My Kind of Town
>> Queen's Medical Center Eavesdropping
Lily Ah Sun was looking for her own misplaced car in the parking garage when she saw her father's black Cadillac. And inside were her father and his brother Mits, talking and hugging, her father sobbing, ending 21 years of silence between the brothers. It had taken two terrible events that landed each of their sons in the hospital to bring them together. And now it was so emotional, the brothers Ah Sun were fogging up the windows!
Through tears of joy, Lily saw the brothers disentangle, and a moment later Uncle Mits opened the passenger door, her father the driver's door. She ducked behind a red Durango. Lily would give the brothers this moment in private, and never mention it to them.
Hey, over there! Down the ramp, parked with a prime view of the H-1, Lily saw her teal BMW! She'd just wait for the brothers to depart. Lily heard one door close, then the other, then the sound of footsteps. Lily ducked lower.
"Remember what I said." Uncle Mits' voice was a gruff whisper. "Pull yourself together or you'll blow everything."
"I know, I know." Her father. Lily heard him take a deep breath. "I can do it. Eh, and thanks for coming to see Lance."
"Sure. And I know Quinn would like to see you."
"So you know why he's here?" Sheets said, his voice more serious.
"He told me about him and Lily."
"That's still not a good idea, them being together."
"Agreed. But I have an idea in that regard."
It's too late, Lily wanted to scream, but held her tongue and her breath as the brothers walked up the ramp. Her Uncle Mits, in his blue police uniform, took one elevator, her father the next.
A moment ago Lily was glad that the brothers were talking again. But not now. Now she was angry. Because while her father and uncle were talking -- it was OK for them to end the family feud -- they still wanted to keep Lily and Quinn apart. How dare they?!
Lily would take her anger to the State Library. She and Quinn still did not have an explanation for what caused their fathers' rift 21 years ago. And Quinn had asked her to do some leg work, since he was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the right thigh, and check newspaper archives at the State Library for mentions of their fathers.
Reaching her car, two questions nagged Lily: What did Uncle Mits mean when he said her father could blow everything if he didn't pull himself together?
And what exactly did Uncle Mits have up his sleeve to keep her away from Quinn?
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com