A Country Girl Again

Friday morning dawned, as it usually did, and we had breakfast at the Vegaviana. We were all happy at having another two weeks behind us and the girls were very interested in my deputy. I told them that I had helped him sort out some internal problems and that he was a deputy for our electorate at the farm, so could be a help when it came to any problems we could have. I told them to make sure they kept his visits secret.

Back at the farm we sorted out our laundry and I tidied up in my rooms. I changed into jeans and boots and went for a walk around the farm. The new tank had been delivered and the workmen were working on the pipework changes. The old tank had been at ground level and we had to hand pump to fill up the vans; the new one was on a stand so we could gravity fill. The other change was that the new one had an overflow that went to the old one. This allowed the tanker to pump to the new one and stop when the old one showed full. We would still be drawing from the old one as using the hand pump was easier when you were filling cans for the various pumps and small generators around the farm. Henri stopped me and asked me if I could think of more things that made his life easier and I told him that the more he taught me, the more I could think of.

We chatted about the mix of crops and I asked him if he had ever thought of running cattle, perhaps milking cows so we could go into cheese making. He said that he had thought of it but did not want to bring it up before. We had a couple of sheds that were empty that we could use and it would mainly need us to seal them for cleanliness and install the tanks, tables and racks needed. I said I would talk to the girls to find out if we could go down that track. Back at the house I helped with dinner and we all just relaxed.

Saturday we all did our deliveries and caught up with our customers. I wore one of my new tops and a skirt and found, as usual, that I did not have to carry much. When I delivered to the café in Valladolid where I had been given the seamstress recommendation, I chatted to the manageress. She was, as usual, impeccably dressed and we complimented each other on our appearance. Her name was Valentina and was a good leader in this big café. I thought that, had I been passing as a man again, I could get to like her a lot.

I spoke to Parnima on Sunday about the milking cows and cheese idea but she thought it would be too much of a change. She did, however, say that a neighbouring farm ran cattle and we may be able to talk to them about doing a trade in produce. She rang them up and they agreed to see us, so Sunday afternoon, the two of us with Henri, went over to the other farm. We discussed the pros and cons and came to an agreement for them to supply us with cheese ready for sale with us selling them some of our vegetables. We would take a van over every two days, in the afternoon. Henri was very happy and all we had to do now was to put cheese on our listed items to promote.

Monday, at every delivery point, I spoke to my customers about taking cheese from us and a few said they would try it for taste and quality. When I got back we tallied the number of wheels needed and rang the other farm to put in our order. They were surprised that we needed so many but happy to supply and we went over to pick them up. We paid for this lot and would be supplying them to the customer with a one-time discount to try, so it was a bit of an outlay but would be lucrative if it took off. Back at the farm we loaded our vans and made sure we had the delivery points on our van tablets.

Tuesday we all did our usual runs and Tuesday afternoon I got a call from Eduardo. He said he was back in his electorate office for a few days and would I like to have lunch with him on Wednesday. I agreed and arranged to meet him at one of my delivery points, the Restaurante En La Parra, near the Convento de San Sebastian, at midday. I made sure to wear one of my new, slippery, dresses and took pains to look good.

My deliveries on Wednesday were quite fun as I was hit on by several customers before I got to the Restaurante. He came in while I was sorting out the paperwork for the manager, who raised his eyebrows when Eduardo kissed me on the cheek in greeting. We were taken to a table and had a pleasant fish meal. Eduardo told me that he had been giving our session a lot of thought and had decided that he was not a transvestite, nor was he truly gay, but had come to accept that what he really needed was a strong woman who could love him as he was. I was glad for him as he would have made a very ugly woman.

I was enjoying his company but I told him that I had more deliveries to make soon and he asked me what sort of goods I delivered. I told him that he had eaten some of our produce with his lunch. I said playfully “Would you like to join me for the rest of my run, this afternoon?” and he took out his phone and rang his office to make sure he was not missing anything, telling them that he was going to visit some constituents. When we got to the van he was surprised at the size and of the amount of goods I still had in the back. We set off and made the rest of my Salemanca drops. He did a bit of the carrying and I had to intervene a few times to stop him chatting to the owners so we could carry on. At Valladolid we finished the run at Valentinas’ café.

When he carried a box in I saw her eyes light up and she asked me who my helper was. When I told her she was amazed and wanted to be introduced. I got them together and left them to it while I finished carrying in the goods and then tidied the van and sorted out my paperwork. When I got back to them they were chatting in a most animated way. I had to intervene and told Eduardo that I needed to get back to the farm tonight. He exchanged cards with Valentina and we left. On the way back to Salemanca I said that only a few hours ago he wanted to find a strong woman and now he had already done so.

He smiled and thanked me for providing the opportunity. He said that Valentina was a widow who had lost her husband in a car crash and was a lovely person. He then commented that I must be on a sizable property to have the amount of produce I had delivered today. I told him it was big and that there were another five vans like mine. He was then said that he must see the farm. I rang Parnima and asked her if it was OK for me to bring the deputy for a farm visit and she said that I could. I drove back to his electorate office so he could pick up his car and he followed me to the farm.

When we parked he got out of his car and said that he was amazed at the size of our operation. I said that I had been amazed myself the first time I came here. I took him into the main house and introduced him to Parnima and the other girls. Parnima told him straight away that we all worked at the Whiskeria Salamanca and that there was another six girls who were there now. He told her that he had been impressed by his visit there on Thursday night and even more impressed by the business we operated here.

He had questions about the volume of goods we moved per week and then asked if we could cope with more orders, if needed. The other girls were quiet so I said “Well, we are coming to the end of the summer months and our output tends to drop as the cafes order less during winter. Henri tells me that we do have about four months when he has to plough product back into the soil, so I think we could carry an extra load easily over winter. There would be enough time to plant extra for spring and could utilise a couple of fields that are presently fallow.” He then told us that one of his jobs as a deputy was to be on the committee that managed the restaurants and cafes within the government offices. He said that they were getting much of their produce through a warehouse and some of it was inferior quality from outside of Spain. He said he would talk to the rest of the committee about us taking over the supply of vegetables and eggs and then asked if we could do milk and cheese as well at meat products. Parnima said that we had contacts with the cheese and could explore local delivery of milk as well as checking a local abattoir for meat supplies.

After he had left, carrying a list of our prices, Parnima said she wanted us to have a quiet chat in my room. We went across and I let her in. I got us some tea and we sat in the sitting room. She said “Gene, you coming to join us has been an experience for everyone. You are proving to be a born leader and Vanda and I want you to be part of the leadership group, especially involved with the farm. We have just let it happen as it was left to us and I can see that we have a gold mine if we worked it right. Could you please explore the extra products that we spoke about tonight, see the abattoir and dairy and find out quantity restriction and their prices. If we go this way we may need to get a refrigeration unit in the vans, or even trade them all for specialised units. We can afford it but there must be a certainty of returns.”

I agreed that I would do as she asked. She then surprised me by saying that she had been told, by a couple of the other girls, that I was particularly adept in making love to a woman. I said that most of my women customers left happy. She then looked me in the eyes and said “Gene, will you make love to me tonight?”

Marianne G 2020