Chapter 19

That night Paige and I bathed in our own en suite. I couldn't wait and made love to her in the enclosure. She returned the favour as I held her head to me. When we got out I carefully dried each inch of her body and kissed the portions to make sure. She shivered though as I continued until the job was done to my satisfaction.

We hurried back to bed so I could begin again to make love to my future wife. The door opened slowly and I stopped what I was doing. The eye looking at me was only three feet from the floor. When she saw that I was looking at her the door was flung open and she jumped on the bed.

Corinne's elbow landed on Paige's chest with an 'Oooof'. She looked at the stunned Paige and said, "How come you have no clothes on?"

Paige didn't know what to say and she just looked from me to Corinne and back again. I said, "Paige and I are going to get married in five and a half years. We are practising how to make babies for when the time comes."

"Really?"

"Yes really. Now let me wash. It looks like you're sleeping with us tonight."

"Can I Daddy?"

"Yes Honey. We just have to get dressed."

I pulled Paige out of bed to get cleaned up again but this time we were much quicker. We walked to the dressers and found some sleep wear. The bed was queen size and Corinne was making herself at home in the middle. I left the door open and tucked in Paige with a kiss then got in and did the same to Corinne. Her little feet were cold but I got used to it.

The next morning I woke up to a kiss and tried hard to know who it was so I could respond correctly. I opened my eyes and saw Paige smiling at me. "Let's have another shower."

I looked at Corinne and she was sleeping with her mouth open, and she was probably blowing into Paige's face as she slept. I just nodded my head and slipped out of bed.

Once in the bathroom I just put the towels we used last night on the floor and put Paige's now naked body on top of them. I locked the door this time. Paige responded beautifully and grabbed my now longer hair and made sure I stayed put. Her breathing got quicker and more erratic until she let go with one of her hands and used it to muffle her scream.

Paige was safe as her period would arrive in just two days. The tiles were hard on my knees even with the towel. I slipped in easily because she was very wet. Her legs wrapped around me to make sure I didn't escape. It was times like this that I went very slowly and as usual it drove her crazy.

Paige got more and more vocal as I tried to reach far into her. My fingers of one hand pinched one nipple then I used the other hand. When her orgasm struck her I bent over and kissed her. My own pelvis was working frantically as she held me to her. My groans of ecstasy triggered more in her; and she pushed up her pelvis to get even more of me in her.

I rested on top of her while supporting some of my weight. "I love you."

In a dreamy way she said the same to me. A turned handle and a rattle told us that we were just in time. From outside the door we heard, "I have to go now."

I got up with some difficulty. My knees were sore. I helped up Paige and got her to stand in the shower area. When I unlocked the door Corinne rushed in and sat on the toilet quickly and we heard a mini Niagara. I got into the shower now and closed the sliding doors. When the water was warm we began to clean ourselves.

The sliding door opened then and a little girl came in with us. She simply said, "Do my hair?"

It was difficult but the two of us did the little girl. When we were done she bent over and looked back to me with expectant eyes. I used the soap and a face cloth to clean her bum then work carefully in the crease.

When I was done, I was about to speak when Corinne said, "That was too scratchy."

"You're lucky, little daughter of mine. Usually daughters don't get to have a shower with their Daddy and one of her mommies. Now you have to get out so I can do Paige."

She didn't like it but did get out. I dried her in a clean towel and wrapped a smaller one around her head like a turban. I sent her to the bed to wait. Paige was much more fun to do but I was professional. We had somebody waiting on our bed. In a few moments I was done too and we dried each other off.

We heard a knock at the bedroom door. "Anybody home?"

"Just about finished. I wrapped a towel around Paige and pushed her out of the room with a pat to the bum. I was just a few seconds later after picking up all our mess.

I said, "Good morning John. I have a squeaky clean little girl. Do you want to smell her feet? They don't smell now."

"I don't sniff her feet any more. She is too ticklish and I almost got a broken nose."

I started to get dressed and John excused himself. He now closed the door and I picked out things for Paige to wear and even helped her dress. The usual kiss for now covered body parts was neglected.

Paige gave a piggyback ride to Corinne as the pinch monster came from behind. This ensured that the rest of the house awoke and got on with their day. Paige and I both dressed Corinne and we walked down stairs after our hair was done.

Corinne ran to her Grampie and hugged him. "The pinchie monster almost got me."

"You need monster spray. It keeps them further away."

Mrs MacIntee came out of hiding and began our breakfast. John asked, "What were you thinking of doing today?"

"I don't think any of the ladies are shopped out. Any chance of getting Miss Carlyle to put in some overtime?"

"I can try. She looked happy but bushed yesterday."

"What about Gregory? I don't know what you have planned for him or what his free days are."

"Actually Gregory has the day off. The other gentleman you met with him once is his replacement."

"I remember very well. I never got his names and only recently for Gregory."

"Anton is his name but he likes Al better."

"He is much too big to argue with. Al will be perfect with me too."

"How are you going to get all your purchases home?"

"I was thinking of shipping them by truck. We can take some of the things they just have to have for Monday."

"That sounds good. I made some enquiries, and the man you saved is still alive. The doctors felt it was touch and go for a while but he looks to have no mental problems. They claim it was your quick action that saved him. The man asked the doctors to find you. He is sorry for the way he acted and wants to apologise."

"I guess I have to go by the hospital then."

Miss Carlyle was interested in an extra days pay and I made sure it was time and a half too. I shook hands with Al and I found that he was even larger than Gregory. The girls, after being fortified, left once more but with Jane was at the very end. She asked, "Did you get it?"

"I had too big of a mouth. They only allowed me two and a half."

She whispered, "Million?"

"That's right."

She almost hopped while getting into the car. She had kept her mouth shut very well and I was even more proud of her.

John phoned the hospital and asked for the hours the man with the heart attack was capable of having. John and I went slumming in the Mercedes, and parked close to the hospital. John was in this hospital before and we used a side door. We took two flights of steps up the floor we wanted and walked to the nurses' station.

John said, "We are looking for Paul Brown."

The pretty nurse said, "I am sorry but visiting hours are not for another hour."

John said, "I just phoned. This young man here is the one that saved Mr Brown's life. We were told to come now."

"Let me check please."

She made a quick phone call and hurried back to us. "I was mistaken. The doctor will be coming soon to meet both of you. It's room 3289."

We walked about six rooms down and found the right room. This room had four beds but only one was occupied. A woman of thirty or so with brown hair was holding the hand of the man in on the bed. She looked very worried. As I walked further into the room I saw a girl of about my age with dirty blonde hair and faded old clothes. It was obvious that the family was seeing difficult times.

The family noticed John first then me. The patient had a mask over his nose and mouth instead of a tube that directed oxygen to his nostrils.

John said to the woman, "Hello, My name is John Holtzman. Jeff, here, I believe has met your husband on the bus."

The woman didn't let go of her husband's hand and said, "Oh thank you Mr Congdon. The doctors told me that Paul wouldn't have made it without what you had done." Her voice was British and I assumed she was one of the war brides.

"You are very welcome. If I may ask, how did you know my last name?"

The woman looked confused then said, "It was on the forms when Paul was admitted. The nurses here heard a lot about you in the news recently too. They mentioned how you saved a little girl and now my husband. I don't know how I am every going to repay you."

"There is nothing to repay. Tell me how he's doing."

"They have him on some drugs that cloud his mind."

"Is he awake now?"

"Just barely. He squeezed my hand when you came in."

I moved over to the side of the bed with the girl and said, "Hi Sweetie. The name is Jeff. What's yours?"

"Ah Laura."

"Well hi Laura. I would like to get closer to your dad. That way he can see me over the mask and he doesn't have to sit up."

The girl moved to the side and I got closer. Paul had his eyes open but the pupils were open wide. I reached out and pulled the cord to dim the light. "Is that better?"

I got a nod. "Good. I am glad you are getting better. Is there something I can do for you?"

I got a shake of the head and a gurgle that sounded like, "No."

With a hand on Paul's shoulder I asked his wife, "Do you live here in Toronto?"

"No we live in North Bay with you. Paul used to work at Kawartha Paper but he was let go. We were looking for a job in this city when — when."

"That's ok. Where are you staying now?"

"We haven't found a place. We just came in on the bus."

"I will see if I can find some accommodations."

"But — we were just going to stay here."

I knew it had to be money problems. "The hospital knows lots of places that take in some people in your shoes. Usually there is no cost involved. You just have to know enough to ask. I'll do that for you."

A doctor with a white coat and the compulsory stethoscope hanging from his neck came into the room. Instead of his eyes settling on the patient, they lit on me. He then checked the patient and in a moment said to me, "Hello Mr Congdon. How did you know what to do for Mr Brown?"

"I don't mind answering but I like to be introduced to my questioner first."

"I'm sorry. My name is Doctor Feld."

"Hello doctor." I put out my hand and after looking at it shook it.

"This gentleman with me is a very good friend by the name of Mr John Holtzman. Mr Holtzman. This gentleman is Doctor Feld." The two men shook hands.

When they both looked at me I said, "Hmmm Mr Brown fell to the floor of the bus, I felt for his pulse at the carotid artery. His chest was not moving at the time either. His diaphragm was not working so I inflated it with my own breath. I happen to know that very little of the oxygen we breathe in is changed to carbon dioxide. This breath oxygenated his blood somewhat but it was going nowhere."

I now held my hands together and put them on the mattress of an unoccupied bed. After telling him what ribs to push over I did the stroke. I went through all that I could remember from the first aid courses I had taken. This included going back to oxygenate the blood then return to the heart massage.

"But how did you know to do this. Doctors do this on occasion."

"Doctor, I simply see things that need done and find ways of doing them. You might not know it but I have over a hundred patents to my name. They deal with a wide range of things. I even see many things in this room that should and could be changed." This I hoped would get him off the subject.

"Like what?"

"On your word to not tell anyone else. I believe the ideas are patentable."

"Fine."

"You better get out your book Mr Holtzman." When John did I began. "A small plastic clip secures the oxygen line to the portion of flesh between the two nostrils. There is now no need for the mask. The patient can now breathe and speak with much less difficulty.

"Instead of harpooning a patient all the time, a small rubber seal similar to what is on the bottles of injectable drugs is attached to the intravenous lines. The drug gets to the patient with no additional discomfort."

I added, "I repair and now manufacture electronic devices. I can make most of the devices much cheaper and smaller. This allows more to be used for diagnosis and monitoring. A simple thing to do would be to have a small company buy hundreds or thousands of small televisions. They come into the hospital and mount a sturdy bracket on the walls by each bed. A television is mounted to the metal bracket with a shiftable frame. A small speaker is made that fits in the ear and plugs into the television. This allows others to not be bothered by the programming."

The doctor was understandably shocked, "You can make smaller and better medical equipment? You are only twelve I heard."

"Sir, I am working on using light to cut like a scalpel. It will weld a torn retina without intrusion into the eyeball. It can burn the ink from the skin to remove a tattoo. In the near future I will have a tube that can go into a patients body and you can see what is at the end of it. You can check for problems in a stomach, colon, lungs and even the heart. Making smaller machines is a simple matter."

"How can you do this?"

"Ahhh, well the answer to that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. To develop the machines will take further millions."

Doctor Feld said, "Could we try the nasal clip?"

I turned to John. "We have engineers, physicists, chemists, technicians and tradesmen. We don't have any from the medical profession."

"You could hire him?"

"Why not? It is a study but it won't make much money but will save some lives and make those that do live more comfortable."

"It is up to you."

I turned to the stunned doctor and said, "Doctor are you interested in a small grant to test out some of our medical products? One is the nasal clamp and the other will be the unit for attaching to the intravenous line for administering drugs."

"They have to be cleared by some medical authorities first."

"I am aware of that. It's no better than what we are doing getting some equipment passed by the 'Atomic Energy Commission'." My eyes lit up then for I remembered the use of radioactive cobalt used to treat cancers. They were probably already in use and all I remembered was the use of radioactive Iodine-125 that was used to treat prostrate cancers. Other things might come to mind but there was no way I could explain how this information just popped into my mind.

I looked at the doctor then John. "There is something I should look into now. This will take more than a few minutes."

John asked, "Where are you going?"

"To do some research." My eyes and cheek twitch went to my right in the direction of Mrs Brown.

At the nurses station I found three nurses now. I said to one, "Hello, would one of you be able to tell give me some information please?"

The nearest one smiled at me and said, "Yes?"

"The patient in room 3289, Paul Brown has his wife and daughter with him. I do not believe they have a place to stay or the money to afford one. What mechanism is there in place to help people in this situation?"

I was shown a list of options with contact numbers and names. After I thanked the nurse I went to the pay phones and put my dime in and dialled the first. It took close to twenty minutes before I found a vacancy but the family had to meet a counsellor to assess their needs.

The counsellor was actually in the hospital presently and would come up in a half hour to talk to the family.

When I got back to the room the doctor was gone and I said to Mrs Brown, "Somebody will be coming up in half an hour to talk to you. In the meantime will you tell me a bit about your family? Are there other children?"

"Oh, we have an older daughter. She is seventeen. Our son Barry is going to be twenty in a few weeks."

She stopped talking so I tried to sound as friendly as possible. "My sister Susan will be seventeen in a few weeks too. I have another sister, Maggie that is fourteen. You may or may not know that I am twelve going on a hundred and fifty."

They laughed at this and the woman said, "We got that idea already. It is amazing what you have come up with already. Mr Holtzman told us some of the things you are doing. He also told us that you were the one to who saved his granddaughter."

"Responsibility and some traumatic experiences make all of us either grow up or fail. Tell me about what the doctors say about your husband's prognosis."

"They say a few weeks in the hospital and then to convalesce at home."

"Hmmm, that sounds like an extended time. Does Barry have a job?"

"Barry is confined to a wheelchair. He fell from a tree and cannot make use of his legs."

"What about your unnamed daughter?"

"Jena is going to high school still. At the moment she is taking care of Barry, but he can get around fairly well but just needs some help from time to time."

"Do you have any skills that could earn you a job?"

"Sorry, I did fairly well in school but had to leave early to take care of my mother. After that I was just a housewife and a mother."

"What kind of job was your husband looking for?"

"He was a millwright for the last six years but had to go back to a job in the mixing room because of cutbacks. The last cutback saw him lose his job all together. Why are you asking me all these questions?"

"I am trying to find some sort of employment that is suitable. What hobbies or interests do your family have that are out of the norm? Does somebody play a musical instrument? Does any of you have the ability to fix a car? Even if you can play chess very well."

"Jena can play the violin fairly well and so can Paul. The rest of us don't have the gift. Paul always fixes the car. He even fixes his friends and neighbours too. Barry did too but that was before the accident. Laura does very well in school. She is in grade eight now, so she is the same age as you."

"Any hobbies?"

"Laura likes to dance. Barry has been working on fixing some radios. Jena likes to cook. My hobby is keeping the family running."

John asked, "You have any ideas?"

"I have a few. Many doctors that treat people that have had a heart attack, do so, much too conservatively. You must know that I haven't read any medical texts but I believe a healthy diet and a moderate amount of exercise will get Mr Brown back to a productive life much sooner. Millwrights usually have some machinist abilities and handle most simple things handled by other trades. I can find him a job helping me build gadgets when he recovers.

"Barry interests me, though. I need a technician to help me with the repair business. I just don't know how much he has to learn before he can take my place."

The wife was all smiles now. I talked about the repair business for only a short time until a thin bald man of close to fifty came into the room.

The man introduced himself as Mr Pettigrew and gave his organisation. After we introduced ourselves the man wanted to talk to the family alone. I said to the woman, "This is a good time for us to leave. Tomorrow I will come back for a visit."

The woman thanked us and Laura expressed the same sentiments. Both had a smile on their faces. I went to Mr Brown and saw that he might be awake. "Bye Mr Brown. I'll drop in tomorrow to see how you and your family are getting on."