Page 112 of Something Like Forever

“YoyogiPark,” Kioshi said quietly. “It’s very near theshrine.”

“Perfect!” Ben said. “Let’s do that.”

Tim cleared his throat.“You guys should. Corey and I have to work, but we could meet youlater.”

“We have to work?” Coreyasked.

Tim probably should havetexted him about his plan first, but he was rusty when it came tolying. “Yeah! I told you there was some gallery stuff we needed togo over.”

“Now I see why you choseTokyo,” Ben said. “You’re supposed to be on vacation!”

“Hey,” he shot back, “thisway I can write off most of the trip as a businessexpense.”

Ben blinked. “I do like itwhen you’re frugal.”

Tim smiled at him. “Thereyou go. We won’t be long. A few hours. You guys see the sights, andwe’ll meet back for dinner. Do you mind playing tour guide,Kioshi?”

Corey’s husband nodded.“I’d be happy to.”

They finished their meal.Tim was braced for probing questions or suspicious glances, but hewas in the clear. Soon he and Corey were walking down the sidewalk,aiming for the nearest metro station.

“Sowhat’s on the agenda?” Corey asked.

Tim was silent. He wishedthis was only business. Corey still worked for the same agency ashe had before. He didn’t man the Tokyo gallery full-time like Timdid in Austin. Corey only worked there part-time, his languageskills useful in communicating between the two galleries, foranswering foreign correspondence, preparing promo materials, andmore. Tim figured if he kept pushing enough work Corey’s way, thathe’d eventually realize it was more practical to take on the entireposition.

“We aren’t going to thegallery,” Tim said. “Or maybe we should and do a little work. Thatway it isn’t a lie.”

Corey pulled him away fromthe stream of pedestrian traffic and into the doorway of a shop.“What’s going on?”

“Don’t freak, but I need adoctor.”

Corey’s dark eyes wereconcerned. “Why?”

“I spitup blood earlier when jogging. It’s like I can’t get enough air.It’s probably asthma or an allergic reaction of somekind.”

“You’vehad this happen before?”

“No. Itstarted yesterday. I wanna have it checked out. Do you have adoctor you like?”

“Yes,”Corey said, “but this sounds like a hospital trip tome.”

“It’s not anemergency!”

“Yeah,but they’ll have all the equipment there that you need. My doctorhas a tiny office. I don’t know if he even has an X-raymachine.”

“Is the hospital closer?”Tim asked.

“Much.”

“Okay.Whatever gets us done the soonest.”

Corey kept askingquestions on the way. How much blood? Did he feel sick? What if hespit now? Tim kept his answers short, not wanting to discuss it,but he understood. He would do the same if the situation werereversed, but right now, he didn’t want to think about his healthuntil forced to.

Eventually they reached ahospital. Corey was a godsend, which is exactly why Tim wanted himalong. Ben would have provided emotional comfort, but he also wouldhave worried. Not to mention that filling out forms and answeringquestions in another language was downright impossible for them.Corey translated everything, making the process much smoother.Then, like with most hospitals, they sat down to wait.

“Ireally like them,” Corey said, head leaning against the wall. Itrolled to consider him. “Jason and William. They’re sosweet!”

“They are,” Tim said,happy for the change of topic. “William especially.”