Gabe looked at the floor. His inability to lie smacked him in the face again! "Part of me is curious what it'd be like to wear cute skirts like yours," he replied softly. "But I don't want to be a girl."

"You won't have to become a girl," Buffy answered as she put a comforting hand on his trembling arm. "But you could pretend to be a girl to round out the Scooby Gang. We'll call you Gabi, and I know the guys won't hassle you about it. Neither will the grups, they're cool with just about anything.

by Jennifer Sue

---

 

During breakfast on Saturday, Faye Bull announced they were going to Church. Knowing there was no way out, Lyle Bull and Gabe Bull just sighed, but Eddie Bull blundered.

"I don't want to go," Eddie complained. "I got plans to meet the guys."

"Then you'd better change your plans," Faye declared in a voice that would accept no further excuses."

Eddie was smart enough to not argue although he did grumble.

It wasn't unusual that Faye insisted her family go to Church. She went almost every week and made the boys attend Sunday School but they usually left before Church started. Lyle went to Church at least once a month. After breakfast Eddie headed out on his bike to join his buddies. Lyle headed to the golf course and Gabe decided he'd go for a bike ride. Faye took advantage of the quiet house to sit and read.

Gabe dressed in his ubiquitous Goth outfit including the beret and studded collar and wrist cuffs as well as his ever present dark green painted fingernails. Inspired to be adventuresome, he even used his dark green lipstick. Packing a few bottles of water into a back pack, Gabe jumped on his bike and pedaled off with no particular destination in mind. After about 10 minutes of aimless riding around town he headed off down one of the country roads leading out of town. He'd only gone about half a mile when he saw Buffy, Rocky, and Freddy with two older people in the well landscaped front yard of a nice 2  ½ story old stone farm house. A sign by the drive way said it was ‘The Hundred Acre Farm’ owned by Werner and Kathryn Summers. Gabe stopped and watched his classmates working on the flower beds with the older couple. Gabe smiled to see Buffy wearing a tiered denim skirt.

Rocky Beech had always been the biggest guy in their class, and since last year he was the biggest kid in the school. Only eleven years old he already stood 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed in at 180 pounds, all solid muscle. Despite his strength and size, Rocky was uncoordinated and it wasn't uncommon for him to stumble. Most people thought he was a real dork. Unfortunately he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Not that he was dumb, just slow on the uptake. Once he finally grasped a matter, he had it and could use it, but learning something new or unfamiliar never came easily. Rocky’s dad, Rev. Palmer Beech, was the pastor at Trinity UCC church and his mom, Virginia, was a teacher in the church run preschool... and when the church bells rang... ding-dong! This led to a nickname Rocky hated, Ding Dong. The guys knew ding-dong irritated Rocky so they called him Ding Dong... but always from a safe distance. Another nickname he'd been saddled with was troglodyte, because he was slow on the uptake and had a bit of a caveman mentality. Intimidated by his size, Rocky had never been in a fight, and no one wanted to be the first to face the behemoth. Just a glare from him was enough to stop his antagonists. From their interactions Gabe knew he was a gentle giant.

Freddy Bangs was almost the exact opposite of Rocky. Wearing thick, Coke-bottle lensed glasses he looked and behaved like a stereotypical nerd. He was the skinniest and shortest kid in their class. Freddy was smart but a quite timid and easily intimidated and did his best to be invisible. Naturally the bullies in school always tried to pick on him, but since he and Rocky were best buddies, the teasing was usually verbal. The incident in the cafeteria the first week of school had been an exception. This is not to say he did nothing, he'd developed a great talent for stealth. One of Freddy's favorite pastimes was learning magic. His fingers were so nimble and quick no one ever saw how he managed to pull off his tricks. He'd even managed to pick up a set of lock-pick tools on e-bay and had become quite adept at opening locks. Freddy's mother, Brenda Bangs, never married his father, Martin Lewis, because he was killed in a car crash before they realized she was pregnant. Seventeen year old Brenda’s parents were strict fundamentalists who threw her out of their home and disowned her when they learned of her pregnancy. Brenda found shelter with the family of a school friend and had Freddy just before graduating from high school. Geraldine Lewis, a high profile business woman, only found out that she was a grandmother after Freddy was born. Because of her business dealings, she felt she could not afford to reveal how she became a grandmom, but she did meet with Brenda and set her up in an apartment and paid for her schooling at a beauty academy. Gerri Lewis later bought a 1950s era beauty parlor in the Hickstown business district and paid to remodel the building. Brenda and Freddy lived above the salon, 'Styles with Bangs', located across the street from The Crateful Bread at 260 Main Street. While Freddy’s contact with his grandmom was restricted, she had a tendency to indulge his whims, thus he had the latest in tech systems.

Buffy Summers was a strange girl and reveled in it, but then her entire family was a bit eccentric. Everyone in town knew the family. Her maternal great-grandparents, Werner and Kathryn Summers were 75. Werner was an ex-Marine Lieutenant and had fought in Korea, earning the silver star and 3 purple hearts at the Chosin Reservoir. He and Kathryn had taught most of the long time residents as shop and home-ec teachers had been retired for ten years. Both sets of Buffy's grandparents dropped out of college in the early 70s and hit the road in almost stereotypical hippie mode where they linked up. Dave and Kathy Winters along with Mike and Susan Summers were 53 and still devoted Deadheads who owned and operated 'The Crateful Bread', named in honor of the iconic band 'The Grateful Dead'. Buffy's parents, Sonny Summers and Autumn Winters, were 29. Best friends from birth, they’d married right of high school and now worked with their parents at 'The Crateful Bread'. They were also tremendous fans of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' which was why they named their daughter after the lead character, Buffy Anne Summers. Like his grandfather, Sonny had joined the Marines right out of high school and was now a Gunnery Sargent in the reserves.

Between her still hippie grandparents and being named after the Vampire Slayer, Buffy never had a chance to be normal. Blessed with fire red hair and freckles, as a preschooler she became enamored with Pippi Longstockings to whom she bore a striking resemblance. She usually wore her long hair in twin beribboned braids and had a decided penchant for dresses or skirts and only recently gave up wearing stripped kneesocks. Like Pippi in many ways, Buffy was very intelligent in a common-sense fashion, had a well-honed sense of justice and fair play, and had learned from a wide variety of experiences.

The trio had been the odd guys out in their class since kindergarten. The dork, the nerd, and Pippi. Yet they strangely complimented each other. Freddy always academically helped Rocky while Buffy added pizzaz to their lives. They developed a great rapport and between Buffy and Freddy, they developed a seemingly innate ability to help Rocky learn the concepts being taught which made the teacher's job easier. By third grade, the teachers let Rocky, Freddy and Buffy sit side by side in a back corner of the classroom so Freddy and Buffy could help Rocky in class as the lessons were going on. Freddy always sat in the corner with Rocky in the middle while Buffy took the other seat. They were even allowed to push their desks together and talk quietly.

Buffy was the one who saw Gabe watching them and waved him over. A bit reluctantly, Gabe got off his bike pushed it over to the group who all stood up to greet him.

"These are my great-grandparents, Werner and Kathy Summers," Buffy introduced. "Moms and Pops, this is Gabe Bull. He's in our class at school."

The couple took in Gabe's Goth appearance and momentarily raised their eyebrows, but quickly accepted the newcomer's personal statement.

"We're pleased to meet you, Gabe," Kathy smiled. "Please call us Moms and Pops, all Buffy’s friends do.”

"Bull, I taught a young man named Bull," Werner said while his forehead wrinkled in thought. "He was always a hard working boy and he joined the Marines after graduating. Are you related to him?"

"Yes sir," Gabe replied being taught to be respectful of adults. "He's my father."

"Don't go getting formal on us," Werner chuckled. "I had enough of being called SIR when I was in the marines and teaching. What's your father doing these days?"

"He's in the marine Reserves and a lawyer," Gabe responded.

"Since he’s a Marine, I know he’s one of the few good men, I hope he's one of the few good lawyers," Werner laughed. "Did he ever marry that Wray girl?"

"I guess so, my mom's maiden name was Wray," Gabe replied.

"Faye Wray was a good student," Kathy smiled. "Did she finally decide on a career?"

"I guess so," Gabe answered. "She's dad's office manager."

"I knew they'd be good together," Werner chuckled. "It takes a lot of love and friendship to allow a couple to successfully work together" With that he leaned over and kissed Kathy.

The kids all made yucky faces at the obvious display of romance between the elderly couple.

"It looks like you're planting flowers," Gabe stated as he looked at what they'd been doing. "Mom only plants flowers in the spring."

"Most flowers are planted in the spring," Werner replied. "But some need to be planted in the fall. If you come around with the Scooby Gang, I'll teach you everything I know about gardening."

"The Scooby Gang," Gabe frowned. "What's the Scooby Gang?"

"Freddy, Rocky, and me are the Scooby gang," Buffy giggled. "The friends of Buffy the Vampire slayer called themselves the Scooby Gang. You do know I was named after the Slayer, don't you?"

"Yeah, I remember some of the kids used to tease you about that," Gabe nodded. "That is until they realized you didn't mind being nicknamed Slayer."

"I'm cool with it," Buffy chuckled.

Gabe still looked a bit confused. "So what does killing vampires and demons have to do with the Scooby Gang?"

"The Slayer and her friends fought the supernatural," Buffy explained. "In Scooby Doo, Freddy, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy teamed together to investigate supernatural occurrences. So the Slayer's friends dubbed themselves the Scooby Gang. Since we like Scooby Doo and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, plus the fact I'm named Buffy Anne Summers like the Slayer, and we've got our own Freddy, we thought we'd call ourselves the Scooby Gang. The only problem has been the Scooby Gang should have four members... say... now that you've become a total outcast at school you can join our gang! You could be our fourth member of our Scooby Gang! How about it?"

"Buffy, it's not nice to say someone is an outcast," Moms scolded.

"Well it's true," Buffy brightly answered. "We're all outcasts. He’s the one who told Principal Jass who tripped Freddy. Gabe was never really with the in group, but now he's totally out. In one way or another we're all social misfits. So Gabe, want to join us?"

“Okay,” Gabe smiled enjoying Buffy’s reasoning. "So what does the Scooby Gang do?"

"We hang out together and help others and each other out," Buffy answered. "We also spend a lot of time here with my great grandparents. They show us a lot and even let us use the top of the barn as a clubhouse." Then she turned to her great-grandparents. "Is it all right if we show him?"

"Go ahead," Moms chuckled. "We're almost done here anyway."

As the four kids headed around the side of the house on the driveway, Gabe spoke. "I don't mean to pry, but why do you call your great-grandparents Moms and Pops? That's an unusual nickname."

"That's what my grandparents called them when they returned home after a couple years on the roads," Buffy answered. "They were hippies and met while traveling around."

"Your grandparents, the ones who run The Crateful Bread," Gabe said. "They were real hippies?"

"You'd better tell him the whole story, Buffy," Freddy chuckled.

"I guess so," Buffy laughed. "It does get complicated. You know everyone calls them Walt, Val, Arie, and ChooChoo. But those are their hippie names. Walt is really David Winters. His hippie friends named him Walt because Disney World had just opened and his initials are DW, so someone tagged him with Walt for Walt Disney. Val is his wife, her name was Kathleen Parker, since a person who parks cars is a valet, she became Val. Their best friends are Arie and ChooChoo. Arie's real name is Mike Summers, Moms' & Pops' son. Val says they must have been smoking pot when they came up with his nickname. A person who adds sums is a summer, adding sums is arithmetic, so they tagged him Arie. ChooChoo's real name is Susan Clark. In the 60s the Monkees had a hit song titled The Last Train to Clarksville, so she became ChooChoo."

"That's really weird," Gabe chuckled. "Some of those nicknames are quite a stretch."

"I really think they smoked a lot of pot," Buffy nodded in agreement. "So anyway, when my parents were born, they named my dad Sonny Summers and my mom Autumn Winters, when they married she became Autumn Winters Summers. I didn't stand much chance with that background and they all thought naming me after Buffy the Vampire Slayer was cool, so here I am." She performed a quirky mock curtsey.

By that time they'd walked the length of the driveway and they'd crossed the large back yard to a 36 feet deep and 72 feet wide barn. The kids entered a man-door in the center of the northern wall facing the rear house. The ceiling throughout was 12 feet high and the walls were well insulated. To the west of the door, were twin 36 feet deep parking bays with insulated overhead doors 12 feet wide and 10 feet high on the southern wall. The first overhead door started 3 feet from the western wall with a support wall 3 feet wide between them. Three feet past the second overhead door, directly opposite the door they'd entered, was another man-door. Another 12 feet wide by 10 feet high overhead door 3 feet beyond that man-door. The area beyond that, about 17 feet deep and 36 feet long, was a large fully equipped work shop with an industrial lathe, drill press, planer, table saw, band saw, an arc welder and acetylene torch and dozens of hand help power tools. Starting 3 feet from the man-door they'd entered, a staircase 4 feet wide went up to the second floor loft in front of the twin parking bays.

Gabe noted there was a battered green 1956 Ford F-100 pickup truck in the nearest of the twin bays and a 1967 VW Microbus. Even through the dust the vibrant psychedelic colors and flowers were plainly evident.

"That would make a wild Mystery Machine," Gabe laughed as he looked at the old VW. "Where'd that come from?

"That was the Hippie Bus my grandparents used when they were on the road," Buffy smiled. "That's how they got into that all natural stuff."

"Kewl," Gabe nodded his head.

In the parking bay by the shop area was a beat up 1963 blue Ford Tractor. A hydraulic front end loader scoop was mounted on the front of the tractor, and a back-hoe attachment sat to one side. "There's a long attached shed out behind the shop that has all sorts of lumber and various plows, cultivators, and other equipment for the tractor," Freddy explained.

"Do you get to drive any of this stuff," Gabe asked excitedly.

"Rocky does," Buffy smiled. "He's the only one big enough to reach the pedals."

Rocky smiled obviously happy with his ability.

"Our area is upstairs," Buffy smiled as she headed up the steps.

Gabe followed but stopped quickly and blushed bright red as he could see right up Buffy's saucily swinging skirt. Entranced, he watched as she stepped to the side after reaching the top.

"Get used to it," Freddy laughed as he pushed Gabe to continue up the steps. She gets a kick out of teasing us like that."

"Tell me, Gabe," Buffy perkily smiled as she peered over the rail beside the top of the stairwell. "Did you like the view?"

Gabe's mouth opened and closed like a fish as he could once more see right up her skirt.

"Come on, Gabe," Rocky spoke for the first time as he pushed Freddy and Gabe up the steps. "I wanna see too!"

Propelled by the push, Gabe tore his gaze away from Buffy's undies as he stumbled up the steps. Freddy and Rocky stopped halfway up the steps grinning like fools as Buffy smiled down on them. Even though Freddy stood two steps higher, his head was at the same level as Rocky's. Smiling impishly, Buffy waited until Gabe reached the top of the stairs before stepping from the railing.

“This is our clubhouse,” Buffy smiled as she held her hands out to show off the space while she twirled about. “So Gabe, what do you think?”

Gabe looked about the room in wonder as Freddy and Rocky joined them.

The second floor was a large mostly open space. The insulated first floor walls extended 4 feet up into the second floor, then in an east-west orientation arched over the top in an insulated free standing gambrel roof that soared to a center height of 18 feet. Ceiling fans were located every 10 feet down the center of the space. Four dormer windows 4 feet wide started 10 feet from the side walls with 12 feet between the inner sets. Two equal sized rooms each 6 feet deep and 10 feet high took up 20 feet in the center of the west wall. Entry doors for the rooms were 4 feet from the corners on the long sides. The room further away from the stairs was a utility room for the furnace and hot water heater. The closer room was a 3/4 bath room. A kitchenette with a refrigerator, small range, microwave wrapped around the side of the bathroom. A ladder ran up to the top of the rooms to a spacious loft sleeping area and a telephone hung on the wall near the ladder.

There were chairs, tables and sofas scattered across a fifteen feet wide area beside the two rooms. The area on the west wall before the rooms between the kitchenette and the stairs held a big screen TV and stereo system. The area on the west wall beyond the rooms, wrapping to the first dormer held book cases and a desk with a computer. Storage shelves and boxes lined the rest of the walls between the dormers leaving a huge uncluttered open area 50 feet long and 25 feet wide. A sturdy trap door rested flush in the floor above the single parking bay. Looking out the south dormers a massive vegetable garden with numerous rows of corn, tomatoes, peppers, and all sorts of vegetable and herbs was visible. The 10 acre field was a prime source of the organic foods and herbs for The Crateful Bread. A huge greenhouse off to one side of the field provided year round goodies for the store.

"This is a great set-up," Gabe enthused. "Is this whole floor your clubhouse?"

"Yep," Buffy answered. "Of course Moms and Pops and my grandparents can come up anytime they want. Our parents can come up if they ask. If you join the Scooby gang, you can bring your parents over to meet ours and see the set-up. So, do you want to become the fourth member of the Scooby Gang?"

"Sure," Gabe smiled.

"All right," Freddy exclaimed as Rocky enthusiastically nodded his head.

Then Freddy added with a chuckle, "Of course, you get to be the second girl in the group."

Even though he knew Freddy was joking, Gabe blushed and his mouth dropped open in surprise. While he didn't seriously think he wanted to be a girl, he was still enraptured by Abby and her cute little skirts. Buffy's show just moments earlier kindled his often thought curiosity about what it would feel like to wear a cute skirt. Plus he'd been misidentified as a girl with increasing frequency with his long hair, polished nails, and lipstick. The beret sure didn't help project a macho image either.

"Yeah," Rocky smiled as the wheels in his head turned. "The rest of our names end with the ‘E’ sound, so as a girl you'd be Gabi! Buffy, Freddy, Gabi and Rocky, the Scooby Gang!"

Buffy noted Gabe's face as he blushed ever deeper. "Ease up guys," Buffy chided. "You'll scare Gabi away before she has a chance to really join the Scooby gang."

"We're only joking," Rocky apologized afraid he'd insulted his friend.

Freddy saw the mixed emotions running across Gabe's face. "Gabe knows that, Rocky. Why don't we go get Gabe's bike and bring it back to the barn."

"Okay," Rocky agreed as he followed Freddy down the stairs.

"I think part of you would like to be Gabi," Buffy declared once the guys had left. "Wouldn't you?"

Gabe looked at the floor. His inability to lie smacked him in the face again! "Part of me is curious what it'd be like to wear cute skirts like yours," he replied softly. "But I don't want to be a girl."

"You won't have to become a girl," Buffy answered as she put a comforting hand on his trembling arm. "But you could pretend to be a girl to round out the Scooby Gang. We'll call you Gabi, and I know the guys won't hassle you about it. Neither will the grups, they're cool with just about anything. You saw Moms and Pops accepted you as you are."

"I do like to act," Gabe sighed. "So I guess pretending to be Gabi would be okay. I'm just afraid the kids at school will really get on my case if you guys start calling me Gabi."

"Get off it, Gabi," Buffy chuckled. "Since when did you start worrying about what the kids at school think?"

"I don't," Gabe answered. "But they'll hassle you guys about it too."

"To paraphrase Rhett Butler," Buffy smiled. "Frankly, my dear, we don't give a damn!"

Gabe smiled. "I kinda like being called Gabi."

"I thought you might," Buffy smiled. "Besides, being Gabi will get you closer to being like your hero, Abby. You can even start wearing your hair in pigtails!"

Gabe looked surprised. "You know I like Abby?"

"Duh," Buffy laughed. "Ever since Halloween two years ago plus the way you've been dressing since, everyone with half a brain has known you idolize Abby. Personally, I think Abby's the kewlest character on TV! In fact, if you hadn't adapted her image to you, I'd probably have done it! Mimicking Pippi was nice when we were younger, but now she's just too childish."

"Yeah, I noticed you'd quit wearing the striped socks," Gabe chuckled.

"Let's go into the bathroom before the guys get back," Buffy laughed. "I'll teach you to put your hair up in pigtails like Abby. That'll let them know you're kewl with being Gabi." Buffy could immediately tell by Gabi’s smile he was anxious to try pigtails.

"Okay," Gabe smiled with barely controlled excitement. The main reason he'd let his hair grow was so he could be more like Abby. Many times when he was sure no one was around he tried to put his hair into pigtails but the awkward results were always less than he'd anticipated.

In moments the pair were standing before the mirror above the sink. Gabe removed his beret and pulled his ponytail out of the rubberband.

"I wondered how you kept this on while you ran," Buffy said as she examined the hair combs carefully glued to the inside band of the beret. "That's a smart set-up. The combs are hidden from view when you remove it and are easy to push in when you put it on. They don't even interfere when you fold it up."

"It took me a while to get it right," Gabe replied. "But it's been worth it."

"You already have bangs," Buffy said. "You need to grow them a bit longer then keep them trimmed at the level of your eyebrows. The rest of your hair needs to be parted right down the center line of your head. Just put the comb in the middle, pull it straight back a bit, then pull to one side. Put the comb back in the same spot and keep repeating that switching sides every time. It'll be tough until you get your hair trained."

It was a struggle but Gabe finally managed to part his hair down the middle. After that, gathering the sides together to form pigtails was easy. The only issue was getting them to sprout from his head from matching locations. Then he began to re-attached his beret, but decided the Ponytails would look cuter without the beret. "That's what I was doing wrong," Gabe enthused once he'd achieved a straight part and had his hair in high pigtails. Any reservations he'd harbored about appearing like a sissy vanished with the delightful results.

You look absolutely perfect" Buffy gushed. "You'll have to get dark green ribbons to match your nails and lipstick."

"Yeah," Gabe agreed with a broad grin as he surveyed his reflection in the mirror.

"Let's show the guys," Buffy urged. "Rocky is probably making popcorn in the microwave by now." With that she tugged on Gabe's arm and pulled him out of the bathroom. Sure enough, as soon as they's stepped out they smelled and heard the popcorn being made.

"Wow, Gabi, you look great," Freddy exclaimed as he checked out the new hair style.

Hearing that, Rocky stuck his head around the corner of the kitchenette and did a classic double take. "Gabi... like... zoinks!"

"Zoinks," Gabe laughed as he looked at Rocky's wide-eyed expression. "You've been watching too much Scooby Doo! Although if you'd let your hair grow out you could look a bit like Shaggy."

Rocky smiled self-depreciatingly. "I'm about as smart as Shaggy, but I'm not a scaredycat like him."

"You're a lot smarter than Shaggy," Buffy chided. "You learn from your experiences and friends, and you know you can trust us to stick with you."

Rocky smiled as Freddy and Gabi nodded their agreement. Soon the four friends were seated enjoying the popcorn and Cokes. Talking and joking, they easily bonded, and the Scooby Gang was complete. For Gabe, this was a new experience. He'd never had close friends before, and as he relaxed, he seamlessly slipped into being the second girl of the group.

The ringing of the phone interrupted their animated conversation. Buffy answered the phone, and after a few moments covered the mouth-piece and turned to the group. "Moms and Pops want to know if all our parents can come over tonight for a cook-out. They said they can all get to know each other and see the clubhouse so they'll feel safer letting us hang out here."

"My mom should be able to make it," Freddy said. "But I'll have to call her to make sure."

"I don't think my parents have anything planned," Rocky added. "I'll have to call them."

"My parents didn't say anything about tonight," Gabe said. "And I didn't realize it was so late. I'll have to call my mom and tell her I'm okay and will be late for lunch. I'll ask her about tonight."

"They all said it sounds great but they'll have to ask their parents," Buffy spoke into the phone. "Could you call them to ask? It'll probably go easier if you call. ~ That's great, thanks. Gabi, can you give Pops your phone number?"

Gabe went over and took the proffered phone from Buffy. After giving his home phone number, he asked if Pops could also tell his mom he'd be late for lunch.

"I'll tell her you're staying here for lunch," Pops replied with a chuckle. "I'll tell your mother I'm holding you hostage and the ransom is to join us for the cookout."

"Don't forget my dad's a lawyer," Gabe laughed. "He might sue you for false imprisonment."

"I doubt it," Pops declared. "We both served in the Marines."

After hanging up, the Scooby Gang cleaned up their snacks and trooped to the house for a light lunch.

"Gabi, I really like your hair that way," Moms said as they entered the kitchen. "The style really fits you. I think you’d be happier if you stopped trying to be a boy and let yourself be the girl you are inside."

Gabe blushed deeply but realized she wasn’t teasing, she was being absolutely serious. Before he could ponder her words the conversation moved on.

Pops joined them with a smile on his face. "Gabi, you look good with pigtails."

Gabe blushed with embarrassment. He'd already become so accustomed to the gentle bouncing of his new pigtails he'd forgotten he was wearing them.

"Everyone can make it," Pops went on. "Gabi, your mom was a bit flustered when I spoke to her. She promised she and your dad would pay your ransom, but only this time. She asked if we'd have enough food so she could bring your brother, I told her we always have plenty of food."

"He eats as much as my mom, dad, and I combined," Gabe laughed as he realized no one seemed to care if he wore his hair like a girl.

"He sounds like Rocky," Freddy joked.

"I can't help it," Rocky defended himself. "I like to eat."

Everyone laughed.

After they'd finished, Pops stood up. "Well, Rocky and Freddy, come with me out to the barn. We need to pull out and set up the trestle tables. There will be 19 of us eating and we don't want to crowd each other. We’ll use the regular picnic table for a service table and by putting 3 trestle tables together, we can get everyone comfortably seated."

Gabe looked a bit disappointed not to be asked to help with the heavy work. Mom's saw his distress and spoke up. "Gabi, do you think you can wash and dice potatoes for potato salad?"

"Yeah," Gabe smiled. "I've been helping my mom in the kitchen for years. Where should I work?"

Moms showed him to an old porcelain sink with a heavy wooden cutting board attached to one side in an alcove. "The potatoes are in that storage bin in the corner. Wash about 30 potatoes. Wrap 19 of the best looking ones in foil for baked potatoes, dice the rest and put them in this bowl."

Gabe smiled and set to work while Moms and Buffy prepared the sauces for the potato salad as well as macaroni salad. When he'd finished washing the potatoes, he dried the best 19 and wrapped them in aluminum foil and set them aside. Then he turned to the remaining 11 potatoes. "Mom's, do you have a peeler?"

"We don't peel our potatoes," Moms answered. "A lot of nutrition is in the peels and we don't want to lose it. Just dice them up with the skin on."

"We don't even peel them for mashed potatoes," Buffy added. "I think they taste better that way.

That made sense to Gabe so he nodded and set to work. Soon he had the bowl of diced potatoes ready. In a few moments they were in a large pot on the stove cooking away beside the macaronis. While they cooked, Buffy, Gabe and Moms cut up fresh fruit for fruit salad.

"This looks delicious," Gabe said. "We usually start with a big can of fruit salad and add some apples and oranges."

"That's the way most people make it now-a-days," Moms replied. "But once you taste fresh fruit salad, you'll never be satisfied with anything else."

By the time the big bowl of fruit salad was filled, covered with plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator, the potatoes and macaronis were cooked. They drained them and put them in big bowls before adding the similar but slightly different sauces. Once stirred in, these too were covered and placed in the refrigerator.

Going to a linen closet, Moms pulled out several table cloths and a bag of large clips. "The boys should have the tables set up by now so why don't you girls go out and cover them?"

Buffy took the table cloths and Gabi took the bag of clips before heading out the door. They were almost to the tables set up under some huge maple trees when Gabe stopped. Moms words seemed to slap him in the face as they finally registered in his consciousness. She’d lumped him with Buffy as a girl! With his long hair and pigtails and make-up he’d taken significant steps towards girlishness... is that what he really wanted?

“Gabi... Gabi...,” Buffy called as she looked back from the tables to see Gabi standing in a daze. Hurriedly she put the table cloths on the tables and went back to her friend. “Gabi, what’s wrong?”

Buffy’s words finally snapped Gabe out of his shock. “M... moms called me a... a g... girl!”

“Yeah...,” Buffy answered not understanding his problem. “What about it?”

Gabe looked at her with an expression of consternation on his face. “But I’m a boy! I thought you guys were just joking when you said I was going to be the second girl!”

“Gabi, look at yourself,” Buffy chided. “No one’s putting you down. You’ve never been Mr. Macho. You’ve been slowly turning yourself into a girl for almost two years. Your Halloween costume was simply a butch Abby. Since then you’ve been dressing and behaving more and more like her. You’ve let your hair grow long, you wear dark green nail polish all the time and matching lipstick when you can get away with it. Then there’s your beret. I mean, it really looks good on you, but even with the skull patch there is no way it’s even remotely masculine. Then there’s your attitude towards sports. All the jocks loathe you for telling them sports are juvenile. Moms wasn’t teasing you, she was just calling things as she saw them. You do look like a girl, a cute girl!”

Gabe was hurt. He’d thought Buffy was his friend. Yet he had to admit everything she said was true. He was intentionally Abby-izing himself. How much of a guy could he be to use a Goth/scientist girl as his idol and role model! With increasing frequency strangers had been mistaking him for a girl. Why had he allowed Buffy to put his hair into pigtails? Why did he feel jealous of Buffy for wearing a shot skirt and teasing the guys? Why did he long to be able to wear a sassy pleated schoolgirl skirt? The staggering answer unnerved him... he wanted to look more like Abby! Everyone who saw him thought he looked like a cute girl... like Abby. That's what he wanted. So why was he so upset? The answers to his questions weren’t as simple as it seemed. Because guys were not supposed to want to look like cute girls even if the were Goth just didn’t cut it!

Just then a squeaking sound could be heard approaching from behind the barn. As it grew louder Rocky emerged pulling an old but sturdy Radio Flyer wagon. The 40 inch by 19 inch wagon had heavy duty 10 inch balloon tires and 18 inch wooden slat sides. The wagon was as full as could be with firewood.

Gabe was amazed by Rocky’s strength as the boy seemed to effortlessly pull the overfilled wagon. Gabe doubted if he could even pull it ten feet. Maybe being thought of as a girl wasn't so bad after all, he wouldn't have to do all those yucky jobs that got boys so dirty and sweaty.

Following behind the wagon were Pops and Freddie with their arms full of firewood. Rocky led the way to the big brick outdoor fireplace. The firebox was a cube 36 inches to the side. The back half of the top was a iron sheet 3/4 of an inch thick. The front half was stainless steel grilling bars. There were shutter like folding doors across the front which opened to feed the fire and closed to deflect the heat away from the person grilling. To the left of the firebox was an outdoor oven. A 12 inch high by 30 inch wide door opened down to give access to the oven. Several open channels ran from the firebox around the oven to channel heat into the brick mass. To the right of the firebox was a stone slab for staging. Behind the fireplace were a series of masonry cradles to hold firewood. From the looks of it, the guys had already made several trips. A soapstone counter with a deep sink served by an old hand water pump sat nearby.

As the guys stacked the firewood behind the fireplace Buffy and Gabe placed the tablecloths over the trestle table and clipped them in place. Gabe watched the guys sweating while they worked and was again glad he had easier girls’ tasks. He blushed as he realized that once again he was slipping into girlishness. Maybe he really was a girl and just didn’t know it. While his mom would probably like having her youngest son become her daughter, he was sure his Marine Reserve dad would flip out.

"Pops, please light the fire to warm the oven," Moms called from the back door. "Girls, please come back inside."

Buffy and Gabe obediently headed for the house as Pops organized the boys to place logs in the fire box, stuff newspaper around them, and light the fire. From the back door, Gabe looked back to see if the guys were giving him dirty look for being a GIRL but apparently it hadn't phased them a bit. The were busy with Pops.

"Put on aprons, was your hands thoroughly and come to the table," Moms smiled. "We'll make some dough for some good old fashioned home made bread." Soon the duo were almost elbow deep in the dough and all three were giggling. Gabe never realized how much fun it could be to make dough. In 45 minutes they had five large loaves rising in loaf pans and a cup cake baking pan filled with rolled buttered, sweetened, cinnamon dough to make fresh home made cinnamon rolls as dessert.

"Let's carry them out to the oven," Moms smiled once they'd cleaned up the mess. "The oven should be warm enough by now to give us a wonderful bake."

Buffy carried a tray with three loves and Gabe carried a tray with 2 loves. Moms carried the cup cake pan. There was an 18 inch masonry side ledge by the oven to put the goodies. While Moms checked the oven temperature, Buffy and Gabe took the large wooden pizzeria style shovel which hung beside the oven to the sink to wash off the dust and spider webs. As they walked past the firebox Gabe noted the shutter-like doors were closed trapping the heat inside and giving a longer, slower burn at a steady temperature. The shovel was made from a single piece of oak. The 1  ½ inch thick squared handle was five feet long and the 14 inch rounded paddle tapered from 1  ½ inches at the handle to about 1/4 inch at the tip Buffy took a wash cloth and Gabe pumped the handle to make the water flow. It only took a few moments to wash. The big Radio Flyer wagon was standing on end by the sink as the guys had washed the wood debris from it.

Moms sent Buffy and Gabe back inside to bring out the baking pans with the foil wrapped potatoes. After opening the oven door she had Gabe put about four inches of the pizza shovel on the door. He could feel the heat radiating from the massive brick oven. Then she placed a tray with the baking potatoes on the shovel and had him slide it to the back corner, explaining how to slip the pan off the shovel without disturbing the potato distribution. The second pan Gabe did with instruction. After he placed the five loaf pans inside, there wasn't room for the cinnamon rolls.

"Since they're smaller they don't take as long to bake," Moms explained as she shut the oven door. It'll take about 30-35 minutes for the bread to bake. When we take the bread out to cool, we'll put in the cinnamon rolls. By the time the rolls are done, the potatoes will be done. Now, lets go back and get the condiments, plates, bowls, and utensils."

As they started back to the house Rocky and Freddy came out of the barn carrying an old green Coleman steel cooler. It was 17 inches high by 17 inches deep by 35 inches long, a monster 100 quart capacity. They carried it to the sink and began washing it off. Pops followed them to supervise.

Under Moms watchful eye Buffy and Gabe gathered the condiments, plates, bowls, and utensils while she pulled several bags from the huge freezer. From the bags she took pre-made hamburger patty's, not the kind you buy in a grocery, but hand made ones she'd frozen. She also pulled several packs of hot-dogs and some chicken quarters. She spread it all out on a huge tray to thaw, covering it with a light cloth to keep the bugs off.

Just then the boys appeared outside the kitchen with the cleaned cooler in the wagon. They grabbed a couple bags of ice chunks to put in the cooler before heading back to the barn to load up the Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, Ice Tea, and Coors.

---

To Be Continued...