The Family Doctor by Bobby Hutchinson

got a sense of humor.”
    Tony was sitting on McKensy’s bed. She was bathed and ready for sleep, wearing an old rugby shirt of his as a nightgown.
    â€œA sense of humor’s essential, all right.” Tony had to struggle not to smile. McKensy had been assessing various friends and members of the family for weeks now, gauging their possession of, or lack of, a sense of humor, after seeing a television special on how humor affected illness.
    â€œDoes Kate have a sense of humor?”
    â€œYeah, she does.” The memory of Kate teasing him with that engaging twinkle in her eye pleased him. Sitting with her and hearing her talk about her family had been interesting. Her view of people’s actions and her acceptance of their differences was both touching and endearing.
    â€œDo you like Kate, Papa?”
    â€œYeah, duchess, I do. I like her a lot.” Kate’s wide smile and endearing dimples came to mind. There was a softness about her voice and her manner that he found seductive.
    Of course, he wasn’t about to explain the seductive aspect to McKensy.
    â€œSo are you maybe gonna date her?”
    Here there were dragons. Tony knew all too well the desperate need his daughter felt for the kind of family that included a mother and a father, and more children than just one.
    He didn’t want to raise McKensy’s hopes at all.
    â€œI don’t think so, sweetie. We’re good friends, but dating’s not on the agenda.”
    She tipped her head to one side and gave him an exasperated look. “You’re gonna stay single your whole life unless you date some body, Papa.”
    Her logic was sound. “I’ll get around to it one of these days.”
    â€œThat’s what you always say.”
    Time to change the subject. “So is your class getting all prepared for the big dance recital coming up?”
    Her gray eyes widened, and her face lit up. “Guess what? I nearly forgot. You’ll never guess.”
    â€œYou got the part of the princess?” He had no idea whether or not there even was a princess in this one, but judging by the two recitals he’d sat through already, it was inevitable. McKensy hadwanted desperately to be the princess in the last production.
    â€œPhooey.” She blew a raspberry and shook her head. “Who wants to be a dumb princess? I get to be the troll. There’s only one and it’s such fun, and I got it.”
    The troll? For an instant, his protective hackles rose and he wanted to blast the idiot who’d cast his enchanting daughter as a troll.
    â€œI’ll show you how I’m gonna do it.” She started to climb out of bed, and he restrained her.
    â€œBetter wait until tomorrow, honey. It’s pretty late, and you need music to do it properly.”
    She lay down again and she was silent for a moment. “You’re right, Papa. No music tonight. In case Grammy’s headache still hurts.”
    The lightheartedness Tony had been feeling crashed like a suddenly becalmed kite at the mention of his mother. His brother Wilson had paid them a visit that evening, and although McKensy was in her bedroom when the argument started, Tony suspected she’d overheard a good part of it.
    â€œTony, I want you to reconsider this ridiculous business of having a dinner for Ford and that woman,” Wilson had pontificated in his loud voice.
    Dorothy had made coffee, and she was pouring mugs for the men and herself. Her lips tightened and her face took on a martyred expression as she took her place beside them at the kitchen table.
    â€œYou and Margaret can come or not, just as youchoose,” Tony replied, keeping his voice as even as he could. Kate’s words echoed in his head. Assertive people repeat the same thing calmly until the other person realizes they mean it.
    â€œI don’t know how you can be so pigheaded about this,” Wilson continued in his pompous voice. “You’re