliding to the edge of her seat.

      ‘Here centre,’ her driver told her. He must’ve braked hard.

      She’d fallen asleep with all those amazing sights going by? Idiot. Looking around, she noted the rutted dirt road they’d stopped on. Beyond was a long, low building made of concrete blocks, painted drab grey. A few trees that she didn’t recognise grew in the sparsely grassed front yard. Nothing like home—which was exactly what she wanted, needed.

      Out of the jumbo she stretched her back, then rubbed her neck where a sharp ache had set in. No doubt her head had been bobbing up and down like one of those toy dog things some people put