My Kind of Town
>> Portlock New world record
Over the years Lily Ah Sun had experienced some turnover, to phrase it politely, in her love life. At 27 she'd been with more guys than she wished. Her regret wasn't a morality thing, really. It was that she wanted to find the one guy she was supposed to spend her life with, and get on with it. But despite repeated high hopes she had not yet found him. Until yesterday she'd been zero-for-lifetime.
But then that handsome motorcycle cop pulled her over for speeding and in a twinkling of eyes they each knew this was The Big One. That he turned out to be her long-lost cousin Quinn was a complication, but not enough to keep them from seeing all their dreams coming true in one another. In her heart, at least, she'd given herself to him.
Ha! Instead of true love and soul mates, that turned out to be a new world record for shortest love affair. Lily glanced at her watch. Twenty-seven hours and 33 minutes from love-at-first sight to never-want-to-see-you-again. She'd have to call Guinness.
Lily was about to put her key in the front door of her home when the door was flung open and a little girl leaped into her arms.
"Auntie Lily, Auntie Lily, you're home!"
"Elizabeth!" the girl's mother scolded. "Let Miss Lily come inside."
Lily carried the petite 6-year-old into the house, hugging her back. In the six months that Rosalita Resurreccion had been here from Cebu as her maid, Lily and Rosalita's daughter Elizabeth formed a close bond. And for Lily, Rosalita was becoming as much friend as employee.
"Oh, Rosalita, I'm so sorry about last night," she said, tears starting again. Meaning the rape attempt by an intruder, who shot Quinn in the leg when he intervened.
Lily had never hugged her maid before, but she did now, the three females holding tightly to one another, the only security any of them had in the world.
That's when the phone rang.
"I'm sorry, Mum. I'm expecting a call from my husband's cousin."
Meaning her late husband Jesus' cousin Muhammed Resurreccion.
"Of course, I remember," Lily said, sniffling and wiping away a tear as she set Elizabeth down. Rosalita had mentioned her husband's cousin, who had arranged for Rosalita to come to Hawaii from the Philippines on a work visa, would be in town and wanted to visit them here.
Rosalita picked up the phone from the koa stand in the living area, and from her disapproving demeanor Lily could tell it was not Muhammed on the line.
"It's for you, Mum," Rosalita said, "your cousin 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