A CHANGE OF PACE... Bermuda (Part 164f)

A CHANGE OF PACE… Bermuda (Part 164f)

Tennis was the first thing on our agenda for Thursday. Every time we walked into our room the tennis rackets were there to greet us. I’d lugged them through two airports because Elle had wanted them so wasn’t going let it be for nothing. I know it was early when we got to the courts but found all being used. However, one had a wooden backboard and there was but one woman hitting balls against it. With her there we couldn’t play and were about to leave when she called us over and introduced herself as Rose. About our age, she seemed quite pleasant. She asked us if we’d like to play Canadian doubles. We had no idea what that was but looked at each other and decided “Why not?”

Basically, two people play on one side of the net using the lines on the court for “doubles” (two people) and the other player is on the other side of the net and uses the singles (one player) lines. She took the time to explain it and we started in. Two against one sounds unfair but the rules make it somewhat even. She was a good, not great, player and had no trouble beating us. I don’t remember how long we played before the activities director showed up to say the court was needed for lessons. He was all apologies and said he’d make it up to us. He didn’t say how but was really sincere so the three of us left together. On our way back into the hotel we talked about what our ‘reward’ might be. Rose said she had some sort of appointment and we parted.

We went back to our room to change clothes before eating breakfast. When we showed up Andres had breakfast buns waiting for me. I really liked him and the service we got. Our “To do” list had a visit to St. Georges on one end of the island and to Somerset on the opposite end. Now comfortable on the moped, Elle picked the trip to St. Georges and in so doing made a comment that we might be able to stop in the city of Hamilton on our way back. We opted not to take a box lunch hoping to find some local fare along the way. We were on our way around 10am. The weather was perfect with bright sunshine and little wind. There was little traffic as we headed North. Bermuda’s roads are known for their ‘round abouts” (traffic circles) and not too far was a major one. It was the one that takes you towards Hamilton. As we approached I felt rain hitting me in the face. I didn’t believe it because I saw nothing but sunshine… and then I remembered the first day we were there and what a pool attendant had said when a rain shower hit… “You’re in Bermuda… expect it…” I also remembered what we’d been told when getting our instructions on the mopeds… “If it starts to rain, stop.”.

I pulled off the road just as I entered the circle and Elle stopped right behind me. I looked up and saw two big white clouds and that had to be the source of the rain. I didn’t appreciate standing there getting wet but knew it was the only choice we had. I looked ahead, past the round-about, and saw this fast approaching moped just about to turn into the circle. I watched as it started to bear to the right as it sped towards us… and then saw the bike quickly fall over and as it did it slid off the road leaving the rider in a heap. There was nothing coming close behind the fallen rider so I ran out to see if I could help. Approaching, I could see it was a fairly young woman. She was motionless and on her side with her right leg folded awkwardly under her. I went around her to help her get up and out of the road and as I did I could see she was wearing a pair of lavender colored panties. But panties were the least of my concerns as I reached down to give her my hand. Her eyes were wide open but she didn’t respond when I asked her if she could move. I looked up and over her, back down the road leading into the circle and saw a small truck approaching. Now I was in panic mode. I didn’t hesitate as I reached down and put my hands in her armpits and started dragging her off to the side. It was all adrenaline. When I got her to the curb I could see she was crying. I could also see that she no longer was wearing the skirt she had on when I went to her aid. It was still out in the road. Elle was right there beside me and asking where she hurt. She held up her right hand and I could see blood running down her forearm. A couple of men ran up and one stated that it looked like her wrist was broken and sort of pushed me aside. Elle had gone out into the road to retrieve her skirt and as I stood there looking at woman I could see her right leg had road scrapes from her hip to her ankle. That was when I took a few seconds to look at her panties. As I said they were lavender and were definitely full briefs. Elle pushed her way past the two men and draped the remains of the skirt over her as best she could.

I don’t know how the police found about it but it wasn’t long before they were there. It had stopped raining and I found myself looking at my watch. The road was almost dry by then and I was anxious to move on but as soon as I got on my moped one of the policemen (bobby’s) asked if I’d seen what happened. I told him I did and explained what I’d seen. He took it all down and as he was about to leave he commented that this was typical with rain showers. I asked him why and he told me it was a combination of things but primarily from the small tires on the mopeds, oil on the road and too much speed. He took the time to basically show me with my bike that when the woman had made the turn the tires lost traction with the road and centrifugal force took over. He pointed to the woman’s disabled moped on the side of the road about 25 to 30 feet away. It was visual proof that our instructor had been right about stopping when it rained. After the policeman (bobby) walked away I asked Elle if she knew how the woman had lost her skirt. She said that as soon as I started dragging her it came out from under her. She added that when she picked it up the waistband was ripped. It made sense to me what with her sliding on the road for a few feet.

Obviously shaken from what she’d just witnessed Elle said she wasn’t up to making such the long trip to St. Georges and suggested that we go into Hamilton. According to the the road sign posted right there it was 1 kilometer away. I had no idea what that was in miles but remembered from our taxi ride from the airport that it hadn’t taken all the long after we’d gone around this circle. So, it was another change in plans. The trip took but minutes and we made a slow tour of the city on the bikes including the back part where the locals shopped. But Elle wanted to go into the main stores just to look around. I knew that could/would be dangerous but agreed. We found a place to park the mopeds and started our trek through the stores. We ended up eating lunch at a small street cafe across from where the cruise ship was docked. It was interesting watching the people coming and going from the ship. Elle had been ‘good’ while perusing the shops and not asked for anything. But… as we paid the tab for lunch she casually mentioned that she wanted to go back to the Harrod’s store to show me a pair of shorts. I knew what that meant and while walking there I was formulating a plan for the future.

To be continued…