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Kapukahehu Beach, Molokai, Hawaii, Earth
August 25th, 2036
The afternoon sun was deliciously hot, prompting Terry to remember why he loved Hawaii so much. His tan had only faded a little from his time in New Orleans. It was hot, like Hawaii, but lacked the excellent cool ocean breezes of his home. Lake Pontchartrain gave no relief to those living on its shores in the summer, despite being just off the Gulf of Mexico. Worse, the city seemed to be a hell pit of humidity capable of melting a battleship.
He had a stomach full of fish, rice, and vegetables, and couple of Cokes had washed it all down. He was almost asleep in the perfect afternoon. He lazily watched a line of clouds moving east a few miles away, wondering if they’d get close enough to give them some cool rain. Rain in the summer had been insane in New Orleans.
“I gotta hit the head,” Yui said and rolled off the deck where they’d been lying. He glanced over when she got up and noticed how nice it was to look at her. She didn’t quite look like the blonde girl Hoa had been so interested in, but she also wasn’t a little girl anymore. Suddenly he needed to sit up.
“Hey, Terry,” Doc said, stepping through the hatch after Yui had gone down.
“Yeah?!” Terry blurted, afraid Doc had noticed his condition. Even worse, Terry’s voice cracked. Oh, for the love of...
“I wanted to wait until Yui went below to ask you something. Did your dad mention anything about the email my friends sent?”
“The doctor with that mercenary company? Yeah, he did.” Terry was just glad the question wasn’t about what he’d been afraid it would be.
“What did he say?”
“He said the last thing mom would want is some mercenary nut job chopping her up.”
“Did he?” Doc sat down next to Terry and scratched the stubble on his chin. One of the things Doc seemed to enjoy the most about weekends, besides diving of course, was not shaving. “You know the merc doctor used to work for Johns Hopkins? You know what that is?”
“Yeah,” Terry said. “They’re really good.” Doc nodded. “Then why did dad say that?”
“Has he been acting weird?”
“No.” Terry thought for a second. “I mean, all the stuff he’s been doing at the institute has kept him busy. He’s doing it to afford medical care for mom, too.”
“Oh? What’s he doing?” Doc listened as Terry talked about all the things he’d seen in his dad’s office, including the confrontation.
“Yeah,” Doc said, looking down and scratching his chin again. “I saw some of that.”
“Is there something I can do? Maybe I can talk to Dad.”
“No,” Doc said, and made a sweeping motion with his hand. “Let it go. Don’t worry about it for now. In fact, don’t even mention it to your dad. Okay?”
“But, Doc.”
“No, just drop it.”
“Okay, sure.”
Yui came back up with a couple of Cokes and stopped when she saw the looks on their faces. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” Doc said. “I’m going to get a beer. You kids enjoy the Cokes; we’ll have to head back in another hour.” He climbed down to the cabin, leaving them alone.
“Did you guys have a fight?” Yui asked cautiously.
“No,” Terry said, taking the offered drink. He looked to see the man was below decks and told her.
“Oh, wow,” she said, “I wonder why he got so upset?”
“I’m not sure,” Terry said and shook his head. “Adults are so frustrating.”
* * * * *
