Chapter 11: Captain Franc

It was Isabella that saved the day as she stepped between Roger and me and steered him gently towards the front door. Cynthiana escorted Penelope, telling her they would talk more tomorrow, while Tabitha hugged my arm to her surprisingly ample breasts as we followed the others.

At the front door, she clung to me for a moment. I knew instinctively that she wanted to experience the bright light again, but with her folks there, I didn’t think it wise. So I kissed her forehead as I whispered, “Until later?”

She just nodded and went out to her parents’ car.

Isabella closed the large front door and then leaned against it. “Whew! I don’t remember saving eighteen-year-old lotharios being part of my job description.”

“Remind me to update your job description later,” Cynthiana replied. “I think I need a drink. C’mon.”

We followed her back to her study and settled into the soft leather seats. Cynthiana and Isabella sat in the chairs with Sofía and me across from them on the love seat. The same maid from lunch came in and took their drink orders, but I was just having water. I had to be at the dojo early in the morning.

“I’m assuming that both of you have ... er, experienced firsthand what I just witnessed in the atrium?”

Both girls just nodded.

“And I’m also assuming that you can explain this phenomena,” Cynthiana continued using statements as questions.

No, ma’am,” Isabela said. Sofía just shook her head.

“What about you?” she asked, turning to me.

“Explain? No. Guess? Possibly. When the lightning struck me, it changed the electromagnetic field that surrounds my body. This caused many different consequences. Your son hypothesized that when I became angry, afraid, or any other negative emotion, the charges from my ‘enhanced’ EMF would seek out and destroy anything electrical in nature. For instance people’s cell phones, the lights, TVs, or even expensive medical equipment. He taught me how to channel that ... er, negative energy for lack of a better descriptor, to destroy only what I was aiming at. Again, forgive the poor metaphor.”

“Like the navy ships and aircraft?” Cynthiana asked.

“Correct.”

“Then why wasn’t Tabitha destroyed tonight?” she asked.

“I’m getting there,” I told her. “This stuff is complex.”

“I’m sorry. Please...”

“Last week, when I was kissing my sister, Jenna; my Mom and Carina walked in on us, and just like tonight, they both got upset. Carina said some things that hurt my feelings, so after a day of both of us sulking, Captain Alfred anchored next to a deserted island and he and Roland took Carina and me ashore and left us there to work out our problems.”

“Creative,” mused Cynthiana. “So you and my daughter-in-law fought?”

“You see, I didn’t know then that my love could produce the same type of energy as my anger, except the effects are different. Our assumption at this point is because it’s positive energy instead of negative energy. When Carina and I made up, there on the island, instead of destroying everything around us, we created a shining light that supposedly reached hundreds of feet in the air and burned for over two hours. However, just like tonight, we could see nothing.”

“You made love to her for TWO hours?” Sofía gasped, jealously. I just winked at her and went on.

“Later, when I was kissing Isabella in her cabin, my mom just opened the door and sorta walked through this bright light. When she turned around, we were standing where she had just walked. Kinda like what Sofía did tonight when she sat down between us. We were gone, she sat down where we used to be, then we’re back, but beside her instead on top of her.”

“So you’re saying that if you have positive feelings, you can produce this light?” she asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Define positive feelings,” Cynthiana asked.

“I don’t know ... Love. Maybe happiness. The feeling I get when someone is loving me,” I ventured. “Roland and I haven’t got around to discussing it yet.”

“Could you show me?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly.

Cynthiana walked to her desk and picked up two different cell phones and then came back, setting one on the table in front of me and holding the other in her hand.

“Alex, can you destroy that phone? Without destroying this one?” she asked. It was smoking before she had finished asking.

Then she dialed a number on the other cell. When they answered, she asked “Are you where we can talk privately for a few minutes?” Then she waited. Finally she said, “Good. There is a young man here who feels that you don’t trust him. Would you like to speak with him?”

Then she handed me the phone.

I won’t repeat our conversation because the point was to see if I could produce enough positive feelings to create the bright light without kissing or touching anyone else. I have the three eye witness reports along with Roland’s account of what happened over the next twenty minutes. But I still can’t tell you how. Of course, I can’t tell you how my electric toothbrush works either.

All I know, is that for too brief a time, Carina and I were together. Hugging, touching, kissing, loving ... Like I said, I have no idea how.

“Here,” Cynthiana said, handing me a bottled water. “Drink this and head to bed. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

And with that, Sofía led me to my bed, all questions of time travel forgotten as only the touch of love lingered.

Sensei Itsuki was already doing the katas when I walked in at six-twenty-five so I immediately joined in. He smiled without saying anything as we went through them together. Thirty minutes later, I was sweating like a pig and struggling to control my breathing as he had shown me.

“Very good, Alex. Now let’s use some of those motions to defend yourself,” he said as he put action to words. All-in-all, it was the best I had felt upon finishing. I still had a long way to go, but the path was becoming clearer.

“Six-thirty in the morning, Alex,” he said as he bid me goodbye.

I headed for the shower in my room. After cleaning up, I dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt and headed for the atrium. I hoped that breakfast was ready.

“We’re in here, Alex,” Cynthiana called out as I entered the atrium. Isabella was seated at the table beside her, along with a distinguished looking older man wearing a wind breaker, jeans and deck shoes.

“Alex, this is Captain François Monet, La Royale, Retired,” she said. “And Franc, this is my protégé, Alex Masters.”

We shook hands as we greeted each other. I noted that his hands were just as weathered as his face.

“Captain Franc has agreed to spend the next eight weeks, teaching you how to sail and getting you ready to test for your Certificates,” she informed me.

“That’s fantastic!” I replied excitedly.

“Okay, now eat your breakfast so you can get started. We can’t keep Captain Franc waiting,” she gently chided me.

I was almost too excited to eat. Thank goodness I’m a growing boy.

“Take your time, son,” Captain Franc told me. “For today, we’re just going to go over what you need to do to prepare for your certificates.”

“Certificates?” I asked. “As in more than one?”

“Outside of the military, there are only a couple of organizations in the world that will certify you to be a skipper. Without one of those organizations’ support, you cannot get insurance which means you don’t sail. And in some places, if you get caught skippering without the proper certificate, you can go to jail.”

“Wow! I didn’t know that,” I told him. “So, like, I could have gone to jail for sailing with Captain Alfred?”