been Lily? Where have you been?”
“I’ve been trying to get better, daddy. And I think I finally have.
Look at my new friends. They’re good ones this time.” She introduced
him to Roy and Yak. “This is the man who helped me get back on my
feet. And this, this is the man I love.”
“Yes,” her father said softly.
Yak said nothing.
“This is my father,” Sprout said.
Roy extended his hand, but the man ignored him.
“Jack,” Reed Bunting said. “You’ve changed your name.”
Yak said, ‘That’s how they pronounce it in Java. I moved there
after the Philippines.”
Sprout waited a moment, then said, “I’m sorry. You know each
other?”
“Yes. Yes of course,” her father said, “And so do you.”
“Well, yes,” she said, “I told you. This is the man I love …”
“No,” he said.
“This is the man I…”
“No Lily. This is Jack Po. He was our neighbor when you were
young.”
“Our former…” she said, scanning his bare, weathered face, his
closely-cropped skull.
“Sir, we’re older now,” Yak interjected weakly. “Why can’t we put
the past…”
“Why can’t we put the past behind us?” Reed Bunting cut in,
“Because we can’t. Because the past is in your blood. Your father
never abandoned you, Jack. He was always there. He was always
watching over you, though maybe not close enough.”
Yak stared back, uncomprehending. Bunting stood up straighter
to match the his gaze. In more robust years he might have been
nearly as tall.
“You know, many people thought I did it. A crime against nature.
So why did I help you escape? I could have had you locked up for a
long time. But I couldn’t do that to my own flesh. Despite what you
did to Lily. To my blood. And yours.”
Yak’s face fell. Family reunions were always difficult, this one
considerably more difficult than most.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Yak complained.
“I couldn’t,” Bunting replied. “Married men of status are not
supposed to have indiscretions, especially not with the hired help. It
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