Serendipity 3

Serendipity Week Three

I had been on the island of ile ste marie for over a month and since
the night the doctor sent me his woman, I had been alone for only one
night.

Arlette, a strong girl with a nice bouncy exuberant smile was my most
frequent visitor. She liked to be massaged. 'Lower, lower' she would
whisper and then throw her head back when I touched her there.

I have rarely felt so complete and so sure of myself. I am always
laughing and showing my teeth. Its like living happily in a small world
of warm colours.

But the seeds of my departure had already been sown. Betty had reminded
me of the smell and deep down, I knew it anyway.

I consulted with the doctor and he suggested a plane to Toamasina, not
expensive, on the east coast of Madagascar.

On my last night, I sat as the guest of honour at a big table
overlooking the small bay.

There was the Doctor, his wife (massively pregnant now), the Doctor's
boy, Arlette, Illianne, Lydia and all the girls from around the
locality. It was wonderful.

I promised to stay in touch with everyone.

*****************************

After sleeping most of the afternoon in my new expensive room at the
Hotel Joffre, I put on some yellow stitch levis and a torn Ralph Lauren
denim jacket and an old pair of beige suede gucci loafers. I had a
small paunch from the hunger and food would only make it worse but I
needed strength as my heart was set on love.

I looked good in the raggedy denim, walking up the dusty main street,
past the pousse pousse hustlers and the beggars.

It was early evening and at the end of the street I was accosted and
kissed by a young girl. She was a little scrawny but I like thin and I
let her put her tongue in my mouth. She touched me through the denim
and coiled her leg around me on the side of the main street. I pulled
her in close and kissed her hard.

When we finally pulled out I looked at her small face and thought maybe
I could see her later. With the promise of a meeting in one hour I
walked further up, behind two girls with long dark hair, all the way to
the Queens Club. A young French boy on the plane said it was the best
in town.

Along the road there were girls in small groups hanging around. Maybe
they didn't like to dance or were for the locals or the older men. They
spoke to me, smiled at me, touched me and.. tired from the affection I
got a table outside the club and a drink and a menu.

I felt good though. But here in the big town, none of the girls seemed
very interested in me.

Then I remembered something the French boy had told me. He had said
that the girls liked a 'tidy man'. Man at C&;A. They liked a man in
business. They also liked a fat man, because that meant money.

And I'm sitting in my torn jeans like I was just back from the rice. I
finished the drink and jumped in a pousse pousse, back to the hotel.
There was no sign of the girl, maybe she had gotten lucky.

This time, I picked out a white shirt and a beige linen suit and walked
back on to the streets of Toamasina, dressed like one of the small
photos in Vogue.

Slowly up the main avenue, Boulevard Ste. Michel - they said it was
elegant but it was just wide - I looked around and took it all in. More
girls offered themselves, as people lay and watched in almost every
doorway. Toamasina had the appearance of a once beautiful town which
had been left to die the second it was born, no-one cared about the
people. They were simply the poor who were born and lived and had their
children and waited for death beside the road.

Across the street I noticed a young thin clean looking girl dressed
like a hawaiian princess. Walking slowly and alone.

'Bonsoir Mademoiselle', I shouted across

She hesitated.. for a moment.. but only a moment.

Back at the hotel, she threw her cigarette in the ashtray and walked
straight to the bathroom. Behind the thin wall I heard the
shower.

I was a little nervous but I pulled back the shiny curtain to where the
girl, with only her white pants on, was standing at the edge of the
cubicle turning the knob to get the water right.

I was on her like a rash. Only joking.

I had some nice soap which had been very popular on the island and I
started to lather her back and her shoulders, her dark neck, pushing my
thumbs deep into the muscle as I went. She slipped the panties off and
I worked the suds down her stomach, between her legs.

Fully clothed, sitting at the edge of the cubicle I pulled one tiny
foot onto my leg and kneaded every bit. Water streaming down my head,
eyes closed, the heat and the softness of her skin - It felt
good.

I was lost. I loved her as honestly and purely as I have ever loved
anyone. All night.

She knew more than her age and with the real illusion of love I was
unselfish and she was pleased.

Afterwards.. I sang to her.. Irish songs.. and she laughed and held me
tight until I fell asleep.

The next day she woke me early and had me again. She said she had to
take her young sister to school.

I pulled on a big gabardine shirt and some shorts and birkenstocks and
walked with her up the road. In the morning light things were a little
different and at the first corner I gave her some money. 'For a taxi',
I said. She didn't want it she said but I gave her it anyway and she
seemed very grateful, which was nice.

She seemed a little poor. Her clothes were frayed at the edges. She was
not a prostitute, or not a very good one, for I had heard they make
good money, as much as a Bank Manager for going with a few men each
week.

Back in the room I slept the sleep of a worker. My dad used to go on
about how great he would sleep after a hard day's work.

When I came to, there was a gentle persistent knocking on the door. By
the light I could tell that the day was almost over.

It was my girlfriend and this time she had her friend with her. She
smiled and pointed to the other girl and asked me if it was ok. I was
still half asleep and I motioned for them to come in and lay back down
on the bed and pulled the sheets around my head.

As I dozed, I could hear them laughing and lathering each other off in
the shower. They stepped out shyly, my girlfriend leading the way. She
pulled back the sheets and reached for me while her friend stood naked
at the end of the bed.

I was neither asleep nor awake, fully passive, as first my girlfriend
and then her friend mounted me and did their dance.

But I didn't really like it and I pushed them together and away.

There was nothing beautiful. The karma felt bad or something. It was
too much too soon and I imagined being asleep with some small animal on
the advice of a Shamen priest in the Bolivian jungles.

I told my girlfriend and her friend that I had some work to do and if
they wouldn't mind leaving it would be good.

There was some small money on the dresser and my girlfriend pointed to
it and smiled. 'Of course', I said and with that they were gone.

As I pulled the sheets around me once again, my last thoughts were
about my plan for later that evening. I intended to wash well. I would
wear a light Donna Karan linen suit, white airtex shirt and navy suede
gucci loafers. I would sit on a terrace somewhere, near the sea. Wait
for my food, watch the girls go by and think about things.