Mitchell Baxter considers Hong Kong his home and his castle. Tommy Chow has the heart of a fortress. But even the mightiest strongholds have their weak spots.
Escaping painful memories of England, Mitchell Baxter has worked hard to build a life in Hong Kong. His sister thinks he might as well be living on the moon. With a landlady he has never met who sends him cards with auspicious Chinese proverbs, a wheelchair-bound friend who doles out savage advice and a demanding boss who thinks nothing of calling him into work on Sundays, he has grown to love his solitary existence. But change is constant in The City That Never Sleeps, and in the same week Mitchell’s sister persuades him to let the nephew he barely knows come to stay, he learns about his employer’s plans to shut down all Hong Kong operations.
Tommy Chow is a native Hongkonger living a carefree existence. As a handsome and athletic twenty-nine-year-old sports teacher, he is rarely without a bedmate. He has the perfect life of a single gay man. If only he could shut out the voice in his head telling him something’s missing.
When Mitchell ruins Tommy’s evening with a good deed, Tommy gives him a roasting, after which neither hopes to see the other again. But Hong Kong is like a village and the two keep running into each other. Forming a truce, Tommy provides suggestions to keep Mitchell’s nephew occupied while Mitchell agrees to help Tommy win over the best man at his sister’s upcoming wedding.
And sometimes a nudge in the right direction is all that’s required.
General Release Date: 20th August 2024
In the nick of time, Mitchell caught hold of the taxi’s backseat grab handle. The cabbie had floored the accelerator after nudging his car from the long queues of cross-harbour congestion into the empty lane heading towards the Aberdeen Tunnel. In the wing mirror, Mitchell watched the towering office blocks of Victoria Harbour shrink into the distance. For Hong Kong, as for many cities worldwide, the last day of April preceded the Labour Day public holiday, which inevitably led to after-work snarl-ups and long delays with commuters hurrying to be with family and friends.
On the approach to the tunnel entrance, his phone rang. As he pulled the device from his inside jacket pocket, he had a pretty good idea who the caller would be. Mitchell seldom left work before eight on weekdays, even though his contractual hours were nine to six. Such was the way of the working world in The City That Never Slept. That Tuesday night he had been invited to a kind of coming-out party and had managed to clear most of his work before slipping out of the door. He had not been able to find his boss and fully expected her to be on the line. But his phone had another name on the screen.
“Ellie? Everything okay?”
“Is this a good time, Mitch?” she asked. They called each other every Sunday. Or rather, she phoned, and he listened. He had come to view the conversations as her weekly therapy session. Mitchell usually browsed online newspapers while she grumbled about family or work.
“Well, I’m about fifteen minutes away from my drop-off,” said Mitchell. “Being thrown around the backseat of a taxi by a wannabe Lewis Hamilton. So I’d say now is as good a time as any.”
“Tell him to slow down then. Don’t they have speed limits over there?” came his sister’s stern but anxious voice. Mitchell bit his tongue. He hadn’t been thinking. The last thing he wanted was to worry his sister by dredging up memories of Joel.
“I’m kidding, Ellie. He’s perfectly competent,” said Mitchell calmly. “He was just negotiating a curve in the expressway. The road system here is far less complicated than over there, barely any speed bumps or mini roundabouts, or those ridiculous ever-changing speed zones designed to catch drivers on cameras. Why are you calling?”
He could hear her taking a moment to breathe.
“Zane’s been accepted into Leeds. For the mechanical engineering degree programme he wanted.”
“That’s great news.”
And expensive, he mused, which was probably why she was calling. Their grandparents had set up education trust funds for her three children years ago, but fees had soared since then.
“I know, but he’s now got time on his hands. He’ll be living in the halls for the first year, but we don’t move him in until August.”
“What about a part-time job?”
“I wanted him to get out and socialise more. He’s always been a bit of a loner. And the coronavirus years haven’t helped. He’s far more insular than Peter and Jules. I want him to take this time out and see the world. How would you feel about him coming to visit you?”
Mitchell had been hypnotised by the lights on the tunnel walls as they flashed past, and her question caught him off guard. How would he feel about sharing his space with someone?
“Here?” he asked, rather inanely.
“For part of the summer.”
“How long?”
“A week. Maybe two. He can be with you at the beginning of June.”
“A month’s time?”
“If it’s convenient.”
Mitchell’s mind went blank.
“I—I don’t really know him, sis.”
Referred to as the gay uncle who lived abroad, Mitchell had spent precious little time with his niece and nephews. On Ellie’s advice he sent them cards and deposited money into their savings accounts for birthdays and Christmases. On his last trip back five years ago, twenty-year-old Peter had talked his ear off about rugby, while eleven-year-old Julie had asked a stream of questions about living in China.
Zane had all but ignored him.
“Isn’t that the point? For the two of you to get to know each other? I’m worried that if he stays home he’ll spend the summer in his bedroom glued to the internet or playing those mindless bloody computer games.”
“Have you spoken to him about this?”
“Of course I have.”
“And?”
“And he said he’s okay as long as you are.”
Mitchell had no idea what they’d talk about or how he would entertain Zane. As though answering his prayer, he glanced out of the window just as the taxi passed a giant billboard for the Ocean Park theme park.
“Just him? No friend?”
“Just him. I’m not sure he has any close friends. I thought he could stay until the twenty-third.”
Three weeks, then.
“I’ll have to work, Ellie.”
“He’s almost twenty, Mitch. He doesn’t need babysitting. Just somewhere to set up camp. Give him a house key and he can find his own way around. And maybe the two of you can hang out at the weekend. If you can find the time.”
He chose not to rise to the bait of the innuendo in her final words. He wouldn’t have hesitated if she had suggested Peter, a nephew who could at least hold down a conversation. What did he know about Zane? Not much. Although he was sure he’d once overheard Jules talking to him about his work backstage on a school play.
“Okay, look,” she said, clearly sensing his hesitation. “Cards on the table. Rob and I need to drive up to Newcastle to help move his mum into a care home and sort out her house, which is likely to take at least two to three weeks. Peter’s holidaying with his girlfriend for a fortnight at the end of the month while Rob’s sister’s taking Jules to Spain with them over half term. Zane says he’s happy to stay home and look after himself, but I want him to use this time, Mitch. And what better opportunity than bonding with his fabulous Guncle. Please say yes.”
Mitchell took a moment to consider her plea.
“And I’ve managed to reserve cheap flights. All I need is a yes from you before I press go.”
And there it was, the crunch. Mitchell sighed dramatically. Ellie loved a bargain.
“Yes, then.”
“Fantastic. I’ll send you the details—”
“No,” said Mitchell firmly. “No, get Zane to email them to me. And tell him to let me know if he has any food allergies, dislikes or other quirks. Broadband is fibre and second to none here, so you can put his mind at rest there. And I want a list of the top five things he wants to do while he’s over—”
“I don’t think he knows enough about Hong Kong—”
“Then tell him to start researching. He’s going to need those skills for uni. If he has a checklist, he can tick things off while he’s here.”
Right then, another caller’s name popped up on his screen, one he had been expecting earlier.
“Thank you, Mitch,” said Ellie. “Rob will be relieved—”
“Sorry, Ellie. Can we pick this up on Sunday? I’ve got my boss on the other line.”
“Bugger off, then. I’ll book his flights. Speak Sunday.”
Mitchell thumbed the incoming call.
“Mitchell. Where are you?” came the irritated voice of his boss, Pauline Ng.
“In a taxi. Heading to a friend’s place for a family gathering. I tried to find you on my way out, but your secretary said you were busy.”
“I was. I am,” said Pauline, as dismissively as ever. “I wanted to speak to you privately.”
“Do you want me to head back in?”
“No, no. There’s no need. Do you have time to talk now?”
“Fire away.”
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