Himalayan Quest

40-Final Practice

Saturday, May 26

40-Final Practice

Adam's friends showed up at his place in mid-afternoon for their final practice session before tonight's performance.

"Hey man," said Pete. "No drugs today. We want you sober for tonight!"

"And no downing shots of liquor, at least not yet, dude. Not until after the show," teased Joe.

Adam laughed. "All out of tequila and opium, anyway."

Pete and Joe smiled. They knew about Adam's athletic past and how important health was to him. But that didn't keep them from joking around a little.

Then they got down to the music. After running through each of the two songs a few times, they were ready. Adam offered tea, and they sat around, sipping and talking.

"So dude," said Joe. "Did you hear about that American embassy official who hit the cow and had to leave Nepal?"

"I did," said Adam. "Tough break. But I heard something about his dealing drugs on the side. Not sure if it was related to his exit, but I also understand that he was a CIA operative. If that was connected to his selling opiates, and my sources say so, then good riddance."

He recalled a famous book whose title could have been about such an agent, The Ugly American. He thought about the man Joe mentioned.

I won't miss the guy. Gabriel Cabot was a liar and a sleaze bag who gave the U.S. a bad name. We want to earn international trust instead.

"Is it true that he was dating Kailani?"

"Yeah, for over a year. But she told me that they broke up about a week ago, just before the accident. Not sure why."

"Hey man, I heard something," said Pete. "There's a rumor going around, shared with us by several American friends, that he had an affair with a woman called Ana."

"Yeah," said Joe. "Didn't know the woman's name at first, but I heard about him cheating on our friend. Now I know who it was about. And it's not just a rumor. My source that confirms Pete's story was one of Kailani's partners in the group that's performing with her tonight."

Adam nodded, understanding. "She must have found out about it. Ana has no more scruples than Cabot. That explains the split and why Kailani was feeling so down earlier in the week. She seems better now. We had fun at the race this morning. It's almost like the old Kailani has returned."

"Hope so," said Joe. "She deserves nothing but good. That lady is an all-star."

"You got that right," said Adam. "Class act."

Pete finished his tea and caught Joe's eye. "Well, we'd better be going. See ya at six for dinner. Whoever arrives there first saves seats for the others?"

"Yeah," said Adam. "Until then."

They high-fived, then Joe and Pete left. The Reincarnations were set.

Adam picked up his guitar and practiced the new song he had been learning twice more. It was becoming increasingly beautiful to him each time he played it. He had it down. He was thinking about how it would go over when he played it at the show.

Tonight we'll have fun performing as the Reincarnations, then I'll spring the surprise.

*****

Hada Bhopal heard about the ruler's brother heading off for rehab via a phone conversation. The source was Rajendra, the king himself. He called the editor of the Nepal Sun directly.