Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' by Robert Vaughan Page B

to the distance where his father basked in oblivion
under that same sun, blissfully unaware of his son’s latest brush
with death.
    “ Nothing to do but 'lie on the
beach', huh?” he said with self-satisfied irony, smiling benignly
at Mannie as he swung his legs into the rear of the ambulance.
Mannie smiled at him in return and shook his head in dry amusement,
and then gently closed the doors.

Above – Part Two
     
    S unlight
streamed through the louvered glass of the rural hospital windows,
the musical sounds of a variety of tropical birds lending a gentle
underscoring to the soft sighing of the warm breeze they let
in.
    Chris casually sat on the edge of
the bed, his jacket off and a tank style t-shirt barely concealing
a tanned, well-muscled body. He smiled his typical lop-sided grin
as he listened to the cell phone he had tucked beneath one ear, and
then responded with a laugh, “I'm o-kay!.. Mom, mom, Mo-ther! Yes,
a scratch or two- well, okay... maybe even a bump, but nothing
requiring surgery...” He stopped and listened, his eyes rolling
skyward as he countered, “No! Nooo...! No, Mother, I did not say I require
surgery. Yes, no, but I- I'm fine! Yes, yes- I'll be waiting...
Okay! Thanks! Love you too! Okay, see you soon- Bye!” Chris tapped
‘End’ and grinned with silent amusement, his dimples deepening
further, and then turned his gaze to the only other occupant of the
tiny emergency wing.
    In the bed immediately adjacent to his, Buddy smiled
hugely from behind an oxygen mask, nodding his head in time to the
music that leaked from a miniscule pair of high-end headphones
perched incongruously on his enormous head. He winked at Chris and
then closed his eyes as he leaned back onto the pillow, pulling the
mask aside as he muttered, “Dude, I owe you one- Mahalo!”
    Chris patted the recumbent giant
reassuringly on the arm and replied, “No problem man, there
was no way in hell I was going to wreck two planes in one day!”
    The emergency doors suddenly flew open and the
disheveled form of Alani burst through, still dressed in dirty,
mud-spattered clothing. She dashed across the room to Buddy and
gathered his bulk into a hug like she would never let go as a
torrent of melodious language issued forth from her full brown
lips, their tone alternating rapidly back and forth between
admonishing and consoling. Seconds later, the doors swung open
again, this time ushering in a flustered and distraught Noelani and
her austere Japanese husband, Kenji.
    Suddenly the room was filled with
a cacophonous flood of overlapping dialogue in three separate
languages- Japanese, Hawaiian and English- Noelani fluttering
around like a mother hen, Alani alternately crying and laughing in
relief, Kenji offering terse comments and then looking on in stoic
silence.
    As Chris watched the curious exchange from his perch
next to Buddy, the ER doors gently parted again and revealed the
smiling form of a tall, slender, vaguely Asian-looking man, his
crisp white lab coat embroidered with the name ‘Steven Onagawa –
M.D.’. He crossed to Chris and began a cursory check of his vital
signs, determined conclusively that he was alive and well, and then
turned to the beeping and technology-laden form of Buddy and his
entourage.
    “ Mr. Nakamura?” he inquired
gently, addressing the near-silent form of the somber Japanese man,
who turned and greeted the doctor solemnly with his arms crossed
protectively across his chest, his face a tight mask of
concern.
    “ Yes?”
    “ I'm Doctor Onagawa. Do you happen
to have any more detailed birth records for Buddy?”
    “ He was- adopted. Is something
wrong?”
    “ I'm not certain. That's why I was
hoping to have a better idea of Buddy's medical history.” He
consulted his chart briefly and then continued, “Buddy suffered
what you might call a mild heart attack. Nothing major, but I think
it might indicate a more serious problem.”
    “ What- problem?”
    “ Are you familiar with the