Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' (20 page)

Chris slowly straightened and looked around, his
brows creasing in puzzlement as he turned and tilted his head from
side to side trying to locate the origin of the peculiar sound. But
only the echoes of muddled voices and clink of dinnerware from the
nearby restaurant greeted his ears- there was no other sound in the
nearly-deserted lobby.

As Chris approached the boisterous and noisy
restaurant, a three-piece combo stuck up a classic Don Ho tune as a
smiling maître d’ greeted him, “How many tonight- sir?”

“
Uh, three, please... by the
window, if we could?”

The maître d’ frowned, looking
from the computer screen at the service station to the clearly-full
restaurant as he replied, “It may be a bit of a wait, sir- if you
would like to-” And then he suddenly paused, and this time Chris
heard another anomalous noise echoing above the din- this one was
the unmistakable sound of a
wind
chime
.

The maître d’ frowned deeper and craned his head to
look into the clearly packed restaurant, only to see to his shock
and amazement a small round table gently spotlighted near the
enormous floor to ceiling windows, a singular magenta orchid in a
crystal vase at its’ center. Three chairs surrounded it, place
settings waiting and ready, napkins tented and folded crisply into
decorative shapes, “Of- of course- this way, sir.”

Threading his way through the crowded space, the
maître d’ placed menus on the table and then clumsily backed away,
a tight smile on his face and a distinctly ‘WTF?’ look in his eyes,
shaking his head slightly in confusion as he stumbled back to the
front of the restaurant.

Chris sat with his back to the
gleaming windows, the beach beyond glowing with sparkling
bio-luminescence and glittering foam. The combo struck up another
number, this one the popular ‘White Sandy Beach’ by IZ. As Chris
leaned in to take a sniff of the bright, delicate flower in the
center of the table, again the world
shifted …

Chris looked down at Alani, who was wearing a
stylish 40’s-era dress, a huge Hibiscus in her hair and an orchid
corsage pinned to her chest. They were dancing close together, a
string of multi-colored lights swaying gently in the breeze above
their heads as the Glenn-Miller type orchestra played softly in the
background. He could almost taste the scent of jasmine in the air,
layered over with the tang of salt on the warm breeze, and he could
feel the warmth radiating from Alani as he held her tightly.

They whirled and glided among the dozens of other
dancers, on and on and on, seemingly forever, the music blending
seamlessly from one tune to another, and Chris’ gaze drifted from
the top of Alani’s glistening hair to the full Moon in the distance
as it rose huge above the horizon, when suddenly someone touched
him on the arm…

And the world suddenly flashed
back to
normal
.

“
Chris-?” Abigail leaned in,
smiling curiously at her slightly absent son, “Honey-? Are you
okay? Is everything alright?”

Chris blinked and shook his head slightly to clear
it, “What? Oh, wow! Hi, Mom.” He took in the vision of his mother
with a long, appraising glance and smiled. True to form, Abigail
was again perfectly put together. She was wearing a colorful
Polynesian wrap- bright corals, reds and oranges dominating the
print, a large pink Hibiscus tucked behind one ear, a delicate
strand of polished coral around her neck and a matching bracelet
adorning her left wrist. “Wow, you look great! Hey, Dad…”

Walter scowled down at his son, clearly
uncomfortable in his own attire. He was wearing a subtle black
‘Aloha’ shirt that was decorated simply with a band of tan palm
trees at its hem, black slacks and open-toed sandals, and a bright
cream and yellow plumeria lei finished his ensemble. It was no
wonder that he seemed uncomfortable- he looked ridiculous. All that
was missing was a matching Hibiscus flower to make his ensemble
totally ludicrous. Chris merely smiled and addressed the huge
flower adorning his mother’s ear, “So, what's up with this, Mom?
Going native?”

Abigail smiled shyly, “What? Oh
this-? Apparently, it's more than just a decoration.” She snuggled
up to Walter, smiling up at him lovingly, “It signifies that 'I'm
taken', as opposed to wearing the flower in the
right
ear, which is a sign that you
are
available.”

Chris frowned and shook his
head,
“
Mom, where
are you getting all this from?”

Abigail sat as Walter pushed in
her chair, leaning in with an excited air to tell her story,
“
Oh! It was when I went out shopping this
morning- I met the most fascinating woman...”

…
Abigail wandered through the
local farmer’s market, marveling at the wonderful and exotic
offerings piled high on tables all around her in a colorful array
of sights and smells. As she backed away from a table piled high
with racks of shell-craft, she collided with a large, silver-haired
native woman and knocked the woman’s basket to the ground, fruits
and vegetables scattering everywhere in the crowded
marketplace.

Abigail’s hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment,
“Oh! I'm so terribly sorry, how clumsy of me!”

The woman smiled warmly and shrugged, “Its fine- no
pilikia. No problem.”

As they both stooped to retrieve the fallen produce,
Abigail looked at the woman curiously and asked, “Do I-? Have we
met before?”

The woman began to respond, and then hesitated,
smiling somewhat mysteriously before answering, “No. Not this time.
I am Pa’hia.”

“
Abigail. Abigail Matthews. Are
you sure we haven't met? I just have the strangest feeling that I
know you…”

“‘
Pa’hia’- that was her name.
Apparently she is an honest-to-goodness Hawaiian 'kahuna'.” She
frowned at Walter’s glowering response as he peered at her over his
menu and then explained, “It’s not what you think, ‘kahuna’ simply
means 'expert'. She specializes in Hawaiian-style weddings.” She
turned back to Chris and continued, “So anyhow, we got to talking,
and she taught me some Hawaiian words, and some of their culture,
like this flower thing. And then the strangest thing happened. We
were just saying goodbye, a friendly hug and all, and all of a
sudden she got this funny look on her face- she said it was
'chicken-flesh'- goose-bumps, I suppose, and said that this only
happens 'When the spirit was near…'. She kissed me on the forehead,
and said 'Blessings to you- my daughter', and then just smiled and
left.”

Walter scoffed from behind his menu, “Abigail, I
think you're getting just a bit too caught up in the local
mumbo-jumbo.”

“
I don't think that it’s
'mumbo-jumbo' Walter. There's an odd magic here, and the locals are
very much in awe and respect of whatever it is.” She turned to
Chris for affirmation, “You've felt it too, haven't you
honey?”

Chris replied with raised
eyebrows, nodding into his own menu, “There's definitely
something
weird about
this place, that's for damn sure...”

A pretty, brunette waitress approached the table,
her dark green eyes framed in a stylish pixie haircut, and smiled
engagingly at the group at the table, “Aloha, folks! May I get you
all something to drink?”

Walter replied, his eyes never leaving the menu,
“Scotch, Glenlivet, neat.”

The waitress flushed and said apologetically, “I'm
sorry, sir, I'm not sure we have any-”

Walter exploded and glared up at
her in incredulity, “Are you KIDDING?! For God's sake- this is a
five-star hotel! How in the hell can you not -?” Walter slapped the
menu to the table in disgust, “Fine, then just bring me the best
that you
do
have!”

The waitress stammered, “Uh, certainly, sir.” She
quickly turned to Abigail and inquired, “And for you ma'am?”

Abigail gushed, “I'll have a Mai-tai! Make it a
double!”

The flustered waitress breathed a sigh of relief at
her simple request and smiled, “Right away.” She turned to Chris,
her soft smile turning flirtatious, “And you?”

Chris smiled back with a wink, “Beer.”

“
You bet. Bottle or
draft?”

“
Uh- bottle.”

“
Imported or Domestic?”

Chris grinned, flirting back with a pair of dimples.
“Something exotic, you pick, I trust you.” And then he winked
again. The waitress blushed and backed away, nearly stumbling over
an adjacent table as she left.

Abigail put down her own menu, glanced briefly out
the windows to the beach, and then turned back to Chris. “So, tell
us about your day, dear. You said you saw the same girl what,
twice- three different times?”

Chris hesitated and then looked to Walter, paused
again, and then said deflectingly with a slight shrug, “Oh, it was
nothing, really- no big deal.”

“
But you said
before...”

Chris quickly tacked to change the subject, “Mom,
why did you want a seat by the window?” He gestured outside to the
deserted beach, where a pair of low-angled spotlights illuminated
lonely waves etched in garlands of white foam, “There's not much to
see. What's up with that?”

Abigail’s eyebrows rose nearly to
her hairline, “Heavens! Don't
either
of you boys read the
brochures? Right out there…” she said, gesturing broadly, “... is
where the sea turtles come to lay their eggs. Honu- that's Hawaiian
for 'turtle', and Kai, which loosely means 'bay' or ‘water’, is
what this area used to be called- Ring any bells? Honu Kai? 'Turtle
bay'?” Abigail rolled her eyes at her men’s mutual lack of
comprehension, “Anyhow…”

A low, excited clamor began to come from the diners
gathered near the windows, and Abigail’s voice rose to overcome the
swelling din, “... for thousands of years, for all we know, the
turtles have come right here- sort of like a migration, I suppose,
to…” Abigail looked away from the table, her head craning about as
she tried to determine the source of the hubbub, “What on earth
is-?” Her gaze travelled out the window to the beach beyond, and
she suddenly gasped and said breathlessly, her hand flashing to her
mouth in surprise, “Oh, my goodness...!”

A young girl’s voice suddenly rang like a bell above
the buzz and rumble of the crowd. “Look, Mommy, look! Turtles!”

Out on the deserted beach, a pair of glistening sea
turtles had emerged from the waves- their wet, leathery backs
shining blue in the moonlight as they appeared from the sea. Small
wavelets splashed over them as they crawled out of the water and
moved with instinctual determination toward the shadows, carving
curving tracks into the wet sand as they slowly swam up the beach.
And as they did the restaurant went oddly silent, even the
musicians pausing to take in the spectacle, all eyes locked in
amazement at the wondrous event. The turtles eventually disappeared
into the shadows, and bits and pieces of conversation began to ramp
back up as the world slowly returned to normal.

Abigail whirled to Chris and
Walter and said gushingly, “My goodness! Christopher, did
you
SEE
THAT? I
certainly never expected it to actually happen-! Wow...”

Walter merely scoffed, and drained the ersatz scotch
in a long, slow quaff, grimacing at the taste of the inferior
liquor, “Sorry, I guess I just don't see what the big deal
is...”

An empty white plate sat on the table, the remnants
of dessert imitating the surface of the distant Moon as it glowed
high in the tropical night sky. A hand reached in and whisked the
plate away as the pretty waitress departed, this time with a bright
smile and a wink of her own back at Chris.

Abigail sat back contentedly,
delicately dabbing at her lips with the starched white linen. And
then she tilted her head to one side, again almost as if
listening to something,
and leaned over to address Walter, asking obliquely, “Walter,
honey, what time is it getting to be?”

Not comprehending the significance, Walter
considered his watch and replied tersely, “Nearly nine, Abigail-
why?”

Abigail rose smoothly from the
table as the charcoal gray limousine bearing the Matthew’s logo
glided silently into the driveway outside the lobby. She snatched
the napkin from Walter’s hand and pulled him to his feet as she
exclaimed triumphantly, “Because, my dear,
we
are going dancing!”