My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
>>Queen's Medical Center Breaking it gentle
You don't think of newspaper clips from five-10-20 years ago as having the potential to shock and startle. Old news already. But Lily Ah Sun had been shocked, startled and spun sideways by what she'd just read in the newspaper archives at the State Library. Or, rather, what she hadn't read.
That's why she was in a hurry to get to her cousin Quinn's room and tell him the news. Well, that and the mere fact that it was Quinn and she couldn't get enough of him, first cousin or no.
Entering from the Punchbowl entrance after walking back from the library, Lily glanced across the lobby and saw her father and her brother, Laird speaking calmly, her father looking like a volcano about to erupt. Much as she'd love to hear their conversation, she didn't want to be anywhere near when Sheets exploded. Fortunately they didn't notice her. Humming the new hit song "I'm Working On My Buddhahood This Christmas," Lily stepped onto the elevator, pushed the button for Quinn's floor. Was it the sudden movement of the elevator or the thought of Quinn that made her insides jump?
>> On his way to an MBA, Laird Ah Sun aced his way through Stanford Business with one exception -- sensitivity training. Even the book from the Underground Management series, "12 Ways to Fool Employees Into Thinking You Care," was lost on him. Laird just had never been very good at giving a rip about other people's feelings. He was a natural for the business world.
Still, he had the smarts to figure out that his father would not be altogether pleased with his decision. He also had intelligence -- the spy kind -- from his sister Lily that he was expected to take over the Honolulu Soap Co. immediately upon graduation.
But Laird had other plans. And so he tried to break the news to his father gently, and began by expressing his gratitude to him for providing the best education money can buy.
"I'm lucky, Dad, I know it, and it wouldn't have been possible without you. I can never say thank you enough for the opportunity you've given me."
"Well, you have another opportunity, son. A fantastic opportunity to put your education to work. I was going to wait until after your graduation tomorrow to tell you, but since you're here ..."
Sheets had a sudden thought.
"By the way, Laird, when're you flying back for the graduation. I'm leaving on a red-eye tonight."
"That's what I have to tell you. I'm not going to be at the ceremony."
That's breaking it gently all right. In the manner of "And then Godzilla stepped on the bus and gently crushed all the people inside."
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com