After the Sun Rose

By Robert E. Bryant

“After The Sun Rose” is a collection of heartwarming stories as well as stories of unimaginable acts and selfish behavior.

After the sun comes up and a new day begins, the author has his characters learning about laborers of love, scheming to get what they want no matter who it hurts, witnessing the start of unthinkable and horrific acts, being the victim of a planned murder, and being a missing and unknown individual.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9781728377971

Robert E. Bryant

Born in Royston (Franklin County), Georgia, Robert E. Bryant moved to Greenwood, South Carolina in 1958 and has called this quiet Southern town home ever since. He has been interested in aviation all of his life and began flying when he was just twenty-nine years old. Later, at age forty-one, he received his pilot’s license (the same month his daughter, Yvette, received hers). Though he is a welder and welding instructor by vocation, he is certainly a pilot by avocation. His experience with aviation has afforded him to meet a number of interesting individuals, most notably Robert Morgan, pilot of the Memphis Belle; Charles Duke, Apollo 16; Charles Boland, Shuttle Commander; Jan Davis, Missions Specialist; Robert L. Scott, author of God Is My Copilot; the living members of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Black Sheep Squadron; and General Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, first to break the sound barrier. Another life-long passion is storytelling. His stories come to him with such powerful imagery and meaning that he believes they must be divinely inspired. When the stories come to him, he feels compelled to share them. “They must come out,” he says. “They must be told.” He truly hopes his readers will enjoy the stories and be blessed and inspired by them as much as he has been blessed of God with them.

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2023 Robert E. Bryant. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/19/2023

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7798-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7797-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901046

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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T he author would like to offer special thanks to the following people for their continued help, encouragement, and support: Sharon Underwood and Bob Underwood. Another thanks to the newest member of the team: DD

CONTENTS

There’s No Time to Cry

Suite 106

First Light

A Marked Life

JD

About the Author

THERE’S NO TIME TO CRY

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BY ROBERT E. BRYANT

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About this story:

Z imbabwe has endured years of civil unrest, poverty, and political tyranny, and ranks as the poorest country in the world. A quality education is something very hard to come by and if someone does graduate with a degree, they are unable to use those degrees to better their living conditions, just like in most other African countries. However, without knowing what is in store for Susan, a trip to New York will begin a chain of events that will set things in motion to help change some of those conditions.

Susan, along with two young girls, are standing about 25 feet away from two grave sites, while Dr. Sweets stands behind them. Susan is wearing an old vintage nurse’s uniform that belonged to her great-grandmother. A suitcase is on the ground next to Susan’s feet.

The name on one headstone reads, Dr. Susan Marie Lambreth. The other headstone reads, Dr. Logan Lane (LL) Lambreth. It has been seven years since Susan’s mother passed away, and her father passed away one year ago.

Susan, who was named after her mother, is a single 25-year-old woman working in a small clinic in Zimbabwe. It’s the same clinic where her parents had been doctors. The two young girls standing with her are her companions, assistants, and friends. Tanisha is 16 years old, and her African name means ambition. Nyasha, which means merciful and kindhearted, is 14 years old.

As Susan stood looking down at the gravesites of her parents, she tells Tanisha and Nyasha, You two will be okay and I have all the confidence in you. You are smart and have learned so much. Otherwise, I would not be leaving you right now with Dr. Sweets.

Dr. Sweets, who is one of the doctors at the clinic, has known Susan since she and her parents returned from New York twenty years ago. He is ageing in years and Susan has been a huge help to him since her father passed away. Dr. Sweets, knowing her brilliant skills as a doctor and surgeon tells her, Susan, you know I have never had a problem with you not having your medical degree. You were trained by the best. I realized a long time ago that there are medical procedures you know or do better than I. I do understand your desire to do this, and I will miss you here at the clinic but look forward to your return.

Susan was a gifted student and graduated from college when she was 18 years old. Not long after she graduated was when her mom got sick and passed away. Susan could not bring herself to leave her dad to go to medical school. Now that her dad is gone, Susan has decided to go to New York with the hopes of earning her medical degree, which has been a lifelong dream of hers. Because of her parents, Susan already has the knowledge and skills of a great doctor and surgeon, and all she needs now is the degree.

*     *     *

Susan’s parents met while on a mission trip to Zimbabwe after they both graduated from college. They were both from New York. At that time, Marie’s mother was a nurse, and LL’s father was a dentist. When their time in Zimbabwe was over, they returned to New York. Marie and LL continued to see each other, and they married two years from the date they met in Zimbabwe.

After being married only a few months, Marie and LL soon realized they both wanted to return to Zimbabwe. They decided to go back but had to depend solely on mission offerings. They returned to the same clinic in which they were working when they first met.

Marie and LL had been working in Zimbabwe for about a year. They knew something had to be done to provide better healthcare and medical services. The poverty level was so bad in some areas, people who needed to go to the bigger hospitals couldn’t get there, and this led to some deaths. Also, there is the ongoing civil unrest causing numerous injuries but not enough doctors to perform the surgeries. Both Marie and LL, having parents with medical backgrounds, knew they needed to go on to earn their medical degrees. Although they knew it would take them several years to do this, they knew it had to be done.

LL and Marie attended a medical school in New York and they both received their degree. They immediately started their internship at one of the largest hospitals in New York, Lighthouse Medical Center. During their residency, Marie became pregnant with Susan, but that did not stop her nor LL from continuing with their surgical residency. After their residency, they continued working at the hospital and became brilliant doctors and surgeons and were well-known at the hospital and in New York.

When Susan was five years old, Marie and LL decided that it was now the right time for them to return to Zimbabwe.

Susan’s parents returned to the same village and the same clinic. Susan was with her parents every day, all day long, by their side watching them as they treated patients and performed surgeries. As Susan grew, they trained her in all areas and in no time, Susan was helping her parents with surgical procedures. Everything her parents showed her came naturally. Susan soon became known as their child prodigy.

Although Marie was a brilliant doctor and surgeon, it was LL who eventually became a renown surgeon and author. During his career as a surgeon, Doctor Lambreth performed more surgeries than any doctor on record. There wasn’t anything about the human body that Dr. Lambreth did not know how to operate on. He went on to write Surgeon, which became one of the most read books of all time.

*     *     *

Tanisha, the 16-year-old, had learned to drive and wanted to drive Susan to the airport. Nyasha was sitting in the back seat of the Land Rover.

In Susan’s absence, Tanisha will be responsible for ordering medical supplies and other items for the clinic, as well as assisting Dr. Sweets in the operating room and treatment rooms. Nyasha will assist Tanisha in ordering medical supplies and will assist in other areas as needed. Susan has been teaching and training them ever since they showed up, hungry and dirty, at the clinic four years ago. Their parents are dead and have no other family. Susan took them under her wings, and they have been as close as sisters since.

After Tanisha parked the Land Rover, Susan tells Tanisha and Nyasha, I don’t know how, but one day, I will do my best to arrange for the two of you to go to New York as well and get your medical degrees. The both of you are too brilliant to let the gifts that you have go to waste. Take care of yourselves and take care of Dr. Sweets while I am gone. Although we will be keeping in touch with each other, I will still miss you very much.

The airport in Zimbabwe still uses the roll out stairway, and Tanisha and Nyasha watched as Susan goes out to board the plane. As Susan climbs up the stairs, she turns and waves goodbye to her best friends.

*     *     *

As Susan finds her seat on the plane, she looks around and there are only a few passengers on board. She sits back and tries to relax while waiting on the plane to take off.

Not long after they took off and were well on the way to New York, the pilot, who is in his 50’s, comes back to greet the passengers. The flight attendant had previously told him about a young girl on board that is wearing a vintage nurse’s uniform, the same as you would have seen during World War II in the 1940’s.

As the pilot was making his way back toward the front, he stopped and struck up a conversation with Susan. The conversation continued and the pilot said, I hope you do not mind me mentioning this, but I couldn’t help but notice the vintage nurse’s uniform you are wearing.

Susan tells him, while smoothing out the wrinkles in the dress, I’m sure I’m getting plenty of stares because of what I’m wearing. The fact is, I’m not a nurse or a doctor, but my parents were brilliant doctors. I’m on my way to New York with the hopes of getting my medical degree. With the training I had under my mother and father, I have the same knowledge and skills of a surgeon, but I just do not have it on paper.

Wow, very impressive. Tell me more, the Pilot said.

Susan explains, I will first stop at the same hospital where both my parents were doctors to say hello to a dear friend. After I get my degree and have gone through internship and residency, I will return to Zimbabwe to continue in their footsteps. My father is Dr. L.L. Lambreth, the author of Surgeon, and a renown surgeon.

I know exactly who your dad is, said the Pilot. Everyone calls him LL, and I now recognize you. I was so saddened to hear of his passing. I am so sorry for your loss. I have flown him back and forth from Zimbabwe to New York and back several times. There would be times you would be with him. If my memory is correct, the last time I saw you, you must have been around fifteen. If there is anything I can do for you during this long flight, please don’t hesitate to ask. It was so good to see you again, but I guess I’d better get back up front with the co-pilot. He shakes Susan’s hand and returns to the cock pit.

The flight from Zimbabwe to New York was about 16 hours and the plane lands around 5:30 a.m.

Susan flags down a taxi and tells the driver, Please take me to Lighthouse Medical Center and pull up at the emergency entrance.

*     *     *

As Susan walks up to the entrance of the ER, memories of her last visit begin to fill her mind. The last time I was here, she said to herself, I was fifteen and with dad. The Pilot was correct. I was fifteen the last time he saw us.

She enters the emergency room entrance, still wearing the vintage nurse’s uniform. She lays her suitcase down and begins to look around and thought to herself, Little has changed. It’s still as I remember. Susan stood there a while longer watching the activities of the ER.

Susan turns toward the ER entrance door. The sight she is witnessing was too beautiful to pass up. She walks outside and the awe-inspiring sight of the sun rising over the tall New York buildings was breathtaking. The sun was catching the buildings just right making a stunning reflection off the glass.

While Susan stood there watching this beautiful sight, she hears a vehicle approaching the ER entrance at a high rate of speed. It was a man driving up in a pickup truck. He puts the truck in park so hard it made the truck come to a jerking stop.

Susan watches the man as he falls out of the truck and tries to stand with only his left foot. She runs up to the man and quickly looks at his leg. Susan tells him, Don’t move! I need to get you a wheelchair. She runs up to the ER entrance and grabs one. She helps him into the chair and notices that the man is about to pass out.

Susan rushed the injured man into the emergency room, pushes him up to a nurse and said, This man is bleeding to death. If he isn’t taken to surgery now, he will be dead in a matter of minutes!

The nurse stoops down to look at his leg and when she started to touch it, Susan tells her, No, you don’t have time to check it. Get him to surgery now!

By now everyone in the ER has stopped what they were doing to see what’s going on. Without saying anything else, the nurse takes him and rushes him back. Susan sat down and began to wait, hoping that someone would give her an update on the man’s condition.

An hour passed and a young doctor approached Susan and asked, Are you the young lady who determined the serious condition of the man with the hurt leg?

Susan replied,