Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' (24 page)

Alani replied without emotion, “No.” Staring down
the lonely road, she continued with a tiny shrug, “I'm just not in
the mood to go home right now, okay?”

Curious now, Chris inquired, “O-kay... So where are
we going?”

Alani smiled coyly as she looked at him with a hint
of mischief and replied, “Dancing.”

“
Dancing?”

“
Yeah, you know, dancing? That
thing you do where white guys look stupid and black guys look
cool?”

Chris replied sophomorishly, immediately regretting
his statement, “But, you said you've never been-”

Alani responded in annoyance,
“Just because I've never
been
to a club doesn't mean I don't know where
they
are
!”

Chris went silent as the car dove
into the tunnel, the growl of the engine and the sound of the music
reverberating in the hollow cylinder.
This,
he
thought
, should be
interesting…

In the darkened living room of the Nakamura
household, a delicate teacup and matching saucer rested coldly on a
side table as Kenji’s hands fumbled with a faded New York Yankees
baseball cap, his gaze directed out the window into the dark
Hawaiian night. As he delicately placed the cap on an arm of his
chair and slowly reached for the phone, the voice of Noelani rang
from the darkness and arrested his move.

“
What are you doing?”

“
She should be home by
now.”

“
For God's sake, Kenji, she's
twenty-four years old! Stop treating her like she's still
fifteen.”

Kenji looked away, silent. He picked up the phone
and began to dial, his lips compressed into a tight, bloodless
line.

Noelani kissed him softly on the top of the head and
said gently, “Kenji, when are you gonna realize that you can't
protect her forever. What's done is done. You gotta stop tugging on
the leash. You keep it up and one of these days it's gonna break,
and then you're gonna lose her for good.”

Kenji continued to stare into the distance as he
replied, “I think… I think I may already have.”

Below – Part Two

T
he dark
opening of the tunnel glowed wanly in the moonlight, and the still
of the night was suddenly shattered by the echoing roar of the
Mustang’s powerful engine. The car’s piercing headlights speared
out of the hole in the mountain, preceding the car as it exploded
from the opening. As the car flashed down the road toward the
glitter and glare of the city in the distance, the lilting strains
of
Dido’s
‘Hunter’ dopplered and faded into the night.

Chris continued to quietly regard the enigmatic
vision of Alani next to him when her phone lit up and began to
jitterbug in silence on the center console. Alani gave it a casual
glance of dismissal, and Chris yelled over the wind and roar of the
car, muting the music to a silent glare of annoyance from Alani,
“Uh- You're phone's ringing!”

Alani yelled back, “I know!”

“
Are you gonna answer
it?”

Alani downshifted, missing a gear, and growled, “I'm
a little busy right now!”

The phone rang again.

“
You want me to get
it?”

“
NO! It's just- it's fine,
okay?”

“
Whatever you say…”

The Mustang flew to a stop in
front of the glaring lights of the ‘Blue Monkey’ disco, the
glittering red car skidding to a stop on the damp road. Alani gave
the engine a final throaty rev and flashed a triumphant grin to
Chris, who leaned back exhaustedly into the passenger seat as he
exclaimed breathlessly, “Ho-ly SHIT-! Where'd you learn to
drive
?”

Alani replied smugly with a playful wink,
“X-Box.”

“
You learned to
drive like that from a
video
game!?”

“
I
told
you I had driven a
car like this before.” Chris just stared in astonishment, and Alani
continued with a mocking smirk, “What’s the difference? They have
flight simulators don't they?”

A smiling valet opened the door for Alani, the
strobing lights of the disco reminiscent of the flashbulbs of
paparazzi at a movie premiere, and Alani stood and took in the
unfamiliar scene. Chris handed the man a bill as Alani fished the
key fob out of her dress. Chris took the keys, still warm from
their fortunate embrace with Alani’s bosom and handed them to the
waiting valet as he admonished him, “And don't forget to put the
top up, okay?” He waved as the car squealed off, “Take good care of
it- Mahalo!” He turned to Alani and noticed a reproachful frown on
her lovely face. “What?” he asked.

Alani smirked and replied with a twisted grin,
“Nothing.”

Chris countered insistently,
"
What!?”

“
Just- do me a favor. Don't try to
say Hawaiian words any more. They just sound stupid coming from a
haole, okay?” Alani smiled to soften the blow and nodded to the
entrance of the club. “C'mon. Let's have some fun.”

Across the street from the noisy disco, a tall,
solidly-built Hawaiian man watched Alani and Chris with measured
intent as they disappeared through the thronging masses at the
door. Hastily dismissing the crowd of nattily-dressed gangstas
gathered around him with gang-style fist bumps, he shoved a wad of
bills into the back pocket of his too-tight leather pants, raked
his hands through the gleaming curls atop his head, and strode
powerfully across the street as a huge predatory smile spread
slowly across his face.

Alani cringed under the assault of the thumping
techno music as she made her way into the club, drawing stares and
covetous looks from both males and females alike as she squared her
shoulders and led Chris toward the packed dance floor in the
distance. Chris stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and yelled
over the din, “THIRSTY!?”

Alani cupped a hand to her ear, leaning in to hear
the unintelligible sounds. “What-?”

“
Thirsty!
Are- you
…” Chris mimed
the tipping of a glass, “Do you want something to
drink?”

“
Sure.”

As they approached the throng of people surrounding
the bar, Alani stared in awe at the multitude of brightly colored
bottles that glittered jewel-like behind the counter. Chris elbowed
his way through the crowd, dragging Alani along by the hand, and
asked, “What do you want?”

Alani replied distractedly, still agog at the alien
atmosphere, “What, me? Oh, I don't know... I don't drink.”

“
You
don't-
drink
.
You're not like a Mormon or something, are you?”

Alani laughed and shook her head, smiling to herself
in remembrance of things past.

Chris leaned in, forced to improvise, and said to
the bartender, “Okay... I'll have a- a Coke, with a wedge of lime,
slice of pineapple, lots of ice, and a cherry! She'll have the
same- got it?”

A moment later the bartender placed the drinks on
the bar, candy-cane colored straws and tiny umbrellas protruding
from the tops of the glasses and said, “Twelve-fifty.”

Chris grinned at Alani and said with sarcasm, “Gee-
we got off cheap.” Tossing fifteen onto the bar, Chris grabbed both
drinks and led Alani away with a nod of his head.

Perching themselves at a high-top
near the dance floor, Chris inquired, “So, how come you don't
drink? I suppose you've never done
that
before either.”

“
Once or twice. I just don't like-
the taste much, you know?” She sipped demurely at the impromptu
beverage and smiled, “This is really good, thanks. Does it have a
name?”

“
A name?”

Alani held up the drink menu. “Yeah, a name-
like...” she squinted at the card, smirking, “Sex on the Beach, or-
A Screaming Orgasm?”

“
Oh, you mean
like a
real
drink?” Chris looked at her for a long moment and then said,
“I think you just inspired one...”

As Alani opened her mouth to reply, the music
suddenly stopped and changed as another driving techno beat began
to reverberate off the walls. Alani lit up with recognition and
grabbed Chris by the hand, dragging him towards the dance floor as
she squealed with excitement, “I love this song!” she cried,
already moving and shaking before they merged with the dancers
already clumped and clustered in the tiny space.

Chris looked at Alani in amusement as he smirked at
the familiar music blaring from the multitude of speakers,
muttering to himself as Alani hauled him into the middle of the
pack, “Learned to drive from a video game… knows the music from
‘Halo’… Welcome to the gamer age…” he said, his expression suddenly
changing to one of awe as she began an earth-shaking, booty-quaking
dance that made the rest of the participants clear a space just to
watch.

Not even bothering to move, just
slightly swaying in time to the beat, Chris watched with mounting
admiration as Alani began to really tear it up, tossing and
flinging her luxurious tresses as she sinuously waved her arms
above her head, her eyes closed all the while. Chris glanced around
at the other dancers on the floor, all of whom were experiencing
exactly what he was thinking- she was
amazing
.

On and on she danced, all the
while with eyes closed as she whirled and writhed to a rhythm
inside of her head, improvising along with the driving techno beat
as she shimmied and swayed in a world of her own imagining. The
song finally ended and reverberated into silence, eliciting a
smattering of applause that evoked a shy smile from Alani in
acknowledgement. Just as quickly the music started back up again,
this time another tune familiar to Chris- Venus Hum belting a cover
of “I Feel Love” by the
Blue Man
Group’s
album ‘The Complex’.

Without missing a beat, Alani launched into another
wild, frenzied dance, hips and hair swinging, her arms again
weaving and twining with each other, her eyes closed rapturously as
she immersed herself in her new-found world. Again she danced in
time to the rhythm in her head, her movements sinuous and sensual,
almost sexual in their nature, and the gathered crowd gradually
parted and stood by and merely watched in silent appreciation at
her virtuoso performance.

When the song finally ended, wild applause ensued,
this time accompanied by a chorus of whistles and cheers. Alani
curtsied and bowed, shyly basking in the adulation from her
impromptu audience. She leaned to Chris and took his arm,
whispering, “Let's take a break...” as she led him from the
floor.

As they settled back into their
seats, Alani chugged her drink, slurping the last drops noisily,
and then exclaimed with wide-bright eyes, “That was- Wow! That was
so much fun! Way better than the same-old, same-old I do every
night at the Honu-Kai.” She paused and wrinkled her nose slightly,
and for the first time Chris noticed a light sprinkling of the
faintest of freckles dusted across her flawless features. “Hey- I
gotta…” Alani went silent and nodded toward the ladies room,
grabbing her tiny purse and moving off as Chris saluted her with
his glass. As he paused in reflection of witnessing the amazing
spectacle, the music struck up again. This time it was the eighties
hit- ‘Psycho Killer’ by
The Talking
Heads
.

As Alani made her way through the crowd, it almost
seemed to part for her, nods and smiles from those who had just
witnessed her virtuosity raising glasses in tribute as she passed.
And back at the bar, another individual watched her as well. His
focus, however, was quiet and intense, a malevolent scowl and
creasing of brows crossing his face as he watched Alani with
laser-like intensity.

He was known on the street merely as ‘Mako’, as in
the shark, and had the same predatory air and dark, soulless eyes
of his namesake. Throwing money carelessly onto the bar, he moved
with grace and power through the crowded disco, bulling and
elbowing his way through the multitude like a barracuda through
minnows, scattering the throng into eddies and pools of fear and
consternation as he passed.

Alani entered the tiny ladies room, timidly worming
her way through the horde of overly-painted ladies chattering and
primping in front of the singular dirty mirror. After finishing her
business in the cramped and questionably sanitary stall, she found
a space at the end of the long counter, paused and looked at her
own reflection, eyes skillfully assessing her attributes with
approval. She fished out a small black eyeliner from her tiny purse
and accentuated a faint mole just to the side of her sensuous
mouth, emphasizing a beauty mark that was already faintly visible.
She then pursed her lips in the obligatory duck-face and brushed a
bit of gloss on her full brown lips. Satisfied with her
ministrations, she turned her head from side to side checking for
any final touches that might be needed. As was typical, there were
none- oh, she wished she could banish the faint spray of freckles
that adorned her cheeks, but that would just ruin the bronze glow
of her skin, and she had long ago decided that she could live with
the tiny sprinkling of what her mother affectionately referred to
as her ‘angel kisses’.