An Evening at the Carnival with Mister Christian

"Más Allá. I think it means 'beyond'."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about...how can you explain feelings in this music? But...why would you even want to? Just let it wash over you..." She leaned back, closed her eyes and drifted in the rhythm -- and he looked at her, not knowing if he should be amused or amazed. She was so attuned to other parts of life, so much the exact opposite of Jennifer it took his breath away...

Then the music stopped and he felt a hand on his shoulder -- and his eyes went wide. He looked up and Lennon was there -- looking down at Deborah. Sumner stood as Lennon turned away, then he started strumming and singing...'Here I stand, head in hand, turned my face to the wall'...all the way through You've Got To Hide Your Love Away. Collins looked at Deborah, her eyes now wide open, her head canted to one side. She pointed to the cabin...

"He's here?" she whispered.

"Yup."

She pulled herself out of the water and took the towel he handed her, then stepped out into the cabin and watched Lennon as he finished the song, then he too stood up.

"Why are you here, John?" she asked, stepping closer.

He looked at her, then took his hand and placed it on her heart, and his head tilted back a bit as is he was basking in the warmth of her flesh, then he reached over and put his other hand on Collins' head.

"Come together-right now-over me..." he said, and in a heartbeat he was gone again...

...and she collapsed to the floor...

+++++

She heard his voice, far, far away.

"Come back to me, Deborah...wake up, come back to me..."

She felt his arms all around her, like she was naked and a warm breeze held her fast to the sun. She felt sand between her toes, a gentle surf lapping at her feet, something calling out to her. No, a voice...calling out to her. She tried to make out the words but they were lost, carried away on the wind and she reached out for the words, crying out for them to stop and she felt herself falling and falling and she was afraid now afraid and afraid she would never stop falling...

She opened her eyes, saw Sumner holding her, saw the concern in his eyes and she reached out for him, put her arms around him. She felt him lean in and kiss her cheeks, felt his tears on her face and she pulled him closer still. He fell with her down to the bed and they kissed again and again, falling into the lush warmth of their sudden life together, falling back into the passing echoes of Lennon's music, falling beyond the meaning of words into the chance dancing embrace of intertwining souls. She basked in his warmth and drifted off to sleep in the afterglow of his kiss, adrift on balmy currents full of salty promise...

And she felt her feet, pain melting away, strong fingers working tendon and bone, flesh yielding tension through the currents, dissolution in growing warmth. "Oh, yes," she whispered through her smile, and she felt his hands working through the pain, finding their way to yet another release as she drifted along. Then his fingers pushing through the tension in her ankles, breaking crystalline walls up her calves and on in to her thighs. She felt his hands move past the towels up the soft skin of her belly, molding her breasts to his will as she spread her thighs again. The sudden hardness, the sharp intake of breath and in her mind's eye she saw his penis inside her, the skin of it yielding to her warmth as it slipped slowly through the currents of her womb.

"Slower..." she whispered. "All the way in...but slower...as slow as you can..."

She saw the waves and eddies of his thrusts as she placed her hands gently on his back, and as she felt each passing wave she rose to meet him, her mind alive with the image of him deep inside. Onward she drifted, rising on the crests of his waves, falling into the wake of his slow glancing dives. She felt the tension in his back, the quivering hover as release came for him and she watched his semen flow in translucent swirling pulses through her womb, still in the slowness of the gentle breeze she had found. She kept to her own rhythm, to her own slow rolling motion until her release joined his, until her need balanced his. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him close then, held him still inside her own growing release.

"I love you, Sumner," she barely whispered. "God only knows, but I do."

Through closed eyes she felt him looking at her through her own spreading smile, then she felt him close again, his lips brushing her ear, then the airy music of "I love you too" washed over her soul. Their dance finished for now, and she opened her eyes and looked for him.

He was looking into her eyes now. "There was never a chance we weren't going to meet, was there?"

She shook her head. "I don't think there is anyway anything anywhere could have kept us apart."

"No coincidences, huh?"

"None."

"I think you should sell your shop and move your stuff aboard. I think we should spend the rest of our lives together."

"Do you, now?"

"I do. I think I should buy you a ring and get down on my knees before we wake up and find out this has all been nothing but a fantastic dream..."

"And what if it was? What then?"

"Then I'm never going to wake up." He heard Charley whimpering and groaned inwardly at his selfishness, then he hopped off the berth -- his feet landing squarely in a spreading yellow puddle.

'Nothing like reality to fuck up a really good dream,' he said to himself as he went for the paper towels...

+++++

He finished hooking the propane hose up to the little gas grill he'd just hung off the transom, then he lit the stove and went back to the galley and finished prepping the salmon. "Can you make a Hollandaise?" he asked.

"Got lemon, butter and eggs?"

"Yup."

"Then yes, I can." He pulled out a small skillet and found the lemons, showed her where the other stuff was and adjusted the flame on the steaming broccoli, then went back on deck to grill the fish.

"Nice dolphin you've got there," he heard a man say, and he turned to the voice.

"What's that?" he said to the man on the motorsailer in the next slip.

He pointed to the water behind Gemini. "That dolphin. He's been hanging around your boat all day. Is he a pet or something?"

"He's a she. And she's been following me for months."

The man looked at him, shook his head. "Right. How do you know it's the same one?"

"See the two marks under the eye?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's her."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." He walked over to the swim ladder and dropped it into the water, then he slipped off his shoes and climbed down into water, bracing against the chill. The dolphin surfaced next to him; he put his hands out and rubbed the side of her face for a minute.

"I'll be damned," he heard the guy say.

Collins looked into her eye, watched her watching him, then he heard Deborah come up on deck.

"Oh, this just gets weirder and weirder," she said.

The dolphin canted it's head and looked at her, then back at him before she slipped under the water. He sighed and pulled himself back up the ladder, stood and adjusted the flame on the grill while the man stared at him.

"Months, you say? She's followed you for months?"

"Since Christmas Day."

"What's that?" Deborah said.

"She's been following me, since last Christmas. Maybe longer than that."

"Uh-huh," she said, frowning. "Could you turn the stove on for me, please?"

"Yup, if you'll grab me a towel."

"Right." She took off, he turned the flame on the grill down a bit then turned, saw the dolphin had left -- for now -- and he walked down the companionway and took the towel from Deborah as he went below. He explained the safety solenoid system and showed her how to 'light' the stove, then he adjusted the flame and grabbed a platter, went back on deck.

And Rod Lethbridge was standing on the pier, holding a book in his hand.

"Sorry, just wanted to drop by and let you have a look at this. It's the latest channel crossing guide, radio frequencies and traffic separation schemes and all that."

"Thanks, come aboard. Where's Elizabeth?"

"Up in the car, waiting."

"Had dinner?"

"No, we were just heading into town for a bite."

"Plenty of grub here. Go grab her and come on down."

"You sure?"

"Wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure."

"Right. Thanks."

Collins went below, told Deborah to expect more company and filled her in. "You're popular, aren't you?" she said.

"You get used to it when you live aboard. You discover just how many friends you never knew you had..."

"Should I put some scones on? I've made the batter and all that..."

"Sure," he said as he moved to the oven. "Preheat to what? 350?"

"That'll do. Did you put on enough broccoli?"

"Always. I always cook for four when in a marina, because nine times out of ten at least that many show up."

"Bollocks!"

"I'm not kidding. You get used to it, though."

"So, if you want privacy...?"

"You anchor out. Away from shore, but even then, if you're in a harbor with a bunch of other boats, a little cocktail circuit gets going as the sun sets and the same thing can happen." He dashed up in time to help Elizabeth aboard...

"You're sure we're not a bother?" she asked as she stepped aboard.

"Yup. Don't stand on formality...go grab a drink. Deb's working on a Hollandaise..."

"Deb's still here?" Elizabeth asked wryly, smiling as she passed him.

"I think she became a permanent part of the crew today," he replied as he walked back to the grill.

"Indeed. Good for you. Can I help back there?"

"Sure, come on." He lifted the lid and brushed on more ginger-butter and lime, ground a little pepper over the filets, then sprinkled a little soy for good measure. He pressed the flesh, moved a small filet off the fire while the larger piece caught up.

"Holy mackerel! That's quite a production you've got going there," she said.

"Good looking fish," he said. "Fresh from Norway this morning, or so I was told."

"Get it at Marco's?"

"Yup. Quite a place."

"Go on Friday if you like crab."

"Really?"

"Best place around. Pricey, but quite good."

"Can you hold the platter, please, while I get these off the fire?"

"Sure...uh, do you know there's a dolphin back here...?"

"Ignore her."

"Ignore...her? How do you ignore a dolphin two feet away?"

He put the fish on the platter then turned off the gas, turned and looked down into the water. He knelt, rubbed her face again. "Are you okay? Need me to come in again?"

She was still now, quietly looking at him.

"Okay, maybe in a little bit."

She slipped beneath the surface again and was gone.

"Is she another friend of yours," Liz asked.

"I don't know who she is," Collins said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Come on, we better take these below before they cool off."

"You say so," she said, clearly confused now.

And it smelled like a bakery down below, while Rod had fixed a bunch of drinks. Collins put the fish down and got the broccoli on another platter, then drizzled Deborah's Hollandaise over the fish and veggies. Rice went into another bowl and they carried it to the table and sat.

"So," Elizabeth said, "tell me about your dolphin."

"What dolphin?" Rod asked.

"Oh? Did she come back?" Deborah asked.

"What dolphin?" Rod asked -- again.

"We met last Christmas. She's been following me ever since."

"Where was that?" he asked.

"Virgin Islands."

"What?!"

"Better eat up before it gets cold," Collins said, taking a piece of the smaller filet, then some rice and broccoli. He took a bite, ignoring their incredulous looks, then looked at Deborah. "Great sauce, darlin'," he said. "Just perfect."

The rest began eating, but Elizabeth couldn't stand it after a minute. "So, you swim with her?"

"Again?!" Deborah said. "Can I come?"

"No one else has ever been in the water with me when I go to her. Besides, it's really cold; you'd probably need a wetsuit. Where's Charley, by the way?"

"In her nest. Sleeping, last time I looked."

He nodded, resumed eating. "Scones smell like heaven, Deb," he said as he stood, then he went to check on Charley. He came out a moment later carrying her on his chest, then he sat back at the table and watched as everyone finished up.

"Okay," he said as everyone looked up at him. "Time for a swim." He grabbed his towel and walked up on deck, then back to the aft swim platform. He checked the ladder and hung his feet over and let them dangle beneath the surface, and a moment later her head appeared, her blowhole just clear of the surface.

"Damn," Rod whispered.

Still holding Charley, Collins slipped into the water -- then the dolphin slipped silently beside him and regarded the pup. She spun in the water slowly, revealing her dorsal fin, then her right pectoral, and Collins slipped over and took her pectoral -- and the dolphin took off slowly towards open water.

"Excuse the ahem out of me," Rod whispered, "but what the devil's going on?"

"I-don't-know," Elizabeth moaned.

'And this isn't even the half of it,' Deborah wanted to say.

They watched as he came back into view a moment later, only Charley was riding up by the dorsal fin, quite oblivious to it all, and the dolphin slowed to a stop, let him drift free. Charley looked at him, then jumped into his hands. He held onto the ladder with one hand and handed her up to Deborah, then turned to the dolphin again and drifted back to her. He caressed her face with his hand, then leaned closer still and placed his face on her's. They lay in the water like that for minutes, then he broke free and came to the platform and climbed into Deborah's arms.

He was shivering now, and the man on the motorsailer in the next slip was standing on his aft deck -- open-mouthed -- apparently too stunned by the whole thing to say a word. Collins wrapped himself in the towel and went below, straight to the shower. He stood and let the hot water run down his back, then Deborah slipped Charley in past the shower curtain.

"She's pretty cold, Sumner. I'll get another towel."

"Right." He held the pup to his chest, let the water warm her shivering body and after a while she looked up into his eyes and licked his chin. Deborah had laid fresh clothes out and he wrapped Charley in the fresh towel until she was snug and warm, then he dried-off with another.

And they were waiting for him when he walked out with the pup under his chin -- all of them, even the guy from the boat next door.

"Sumner," Elizabeth began, "I'm sorry, but this is all just a little too weird. What's going on?"

"Anyone want coffee?" he asked.

"If you're going to put more rum in, I'll have some," Rod said.

"I think I might too," the stranger said.

Elizabeth and Deborah nodded.

He put on a large pot and rummaged around for a bottle of dark, then his hidden stash of Bailey's. He poured equal parts rum, Irish cream and coffee into five cups and passed them around, then sat on the companionway steps while everyone settled in and looked at him.

"Charley and I, excuse me, the Charley I lost recently..."

"Is that the dog, you mean?" the stranger said.

"Yup. Charley was fourteen, hanging in there but running out of gas. We, uh, saw the dolphin last Christmas. It was strange, because I'd seen her once before. Not quite a year before, when my wife Jennifer and I were out walking on a beach out on the Cape. Uh, that's Cape Cod, south of Boston. Jennifer had learned the day before she was, well, that she had Stage 4 invasive ductile carcinoma."

"Shit," the stranger said.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

"Paul Whittington, and I'm a physician. Work for the NHS over in Portsmouth."

"Do you live aboard," Collins asked.

"I do," Paul said, looking at his mug. "This is damn good, by the way. Thanks."

"Sure. So, the dolphin showed up on the beach that day, and I don't know why but Jennifer and Charley walked into the water. They held on like that for quite a while, face to face. It was really quite magical, but when Jennifer got cold and came out of the water the dolphin grew very agitated, sounded like it was crying, very odd in a way but I'll never be able to get that sound out of my mind. Or that day, really. Charley was beside herself, but I didn't understand why just yet.

"Anyway, Charley and I were down in the Virgins last Christmas..."

"Your wife had passed, I take it?" Whittington asked.

"Yes, a few months before."

"So sorry. Do go on."

"We ran into a girl there, a Swedish girl in some distress, and we helped her get back to civilization, then Charley and I took off for Bermuda."

"On Gemini?" Deborah asked.

"Yes. We were running from a line of hurricanes just forming up north of the Canary Islands. I'd thought about heading to the Azores but decided to keep west of them and headed north, for the Gulf Stream. We ducked into Hamilton and took on supplies, but left when reports showed the newest storm heading towards Bermuda.

"Anyway, I went out on deck one morning and Charley -- was trying to pee. I mean trying hard, then blood came out. A lot of blood. She passed away later that day. I knew she had tumors, knew this might happen, but I was selfish and couldn't put her down. I wanted her with me as long as possible, you see."

"Why's that?" Elizabeth asked.

"She was the last bit of Jennifer I had. We picked her out together, we raised her together. Jennifer held on to Charley at the end, and, I don't know, Charley was the glue that held us together through that moment. Before she passed, when Jennifer passed, I mean, she asked Charley to take care of me. I don't know how else to say this, but I think Charley understood all that. It's hard for me to describe, but I grew as close to that dog after that as I ever had to anyone or anything ever before. She became my friend, and I loved her like a friend. And then she left me too."

He took a long pull on his coffee, held this new Charley close to his chest -- letting his warmth soak into her little body. He felt her licking his chin and smiled at her, at the echoes he felt in her eyes.

"So she was gone. I was going to wrap her in sail cloth -- when she came. The dolphin, I mean. I had lowered sail at that point, and we were was just sitting out there, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. About going on, I mean. And that's when I saw her, when she came to me."

"You mean, out there? When your dog died?" Whittington said, incredulous.

"Yup. And I carried Charley down to her, got into the water with her. I held on to them both out there, like I did earlier. The same way Jennifer held on to her. After a while she took Charley from me, carried her away.

"I wanted to die then, in that moment." He looked at the pup in his arms, feeling echoes of that moment drifting through his mind's eye. "Then she was back. I have no idea how long I'd been in the water, but we were in the Gulf Stream then or I'd have passed from hypothermia. She pushed me back to the boat, forced me aboard. And here she is. She won't leave me, so from time to time I go in with her. I think she understands more than I'd care to admit, but now she's my link to Charley, who was my link to Jennifer. And I don't want her to leave me now."

"Holy Mother of God," Elizabeth sighed. "Now, that's one I've never heard before."

"You're not, like, a schizophrenic or anything like that, are you?" Whittington said.

Collins laughed. "I wish. That would be a tidy explanation, wouldn't it?"

"Indeed it would, and I wouldn't believe you for one minute if I hadn't seen this for myself."

Collins looked at the man again. "It's been a very odd period of my life."