Chapter 6. Shopping.

The release form I had signed instructed me to sterilize my earlobes several times a day, and W [who knows these things] said that rubbing alcohol was the thing, and that as I needed a nail polish to go with my nice pink jacket, we should go into the main mall of the Eaton Center and find a drug store. By this time I was on such a high that I was game for anything. After what I had just done, what was there to fear?

We made our way down the escalators and into the mall, chatting away like two women out for a stroll, W keeping an eye on the passing crowds and assuring me they were not looking at me, and me trying to look as though I belonged there. My ears were a little tender and I kept lightly

touching them to assure myself that I really did have pierced ears. We got to the drug store and I was a little apprehensive when a lady stood right beside me as I was looking at nail polish. She paid no attention to me and I relaxed somewhat. We found the rubbing alcohol and again W said that I had to go through the checkout myself. By now I was an old hand at this. I boldly marched up and paid for my purchases and although the girl looked me right in the eye, she gave no indication of having read me. W meanwhile was watching carefully to make sure I did not get into trouble.

W had loaned me a nice silver necklace as I was short on jewelry and I knew she was going to want it back, so feeling very brave, I suggested I buy one. We strolled around Eatons checking out the jewelry department, but didn't find anything. W needed a battery for her watch, so we headed over to the repair counter. No one there. He had gone to lunch. "I know", said W, "we'll go to the Bay and look for a necklace for you and come back here later." The Bay it seemed was across the street from the far end of the Eaton Center. We walked the whole length of the mall, crossed the street, entered the Bay and headed for the Jewelry counter. W insisted it was OK to try on things, so I spent a delirious ten minutes or so trying on necklaces with W's help. I found one that I liked and attracted the attention of the sales girl. She kept asking me questions like, "Cash or charge?" and "Do you have air miles?" I managed to answer in a low voice and again there was no adverse reaction to me. My spirits were soaring.

We walked out of the Bay and crossed the street to the Eaton Center again. On the sidewalk there was a street musician playing a tenor saxophone. Feeling very brave, I stopped and threw some coins into his sax case. He stopped blowing, smiled at me for a second and said , "Thank you." No sign of having read me. As we entered the Eaton Center again I told W that I was anxious to try my new necklace, so W said, "Let's find a seat and I'll put it on you." We found a bench, sat down and pulling my long hair out of the way, turned my back to W to let her put the necklace round my neck. Again no one paid any attention to us.

We wended our way back to the repair counter to get a battery for W's watch. The man was back from his lunch, but there were two people ahead of us. The one being served seemed to be taking a long time and W was getting impatient. I, on the other hand, was reveling in it. You see, it turned out that the repair counter was beside the elevators and every time one arrived, a gang of people came out and walked right past me. I just stood beside W in the lineup and watched. As I wasn't walking, I was able to unobtrusively

pay more attention to the people passing by. No one paid me the slightest heed. W got her battery eventually and we walked back to the hotel without incident. By now I was relaxed and had stopped squirming every time someone passed me by. We arrived at the hotel. The doorman was still there. Ha! Who is afraid of an old doorman? [Well he was quite young actually] I walked past him and we got to the elevators. Would there be anyone in the elevators? Who cares. Janey has her ears pierced and she doesn't give a damn. The elevator was empty and we arrived on the 22nd floor and walked to the room. There was Mary and her sister J, waiting to hear all about my adventures.

Chapter 7. Lunch at the Mango.

After relating all my adventures, it was decided that we would go out to lunch. Oh dear, another trauma. What if the waiter called me sir? I would die. Mary said we were taking a cab to the Mango restaurant on Church Street, which is in the gay community area of Toronto. Again we all went down on the elevator and this time there were a couple of people on it, but I was so nervous that I do not even remember what they were like. We arrived at the lobby and walked out past the doorman again and Mary hailed a cab. A little bit of confusion ensued. Mary was dressed in a lovely green skirt and jacket and looked very femme, so I guess we looked like 4 women to the cab driver. J went in first to the back seat, and I , feeling a little panicy, jumped in next to her. Mary squeezed in and W went into the front. I settled in and looked up. Horror of horrors. Because I was sitting in the middle, the driver was looking right at me in his rear view mirror. He didn't show any sign of seeing anything unusual, and took off like a bat out of hell, which seems to be the way with Toronto taxi drivers.

A few minutes later we were there, as it was only a few blocks away. We all piled out and I found myself standing outside of the Mango which had a lovely patio with tables with umbrellas all around. We walked under a little archway thingy made of wood with plants growing through it and found a table outdoors. A very nice, obviously gay, waiter came and served us and once again , either I passed, or he didn't care. We had a nice meal and J asked if we could walk back to the hotel. It seems she trained as a nurse in this area years ago and wanted to take a nostalgic walk. This was agreed on and we all set off walking down Church Street. One landmark, opposite the Mango, was the gay community center. By this time I really felt great because I knew that in this area it didn't really matter if I passed or not and I relaxed completely and enjoyed the walk.

We were walking south on Church Street and when we turned right to go towards the hotel, lo and behold, there was the Maple Leaf Gardens. Home of all these great macho jock hockey players. The doors along the front were open although there was no one about and nothing going on, so, nothing daunted, we strolled in the first door, along the foyer and out the last door and back on to the street. If anyone asks me

what I did in Toronto, I can honestly say, "Oh, I dressed en femme and went to the Maple Leaf Gardens." We were now away from the gay area and I began to feel a wee bit anxious, but no one gave me a second glance. Back to the hotel without incident. Past the doorman, into the elevator where one of the porters was taking a luggage trolley up to a room. I studiously studied the Japanese murals on the wall of the elevator, but he paid me no heed. Into the rooms where we talked about my experiences and then we decided an afternoon nap was called for. After all, we were in for an exciting evening. Janey was going to take a walk on the Wildside.

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