My Kind of Town

by Don Chapman

Sorry hurts

>> Queen's Medical Center

Lily Ah Sun grabbed her father's arm before he could hit Greg again and dragged him outside. And something bothered her even more than the punch he'd thrown at her brother's gay lover -- after Greg hugged and kissed her father because he was so happy that Lance had at last come out of his coma. "You didn't say a word to Lance," she said accusingly. "Barely even looked at him."

"Everything happened so fast," Sheets Ah Sun replied, sounding stunned.

Lily had to give him that. It must have been a shock to walk into Lance's room and see Greg dancing and laughing and crying with her mother, and Greg kissing Lance on the lips and squealing, "Oh, welcome back, darling, welcome back!" In fact, Lily had been hoping to keep the news that Lance was gay from her father. Too many other things had happened recently. Lily felt protective of her father -- even now when she was furious at him.

"You're going to have to apologize, you know," she said.

He shrugged. "Good thing, I guess, I cannot punch like I used to."

"Or maybe Greg can just take a punch."

"That his name?"

"A fraction of it."

Anh?"

"He's royalty, a viscount from Germany, and's got this big name."

"Royal pain in the ..."

"Don't go there, Dad."

"Shoots." He saw her point, changed subjects. "Imagine that, a gay guy can take a punch."

"Maybe throw one too."

Sheets hadn't considered that either.

"LIsten, Dad, I have to go make some phone calls. Including to my travel agent."

Sheets brightened. "You're going up tomorrow?" A day early for her brother Laird's graduation from Stanford Business. Sheets would fly up the following day.

"If Donna Gomes can get me a seat."

Just thinking about Laird's graduation made Sheets smile. "We're going to have a good time."

"Dad, you've got another son in there who needs you too. And a wife."

"Mm."

"You need to go in there and make nice. For Lance especially."

Lily opened the door to Lance's room, shoved her father inside. Good thing his friends couldn't see him, apologizing to a gay guy for kissing him. It would be tough enough when word got out his kid was gay.

---

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