Yeah, just because I interviewed Karina again on Sunday, you thought it was all over, didn't you? Well, you were wrong! Because I've got one more bit of fun from Karina.
MAUAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ahem.
Anyway....This one's a bit of a comedy
MAUAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ahem.
Anyway....This one's a bit of a comedy
A Novella of the Mind Over Trilogy
Finally,
Josh and Sachiko are getting married, but when events threaten their
big day, they may need alien intervention to secure their happily
ever after.
Finally, Sachiko is marrying Joshua!
But the wedding she dreamed of is turning into a nightmare. Her
Japanese grandmother has bought her wedding kimono, but not only is
it psych-ward pink, but it also comes with a tsunokakushi, the
traditional headdress to “hide her horns of jealousy and
independence.” Her stubborn independence may be all that gets her
through the crazy days before the wedding. Joshua’s fame means
she’s getting touted and berated as “the future Mrs. Joshaham.”
Not to mention, everyone else is planning their big day but her. She
copes by concentrating on her internship, yet even that goes awry
when, two days before the wedding, her efforts to save a patient’s
life leave him in a permanent coma. To top it off, her cousins get
Joshua so drunk, he nearly drowns at his own bachelor party! Can she
find the right balance of independence and humility to navigate the
disasters and capture the joy of her wedding day?
Excerpt:
Hospital Scene:
Disconsolate
people filled every chair and lined the walls of the waiting room.
Sachiko slowed to a halt. What happened? Had there been some major
accident or…
Heads
turned, and she realized half the room was filled with people they’d
invited to their wedding.
The
bachelor party swarmed her and started jabbering in three languages.
Uncle Hiro shoved his abashed sons before her, forcing them into
kneeling positions. “My fool sons took me too seriously.”
“We’re
so sorry. We didn’t think sake would be such bad luck for your
gaijin!”
"It
is if you spike it," Shank snickered.
“It’s
not their fault,” her cousin Jonny countered. He was leaning
against her cousin Ray, but she couldn’t tell if he was intoxicated
or too upset to stand. Probably both; he shoved away from their
cousin to fall at her feet, nearly topping Masuto and Mikio. He
clasped her knees, sobbing. ”It’s my fault! The whole plank thing
was my idea. I almost killed your future husband!”
“That’s
bullshit, Sachiko,” Joshua’s friend Carl grabbed Jonny by the
shoulder and pulled him back. He had a bruise under his cheek and
fury in his eyes. “We had everything under control until some idiot
called the cops. Hate crimes? Do we look like racists?’
Sabrina
and LaTisha had dragged Riqué to the corner and were laying into him
in Spanish. He just kept shaking his head. He held a rosary in a
death grip. Liz, meanwhile, had pulled her twin, Vince, aside and was
giving him similar treatment in Italian, as was Lenny’s fiancé to
him in English. Two of her cousins were hissing warnings not to
mention that their cousin Leo might have been at the party.
Sachiko
pressed a hand to her forehead. Four languages buzzed in her head,
getting more meaningless even as the volume rose. The duty nurse had
started to rise from her station, and two cops were heading her way.
“All
right!” Sachiko snapped, and for a miracle, the group around her
shut up. “Liz, Sabrina. Basta! Enough! This is a hospital. Where’s
my fiancé?”
Riqué
pointed at the secure doors. “That way. His parents are with him.
‘Ko, I’m sorry. Oh, God, I’m so sorry!”
“Who’s
sober in this group?” she demanded. Riqué raised his hand partway,
but from behind the crowd, Gary said, “That’d be me, honey.”
They
parted to let him through. His high-heeled sandals clacked on the
tile. The gold sequins matched the eye shadow and glitter spray in
his hair.
Sachiko’s
mouth opened and shut, but nothing came out. Helplessly, she waved
her hands, palms up, at him. What other madness had the night
brought?
After Surgery:
Peter
and Joseph stood behind their mother, each gripping one of her
shoulders. She wished Dr. Prakash had suggested his office, where the
three could huddle together on the comfortable couch while she
explained. Instead, Elise was left exposed, clinging to her sons’
hands as she braced herself.
They
could all see there was a dark cloud in the happy ending, and she
ached at how strong the boys were trying to be. The oldest was
something like seventeen. Would he curse my name if his college
fund goes to ICU bills?
She
couldn’t think about that now. At least the waiting area was quiet
and empty except for a nurse fiddling with a bouquet of roses while
yawing her way through the last of the shift, and some guy pacing in
the corner while talking on his cell phone. She took a calming breath
without letting it show.
“We’re
not out of the woods yet, Elise.” As gently as she could, she
explained the complications, the coma, the chances of his recovering
either partially or fully.
Elise
closed her eyes, digesting the information. When she opened them, she
gave Sachiko a sad but hopeful smile. “We believe in miracles.
You’ve given him that chance. Thank you. Can we see him?”
Sachiko
watched as the duty nurse led them away, and as soon as they were
down the hall and Chris had headed off to change, she slumped
forward, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes to push
back tears of stress and exhaustion. Had she made room for a miracle
or just set that poor family up for years of pain?
If
she could, she’d just go home and sleep until the wedding.
She
heard the squeak of rubber soles on the tile, and then a nurse tapped
her arm. “Um, Dr. Luchese? I’m sorry, but it’s just… There’s
a man who’s been waiting for you for the past hour and a half…”
Sachiko
looked up to see Gary, the personal assistant and Do-Fer for
Chipotle, hang up his phone. He tapped his wrist at her and pointed
at the TV. The news was showing someone’s cell phone footage of her
fiancé playing the hotel’s piano, his dreadlocks bouncing as he
poured all his emotions into the song. Even unaware, that man knew
how to play to the cameras.
Cameras!
The
interview!
By day, Karina is a mild-mannered reviewer of business software and services for TopTenReviews.com. After hours, she’s a psychic intent on saving the world; a snarky dragon who thinks he saves the world all-too regularly, a zombie exterminator who just wants her world clear of undead vermin, and nuns whose callings have taken them off our world. Needless to say, her imagination is vast, her stories legion, and her brain crowded. When she’s not converting her wild tales to stories, she’s enjoying time with her husband, Rob, their four kids, and their two dogs.
Find
Karina at:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/karina.fabian
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/KarinaFabian
I just want to note that the scenes are out of order. Sachiko is a neurosurgeon-in-training and two days before the wedding, her patient nearly died on the table and was in a persistent coma. Then that night was the disastrous bachelor party that put her fiance in the hospital.
ReplyDeleteI guess I wasn't too clear about suggesting Declan pick one. LOL