“Well, FATHER,” Jaz finally spoke firmly as she glared at her erstwhile father. “You have a lot of damn gall standing up here talking about getting married after what you’ve done to us!”

The hush that had fallen over the group became heavy with anxiety. Many feared the hostility in Jasmine’s words might be the start of the love and hope that made up the Clan Wells Point might shatter.

Then Sandi stepped to up to Buffy to ominously glare at her mother. “You betrayed me. You allowed my innocence to be stolen by an animal. Now you want us to approve of you marrying this man who betrayed his children?”

Sandi, Ivy holding George, Holly holding Benny Jr, and Jaz stood in a line glaring at their parent. Benny Jr and George were glaring too. They didn’t know why but they did know if their half sisters were upset they should also be upset.

Ben and Buffy wilted before the withering glare of their offspring. Both felt their hope slipping away. The clan members shrank in their seats as they felt the raw emotion the six kids were shooting at their parent.

After several painful minutes Jaz sighed heavily. “Well, FATHER, you’d better make sure we’re part of the wedding party!”

“Yes, MOTHER,” Sandi added looking at her birth mom. “We’d better be part of the wedding party!”

With that the six kids stepped forward to surround the nervous pair in a group hug. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and the applause once more began. The six had quite effectively told off their parent then forgave them symbolically forgiving them by wanting to be part of the wedding.

“Of course you’ll all be part of the wedding party,” Ben declared as Buffy smiled with relief.

Krista smiled as she squeezed Tony’s hand.

Tony returned the squeeze and softly asked, “You knew they were going to do that, didn’t you?”

“Naturally,” Krista giggled. “I realized before Thanksgiving they were falling in love. At every clan gathering they were side by side, discreetly holding hands when they thought no one was watching. I let Jaz, Holly, Ivy and Sandi know what I’d seen. They watched and saw what I did. They planned that little show so they’d be ready when they announced their plans to marry. They knew Benny and George would follow their lead.”

“Remind me to never try to outsmart you,” Tony smiled.

“You’re welcome to try,” Krista smiled. “Just don’t expect to succeed.”

With that Tony twisted stepping in front of Krista to plant a big kiss on her lips completely catching the girl by surprise.

“Okay, I stand corrected. You can occasionally outsmart me” Krista smiled at him before going in for another passionate kiss.”

“Hey you two, get a room,” Sam snarked as he had his arm about Jenny.

“If they know what’s good for them they’d better not,” Pat smirked from behind the two teenaged couples.

Krista twisted her head to look at her stepmom. “We know better than that but don’t expect us to be totally celibate.” Then she kissed Tony again.

“Kids... no wonder I’m getting gray hair,” Pat sighed dramatically before laughing.

Quite a few clan memebers who had witnessed the playful exchange chuckled with them.

The gathering continued and the date of Saturday March 28 was selected for the marriage.

*****

Audrey Aldrich was pleasantly surprised by the remodeling and successful opening of the CWP Bakery. The owner of ‘Take Me Home’ in the building next to CWP Bakery just across Canton Street. She rented space to ‘St. Michaels Candy & Gifts’ and ‘The Christmas Shop’ in that building. She also owned the tiny building next door renting it to ‘Silva Wear’. At sixty six years old and considering the economy she decided it was time to retire. She approached the clan to see if they might be interested in purchasing her properties and business. The asking price was steep. Steven made a counter offer that was considerably lower bluntly telling the her that with the economy sunk no one would pay the asking price or even make an offer better than the clan’s offer. In addition he reminded her that if she listed with a realtor she’d lose six percent on fees and commissions. Realizing Steven was telling her the truth, she began bargaining to reach a mutually agreeable price.

“The Clan Wells Point seems to be involved in a lot of outreach,” Audrey said as the bargaining bogged down. “I’ve heard a lot of pretty fantastic stories about what you do, especially that girl Krista. I seems unbelievable that a girl her age could do half of what they say she’s done. I know she took out that badass Jack Masters, that was all over the news. But did she really cut off that man’s arm to free him from a burning car?”

“That she did,” Steven smiled. “She crawled inside through the shattered rear window, saw the driver was bleeding badly, and put a tourniquet on his arm. Then she unbuckled and handed out the car carriers with the babies in them. By then Robert and Ed had popped open the passenger door and pulled the mother of the babies out. By then the flames were licking up through the drivers side windows. Krista cut the seatbelt to free the driver as Robert tried to pull him out but his mangled left arm was trapped. Krista sawed through his arm, severing it at the elbow so Robert could pull the unconscious man out. By the time Krista scrambled out the roof liner was burning. Just as she got out the gas tank exploded. She was burned on her hands and face., thankfully not badly.”

“Incredible,” Audrey sighed. “I think I’d help out in an emergency but I doubt I’d ever think about risking my life like that.”

“That’s the thing with Krista,” Steven said. “She doesn’t think about risking her life. When she see’s someone in need she simply does what she can to help.”

“Well all I can say is she must have one hell of a guardian angel looking out for her,” Audrey declared.

“Actually she has two,” Steven replied in all seriousness.

Audrey was a bit spooked as she realized Steven honestly believed what he’d said.

“You know, instead of the clan buying you out you could join the clan,” Steven said. “Would you like to take a tour of the Clan Wells Point?”

“Sure,” Audrey agreed. “I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Together with his wife Cynthia, Steve chauffeured Audrey around the clan territory taking her on a tour of the dairy, digester, vertical windmills and power distribution center. They also checked in on the fledgling CWP Handcrafted Toys. Audrey was excited seeing the handcrafted wooden toys and stuffed animals.

“You’ll need to get these smaller items into ‘Take Me Home’, Audrey raved. “They’ll sell like hot cakes!”

“If we can reach an agreement we probably will,” Cynthia smiled. “In fact, I’m considering if I want to manage it. I’m just about the only adult in the Clan who isn’t retired or working. I did a lot of volunteer work before we joined the clan. When we joined I did a lot of baby-sitting. But since we’ve established out own daycare I haven’t had much to do.”

“Running ‘Take Me Home’ will keep you busy,” Audrey smiled wistfully. “Part of me doesn’t want to sell. A bigger part of me doesn’t want to leave St Michaels. But I am ready to retire. The idea of packing up and moving to a new place is intimidating and daunting.”

“When we uprooted ourselves from the west coast to settle with the clan was scary,” Cynthia agreed. “But it was well worth doing. We went from having a son who didn’t bother to communicate with us to having two soon to be three daughters-in-law and five grandchildren. Now we even have our son back. Joining the Clan Wells Point is the best thing we’ve ever done. So, do you have any plans for your retirement? Anywhere you’d like to settle down?”

“I haven’t given much thought to either,” Audrey replied. “To be honest I like living in St. Michaels and have wanted to get more involved in civic activities. As far as plans for retirement I started working when I was eleven. Honestly, I don’t know how to not work. I’d just like to get out of the day to day drudgery. Unfortunately I have no living family with which to share my life.”

“You live in one of the apartments above ‘The Christmas Shop’,” Cynthia stated. “Correct?

“Yes,” Audrey answered. “Once I sell I’ll have to move... unless... you said it’s possible for me to join your clan? The idea of being a part of something so much bigger and dynamic than myself seems quite attractive. I could stay in my apartment and help transition the store to your management.”

“That would be wonderful,” Cynthia declared with enthusiasm. “You’d get a huge family with the clan.”

Audrey was near tears. The idea of having a family after nearly thirty years of being alone was too attractive to pass up. “Okay, if you’ll have me I’d like to join the clan.”

Within two days the deal was done. Audrey Aldrich was the newest member of the now one hundred fifty five member strong Clan Wells Point.

The large combined two story building that came with Audrey joining the clan was opposite CWP Bakery across Canton Street and fronted on South Talbot Street. The building was one hundred feet by one hundred feet with a rear parking lot one hundred feet by seventy five feet which adjoined the parking lot of the building the clan previously purchased on the corner of Canton and Fremont Streets. At one time the three now joined stores had been separate buildings but once Audrey owned all three she had them connected with a large addition added behind as well as connecting the buildings side to side.

‘The Christmas Shop’ was on the corner of Canton and Talbot Streets. Occupying an area forty feet by forty feet they offered the charms of the arts and crafts of the Eastern Shore and specially selected gifts from around the world with a Christmas/Hanukkah/winter theme. Above ‘The Christmas Shop’ were two apartments, a two bedroom one bath rented unit and a one bedroom one bath apartment that Audrey called home.

‘St. Michaels Candy & Gifts’ was next with an area of forty feet by thirty five feet. They made most of the candy on site including flavored and caramel popcorn and cotton candy as well as assorted chocolates and dipped in chocolate cherries and strawberries. Above ‘St. Michaels Candy & Gifts’ was a thirty five by forty feet three bedroom one bath apartment.

‘Take Me Home’ occupied an area forty feet by twenty five feet. ‘Take Me Home’ sold Collectibles, knick-nacks, antiques and furniture. Above ‘Take Me Home’ was a forty feet by twenty five feet two bedroom 1 bath apartment. With the change in ownership the store became CWP Take Me Home. The stuuffies and wooden toys were added to the items for sale and proved quite successful. CWP Handrafted Toys was heavily advertized.

The rest of the two story building behind the three stores was a warehouse one hundred feet by sixty feet originally all for ‘Take Me Home’. The clan decided to reduce the antique furniture stock which eliminated the need for such a large warehouse. The first floor warehouse would become the site for the CWP Dairy, Produce & Poultry store. The second floor would remain warehouse for ‘Take Me Home’ with any left over space used for storage for the clan businesses in St. Michaels.

Included in the change of ownership was a small parcel of land beside the large building. The twenty five feet by one hundred seventy five feet lot had a small building facing Talbot Street. The fifteen feet wide by twenty feet deep building housed ‘Silva Wear’, made and sold handcrafted jewelry.

The building the clan originally had planned to remodel for CWP Dairy, Produce & Poultry they repurposed for CWP Hairy Wish Now, a health and beauty spa to be run by sisters Arwen Gleason and Ruby Orlando. The second floor was to be remodeled into two mirror image seventeen feet by thirty five feet apartments with two bedrooms and bath each.

The sisters had worked at different high end salons back in California but due to the economic crunch had been laid off in an effort to cut costs by the business they had worked for. With Kevin’s assistance they filed for the necessary Maryland Beautician Certification Licenses. With their years of experience neither had any issues getting what they needed. By April 1 they were ready to open with Buffy Herr as an eager apprentice. Breanne Gleason would also work their part time.

Saturday March 28 was the wedding of Ben Reese and Buffy Her. It was held in the Clan Barn. Jasmine served as maid of honor while Sandi Scott was the bridesmaid with one year old George Reese as the flower girl. Holly Reese Served as best man while Ivy Reese served as the groomsman with three year old Benny Reese Jr as the ring bearer. The entire wedding party wore kilts in the pink and green Clan Wells Point tartan motif. The groom, best man, groomsman and ring bearer wore sky blue kneesox with sky blue long sleeved ruffled blouses. The Bride, maid of honor, bridesmaid and flower girl wore pink kneesox with pastel pink long sleeved ruffled blouses. The only real difference between the two sides was the color.

When it was time for the service to start, with Steven and Kevin on their bagpipes, Diane on the fiddle and Leroy on a bodhran, they began playing a lively Irish jig for the processional. When the music began Ben Reese followed his daughters Holly and Ivy as they gaily danced down the wide aisle between the clan members to the stage. Everyone smiled and chuckled. As the pipes swirled, daughters Jasmine and Sandi did an Irish step dance to the makeshift altar on the stage where Rev. Giles waited. Again everyone smiled. Then Ben and son Benny Jr, the ring bearer jigged down the aisle. Everyone broke into giggles and laughter as they saw the flower girl make the trek. One year old son George was safely strapped into a safety seat secured in the back half of a Radio Flyer wagon with wooden side rails. In the front half sat a bubble machine spewing a steady stream of bubbles up at a forty five degree angle to the floor. The wagon was pulled by a remote control foot long Max Power Tow Truck. The truck twisted and turned in time with the music as it drove down the eight feet wide aisle. Tony was operating the controls and little George was giggling with delight as he was pulled into the cascading stream of bubbles. His chubby little hands did their best to snag errant bubbles. Tony deftly parked the wagon in front of the stage so the bubbles continued to freely flow. Finally the bride had her moment of glory as she did a jaunty Irish step dance down the aisle.

The wedding ceremony proceeded. When it came time for the vows Rev. Giles paused the ceremony so first Ben and then Buffy could speak.

“Before the Clan Wells Point came into my life I was a self centered egomaniac who thoughtlessly tossed aside those who loved me. I callously hurt my wives and children. I was a terrible human being. Fortunately the Clan rescued those I abandoned and brought me to justice. I was a self righteousness jerk. When I was brought to justice I was angry... and terrified of the long sentence I faced. Then a miracle happened. My daughters forgave me and asked I be paroled into the clan. For the first time in my life I was genuinely grateful... still self centered, but grateful. The clan accepted my parole and put me to work. I shoveled manure and did every dirty job that needed doing. But no one laughed at me. No one teased me. In fact they praised me for a job well done, often while working by my side at the dirty jobs. I learned that working with your hands and getting dirty is liberating. My eyes were opened to what really matters in life. It’s not money or fame, it’s helping others. The joy of helping someone is far greater than any material thing or title can begin to duplicate. For the first time in my life I discovered true joy. The clan has resurrected me, and I shall always be thankful.”

“I too have been resurrected by the clan,” Buffy declared. “I dropped out of school when I became pregnant. I was stealing from my family to buy marijuana. I was also disrespectful and nasty to my parents. Things became so bad they had no choice but to kick me out of the house. I was too arrogant and self centered to care. Somehow my baby came out with no birth defects or issues. I loved her, but I was hooked on drugs. I prostituted myself to feed and clothe us and to buy my drugs. I bounced from one bad drug dealer to another. The last one... when I was to far gone to give in to his sexual demands... he turned to my sweet little girl... Sandi, I am so so sorry I failed you! After she was molested she ran away. God was smiling on her because he led Krista to find her. But it was two days after she’d fled... and I was so high I never realized she was gone until the police arrived to arrest me and my druggie boyfriend for child abuse. I was horrified that I failed my baby and plead guilty to all charges and was sentenced to ten years in jail. Sandi was adopted into Krista’s family. She couldn’t have better siblings or parents. They allowed me to witness and agree with the adoption. Jail was horrible. I went through drug withdrawal cold turkey but I was determined to beat the devil on my back. I was beat up almost every day but I accepted that as part of my penance. Then the clan managed to get me released on parole. I too did every dirty job and earned praise for my efforts. I can’t thank the clan enough for getting me out of hell of illegal drug use.”

Rev. Giles resumed the ceremony. The couple exchanged honest, heartfelt vows. Their children, now their nephews and nieces, hugged the newlyweds before greeting the rest of those attending. The reception was spectacular and the newly wed couple were given a two night honeymoon in DC with tickets to the performances at the Kennedy Center. When they returned they settled into an apartment above CWP Daycare.

Kevin was making progress on the legal front. Wendy’s divorce from Lenny Farr was progressing nicely. The charge of abandonment and thus child endangerment didn’t sit well with the court. In fact he’d been arrested on the child endangerment charges. Lenny Farr was beside himself in lock up. As Wendy wanted, conveyed to the courts by Kevin, Lenny agreed to the divorce and gave up all parental rights to Becky in exchange for a sentence of five years court supervised parole with the Clan Wells Point. He was brought out to the clan and placed in Ed and Sheila’s home.

The other divorce was that of Howard Gantner from Gloria Gantner. This divorce was anything but civil. The initial steps of filing Chapter for Chapter 7 bankruptcy were in place. The banks holding the mortgage on the house, the car loan for Gloria’s new SUV and for the maxed out credit cards had conducted their investigations. They verified Howard was penniless and found that his claim it was his wife who ran up all the charges and forced Howard and sons to flee Alabama was valid. Knowing it was impossible to squeeze anything out of Howard they viciously turned on Gloria. She found her new SUV had been repossessed and her bank accounts locked down. The IRS also nailed her for unreported income thanks to an anonymous tip which locked her access to the new bank accounts she’d set up to stash the money she’d taken from the joint accounts and credit cards. She was left penniless and on the hook for the financial debacle she’d created. In fact she was currently in jail having assaulted the tow truck operator when he picked up the SUV. When the police arrived she attacked a police officer. All her so-called friends abandoned her. She couldn’t make bail and was awaiting trial. Unfortunately she couldn’t file for bankruptcy because she had too much in her bank accounts even though the IRS had them locked down.

Lenny was one of the clan’s few failures although it was not their fault. After one day shoveling cow manure he stole what cash he could find from Ed and Lisa, stole their car and took off.

Fortunately all CWP vehicles had tracking devices installed. When the police caught up with him just outside Baltimore they gave chase. At speeds exceeding one hundred mph while on the 695 Beltway. As with many so called ‘tough guys’ Lenny disdained seatbelts as being for wussies. The police estimated he was doing ninety when he sideswiped the concrete median barrier and rolled the car. About the third roll he was ejected, reaching an estimated thirty feet high before slamming down in the oncoming traffic. The tractor trailer never had time to avoid him. With Lenny dead the divorce was mute.

At the start all farm related activities had fallen under the all encompassing CWP Organic Farm. From that start everything the clan produced was done without artificial hormones or antibiotics and were classified as organic. The cattle and chickens had adequate access to pasture allowing them to be called range fed and classified as organic. As the clan grew and the farm expanded it became necessary to split off operations. The first had been the CWP Green Power Initiatives which took the CWP Manure Digester with it. The still growing CWP Vertical Wind Turbine Farm and the CWP Power Grid Distribution Center were other divisions that fell within the CWP Green Power Initiatives.

With increase of the chickens and cows and the accompanying increase in eggs and milk it became cost effective to begin self processing of the eggs and milk. That meant either creating or repurposing existing buildings to handle the processing. For the clan that also meant making sure the new processing areas were easy to sanitize.

The eighty feet by thirty feet barn at the intersection of Johns Cove Lane and Apple Lane was remodeled and brought up to sanitation standards. Remodeled to have three floors it was set up as a dairy processing plant. They could pasteurize, homogenize and bottle milk, separate cream to make butter and icecream and make cheese.

The southern attached fifteen feet by thirty feet shed attached to the barn at the intersection of Wells Point Lane and Dougherty Lane and across from the new chicken yard was converted to process eggs; washing, grading, sanitizing and packing them in egg cartons. The rest of the barn and northern shed would be set for slaughtering cattle and chickens then butchered for meat.

The renovation and expansion of the shed in the triangular pasture and the high surrounding fence were completed creating a new chicken yard. The chickens were quickly relocated to their new home ten days moved to the new site ten days before the arrival of the cows. That left just enough time to gut and remodel the former chicken house into a cattle barn.

With the upcoming growth of the cattle herd and chicken flock, spinoff divisions from the CWP Organic Farm occurred. Headed by Serena Moonflower and Misty Dawn the CWP Dairy would process milk for marketing and need two employees. CWP Poultry would process eggs and would need to hire a manager and at least two workers. CWP Butcher Shop would process the steers, cows that consistently no longer met milk production quotas and chickens that no longer produced adequate eggs. A head butcher and at least two assistants would have to be hired. CWP Greenhouses would grow vegetables year round and would be headed by M8t and K8t. The CWP Dairy, Produce & Poultry Store in St. Michaels would need a manager and four employees.

On April 1 five cattle trucks arrived. The dairy herd increased to four hundred head. A week later new chickens arrived bringing the flock to five hundred. By Easter the manure digester was going at eighty percent capacity. There were seventy vertical windmills in operation. Between the digester and the windmills the clan was producing seventy percent of the power they consumed.

Knowing the clan needed skilled people to fill the expanding positions for the clan Krista suggested they contact Transgender support groups especially Parents of Transgender kids in Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Baltimore, DC, Richmond, Norfolk, Charlotte, and Atlanta. The support groups quickly recognized the Clan Wells Point for their open LGBT support having seen the news reports of Krista. The advertized positions were not sugar coated. Anyone applying would need to be a willing worker. But all the benefits and freedom to be themselves without fear of harassment the Clan Wells Point offered was also made evident.

Dozens of people applied. Thirty percent were sent ‘Thank you for applying but...’ letters. The rest were contacted to set up appointments for a Skype face to face interview. Another twenty five percent failed to follow through with the Skype interview. A bit over half of the Skype interviews were deemed incompatible either by the applicant or by the clan. That left twenty percent of the original applicants. Selecting those who were deemed the best fit for each position arrangements were made for face to face interviews and tours with two night reservations in one of the four clan B&Bs.

The first to be interviewed were those who were being harassed for supporting their transgender child. The Cooper family traveled from just north of Albany, New York. Dan was twenty nine and worked as a lineman for the local Electric utility. Tracy Cooper was twenty eight and was the produce department manager in a store of a large supermarket chain. Ten year old Lane and six year old Corrine were normal kids. Eight year old Louise was transgender. Ever since she was born she’d identified as female and steadfastly refused to accept she was born male. It was Lane who first insisted he had two younger sisters. Corrine never thought of her big sister as anything but a girl. Dan and Tracy struggled with the concept their middle child was transgender. It was the massive difference in her behavior and happiness when they allowed her to be a girl at home as compared to being forced to be a boy at school. Louise was teased and tormented by classmates for being a sissy when in Louis mode. When they finally allowed Louise to attend school as herself at the start of the current school year that the crap hit the fan. While the school officially accepted transgender youth practice was quite different. The staff barely tolerated Louise and always waited until an incident occurred before stepping in. The in school harassment extended to the siblings. In public the family was harassed. Tracy received several disciplinary actions when self-righteous customers went after her for allowing her middle child to be an abomination. Not one disciplinary action was due to her work quality. The same happened to Dan. The family was fed up.

The interview went well, Steven and Jane agreed Tracy would be the perfect choice for manager of CWP Dairy, Produce and Poultry. A benefit was that Dan had skills needed by CWP Green Power Initiatives. With the growing Vertical Wind Turbine Farm an experienced lineman would be a boon. After touring the clan territory Dan and Tracy expressed their feelings both could handle the jobs. They were still concerned about the acceptance of Louise by the other kids.

The clan gathered in the Clan Barn for a meet and greet. Needless to say the Coopers were delighted to meet the transgender clan members. That Kylie was post op, married, and the mother of two babies impressed them. Jenny and Sam, being boy and girl friends with both being transgender amazed them. Meeting Jamie and boyfriend Freddie excited them. Jamie was a big boned T-girl but none the less feminine. That Freddie was a double amputee just made things better. Ellen Gantner being transgender in elementary school made filled them with hope for Louise. It was Krista who stunned them. They were aware of her exploits. The cute perky girl most certainly didn’t match the image they’d conjured of the heroic transgender teen. They found it hard to imagine the petite bundle of giggles could have done what she’d done. They were amazed to see several photos of Krista Jenny had taken at the car wreck. One was of her crawling into the back of the burning car. Another of her handing out a car seat with baby inside. Another was with flames licking up tthe driver’s side with her leaning over the driver. Then there was one horrifying image of Krista bailing out of the car as it was engulfed in a fireball. The image of Krista with burned hands and face with scorched hair tending to the severed stump of Ben’s left arm made them shivered. The presence of Ben Johnson and his family served notice that the clan cared as much as Krista.

The Cooper children got along with the clan children. The clan kids made them feel welcome including them in their play. The Coopers signed on with the Clan Wells Point. They planned to head back to New York, hand in their two notice, and move to the Clan. A first floor apartment in one of the houses acquired with CWP Excavation & Concrete in St. Michaels had four bedrooms and two and a half baths would meet the needs of the Coopers.

The next interviews were unique. Twenty five year olds Elaine and Justin Landis with their two year old son Shane. They were expecting their second child, due in two months. What was unusual was that they were both parents were transsexual. While Justin looked a bit awkward with the baby bump both were clearly delighted to be parents. They came from Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Born and raised in the Amish tradition neither felt comfortable in their proscribed gender roles. They’d know each other from childhood but both had been too shy and repressed to interact with other children. Knowing something was wrong with them felt horribly out of place. They were lucky to hit their Rumspringa at the same time. As part of a larger group of teens they left their tightly controlled home life to explore the world. Within a week they had gravitated to each other and split form the group. The LGBT scene in Philadelphia was an eye opener. Upon seeing transgender people, both realized the true cause of their feeling out of place. They realized they were transgender. They experimented crossing the gender lines and for the first time in their lives they felt right. They quickly fell in love.

Returning home they resumed their birth gender masquerade as Gabriel and Joy and announced they were engaged. This didn’t set well with the elders since most engagements were arranged within the community. Everyone knew both had been reclusive but their time on Rumspringa had given both confidence they’d been sorely lacking. Reluctantly their betrothal was accepted. They were married, occupying a small house of Gabriel’s family farm with both working in the family butcher shop. They last four years only able to be themselves in the safety of their small house. The strain became too much and they finally announced they were leaving the fold. Of course they were instantly shunned. They quietly moved and assumed their real gender identities. With their experience in the family butcher shop they landed jobs in a supermarket meat department. Needless to say Justin/Joy became pregnant the truth came out and they took a lot of heat but persevered. But when Justin became pregnant the second time the bigotry became too great. Fortunately the clan’s add came at the perfect time.

The interview with the clan went well. The fact their were other transsexuals living openly was great. To learn Jenny and Sam were cross gender dating made them feel at home. They returned to Pennsylvania to work out their two weeks notice. Both would be working in CWP Butcher Shop with Elaine managing. The free standing twenty five feet by forty five feet garage with the home Harold, Doris, Joyce, Harold Jr. and Kevin Rich lived in was converted to a three bedromm one and half bath home for th Landis family.

Thirty five yer old Julio Santana, his wife thirty four year old Marie, their fifteen year old daughter Sophie and thirteen year old son Hector hailed from Atlanta. Julio was applying for the manager of CWP Poultry. He had nineteen years working on chicken farms which gave him the experience the clan was looking for. Marie was a silver lining in the potential hire. She had a degree in Computer Science and was a networking specialist with experience in trouble shooting system malfunctions and maintaining servers. While the clan had not been looking for someone in that area after talking to her they realized they needed someone to coordinate their rapid expansion. Together the couple was simply too good to pass up. The main reason they were looking to relocate was because of Marie. Marie had been born Martin but transitioned after leaving home at eighteen. Julio knew Martin and looked out for the oft bullied underclassman. They lost track of each other after Martin moved out. Julio married his childhood sweetheart, Linda, who happened to be Martin’s cousin.

Shortly after the birth of Hector, Linda was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Although they fought the horrid disease, Linda succumbed when she was thirty. This left a huge hole in the Santana family. Martin, by then post op transsexual Marie, came to her cousin’s funeral. The families were horrified and verbally abused Marie to the point of tears. Before she could flee Julio stepped up to once more protect him/her.

“Marie is here to pay respects to Linda,” Julio scolded. “She is not here to be insulted by her family! We all Martin was different. But not one of you ever stood up for him when he was bullied. I did. Linda fell in love with me because I cared about her cousin! Now you insult her by the way you treat Marie. Now I tell you this only once. If you cannot accept Marie you are not welcome here! Leave now and may you never cross my path again!”

Nearly three quarters of the people left in a huff. Marie tried to dissuade Julio but he was steadfast. Sophie and Hector supported their father. After the not well attended burial, Julio invited Marie home since she had no where to stay. Marie poured her heart out to Julio, both finding solace in the sense of loss both felt. Marie while skilled had two strikes against her. First she was Hispanic, second she was transgender. It was difficult to determine which was the bigger strike. For the next two years they kept in touch as Marie was bounced from job to job because of the bigotry she faced. Julio did as he’d threatened at the funeral and avoided the bigoted relatives. Then two years ago they began dating and after six months they quietly married and Marie adopted Sophie and Hector.

Needless to say the Clan Wels Point hired both. Julio to head up CWP Poultry and Marie to work in CWP LLC as the networking manager. She quickly to Ferdy and Amy under her wings and began to teach them the world of computer systems.