My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
Voice from the past
>> Queen's Medical Center
It was the first time that the five Ah Suns had been in the same room at the same time in at least three years.
And as much as she loved them all, Lily couldn't wait to escape -- not after her brother Laird said that he had news to share with their father. She knew what the news was.
"Gotta go," Lily said and speed-kissed her mother, her father, Laird and her other brother Lance, who seemed to be doing great after coming out of the coma. If she hurried, she could still get in some much-needed Bobo research at the State Library.
>> Quinn Ah Sun dialed the number in area code 702, held his breath. He didn't have to hold it long. After four rings, he heard a recorded voice, familiar and strange all at once.
The voice of the mother he hadn't heard in 16 years, since she went off to fulfill her dream of being a professional gambler.
"Hi, this is Flo, and I'm out where the lights are bright. But leave a message and I'll get back to you after the sun comes up. Bye."
Answering machines made him nervous, and Quinn wasn't quite sure what he was going to say when his mother answered anyway.
After several moments of uncomfortable silence he blurted, "Flo, uh, I mean, Mom, it's me, um, Quinn, and, uh, I guess this is kind of a surprise, eh, but, um, could you call me, I, uh, have a question for you. Oh, I'm at Queen's, room ..."
"Oh my God, is this really you, Quinn?!"
"Oh, uh, hi."
"This is no joke?!"
"No, it's me. Quinn. Your son." Your son. The words rang weird.
She sighed, swore softly under her breath. "I can't believe it."
"I hope it's OK."
"Sure. I was just getting ready to go out."
And it's funny how this stuff works. It had been 16 years since she'd seen her son, but suddenly maternal instincts were kicking in like booster rockets.
"Queen's? What are you there for? Are you alright?" And then another thought. "Or is it your father?"
"No, me. I took a little bullet in the thigh, but I'm OK."
"A little bullet? Oh my God. How'd it happen?"
"At Lily's house. There was a burglar."
"Lily? Your cousin? The feud between your dad and uncle is over?"
"Not exactly."
"Are you sure you're OK?"
"Yeah."
"It's so good to hear your voice, honey."
At least it would be until he asked about Bobo.
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