I Bless the Rains

After he took the girls photos and produced the passports with the appropriate documentation, Cabot paid him and hustled the girls out of there and headed to the docks to see about transport to Réunion.

They were sitting on a bench at the dock, drilling the girls in their French, when a middle-aged couple strolled by. They were at first fascinated at the strangeness of the group in front of them, the white man, coffee-colored young woman and three brown young teen-agers. Hearing the French coming from the group, they approached, speaking in rapid-fire French.

Cabot held his hands up.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, "We're not that fluent, you either have to slow down or speak English."

"Pardonnez moi, I'm so sorry," said the woman with a charming French accent. "It's just that it's so unusual to hear my language spoken here. I'm afraid I don't understand, though. If you don't speak French, why are you speaking it here?"

Cabot laughed.

"I understand your confusion," he said. "Akeela and I are taking the girls to Réunion, and are trying to teach them as much French as we can so that it will be easier for them when we get there."

The woman was even more confused now.

"Please excuse me if I'm being too forward," she said, "but these girls don't appear like your daughters, and Akeela..."

Cabot nodded.

"Is much too young to be their mother."

Cabot laughed again.

"That is quite a long, strange tale, I'm sure you have things to do and I have to find passage to Réunion."

"Well, that is a remarkable coincidence Monsieur..."

"Preston, Cabot Preston. This is Akeela Nalangu, Kira, her sister Mora and their cousin Jema; and you are?"

"Marie DuBois, and this is my husband Jacques."

Jacques, who had yet to speak gave a friendly nod.

"You mentioned a 'coincidence,' Madame DuBois?" Cabot said.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Preston. You see, my husband and I were just preparing to sail back to Réunion. Maybe you could join us!"

At this point Jacques finally spoke up.

"Marie! We barely know these people. How can you so casually invite them to join us?"

"I haven't invited them YET, Jacques, I said 'maybe.' Monsieur Preston, why don't you join us on the 'Celeste' some coffee or tea, and you can tell us your story, tell us why we should help you?"

Jacques didn't seem too thrilled with the idea, but knew better than to argue with Marie when she set her mind to something.

Cabot looked to Akeela. They certainly had no other options at the moment, so they gathered up their belongings and followed Marie and Jacques until they reached one of the most beautiful yachts Cabot had ever seen. These people had some serious money.

The aft part of the yacht had a U-shaped bench around the back and sides, and the three girls sat there just taking in the sights, sounds and smells as the adults sat around a small patio table.

After Marie gave the girls milk and served coffee and tea with small pastries, she sat down and gazed seriously at Cabot.

"So, Cabot, please, why don't you share this 'long, strange tale' with us, hmm?

Cabot glanced at Akeela who nodded her approval, and proceeded to tell Marie and Jacques the salient points of their journey, leaving out some of the more personal details, and glossing over some of the uglier moments.

Marie was as shocked as one might expect, but Jacques seemed somewhat skeptical, so Cabot stood up and picked up his bag.

"Jacques," he said, "Could you please come into the cabin with me?"

Jacques and Marie were a bit perplexed, but Jacques stood up and followed Cabot into the cabin.

"Please excuse the mystery, Jacques, but what I'm going to show you is quite shocking, and when you see it I'm sure that you'll agree that we should spare Marie."

Jacques was still puzzled, but nodded his agreement.

"Please proceed, Monsieur Preston."

Cabot hooked his camera up to the yacht's big-screen and began his footage.

Cabot showed footage of young boys being forced to drill under the hot sun with rifles almost as big as they were until they dropped, sometimes kicked until they dragged themselves back to their feet.

If Jacques blanched at that footage, the next scenes caused him to lurch to the rail and empty his stomach, causing Marie to stand up, but he quickly motioned for her to sit back down, which she reluctantly did.

Jacques carefully made his way back into the cabin and sat down heavily, nervously glancing over to where Cabot still had the gang rape of the young girls frozen on the screen.

"I... I never knew such horror could exist," Jacques said slowly, shaking his head sadly.

"Now you know why I didn't want Marie to see this..."

Jacques nodded gratefully.

"... I was forced to show even more to Akeela to make her understand that BOTH sides were just as evil."

"How horrible that must have been for her," Jacques said. "How may we help?"

"If I may be so bold, if you could do as Marie suggested, and allow us to sail with you to Réunion, that would be a huge help."

"But, of course, Cabot," Jacques said, "that is the least we can do; but as you can see, we are not without resources, please allow us to help you further."

"That is very kind of you, Jacques, but for now, let's get to Réunion and see where we go from there."

Jacques nodded his agreement, Cabot packed up his gear and they returned to the women, Marie still looking puzzled, Akeela with a grim smile on her face.

"Jacques..." Marie started.

"I'll tell you about it later," Jacques said with a sigh.

"But..."

"I said LATER, Marie," Jacques said, Marie shrinking back from the sternness of his response.

"On a more pleasant note," Jacques said, "I have invited Cabot and his little group to sail with us to Réunion."

Marie's delight overcame her concern about the earlier events, and she gave Akeela a big hug.

"Oh, this will be so much fun!" Marie said, "You won't believe how beautiful it is out at sea, especially under the stars!"

Cabot and Akeela went over to tell the girls that they would be going on another boat trip.

At first the girls were nervous, thinking about their experience with Hans on the "Tanganyika Princess," but Cabot reassured them, telling them that Mr. and Mrs. DuBois were friends, and that this would be a very special trip. The girls then relaxed and went back to their own concerns.

They decided to set sail in the morning, when Marie took notice of the sad state of Akeela and the girls' clothing, and summarily decided that a shopping expedition was in order. Before Cabot or Jacques could say anything one way or the other, they were down the gang plank and heading towards the shopping district.

Cabot gave a glance at the sad state of his own clothes, looked at Jacques and shrugged. Jacques pulled a roll of bills out of his pocket, peeled a few off and handed them to Cabot.

"No, no, I can't," Cabot said, "You've already done so much..."

"Nonsense," Jacques said, "what good is money if you can't use it to help your friends. You go catch up with the ladies so that they can tell you what to buy. I'll tend to getting the "Celeste" ready for the trip."

Cabot thought to argue, knew that it was pointless and hustled off to catch up with the women.

They came back just in time for the dinner that Jacques had prepared. They had so many bags that Cabot was sure that the girls would outgrow the clothes before they even wore them all.

They had a very nice relaxing dinner, talking about everything and nothing, then it was time to get the girls into bed. There was no cabin big enough for all three girls, so Jema had one to herself while Kira and Mora shared another.

Sitting on the bench under the stars with their after-dinner drinks, Akeela under Cabot's arm, Marie under Jacques', they were all silent for a while, until Jacques spoke.

"I still can't imagine the trials you have gone through, the horrors you have seen, I don't think I would have had the strength..."

"Don't belittle yourself, Jacques. I'm not sure I would have done it if I knew the complications. With a few notable exceptions of course," as he gave Akeela a squeeze. "I certainly never would have believed that I would have had the strength if you had asked me before I started, either."

With a quiet toast they finished their drinks and headed to their cabins.

As soon as they closed the cabin door Akeela turned and threw her arms around Cabot's neck, giving him a deep kiss, thrusting her tongue between his lips. Cabot responded in kind, reaching down to cup a firm round butt cheek in each of his strong hands.

Insert sex scene here. Cabot gently sat her down on the bed and stripped to his boxers as she unbuttoned her shorts and lowered the zipper.

He kneeled down and pulled her shorts and panties off in one move, spreading her legs and inhaling her sweet scent. Although she had bought a razor, and shaved her legs and underarms, he noticed that she had let her pussy go natural. Her hair was sparse and silky, just a little tuft, and he tugged at it with his lips, causing her to giggle.

Just as they began to regain their breath, there was a soft knock on the door. It opened without waiting for and answer, and Jemma came in. She came to the bed and climbed in, as Cabot and Akeela tried to hide the fact that they were naked with the sheet.

"Cabot, I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course you can, Sweetie," he said, easing Akeela over to the left side of the bed while he moved over, making room on the right, praying that Jema wouldn't notice that he was naked under the covers.

As she settled into bed, Jema wrinkled her nose.

"It smells funny in here," she said, as Akeela tried not to laugh.

"It's okay, Jema, just ignore it and go to sleep." He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

As soon as they were sure that she was asleep, Akeela and Cabot jumped out of bed to put something on for the morning, and gently climbed back into bed and cuddled,

When he awakened, Cabot's morning wood was more like morning steel, and when he went to the head it almost hurt to pee. Fortunately, once he drained his bladder things settled back to normal and he could relax. As he entered the cabin to get dressed, Akeela was gently holding Jema, and had a big grin on her face.

"How are you feeling, Cabot," she said, her grin threatening to split her face.

He put a fake angry look on his face as he hit her with a pillow.

"I feel fine, but next time I go first!" he said as Akeela broke out laughing, waking up Jema.

"What's so funny?" Jema asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Never mind, it's a grown-up thing," Akeela said.

"I'm a grown-up," Jema insisted, and it was Cabot's turn to laugh, and Akeela shot him an angry look.

"Well, you're not grown up enough," Akeela said, "when you're older you'll understand."

Jema still looked confused, but knew better than to push it. Jema went back to her cabin to get dressed while Cabot and Akeela got dressed, still fighting the giggles.

By the time they got on deck, everyone else was already having breakfast, and their silly grins didn't go unnoticed.

"Just what's got into you two?" Jacques asked.

"It's more what DIDN'T get into me," Akeela said with a giggle before Cabot could shush her.

Marie was polite enough to blush, while Jema and Mora looked puzzled, but Kira had a bit of a knowing grin. Akeela thought that she might need to have a "special" talk with Kira, sooner, rather than later.

Once they cleaned up after breakfast, they cast off the lines and Jacques motored out into the harbor. When he had them positioned properly, Jacques cut the engine and showed Cabot the working of the sails. The sails were motorized, and with a push of a button the sails were raised.

When the sails caught wind, the boat heeled over a little, frightening the girls, but they were quickly assured that it was normal. After they got the feel for it, they were thrilled by the experience of flying silently over the waves, the wind gently blowing their hair.

They quickly fell into a routine, and as they learned where everything was and how it was all done, everyone pitched in to help, including the girls.

After they had been sailing for a couple of days Jema was startled by the breaching of a whale, and as the others ran over to her to see what was wrong, several other whales breached as well. Jacques just laughed.

"Don't be afraid," he said, "the whales won't bother you if you leave them alone. They are fairly common around here, but it's a rare sight to see them this close. Just relax and enjoy them."

The girls, no longer afraid, were oohing and aahing at each breach, and Cabot got out his camera to film the encounter.

They were once again startled when some whales started leaping out of the water.

"Ah," said Jacques, "now they are playing," at the girls started giggling.

All too soon, the whales sounded; the excitement was over, and everyone went back to whatever they were doing.

With some instruction from Jacques, Cabot was able to take the wheel and give Jacques some relief. Cabot was soon comfortable enough to let Akeela sit on his lap while he steered the "Celeste." It was so idyllic they nearly forgot what had brought them here.

Although they would have been content to sail forever, Jacques announced the they would soon be in sight of Réunion Island, and would probably dock in Saint-Gilles sometime between breakfast and lunch the next day.

To be continued...