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Zenith

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  1. Zenith
    Derrick and I never worked up the enthusiasm for taking a year away from Hawaii. Instead, we slipped into a prolonged period of listlessness. First, we waited for Christmas, and when that was past we had the excuse of Cass and Khala’s graduation in April. Truth was, we were both mildly depressed, feeling indifferent about anything other than sitting around the pool all day. We became very attached to one another, almost clingy, causing a kind of co-dependent situation where we supported each
  2. Zenith
    I’d been back home a week and was about to begin my third work day at the clinic. I was smiling as I wheeled my eighteen year old Toyota Solara into its reserved parking space. I took a lot of ribbing about that ‘old’ car, but I loved it. I still felt the old, familiar sense of freedom when I drove it. Behind me, my shadow, the Dea-Con security guys waited for the handover to the clinic’s guard. Already parked in the lot was Master Sergeant (Ret) Bernie Reeves’ shiny new Ford F150 Laria
  3. Zenith
    I only had a few months to go until I was finished my residency in community practice, and, frankly, I was counting the days until the end. I still had the boards to sit, which meant some more studying, but I wasn’t too worried about those. Naturally, I was excited about being truly independent and unsupervised. Derrick, unbeknownst to me, had also been thinking about my ‘finish’ but in a different way than me.... After dinner one evening he suggested we cuddle on the couch and ‘talk.’
  4. Zenith
    Two days after the party, life had settled down nicely. James, who had come over for the party, and I finally had a few quiet moments to have a good talk. I’d been so busy in the last few years that I really hadn’t paid much attention to him. I knew that he had become a serious bike racer, and had placed well in several of his races. I knew, as well, that he’d been taking night school courses at the University of Toronto working toward his masters degree in French. And I’d heard of,
  5. Zenith
    Don’s report was comprehensive. He quoted statistics (including doctor burnout, depression and suicide rates), surveys, personal interview comments. He wrote about the strengths and weaknesses of the current state of health resources—human, machine and funding—in Honolulu. There was even a chapter dedicated to family dynamics and what sort of support I could expect on the home front (a lot, apparently). His conclusions were backed up with sound research and tempered with compassion. He
  6. Zenith
    Two important words: wedding planner. It was short notice, but the guy we hired did an excellent job. We expected to have a small wedding, but between Derrick’s family and friends and my friends and colleagues we sent out fifty invitations and almost all of them RSVP’d a positive response. The venue was the golf clubhouse up the hill from our home. We asked for elements of Buddhist, Muslim and Western traditions but generally left the theme and decorating to the wedding planner. “Su
  7. Zenith
    I won’t keep you in suspense. Our relationship was stronger than ever. We remained happily betrothed, we just hadn’t got around to setting the date. Derrick and his family kept every promise they’d made. Consistently supportive, never once did I hear a complaint about my long hours of study, my sojourn in LA, my tiredness or any other aspect of my training. In turn, I never complained. Every moment with Cass and Derrick was precious. Time spent in Derrick’s arms was a true refuge—stress m
  8. Zenith
    As always, thanks for the comments. So nice to hear back from readers!
  9. Zenith
    The new houses were coming along well. We had hired a designer/project manager to oversee their construction and finishing. The only thing I’d asked for was good kitchen appliances. Other than a once-a-week trip to the building site, really just to satisfy our curiosity more than anything, we didn’t get involved in the construction. At this point the foundations for the houses and the garage building had been poured, and the renovations on the house across the road for the security team were
  10. Zenith
    MacKenzie explained the Deacons sometime contradictory approach to money: The “simple living” that I’d observed was really an illusion. The Deacons were quite willing to spend money at the drop of a hat if it suited them, as was exemplified by the property acquisition and house building in Hawaii. She told me that Gramps has a secret vice: he loves art. Not only does he give away millions each year supporting young artists, but he’s addicted to art auctions. What he does, on the sly, is
  11. Zenith
    Thanks for your comments. I know there was a lot in that chapter. Thanks for hanging in there.
  12. Zenith
    Would you believe they’d put us in the Royal Hawaiian? Good lord, such luxury! We spent our days either on the beach or at the pool discretely surrounded by security people. I made myself ignore them for Cass and Derrick’s sake. Cass was doing well. A bit clingier than normal, but that was to be expected. He had the occasional middle-of-the-night nightmare, and he’d climb into our bed, but once he was with us he’d settle back down to sleep again. Mostly, the sun and frolicking wore Cass o
  13. Zenith
    Glad you like the story!
  14. Zenith
    I don't think it will be giving any plot away if I say that James will eventually show up....
  15. Zenith
    Thanks. I'm so glad you are enjoying the story!
  16. Zenith
    James shows up later. He's not so much a criminal as just greedy and stupid.
  17. Zenith
    Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about the cliffhanger I appreciate every review. It's so nice to hear from readers. Positive or negative it's the reviews that keep an author motivated!
  18. Zenith
    I was wrong, very wrong, because.... A few days later Cass was kidnapped. His abductors shot, and seriously wounded, Art, his bodyguard that day. Lisa, my bodyguard, gave me the news in person just after lunch on Friday. I phoned Derrick immediately, but his phone went to voicemail. He was on a work trip from Seattle to Cancun and was still in the air. Lisa said they needed to get me someplace safe, now! Work be damned, I left the office with Steve and Lisa; they’d been given inst
  19. Zenith
    Derrick’s great-great-great grandfather, Darius, an Irish tailor, immigrated to the USA during the California gold rush and settled in San Francisco where he soon had a thriving haberdashery. Frustrated by the quality of wool fabric that was available, and the time an order for ‘good cloth’ took to arrive from the Old Country, he decided to buy a sheep ranch in Wyoming and produce, from start to finish, his own cloth. He built a woolen mill on a river just outside of Cheyenne which produced hi
  20. Zenith
    Thanks for the comments! I recently read something that said writing a story is like making soup. You start with the base then add personal experience, hopes, fantasies, research and whatever else you can throw in. So your comments about what's in the soup mean a great deal to me and may just be added to the mix. I truly appreciate hearing from you. Z
  21. Zenith
    Derrick understood my scepticism about him being a billionaire. He told me I was welcome to check out the Dea-Con Corporation, or the Deacon family however I liked. “I trust your discretion,” he’d said. Certainly the Deacons had a web presence, but they were obviously a family that tried to fly below the radar. His uncle Darius seemed to be the face of the corporation, but there weren’t many pictures of him. His parents had a website for their Buddhist retreat, but they didn’t go by the
  22. Zenith
    Derrick was scheduled to arrive at ten in the evening, and the day passed glacially. I’m not sure what I accomplished at work; I have no recollection of what I did or didn’t do. I only had thoughts for Derrick’s visit. Surely it meant something, but on the other hand perhaps not. My mind vacillated between optimism and pessimism. I was filled with hope but kept reminding myself not to get too excited. Derrick, after all, most probably thought of me as just a friend. Even so, I hadn’t had
  23. Zenith
    Thanks for the comments everybody. Your feedback is truly, deeply appreciated!
  24. Zenith

    The best news ever

    Zenith commented on Zenith's story chapter in The best news ever

    Thank you all for your comments! I'd like to answer you all individually, but I can't figure out how Gabe's had a rough start, and his family hasn't prepared him to make sound decisions....
  25. Zenith
    It seemed like Vancouver was one big park with gorgeous beaches. Although I soon discovered that it rained a lot, but when the sun made an appearance the whole city sparkled. Even in April it was warm enough to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. I loved it! Luckily it only took me two weeks to land a job. I was hired as an accountant with a rental management company. As you can imagine, my personality was reserved, but my boss, the company’s controller, liked my work and gave me plen
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