Cedric

Cedric, the Conservative Canadian Civil Servant

As he watched the cold, grey, spray of New Year's Day 2015 splash over the deck of the somewhat battered Government launch he couldn't help but wonder for the thousandth time what he had done to offend Geoffrey Parsons back at the Ministry in Ottawa. Cedric had liked Ottawa, with its mixture of languages and cultures. One of the unexpected things about him was that he was good with languages. Fat lot of good that was doing him today, he groused silently.

He thought back to his comfy small flat within walking distance of the Ministry. In retrospect, he realized what an easy life he had had. He got up at a regular hour. He had a simple breakfast of coffee, cereal, and fruit at his breakfast nook, read the Daily Mail, and then got dressed for his short walk to work after a short but cleansing shower. Once at work, it was the same old, same old. But, he now realized, that was comforting as well. He saw the same people every day, did the same work, which was mostly summaries of reports from around the world, with an occasional translation of them, and occasional meetings with others who did the same work to discuss any items of interest they had discovered to present to their superiors, including Dr. Parsons, looking for any synergies.

While Ottawa could be quite cold and snowy, he remembered it as being warm, especially now as he looked out at the white caps on the ocean and felt the gusts of wind penetrate even his thickest overcoat and hat. A passing sailor motioned him to go down below where it was warmer. Unfortunately, it was also even rockier than the deck down there, with a movement Cedric had never experienced before and certainly never wanted to experience ever again! Cedric had to pantomime a "no" answer and point to his stomach. The sailor gave him a warm smile of encouragement and continued on his tasks.

Cedric had never learned how to curse very well, growing up in conservative Protestant family in a small town in Saskatchewan, but he grimly wondered if he would soon acquire the knack.

After what seemed like (and actually was) hours, he finally saw a bit of land in the distance. However, this bit of land seemed to take after the ocean he was sailing on. It was just as gray and dark as the ocean, if not covered by white caps. The sailor he had seen earlier came by again and made a thumbs-up of encouragement, pointing at the land that was approaching quickly, if not quickly enough for Cedric. Cedric managed a wan smile in return and then focused all of his attention on the land and the small wharf and village that began to reveal itself out of the low clouds and misty rain.

"Fair Harbour" Cedric muttered to himself. Well, that was an ill-named place if ever there were one. The village couldn't contain even a thousand people, he knew, and that was pretty much what went for civilization on this barren rocky island somewhere north of Nova Scotia and south of Newfoundland. He knew he should be grateful that the island was still in the "warmer" waters, if just barely, of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. However, with the "weather" blowing in off the Atlantic in January, he merely supposed it would only take him longer to die in the water if he fell overboard, a notion he had considered for the last hour of the trip.

Cedric shook his head, angry with himself. "This, too, shall pass", he thought. His yeoman farmer English and Canadian ancestors would be giving him a stern frown of disapproval he knew. He also reminded himself that he hadn't been named Cedric for nothing. While he had no idea why Dr. Parsons had decided to exile him to this end of the world (all Dr. Parsons would say was, "This experience will develop your character, Cedric"), he also knew this assignment would not last forever. He would get back to Ottawa, some day. For now, he just had to try to make the best of it and keep a stiff upper lip.

The launch finally got past the breakwater and the seas calmed down enough for Cedric to scope out Fair Harbour more closely. After several minutes of perusal, he wished he hadn't. All he could see were gray clapboard houses, tightly closed against the weather, with only occasional spots of color, showing an effort to avoid the bleakness that seized Cedric's heart. In an effort to keep his spirits up, he wondered which of these buildings would be the "Government House" where he would be living while he spent his exile here. He quickly decided it would be no grandiose structure based on what he could see of the dwellings of the village. As the only representative of the central government on the island, he hoped his housing would be at least warm and in good repair, showing the respect the far-off government in Ottawa was due, even here at the end of the earth, or at least at the end of the country.

He waited as patiently as he could while the launch spent an interminable amount of time jockeying back and forth until it finally found the exact right place to shelter in. As soon as it was settled, sailors on board and longshoremen from the village started carrying boxes, barrels, and crates off the ship to warehouses near the wharf. Again, he had to wait his turn until the first flurry of activity was done and the gangplank was clear for his departure. As he walked down the plank (where had that metaphor come from he wondered and then he knew), he noticed that the sailors weren't bringing much back from the warehouses to the launch. This observation set off new questions about the economy of the island. He had dutifully done his background research before leaving Ottawa on his journey to the end of nowhere, but found almost nothing about the island's economy, except that it was a much in-vogue tourist destination. Looking around again, now that he was stepping onto the cobblestones of the village, he wondered who the hell (there, he was already doing better cursing) had come up with that description of Fair Harbour! With great difficulty, he tried to imagine the village in full summer, with a calm sea, a sky without clouds, and a warm breeze flowing in from the verdant fields around the village. No, he decided quite firmly. No, not possible. Not here. Not ever.

He noticed that the friendly sailor put in an appearance again and was asking about helping him move his personal belongings from the launch. Reluctantly he boarded the launch again and showed the sailor what he had brought with him into exile and which had nearly filled up his "stateroom". The sailor only raised his eyebrows and said something about getting some help and vanished. Once again Cedric was forced to wait. However, at least he was finally warm and the boat had calmed down to only slightly nausea-inducing swells. Sooner than expected the sailor returned with a couple of other sturdy young lads and started to hoist his stuff onto deck and then down the plank.

Cedric expected a horse and carriage to pick up his stuff, so firmly convinced he was that he had left civilization far behind. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see that a delivery van was waiting for the sailors in the square facing the wharf. He was motioned to get into the front seat with the driver and the friendly sailor for the trip to the Government House and noticed that two other sailors climbed into the back of his van with his stuff.

He was rather unpleasantly crammed between the two men, the driver and the sailor, and couldn't avoid touching his legs and shoulders to theirs. Cedric was an only child and had never been forced to spend too much time with others in any activity that required physical contact, something he appreciated when he was old enough to understand that. Yes, he played soccer, like everybody else, and even played some (Canadian, of course) football. But the popular sports of wrestling and rugby he could easily avoid. He had had friends growing up and at college in Regina and had dated of course. However, somehow or other, he had avoided being too close physically (with certain exceptions of course!) with others, especially men. While he was not completely sure, he wondered if the guys on either side of him weren't crowding him on purpose. A bit angry at himself once again, he subtly pushed back at the guys with his shoulders and legs. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a quick smile on both of their faces. With a satisfied nod, he decided he had passed his first test in Fair Harbour.

In not too much time (and how could it take much time in a village this small) he saw what unmistakably had to be the Government House, including the requisite Maple Leaf flag trying hard to wave gaily, if rather unsuccessfully.

The house was as small as expected, although it did have two stories. He noticed immediately that it was at the edge of town with only snow-covered meadows behind it. He dared hope for a minute that these same fields would be covered with wildflowers and butterflies in the summer. He then shook his head at his fantasy and came back to reality. The sailors had no trouble entering the house (was anything locked in a village this small and remote?) and dumped his suitcases and parcels where he hoped he wanted them. The downstairs had what appeared to be an office and a reception area as well as a kitchen and a formal entertaining room, with furniture that had seen better days fifty years ago. The upstairs also had a WC but also had a full bath with a bathtub and a shower. He resisted the temptation to turn on the taps to see if he had hot water right then and there but decided to test that out as soon as he was alone. When the sailors had left and refused a gratuity he had thought to offer them at the last minute, he realized he was alone and very, very, alone. He was in a strange place at the end of the world where he knew nobody and nobody knew him. Even the friendly sailor would soon be on his way back to Sydney. Suddenly he missed the touch of the sailor's and the driver's legs and shoulders. He shook his head at himself and continued his exploration of his new residence.

All in all, it was not that bad he finally decided. He suddenly became aware that he was warm. Thank God someone had seen fit to turn on what heat there was and it worked! Thank God again for small (well, maybe not so small) favours. After unpacking a bit and taking off his heavy and wet outer clothes and was down to his ever-present coat, tie, dress pants and dress shoes, he realized he was really hungry. They had left Nova Scotia early in the morning and the weather had been strong enough so that he had not been very interested in food. Now that the rocking had stopped and he was warm and more comfortably dressed, his stomach made it clear that it was its turn. It was after lunch time he realized, too. And he wondered if this Godforsaken island was on Nova Scotian time or Newfoundland time? He shook his head again at his idiocy. Who the fuck cares, he thought. Again, he was pleased by his cursing. Smiling to himself he made his way to the kitchen and realized someone (who?) had left a nice lunch for him in the refrigerator, of sandwiches, crisps, and fruit, as well as a choice of waters to go with. Bless you, you unknown benefactor, he thought, as he sat at the kitchen table and began to satisfy his appetite.

He had just finished his much appreciated lunch, rinsed the dishes, tidied up, and put the bit of uneaten food and drink back in the refrigerator, when the doorbell rang out, playing the opening bars of "Oh Canada". Chuckling despite himself at the inappropriateness of that, he hurried to the door to see who his first visitor would be.

Well, whoever he expected to see, it was not this older and slightly dowdy woman at his doorstep. She greeted him by name and came on into the house without asking. Cedric was rather nonplussed at the informality of her entrance. She noticed his look and said, "Oh, dearie, don't you be worried about old Sal now. I'm here to make sure all is right with you and the house." He nodded at that, figuring she must be a sort of housekeeper equivalent. She noticed his face relaxing and then bustled on into the kitchen. There she made a noise of approval as she saw that he had eaten and cleared away the remains. She then took off her overcoat and hung it up on a hook on the back of the door and started to work on what he presumed would be supper. She started to hum as she got items out of the pantry and the larder he hadn't noticed, so hungry he had been. Her tuneless humming started to bother him so he decided conversation was in order, if nothing else than to interrupt that.

"So, Sal, is it?" She nodded at him as she continued to work away. "Quite obviously, I'm new here and am quite unsure about how everything works. Would you enlighten me a bit?"

Not missing a beat in her humming, she said, "Well, Mr. Cromwell, I'm just old Sal, but I can help maybe. I'm your cook and housekeeper, here in the Government House. I'll be in in the mornings to set up your meals for the rest of the day and will leave your breakfast in the icebox for the next day. (Icebox?) Today I'm off schedule since we didn't know what day you would arrive for sure. Rumour had it that it was today, but you never know what with the weather we have this time of year. However, I'm glad I made you lunch today and glad you seemed to have liked it, too." He had to nod at that and thanked Sal for his meal. "Oh, don't mention it, sir", she exclaimed. "It's me job, you know." Cedric was at a loss for words for a minute but then continued, "So, is there anyone else in the House? Is there a receptionist or someone to help me keep track of appointments and that kind of thing?" She stopped her work in surprise. "Um, pardon me sir, but you'll be doing that yourself. And you'll find that not to be a problem. We're used to taking care of ourselves here. We'll try not to bother you overly much." Once again, he was sort of at a loss for words. "Well then, I assume that I do keep regular hours here and that I'll be receiving requests involving the Government during my hours?" Again, she looked surprised. "Forgive me sir. You'll find that you have plenty of time for your needs and your interests here." After saying that she gave him a very appraising look, studying him intensely. He quickly became uncomfortable. Cedric was used to people ignoring him and giving him scant attention. To have someone study him this way was very unusual. "I'm not sure I understand, Sal. My needs and my interests? How do they matter to my job here as representative of the government on this island? Sal, blushed a tiny bit and said, "You'll have to excuse me sir. Sometimes I say things that make no sense. That comes from being an old woman." She went back to her work of preparing supper with a vengeance, clearly showing that the conversation was at an end.

Well this was a bit mysterious, Cedric thought, as he went into the reception area off of the kitchen and started to look around for more clues about what his position would entail. Dr. Parsons had been very unhelpful when Cedric had asked him about it back in Ottawa. His only answer was that Cedric would see what it was about when he got there.

Cedric looked at the receptionist's desk to find it bare of any papers or even an appointment book. He opened the drawers in the desk, hoping for any information, but found them also bare. From there he went to what surely would be his own desk as Government Representative and found the same emptiness both on and in the desk. Puzzled, he looked at the bookshelves for assistance, but found only volumes on flora and fauna of the Maritime Provinces and fairly standard novels, none of which were newer than twenty years. Well, he thought, at least he'd have something to do. He could catch up on his reading. Still puzzled, he heard Sal come in from the kitchen.

"Excuse me, sir", she began. "If I might be making a suggestion, why don't you go out and explore a bit and work up an appetite. I'm making my specialty, a beef Wellington. You'll want to have an appetite for that, I dare say. And, begging your pardon, would it be alright if George and Suzette stop by to share the meal with you?" Again, he looked nonplussed. "Sorry, sir. I should have said Mr. Bowers and Miss Bowers. They are brother and sister and they wanted to meet you tonight and welcome you to the island. They sort of lead our discussions about the island." He nodded his acquiescence, hoping he might discover more about his new job, and wondered what Sal meant by `they lead our discussions about the island'.

Nevertheless, he decided to take Sal up on her suggestion. He bundled himself up in his heavy overcoat and hat and prepared to take a walk of discovery. Sal noticed his preparations from the kitchen and said, "Pardon me sir. You'll find that it is quite a bit warmer than when you arrived outside. Our weather here is quite unpredictable though. So, even if you don't need your heavy coat for now, take it just in case."

Cedric couldn't imagine any improvement in the horrible weather that had greeted him upon his arrival but decided to take Sal's advice. After all, she lived here and was from here. He took off his heavy coat but kept his hat and stepped outside.

Much to his surprise, Sal was right. The temperature, while not balmy, was certainly above freezing and the sun had come out. The sun even felt a bit warm on his suit-clad body. He wandered around the neighborhood, a bit aimlessly at first. Despite the suddenly nice weather no one was about. All of the houses remained closed up. If it weren't for smoke coming from some of the chimneys he might have wondered if he weren't living in a deserted neighborhood. What snow had been in the streets had started to melt and he wished he was wearing his galoshes to cover his dress shoes. Abandoning the village, he turned toward the fields behind his house. To his delight he discovered a track that was paved with stones and led up the hill behind the Government House. The track was elevated enough so that there weren't the same kind of snowmelt puddles he had experienced in the village streets. Slowly and carefully, in his dress clothes, he climbed the track toward the top of the hill behind his residence. It wasn't a long trek and he soon reached the top. Up here the wind did regain some of its strength and he put his overcoat and hat back on.

He looked out into the distance. All he could see was some of the rest of the small island and water, water, and more water. There was no Nova Scotian mainland visible, nor the big island of Newfoundland. It was as if he were in a time and place out of time and out of place. He shook his head and smile a bit ruefully at that thought and wondered where that had come from. No matter. Time to return to reality. It must have been later than he thought. The sun was already starting to set and the wind picked up in intensity. The thought of the warm Government House became quite enticing. While he thought he hadn't walked that far, his appetite was back and he was anticipating Sal's beef Wellington! He walked more quickly on the downhill return and was soon back at the house. He opened the door (not bothering to knock since he lived there!) to the sound of laughter and the smell of a wonderful meal. Everyone turned to see him and greet him.

There were two people with Sal, George and Suzette, he assumed. They both came up to him and shook his hand, introducing themselves, and then began to study him just as intensely as Sal had. Once again he found that uncomfortable and unexpected. He finally decided that people in this isolated out of the way outpost of civilization didn't see many new people and, as a result, were just that interested in newcomers. He tried to study George and Suzette intensely in return, but really didn't see much out of the ordinary. They were both average height and average in appearance, and both probably in their 40s. George did have a bit of white in his well-trimmed beard and sideburns. Suzette had no white in her hair at all. Both looked like you would expect the leaders of a small maritime village. George could easily have been or be a sea captain with his cap and his pipe. Suzette was a bit full-figured and probably had most of the men in town wrapped around her little finger (!). Both had blue eyes, but George's were more grey and Suzanne's more sky.

Soon they began to speak and welcomed him warmly to Fair Harbour. Again, that name, although Cedric guessed that few villages would call themselves, Bad Harbour, or Evil Harbour. After several minutes of conversation Cedric began to be struck by a few things though. They mentioned very few other people in the village and preferred to talk about the weather and its sudden changes, his trip from Ottawa, and asked questions about the upcoming Parliamentary races. As a loyal Conservative, Cedric immediately began to talk about the Prime Minister in glowing terms and pooh-poohed any possible challenge, including one from the young upstart son of Pierre Trudeau. Sal broke in on Cedric's monolog to serve dinner, which was very good. Cedric wondered how Sal had gotten some of the ingredients way out here in the winter for some of the side dishes and dessert. Well, guess she must have a lot of freezer space and good freezing technique. He grinned a bit at that thought.

They had had a non-alcoholic cider with the meal that had gone better with the beef than Cedric has expected. But afterwards, Sal brought out a bottle of brandy and glasses for the men. Suzette demurred saying she didn't touch hard liquor. George made sure Cedric had plenty to drink as they continued to chat.

Without quite realizing what he was doing, Cedric began to tell the story of his life, how he grew up on the windswept plains of the Prairies as an only child. He talked about his schooling and how he was no longer close with his parents, who had finally had enough of the snow and cold and had moved to some sunnier and warmer clime--he wanted to say South Carolina, but wasn't sure. He certainly hadn't been there to visit. He was much too busy in Ottawa with the ministry. Even phone calls had become irregular.

George also asked him quite indirectly about relationships and dating. Cedric didn't have much to report here. Once again, he was much too busy for anything like a dating relationship. He did go out from time to time, but that was it.

George seemed genuinely interested in Cedric's life, or lack thereof. Even through the buzz of brandy, Cedric wondered why. He tried to turn the conversation back onto George or Suzette, but both appeared to be masters in the art of polite conversation that revealed nothing about them.

Cedric was happy when, finally, a brandy trifle arrived for dessert. His head was starting to hurt a bit and he had had a very long and odd day and was ready to relax with one of the novels from the bookshelf and fall asleep. Both George and Suzette had nothing much to say of consequence until they both prepared to leave after compliments to Sal for the wonderful meal. George got Cedric aside while Sal and Suzette were talking about recipes. He said to Cedric, "Cedric, you might notice some things you might not have expected here. We're a small island and a small community, but we have long been a resort community--in the summer that is!--and we do have a lot of interesting people who have decided to live here. You'll get a chance to meet them I'm sure, especially now that it's winter and most of the permanent population don't leave the island then." He also looked at Cedric quite seriously for a second and said, "If you get confused ever about your job or anything here, please don't hesitate to come see me and talk about anything." With that rather enigmatic comment he turned to his sister and both bade him goodnight. Sal left soon after, reminding him that he had breakfast in the fridge waiting for him.

Shaking his head a bit, he decided to forego the novel and head to bed. He was delighted to see a modern thermostat in both the downstairs and upstairs. Although it was still warmer than when he arrived, he did decide to leave both thermostats at a reasonable twenty degrees. He wandered upstairs and brushed his teeth and then took off his formal clothes and hung them up to wear for work tomorrow. He looked in the full-length mirror in the bathroom, before putting on his pajamas, and was rather startled to see he looked better naked than he had remembered looking. While he belonged to a gym in Ottawa, he wasn't as much of a regular there as he should have been. However, his 190 cm height helped make up for his lack of working out. He shook his head at the trick the mirror was playing on him and then also wondered why a small Government House would have a full-length mirror in an upstairs bathroom? He shook his head again at the oddities of the world and the Canadian Government. He settled down in the surprisingly comfortable bed and woke up to bird cries around seven in the morning.

Oh my God, he thought. This is late! He hurriedly ran to the bathroom, took his morning shower, avoided looking into the full-length mirror, and got dressed in his suit for work. He was surprised that the suit didn't fit him quite right. The waist was fine, but the pants legs were tighter than normal and the coat didn't fit him quite right. He was stretching the chest and the arms in his coat in unexpected ways. Hmm. He ate the surprisingly good breakfast Sal had left him and drank the very good coffee that was set up for him to grind and make (must be the good water here, he thought) and then tried to plan for his first day at work. He checked his emails and phone texts first. Nothing much, although Cedric was glad to find out that there was data available for his mobile phone and internet on the Island. After his surprises of yesterday and George's odd conversation anything from his previous life seemed like a sort of anchor and an oasis to him. Dr. Parsons had sent him an email saying he was glad Cedric had arrived safely but his email contained nothing else of interest. For a minute Cedric wondered how Dr. Parsons knew he had arrived safely since he hadn't checked in last night via his computer or phone. He then decided that the captain of the boat must have sent off a message.

Cedric cleared away the breakfast and dishes and tried to make as little of a job for Sal to deal with as possible. He then went to the front door of the Government House. He made sure it was unlocked. He opened it and looked out on the street below. Surprisingly, it was another decent day. It almost felt like spring, even though he knew it couldn't be. He had a sudden desire to put on hiking clothes and go explore the meadows he wondered if were clear of snow. He shook his head at his folly and then raised the blinds and opened the shutters on the House. He wanted to be sure anyone passing by knew he was in residence and ready for business.

At 9 o'clock he made sure the heavy front door to the House was slightly ajar to show he was inside. At 10 o'clock after checking his phone and email messages a hundred times he wondered if he should leave the House and go looking for business on his own, outside, since nothing had happened in his first hour on the job. At 11, he started to get really bored, waiting. He grabbed one of the novels off the shelf in his small library, but couldn't get interested in the story. At noon, he wondered if he should eat lunch. He finally decided to and put a small "Closed" sign on the main door he lettered by hand since he couldn't find anything like that in the empty desk and office area. Once again, he found Sal's cooking to be much better than expected. He enjoyed his lunch quite a bit. Somehow she made turkey sandwiches with cheese and mustard become a treat. And the water from the tap in the kitchen was quite embracing as well.

He took down his closed sign at 1 and then waited again. Around 2 he had had very much enough of waiting for business, thank you, when he got up to explore the town and look for business on his own. Surely there had to be people in this town looking for help of some kind or other!

At that moment, the Oh Canada doorbell rang. He almost ran to the door in his eagerness to do something besides wait, but managed to retain his decorum. Upon reaching and opening the door, he was quite surprised to find a very lovely young woman on his doorstep. She looked to be not much younger than his own thirties, but in full bloom, if that description left over from his Prairies days made sense. She had very dark hair, startling blue eyes, a milky complexion, and seemed to have a nice body under her clothes that managed to reveal that, despite being modest.

He found himself staring at her in an intense manner and realized that what he doing was very similar to how he had been studied the previous evening. He managed not to blush upon this realization.

She appeared to accept his appraisal as quite natural and stepped into the room through the open door. She shook his hand in a delicate and firm grip (and how was that possible he wondered?) and introduced herself. "Good afternoon, Councillor Cromwell. I'm Claire Lafontaine. I'm sort of the "go-for" (she pronounced it "gopher") for the `Island Council', or whatever you might like to call it. The Council would like to have a welcoming reception for you tonight at the town hall if you would be able to attend. I know this is quick notice for you, but the Council has been waiting for your arrival for a long time and is ready to welcome you tonight if that would be agreeable to you." And then she gave him a demure smile and, "On vous attendrait avec beaucoup de plaisir ce soir." He shook his head at the sudden French. She certainly had a charming accent in French as well as English. In fact, he decided he couldn't tell which language was her native language.

Cedric thought for a minute and wanted to say no. But he was so bored and was very anxious for something to do. The thought of another day and night all by himself was not that appealing. He figured Suzette and George would be at the reception, if it happened, and that he would be all by himself tonight if he didn't give his ok to it. Trusting his gut, and that was unusual for him, he figured that Dr. Parsons would want him to try to understand the island culture and would think he should accept this invitation, no matter how improper it was. And, goodness knows, he had nothing else going on tonight. He finally shook his head, yes. He agreed to go. Claire beamed in delight and he had not to stare. She really was lovely and she seemed so natural and fresh, not looking like so many women he had met in Ottawa who seemed to be very old before their time. Soon, however, he realized that he had no clue about the evening and this reception. He figured that it would be formal and he should wear one of his really formal dress suits or his tux. He then asked Claire about dress and asked about if the reception were evening formal dress. He could tell it took her a minute to process his request. "Oh, no", she said. "This is a fancy-dress occasion. We are all wearing costumes. This helps relieve the winter boredom here. We're combining our normal Mardi Gras fancy dress party with your reception!"

Well at this, Cedric was really confused. He thought Mardi Gras, or the beginning of Lent, was not tonight, but at least a few weeks away. She sensed his confusion, but instead of answering the question on his mind, she said, "Oh Councillor, don't worry about your fancy dress. There will be costumes for you to choose from, from previous Councillors. Sal will lay them out for you to choose from before the reception." And she looked at him with a subtle and demure grin and said, "Councillor, there will be no business for you to attend to today with everyone getting ready for the reception tonight. Might I suggest that you take advantage of our unexpectedly fine weather today and explore the Island a bit? I believe that there are hiking clothes that the previous Councillor left upstairs that might fit you and be appropriate for this exploration." After he nodded at all of that she continued, "And Councillor Cromwell, I'll drop by about seven to walk you over to the party." Again, he nodded his acquiescence. At that she left him, leaving him more than confused. He thought about contacting George or Dr. Parsons, but was convinced this was a test of some kind. He went upstairs and rummaged through the closets he hadn't investigated the previous day in the bedroom. To his surprise the closets were much bigger than expected. And soon he found hiking clothes. He figured they were much larger than he needed but was glad to have extra room. He winced a bit when he realized that the shirt that would fit was sleeveless, but was glad to have overclothes, too. And all the clothes fit. In fact, even the hiking boots fit. He wondered how in the hell that could be?

Smiling at his profanity, he got dressed with as little fuss as possible and then strode out of the house, but not before putting the "closed" sign up. He easily remembered the path out of town and was glad to have hiking boots on that made short work of the puddles and was again surprised as to how well they fit. This time he strode beyond the hill and its view and explored the meadows, that, while not verdant, seemed to have life happening that could flower. While it was not warm or spring-like in reality, the sun was very intense. He decided this was a really Northern sun. He had to strip down to his sleeveless tee and shorts for a short while. With his fair skin, despite his very dark hair, he suddenly worried about sunburn. But his gut told him the exposure would be so short as not to worry. Indeed, the hot sun did feel good, but it soon went behind clouds and he covered up. He walked for quite a while and then when he realized it was getting dark he almost sprinted to get back to the Government House. Thankfully he still had time to shower again and decide what to wear to the reception tonight before Claire (Miss LaFontaine?) came to pick him up for the party. He was hungry, though, but when he went into the kitchen he saw that Sal had left him a mild repast with the note that he would be eating later and this was just "to tide him over". He wolfed down the mini quiches she had left and wondered at himself. Evidently the island air agreed with him somehow.

He went upstairs and showered and cleaned up. He didn't know what to do with his hiking clothes but decided to leave them on top of some kind of hamper that might be for dirty clothes. He again avoided looking into the trick mirror. He felt different in his body but knew that was ridiculous. He didn't want to look in the mirror and see a lie. He looked over the clothes Sal had laid out for him on the bed from previous Councillors from fancy-dress parties in the past. They all looked big and slightly risqué in a silky material. But then after a more focused perusal he realized that they were all Canadian superhero costumes. In the Prairies, he hadn't grown up with much in the way of comic books, especially not Canadian super hero comic books. Nevertheless, he recognized the spandex costumes as heroes from the covers of comic books he had seen from time to time growing up and in kiosks at University in Regina and in Ottawa. After scanning the pile of clothing, he didn't know what to pick from the costumes for the fancy-dress reception. They all seemed wildly inappropriate. In desperation, he sent a high-priority note off to Dr. Parsons trying to explain the situation as well as he could. To his huge surprise Dr. Parsons answered him immediately from his mobile and texted, "Do what you think is needed, Cedric." Well, hell, and he amused himself by cussing again. He knew he was in over his depth and he had no one to help him. He sorted through the costumes and was glad that they were labeled. Hmm. Captain Canuck, Sasquatch, the Guardian... Somehow none of those seemed right. The maple leaf over the nether parts and rather garish red of Captain Canuck was just too much. So was the big hairy Sasquatch costume. He liked the name, "The Guardian", but the bright red and white of the Canadian flag, just like that of Captain Canuck, didn't work for him here either. Then he saw the black and silver of Northstar. That seemed more like a formal fancy dress costume. Although there was something about Northstar that seemed important that he couldn't remember.

He put on the Northstar costume and was surprised at how well it fit. Once again he avoided the mirror in the bathroom. But he figured that he could wear this, especially with his old jock strap on that hid his crotch. He had discovered in high school dressing rooms that he had a cock that was noticed, even soft, and he did not want that to be noticed in public, especially in a reception for him before the important people on the island, wearing something he would never dared to have worn in public previously. "Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound", he thought. And when on the island, do things the island way! At this point he did chuckle out loud and was surprised to hear the sound. He didn't remember ever chuckling in his flat in Ottawa.

It was nearly seven so he put on his overcoat and hat and was glad his coat was ankle length. It was bad enough to have to wear something this skin-tight in public, but at least he had something to cover it up in the streets. Unfortunately, however, he would have to wear the knee-high black vinyl boots that matched his outfit and hoped there wouldn't be much in the way of mud along the route to the party.

Right at the dot of seven the "Oh Canada" rang out. He went down the stairs and opened the door to find Claire (yes, Claire, and not Miss Lafontaine) waiting. She was also dressed in an overcoat that covered up her costume. She smiled at him and declined his offer to come in, saying they should go ahead and go on to the reception to meet people from the island. And then she spoke to him in French again, using the "tu" form as if they had known each other for a while. He unconsciously responded in kind in French and then shook his head at himself. They chatted for several minutes in French as they walked down the surprisingly dry streets of Fair Harbour. He paid little attention to where they were going since he was engaged in conversation and was surprised, again, at how natural it was to be speaking with Claire in French. It was almost as if he had known her for a very long time and that they had normally spoken in that language. Again, he shook his head in wonderment. His French had always been excellent, at least by Anglophone terms. He had enjoyed learning it in an immersion school and refining it over a couple of summers in Chicoutimi (Saguenay) in Québec. But now he felt a completely new feeling of ease in the language. He also wondered at his ease with Claire and why he wasn't attracted to her, despite her obvious beauty.

Soon enough, they reached their goal. Cedric could hear that the party was already in full swing. He briefly glanced at his watch and saw it was nearly nine PM. How could that be? They couldn't have walked for more than twenty minutes to reach here. Claire distracted him at that point and indicated that they should go inside what appeared to be a fairly large warehouse. However, it had been decorated in a beautiful Mardi Gras style and it was filled with people dressed gaily in a number of costumes. He saw princesses and princes, kings and queens, knights and ladies, lumberjacks and pioneer women, sports stars and movie stars of all stripes, and others. Some costumes were impossible to characterize and he finally decided they must represent old island customs all the way back to First Nations.

He had been glad to have on his long winter coat for the trip across town but the warehouse was quite warm. However, he wasn't sure about taking it off and revealing his tight costume either. Claire looked at him and as if reading his mind, she said, "Come on, it will be fine. You'll see". Eventually he saw that there was no choice and moved behind Claire to take off his coat and give it to the hat check person. She gave a bit of a gasp of surprise as she saw him in his costume. Cedric started to blush and wished he had had a drink of some kind before coming to this fête. Dutch courage, he knew, but he was quite willing to be Dutch tonight! That thought helped him cross the hallway to the main entrance to the warehouse and the party. But then when Claire and he entered the room, the music stopped suddenly, and a voice announced in a loud voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our honored guest, Lord Northstar, and his sister, Lady Aurora!" There was a very loud welcoming applause before the music resumed. Cedric's thoughts were all a jumble. Lady Aurora? He finally concentrated on Claire and realized that she was also dressed in a superhero costume, one that matched him in colors, even if it certainly showed a different body type! He had no time to focus on her curves, however, as they were both led into what quickly became a reception line with all of the guests coming forward to meet them and introduce themselves, both with their real names as well as their costume roles. For Cedric, this became quickly a jumble of people, names, costumes, along with background sound and music. He was suddenly very grateful for Claire at his side, helping him with names. Someone unseen also soon, bless them (!), gave him a stiff drink, which allowed him to focus more on individuals and not feel quite so oppressed by the mass of people. However, his civil servant training did come to his aid soon enough. Claire also helped by repeating the guests' names in a way that helped him realize whom she saw as important and who was less so. He began to nod as he picked up on her verbal cues. She gave him a quick smile of admiration when she saw him understand.

Although it seemed forever, the line of guests soon reached its end and Claire and Cedric were in a space that gave them some breathing room. It was then that Claire cleared her throat in a significant way and turned toward two more guests that he hadn't met yet. They were an oddly matched pair, a man and a woman who couldn't be more different at first glance, yet there was some kind of symmetry about them he didn't understand at all. As befitting, Claire introduced "Lady Jane Grey" to him first. Lady Jane quickly added that her real name was Judith Lavoisier. Lady Jane did seem to fit her though. She did look both royal and young. She had a distinguished manner but also was welcoming and kind in her appearance and her speech. And she was lovely! The attraction Cedric hasn't felt for Claire was suddenly awakened by Jane/Judith! Her features were fine and elegant, but again softened by her manner. He guessed that she could be most formidable if needed but that that was not her norm. Truly here was both a queen and a lady he thought in admiration. And he was glad that he worn the jock strap to conceal his sexual interest in her, too. She seemed quite glad at his interest in her and a bit amused as well. However, this must be a constant in her life he decided. Who could not be interested in her!

But then Claire drew his attention to the other guest, who introduced himself as Heathcliff, who then added he was also John Lawrence. After Judith's obvious beauty Cedric found himself, at first, at a loss by Heathcliff/John and was confused by the contrast. While Judith was clearly around thirty and in full bloom, Heathcliff/John was certainly in his forties, and perhaps, even fifty. He had very strong features and was very, very, masculine. His outfit, while formal in cut, managed to reveal a strong body with wide shoulders, a thin waist, and long legs. He was, perhaps, a half inch taller than Cedric, but he was much thinner, even though his shoulders, his way of holding himself, and his demeanor gave him a masculine grace that Cedric thought he had never seen before. He noticed Cedric's study of him and smiled a sudden and quick smile that made Cedric's heart stop! It was as if the whole room had suddenly burst into light with an incandescence that illuminated just the two of them. Time stopped as well as his heart. Cedric was shaken to his very core. This had never, ever, happened to him!

As it must, time resumed. Cedric found himself with another stiff drink put into his hands. He tore his eyes away from John and tried to smile and reacquire some semblance of normality and propriety. And seeing both Claire in her wonder woman outfit with all of her perfect curves and Judith in her royal finery, elegance, and grace steadied him. However, he did not dare look back at John, at least not now. Both of the women seemed not to have noticed anything out of the ordinary and both engaged him a light and desultory conversation about the other guests and how wonderful everyone's costumes were. When he was finally able to turn back to John he was crushed to not find him there. Claire noticed his look of disappointment and explained that John was a writer and not a night owl and that he arose at first light to write on his latest work. When Cedric inquired as to what that might be, neither woman seemed to know. However, Judith said he must be successful with it, since he had a lovely place here on the island. Not being able to help himself, Cedric asked where that was. Both women laughed softly and Claire said, "Oh, he keeps much to himself. In fact, I was surprised to find him here tonight." And then she looked at him appraisingly once again. "But I have heard that he does invite people for tea on occasion when he finds them interesting." Cedric suddenly wished with all his might and all his being that he would be one of those John found interesting. And then he shook himself mentally. What was wrong with him, he wondered. Here he was with two of the most beautiful and interesting women he had ever met and he was engrossed by a man! This wasn't the Cedric he knew! Shaking himself again, he returned to conversation with the women and then other guests approached them. At the stroke of eleven (where had the time gone?), everyone sat down to a wonderful Mardi Gras dinner of foie gras, coq au vin, pommes de terre Dauphinois, and other unexpected elegant dishes. His stiff drink was replaced by a deep red Bordeaux (a grand cru?) and then dessert mousse was finished with a lovely champagne right on the stroke of midnight.

Cedric then half expected all of the guests to turn into animals and have their costumes and finery vanish into thin air, feeling somehow to have been in some odd kind of magical and enchanted place tonight. However, no. Everyone came to their feet and began to make their good-byes. Claire reclaimed their coats and they began to walk back across town. Switching to French again they both talked about the party and how good the food and drink had been. They also commented on some of the guests and Claire made him laugh out loud with a couple of slightly scandalous stories about a few of them. When they reached the Government House Cedric was suddenly quite sorry the evening was over. He couldn't remember when he had had such a good time. He thought about inviting Claire in for a nightcap but she anticipated his thought and said she did have to get up tomorrow and go to work, even if that would not have to be early since the whole island had been out late it seemed. She laughed at this notion and he laughed as well, taken aback by how relaxed he was with her. It really was as if she was his sister and they had known each other for their whole lives. Again, he shook himself mentally and wondered at himself.

After an "au revoir", he entered the house and went upstairs. He turned on the bathroom light and remembered the trick mirror. He had to laugh at himself and asked the mirror, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" With tonight's magicality he half expected Judith or Claire to appear in the mirror, or John? Well, of course, the mirror only showed himself. But it showed a very handsome man, too. His muscles and body had tightened to look a lot like a super hero. He decided that was, once again, a trick of the light, the mirror, or maybe the costume, which built him up into a shape that wasn't his. However, his hair looked darker and his eyes bluer than he remembered. And his skin seemed darker as well. Must be the walks he was taking, he decided, and wondered about whether he needed to wear a hat. After looking at himself again, he decided he liked this look and wouldn't bother with the hat. He didn't seem to be at all damaged by the island sun.

Over the next few days he quickly developed a routine. He got up with the first light and took his first walk of the day. While it was quite cold in the morning, he noticed that it seemed to get a bit warmer every day. He began to appreciate the sound of the waves and surf and noticed when the tide was coming in and out. He started to explore the cliffs overlooking the sea a bit and tried not to disturb the bird nests he came upon in his wanderings. He came back to the house for a late breakfast and then checked his emails and messages. Dr. Parsons was kind to include him on department emails but Cedric soon stopped paying much attention to them. They all focused on Ottawa, the department, and national politics. For now, at least, that world seemed very far away from him and quite distant. He did read often then, too. He especially enjoyed the books on Maritime flora and fauna and started to learn the names of the various plants and birds he saw on his walks.

He ate a late lunch and then waited upon any business. To be frank, he had very little business. From time to time someone would stop by to chat and talk about island affairs. He began to learn more and more about the island and how it ran. He liked what he heard and started to take internal notes, not sure why, except that it interested him for some reason. From either early- or mid-afternoon he took a second walk focusing more on the interior of the island rather than the coast. He was surprised to see the beginnings of spring much sooner than expected and the very first wildflowers. The meadows in the middle of the island did start to turn the green that he had never expected possible when he arrived here so many months ago (months ago?).

He went out for dinner occasionally and, upon Sal's insistence, he hosted parties from time to time at the Government House as well. He did get to know the island's elite that way, but the diversity of the elite continually surprised him. It certainly included some wealthy retirees from Montréal and Toronto, but also included fishermen and their wives as well as some of the shopkeepers of the village and their wives. He was also surprised by some people of color and some people who looked First Nations. There were even some young people who couldn't be more than eighteen who seemed to be listened to by others. This was quite an unusual place he decided. He did see Claire and Judith at some of these functions and really enjoyed talking with them. He was still quite interested in Judith, but while she was engaging and kind, he could feel no real attraction and warmth from her. This really disappointed him and he wondered how this had happened and why. Nevertheless, the rest of his quiet life on the island was enough for him for now, although he occasionally wondered about John, whom he hadn't seen since that one occasion. He continued to shake his head at his reaction to John, figuring the stiff drinks or the odd atmosphere of the evening had gotten to him.

Lent passed and then Easter passed, all very quickly, it seemed. The temperature kept increasing until it was even warm during the middle of the day although still quite cool at night. Cedric started to walk shirtless in the afternoons, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his bare torso. Eventually, on very warm afternoons, he would yield to a new instinct in him and take off all of his clothes and be nude on a rug he had brought along.

From time to time he would look in the trick mirror, even nude. He continued to darken, but in a healthy way, and his hair became even darker and his eyes became a startling blue. His body did muscle up and firm up from the constant exercise. He was glad Sal was also an expert seamstress since she had to continually alter his clothes to fit his new body. "Ah, ye're a wonder, Mr. Cedric", she would say. "It's clear that ye're still young and growing." Well, he doubted that, but still.

More and more boats started arriving at the island. Full tourist season soon was upon them. He finally started to have more business at the Government House, but it was all fairly inconsequential. It seems the elite of the island helped make sure that he wasn't too bothered by the tourists and took care of a lot of the business that would normally come his way. At first he felt mildly guilty about that being paid by the government to do very little, it seemed. However, he was constantly reassured that he was doing just what he should do. Since there was not much else that he could do, he resigned himself to his quiet life and the solitude he had on his walks.

However, his life was disturbed when midsummer was approaching. Midsummer became a constant topic of conversation with everyone with whom he spoke and everyone mentioned how it was the wildest day of the year on the island and when the island filled to overflowing. He couldn't quite imagine how this tranquil place could be upset by a mere holiday. But looks became dark and conversations more whispered. He began to genuinely be worried. He had come to really like, maybe even love, this place, and hated the thought of anything that could affect it negatively. He sought out George and Suzanne first. But they merely turned a bit dark when asked about midsummers and all they would say was that it was a good thing when that day was past. Claire was of even less help. All she would say was that that day brought the very deepest part of you to the surface, which could be both good or not. All of this puzzled him. Since the island was so far north he knew there would be little night and that the sun would be at its most intense. However, the sun hadn't hurt him at all during his stay here, had it? What possibly could cause such unrest and worry here?

The only other thing bothering him was the constant email about the rise of Pierre Trudeau's son, Justin. People were even talking about him becoming the new Prime Minister. Cedric's Conservative soul was repulsed by the idea. He firmly believed that the Liberals were bad for Canada and that this, certainly charismatic, young man would wrench the country away from its deep-rooted values. But there was still time in the summer of 2015 for the Conservatives to take back the upper-hand. Surely this young man would fall by the wayside.

When it was just a couple of days from midsummer Cedric got an unexpected note. It was from John Lawrence, inviting him for tea on midsummer's. Cedric's heart started to pound as read this note over and over again. What was wrong with him anyway? And why now was he invited to see John, why now after months of not seeing John and for only a few minutes then? Why this sudden invitation now?

He sought out Claire to try to help him figure everything out. To his surprise after seeing the note, she took him into her arms and gave him a tight hug. She finally said, "Cedric, this will be a midsummer's you will never forget." She looked at him sadly, after that. He was extremely confused and showed it. "Mon frère, Cédric", she said, reverting to French. There is talk that the Liberals will win the election." He nodded his head in acknowledgement, even though he didn't really believe they would. "Et Cédric", she continued, "If they do win you will likely be called back to Ottawa and replaced here by one of their party. You have made it quite clear what your party affiliation is. You are not only a representative of our government, but also of your party." Well, of course he would! He was dumbfounded. He now understood her sadness and a tear formed in his own eyes, totally unexpected to him. "Cédric, je t'aime et je t'aimerai le reste de ma vie comme le frère que je ne l'avais pas auparavant." Then they both had tears and hugged each other. He stopped, though, and said, "But Claire, ma soeur, I will come back here whenever I can, the Liberals do win, and I certainly don't think they will win!" She merely nodded and gave no comment about the upcoming election. Before she left though, as a kind of parting comment she said to him though, "Cedric, be who you are. Always be who you are."

Those words bothered him more than he could say. She certainly intended something important by them. The last two days before midsummer's took a very long time to pass. They had an unusual heat wave and the whole island was baking. People stayed in cool homes in the shade, or even went into the still cold water, swimming, water that felt suddenly good and refreshing. Cedric had a found a largish pond in the middle of the island long ago and also discovered that no one else on the island seemed to know of its existence. In this heat he quickly stripped naked to go swimming in it during his afternoon walk. But then in the late afternoon of midsummer's as he approached it, wondering what he should wear to John's tea, who all would be there, and what kind of occasion it would be, he saw someone else was in it for the first time. How could that be, he wondered. How could someone be in "his" pond. Although he was angry and outraged, he also had to acknowledge how ridiculous that thought was. How could he have his own pond on this island? As he got closer he saw that the person was swimming strongly in it, getting some exercise as well as cooling off, it seemed. Then on a butterfly stroke he saw a naked butt in the air and saw immediately it was a man's butt. What? Who would come swim naked in his pond! Again, that feeling of ownership and resentment hit him. Who? Cedric settled down by the shallow part of the pond and waited for the swimmer to emerge. Eventually he did. The man remained in the water but came out enough for his face and upper body to show. It was John. Something clicked in Cedric then. John merely held out his hand in invitation, implying that Cedric should join him in the water. Since John was naked and since Cedric always swam here naked, there was no question of clothes. Cedric stripped down quickly and then joined John in the water.

There was no speech. They both swam strongly, enjoying the feel of the cool water on their strong naked bodies. Eventually they both tired and waded to the shallow part of the pond and then emerged, dripping. John led the way towards a rug and towels Cedric had not noticed before. There was also a large picnic hamper and John pointed to a couple of bottles of wine back in the pond, floating, but held down with some kind of weight. "Tea", was all John said.

Cedric could finally see all of John's body and admired it intensely. John was tall, broad shouldered, with a narrow waist, and long legs. He was tanned all over, and his longish brown hair and brown eyes, suddenly shone, and he smiled the smile that made Cedric's heart stop once again. John turned so that Cedric could see his strong back and small butt that Cedric had already admired before knowing whose it was. He turned back around and Cedric noticed John's long cock start stiffening. That was all it took for Cedric to go fully hard. John gave him that smile once again and John's own cock went to full erection. John then took Cedric by the hand and let him to the soft rug prepared for them. Very tentatively at first, they looked at each other intensely and admired each other's nakedness and masculinity. Then their faces got closer and closer and finally their lips touched. That touch of John's thin and moist lips let a fire in Cedric he never knew was there before! He was suddenly kissing John with a passion and a fire he had never felt. He took John's strong body in his arms and climbed on top of him, rubbing their naked torsos and crotches together.