Over the Rainbow - Book One - 'The Gathering Place' Read Online Free PDF

And then she slowly turned
back to Chris, a wry smile slowly spreading across her face like
the rising of the sun, a barely suppressed giggle issuing from her
lips. Chris’ face twisted into a bemused smirk of his own, a
singular dimple appearing on one cheek, and then he slowly turned
from his mother and swung his gaze back out the window, basking in
the glow of the late afternoon sun, contemplating his fate in the
periwinkle light.
     

     
    The Boeing ‘Triple-seven’ descended almost silently
through the pink-and gold-tinged clouds, bits and pieces of vivid
viridian, intensely blue cobalt, vibrant turquoise and bright amber
gold teasing magical glimpses of the island of O’ahu below.
    From his window seat in the front
of the lushly appointed first class cabin, Chris brought his gaze
back into the plane with a look of smug satisfaction and shot a
sidelong wink of acknowledgement to his mother. Abigail returned
his wink with one of her own, grateful that through his random act
of rebellion she had been serendipitously handed the reins of
planning the trip of her dreams, a lavish voyage reminiscent of
another time, to an exotic place she had always dreamed of, in a
luxurious conveyance of her choosing, one decidedly more enjoyable than the
cold, sterile confines of the Walter’s ‘strictly business’
corporate jet.
    Chris sighed serenely and turned
his attentions back to the jumble of pamphlets, travel brochures
and in-flight magazines sprawled on the table before him. As he
idly twiddled the glittering golden card he had so recently
liberated from his cousin, he scanned the smorgasbord of action and
adventure that he had in front of him and grinned broadly with
anticipation of the coming days; Surfing, Glider flights, Mountain
Biking, Scuba- the works . He smiled crookedly at the
irony of his own interpretation of his father’s words and casually
flipped a page of the magazine that lay to his right. A splashy ad
for a car rental company showed a bright red Mustang convertible
flying down a coastal highway. With another satisfied sigh and a
contented smile, Chris closed his eyes and tapped the button that
transformed his generous seat into a lush chaise, folding his hands
behind his head as he imagined himself behind the wheel, the warm
sun on his face and a fragrant breeze in his hair.
    From her own seat just adjacent to
Chris, Abigail watched her son with a combination of warm affection
and a hint of wry amusement as she reclined herself, closing her
eyes and nodding her head gently to the sweet tenor voice of the
island singer Iz crooning 'Over the Rainbow’ in her ears,
envisioning herself luxuriating in glorious sunshine mere hours
from now, a Mai-tai in her hand and the tang of ocean breeze on her
cheeks. As she became absorbed in the daydream and immersed in the
music she wondered absently if there wasn’t perhaps some kernel of
universal truth to the lyrics- that maybe she was indeed travelling
to a truly magical place; a place where dreams really do come true, and again
she pondered the truly miraculous events that had culminated in
this, an actual dream come true.
     
    Walter glared across the aisle at
the two relaxed souls beside him, agitated and busy with his laptop
and the in-seat phone simultaneously, and then continued the heated
discussion he was having with an unseen individual, “Dammit Carl, I
don't care what
it takes, just get it done! Fine! I'll sign them when I get back,
just have it ready and a notary on hand.” He paused as he listened
and then exploded with anger, “No, I will not change my mind! That
episode at the Club was the last straw. He can earn himself back into my good
graces, but until he does- not a dime, not a penny, not a sheckle!
He humiliated me with that outburst and nearly
destroyed-!”
    Walter’s rant was rudely interrupted by the
crackling voice of the plane’s pilot over the speakers. “Ladies and
gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent into