My Kind of Town
>> Queen's Medical Center Peripheral vision
"Mom, I can't believe how liberal you are!" Lily Ah Sun said when the door to her brother Lance's room closed behind them, leaving Greg alone with his unconscious lover. "I mean, you just invited Greg to sit down and tell Lance he loves him."
Grace touched her daughter's elbow. "Isn't that what you'd want to hear? Wouldn't that make you want to come back from the darkness?"
"I suppose so." Assuming someone in a coma could hear, and if it was Lily lying there, yes, she'd want to hear those three magic words from her cousin Quinn. But there was no sense dwelling on such thoughts. He was such a slut. She was not coming back to him.
They walked the corridor in silence for a while, mother and daughter, carrying so many thoughts and emotions.
"How's Quinn doing?" Grace said at last. This was a subject on which she was far less liberal.
"Oh, we're kind of cooling it."
Lily could see her mother relax a bit.
"Oh. Well, good for you." Grace and her husband Sheets agreed no good could come from the two sides of the Ah Sun clan reuniting. "I really do think it's for the best."
"By the way, did you hear the news about the mayor?"
"What news?" Grace had been at Lance's bedside all day, so Lily filled her in about Mayor Harris suddenly pulling out of the governor's race.
"You're not kidding?"
"Not at all. That's great news for Donovan, isn't it."
Meaning Grace's boss, Sen. Donovan Matsuda-Yee-Dela Cruz-Bishop-Kamaka. "It should be, yes." Grace took a deep breath. "I'd better call the office. Maybe Machiavelli has heard from him. I left my purse in Lance's room. May I borrow your cell please, dear?"
>> Arizona Memorial -- Theater 2
Commander Chuck Ryan's skill at seeing many things happening at once over a broad area went back to his days playing lacrosse at the University of Maryland. It was a skill that often came in handy as a Navy intelligence officer. While watching the film, Ryan was on edge, scanning the packed theater, looking for any break from "normal" behavior. While conscious of the big picture, Ryan was able to see every move made by Muhammed Resurreccion and the three women seated with him two rows in front of Ryan. And now Muhammed was leaning to his left, whispering to these companions, standing, holding his stomach, walking back up the right side of the theater to the exit.
A moment before the door closed, Ryan was up and moving.
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