Jewel of the Pacific (6 page)

Rafe listened to the wind rattling the bamboo blinds. He was frustrated. After years of struggle, he had finally gained legal control of Hanalei, the plantation his father, Matt, had begun, only to have Townsend set fire to the house. True, the Great House hadn’t burned down and the Kona coffee plantings had never been in jeopardy, but he faced a great deal of work to rebuild the burned-out section. And then, there was Eden….

He heard footsteps hurry to his side and a man gripped his arm. “Stay calm, or your pain will increase.”

The voice belonged to Dr. Jerome Derrington, Eden’s father. Rafe felt Dr. Jerome’s cold stethoscope on his chest.

“I don’t need these bandages over my face. I feel like a mummy.”

A smile sounded in Jerome’s voice. “It’s not quite as bad as all that. The bandages protect you from infection.”

“Where am I?” Rafe asked. But hadn’t he asked that question before? Had he been awake before this? How long had he been here?

The sheets smelled white and sun-bleached, and he’d heard garden birds.

“Where am I?” he repeated.

“You’re in a Honolulu medical ward, young man. You’ve been here five days—and 36 hours of that in a deep coma. You’ve been coming around to wakefulness since yesterday. The mission church has held a round-the-clock prayer vigil for you. Hopefully, you’ll soon be ready for Zachary and Keno to take you home to Hawaiiana pineapple plantation. They’ll take care of you there.”

“I don’t
need
to be taken care of!” He didn’t want to be dependent on others, not even Keno.

“I’m afraid you’ll have little say about it.”

Silence.

As quickly as his emotions had roared, they sank. Rafe would rather forget about Townsend. His head was swollen and painful. He felt disgusted with himself. Nausea washed over him.

Years earlier Rafe vowed to God that he’d never lay angry hands on his stepfather. Even back then he had wanted to destroy Townsend, knowing that he’d been responsible for his father’s death. The way Townsend had bullied Rafe’s mother, Celestine, had only fed his loathing.

Now he’d broken that vow, giving in to his rage. He had deliberately gone to Zach’s boat to find Townsend. Laying his fists into Townsend had brought momentary vengeful pleasure.

But now.
Now he felt spiritual misery and physical pain.

He tried to throw aside the covers, tear the bandages from his head and face, and get to his feet.

Dr. Jerome gasped and rushed at him.

“Rafe! No! Do you want me to call a guard? I will if you don’t keep quiet! You have a severe concussion. Another brain hemorrhage and you could end up immobilized. You must be inactive and let your internal injuries heal.”

The concern in Jerome’s voice convinced Rafe to restrain himself.

“That’s better,” Dr. Jerome said.

Rafe remembered the boat; how after he’d been struck his vision dimmed in and out. He felt that way now and wondered if his vision was affected.

“You’re remembering?”

“Everything,” Rafe murmured.

“Thank God. This is excellent. There may be no permanent damage to the brain.”

“What about my eyesight?”

Dr. Jerome spoke too casually, “We won’t know for certain for a while. For now the bandages remain in place, and you must rest your head.” Jerome paused. “Something else has me concerned, Rafe—the head injury you received two years ago. I fear this may have compounded your previous injury.”

Rafe touched the bandages across his eyes. “You know about the frequent headaches, then?”

“When Dr. Bolton first learned what happened he sent word that you have suffered in the past from blackouts and frequent headaches. Dr. Bolton’s prognosis is that the condition will be temporary.”

“How temporary?”

Dr. Jerome cleared his throat. “He mentioned cases lasting anywhere from 48 hours to several weeks, and in some cases, months or longer.”

What if it lasted for a year or longer? He could survive that. And though Rafe didn’t want sympathy, he did want the truth. He tried to smother his concern.
This will go away. It must.

Then the thought flashed:
Suppose I never see again?

Blindness meant dependence on others. He’d always had difficulty trusting others. Except for a very few—Uncle Ambrose, Keno …

For years he hadn’t even trusted Eden with his heart, so reluctant was he to admit he needed her and wanted her for his own.

He experienced an icy grip of panic. Blindness meant vulnerability. It made him feel trapped, restricted to a dark narrow tunnel.

He tested the waters: “So, I may already be permanently blind.”

“We don’t know, and we can’t be certain for some time. So we will carry on with hope and faith.”

All of this merely reminded Rafe how much misery was interwoven throughout the twisting journey of life. Because a man was a Christian and redeemed from his sin did not mean he was liberated from the consequences of living in a fallen world. The thorns of nature, and the viper’s poison were still prevalent, and a fall from the cliff’s edge remained treacherous, should a Christian think he was exempt from suffering.

Only Christ could return to set up His Kingdom on earth, as promised, so the viper’s den becomes safe for a child. Until then …

“I’m urging you to choose a wise course of action,” Dr. Jerome was telling him.

Rafe asked wearily, “And what is that, sir?”

“Dr. Bolton and I want you to seek medical attention from Dr. Kelly. He’s better qualified to monitor your condition. He’s a specialist in brain and vision who lives in San Francisco. We were at medical school together for several years. Since then he has gained a well-earned reputation. Our letters of recommendation will go with you. I hear you’d been planning to go to San Francisco anyway….”

That was right. The memory of Rafe’s plans made the week before Townsend took Eden hostage came rushing back. He’d been about to board the steamer to San Francisco and some other men who were members of the annexation committee. These third-generation Hawaiians had come around to the political viewpoint that the Hawaiian Islands should become annexed by the United States. He had planned to travel with Eden’s grandfather, Ainsworth Derrington, another local leader in the community, Thaddeus Hunnewell, and Lorrin Thurston, the man behind the annexation movement.

Rafe’s plans for the immediate future in San Francisco had also included signing adoption papers and taking care of some other legalities concerning Kip, the toddler Rafe was in the process of adopting.

Rafe had discovered Kip on a journey to take Eden’s father, Dr. Jerome, to visit the leper settlement on Molokai island. He had found the baby boy on the beach, and had rescued him from the tide that nearly swept him away. Mystery surrounded Kip. Rafe had not been able to find out much about the boy’s parentage beyond the fact that he was at least part white, had been born to a leper … and had been abandoned.

What would blindness do to my plans to adopt Kip?
he suddenly wondered.

“I’ll go to San Francisco as planned,” Rafe said. “And I’ll visit this Dr. Kelly you recommend.”

“Ainsworth and Hunnewell plan to proceed with their voyage in two or three weeks and are expecting you to go with them. That should suit your recovery fairly well. Mr. Thurston was going to go along, but he found it necessary to board the earlier steamer and went on to Washington.”

Rafe wasn’t surprised to learn that Lorrin Thurston had already departed. He knew Thurston was on his way to Washington to meet privately with the secretary of state to discuss what situation in the Islands would move the president to act positively on the annexation question of Hawaii.

Dr. Jerome cleared his voice. Rafe noted that Jerome often made a throaty sound when he was preparing to make a troubling remark.

Now, what?

“I understand from Pastor Ambrose that you and Eden had decided to marry at once.”

“Yes.”

“With the situation now altered, you may want to reconsider such a serious decision until we know the outcome of your recovery; another reason to seek Dr. Kelly’s expertise.”

Bringing Rafe’s concern for Eden into this situation seemed to add weight to his already heavy dilemma.

“Would you wish to discuss the marriage issue with Eden during your recovery period?”

Anguish cut into him,
recovery period—if I recover
.

“No,” Rafe said. “I’m not ready to deal with that. I don’t want to marry just so I will be cared for.”

Silence filled the room. Finally Dr. Jerome cleared his voice. “Well, you’re quite honest, I must say.” After another pause he added, “Then what do you suggest we do? Eden is already upset that she’s not yet permitted to be with you.”

“Then you’ve told Eden about my condition?”

“Ambrose was the first to speak to her. He brought her from Hanalei to Kea Lani, where she is now. Since then, I’ve discussed matters with her every day. Being the exceptional nurse she is, one of her first questions was if your sight was affected. My daughter is naturally worried.”

His daughter. She’d been about to become my wife.
For a reason Rafe couldn’t explain, his anger began to simmer.

“Eden’s been with the congregation at the mission church in their prayer vigil for you,” Jerome said. “It’s only fitting she would be there.”

Rafe suddenly wanted to be alone. And though he loved Eden, the emotion of talking to her now would overwhelm him. He was too vulnerable to feel the warm, salty tears on her soft face, and to kiss her trembling lips. First, he would need to recover enough to know the verdict on his sight. And if he did not recover his sight—

Rafe would not ruin her life, or his own, by becoming a burden to her. He was too independent to depend upon someone else to lead him—even if the hand that led him belonged to the beautiful young woman he loved!

Yes, it was best that he leave Honolulu for San Francisco. And Eden? Well, he knew she had wanted to help her father start a clinic on Molokai, where her mother was at the leper colony. Now she would be free to do that.

Yes, pride was getting in the way. And pride always led to more trouble, misunderstanding, and a widening gulf. Rafe already knew a delay of the marriage was necessary.

“I’ll send a letter from San Francisco when I know the outcome.”

“Perhaps this is best. We’ll all have more time to sort out our callings.”

Did Jerome sound relieved? Perhaps he was thinking how he needed Eden on Molokai.

Rafe knew he could easily take advantage of Eden’s love and her willingness to be consumed by his tragedy. Eden was a
giver.
Rafe jerked the reins on his runaway emotions.
There’s nothing I can do about any of this
, he thought bitterly.

“You’ll need someone to travel with you,” Dr. Jerome pointed out. “Maybe Keno or Zachary? Or one of your Hawaiian friends could go along as your valet.”

The thought of Keno playing the part of his valet made Rafe smile. He believed Keno was involved in more advantageous planning right now than of being his valet. Rafe could not remember when Keno was getting married, but thought it was soon. He’d never ask his old pal to set marriage aside to nurse him. Knowing Keno, he would make that sacrifice. Especially after Rafe’s plans to get his co-owner of the Hawiiana pineapple plantation, Parker Judson, to turn over his portion of the plantation to Keno. That was another reason to go to San Francisco. He’d be able to discuss Hawaiiana with Parker, who lived in San Francisco.

He could take Zach. Zach had told Rafe that he wanted to go to San Francisco to research a story for the
Gazette
, the newspaper his great-aunt Nora owned.

“How is Zach?” Rafe asked

“Nothing serious. Not physically. He will heal. But he’s despondent. A voyage to San Francisco may do him good.”

“I’ll be on the steamer with or without Zach,” Rafe told Dr. Jerome. “I’ll make it worthwhile for my old friend, Ling, to come along as my valet.”

“He’s still at Hanalei, isn’t he? I’ll send a message for him to come here to Honolulu.”

Dr. Jerome said nothing else about the wisdom of waiting to marry his daughter. Undoubtedly Jerome knew Eden would agree to help him on Molokai when she learned that Rafe had set sail for San Francisco.

“When you’re released from this ward in a few days, Rafe, Ling Li can accompany you to the Royal Hotel. I’ll speak to Ainsworth this afternoon about our decisions. You get some rest now.”

Jerome’s steps left the room. All Rafe heard now was the steady beat of his own heart and the wind on the open lanai.

Rafe had questioned Eden’s long-term ability to marry a man who had lost his sight. And what of himself? Could someone so lovely and innocent as she was trust him to maturely accept the ragged loss that so suddenly had changed him?

If I take all this on now she’s the one who will lose. Far better to see what the future holds before I ask her to commit to marriage after all the recent turmoil
.

What if the Lord permitted permanent blindness? What if losing his sight was God’s way of teaching him crucial lessons he had refused to learn when strong and free?

Yet hope cast its flickering light in the dark prison that bound him. After all, he’d not been declared permanently blind. Perhaps this experience was a warning, and the Lord wanted his attention—or was it a chastisement of a son who had gone astray? Rafe had insisted on his revenge to be pounded again and again into Townsend. Beneath the raging voice that had driven him, the still small voice of God had kept telling him no. Rafe hadn’t listened.

Rafe understood he must accept the fact that he could do nothing but wait. Wait and trust that God had a purpose—not only in disappointment but also in potential tragedy.