Chapter 26

The procession started and instruments that had hitherto laid on the floor were picked up and checked. The saxophones and bongos were preponderant but guitars, clarinets and trumpets were also evident.

The first table had four people and all went up to play. The group had been practising a while but still less than a month. A woman sang and the three instrumentalists played a fairly good tune. When they were finished the audience snapped their fingers in lieu of clapping and the people sat with a glow on their faces.

The next table sang currently popular songs without instrumental accompaniment. The one after that a man brought out his papers and read poetry he had written but in the disjointed beatnik way of delivering it.

"Dominique, do you remember some of the folk songs you learned as a child?"

"A few, why?"

"We can sing a duet. What ones do you know and I will see if I know them too?"

"You want to sing! Can you?"

"I can give it a try. Now tell me the songs." I knew none of the songs for they had not left this continent. This was much like what I was trying to do for the native cultures of Africa. She said the words to me once and by the time the next table of musicians were done we were at least partially ready. When it eventually came to us I was ready and Dominique was very nervous. Passing the last table I stopped at the man that had played his guitar and said, "Excuse me. I was unfamiliar with this custom and didn't bring my own instrument. May I borrow yours for a few moments?"

Since I spoke kindly and tried to look like someone not about to damage his instrument I was loaned it gladly. The instrument was slightly out of key and I adjusted it without the owner noticing. Dominique nervously looked at me and I said, "You lead and I will follow. Just play the slow song slightly slower than the way you sang it before.

She sang and I was a measure behind her and stayed quiet enough to allow her voice to be foremost. The guitar too was quiet and the crowd enjoyed the old song played the way we did it. Her voice was good and perhaps she missed her calling in going into visual arts. When the song ended we were applauded with the snapping of fingers and the next table gestured for us to continue for a moment.

We sat back down and discussed another song with more of a lilt to it. At the end of this song we were again asked to continue. The crowd loved us and after five more songs Dominique wanted to sit down but the crowed wanted us to continue. I put a hand on her shoulder and said to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, I just made a song while sitting here. May I have your indulgence while I play it? It will be my last of the night. Others have to play as well."

I turned Dominique to look at me and played a ballad of a love struck boy pining away for an older girl. The girl thought me too young and wanted my much older brother. The boy asked for a single dancing lesson and in that time the girl found her love. The song of necessity was a bit long and there was only a small part repeated about the look in the girl's eyes. It was played in the best tradition of the folk songs we had just sung. I used Dominique as the girl and sang to her with all the emotion I could put into my voice and gestures.

At the end of the song Dominique bent over on her stool and gave me a kiss as I bent forward similarly to receive it. There was no noise for a moment but then snapping then clapping came and then all were clapping hard because they liked the music so much. Dominique turned around and saw that she had just kissed a strange young man in public that she hardly knew. The fact that the boy was only nine did not seem to matter that much.

Before regaining our seats, I gave the guitar back with my thanks. The man said, "That was a crazy scene, man! What's your jack?"

"Shawn Boz." I put my hand out and continued, "Lay some skin on me." We shook and I had to do this with the rest of the table. I sat with Dominique and her eyes were constantly on me. It took a few minutes for the next table to get up for it is hard to go on after a performance that would be better than theirs.

When the next act was done the man that had introduced the performances came to us and crouched down and said, "Are you two interested in a job? The musicians I have are not full time. I can pay you six dollars for three hours."

The man was serious and this was not a bad wage if we had no other employment but the money would have to be split between Dominique and me. "I am sorry but I have a job and will be leaving in ten days for Toronto, then a week after that the troupe will be going to Montréal then Vancouver."

"Troupe?"

"I am heading the Rhodesian government's presentation of native dancing, art and culture. I manage and the others perform."

"What a drag, you're a hep-cat and could make some serious bread."

"Dominique will be available and I can write some songs for her." Turning to the girl I said, "You want to try it? I will give you some original material and with your voice you may even get to record." She didn't answer with her brain muddled like this. "She will give it a try next week at five dollars for two hours, you provide accompaniment and buy her a meal."

The man got as good a deal as he was going to get and shook each of our hands in agreement. Dominique asked, "Why did you do that Shawn?"

"You can sing when not working or painting. I do more than one thing, you can too."

At eleven I had other things than music on my mind and said, "Let's go see your art."

I paid the bill and we left together to her apartment. Dominique's mind saw this somewhat like a boyfriend coming here and wondered how I was going to fit in. She had a steady boyfriend but he was working out of town at the moment cutting trees. I was young in her eyes and fit into two camps.

I took off my coat and hung it beside the door and helped Dominique off with hers. She said, "Please disregard the house. I didn't expect anybody to be coming home with me." The art was in a spare bedroom. She brought them out in order of when they were done and I saw a steady improvement in her efforts. She did have talent but needed more time to let it emerge and told her so. I suggested other artists that painted similarly and how she should study their works more.

When I went through all the paintings she asked, "Is there something you would like to drink Shawn?"

"No but I would like to shower. I hate tobacco smoke and it is all over us and our clothing. May I have one here?"

"Sure, the shower is to your right and I will bring in the towels after I get a chance to take my nylons from the curtain rod." She did get the bathroom cleaned very quickly and I went in and started to undress. The door was left open and I got into the shower. Dominique came to the doorway and said, "The towel is on the rack."

"Dominique, will you come in and have a shower with me?"

She hesitated for a while and said, "I don't think that is proper Shawn."

"I am in a strange town. I find you attractive and I think you find me the same way. We are adults even if I am young. There is no commitment being made."

In three minutes she got into the shower with me but didn't know what to do. I got her to sit while I shampooed her hair to remove the smell of smoke and then squatted to do her shoulders. Her arms were raised and I washed each of them as I did my children. With her now standing I did her back and worked to her feet not missing to clean everywhere. She responded favourably to cleaning her butt and between the juncture of her legs. I turned her around and continued on her front and made sure everything was squeaky clean. When the soap was rinsed off I worked on her clit and stroked into her with my fingers until she had an orgasm and held me tightly to her.

When she recovered she cleaned me the same way but squatted and took me into her mouth. My own orgasm came soon and I picked her up and kissed her lips as tenderly as she had earlier. I helped her out of the tub them pampered her as I dried her body. I did my own quickly and picked the startled woman up and carried her to her bed.

As I laid her down I remained on the floor and kissed he body. When I got to the juncture of her legs she parted them in invitation. I climbed on the bed and sucked her clit into my mouth and used my fingers again to enter her. It was a matter of only a minute till she grasped my head and thrashed about as she groaned out her next come. With that finished she looked at me between her raised legs and smiled. I climbed higher and slipped into her depths. I was not as big as she was used to but I did hit all the important points. After her next orgasm I used my power for the first time and enlarged myself and she stated to orgasm almost constantly. A 'finger' entered her rectum and she thrust violently at me not knowing what was happening to her but she loved every part of it.

I finished my own orgasm as she passed out. With my powers I turned off the lights and covered us. I just turned us sideways and stayed within her but only just. An hour later she awoke and tried to get me further in and had to turn me onto my back and she mounted me and thrust to her own tempo. I caressed her nipples and soon she shuddered and collapsed on me.

I had been playing with her anus and moved her unresisting body and got her to sit on me with her anus now directly stimulated. When she came to her first few strokes felt different. "Oh Shawn. Nobody has been there before. Why isn't it hurting? I heard it would."

"If the man really cares for the woman he will go very slow and open his woman up first. I am also not very big. You will have something special to teach your boyfriend when he returns."

She smiled at the thought and started to move her body as I manipulated her clit and her nipple. This felt fantastic to her and she had to have two more orgasms before quitting because she was getting sore. She got off and fetched a damp cloth to clean us before climbing back into bed.

The next morning Dominique was shy about last night so I made love again and she ended up on the bed unconscious with her legs wide and her opening the same way. I pushed her legs together and covered her on the frosty morning.

She had nothing for breakfast so I listened to the radio she had in the kitchen. I heard the news and turned it off.

I picked out what I wanted Dominique to wear and after washing her with a cloth and basin then dressed her. We were almost out her door when a cold blast of air finally woke her up. We drove to my hotel and we had breakfast there. The only extra thing I took from her apartment was an empty valise.

We went out shopping later at an upscale dress shop. I picked the clothes I thought she would look best in. She was concerned about me buying her things because it was seen as buying her. "I enjoy buying things and I like to dress up girls. Won't you allow me this small pleasure?"

She just looked at me and I gave her this little boy look and she bent just a bit and kissed me.

Dominique constantly wanted to smoke. Most people did too, but this was even more prevalent in the French Canadian segment of the population. I had to work on her mind a bit to get her craving under control. On three occasions she had to lie in the front seat of her car while I drove so that she could relieve her oral fixation.

In the changing rooms of various women's stores I would return the favour. By noon she was too sore to continue even though she desperately wanted to. In my room, her back opening served for a while until it too became inflamed.

We ate downstairs and Dominique had difficult time sitting. She did have the look of a well fucked woman with the smile on her face. She said, "I don't know what you have done to me but I just can't get enough."

"It is the African way," I simply said.

She pointed out the window at the Rideau Canal and how people enjoyed themselves by skating. Having never tried this sport we went out and I bought a pair of good skates and got them sharpened. We drove back to her apartment so she could get hers.

We dressed a little warmer and drove to the canal. After parking we walked down the snow covered steps to the ice surface. I tied Dominique's skates then my own. The ice surface was almost five miles long and we had started at one end. Part way down in a bay some boys were playing hockey and I stopped to allow Dominique to rest for a moment.

She said, "You can skate better than me and I have been doing this almost all my life. I am out of shape but you are phenomenal. The Montréal or the Quebec City teams would love to get you."

"What about Toronto?" I shouldn't have asked for she started to run down the team as if they were a bunch of bullies that cheated at everything they did. In her mind I saw that the teams were all as prone to mayhem and that is the way the crowds wanted it. As she was running down the team others came close and not only agreed but added their comments. They were a little perturbed at the refereeing and saw this as an English versus French battle that had not ended on the Plains of Abraham.

A tired youngster had come by and rested while leaning on his hockey stick. He added his own thoughts to the pot. He was speaking about Joseph Henri Maurice Richard and said, "The Rocket was robbed so many times by the English that there had even been a riot."

His friends wanted the boy to continue with their game and I said, "May I try this? I was never on skates till today."

"Sure but watch the other team, they are bigger and like to push us around." I took the stick and raced out onto the ice in the boy's place. I had more than enough sources of hockey rules from the boys and found it fairly easy to score three goals. The opposing team took exception to this and had two players began to shadow me but I still continued to score. They tried to check me legally and illegally but never were able to do so. Instead of hogging the action I set up the others on the team so they too could score. When the opposition tried to slash me with their sticks, my team players I called a halt and called them on their poor sportsmanship.

The boy got his stick back almost fifteen minutes later and his side was now ahead by twelve goals. He had his mouth open at the way I had played. "You're like a missile. Even Richard could not go that fast."

"Rhodesia produces some fairly good hockey players too," I said in jest.

It was fun to play this sport and even more fun to play from the underdog position. The boys on both teams were the same except one side was larger. I knew the small fry would do the same when they had a chance. My companion wondered if my country did have some good players and tried to think of the nationality of those not Canadian.

Dominique and I skated some more but now I held her hand in mine like many of the other couples. She was trying to understand her body's insistence to stay with me. Her mind was not opposed to us being together but the thought it odd to be controlled by her body.

She did ask, "How did you learn to skate so well?"

"I just have a natural inclination for sports. I know what my body can do and my brain seems to have a good grasp of where each part is. It is a lot like when I paint. The brush becomes an extension of my body and the media is spread as I wish it."

We passed many others and watched the children play and the speed skaters going up and down the ice. I estimated that the long section of ice must have had eight thousand people on it.

At the far end of the canal I heard a commotion. This was not through my ears but through the psychic variety. My other senses went forth and found through a witness's mind that there were some children that had fallen through some thin broken ice and could not be helped immediately. My mental eye found a girl in ten feet of water on the other side of the large barrier that was not supposedly open to skaters. A boy was gamely holding onto the ice but was not going to stay afloat for long. They were a mile away and one was sinking further into the icy depths. The girl was running out of breath and futilely tried to gain the surface but her muscles would not obey her commands in the frigid water.

I took off my coat and dropped it to the ice and then my wallet, change and keys from Dominique's car and then skated as fast as I thought I could get away with. At the end of the rink was a series of steps almost ten feet high. When I got to them I drove my skates down hard and I flew over as if I were high jumping. On the top I did this again and I landed on my skates close to some people trying to help. There was large expense of open water with floating chunks of ice from the ship traffic still moving on the mostly frozen river.

A rope with a life preserver was in a man's hand. I skated to a halt throwing up a large spray of ice. I just took the ring and gave him the whip end. "Hold this tight," I ordered.

At the last portion of solid ice I jumped and arched high and dove into the freezing water. The ring I left on the surface and within seconds had the girl's coat in my hand. She was numb from the water and just got to see me before she went completely unconscious. When we reached the surface I towed her to the ice and saw that it was too thin to support us. The boy had just sunk below the surface himself. I put the ring around the freezing girl and heaved her onto the ice. My muscles were starting to cramp and I just used my power to bring the boy up. He went onto the ice with the girl.

I was quickly freezing myself so had to close off the capillaries in my skin to conserve heat. I yelled in an odd voice and waited for the rope to be pulled taught. I struggled getting onto the ice myself because it kept breaking under our weight. I did get up but only with the use of my power. We stayed flat on the ice and I had a good hold of the boy's coat in one hand and the ring with the girl in another. When we were both dragged to safer ice we were all picked up. I could not get up myself with just my muscles. They had seized up in the cold and I worked desperately to get them to function. The girl's and boy's wet coats were removed and three people put their own coats on us.

The children were suffering from hypothermia and then I had to remember that I was too. We were pulled to a car and all of us were hustled into it. I insisted going in the back with the girl and this happened quickly to avoid problems. The car sped off to the closest hospital.

I checked on the girl's condition and saw that there was only superficial frostbite on some of her exposed skin. The woman holding the girl didn't know what to do so I said to her to bring the girl's face to her chest and abdomen and not to rub the skin as she was doing. The woman did not understand and I had to say it again in English. She continued as she was taught until I said, "Madam, I am a physician. Do not rub her hands. Just hold them to your body or put them in your arm pits."

"Son, you are just a child not a doctor."

"I am licensed to practice in Britain and almost all commonwealth countries. Please do not do as you were taught for it is damaging her skin."

The boy was doing better because of the way he had been dressed. I asked the man holding me to take off my skates for me. It was cramped for him but he managed it.

I asked the people in the car their names and thanked them for their efforts and for the warm dry clothing they had loaned us. They were in turn worried about us and I said that we will all make it but the girl would have some blistering the same as I would. They calmed a little and asked me about myself. I was able to give them a very short version till we got to the hospital. I was helped out and into the facilities on a stretcher. I saw the area for doctors and stopped the people pushing me. I quickly abandoned the stretcher and ran through the door. I got the shower on and stepped in. The water was cool but felt hot. As it warmed up it felt boiling. I turned it down until it was bearable. The nurses and my rescuers looking at me from the doorway.

I said to them, "Thank you for your help but after the shower and a change of clothes I will be fine, though I may not look very pretty tomorrow."

The nurse demanded I get back on the stretcher in no uncertain terms. "Nurse, who is the physician here? You or me? I may not have treated much frostbite or hypothermia but that doesn't make the proper treatment unknown to me. Kindly find some clothing and I will be out in a few minutes. Take care of the children these kind people brought to you." I stayed for ten more minutes and was able to increase the temperature gradually. When I was done I got out of my stall and onto the ceramic floor. I took off all of my wet clothing and started to dry myself. A belligerent man barged into the room and roughly said, "What the hell are you trying to do boy? Get out of here. This is for doctors only."

"And who might you be?" I asked calmly.

"Head of Emergency Medicine."

"What is the approved method of treating superficial frostbite?"

"What is that to you?"

"You probably don't know, do you."

"Warm the affected area, restrain from manipulating the area, avoid damaging any blistering."

"Congratulations you remembered. Now that I have gone through much the same training as you, I too know the facts. If I had my wallet I could show you that I too graduated and served my internship. Now if you will get me some dry clothing I can get out of your hair."

"You are no more a physician than I am the Prime Minister. Now get out of here now."

I picked up my clothing and wrung them out and walked by him naked into the hall.

The man pulled me back in. "You can't go out there naked."

"Make up your mind. I asked for dry clothing and you refused my request and ordered me out. Won't look good on your review I think."

"What review?"

"The one I call about your conduct, unless I get some dry clothing now." The man saw no alternative and I added, "Bring a comb too please." Ten minutes later I was dressed in children's pyjamas and slippers. When the nurse that brought them left while I changed. I rummaged through a stack of linen and put on a white smock that was much too large to fit me. I left my clothes on a rack and left by another door and with a circuitous route found the girl down the hall. I walked up to her shivering figure and pulled a heat lamp out from storage and directed it at her from ten feet away.

She was semiconscious and her eyes were following me. When I got another blanket I put it on her then sneaked out for another heat lamp and returned to put it into position for her feet. "There you are. By the way my name is Shawn. I am the person that found a mermaid swimming in the canal. Do all you people live there in the cold water?" Her eyes registered me but her mind was not all there yet. "I went swimming in an Ethiopian river once and found a big crocodile. His teeth were smaller than yours and his skin was rougher. Had a big tail and was always hungry. Would you like something to eat or drink?"

I got a head movement and took it as a no. Just then the door opened and an intern came in with a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his hand. His name was Jeremy Thornton and had been one of my students in London before majoring in medicine. He looked at the girl then me and his eyes opened wide. "Hello Sir Shawn. I didn't think you were working here."

"Hello Jeremy. I'm not. This lady took a cold bath and I fished her out. In the process we both got a little cold. How's the boy doing? He was the least affected by the cold."

I just came from him, he is doing fine. He's under heat lamps like you have done here."

"I am sneaking around now. Your chief of Emergency Medicine and I had words and as usual I am on the outs."

"What do you want me to do if Dr. Fellows comes here?"

"Don't act like we are friendly but not antagonistic either. Just say who I am. He will be angry enough at me and I don't want it overflowing onto you."

I looked at the girl and said, "This pretty young lady was thinking of giving me her name but hasn't mentioned it yet. I think she may be shy. What do you think doctor?"

"Oh... that may be so. Though I haven't met anyone that can be shy around you for long. What is your young lady's condition?" He asked.

"She will have some blisters but even that will be minor. I was working up to a date with her but it looks like she doesn't want anything to do with a worthless Rhodesian." I just got his incredulous eye then I continued. "While I worm her secrets out, will you tell the nurses to just leave this room alone?"

"Sure Dr. Boz. I will come back in ten minutes. I'll keep an eye on the boy."

"Thank you Dr. Thornton. Will you also keep your eye out for a lady in emergency with an empty coat and shoes looking to have them refilled?"

Jeremy smiled and left the room. I looked back at the girl and knew her name was Elizabeth but liked Liz better. She was visiting relatives when she fell into the water while taking a dare from the boy her cousin in the other room.

"Hmm let's play twenty questions. Is your name Agnes?" I got little response and then said, "Is it Bethany?" On the fifth try Elizabeth got a response but weak.

"Ah so you are an Elizabeth. You are in good company. I know some girls in Britain with that name. One carries around a big club once in a while to beat people with. She has two children younger than you. Their names are Charles and Anne. Another Elizabeth is at the zoo. She had big teeth and has two cubs. She is pretty like you but her breath stinks most of the time from the raw meat that she eats."

She was calming down now and started to go to sleep when the door burst open and a woman came in followed by Jeremy and two nurses.

"I want to see her now," she said before turning our way.

Jeremy stopped her for a moment and said, "This is Dr. Boz. He was one of my professors at university. He is the one that pulled your niece from the water."

The woman waited till he was done and ran to the girl to look for herself. "Thank God she's alive. Thank you doctor. I'll never be able to repay you for saving the children."

"You are entirely welcome. I was just getting Elizabeth's address, to take her out for some ice cream." This got some movement as if to say no. "What? I thought you said you liked seaweed ice cream. All you mermaids are well known for their love of that flavour. The only one they like better is fish guts."

"Ewww," I got this time. Much better than how she was doing before.

I looked at the aunt. "This one is a keeper. Smaller mermaids are thrown back to grow bigger. I am not her doctor but she should be able to go home in a few hours if the doctor is so disposed, but tomorrow at this time if he is not. I don't see any lasting problems other than the blisters we are both going to get tomorrow."

"Thank you doctor. I will be eternally in your debt."

"Think nothing of it. I needed a bath and now I have to run. My nemesis is coming down the hall." To the nurses I said, "You know now that I am a physician. Keep an eye out for a young lady with my coat and shoes. I am going to hide in Dr. Fellows' office as he searches the hospital for me. Please bring the clothes to me when she comes."

The door just closed as the other opened and Fellows looked in then searched the room with his eyes and left again.

Fifteen minutes later a small knock came and I opened the door. A nurse slipped the articles in and left. A sack with my wet clothes and the wet skates were beside it. The coat went on and the shoes over the bare feet. With the articles in hand I sneaked out and managed to attract Dominique's attention. We got to her car and quickly drove off.

In the car she said, "What was that all about?"

"I am just too young to look like a doctor and nobody takes me seriously. One doctor is actually pissed at me for usurping the physician's shower stall."

At the hotel I gave the laundry to the valet for cleaning and took Dominique upstairs for some tender loving that lasted a long time. We went out at ten for a late supper and then went back to bed.

Sunday we went on a tour of the Capital and found most businesses closed, just as it was in other European countries on the Sabbath. I saw the outside of the buildings and decided to just go to Dominique's apartment to paint. Upon entering I turned up the temperature and started some tea. All day Dominique had been free of cigarettes and I wanted her to continue. I opened her bed and took her clothes off her. She was willing but sore. When she was covered up I went into the other room and brought out an easel, paints, pallet and other necessary articles.

There were no blank canvases and I asked, "Dominique, may I paint over one of the paintings that you told me you disliked?"

"Take anyone you want."

I picked one and with my power smoothed the surface and shook the dust into the garbage. I pulled back her coverings and positioned Dominique so she would look seductive but still lady like. The fact that she would be naked was considered irregardless. In half an hour it was done and I left it in place as I disposed of the tea I had drunk earlier. As I made a noise in the toilet I heard, "Oh Shawn it is beautiful. I only wish I looked like that."