Chapter 18

When I regained my seat I said, "How many of these can we get? I want to put out the possibility of letting the current tenants stay in the house until we are ready to upgrade the street."

Both were staring at me. Jane was the one that broke first. "Well?"

"Well, What?"

"The loan?"

"Oh, it looks like I got it."

"How much?"

"It's on a sliding scale. The line of credit is based on what I currently own. When I use the money to buy any particular property then that loan can be transferred to a separate mortgage with the new property as collateral."

"How much can you borrow?"

"Jane, you are my secretary in this business and you need to know." I turned to James and said, "James, you work part time for me but I see that you are going to spend more time with me instead of your business. Since you will be dealing with my lawyers and accountants you need to know as well."

I paused again trying to draw this out.

Jane said, "Well?"

"Three and a half million to start."

Jane collapsed in her chair and James quickly grabbed her to keep her from being hurt. This was the same as saying I got a twenty five million dollar loan in 2008.

James held Jane protectively but stared at me. For the majority of the people even thinking of a million dollars was just too hard to imagine. He did say weakly, "Three and a half million?"

"To start. If I show a profit then I can keep borrowing to a theoretical maximum of say twenty million. The bank just doesn't have enough money to do more."

James almost stumbled now and I moved over to get Jane sitting better.

When the two were recovering I phoned Mr Sackman and told him the price I got and the deal for the hundred and fifty records. The last was said in a whisper. Mr Sackman thought this very rich. Not the records but the price I was able to get for my work. He knew I would be getting the papers to speed things up and he would get his copies for his records.

The girls came home later without the band. They were laughing and still excited about the what the band's prospects. When they heard in the music room that they were going too, they jumped up and hugged each other. The furthest most had ever gone was to Toronto and most had gone far less than that.

They didn't notice how out of it their mother was but they were out of it too.

I said, "I have to go to Toronto Friday to sign some papers." I looked at all the girls and said, "I want you to come too. We can do a bit of shopping and do some visiting. Corinne would be glad to see you and John will put all of us up for a few nights."

They might have had plans but now they wanted to go with me. I said to Jennifer and Paige, "I am going to talk to Jack and Nora then to Angela's parents to see if I can get her go too."

We ate an exciting supper with James. He was asked to come too but the weekend is a valuable time to show a home and he had one to show as well as look at one more that might be going to be put up for sale.

I too was excited about the money. When I left my old life I had much more than that sum and when I knew what was happening I just gave it away. Money was useful but was not the be all and end all for me. Trying to be the richest person on Earth was more of a game, but a game that would allow me to make a difference in the way people saw each other.

I went next door with Jane, Paige and Jennifer and plead my case. The two parents didn't mind too much. Paige was over at my house just as much as before but, it was me that was not home.

I called Angela next and asked, "Angela, my Sweet. Would you like to travel with me to Toronto? You miss school on Friday, and we stay over on Saturday and Sunday. The whole gang is going. There should be some shopping and sightseeing as well as a nice restaurant and possibly some form of entertainment."

"Toronto?"

"Yes Sweetie."

"I'd love to go."

"Then put on your father."

Giovanni came to the phone and I worked hard to phrase everything in Italian. Talking recently to Carlo didn't help for it was a different dialect. He asked a lot of questions and I simply replied that Jane was going with us. With a great deal of promises he gave his permission and I heard a delighted squeal in the background.

That night I made a note about the magnetic strip used in the future. This invention made me feel good and it was not about the small amount of money I would make. I knew I would be saving children's lives too.

The thoughts of building reminded me of carrying cement. It was usually carried in multi compartmented train cars and trailers for trucks. The dust was so fine it acted like a liquid and could easily tip a truck. While I was at it, I added the deflector seen over the cabs of future trucks. This allowed up to a seven percent savings in fuel but that was in high-speed transit. The speed nowadays was anything but. The Americans though, had better roads and could use the idea.

The next morning in English Comp, Alice took a seat near me. Usually we sat at the desk we wanted to be around friends but it was not a rule. She said, "I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I was wrong." This didn't sound like any girl I had ever met. A moment later when the teacher turned to the board, Alice passed me a note. When I unfolded it I found that it was a letter.

The note said that she was sorry for everything she had ever done that displeased me. Now this I had never heard of either. Alice didn't appear to be in love with me nor infatuated but she was trying very hard to get back in my good graces.

Instead of replying like a love struck boy I decided to think on this new turn of events. It did look like Joyce had gone through my papers when I had gone up to Alice's room. A mother could be very protective of her child but then again Joyce didn't look that old to begin with. It struck me that Joyce could be an older sister or even a lover.

English didn't go very well because I was still thinking about Alice.

During Home Ec, Jamie Sutherland tried to sit near me too. Gloria or Janice usually rotated so I always had a partner. Jamie was not aware of the unwritten rules or he simply didn't care.

"Jeff, I heard that you know some important people. The rumour going around now is that you talk to Elvis all the time. What is he like? I'd love to meet him."

The sparkle in his eyes made me uncomfortable but I said quietly, "Never met the man and never talked to him. In fact I never talked to any of the singers."

"That's too bad. Elvis is dreamy." Just after he said it he looked shocked and tried to take it back. "I mean I dreamed about being in his band."

He looked so uncomfortable that I said, "Me too," though I would rather have been with 'The Beach Boys' instead when I was nearing the end of high school.

All youngsters went through a phase where they were checking out their own gender. Sometimes the search never ended and they played both sides of the fence. My family, their friends and my future wife all had sex with their own gender and me too. Girls were just safer to be with now and I was sure most were predominately heterosexual. I surely didn't begrudge them their fun and I would not bother hurting Jamie for something he was not capable of altering.

Four times during class I caught him staring at me with worry on his face.

Lunch was the one I had with Paige. She was still very excited about her upcoming trip. We were going to leave right after school and be in Toronto earlier than usual. There was an express bus but we would be cutting the time limit very close. Everybody had packed one small bag. Jane would go to Angela's home and get hers with a taxi then take all of the bags to the bus terminal and wait for us there.

When I got near Paige I found a familiar face near me. Jamie had a worried look again and I think he needed some reassurance. This time instead of usurping a seat I simply stole one from a nearby table.

I said, "Sit here Jamie and stop worrying."

"I'm not worrying."

"Fine, then not worry a bit less. Let me introduce you to the ladies at the table." Paige was first and in a stage whisper I said, "She holds the keys to my heart." I went through all the rest for I had been here often enough to meet them all. It turned out that Jamie was well known among the girls. This time he was very embarrassed about meeting them. It seemed that his confidence had been shattered.

We ate and told jokes. At least the girls had been forced to listen to a few and repeat them at the table. The shyest turned red even if the joke was not off colour. Jamie knew a lot of jokes himself and told them well. When the period ended it looked like Jamie was back to normal.

I went to chemistry after a kiss to from Paige. The girls blocked the view now so we had some privacy. They usually giggled at us being so naughty in the school cafeteria.

I worked against the clock for my next experiment. So far I had two hits against seven losses but that was by far the best that any researcher could hope for. At the end of the day I had to clean up and put the sample away to be tested next week.

I took too much time in chemistry and I was late for gym. I hurried as best I could. The locker room was almost empty but Jamie was there with only his shirt off. He was back to being worried. I got close to him and started to take off my clothing. I whispered, "Jamie get into your gym clothes now. We can talk on Monday if you want. You are just going through a stage where you are thinking crazy thoughts when there is no need."

"You won't say anything?"

"Jamie, I thought we were going to be friends. Friends keep secrets. Now get dressed or are you afraid of showing me your hairy bum?"

"It's not hairy," he said but now with a smile.

We had to do pushups and this time I was able to do more than Jamie could and just enough to please Mr Renzo.

I had a quick shower right after class and had a visitor in the room. Jamie was very nervous but had a shower too and flashed his bum at me on the way out. When we were getting dressed he said, "Tell me about your scars."

"I will on Monday. One more class then I have to leave. I won't be here tomorrow."

"Where you going?"

I was about to say Toronto but that would lead to other questions. "To a friends house. I'm staying the weekend."

"Mmm that's nice to be able to do that."

After last class I made a mad dash to get rid of everything non-essential. Most of the girls left by the door used for those taking commercial subjects. The taxi should be waiting there. Paige was there first but I kept her outside with me as we waited. Jennifer and Susan came running then Angela and finally Maggie. Jennifer and Susan were the biggest and went in the front seat. Angela and Maggie went in then I did. Paige hadn't been thinking and I patted my knee.

"Want a seat little girl?"

She pretended to be put-out and said, "You are a dirty old man even at twelve."

The driver said, "I can't have more — "

Jennifer was right beside him and whispered seductively, "Just this one time mister."

It worked.

I gave the driver a tip anyway and got a receipt like I usually did. You had to fight the taxman with all your weapons.

The roads were snow-covered but still freshly ploughed. It was just that all the snow was packed hard. I was worried that we were going to be late but the bus was just a bit more so. Jane handed us our tickets and we grabbed a bag each and got on the bus. It was already crowded and we had to sit in the front. In a way I didn't mind but would like it better to be able to see the area behind us. The black Buick was still in my mind.

The driver saw me as I got on and he said, "Hi youngster. Are you going to sing for us again? I really liked it last time."

I looked at the man and he was familiar though there were not that many drivers doing the Toronto run. "I will see how it goes. Got some pretty girls with me that can sing very well. Perhaps we can practice."

"You do that with my blessing."

I sat beside Paige and she said, "What was that about?"

"Last Sunday I sang on the bus as I came back home. Most of them were worked on with Corinne and John. It appears that the passengers had nothing better to do and couldn't very well run from my voice."

"You should have brought your guitar."

"Yes dear. You're right."

"Don't forget it either, buster."

"No dear, never." She just laughed and held my hand.

Jane sat with an older woman while Maggie, Susan and Jennifer sat right behind the driver. An old man sat on our seat with us and pretended to ignore us the best he could. Angela was sitting beside a man of thirty and looked uncomfortable. There were other seats but none that were completely empty. I whispered to Paige and got up. When I got to Angela I said, "Paige wants to talk to you."

"Ah, ok."

I took her place and turned to the man and said, "Hi. The name is Jeff. How far are you going?"

"None of your business, boy."

I didn't know what his problem was but I just said, "Fine," and tried to ignore him.

The bus bypassed many towns it had stopped at on previous trips. At Gravenhurst, though, a lot of the passengers got off and only a few got on. We were able to take up all the front seats facing each other, while I was happy to take the next vacant double.

When the bus was on its way again I said to Susan, "We are going to sing a cappella in a low voice. Start with 'Downtown'. The passengers have heard it already."

"But this is in front of people."

"Sweetie, in the spring you are going to be in Memphis. If you do well, you will sing in front of more strangers. Then you will sing on stage. They will all have come to hear your voice." Looking at the others I said, "I want you to sing too. It is important that you learn this and besides our bus driver likes live music."

We heard from the front seat, "I sure do."

"On three. One, two, three."

The girls got off to another rocky start but did fairly well with the song. I called out the name for another song then added the one, two, three, and they were off again.

This happened one more time until Maggie said, "What about you Jeff? How come we have to do all the work?"

"I'll sing after the next song." Standing and then turning to the back of the bus I said to everybody. "The lovely ladies in the front of the bus have been singing their hearts out. Would you like to hear some more of their voices? If so, clap your hands in appreciation for what they have done so far."

I clapped myself and the driver honked his horn the passengers got the idea and then started to clap. When it died down I said, "Thank you ladies and gentlemen. The ladies will now be singing 'Everybody's Somebody's Fool'. This, like the previous two are original compositions. This spring they are going to Memphis to see about cutting their first record."

Turning to the girls I said in a Lawrence Welk voice, "And a one, two three — " The girls sang louder now that they knew that people wanted to hear them.

The clapping this time was very loud and the girls' smiles almost hid their blushes. When the applause stopped I said, "Here is another of my songs. It is called, 'Thank God I'm A Country Boy' for obvious reasons."

I sang it loud as it should be and tried to emulate some of the great singers that performed the song. I must have done a fair job for they clapped for me too. In a moment I stood in front of Paige and held her hands as I sang 'Time In A Bottle'.

Paige was all red now and I thought her face would break with the size of her grin. I already knew that she would follow me anywhere even without the music.

We sang other popular songs that we had been practising in Music. It was a shame how glee clubs had fallen from favour in North America. Germany had the right idea and had a strong culture too.

We had made good time. It was only ten thirty and we were only a few more minutes to from the station. I gave a travelogue to those that wanted to listen.

There was a commotion behind us and the man that had been nasty to me had fallen from his seat. He didn't get up so I rushed to him. Two friends of mine had died of heart attacks but I had managed to save a third.

I looked at the signs and came to a decision. I yelled to the driver, "The man has a heart attack. Forget the station and head for the nearest hospital or he'll die."

There was some loud honking of horns and we turned sharply. The man's breathing had stopped. I dragged him into the aisle and felt his carotid artery. I couldn't find a pulse. As part of my businesses I made sure the employees took part in first aid. I was not above doing it myself and helped get the employees to do it as well.

It was best with two people but nobody knew what to do. Usually the person died anyway but I did what I could. I breathed into his mouth then placed my hands over his chest for the right number of times. I was frightened stiff and had to go slow to do this right. The only thing keeping me going was the thought of a very pretty lady who was now alive because I had done this for her. Or would in forty-two years, I amended.

The hospital was close and the constant beeping of the horn gave us some room. At this time of night though there was little traffic. The doors slid open as we stopped and two medics and a cop hurried onboard. I had to assume they were outside the emergency entrance by chance or by luck.

I simply said, "Heart attack. I kept him ventilated and massaged his chest."

They got him off the bus very quickly. I grabbed the guy's small suitcase and then got my own. "Come on guys. We can catch a taxi from here too."

I was last out and I said to the driver, "I have the guy's suitcase. I'm taking it into the hospital. He may have some larger bags under the bus."

"No he doesn't. I would have remembered."

"Ok, I'll give this to the nurse. By the way where did he get on?"

"Same as you, North Bay."

"See you then, and thanks for the ride. I'm sorry for hijacking your bus but you better get to the station now or find some angry passengers."

The girls went into the hospital with me and I gave up the suitcase to the nurse. I had to give some information but I had little to give. The man was still alive when I phoned for a large taxi and then I phoned John's home to tell him we had arrived.

A station wagon arrived and we all piled in. I sat in the back seat looking backwards and found no black Buicks or any other car following us.

John welcomed us into his home. The girls were amazed at the interior. The outside looked great too because of the covering of snow and the reflected lights from the city, stars and the moon.

John said, "How was your trip? No inquisitive people?"

I said, "The trip was quicker this way. We got a chance to sing on the bus and entertain the passengers at the same time. I didn't write anything new but the girls did great. I didn't mention on the phone when you called but Sam Johnston will be interviewing the girls and their band for a record or two in Memphis this Spring Break. They are really excited about the possibility of being famous."