Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Manny takes four days to make the trip to his uncle’s ranch. He listens to Sirius-XM most of the way; however, it’s mostly background music. His mind wanders over many things including something Maria, the wife of his uncle’s foreman said to him years before. She had said he was “Two Spirited”. He had done some research and learned what it meant. It bothered him a bit, but then, it didn’t.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 2

Maybe they hadn’t set the academic world on fire, but they’d been solid B students. Now that he had his diploma figuratively in his pocket he was ready to conquer the world; well, sort of. The actual diploma would be mailed to his home in San Antonio.

Manny had given himself three weeks to unwind on the road. That would probably be plus or minus a few days depending on how things went in Tagus, North Dakota. He hadn’t been to his Uncle Ben’s ranch since he was twelve; when he and his mother had made the long journey from Texas to North Dakota. They’d done it once before when he’d been six. His uncle had visited them several times in San Antonio. Uncle Ben was ten years older than his mother, and may or may not have ever been married.

The ranch consisted of several thousand acres of bottomland along a tributary of the Missouri River. The bottomland ran into some low scrub covered hills. The only trees of any significance were some cottonwoods that bordered the creek bed. There were also some poplars that grew around the ranch houses. There probably wasn’t another tree between there and the North Pole. At least his uncle had said that was true. Actually, in the town of Tagus, there were quite a few trees.

It had been a good ride, he’d taken four days for clearing his mind; maybe not actually clearing it, but trying to figure out where his life was going. What did he really want or need to do. Those thoughts had been with him since early childhood. Maria Williams, his uncle’s housekeeper and wife of his ranch foreman, had told him years before that he was “two-spirited”. She was probably a full-blooded Sioux, as was her husband. They had several children, he wasn’t sure exactly how many. From what he could remember, Robert Williams pretty much ran the show at the ranch as his uncle was frequently away doing whatever he did when he was away. Anyway, Maria had told him he was two-spirited. He hadn’t thought too much about it until he was in high school when he ran across the phrase while doing research for a psychology paper.

Among the many explanations of the term was the idea it meant gender variant; that is the two-spirited person might be both male and female in spite of how they appeared to be externally. In fact, a person might appear to be female when they were actually male, or vice versa. Maybe that explained his problem. At 22 Manny was still a virgin. He hadn’t been close to losing it. He wasn’t gay. At least he didn’t think he was. He was attracted to woman. He loved the female form. He’d just never been able to get past one or two dates with anyone. The chemistry never happened.

He wasn’t sure it was actually a problem. It was more like just trying to find out who he was. There had been an active LGBT community at Humboldt, and he had several friends who were gay. Someone was rumored to be transgender; however, he wasn’t sure whether that person was a female to male or male to female, and he wasn’t sure it was any of his business. At that time he’d not felt any great desire to be identified with any group. Besides his roommate and his intramural softball teammates, he had few friends. He had no real friends from high school.

Somehow his mother, Allison, had acquired a nice ranch house at the end of an unpaved road on the outskirts of Helotes northwest of San Antonio. That had happened when he was about five or six. Prior to that, the only thing he could remember was living in an apartment near Castle Hills. His mother would leave him at a daycare center in the morning, and pick him up in the late afternoon. When they moved into the house, his mother moved her job into the spare bedroom. She did legal searches for several real estate companies and title companies. They were comfortable.

A few other families lived along the road leading to his home; however, there were no children Manny’s age among them. He’d spend much of his free time walking through the live oak and laurel covered hills at the edge of the Hill Country. Communed with the roadrunners, wild turkey, white tail deer, and rabbits. He didn’t try to talk to the rattlesnakes. He just left them alone. If he heard the feral pigs rooting through the area he’d do a 180. One did not want to mess with them.

Speaking of roadrunners, he might have gone to the University of Texas at San Antonio; however, when it came time to select a university, he determined he would get as far away from San Antonio and Texas as he could. He didn’t hate Texas. It was just that the only part of the country he’d ever seen was what lay between Texas and North Dakota, and that was mostly flat. He’d never seen the ‘purple mountain majesty’ or the shining sea. The Gulf hardly counted; at least what one could see at Corpus Christi and Padre Island. He wanted to see a real OCEAN. That being said, he applied to Humboldt State in Arcata, California. As near as he could tell, it had quite a bit of everything he hadn’t seen in the first eighteen years of his life.

His mother wasn’t pleased that he hadn’t applied for any of the Texas schools, and frankly, not one interested him. He did apply to several prestigious schools where he knew he didn’t have a snow ball’s chance in hell of being admitted. He didn’t think they would be able to afford them, anyway, however, his mother told him not to worry about the money. Well, that was all past now.

He stopped on the last rise before dropping down to the entrance of his uncle’s ranch. Little had changed since his last trip. The missile silos looked just the same as he remembered them. There had been that one guarded facility that his uncle told housed a missile crew in their underground capsule. There had been one noticeable change. He’d seen several drilling rigs off in the distance. He assumed they were drilling for water, or maybe even oil; although he’d never heard about any oil in the area. The big sprinkler systems were operating in the distance and he could smell the alfalfa. His uncle had acquired some buffalo, and he could see a herd of dark cattle that he assumed was them.

Turning onto the road leading to the ranch headquarters, he carefully crossed the cattle grate before accelerating down the paved drive. It had been dirt the last time he’d been there. His uncle must have been doing alright he thought. The cattle must have been startled by the loud cycle; however, several buffalo just chewed their cud and eyed him as he sped by. He slowed for a second and third cattle grate before pulling up to the low sprawling ranch house. His uncle was waiting in the shade of the porch. He had a beer in hand.

“Well, that surprised the hell outta me. You’re the last guy in the world I’d ever expect to be riding one,” he said giving his nephew a hug.

“Sit down and have a beer. I got a bunch in that cooler.”

“Not lite beer, I hope.”

“Shit no, I wouldn’t drink that crap if you paid me. I learned many years ago what real beer is.

“So how you been? Your mom was real sorry about not being able to get to your graduation. I talked to her a couple of days ago. She said she was feeling better, but I’m not sure. The doctors are still trying to figure out what’s wrong. She’ll be real glad to see you, but she’s not real happy about you moving to Arkansas.”

“She knew I was going to do it. I’ve worked at that winery for two summers. I did my senior project there.

“I’m not saying that I want to work there forever, but I do think I want to work in the wine industry.”

“I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” his uncle said. “I’m just not sure Arkansas is the best place to start out in the wine industry.”

“Well, I’m going to take it one step at a time. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll work on getting my master’s degree and teach school somewhere. I just want to give this a shot.

“Is Maria around?” Manny said changing the subject.

“Yeah, she had to take her newest in to get her shots. She should be back in a while. She said she was looking forward to seeing you. I think she wants to talk to you about something.”

“Say, when I was coming in I noticed there is some drilling going on. Are they going after a deeper water table?”

“Naw, we got plenty of water. It’s not a problem at all. I’m sure you didn’t take a close look; them is oil rigs.”

“I didn’t know there was oil around here.”

“It’s always been here. It just wasn’t economically feasible until some new technology came around. They call it fracking. That’s short for hydraulic fracturing. They drill down to the oil bearing rock and they do what is called horizontal drilling. They can drill out like the spokes of a wheel. Once they got the drilling done, they hook up this machine that fills the cavity with water and some other chemicals. The machine starts sending pressure waves at very high pressure, like many thousands of PSI. That breaks up the rock and allows the oil that was locked up in the rock to be recovered.

“They want me to sell them my mineral rights for a lot of money plus the residuals. They’re offering me a half mil plus a percentage of what they get. I could probably get a million or more before the wells run dry.”

“You going to do it?”

“Shit no!”

“That fucking fracking fucks everything up. The fluid gets into the water table and who knows where it’s going to end up. It’s impossible for them to recover all that shit. Down in Arkansas, right where you’re going, and Oklahoma, it’s causing earthquakes. It’s not easy to get rid of that shit, and they pump it right back into the ground. They say it won’t cause earthquakes around here. The geology is different. But they still have to get rid of that shit, and I don’t want any of that crap going on around my land.”

“What about the economy?” Manny asked already knowing the answer. He’d studied the problem in his environmental geology class. He was pleased to see which side his uncle was on.

“There’s going to be a big oil boom. People are starting to flood in from all over. There’s a housing boom starting. Maybe I’m being a hypocrite, but I bought out Sam Sturgis. He had that big bar down on Fargo. I figure I might as well put their money to work while I can. They’re going to spend it somewhere. I pay my people top wages. We’re barely breaking even and that’s fine.

“This boom won’t last ten years, fifteen at the most. The oil bearing rock is not very thick. There will be a big surge of oil at first and then it will slow to a trickle. In twenty years half the houses around here will be empty. Then we can get back to some semblance of normal. I probably won’t be around to enjoy it, though. I might even buy the empty houses and give them away if I could. Some of the Native Americans around here have been getting fucked over for too long as it is. I’ll sell them to them and carry the notes. Screw the banks.”

Manny opened up two more beers and gave one to his uncle. He wasn’t sure how many his uncle had consumed before he’d arrived. He never recalled seeing his uncle intoxicated.

“Say, that sure is a nice looking bike. Too bad about the scratches. You have a little wreck?”

“No, I bought it that way.” Manny proceeded to tell his uncle how he acquired the bike.

“Mind if I try it.”

“Of course not. Let me disconnect the trailer first.” That took about two minutes and seconds later Uncle Ben was off down the drive. He had to dodge Maria’s pickup truck as she pulled into the open parking area.

Manny watched his uncle disappear down the drive. He couldn’t see him, but he could hear him go through the gears as he headed down the main road.

Maria stood next to him, holding her youngest daughter, as they watched his uncle disappear. Then she gave him a hug with her free arm before asking, “Have you decided to do anything about your problem?”

Nothing like cutting to the chase, but as we will find out, Maria doesn’t waste words. Well educated, she splits her time between her family and the Sioux Nation. She is an RN and has a BS and MS in Clinical Psychology. She also specialized in gender studies. She might be just what the doctor ordered.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Maria tells Manny it’s time to go forward, that going nowhere is not the right solution. She gives him the name of a psychologist in Fort Smith.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 3

“Excuse me, what problem are you talking about?” Manny asked.

“The one I told you about 10 years ago. I can’t imagine you ignored what I said. I’ll bet you researched it and know exactly what I’m talking about.

“Come on inside. Lucy needs a feeding before I put her down for a nap. Her arm might be getting sore later on. I’ll let her sleep now while she can. Leave your stuff out here. You can get it later. Your uncle won’t be back for a while.”

Manny followed her into the darkened living area. It had been quite warm outside; however, the evaporative cooler located on the roof was pumping quite cool air into the pleasant home. She passed through the living and dining rooms into the large kitchen where she motioned for Manny to have a seat.

“You wannanother beer?”

“Sure.”

“They’re in the fridge,” Maria said as she sat at the table. “I need some ice water. There’re glasses in the cabinet to the right.”

Manny found and filled the glass from the spigot in the refrigerator door. He handed the filled glass to her, then got a beer out of the fridge. He sat across from her at the table. Little Lucy was already firmly attached to Maria’s left breast. Some things hadn’t changed since his last. Maria was always pretty open about things, and breast feeding was one of them

“Now, about your problem, you wanna talk about it?”

“I’m not sure ….”

“Look, denial is not a river in north Africa. You can’t live with that all bottled up inside you. It is not a healthful activity.” Suddenly, Maria’s lapsed grammar was gone. She sounded very professional.

“I saw how you acted with my children back then. There were many clues. You acted like most twelve-year old girls would. I could see the young mother in you. I put you to the test. I openly breast fed my little boy. You never watched me with a sexual leer. You were full of envy, just like you are now.”

“But, ….”

“No buts, I have a BS and MS in psychology and gender studies. My people have the same problems as you round eyes do. Along with our alcoholics, wife abusers and drug addicts, we have our gay and transgendered. We just don’t treat it like an affliction. We accept it, embrace it. Unfortunately, White Man’s influence has caused severe problems, especially among those who’ve attended schools in other areas where those traits are not as well accepted. Note, I did not say “life styles”.”

“I understand what you’re saying. I never attended the LGBT groups at Humboldt …”

“You should have,” Maria interrupted.

“ ... but, I had many friends who did.”

“I have many friends who are white. That doesn’t mean I’m white.

“Sorry, that was a bit out of line. You need to come out. Hiding from yourself can only harm you in the long run. You don’t have to worry about your family. Your mother and uncle know far more than you give them credit for. They are not going to force you to make a decision; however, as a professional I’m telling you that don’t let your real spirit come out you will be unhappy for the rest of your life, however long that is.

“Now, where are you going in Arkansas?”

“In the Arkansas River Valley near Altus and Ozark; not far east of Fort Smith.”

“Good, I know a great counselor in Fort Smith. We got our Master’s in the same program. I want you to start seeing her. She won’t make you do anything. She’ll just point out the paths available to you and hopefully you will make the right decision. You will need an endocrinologist, and I imagine she’ll make a suggestion for you. I have her card. I’ll bring it to you later.”

“You seem to have everything laid out for me. Why are you doing this?”

“Because we don’t want to lose you.

“I’m going to take Lucy to the house and put her down for her nap. The kids will be coming home in a little while. I’ll have to oversee their homework, and then we have to get the fixin’s ready for the barbecue. There’s a pig roasting on a spit out back, and I’ll need to check on it. Your uncle was supposed to be watching it, but I suspect he’s half way to Wisconsin by now.”

Manny had been smelling the aroma of the roasting pig for a while, but it hadn’t registered what was going on. He barely moved after Maria left. The enormity of what she said was a bit of a shock. Something that he had wondered about was apparently very obvious. Why hadn’t Stevie said anything if it was that obvious?

He couldn’t argue with anything that Maria had said; however, was what he apparently demonstrated truly indicative of his being transgender? That was obviously what she was implying. Or was he just fucked up?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his bike returning.

“Man, what a machine,” his uncle said as he placed Manny’s helmet on the table. “John Craig couldn’t catch me. I was doing 140 but ran out of road. I’ll bet that machine would do 160, easy.”

“Who’s John Craig,” Manny asked, just glad his bike was returned in one piece.

“County Sheriff: don’t worry about it. He asked me to do it.

“What in the hell made you buy something like that? I never would have expected you to do anything like that.”

“What’s wrong, too manly?”

“Er, no, I just never thought you’d ever be into something like that. You always seemed to sit back a bit. I don’t know. It just didn’t seem like you.”

“I rode dirt bikes in Texas all the time. You even went riding with me. I’m not sure what the difference is.”

“I don’t know. I guess you sorta surprised me, that’s all.

“I guess I’d better check on that pig we got roasting. It should be just fine.

“Maria fixed things up in the loft for you. You get good cross ventilation up there, and in spite of the heat, the nights are pretty cool.”

Manny remembered the loft. It had been a great play place when he’d been younger. Suddenly the memory hit him. It had been something he hadn’t thought about in years. He’d pretend he was a princess and ‘she’ was waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince. Jesus, he hadn’t thought about that for years.

He brought his bike and trailer under the eaves of the porch just in case there might be some rain. Everything he needed was in his saddlebag. It was still a bit early for the monsoon, but you never knew. The next morning he found a business card for a counselor in Fort Smith. Why in the hell would she have that he thought to himself. She had to have known his plans. That meant his mother must have told her. That meant his mother must also know about him. Why hadn’t she ever said anything?

Downtown Tagus was much like any of probably four or five hundred farm towns in North and South Dakota, or just about anywhere else in the northern plains. On the plus side they did have a railroad and a pretty large grain storage facility. They had a Kum & Go quick stop that was probably responsible for a couple of Mom and Pop stores closing on Main St. There was even talk of a Wal-Mart moving in. Most hoped that wouldn’t happen, but with the influx of oilfield workers there would have to be something. Most of the current residents of Tagus would take the hour plus drive to Minot for major shopping.

The decline of the small farmer/rancher had created a corresponding decline in downtown (such as it was) Tagus. Until the various companies that supported the oil business could find a place of their own to conduct business, they rented several of the empty stores along Main St. and the streets paralleling it.

The Antelope Bar and Grill was on Fargo, the main east west thoroughfare that crossed Main St. Uncle Ben had convinced Manny that he needed to see the Bar and Grill and the improvements that were in progress. It was Manny’s last day before heading south to San Antonio.

“I had the whole kitchen gutted and have put in the latest and best equipment. This town hasn’t had a decent restaurant in decades. We were doing well before I shut things down and the contractor promised he’d have everything ready in three weeks. We’re supposed to have the grand reopening next week. I bought the building next door and knocked a hole through there. That will be the family dining room. The pool tables on this side are basically where they were before. They have new felt and rubber. They’re antiques. Fortunately, the floor in here is real sturdy. There are two shuffleboards and two dart games. That’s the original bar, pure mahogany. I thought about getting the mirrors re-silvered, but they sort of add to the ambience the way they are.

“So, what do you think?”

“It certainly looks nice. How many people are going to be working here?”

“I lucked out on the kitchen staff. They vary from six to eight depending on the day of the week. I got a retired GI from Minot. He’s damn good; been to a couple of cooking schools since he retired. I have six wait staff and will probably hire a couple more. There are two bartenders, and I spell them. There are two girls who just work the drinks. This area isn’t much for wine drinker; however, I have a guy lined up as a sommelier.”

“So, where is everyone?”

“On vacation. I gave ‘em all 30 days paid vacation. I want them fresh and happy when they get back. We’ll take a week to work out all the kinks, and then we should be ready to go before school starts. Word has it that they are bringing in several more rigs, and I want this place ready for the roustabouts.”

“Uncle Ben, this has to be costing you a bunch. How are you paying for all this, if it’s any of my business?”

“I made some good investments. Maybe one of these days we’ll talk about it.

Manny was concerned about his mother. He’d talked to her several times during his adventure, and she didn’t sound right to him. She’d been going to the doctor, but so far, they’d ruled out cancer but hadn’t come up with any firm diagnosis. He was eager to see her and hopefully she’d start feeling better. He wasn’t sure he would be able to go to Arkansas if her condition didn’t improve.

He was also concerned about the gender issue. Maria had another talk with him. He began to realize he had been hiding from his gender issues. “What am I going to do, Maria?”

“You gotta do what you gotta do. That’s your decision, but no one want’s you to be unhappy. There is someone out there for you and you won’t find that person the way you are now. You have far too much baggage in the way. You need to find yourself. Once you do, the rest will happen. It may be a man; it may be a woman. Who knows? I guarantee you your heart will know. Just stop treading water. You’re not going anywhere, and eventually you will wear out and drown.

“When you get to Arkansas and get settled down in your new job, I want you to call Gerry Feinstein. I’ve talked with her. I didn’t out you to her. That’s not the proper thing to do, privately or professionally. I just told her that you were going to be in the area and to expect your call. Please don’t let me down. More importantly, don’t let yourself down.

“You have a long road ahead of you. Please be careful.” Maria said while giving him a firm hug. He could feel her warm breasts flattening a bit against his body. Manny realized that she may have been talking about more than the nearly sixteen-hundred mile trip that was ahead of him. He turned to see his Uncle Ben, who had been standing aside with Robert, approaching.

“Be careful on that machine. I might have to get one like it. But the first thing I have to do is to get that saloon up and running.

“Tell your mom to get well.”

He gave Manny a firm handshake and a hug. “You gotta do what you gotta do.”

Manny makes the trip south only to find out his mother is going into the hospital the next day. She recovers quickly from the surgery and Manny learns a bit more about his father and uncle.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Manny heads south to San Antonio on what is basically a long and boring ride. His mother greets him with the news that she will be going in the hospital. She has to have gall bladder surgery. They have a long discussion about his gender issues. It seems everyone knew all about it but Manny. He learns a bit more about his uncle. It’s a bit surprising. Then it’s off to Arkansas

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 4

He picked up Interstate 35 at Wichita. The going had been pretty easy, so far. The summer storms had held off and the traffic hadn’t been too bad. He was eager to see his mother and get on with his life, whatever direction he decided to go. At first, he thought he would try to do the trip in two days; however, with a late start, he knew that was totally unrealistic. It probably would have been unrealistic even if he’d gotten an early start.

One of the many nice features of the bike was the security system. It was connected to an app on his phone and it enabled him to do many neat things, including his being able to keep a very close watch on the bike and trailer. Eschewing the big chain motels, he’d been choosing the more sprawling single story motels. They had worked out quite well.

Crossing the state line into Texas the I-35 speed limit bumped up to 75. That little boost might help over the remainder of the trip; however, the eternal construction from Waco to north of Austin was a constant bout of slowing down and speeding up. He stuck to right lanes, and no matter how many times he was passed, he seemed to be right next to them a few miles down the road when the traffic ground to a halt. A much scarier and dangerous situation was the truck traffic. They were constantly tailgating. Manny knew they could squash him like a bug if they were so inclined.

The traffic in Austin was bad during the quiet traffic periods. It was a no brainer: he took the tollway around to the east. With California plates, there was a good chance that the cameras would never get his plate number. If they found him he’d happily pay the bill. He picked up Loop 1604 outside of San Antonio, and 45 minutes later, he was home.

After they got over the mother-child greeting, his mother dropped a little bomb shell on him. “I have some good news and some bad news.”

“Oh?”

“The bad news is I have to go into the hospital tomorrow. The good news is that they know what my problem is. I don’t know why they couldn’t figure it out earlier. I have gall stones. I’ll go in tomorrow at eight. It’s a pretty simple operation and they said I could be home by afternoon. Of course, you’ll have to take me. I should be up and around the next day. I’ll just have to take it easy for a week or so. When do you have to be in Arkansas?”

“I told them I would be there a week from tomorrow.”

“Unless something goes wrong, that shouldn’t be a problem. We need to talk about some things. I know you’re an adult, but you’re still my child.”

“You, too?”

“Look, I’ve known for a long time that you were a very special person. Maria told me about your being two-spirited many years ago. It made a lot of sense to me at the time. We decided that you just needed to find yourself. I am certainly glad for any number of reasons that your father isn’t around. He would have made your life miserable.”

“Mom, I’ve always wondered about something. How did you get away? If my father was such a control freak, how did you get away from him?”

“It took quite a bit of work. He always had me watched very closely. I couldn’t go anywhere without a guard or a tail. I went shopping in downtown Santiago one day at a major department store. I told my ‘companion’ I needed to go to the restroom. I said it was my time of the month. No one knew I was pregnant. Spanish males won’t go anywhere near a ladies’ room. Inside, I switched clothes and a wig with a lady who was waiting for me. She left and immediately headed for the exit. She had about a 50 foot head start, walked straight out the door and hailed a cab.

“I went out the other side of the store and into a car that was waiting for me. They took me straight to the airport where a US Government plane brought me back here.

“Your uncle wanted me to tell you some other things. He thought it was time.”

“Such as?”

“I know we told you your grandparents were killed in a house invasion. In a way they were. They were tortured before they were brutally murdered. Your father sent some of his henchmen to find out where you and I were. They never talked. Two days later your father was found dead with a bullet hole between his eyes. All his fingers had been broken several times. Not only that, his two brothers found notes on their beds describing exactly what would happen to them if they tried anything. There was a similar note on their parents’ bed.”

“Jesus Christ!” Then the realization hit him. “Uncle Ben!”

“My brother is very protective of his family, and you and I are his only heirs. He will never have any children of his own, and he doesn’t want any. Ben is gay.”

“I had no idea.”

“Ben is very good at hiding many things. He’s never told me what he’s been doing all these years other than if he did “he’d have to kill” me. I don’t think I want to know, anyway.

As the doctors had said, the surgery was relatively simple and quick. His mother was awake and alert by 1:00 and after making sure everything was working properly, she was released with a list of precautions and a bottle of Percodan. By 3:30 she was sitting at her computer. The pain began to kick in about an hour later. After a meal of bouillon, she was in bed and out like a light.

Over the next few days they talked a lot. His uncle had bought the house and adjoining property many years before. He did it because he could and he loved his sister and nephew more than anything else.

Manny had trouble understanding how his mother and uncle, and Maria for that matter, knew so much about his hidden gender that he’d just begun to realize was there. However, now that it had been brought to his attention he was beginning to sort out some the reasons for his behavior. Maybe the bike didn’t quite fit the ideal female image; however, neither did most females.

Never once did his mother imply that he had to do anything. That was entirely up to him. Whatever he decided, she would support him 100 percent and so would his uncle. She just hoped he wouldn’t tread water – the same words Maria had left with him nearly two weeks before.

He’d called the folks at the winery and told them he might be delayed a bit because of his mother’s surgery. There wouldn’t be any problem. Besides, he’d programmed in a week to try to find a place to live. Assured after her one week follow-up that is mother was going to be fine, he departed early in the morning taking a similar route north that he’d taken south until he got to the split in I-35. From there it was I-35E to I-20 to I-635 to I-30E. By taking that route, he avoided much of the heavy traffic of the Metroplex. Just outside of Greenville, Texas he picked up Texas 50 and headed northeast to Paris, Texas and Oklahoma. Much of the journey through Oklahoma was on US 271 through the western Ouachita Mountains. He just cruised along at or below the speed limit while listening to his music and taking in the scenery. Too soon he was in Fort Smith with a bit more than 40 miles to his destination, The Ozark Inn.

“Hey Manny, glad to see you made it. I take it your Mom’s okay?” Mike Boyd, owner of Hogeye Winery asked.

“She’s doing great; meaner than a snake,” Manny said jokingly. Mike knew exactly how he felt about his mother.

“Any luck finding a place to live?”

“Not yet. I could go back to that place where I was last summer. I mean it was okay, but it was too close to Wal-Mart and the highway. I have an agent looking for me. I’d like a two bedroom place and at least a shelter for my bike. I was going to rent a ministorage unit for my trailer.”

“Hell, just bring it out here. We have plenty of room at the barn.

“Say did you give any thought to leasing a mobile home? I know they don’t have the best reputation, but John and Shirley liked the place where they were. They just built a nice place in Altus, I think you knew that, and were thinking about leasing their mobile home.”

Two days later Manny found himself moving his meager belongings into a nice partially furnished doublewide in a shaded and secure mobile home park. It wasn’t where he wanted to end up, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Manny finally seeks out the psychologist in Fort Smith. The meetings go very well. He also makes another discovery.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

It doesn’t take much to get Manny to seek out the psychologist Maria recommended. Manny is very impressed and opens up with her. She explains his options. Doing nothing is always an option.

---

 

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

---

 

Discovery
 

Chapter 5

Things don’t happen for a reason as much as they are the result of other things happening. That is future events do not cause past events, although Manny sometimes wondered.

John and Shirley Crawford were a down to earth, very eclectic, and very liberal couple. Empty nesters, John had taken an early retirement from a job in North Carolina, and he and Shirley were taking a trip across the country to visit their children and grandchildren. They had seen articles about the small wine industry in Arkansas, and were curious about it. As they entered the Arkansas River Valley west of Conway, they saw several billboards advertising the wineries in the Altus/Ozark area. They stopped.

Something about the area appealed to them. The tree covered ridges, hills, and low mountains were quite picturesque. It was fall, and the colors were at their peak. Not only that, the wine wasn’t bad. They continued on to the west coast to visit their son and his husband along with their three children. They also communicated with the Boyds the entire time. John had made some suggestions about some things he had noticed, and Mike was impressed with his business knowledge. John had also impressed Mike with his knowledge of wine. Two months later the Crawfords were moving into the mobile home. A new house would come later.

The Boyds and Crawfords had taken a liking to the young Manny immediately. He had answered an advertisement posted on the bulletin board next to his department office. Several of his classmates laughed at him. Who in their right mind would go to Arkansas to learn about viticulture when the best place in world to learn about vineyards and wine was only a 150 miles to the south. Besides, if he’d wanted to learn about viticulture, he should have gone to UC Davis where entire curricula were dedicated to viticulture and wine making. That first summer turned into a second summer and his senior project. As far as he was concerned, going to work full time at Hogeye was a no brainer. He might move on eventually, but right now this seemed to be the best choice.

Moving into a place as familiar as this one was also took away a lot of worry that many going to work for the first time experienced. That being said, it did make it easier for him to contemplate his gender issues. He’d never tried to laugh off any of the issues those close to him had expressed. Quite the contrary, those issues had inveigled their way into much of his down time. What was he going to do? He was beginning to realize those issues were real; however, he’d buried them. Now they were being uncovered whether he liked it or not.

He looked at the card Maria had given him. Gerry L. Feinstein, LCSW, Licensed Mental Health Professional along with her address and the usual complement of phone numbers stared back at him. He dialed the first number. You gotta do what you gotta do.

“I don’t think I understand. Because several of your acquaintances think you’re transgender, you’re seeking counseling. Perhaps they are the ones who need counseling. Something in what they said must have struck a chord with you. What in all this made you call me?”

Gerry Feinstein was an attractive woman entering middle age. She was probably five to ten years older than Maria.

“I guess because I’m not sure what I am. I have always been comfortable with who I am; however, in some regards I’m beginning to realize that I’m stuck on top dead center. I don’t have a girlfriend, never did. I’m still a virgin. I was never able to get past second base. The thing was I was never the aggressor. I wanted companionship. I wanted to feel close to someone. If it led to being intimate, that would be fine, wonderful. The thing was, I wanted a permanent relationship; not a quick tryst.

“Ten years ago, Maria brought up this two-spirited thing. She brought it up again a couple of months ago. I did some research back in high school and learned what it was about. I thought it was strange. I didn’t think I was “two-spirited”. I’m just me. I don’t think I’m schizophrenic or anything like it. Now I know my uncle knows, or thinks he knows something about me like Maria does. I just found out that my uncle is gay. All these years, and I didn’t have a clue. Then my mother tells me that she’s known for years that I was a “special person”. She’d known for years about this “two-spirited” thing. It doesn’t bother her in the least.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Gerry said taking a folder from a filing cabinet and placing it in front of her. “I have a little survey here. I’ll not call it a test as there are no correct answers. It will just help me understand what’s going on between your ears. There’s a nice quiet room next to this office. I want you to answer every question with the first answer that comes to your mind. Don’t mull over your responses too much. When you’re through, just leave it with my receptionist. I’ll see you next week at the same time. We might have some indicators at that time. Your answers may give some insight as to what actions, if any, you might want to take.

“Manny, I’ve had an interesting time with your survey, and have had some time to discuss it with some colleagues. The results were/are very interesting. If you had been a woman and had come to me expressing that you were a man trapped in a woman’s body I would have thought you were trying to pull a fast one on me, because the results indicate the exact opposite. Here you are a somewhat androgynous male who never seriously cross dressed, and maybe had a few fantasies about being in a female role. That fantasy, by the way, is not that unusual among cisgendered males.

“I think you’re here because you are curious about who you are. I’m just surprised you don’t know; that you haven’t figured it out. Manny, from all indications that you gave me, you are a mature, levelheaded, goal oriented woman. You just don’t know it. You are not a giggly, girly girl.”

Manny sat still, leaning over a bit resting his elbows on his knees with his chin against his folded hands, silently taking in what Gerry had said. She could see tears forming in his eyes.

“I’m a woman. Are you sure? You can tell just from that five-hundred page test I took,” he said trying to make light of a very serious situation. “You mean you can tell all that from that bunch of questions?”

“Actually, I combined four different questionnaires. You probably noticed some similarity in the questions and answers. The subtle differences in questions and answers help catch those who are trying to force a diagnosis. There’s quite a bit more to it, but that’s a professional secret. It’s not a sure thing, but I’ve never had false results to date, and I’ve had more than 75 take the survey over the years.”

“What am I going to do? What the hell am I going to do?”

“I think that’s what we need to find out. There are many options available; however, you need to come to some form of resolution that you are happy with. Denial is not a river in North Africa.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

“Okay, we need to talk a lot more. I want to see you next week. We’ll work out a course of action that you will find satisfactory. I do have a question.”

“Sure.”

“Would you mind if I obtained a second opinion?”

“No, whom would you like me to see?”

“You already have. Maria wouldn’t tell me anything more than that you needed to talk to a professional about something. She knows you quite well. Now I want to get details from her point of view. I just need your permission to talk to her.”

“That would be fine.”

“So, next week, same time?”

“That will work. I just realized something. My health coverage hasn’t kicked in, and I didn’t pay last week.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s all being taken care of.”

“So, how are things at work?” Gerry asked.

“Great. We layered a lot of cuttings last year, and we’ve been putting them out in a 20 acre area they’d cleared off last year. They’re looking great. It will be five years before they start producing well enough to start a new varietal wine.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Good. It’s kinda nice having this out in the open. For some reason, I feel very upbeat about things. I talked to Mom about our talks. She seemed very happy about me finally doing something.”

“Good, let’s talk about options.”

“Fine, I’m all ears.”

“One option is that you do nothing. You go on living this nebulous existence without ever getting a life. Frankly, I don’t think that’s what you want to do. Really, the only option I see is that you start your real life test. We get your endocrinologist to set up a treatment plan for you. You’ll probably need to have some sperm put away, because if you start hormones, and I hope you do, you will become permanently sterile in just a few months. If you change your mind and stop treatments you won’t be able to father children. If you go through with the total transition, including gender confirmation surgery, you may still want to have children. You could find a surrogate who would bear your child.

“Depending on how you react to the hormone replacement treatment, HRT, you could probably have your GCS within two to three years. I would suggest you don’t rush things. Wait and see how you develop before you have breast augmentation. You may not need or want it. Your features aren’t overly masculine, but you will probably want some facial feminization surgery and a tracheal shave. Your voice is a nice tenor. With a little training, you might get away without having to have vocal cord tightening. Frequently, the endocrinologist will recommend a bilateral orchidectomy. That would mean you wouldn’t have to take blockers and the estrogen and progesterone will be much more effective with a lower dose.

“How does it sound so far?”

“Frankly, it scares the shit out of me. But on the other hand, if this is what I want to do, have to do, to be happy, then by God, I’m going to do it.”

“Good, I definitely want you to think it over. I don’t think you’re making the wrong decision, but I absolutely want you to be certain. I have my reputation to think of.”

Gerry gave Manny a hug before he left the office. He felt very good as he got on his bike to head back to Ozark. He would take the less traveled US 64 rather than I-40. You gotta do what you gotta do he thought as he fastened his chin strap.

Manny has a pretty good grasp by now of what’s been going on in his head. Let’s face it; he’s never really been in denial. It’s just that he was never truly aware of the person inside and that there might be a mismatch between his sex and gender. What’s it going to take for Manny to make that next big step?

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

It didn’t take much to get Manny to seek out the psychologist Maria recommended. Manny is very impressed and opens up with her. She explains his options. Doing nothing is always an option, but that is not his choice. He will go forward, but when?

---

 

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

---

 

Discovery
 

Chapter 6

It puzzled him briefly. Everything Gerry had said to him was probably designed to scare him. He told her it did, but now he wasn’t sure. He’d done his research. Everything she’d told him was dead on. She didn’t exaggerate one thing, and in fact probably understated some things. This was serious, deadly serious, and yet it felt good. He felt he was finally finding a solution to what had been bothering him for so long; something he hadn’t realized was bothering him until just recently.

Suddenly, another problem hit him. What would his employers say if and when he came out to them? They might can him on the spot. This was Arkansas after all: a state not known for its liberal approach to the LGBT community. Well, the urban communities, Little Rock and the northwest, were allegedly more liberal; however, he hadn’t been to either. He certainly wasn’t going to let that bother him. He couldn’t. He had no intentions of stopping what seemed to be gaining momentum. Unless he was totally delusional about what he had been presented with, he was going forward.

“Hey Manny,” Shirley said getting Manny’s attention from his duties in the equipment shed. “John and I were wondering if you’d like to go to Little Rock with us. We have tickets for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. It’s their Beethoven and Blue Jeans concert, so you wouldn’t have to dress up. They just finished the remodeling of their auditorium and the place is fabulous. Mike and Linda usually go with us, but they are going to California for that conference. We have a suite at the Capital Hotel. You would have your own room. What do you say?”

“Thank you, I think I would love to.”

The trip to Little Rock was right at two hours, and they pulled up to the Capital Hotel while it was still light. After leaving their car with the valet, John checked in, and they took their small roller bags to their room. Manny had to borrow one.

Apparently, everything had been worked out well before hand. Dinner was at a very nice restaurant a few blocks down President Clinton Boulevard. It was Friday night and the place was jumping. After an excellent breakfast on Saturday morning, they visited the Clinton Library and the Historic Arkansas Museum. After more than they could eat at a great barbecue restaurant, they visited the Central High School Museum.

The Bar and Grill at the hotel offered an excellent pre-concert menu. From there they walked two blocks to the auditorium where they took in an all-Beethoven concert. It started with the Consecration of the House Overture, and then a wonderful rendition Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. After the intermission and a glass of wine, they sat through a very good performance of the Eroica, Symphony No. 3.

“That was great,” Manny remarked as they walked back to the hotel.

“The night is still young and there’s a place we go to after the concerts. It’s a lot of fun. Shirley and I like to dance. It’s an interesting place. They’ll fetch the car for us at the hotel and we’ll head down there. It’s only a couple of miles, and I think you will find it interesting.”

Heading west on Highway 10 they briefly skirted the Arkansas River before losing site of it.

“What’s that building?” Many asked indicating a large building on a hill.

“That’s the headquarters for Dillard’s Department Stores. Where we’re going is just ahead.”

Shortly, John turned by some ballparks and headed towards a row of warehouses. There were cars parked everywhere. As they drove by the lighted entrance, Manny could see several clusters of folks milling about. They finally found a parking spot at what seemed to be a block away. It was in a well-lighted parking lot for a closed building.

A group was just entering the lot as the parked. Manny had assumed they were four girls until they started to get into the car next to them.

“Oh my, I just realized those were guys. They had me fooled for a minute. What is this place?”

“This is Discovery. It’s an interesting place. We have plenty of time to have a few drinks and gawking. Shirley and I might dance a bit. The drag show starts at 12:30. Those four guys are strictly amateurs. I imagine they’re college students just having fun. They’d never be close to passing; however, some of the drag queens are very good at what they do. You’ll be amazed.

John picked up the cover charge as they entered. There were cops everywhere, inside and outside. The place was booming and the music was loud. There had to have been four or five hundred people milling about, having a good time, drinking, chatting up, etc. The place was alive. A separate room with a DJ was obviously for dancing.

“Who’s that?” Manny asked pointing to a portrait.

“That’s the owner. He was Miss Gay America many years further back than he’d like to remember.”

“My God, I never would have known.”

“Okay, this place,” Shirley said as they sat at a small table against one of the walls, “is mostly for the straight crowd who wants to have a good time. The crowd’s about 80 percent straight. Over there,” she said pointing past the stage, “there is another bar called Triniti. It’s open only on Friday nights. This place is open only on Saturday nights. The clientele there is about 80 percent gay. John and I tried it out last year, but it was just a bit much for me. Even our son and his husband said it was a bit much. This place, though, is fun to come to every once in a while.

“You’re not gay are you?” Shirley asked. “I didn’t think you were.”

“No, I’m not gay,” Manny said quietly.

The drag show was quite entertaining, and one of the performers had been at one of the many bars Manny passed when going to the restroom. He’d not caught on that she was a ‘he’.

They slept in after dragging themselves in at 3:00 AM. The brunch was quite acceptable. They were too late for the complimentary breakfast.

It was now or never time. Manny had made up his mind that he would have to tell the Boyds and Crawfords about the life changing events he was facing. He asked them if he could meet with them after the tasting room and store closed.

All were gathered in the small office when he walked in. There was a bit of a questioning look on Mike’s face when Manny looked at him in the eyes.

“I thought this was going to be difficult when I decided to tell you something about me, something that had been pretty much hidden except to the members of my family and close friends. Maybe it won’t be.

“As you are aware, I’ve been seeing someone in Fort Smith for several weeks about certain issues. Primarily, the purpose of my visits was to determine if there was something wrong with me, and if there was, what should I do about it.” He caught a slight smile growing on Shirley’s face.

“The interesting thing is I found out there really isn’t anything that wrong that can’t be fixed. What I found out, verified is that I’m transgender.”

He waited for the ax to fall.

“Thank God,” Shirley said under her breath.

“I think I will start the transitioning process soon. There are still a number of things I’ll need to take care of before I do. I knew I had to tell you. If this is something that is not in accord with what you feel, I will have no problem moving elsewhere.”

“You will do no such thing,” Linda Boyd said rather firmly. “We are your extended family. We are here for you as long as you want us to be. Your mother can’t be here for you all the time, and I know she wants to be involved. However, Shirley and I will be by your side every step of the way, and Mike and John will be, too. If anyone here tries to give you any shit about this they will be finding jobs elsewhere.”

“No one seems to be too disturbed about my announcement. May I ask what’s going on?”

“We’ve known since the first summer you were here,” Shirley said. “Your uncle called John when he found out you were going to be working here. He told us to watch after you. He didn’t say exactly why.”

“You know my Uncle?”

“Quite well. John and Ben worked together for the same organization for nearly 30 years. We keep in touch.

“As far as you’re concerned, we were pretty certain that first summer. A woman knows these things. We’ve just been hoping you’d tell us so we could help you. Now that you’ve told us, we start right now.

“Part of the other night was a test. We wanted to see how you’d react. You passed with flying colors. Now, you are in our hands.”

“What do you mean? I mean ….”

“There will not be any testing the waters with your toes. As of right now you are no longer Manfred Argerich. The question is, who are you?”

“At least I’m ahead of you on this one. I am Emmanuelle Allison Argerich, but you may call me Mannie.

The decision is made. His friends and family are behind him all the way. Manfred Argerich has ceased to exist, The journey begins.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Mannie does not hesitate one bit. Each step just makes her that much surer that she is doing the right thing. Of course she is going to transition, and the details aren’t that important in this story. Let’s just say it was a wonderful three years, and then tragedy.

---

 

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

---

 

Discovery
 

Chapter 7

“Jesus, I never thought this would be happening so quickly. My God, a beauty parlor. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”

“Look, Mannie, we are not getting you ready for the prom. We are just getting you ready to meet our customers. Nothing’s changed. The work you do is still the same. You are still working the vineyards and you are still working in the winery. You might have to help out in the tasting room every once in a while. You certainly don’t have to dress to the nines, but you will be presentable. You can’t do this half way. You have several things in your favor. You haven’t put on much weight, so getting you into decent clothes won’t be a problem. You’re relatively tall, and your hair is to die for. Lindsay will show you how to do the best with what you have. The other things will be fixed over time.”

“When was the last time you cut your hair, dear?” Lindsay asked as she seated Mannie in the chair where she would spend many hours over the next year.

“That would be seven years ago. I told mom I didn’t want to cut it. She didn’t argue.”

“Well, I am going to trim it a bit. When you leave here there will be no doubt that you are a young, outdoorsy woman ready to conquer the world. When I’m through with you today, you might be in for a bit of a shock. I know this is the first time you will have let your feminine side out. So I’m not going to do anything extreme. You are working in a winery, not a high class dress shop. Not that we have any around here as it is.

“Your hair is a dirty blonde. I am going to lighted it quite a bit. I won’t have to pre-bleach it. It won’t be anything garish like Tori Spelling or Christina Aguilera. It will look perfectly natural. Now, this is important. Do not shave over the weekend I will want to see you first thing on Monday. We are going to start getting rid of what little beard you have. It will be a tedious but necessary process.”

Lindsay rummaged around in her cabinets until she found what she wanted. “Okay, have you read much of that transgender fiction on the internet?”

“A little, why?”

“Some of those writers have it all wrong about hair. I have two girls, that is clients, who were like you at one time.” While she was saying this she was mixing up several bowls of some sort of concoction. “One of my clients wanted to be platinum. It wasn’t right for her, but she wanted to be platinum. So I did it. I think it looks terrible, but she loves it. I’ve been doing it for her for six years. She was upset because I didn’t wash her hair before pre-bleaching it. She thought that was the way to do it because she read something written by someone who knew nothing about lightening hair. You don’t wash it because you want the natural oils to be there. They protect the hair from damage.

“Okay, we apply the mixtures starting about a half inch out from the roots. I had to mix up quite a bit because you have so much beautiful hair. I am also blending three different shades. They are subtly different, just enough to make your hair look as natural as possible. As soon as I get all the long tresses done I will go back and do the roots. Then I will bag it up and let the miracle start working. While that is going on, I will fix your eyebrows. You are lucky. Your brow ridges aren’t too prominent; however, you’ll probably want them done along with a little jaw and nose work. You will be quite attractive even without that work.”

Lindsay was quite the talker, and as she applied the hair coloring, Mannie learned quite a bit about some of her clientele without learning their names. She talked as she plucked and shaped Mannie’s eyebrows. She talked as she did several strand checks.

“Perfect. Lean back while I wash this stuff out of your hair.

“One of the rules is you can’t look until I’m through. The point is that when I’m finished and you see the results you will either faint dead away, give me a big tip, or both. Most importantly, I don’t ever want you to go back the way you were. If I can’t do this right for you, I’m going to quit my job.”

Time flies when you’re having fun. After drying Mannie’s hair to a damp dry, Lindsay started trimming. Mannie could see that her trimmed hair was considerably lighter than it had been, and it was still damp. Oh well, in for a penny.

“I am going to give your hair some body. This is so you don’t have to worry too much about getting it ready every morning. I’m going to show you how it looks down, and how to put it up. You can put it in a ponytail and it will look very nice for informal times and work.

“Okay, this perm stuff smells pretty bad, but you’ll get used to it. After the perm solution has been in long enough, I apply a neutralizer to stop the process.” By this time Mannie had a head full of large curlers plus some smaller ones around her temples. “Now to work on the makeup. We’ll have to watch this because your skin is going to change as the hormones take effect. We’ll keep adjusting things. I’m going to do some things for effect today. I’ll expect you to back off quite a bit. I have already prepared written instructions for you. I want you to practice daytime makeup in the morning and nighttime makeup after you get home from work. We’ll probably want to do your roots every two to three weeks depending on how fast your hair grows.

While waiting for her hair to dry, Mannie set a new record for time and points playing Free Cell on her cell phone. Finally it was time. Lindsay had had several customers come and go while Mannie had undergone what was, of course, a totally new experience for her. The thing was, it was almost fun. It was like having your house crash into the land of the Munchkins and being able to start out on a wonderful adventure with no idea where you were going to go.

At last, it was time for the unveiling. Lindsay had worked for quite a while getting Mannie’s hair exactly the way she wanted it. Then she gently rotated her chair.

There was no way Mannie could have been prepared for the reflection that greeted her. She was a woman, a very attractive young woman. Her long blonde hair cascaded down in gentle waves over her shoulders. Her hair glistened. Her cell phone crashed to the floor. She had cheek bones and her nose appeared to be smaller. Her blue eyes stood out. They sparkled. She couldn’t hold back her tears.

Lindsay grabbed several tissues and tried to prevent as much damage as possible. “God, I do good work.”

“Would you get my phone, please.”

Lindsay handed the phone to Mannie.

“Hi Gerry.”

“I’m doing fine. Look, I need to see you as soon as possible. Also, do you think you can get me an appointment with that endocrinologist?”

“Yeah, as soon as possible.” You gotta do what you gotta do she said to herself.

Mannie started slow release estrogen and blockers the following week. She’d had several sperm samples stored away for who knows what. She started feeling the effects of the hormones almost immediately. She couldn’t believe how good she felt. Yes, she was getting emotional, but she knew why. The morning sickness and sudden dizzy spells disappeared after two months. At the same time her breasts began to develop in earnest. At three months into HRT she went to a clinic in Fort Smith on a Friday and had a bilateral orchidectomy. She was back at work on Monday. In her eighth month of transition, she took a month off and went to San Francisco for facial feminization surgery. While she was there she got a California Driver’s license with F designated on it. She had used doctor’s clinic as the address. No one would bother to check. She didn’t look bad in the photo. Her makeup covered up what was left of the bruising. The swelling was down pretty much by then. Her mother spent the entire month with her. Uncle Ben knew some people in Texas who owed him. Mannie’s birth certificate suddenly had the name Emmanuelle Allison Argerich, sex female. She changed her driver’s license back to Arkansas when she returned.

The surgeon who did the facial surgery offered to do breast augmentation for a discount; however, Mannie declined. She was a full B and from all indications would continue to grow. She had gained two inches around the hips. She’s been using a waist cincher and dropped her waist from thirty inches to twenty-eight inches. How much of that reduction was due to good diet and exercise could not be determined.

At two years into her transition she and her mother went back to California for Mannie’s gender confirmation surgery. A young doctor had been recommended to her when she’d been out there before, and Mannie had interviewed her. It turned out that Dr. Robynn Jones had been transgender at one time, also. Mannie’s surgery went very well, and after three weeks she was given the okay to return to Arkansas.

Mannie could honestly say she had never been happier. By this time it was no secret that her uncle had paid for everything. He visited her and the winery for several days in her third year as a female. She loved her job and the people she worked with. Things couldn’t have been better. Then she got the phone call from her mother.

“Baby, Ben has been killed. He was shot. Someone murdered him.”

Mannie decides to ride her bike to North Dakota in spite of the fact that it is fall and winter is not too far off. She has no problem taking time off from the winery. Her mother will follow in a few weeks. Mannie has one objective: find her uncle’s murderer. Things are going to get interesting.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Now the opera begins. Mannie meets with Sheriff John Craig. He is smitten immediately. He is nice but his heart is not in the same place hers is. He’s also about 20 years older than she is.

---

 

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

---

 

Discovery
 

Chapter 8

John Craig, sheriff of these here parts, was mulling over some paperwork when she walked in. The apparent murder of Ben Martindale had been taking up quite a bit of his time. His foreman, Bob Williams had found his body just outside the northern boundary of Ben’s property. He’d been shot several times by two weapons. He’d probably died within seconds. Any one of shots would have been fatal.

He’d heard the unmistakable sound of a Harley pulling up outside, and briefly wondered who it might be. There weren’t that many Harleys in the area. The sounds of boot steps on the wooden porch brought his attention back to the reception area. He couldn’t quite see who entered.

“May we help you miss?” Gretchen, his receptionist and secretary asked.

John immediately envisioned a bull dyke bike rider. He wasn’t really being fair. There were several lesbian bike rider groups that would pass through Tagus every year. They never caused problems like the Hell’s Angels and Bandits did.

“Yes, I’d like to talk with Sheriff Craig.”

She certainly didn’t sound very butch he thought.

“I’m Emmanuelle Argerich. I am Ben Martindale’s niece.”

At this point, John was heading for the door. What he saw caused all his preconceptions to be immediately tossed into the recycle bin. She was tall; close to six feet in her motorcycle boots. She was dressed in a black leather outfit that left little doubt as to her sex. She was holding her helmet with her left hand. She had a mane of gorgeous blonde hair, and her makeup was subtle but undeniably feminine. Her blue eyes sparkled. John was in love.

“Miss Argerich, please come into my office. I’m so sorry about your uncle. He thought the world of you. He was a good man.” John motioned to a chair in front of his desk.

This was going to be interesting she thought. Obviously, Uncle Ben never told Sheriff Craig that he had a nephew. Since she’d never met Sheriff Craig under her previous mode, it was very easy for Uncle Ben just to say he had a niece. Then she remembered that her Uncle had raced Sheriff John on her bike. He must have had called her his niece even then. He had known even then what she would do, and do it not too far into the future. What a man, and now he was gone.

“Please, I’m just Mannie. Emmanuelle is a bit of a mouthful.”

“Great, I’m John. What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to find out if you had any leads; any possibilities on who or what group may have done this. I understand he was shot by at least two weapons.”

“That’s right; a nine millimeter and a forty-four. They did a number on him. That spot is a favorite parking spot for the high school kids; however, that was a school night. Ben probably saw something and he climbed the fence, there’s a stile there. He put the stile in so that people could have access to the creek on his property. There’s some pretty good fishing down there.

“Say, could I take you to lunch? We could talk about things down at the Antelope. They have a good lunch down there.”

“I know they do. My mom and I are now co-owners. I ate there the other night with Bob and Maria. They are very upset by this whole thing. I know my uncle was well respected around here, especially among the Native Americans.”

“Gretchen, Miss Argerich and I are going to lunch. You know how to reach me.” Stepping outside, he looked at Mannie’s bike.

“That is some machine. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet you when you were here before. There was no way I could have caught it. How fast have you had it up to?”

“I hate to disappoint you, but the fastest I’ve had it up to is about 80. That’s the legal speed limit on some Texas highways. I have no desire to kill myself.”

“How’d you get that scrape on the fuel tank?

“That was there when I bought it in my senior year in college. A guy laid it down on a demo drive. I bought it essentially new with a huge discount. I bought a Prius a while ago for driving in bad weather and running errands, but I love to take this thing on the road.

“Mabel,” she said to the greeter, “could the Sheriff and I have a table in a quiet spot?”

“Certainly.”

It was past the busy lunch time, and Mabel took them to a far corner of the family dining area.

“Uncle Ben was a very secretive man. We really have no idea what he did or where he got his wealth.” Well, she did, but she wasn’t going to tell him. “Mom and I have inherited the ranch and this business among other things. I noticed that the oil wells are creeping right up to the boundaries of the property. He was adamant that he was not going to allow any drilling on the property; however, I understand with horizontal drilling those rigs could be drilling under the property and taking oil that is not theirs. If they are, I am going to put a stop to it.”

“I’d be very careful going up against those big oil companies. They are very powerful.”

“So, if they are involved in criminal activities, you’re saying you wouldn’t do your job?”

“Of course not. I’m just saying it might not be worth coming up against them for several reasons. For the first time in a long time people around here are making some money. Everything these oil companies used to do on their own, they now farm out to subcontractors. We have folks that do nothing but haul fresh water to the drill sites and haul frack water to the injection wells. Others haul drilling mud for the rig operators. Then there’re the guys who haul the drill shavings to the waste fields. There are the pipe haulers who do nothing but haul pipe from the pipe yards to the drilling sites. There are the home builders who are building homes for the laborers and executives who are moving into the area.

“If you cause problems for the drilling companies, you cause problems for all these people.”

“So I should sit back and let the big oil company steal from me and damage my land just so I don’t piss off the masses.”

“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way. I’m just saying that unless you can really come up with something definitive, you’d better lay off.”

“And if these people had my uncle killed?”

“I will see to it that they are prosecuted if we can get the evidence. You can be assured of that.”

“Good.”

“There’s another group I hadn’t mentioned.”

“And they are?”

“There are a bunch of environmentalists, tree huggers, moving in. They seem intent on disrupting things. They’re generally pissing everyone off. I had to chase off a bunch of those Greenpeace people who were blocking access to one of the injection well sites. They can retain only so much water at the drilling sites. They essentially shut down the fracking operations at several drilling sites. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them ended up beaten or worse.”

Greenpeace: I wonder where Stevie is, she thought. I wonder what he’d think if he saw me now?

“You haven’t really told me anything we haven’t been experiencing in Arkansas. They’re doing the same stuff down there with the gas drilling. The only difference is that you’re not having earthquakes up here. Actually, there’s another one

“Your oil boom as you call it won’t last long; maybe ten, fifteen years. There’s not a great reservoir of oil down there. Just like there isn’t a great reservoir of gas in Arkansas. The boom will be over not too far in the future.

“Regardless of whether or not the boom is over is moot. The problem is who are the sons of bitches who murdered my uncle? I have a job I like very much in Arkansas. They have been nice enough to give me a leave of absence until things can be resolved. I have to figure out what to do with this restaurant and what to do with the ranch, and the latter does not include allowing any drilling for oil.”

“We will continue to try to find out who killed your uncle.

“To change the subject a bit, I was wondering if you would go out to dinner with me. I’d like to get to know you better?”

“I would like to get things settled a bit before I do anything like that. Thank you for asking, though.”

John paid for the lunch, shook Mannie’s hand and returned to his office. Mannie sat there for a while contemplating what had just transpired. John Craig was a handsome man probably in his late 30’s, early 40’s. In the short time she’d talked with him she found him interesting; however, she could tell they were definitely not on the same page about a number of things.

In the year since her surgery she hadn’t thought much about dating, although she knew that was a possibility. She’d often thought during her dilations what it would be like to have a man in ‘there’. She’d even managed to bring herself off, and that seemed to be getting easier over the last few months. Dr. Jones assured her that was going to be possible. It would just take time. The thoughts about having a relationship with a man were appearing more and more often.

Back in college she wanted to have a relationship with women. She understood that better now. If she found the right woman, there was no doubt in her mind that a lasting relationship might be possible. The relationship with men was something else. Three years before, a relationship with a man other than one like she had with Steve was not even close to a possibility; however, she realized her orientation had changed. Maybe it really hadn’t. Maybe it was the fact she’d been in the wrong body that had been the limiting factor.

Mannie throws herself into learning the operations of her uncle’s above board business. As far as the other things he may have done, it’s only guesswork. Things get a little rough at the Antelope Bar & Grill.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Mannie does some investigating at the place where Uncle Ben was murdered. It suddenly becomes very obvious who the murderers are. She is also learning about the operation of the Antelope Bar & Grill. She feels she might be able to bring some good ideas back to the winery. The roustabouts are a group unto their own. The local government looks the other way when it comes to some of their activities – such as poker. The opera continues.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 9

Mannie walked around the perimeter of the ‘parking’ area where her uncle’s body had been found. Obviously, there had been more vehicles down there than just teenagers looking for a spot for a little hurried sex. Several large trucks had parked close to the creek. The tire tracks were obvious; however, the tracks had been obliterated by recent rains. From the feel of things, the next storm would not be bringing rain. It would be bringing snow and much colder temperatures.

She found the spot where they had found her uncle. It was very evident he’d bled out where he’d fallen. There were still flies buzzing around the spot. They’d be dead in a few days. Hopefully, it had been quick. “I’ll get those bastards,” she said out loud.

When she first heard about her uncle’s death the thought came to mind that her father’s parents or brothers might have had something to do with it. She dismissed that thought rather quickly. If they had wanted to kill him, they would have come after him long before now, and it would have been very messy. Her second thought was that maybe the big oil companies had him killed so that they could get access to the oil under his land It was probably a bit too soon; however, there had been no overtures from any of the oil companies that worked in the area. Actually, there were only two. No, he was killed for some other reason.

After the autopsy, in accordance with his wishes, he’d been cremated. His ashes were in a box on the mantle. When her mother arrived in a week or so there would be a private ceremony down near the creek in a grove of cottonwoods. Other than Mannie and her mother, the only people present would be the Williams and the other hands and their families. All were Sioux.

A sudden shift in the wind from the southeast to the northwest brought something she hadn’t noticed before. She walked to the creeks edge. The smell of rotting fish almost gagged her. There were thousands of dead fish on the shore and floating in the nearly still water. It all came together in a second. She knew who the killers were. Well, not specifically; however, she knew what they did. She knew now for certain that her uncle’s murderers would be caught. It would just take time.

Now, she had to get back to the ranch house and change clothes. They needed help at the restaurant. She would probably act as a greeter, and maybe work at the bar. She didn’t know the restaurant business that well, but she’d helped out a bit at the restaurant at the winery a few times. It couldn’t be that much different.

She needed to make a call to John Crawford.

“Hi Shirley, is John there? I need to ask a favor.

“I’m feeling great. The ride was no problem. I pushed it a bit, but I made it in two days. Mom’s flying up in a few days. We have some legal business to take care of.

“Thanks.

“John, can you get an expert on oil drilling, specifically horizontal drilling. I need someone to let me know if we are being ripped off.

“I have a pretty good idea who killed Uncle Ben. I’ll send you an email about what I found out.

“Good. I love you guys. Tell Mike and Linda I’m doing great. The sheriff hit on me the other day. I’ll be careful.

Mannie had a good idea that whether or not John Crawford had retired, he had connections. Because of her research, she discovered that the land to the west of the ranch was Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. That meant Federal jurisdiction. The land to the east was private land, and it might be more difficult get access to drilling records. Regardless of who was drilling and where, the EPA had strict rules about what happened to what was generated in the drilling process. She might need to find a good lawyer and she wasn’t too sure where to find one.

Business at the restaurant was booming. The bar area was crowded with the off duty roustabouts. Some were just relaxing, drinking draft lite beer or other drinks. Both pool tables were occupied, and there were figurative lines of players waiting to challenge whomever was holding the table. The entertainment devices didn’t make much money, but they kept the customers around to buy drinks.

Her uncle had made a number of improvements over the previous three years, including a set of two double doors between the restaurant and the bar. Smoking was not allowed in either area. Mannie was wearing a western style skirt and blouse. It hadn’t taken her long to find that she enjoyed wearing skirts and dresses for the right occasion; however, she loved wearing her form fitting leathers when she was riding her bike. A couple of days before she’d ridden her bike into town and had stopped by to pick up the receipts to take to the bank.

Sheriff John and a deputy who Mannie didn’t recognize were sitting on the porch not far from where she parked her bike. She hung her helmet on the handle bars and being in a flirtatious mood and threw her head side to side to free up her golden locks.

“Oh God, buy me one of those,” she heard the deputy say not too quietly.

“The bike or the girl?” John asked.

“Why not go for the whole package if I gotta dream.”

“Well, I don’t think she’s available at the moment. She’s Ben Martindale’s niece. She lives down in Arkansas. She’s up here to get estate matters settled.”

Mannie could feel their eyes boring into her back as she walked down the planked walk to the restaurant.

Steve Miller, the restaurant manager opened up the safe for her. The deposit slips were already prepared. Copies were already sent to the accountant.

“Steve, have you ever had to use that shotgun,” she said pointing to the pump action shotgun standing in the corner.

“Not recently. You probably should know this. It’s loaded with one blank and the rest of the shells are loaded with buckshot. There’s a second one below the register. It’s the same thing there, except it’s a semi-automatic. If an employee has to, he or she can pull the trigger twice. The second shot will take care of whomever is standing in front of the register. That gun is locked down so the recoils won’t mess up the aim. It’s easy to unlock it if needed. My assistant and I check it every day before opening to make sure the safety is on.

“You know how to shoot one?”

“Definitely, Uncle Ben took me quail and pheasant hunting a couple of times. I was a very good shot, but decided I didn’t like killing birds.”

The first time she had to use the gun was only two nights later. As nights went, it was pretty interesting. Early on, the roustabouts had taken up a collection for Jim Larkins. He was hoping to move his family to Tagus but was short of money having only just started work. Now he needed to fly back to New Orleans because his wife was experiencing problems with her pregnancy. The hat was quickly passed, and Mannie decided they could certainly afford $100 to help get Jim a round trip ticket. She opened the register to get $100 when a fight broke out.

One of the poker players had stood and was shouting at one of the players. Someone Mannie didn’t recognize.

“You cheating son of a bitch. You palmed the ace of hearts and I think you palmed the ace of spades from the last hand. The players on either side of the cheater grabbed him before he could do anything. One unbuttoned the shirtsleeve of the accused crook’s left arm. The ace of hearts and the ace of spades fell to the floor.

“You know what we do to cheats around here?”

The accused cheat was silent, but his eyes were darting around the room. All eyes were on him.

“First we beat the shit out of you. Then we tie you up for a couple of days. We put some castration ligatures around your scrotum until your balls fall off. Then we’ll let you go. I understand it doesn’t hurt very much. The steers and dogs don’t talk much about it.”

Mannie could see that it was going to get rough whether or not they went through with the castration. She grabbed the shotgun and fired off the first shot. Fortunately, it was the blank. That got everyone’s attention.

“Just hold the gentleman until the sheriff gets here. He’s on his way.”

“What the hell is going on?” John exclaimed as he walked into the packed bar.

“It seems the restrained gentleman forgot to put a couple of aces back into the deck. Perhaps you should explain the error of his ways to him as you escort him to the county line. That would be far nicer than what these boys had in mind for him. They wanted to fix him so he could audition for the Vienna Boys Choir.”

Having experienced what the roustabouts and cattlemen had in mind, she knew the voice thing was a myth. She was fortunate that her voice was in the tenor range to begin with. She had a good speech therapist, and after six months her voice never dropped into the male range again.

We know the environmentalist tree huggers aren’t very popular to say the least. I guess it’s about time we meet some of them. Of course, you know who is among them.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

In spite of a previous comment, the story continues.

It was the bike. He saw it and recognized it immediately. What he discovers after that wasn’t quite the surprise some would have thought. Mannie tells Steve about her uncle and what she suspects. Sheriff John is not happy at all about this tree hugger cutting in on the woman he fancies.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 10

Steve Chavez parked next to the motorcycle he’d spotted as he was heading for the Kum & Go two blocks away. He was going to get some cheap fried chicken before he checked out the lay of the land around their new objective. He’d been meeting with some of his cohorts at a motel out on the main highway. Their objective was going to be to block some of the frack water trucks, also known as vacuum trucks, from getting to several of the well sites. They knew they wouldn’t have any immediate effects on the operations; however, their hopes were that they would get the federal government involved, and the only way they could do that would be to get the public involved.

He got out of his truck and walked to the maroon bike. It certainly looked like the bike that Manny had bought and ridden away on. It was in excellent shape, and there was the scrape he remembered. It had to be his bike unless he sold it. Well, there was one way he could find out. It was lunch time. He might as well treat himself to a decent meal.

The sign said “Please Seat Yourself”. On the back it said “Wait to be seated”. He found a chair at a table for two along the far wall.

“Good afternoon, I’m Mabel and I will be happy to serve you. Would you like a few minutes with the menu?”

“I think I’d like the three piece catfish lunch.”

“Good choice. Would you like onions with that? It comes with slaw, fries or baked potato, beans and hush puppies.”

“I’ll have the baked potato with a lot of butter, no cheese please.”

“To drink?”

“Ice Tea, no sugar.

“Say, does that bike belong to anyone here?” he said pointing out the window.

“Yes, that’s the owner’s.”

“I seem to remember that bike from a number of years ago.”

“Would you like to talk to her, she’s back in the office?”

“Sure.” Well, that’s that, he thought, Manny must have sold it. I’ll have to tell her that I know a little bit about its history.

“Mannie, there’s a customer out there who says he recognized your bike. You want to talk to him? He’s over against the south wall. Nice looking guy; needs a haircut.”

“Sure, I was just getting ready to leave. All the orders are in. They should be here tomorrow.”

Stevie looked up as the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a long time approached his table.

Mannie was in semi-shock. She had recognized Stevie immediately. Her face was on fire.

“May I sit here?”

“Please do.”

“So you recognized my bike?”

“Hard not to. You never fixed that scrape. Why not?”

“I never thought it was that important. Maybe I wanted that scrape to be seen by someone. I don’t know.

“Are you surprised?” She asked after hesitating a second or two.

“A little. Shocked? Not at all. So you finally let that beautiful person you’d been trying to hide come out. I must say you look quite nice, more than nice. Are you happy? Shit, that’s a stupid question. You radiate happiness. I could see it when you walked up to the table.

“May I ask what you’re doing here? This certainly isn’t wine country.”

“I’m still down at the winery in Arkansas. Look, finish your lunch. We need to go somewhere where we can talk. Do you have anything going on for the next hour or so?”

“No, we were going fuck with some frack water haulers later this evening.”

“I’ll get my coat. You wanna ride on my bike with me?”

“Why don’t you ride with me? I’m not sure if I want to ride on your bike. I wouldn’t know where to put my hands.”

“You are such a naughty boy. They are real by the way.” That was stupid she thought. Why in the hell would I say something like that?

He opened the door of his truck for her then went to his side. He was thinking how strange this was. Here he was giving his ex-college roommate a ride in his truck. The only thing was she was now a very attractive woman. There had been no kneejerk reaction when he first saw her. He knew who she was immediately, and he knew she had done the right thing. Yes, she’d obviously had some work done on her face, and he assumed elsewhere. My God she looked good in that leather suit. It was almost painted on her.

“This is a bit silly, but I don’t know your name.”

“I didn’t change it much. I am now Emmanuelle Allison Argerich. I go by Mannie with an ‘i e’.

“Go down to the ‘Kum & Go’ and turn left. We can go to the park.”

John Craig watched from his doorway as the woman he thought he loved rode off with a stranger.

“So that’s pretty much it. I’ve been up here a while trying to get the estate straightened out. Mom’s coming up in a few days. When I go back to Arkansas, I’ll take my Uncle’s truck and haul the bike behind it. There’s a nice camper shell. I’ll just sleep in it.”

“You said you had an idea who killed your uncle.”

“Yeah, I looked at the place where they found his body. It’s just outside the north boundary and a few yards from the creek that runs through the property. It’s a nice creek, full of fish, or at least it was. Now it stinks of rotting fish. There are some tracks left by some big trucks. They were eroded by some rain we had a while ago; so we can’t tell much about the tires other than they were big. I haven’t told the sheriff about them. Now it’s going to snow; not that it matters.”

“I know what you’re telling me. Somebody’s been draining frack water into the creek. The fish kill probably confirms it. We’ll get some samples from the creek and it will be easy to determine that frack water was dumped there. Those bastards killed your uncle. There may be a problem figuring out which one did it though.”

“I thought so.”

“There are at least six frack water haulers I’m aware of in this area. I might have to smoke them out.”

“Be careful, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you.”

“We’ve had people try to kill us before.

“You said you think the drillers are drilling under your property. I think we can prove if they are. We have ways. If we can get the evidence, you can sue their collective asses. I think the most important thing is to get the people who killed your uncle.

The three piece band was warming up when Steve and three of his associates walked into the Antelope Bar & Grill. The silence was almost deafening. “Fucking tree huggers,” someone said in a not whisper.

“You shouldn’t have to worry,” one of the four said. “The trees aren’t fucking, and it’s too fucking cold to be hugging trees, anyway.”

Mannie watched warily at what was going on. She wasn’t sure what Steve had in mind other than he was probably going to piss a lot of people off. They’d had lunch together several times since their meeting the previous week. They’d had time to discuss quite a bit, including what the objective of Steve’s little group was. Things were going very well as far as Mannie was concerned.

“Hey sheriff,” one of the pool players shouted as Sheriff John entered. He was off duty.

“Yeah?”

“There’s a bunch of them fucking tree huggers. Why don’t you run ‘em out of town like you did that card cheat the other day?

“As much as I would like to, they haven’t done anything wrong. Just one slip up, though, and they’re as good as gone.

“I need a Scotch.”

“Coming right up, John,” Mannie said as she poured two fingers of Glenmorangie 18 Years Old Extremely Rare.

“Damn this is good. The well Scotch would have been fine.

“Mannie, why don’t you marry me and let me take you away from all this?”

Mannie knew he was only half joking. “Thank you for the offer, John, but I’m just not ready to make that sort of commitment.”

“Okay folks,” Jake Wallace said after thumping the microphone, “me and the boys had a little amp problem, but we’re ready to go. Remember, if you’re gonna dance, ya gotta stay on the dance floor up here. Wayne, my brother, got a little upset last week when someone bumped his cue and messed up his all-time best run at straight pool. I think he was up to eight balls.”

“That was 33, asshole,” Wayne shouted from the table where at the moment he was playing eight ball.

The trio, amplified guitar, bass guitar and drums wasn’t bad, and Jake had a pretty good voice. They went through a set of 8 country western standards and several couples had migrated from the dining room and were dancing. Sheriff John was sitting with one of his off duty deputies. He was not at all happy and kept glaring at Steve and his group. At one point, one of the patrons ‘accidently’ spilled a glass of beer as he walked by. Fortunately, most of it missed them.

“Okay folks, we’re gonna do a slow piece for all of you who can’t dance.”

Mannie was caught a bit off guard when Steve approached her. “The boys and I are getting ready to leave. I was kinda hoping I could have a dance with you.”

“I think I would like that.”

The truth be told, neither was a very good dancer. Neither noticed. She found it very easy to mold herself to him. It came very naturally. He smelled good. Her head rested on his shoulder. She could feel his erection growing, and it thrilled her. She had feelings she’d never had before. The thoughts kept running through her mind and had been since that afternoon when he showed up. She knew for certain she’d always been a woman. That problem had been solved. She had wanted the companionship of a lover, and now she realized who that person was. She had lived with him for nearly four years.

The music came to an end, but they hardly noticed. She looked up at him, and he said quietly, “I love you, Emmanuelle Allison Argerich.”

She smiled back, “I love you, Stefan Ricardo Chavez.”

John Craig was furious. He might not have been able to read lips, but he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. She had rebuffed him several times, and then she had taken up with a fucking tree hugger.

The tree huggers had been gone for a couple of hours, and John Craig had been sitting rather morosely at his table. Finally, his cell phone jarred him out of his misery. “John, Andy Bennett called into dispatch. He said someone broke into his truck yard, stole a tractor and painted graffiti on his trucks and trailers. He said he might have shot one of them. It was those damn tree huggers.”

They’d been apart for three years, but they’d lived together for four years prior to that. It didn’t take either one of them long to figure out why they’d been so compatible. The opera continues.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Someone sabotaged a bunch of Andy Bennett’s trucks and frack water trailers. They also stole one of his trucks. Andy got a shot or two off at the saboteurs. Steve and his friends show up at the ranch. Steve’s been shot.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 11

Sheriff John had departed shortly after receiving a phone call. Mannie wasn’t sure what it was about; however, whatever it was had energized the sulking sheriff. There were only few stragglers left and she had told them they were shutting due to the deteriorating weather.

The snow that had been threatening with little fits and starts most of the afternoon and into the early evening was now coming down in earnest. Mannie carefully drove her uncle’s, well now her mother’s and her pickup truck down the highway towards the ranch. She was thinking over the last few weeks and especially the last few hours. Stevie’s profession of his love for her had been a very special moment. It had been very easy for her to reply with an affirmation. They knew each other very well, and apparently Stevie had known her better than she had realized. That didn’t surprise her anymore. She had been quite obvious to those who knew her even though she couldn’t recognize herself. It took a couple of figurative kicks in the ass to free her. Once she started, there never had been one instance of hesitation.

Had her Uncle died a natural death, the disposition of the estate would probably have been pretty much matter of fact. She and her mother had discussed what they wanted to do with the properties. That hadn’t changed; however, of prime concern was the murder of her uncle. She wasn’t going to leave until it was resolved. Rather than sit on her ass, she had thrown herself into the operations of her uncle’s businesses; at least what she could see of them. She felt she could bring some good knowledge back to the winery.

What were she and Stevie going to do? Three years had passed where neither had communicated with the other. Stevie walked back into her life, and it was like they had never been apart; only that she was now physically a woman, and he was perfectly okay with it. It was better than okay. It was strange, but maybe they had been in love with each other on the subconscious level. After all, true love went beyond physical love. She’d have to work on that thought.

Turning into the two mile long drive to the house, she slowed as a gust of snow filled wind hit her almost head on. It had been quite cold for several days; however, the truck’s thermometer now read 5 degrees Fahrenheit. She pulled into the garage and could hear the generator running as she got out of the truck.

“We had a power failure,” Bob Williams said as he greeted Mannie at the door. “The generators came on just fine. We wanted to check and make sure everything was doing what it should. I don’t think any of the children woke up except Bobby, Jr. We’ll go back to the house.”

That thought was interrupted by the headlight beams from an approaching vehicle. Within seconds there was the sound of many footsteps and a pounding at the door.

“It’s four young men,” Bob said looking at his phone. “One of them appears to be hurt.”

Mannie rushed to the door. The entry area filled with blown snow when she opened the door. She hadn’t learned the names of Steve’s companions, but two of them were supporting him. He was bleeding from a wound in his side.

“Thank God we came to the right place,” one said as he obviously recognized Mannie. “All we needed was to get shot at again.”

“Hi, Mannie,” Steve said weakly. “This getting shot sucks.”

“Take him back to the guest room,” Mannie said pointing the way.

“Bob, we need a doctor. Who do we call?”

“Already texted him. He lives just a couple miles to the west. He’s on his way

Steve’s compadres placed him on a layer of pads that Maria had placed there. She quickly removed his outer garments and cut off his T-shirt. The bullet had penetrated his coat, sweater, shirt and T-shirt. It entered his lower left side just above his hip. There was no exit wound. He grimaced as Maria worked on him.

What happened,” Mannie asked.

“We were looking at the place where your uncle was killed,” One of the other members said. It would turn out his name was Gary Smith. “Stevie was so happy he’d found you after all these years we thought we’d have to tie him down. We’d decided to forget harassing the frack water haulers because the weather was turning to shit. Instead we decided to see if we could find anything out there. I got some water samples before the whole thing froze over.

“What you told Stevie about the tire tracks is correct. There’s no way we could identify who made them. However, what happened may change all that.

“We were getting ready to leave because it was really getting nasty. Then we heard a truck approaching. He had his lights off as he came up to the curve where the dirt road leads down to where we were standing. Then the son of a bitch opens up on us. We hit the dirt, but it was too late. They got Stevie, and I have bullet holes in my truck.”

They heard the front door open and close, and a man wearing a heavy wool plaid coat entered the room. Immediately behind him were Sheriff John Craig and two of his deputies.

“Okay, you boys are in a heap o’ trouble. You’re all under arrest for malicious mischief, trespassing, and grand theft auto. It seems you broke into Andy Bennett’s truck yard, painted some nasty shit on his trucks, and stole one of them. Let’s go out to the main room and wait for the doctor to do his stuff. We might have to wait for a while for the weather to let up a bit before I take you back to the jail.

“Andy thought he might have hit one of you, and I guess he did. He said he emptied his shotgun at the lot of you. The doc called me because he’s required to in the case of gunshot wounds.”

There wasn’t much said over the next hour or so. Mannie fixed some coffee, and they just basically sat around.

Maria and Doctor Featherstone finally entered the room. “He’s going to be fine. He should be up and about tomorrow, albeit moving slowly. He’s a brave kid and he didn’t make a sound when I dug the bullet out. I gave him something that will let him rest for the night. He doesn’t need to be going anywhere tonight.”

“So Andy Bennett emptied his shotgun on them.”

“That’s right. He had it loaded with double-aught buckshot. It wasn’t the first time he’d been broken into by these tree huggers.”

The doctor handed a wad of gauze to the sheriff. “I just pulled this out of that boy back there. It certainly doesn’t look like buckshot to me. Unless I miss my guess this slug will match the ones I took out of Ben. At least two of them will. I saw several holes in the side of that truck. I’ll bet you’ll find a couple of more matches inside the door.

“Miss, he wants to see you. He might have called you except his cell phone seems to have a hole through the middle of it. That and his heavy clothing slowed the bullet down quite a bit.

“Sheriff, these boys were nowhere near Andy Bennett’s place. If Andy did shoot someone, you might want to check with the hospital in Minot.

“In spite of being shot, he was able to tell me quite a bit, including that he loves that young woman who’s tending to him right now. It seems they went to college together for four years. They’ve been rather fond of each other for quite a while. I know you fancy her. Hell, who wouldn’t. But I think you need to find someone closer to your own age. Mabel Storch has had a thing for you for quite a while. You might want to talk to her.

“One more thing; which one of you is Gary?”

“I am, Sir.”

“Show the Sheriff the pictures you took.”

“Yes sir.

“Sheriff, I took these at the spot where that truck stopped. They turned out quite nice. Some snow drifted a bit there and the truck left some awesome tire tracks.”

“I’ll bet that Efram down at the garage will be able to tell what brand of tire that is. Send those photos to me. I’ll need to take a sworn statement. See me on Monday. Take your truck to the garage so that they can get those other bullets.”

“Sheriff, you need to know something else. Somebody’s been dumping frack water in the creek. We took samples. You might want to send someone official to do the same.”

“You’re going to be fine, Stevie.”

“Yeah, but I’m going to have to get a new phone.”

Mannie sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over to give Stevie a kiss. “I think we’re doing this in the wrong order. Aren’t we supposed to date, make out, discover we’re in love, maybe have sex, and then get married. Here you are in bed in my house. We haven’t seen each other in more than three years and discover we are in love. We kinda skipped over quite a bit didn’t we?”

“Are you okay with this? There I was holding this beautiful woman in my arms, and all I can think about is that I want to make love to her as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, I noticed. You have no idea what sort of rush that gave me. You have to realize I’m pretty new at this sort of thing.”

“Can you …?”

“I think so. I’m as complete a woman as it is possible to be. I think, no, I know I want you very much. Holding you in my arms tonight made me realize that right away. I think tonight completed my transition in many ways. When you get well, we will take care of the rest. That is, if you are still interested. My doctor said everything should be fine.”

Maria returned to find Mannie sound asleep lying against Steve. He was lying on his right side and had his left arm around her. Maria found another blanket to put over them. She had the three boys go to the loft. There was plenty of room for them up there. Bob was waiting for her in the living room. They wrapped a heavy wool blanket around themselves before heading to their nice warm house. It was 6:00 AM. The sun would be rising in a little over an hour; except they wouldn’t see it. The blizzard had increased it’s furor over the last few hours. Bob, Jr. would probably need to be fed.

“Bob, I noticed something tonight.

“What’s that?

“She is no longer two spirited.”

Thankfully, Steve was not badly hurt. The sheriff and doctor managed to get out before the blizzard intensified even more. They’re going to spend a few days snowed in.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Fortunately, Steve’s injury is not too severe. The group is snowed in for a couple of days. Steve’s friend, Gary Smith reveals to Mannie he is aware of what she’s been through. He also confirms Steve is very much in love with her. It’s not a problem. It’s time to get Mannie’s mother.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 12

Mannie awakened with the brief thought of where in the hell was she, and who was this person who was cuddled up against her back with his arm draped around her chest. Not only that, whoever it was, was cradling her breast in his hand. Even through her bra it felt rather nice. Things came into focus rather quickly. Her watch said it was 10:30. She assumed it was AM. She could hear some noise from the front of the house. She could also hear the wind howling. She’d find out soon enough what the storm had been doing.

“Stevie, you okay?”

“Huh, yeah, I guess so. My hip feels like I got hit by a truck.” That was when he realized his hand was holding her breast. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

Mannie grabbed his hand, holding it to her. “You may keep it there as long as you like. We’ll have to try it later when there’s not quite as much in the way.

“I gotta pee, and I imagine you do too. Let me go first, then I’ll help you up. I heard a crowd up front. I imagine you’re hungry and I smell bacon and coffee. The doc left some antibiotics and pain killers,” she said seeing the bottles on the bedside table, “and you probably need to take both.

Mannie returned and helped Steve get up. Straightening up was a bit difficult. He was wearing a pair of shorts Bob had found for him, and a clean shirt and Levis were on the dresser. The whereabouts of his other clothes wasn’t at the moment known. He hobbled into the bathroom and was able to take care of things without a problem.

“That’s a new toothbrush. You might want to use it. I’ll have something for you when you come out.”

When he returned she had him sit on the edge of the bed while she helped him dress. His belt line came to just below the wound site that at the moment was sealed up tightly. “I might have to wear suspenders for a while. My hip bone is very sore.”

Mannie helped him stand once more, then proceeded to put a very passionate lip lock on him. He was startled at first, but quickly responded in more ways than one.”

“Does that thing always do that,” Mannie asked.

“For you it does.”

“Please be patient with me. You’re the first man I’ve ever kissed like that.”

“I have no complaints. You did very well.”

The noise of the blizzard had been a constant background, and when they entered the dining area the area in front of the house was visible. At least some of it was. It was still snowing and the conditions were basically a white out. It was difficult to discern where the ground began and the windblown snow ended. Mannie could make out the truck the four had arrived in early that morning. She was pretty sure it wasn’t Stevie’s truck. The snow had drifted to the roof line on the north side. She could make out the electric cord going to the grill.

“Bob and I are going back to our house in a little while,” Maria said as she put a plate piled high with bacon and scrambled eggs on the table. “We have to make sure the children don’t get into too much trouble. If you need something call us on the phone. We stretched a rope between the houses to follow if need be. This storm is supposed to be going for another eight to ten hours and there’s absolutely no reason to be out in this stuff.

“There are several televisions and entertainment devices located throughout the house. Mannie can show you where they are and how to operate them.

“As far as recreation goes, you two,” she said looking at Mannie and Steve, “need to keep your relationship purely platonic for a while. You had a close call and we don’t want any of those stitches the doctor and I put in you pulling loose. It’s okay to take a shower as long as that patch stays sealed

“We have plenty of food. We could feed an army for a month if need be. Mannie’s uncle kept the larder well stocked. From the looks of things we’re going to be stuck back here for several days. When it’s time, Bob will plow the road. Call us if you need anything.”

“Is there anything Maria can’t do?” Steve asked. “Last night she did as much work as the doctor did. I wasn’t sure who the doctor was. She numbed me up before the doctor went to work and she did the final stitching. The doctor did some things inside, but I wasn’t watching that closely.”

“She’s an RN and then went back to school and got her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology; the whole time raising six kids. She is dedicated to helping her people.” I think she saved my life, too was a silent addendum.

“Before I go any further, I don’t really know any of you guys. I know your name is Gary Smith,” she said pointing to a dark haired fellow who was an inch or two shorter than Steve. “However, that’s it.”

“Okay,” Steve said pointing to the other two, “the fellow with the mop of straight hair is Rick Hall, and the short body builder is Gene Anderson.

“We met on the ship, but it turned out we were all land lubbers. So we thought we could do better trying to call the people’s attention to what the new gas and oil recovery techniques were doing to the environment. We’re trying to get more people interested in renewable energy; in particular, solar energy. Wind is good in that it is available in the good locations 24/7. It’s bad because it’s death on birds. There’s no genetic learning curve. They’re either killed or not killed. There’s no learning curve, period. They’re working on some avoidance ideas, but nothing seems to be working yet.

“There’s too much wind today, and any wind farms around here are shut down. Solar panels would still work unless they were covered in snow. It’s not an absolute, but we have to get them to reduce the use of oil and gas.

“Hell, this is not the right time to be talking about this. Pass the eggs, please.”

Steve found he was getting a bit tired, although the second pain killer might have contributed to it. He found a recliner in the den and was soon sound asleep. Gary helped Mannie with the dishes.

“You have no idea what finding you has done for Stevie,” Gary said as they loaded the dishwasher. “He used to talk a lot about his college friend, and the good times they had. I often wondered why he did what he did when he left college. If he had this girl he was so fond of, why didn’t he marry her? He and I were bunk mates.

“He dropped his wallet one day and a picture fell out. I asked him who it was. He said it was his friend from college. I looked at it and I saw a college age woman. I looked again, and it was a picture of a rather androgynous young man. I was a bit embarrassed. I said the way you talked I thought your friend was a woman. Well, he is, he replied. It’s just that he doesn’t know it.

“Steve is not gay. I am and he knows it. We are friends, good friends. He’d told me about your going off the deep end and buying that motorcycle. That afternoon after he found you, he came back to the motel. I knew right away something very important had happened.”

“What happened,” I asked. “I can tell something very big has happened.”

“She’s here,” he said

“Who’s here?” I asked.

“My college roommate, Mannie,” Stevie replied. “Only she’s Emmanuelle now and she’s positively beautiful. I knew it was her the second I saw her. We had a long talk. There’s been some really bad shit going on. Her uncle was murdered. Some frack water haulers did it. They just don’t know who.”

“I didn’t have to read between the lines, Mannie. I have several friends who have done what you’ve done. Unfortunately, they can’t come close to your beauty. Fortunately, they are very happy. That’s the most important thing. Steve is a lucky man and you’re a lucky woman. They don’t come much finer than he is. I hope I can be best man at your wedding.

“One other thing, I would never have known had I not seen the picture.”

“Do the others know?” Mannie asked.

“No, they don’t have a clue and never will unless you tell them. If they did find out, you wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. I wouldn’t worry about it.

“That sheriff is all gaga over you. We saw that last night. Boy was he pissed when Stevie asked you to dance. Everyone in the place knew you were in love with each other. In a way, I can understand why he wanted to arrest us; however, we’ve never destroyed or vandalized any property. We just get in the way of things.”

The storm started to blow itself out later in the afternoon. The drifts were six to eight feet deep in places and they could hear some equipment being powered up. Bob Williams had the snow track up and running and was checking on the cows they hadn’t been able to round up earlier. The buffalo couldn’t care less.

Bob cleared the road two days later, and Gary, Rick and Gene headed back to the motel in their truck. Steve and Mannie rode with them to get Steve’s truck. There was no question that Steve was moving in with Mannie. There was another reason for the trip, as well. Allison was arriving from San Antonio, and they would continue on to the Minot International Airport a little over an hour away. They were running on a pretty tight schedule as a new storm was scheduled to show up that night. Mannie had mentioned to her mother that she had met someone, and that it was pretty serious. Allison thought it was a bit fast; however, she was pleased that her daughter was at least ‘out there’. She had entertained thoughts about grandchildren and hoped that someday Mannie would find someone. Male or female, it didn’t really matter. Her daughter’s happiness was most important.

Mannie parked in the short term parking and left the engine running. It was right at zero when they’d pulled into the lot. “The flight is supposed to be on time. I’ll meet Mom at baggage claim.”

“You did tell her about me, didn’t you?”

“I told her there was someone. I think she will be very pleased. She was very fond of you.” She gave Steve a quick kiss. Steve watched her as she swiftly walked between the cars. There was a spring in her step that the old Manny never had. Her beautiful hair, partially held down by a white wool cap, moved gently with the slight breeze. She was on top of the world, and he was right there with her.

Of course Mannie and Steve’s relationship will take the next step. There is, however, this problem with who killed her uncle and who shot Steve.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Mannie decides to take their love to the next level. There is another blizzard, and Mannie, her Mother, and Steve work on what’s to be done with the estate.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 13

Her mother was just approaching the baggage claim carousel as Mannie entered the area. The hugs and kisses were a given. “I think you’re in love. I can tell. I just can’t imagine that you’d fall for someone in this God-forsaken place.

“You need to do your roots. I’ll not have you looking like some trailer park hussy.

“Mo-o-o-o-m!”

Ever since Mannie started her transition, her mother had been her strongest critic. She had quite a bit of catching up to do in her daughter’s training.

“I understand. You have been very busy.”

A short bag drag later they were at Steve’s truck

“Okay, you get the back seat with your bag. This is Steve’s truck.”

“Steve?”

“Yes, Steve, Steve Chavez, you might remember him,” Mannie said as she opened the rear door to the truck.

“Hello, Ms. Argerich,” Steve said as he extended his arm over the seat. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“What a pleasure to see you. When Mannie said there was someone special, I had a bit of a problem trying to figure out whom she might have fallen for. So what do you think?

“I love her. There’s not much else to say. I’m so happy Emmanuelle decided to make her appearance. I wasn’t sure she would.”

“Mom, we need to change the subject a bit. Three nights ago Stevie was shot. We think it was by the same people who killed Uncle Ben. We’re waiting for the ballistics results to come back.”

“How are you doing?” Allison asked. “You did seem to be moving a bit gingerly when I first got into the truck, and I did wonder why you weren’t driving.”

“I got lucky. Nothing important got hit except my cell phone which I need to replace. I was shot at the same location where Ben was murdered. My buddies took me to the house, and Dr. Featherstone and Maria took care of things. The prognosis is good. I’ll have to take it easy for a week or so before I get back to spreading hate and discontent among the oil folks.

“I’ve moved in with Mannie. I hope you don’t mind. It seemed like the best thing to do. My things are in the back of the truck. I don’t have that much and I’m wearing some of Ben’s things. It seems we’re the same size.”

“Why should I mind? You’re both adults and you love each other. That’s obvious. How did you find each other, anyway?”

Steve explained how he’d seen her bike parked in front of the Antelope Bar & Grill and decided to see who the owner was. He was momentarily disappointed when he discovered the owner was ‘she’, but that all changed when she came out to greet him. He and Mannie agreed that was a special moment.

Darkness had fallen before they pulled in. It had been hastened by the clouds from the next storm. There were no stars to be seen

It never ceased to amaze Mannie about what Maria could put together for dinner. The house had a walk-in freezer and refrigerator. A huge pantry that kept the canned goods and other food items sat across the hall from the refrigerator and freezer. Mannie had been fixing many of her meals before Steve and his friends had arrived; however, Maria insisted on being in charge for the bigger meals. If she wasn’t, Bob was. Somebody had to look after their brood with the exception of Robert, Jr. who could frequently be seen napping in a sling attached to his mother. There were many days when Mannie shared meals with the Williams at their large house that stood a couple of hundred feet to the north of the sprawling ranch house that had been her uncle’s.

Maria had dinner ready when they arrived. After a quick hello, she returned to her home to leave Allison, her daughter, and probable son-in-law alone for the evening

“Mind if I join you?” That startled Steve out of his reverie. He’d been enjoying the warmth of the shower in the luxurious bathroom. “I figured you’d better see the whole package before you committed yourself to me forever.”

Mannie had her hair up, probably to avoid getting it wet. Steve was briefly at a loss for words. Had he not known Manfred Argerich, he’d never had a clue about the tall slender blonde who had joined him. Her hips were a bit narrow, but certainly not any narrower than many runway models. Her waist tucked in nicely. Her previously rather flat buttocks were nicely rounded. Her neatly trimmed mons looked perfectly natural. That had been something he’d wondered about. He’d needn’t wonder about it any longer. Her shoulders might have been a bit broader than some women; however they looked perfectly normal on her athletic body. Her breasts were beautiful. As he would find out later, they were a full 36C. Proportionally, they were perfect.

“My God!”

“Okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“You could be as flat as a board, and it wouldn’t matter. I was pretty sure who you were a long time ago; however, you had to do it for yourself. You are fucking gorgeous!”

“You’re right; I had to do it for myself. I realized early on what had been missing from my life. I knew it for sure the other night on that dance floor. Hell, I knew it long before that. It just took your being here to make it all come together.

“Enough of this chit chat. I need you to wash my back. We need to get better acquainted.”

There was no doubt about the effect the close contact was having on them. His was more obvious and its presence made itself know as Mannie backed into him. She loved the way it rested against the upper crack of her buttocks. His hands had worked over her smooth back, down to her firm butt, and then snuck around her sides to caress her firm breasts. She raised her arms a bit to accommodate his explorations. She reached back to feel his erection. It may have been the first time she’d seen him erect; however, they’d frequently showered at the same time in the community bathroom at Humboldt. They didn’t exactly shower together as there were individual stalls; however, there were few anatomical secrets among the residents on their floor in the dormitory.

This was an obviously different experience. She carefully dried him off while taking a look at the semi-clear square of plastic that covered his wound.

“Maria said this can probably come off tomorrow; however, she gave strict instructions that you are to avoid any strenuous activities. That means I will have to do most of the work. Get under the covers. I need to take care of something.”

She was briefly silhouetted in the light from the bathroom as she turned it off. She slid under the covers, pressing her shower cooled body up against his. The passion in their kisses accelerated quickly. He paid homage to her breasts, kissed her neck and ear lobes. He started to move further down, but she stopped him. “Just let me do all the work. That will come later, I hope. This is so new to me, but so right. I want you so much.”

Any protests were silenced by her lips. She straddled his waist and reached back to find he was eagerly waiting for her. The angle was a bit different than when she used her dilators. She quickly found the right spot and angle. She had applied a generous amount of lubricant, and now she was slowly capturing his length. This was so much better.

Soon, she found the right motion. She didn’t need an instruction manual. The best thing was she could really feel him. It wasn’t just a stuffed feeling.

As much as he wanted to follow the doctor’s orders, he was beginning to meet her thrusts with his own. “Mannie, I’m going to come.”

“That’s okay, come all you want. This one is on me.”

She could feel his motions and hear his breathing change. She had done it and it was the easiest thing in the world. It was what she’d been programmed to do all her life. She’d made love to a man – the man she loved. She carefully dropped to his side while smothering him with kisses.

“Did you …?” he asked, not quite sure how to put it.

“No, but it doesn’t matter. I just lost my virginity to the most wonderful guy.”

“Can you, I mean, um?”

“I have, so I know it works. This sort of thing takes time and practice. It never is as easy for girls; even less so for girls like I am. It takes lots of practice.”

“Then practice we shall,” he said as he gently turned her on her back.

“Don’t, Stevie, the doctor said you weren’t supposed to do anything strenuous.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty head. This is the least I can do for the woman I love,” he said as he parted her thighs and found his goal.

“Stevie, don’t.”

He paid no attention to her request.

“Stevie, you don’t … have … to … do … that. Oh shit. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Oh, Stevieeeee!

Steve could sense her responding fairly quickly to his ministrations and when her hips started lifting with each stroke of his tongue he knew she wasn’t that far off. Her vocal protestations just encouraged him further. When he was finally able to push her over the edge it meant so much to him. He knew then there would be no holding her back. She was complete.

“I take you two weren’t following doctor’s orders last night,” Allison said with a bit of a smirk on her face. She was sipping a cup of coffee.

“Mother!” Mannie exclaimed as her face reddened. Steve felt the warmth rising above his collar as well.

“Never mind,” Allison said suppressing a giggle. “We have a lot of work to do. We’re not going to be going anywhere for a while. We must have had a foot of snow last night. Bob said he was going to wait a while before clearing the road. The snow will just drift over it again.

“I’m fixing waffles and sausage. Any takers?”

“Sounds wonderful,” the two lovers exclaimed simultaneously.

After breakfast they got down to the business of trying to sort out the rather large estate left by Uncle Ben. It would be a long time before their task would be completed.

That certainly went well. Uncle Ben’s killers decide to take another step. Steve is caught off guard. They’re going to make an example of him. It won’t be pleasant.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

The weather takes a major shift and Mannie decides to catch up at the local beauty parlor. Once home she finds she just missed Steve who was going to meet with his friends in town. A series of phone calls makes her realize Andy Bennett has kidnapped him and probably intends to kill him. It’s not going to be easy, but Mannie is going to do her best to rescue him.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 14

In spite of the snow and ice some things have to continue on. Law enforcement was one of them. Sheriff John called a couple of days later with two bits of news. The bullets taken from Steve’s side and from the door of Gary’s truck were matches to the 9mm slugs taken from Uncle Ben. The semi-truck tractor stolen from Andy Bennett’s truck yard was found partially submerged in a pothole north of town. The rear tire tread matched the picture Gary Smith had taken. Several spent cartridges found in the cab were 9mm. There was little doubt that whoever had stolen the truck probably had taken shots at the boys as they were investigating the murder site of Uncle Ben. Finger prints could not be obtained.

Weather can be a capricious thing. After two weeks of one nasty storm after another, the weather pattern changed. The cold air retreated to Canada, and the warmer air from the Pacific Northwest poured over the Rockies and raced across Montana into North Dakota. Literally in a matter of minutes the temperature rose from sub-zero to the 50’s. The dry warm air not only melted the snow, it evaporated it in the process known as sublimation. The weather phenomenon is known as a Chinook.

Steve had been feeling very good of late and no one needed to guess why. Making love became pretty much a regular routine, and each time was better than the previous. Allison stopped making snide remarks about their intimacy, and just bathed in her daughter’s happiness.

Mannie found a beautician in town who called Lindsay Porter in Ozark so that she could match the shades Lindsay was using on Mannie’s hair. Her mother had been after her to touch up her roots, and Mannie knew she was at least three weeks overdue. Mannie thought she did an excellent job. It had warmed up considerably, and Mannie had considered riding her bike into town; however, there was quite a bit of runoff from the melting snow alongside the roads. That created a very dirty road mist, and she knew that she and the bike would be a mess the first time they encountered a semi going in either direction.

Next to the beauty shop was a small but very nice lingerie shop; something she hadn’t expected to find in Tagus when she had first arrived. Maybe some of the farmer’s wives needed something to spice things up. To this point in her life her underwear was just functional, nothing special. That would have to change. She found a couple of saucy bra and panty sets plus some just very nice underwear. Steve didn’t need any encouragement, but it would be fun just to spice it up a bit.

Steve’s truck was gone when she returned to the ranch. He’d mentioned that he and the other three were getting together to make some plans for a little demonstration later in the week. Her mother confirmed what she’d thought. She must have missed Steve by just seconds when she left town. She thought she’d try out her new purchases but then she received the first of several phone calls.

“Hi Mabel, what’s going on? Everything okay at the restaurant?

“I was coming in on the highway north of your place, and I could swear I saw Steve riding with Andy Bennett in his crew cab. Steve was in the front seat between Andy Bennett and one of his hands. There were three guys in the back seat. I’m not sure who they were.”

“Where would they be going out there?”

“Andy has a couple of sections leased out there. They have a duck club around those pothole lakes.”

“If Andy was going to do something bad, he wouldn’t be taking Steve to his duck club. What else is out there?”

“That’s mostly BLM land. They don’t allow any drilling out there because they say the area is too environmentally sensitive. A lot of the land is leased to the cattle people.”

“Does anyone live out there?”

“Not for about 10 miles. I was visiting my sister up by the border, and that’s a good back road to use; hardly any traffic.”

“Thanks for the info. Why don’t you give the Sheriff a call and let him know what you saw.”

“John’s coming back from Minot. We’re having dinner over at my place. I’ll tell him.”

“Thanks for the call, Mabel. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Shit, shit, shit!”

“What’s wrong, dear?” Her mother had walked in on the last part of the conversation.

“Andy Bennett and his cohorts have snatched Steve. I imagine they’re going to kill him to make an example of him for others. I have to do something. The lingerie show will have to wait.”

The second call followed almost immediately. It was Gary.

“Mannie, have you heard anything from Steve? His truck is at the motel, but he’s nowhere around. We thought he might be snatching a nap, but obviously that’s not the case”

“Mabel just called. She says Bennett and his minions have him. She saw him in Bennett’s crew cab a few minutes ago. They were heading north of the ranch probably beyond the place where they killed Ben. I think they have the same thing planned for Steve.

“I’m getting ready to go after them, and I won’t be unarmed.”

“Jesus, be careful, Mannie.”

“What would you do, Gary, if the man you loved was in the same predicament?” Mannie asked with not a little anger in her voice.

“We’ll be there as soon as possible, but we don’t have any weapons.”

She quickly donned her leathers, then headed for her uncle’s arsenal in the den. She’d hadn’t bothered to seriously examine what he had in the gun safes; however, what she wanted was on the walls and in the closet. He had been very proud of his collection and had shown it to her three and a half years before. Two of his proudest possessions were his matched pair of Remington Model 1100 Tactical 12 Gauge Shotguns. “These aren’t for killing game,” he told her. “These are for killing people.” After what she’d found out about him, she didn’t doubt that he probably had used them for just that.

Looking in the drawers lining the wall below the gun cases, she found boxes of 12 gauge magnum load buck shot. She chambered one shell and loaded eight more in the magazine of each gun. The guns were cocked and ready to go. All she had to do was take off the safety and pull the trigger. She knew she wouldn’t stand a chance in a shooting war; however surprise was on her side. She grabbed two saddle scabbards, and as an afterthought grabbed a Model 1911 Colt 45. She didn’t chamber a cartridge in it.

“Don’t try to stop me Mom. If they kill Steve, I don’t have a lot to live for.” That was an exaggeration, but it expressed her frustration at that moment. As an afterthought, she grabbed a pair of bolt cutters from the garage wall. They were placed in her side saddles along with the shotguns, one on each side. She secured the saddle scabbards with bungee cords. It was the best she could think of at the moment. Firing up her beloved bike, she headed up the ranch road to the north. She remembered a gate in the fence. She’d cut the chains if she had to. She wasn’t about to pull a Steve McQueen.

The ranch was two sections wide and six sections long from north to south. The ranch houses were two miles in from the highway on the south and four miles south from the highway that paralleled the property for one mile on the north before it made a right angle turn to the north. That was the place where they had killed her uncle and had shot Steve. There was no question in her mind who had done it. The dirt road was in good condition; however, it was muddy due to the unseasonable thaw. She had to take it easy. The gate was locked but the chains were easily cut. That was the way they were designed. Now to find those murderers.

She found what she was looking for after five miles. She’d passed the Bennett Duck Club and the gate was locked. No one had been through there. Three miles further on, she found where a vehicle had turned off the main road, cutting through the berm of snow left by a snowplow. The light was just beginning to fail.

The road was muddy, and she had to use care once more. This was no time to take a spill. Cresting a little rise, she saw her quarry straight ahead. Bennett’s pickup truck was parked, pointing towards a cottonwood grove and the pothole pond beyond. The lights were illuminating a rather horrific scene. Steve with his hands tied behind him was standing on the bare ground. A rope was around his neck. It went over a limb of one of the trees. The other end of the rope was tied to the bumper of the truck. Needless to say, the rumble of the approaching Harley diverted their attention from the task at hand.

“It’s that fucking bitch,” Bennett shouted. “Somebody kill her.”

Mannie slid the bike to a sideways stop and pulled up a shotgun in one motion. Her first shot severed the rope hanging over the branch of the tree.

“In case any of you sons of bitches were wondering, I know how to use these things. I don’t like to hunt, but shooting murdering assholes is another matter. I have eight shots left in this gun and nine in the other. That amounts to three loads of buckshot each, plus a few left over.”

“Leon, kill that fucking tree hugger. She doesn’t stand a chance against us,” Bennett shouted.

Mannie blew the pistol out of Leon’s hand. Unfortunately, her shot took most of his hand with it.

“Now I’d suggest the rest of you put your guns down real nice like and back away from them.”

Bennett made a move for the truck where there was a rifle in the rear window rack. She shot him in the left foot. He’d probably never walk right again. “Anybody else want to try anything?” I’d be glad to demonstrate more of my shooting skills if you so desire.

“Okay, fat boy, take Leon’s belt and tightly wrap it around his arm above what’s left of his hand. I’d hate to have him bleed to death before his trial.”

By this time Steve had managed to get his hands free. Mannie motioned for him to get the other shotgun. “I’ll have you know that Steve’s almost as good a shot as I am. I wouldn’t try anything.” The truth be known, Steve had never fired a gun in his life. He’d have to learn. She quickly traded guns with him. He probably hadn’t known that the safety was on.

She handed Steve her cell phone. “Call Gary and see where they are. If you can’t get them, call 911.”

“They’re just coming down the road. The Sheriff’s right behind them. They’ll be here in a minute.”

The sheriff didn’t say one questionable thing when he arrived. He and his deputy gathered up the fallen weapons including a rather badly damaged .44 caliber revolver and a nine millimeter Glock that was in Bennett’s glove box. An ambulance arrived ten minutes later to take the two wounded to Minot where they could be secured. The other three would spend some time in the local jail before the Feds would take over. It seems their crimes were committed on Federal land.

“Mannie, may I ride back with you?” Steve asked.

“Certainly, there’s a helmet in that saddlebag. I bought it for you the other day. Unfortunately, the place for your hands is not where you want them to be. If you need to grab anything, grab the sides of the seat. Stay upright. Don’t lean into the curves.”

Steve took charge that night. Mannie was very appreciative.

The opera ends with the two lovers riding off into the sunset. It doesn’t end here for our characters. We have a lot of cleaning up to do. The trials would take place about a year later. Andy and Leon got life without parole. The other three wouldn’t see the outside of prison for at least 20 years. We don’t need to dwell on that. There is the estate Ben left, and Mannie and Allison don’t really have a clue how big it is.

Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Steve is safe and the murderers are in jail. Certainly this is not the end of the story. There is the matter of the disposition of Ben Martindale’s estate. Also, what are Mannie and Steve going to do with the rest of their lives? You gotta do what you gotta do.

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Discovery
 

Chapter 15

“Those three started singing like canaries when I brought them over to the county jail. They swear they had nothing to do with Ben Martindale or Steve’s shooting. They claim the only thing they did was paint the trailers and take the truck tractor out to Andy Bennett’s duck club. Of course they are being held on kidnapping, wrongful imprisonment and attempted murder charges. When we get the ballistics information back I’m sure there will be capital murder and attempted murder charges filed against Andy Bennett and Leon Baker. I never did like Andy much.

“All the paperwork’s done, so now it’s up to the prosecutor. Too bad there’s no death penalty in North Dakota. They’d swing for sure. However, because of the nature of the crime, they’ll get life without parole. I ran the numbers on the guns. The Glock belonged to Ben. They must have gotten the drop on him before he could do anything. Leon shot him with the .44 and then they shot him with his own gun. Ben was always armed when he was at the ranch. Of course, he had a permit to carry. He always lived on the edge, and I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did.”

“So you knew about him?” Mannie asked.

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” John Craig replied with a wink.

“What do we sell? What do we leave? What do we give away?” Allison asked no one in particular. The ranch covered 7,680 acres more or less. Much of it was in grass for the cattle and small buffalo herd. Several thousand acres were planted in wheat and alfalfa, and quite a bit was the way it had been for the last hundred years or so.

“I think we do exactly what we said we would with the land,” Mannie said. “Do you want to keep the house? I’m sure that can be arranged.”

“No, now that Ben’s gone I don’t really have any reason to come up here. I might visit every once in a while, but I’d stay elsewhere.”

“We can discuss it with the lawyer. He should be here in a few minutes. John Crawford said the lawyer would have some news for us.”

It was snowing again; although it was not like the blizzards they’d experienced a few weeks before. Winter had returned without a doubt. Efram Lemansky pulled up in his rented car a few minutes later. Ben had left Allison with special instructions in the event of his death. She’d never bothered to read them until Ben had actually been killed. They outlined the provisions in his will, and basically, Allison and Mannie were his sole heirs, inheriting all his possessions and property. They were sure there were details to be worked out.

“Good afternoon Ms. Argerich, Miss Argerich. My goodness this place is out in the boondocks; however, my GPS led me right to the entrance.”

“Would you like some coffee?” Allison asked.

“Thank you, it’s just damn cold out there.”

“Sugar and cream?”

“Please,”

After a few more pleasantries, he got down to business.

“As you know, well maybe you don’t, there is no estate tax in North Dakota; however, there is basically a 40 percent tax on everything over $5,340,000. So each of you would be liable for any amount over that.”

“I guess that means we won’t have anything to worry about,” Mannie said.

“On the contrary …” Mr. Lemansky paused for a moment. “You really don’t have any idea, do you?”

“Idea about what?”

“Your uncle was quite wealthy. The land alone is worth millions. The buildings and improvements are worth right at a three million. There is about a million in cash in his bank account. I have the paperwork here,” he said rummaging through the pile of papers he’d taken out of his brief case, “for you and your mother to sign. That’s his personal account, by the way, not the business account for the farm and ranch. That’s another matter we have to take care of. The business aspect of this place leased the land from your uncle, now you.”

“As you explained in your letter there are ways around some of those taxes,” Allison asked.

“That is true.”

“Mannie and I agree with your suggestion and we want to go forward with it.”

“Good, I have those papers completed; however, before you execute those papers, you need to be completely sure about what you want to retain.

“Mannie, your uncle wanted me to give this envelope to you. As you can see, it is sealed. Ben put some items in there for you and your mother. I know what they are; however, I don’t think I will be much help as I have never been here before. He did give me some hints.”

Mannie popped the seal and opened the envelope. She slid a key out but had to reach in to pull out a folded card. “It’s a birthday card to me,” she said unfolding the card. “Is that a safety deposit box key?”

“I don’t think so. You should find the safe deposit key in a little while. No, this key is to something else. I’m sure there’s a matching key in his dresser or on his key chain; however, without my being here you may not have known its function.”

Mannie decided to wait for Steve to come in. He’d just driven up after having spent the morning with his friends going over future plans.

“Mr. Lemansky, this is my fiancé, Stefan Chavez.

“Steve, Mr. Lemansky is our lawyer. We’ve just been going over a few things.”

“And, when did this fiancé thing happen, daughter mine?” Allison said obviously a bit perturbed.

“On the ride back from the interrupted hanging. We’ll make it official soon enough. It seems that since I saved his life, he is now my responsibility. I guess I’ll have to make do.”

“Well, congratulations are in order. You make a handsome couple.

“Now, back to the task at hand. What is this key for? I guess I’d better show you. Follow me.”

He led them to the den and the wall of gun cabinets. “Ben told me all about this, but I’ve not seen it until now.

“Mannie, open up the gun cabinet by the fireplace.” The cabinets for the moment were unlocked. The keys were in the locks.

“What do you see?”

“Rifles.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Okay, we need to take the guns out.”

They placed the rifles on a nearby couch. Steve went back to the open cabinet and started exploring it. “Hey, this felt is loose along the bottom, and there’s a keyhole under it.”

It was a simple matter to insert the key and give it a twist. Some muffled clicks were followed by the section of cabinet moving outward then pivoting to one side. Behind the cabinet was a large door to what was most likely a safe. In the center was a twelve key keypad. Above that was what looked like a camera and a small plastic shelf.

“The ball is in your court, Mannie,” Mr. Lemansky said.

“I don’t have a clue,” Mannie replied.

“Sure you do. The answer was in the envelope.”

“Shit, it’s my birthday. But how do I enter it?”

“Knowing Ben, I’d use the military date: two digit day, month and year. That thing that looks like a camera is going to read the retina of your right eye. Put in the combination; rest your chin on the shelf, look at the lens, and press star. If we got it wrong, we have two more tries before it locks up for 24 hours.”

They needn’t have worried. The door was obviously heavy, but Mannie could have opened it with one finger.

“Holy shit!” was all that Mannie could say. Her mother could only come up with “Oh my God.” Steve was speechless.

Stacked on the left side of the safe, five across and twenty deep, were 100 gold bars. It would turn out each bar weighed approximately 100 troy ounces: 6.85 pounds avdp. or 7.5 pounds troy. Next to the stacked bars were shelves filled with tubes containing American Gold Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, Krugerands, Pandas, and many others. There were also boxes of things, very interesting things.

“I have the current inventory. He would update it weekly.

“Ben was scrupulously honest when it came to his finances. He paid his taxes, and was audited every year. The IRS was never able to find a thing wrong.

“I have made arrangements for an armored truck to transport this and some other things to the bank of your choosing. As far as your finances are concerned, I would advise you to pay the taxes on the bullion and other stuff. They’re insignificant compared to what you have.”

“That’s what we intend to do,” Allison said. “Hopefully we can use the same accountant.

“That will not be a problem.”

“What’s that stuff worth?” Steve asked.

“Gold today is going for about $1,500 an ounce. Each of those bars weighs 100 troy ounces. That means each bar is worth about $150,000. Do the math. There’s also about 1,000 one ounce gold rounds from various countries.

“Miss Argerich, I wouldn’t spend it on lottery tickets. You and your mother are quite wealthy.

“I’d close the safe for now. By the way Mr. and Mrs. Williams are fully aware of much of this.

“Now, do you want to do these other things? There’s time for me to leave the papers off at the county court house. We can probably do most of the remainder of our correspondence by FedEx. I need to get back to New York.”

Allison called the Williams and asked them to come over to the house. They had something to discuss.

“Bob,” Allison asked, “do you happen to have a dollar on you?”

“I think so, why?”

“Please give it to me.”

Bob did as he was asked with a furrowed brow.

“Thank you Mr. Williams, we have considered your kind offer and accept it. Discovery Ranch is now yours, free and clear. All we ask is to have ample time to remove the contents we desire. Mr. Lemansky has some paperwork for you to sign. We, as the sellers, are handling all the closing costs.

“Do you have any questions?”

“Why are you doing this?” was the only thing Bob could think of saying. Maria was sobbing quietly while holding Bob, Jr. to her breast.

“Because this was always what Ben intended to do,” Allison said. “Because by doing it this way, you won’t have to pay any death taxes.”

“There’s another matter,” Mr. Lemansky interjected. “A mutual acquaintance has been doing some investigating of the drilling activities in the area. Ben Martindale refused to sell the mineral rights to the property in spite of being offered a substantial amount of money. Several have noted that there are a significant number of drilling rigs and operating wells within 1000 feet of the property lines. I believe the number is 42.

“Through means not to be disclosed at the moment, the drilling data for 36 of the completed wells has been obtained. Horizontal drilling for every one of them has crossed the property line. It’s a bit like the spokes of a wheel, and some of those spokes are under Discovery property. I am bringing suit on behalf of the estate of Ben Martindale. North Central Energy, NCN, is to cease all drilling activity within 2000 feet of the property. All wells within that distance must be closed immediately. The estate is to receive the full value of all oil pumped from those wells. Those details may have to be adjusted. There will also have to be some unspecified compensation for damages due to hydraulic fracturing. I am going to make things very uncomfortable for NCN. The injunction will be served tomorrow.

“What’s happening here is a drop in the bucket. It’s bad enough without them being dishonest. I think we will subpoena all the drilling records for these wells bordering no drill areas.

“I will be in touch.” With that, Mr. Lemansky gathered up his papers, shook everyone’s hands, and departed.

Mannie had departed Ozark months before a young woman who had barely tested the waters of womanhood. She returned driving a year old Toyota Tundra with a fancy camper shell pulling her bike on a trailer. Behind her was a young man driving a Ford F-250. They could see that Mannie was positively radiant, and the reason had to be the young man.

She pulled him up to her. “Okay, everyone, this is my fiancé, Stefan Ricardo Chavez. Depending on my mood he is either Steve or Stevie. Stevie was my roommate in college. Like you, he knew about me before I did. We’ll tell you the whole story later on.

“Okay, left to right are Mike and Linda Boyd. They own this place. Next to them are John and Shirley Crawford. I never asked, but I think they own some of this, too. John and my Uncle Ben worked together doing whatever they did.”

“Well sort of,” John said. “I worked more behind the scenes; more like Q. I’ve probably already said more than I should have.”

“Please have dinner with us,” Shirley asked. “We were going to have dinner at our place. There’s plenty of room.”

“We’d love to. Let us get cleaned up first. What time?”

“How about 6:30?

“We’ve kept an eye on the trailer for you,” Shirley replied. “We had that one nasty cold spell, and John turned off the water just to be on the safe side. I went over after you called us and made sure everything was up and running. We restocked your refrigerator a bit.”

“They are certainly nice folks. I can see why you like it here. I’m just wondering what I’m going to do here. I have no intention of ever leaving your side.”

“Good, you had me worried for a second. I think you will like learning about the wine industry. We will be running as green an operation as possible. I think you will have a lot to offer and there’s no reason you have to give up your Greenpeace activities.

“My shower is pretty small but I think we need to get cleaned up. It’s been a long day, and thankfully, we won’t have to travel for a while. There is so much to see around here. By the way, there is a frack water injection well just a couple of miles down the road.”

“That’s a fascinating story. Imagine what might have happened if you had driven the Prius up there,” Linda Boyd said. They were sipping some port at the moment. It wasn’t Hogeye’s but Mike was thinking about possibly adding port to their product line.

“The nice thing,” Mannie said, “is that we don’t have to worry about it. It’s a moot point. I want to change the subject for a few minutes.

“Before I left, the four of you were discussing expanding. Has there been any progress in that area?”

“I wish there were,” Mike said. “Unfortunately, the money isn’t there. We have an option on 500 acres of prime vineyard land, but we just can’t get the money. We basically break even every year. The backers just aren’t there. We want to at least double the size of the winery, but without the land for vineyards, there’s just no reason to expand. We could buy grapes from other producers, but that wouldn’t be the same thing. We don’t want to be relying on other sources for our business.”

“What would it take to get things where you want them,” Mannie asked.

“The land’s the least of our problems,” John said. “That’s $600,000. The problem is producing the wine. We’re looking at least two varietals plus several new blends. We’d have to double the size of the whole operation. I know where we can get a lot of good used equipment including fermentation and aging tanks; however, we’re looking at two and a half, three million at the very least.”

“Sounds to me as if you could use a major investor,” Mannie replied.

“Absolutely, but where is someone like that?”

“I think you’re looking at her. I owe you guys so much. I hate to think of what might have happened if it hadn’t have been for you. You’ve been my second family for more than five years. I love it here, and I want us to be part of it. Steve has his other projects, but he wants to be part of this one, too.”

“But you’re talking about three mil? Where are you going to get that type of money?” Mike asked.

“Well, Mom want’s to split with me. She thinks the winery has great potential. I think we need to get our lawyers together on this. I don’t want to own the winery, I just want to be part of it.”

“But how …?” Mike stuttered.

“It seems we are very wealthy, and the money isn’t worth a thing sitting in a vault. My uncle left us very well off. I think he would have wanted us to do this. He was very impressed with you and I think he knew when he visited you last year that this was where I wanted to be.

“There is a truckload of furniture being stored in Fort Smith. Steve and I need to look for a house; a big house. Any suggestions?”

“Gerry, I’d like you to meet Steve Chavez. This is the guy I sent the email about. We’re going to get married this summer, and before you start asking, Stevie was my roommate during college. It seems we’d been in love for quite a while and didn’t know it.”

“I think you did. I think you both did, but until you came out of your cocoon, the physical relationship wasn’t possible. If you hadn’t transitioned, you probably would have ended up as best buds; a not so ‘odd’ couple. I wasn’t a bit surprised by your email and your profession of your love for each other. It was that it happened so quickly that did surprise me a little. You had just been waiting for each other. It’s fortunate that you found each other so soon.

“Mannie, had you thought of trying to find Steve?”

“I had, but my uncle’s murder kinda put it on a back burner.”

“And you, Steve?”

“I was definitely going to try to connect. I think it would have been easier for me because I had a good idea where she was. Of course I had no idea what had transpired over the previous three years. It might have been a bit awkward for both of us, though. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her bike parked in front of the Antelope Bar & Grill. Finding her in Tagus took all of that out of the picture. It was thank God we don’t have to worry about getting over that bit of a surprise. That anticipation of meeting the new Mannie never happened. It was over in two seconds, and frankly, it was wonderful. Everything jelled.

“Poor John Craig; he was so infatuated with her. Hell, half the men in Tagus were. He’ll never get over her in some ways; however, Mabel is taking good care of things. He resigned as sheriff and he and Mabel are running the restaurant. It’s really doing well. Mannie and her mother made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. They might have 20 good years with it before the oil boom collapses. They’ll be retired by then.”

“Anyone ready for another margarita?” Steve asked. It was their turn to entertain their friends from the north. The Williams had brought several of their grandchildren. Their children were busy running the Discovery Ranch or going to college. John and Mabel Craig brought their ‘mistakes’, a boy and girl. It had been quite a shock to John suddenly being a father at 48 and then again at 50. He blamed Mannie for ‘causing’ it.

The Boyds and Crawfords would be arriving in a little while. They were bringing several cases of their newest pinot noir for the Craigs to take back to North Dakota.

The children were playing in the swimming hole on the Mulberry River. The rear deck of the Chavez’s house overlooked the little clear water river. There were still a few float parties this early in the summer, but the river was pretty docile. The children had to prove their swimming prowess before they were allowed to swim. Mannie and Steve had hired a life guard just to be on the safe side. Their oldest two were swimming. The youngest two were taking a nap.

Mannie and Steve had decided early on that they wanted to start a family. They advertised for a surrogate who would be willing to bear two children approximately two years apart. Money can do interesting things. Steve’s sperm created the first baby, a little girl, not that that mattered. Two years later, they had a little boy. The stored sperm that Mannie thought would never be used helped create him. A second surrogate mother bore two more children, both girls, with Steve and Mannie again supplying the sperm.

Their wines were receiving national and international recognition, and they had recently purchased nearly 500 more acres of hilltop land north of I-40. It looked very promising.

Discovery is a drag bar in Little Rock. Discovery is a ranch in North Dakota. Sometimes discovery is what one has to do to find out who they really are. Discovery is also the name of a house overlooking the Mulberry River in west central Arkansas.

You gotta do what you gotta do.

Well, how many guessed what the opera the latter portion of this story was based on? I had two correct guesses early on with the aid of some hints. If the main character of the story, Minnie in the play and Opera, was to be transgender I had to go back and explain how that happened. In the opera it is revealed that Minnie and Dick Johnson (Steve Chavez) had met in the past. He is a highwayman in the original story. I changed that, but still let him be the ‘bad guy’ in the eyes of many of the locals. The sheriff was pretty much the same person. He had to give up the woman he thought he loved. Much of the action in the saloon was about the same as in the opera. The action during the blizzard was pretty close, except Mannie/Minnie didn’t have to cheat at cards to keep Steve/Dick Johnson from going to jail. I did have to invent ‘real’ bad guys to take the place of Dick Johnson.

For those who are familiar with the story, the motorcycle becomes obvious. In the opera Minnie rides a horse on stage and begs the miners not to hang Dick Johnson. Since these guys were really bad, I let Mannie have her way with them. They finally ride off into the sunset. In the case of this story, they rode back to the ranch with Steve on the back of the Harley. Obviously, we needed to know more about Mannie and Steve’s future.

The original play, “The Girl of the Golden West”, was written by a Californian, David Belasco. He also wrote the play “Madame Butterfly”. Giacomo Puccini wrote operas based on the two plays. He titled his opera La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West). The opera premiered on December 10, 1910 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York with Enrico Caruso, the famous Italian tenor, in the role of Dick Johnson. Emmy Destin was Minnie. I have no idea who she was other than she was the lead soprano. It was not his best received opera; however, the music is wonderful and quite different in its approach from his other operas. I first saw it around 1958. I’ve always enjoyed it. The tenor aria in the last act before they start to string Dick Johnson up is quite beautiful. You can see and listen to the whole thing on YouTube.

I never intended this story to be an environmental soapbox. Changing goldmining to oil drilling was a natural direction to take the tale. The frack water in the creek scenario actually recently happened in Ohio, and a company president is going to jail for a long time. He basically ‘killed’ a river. The whole topic of fracking is becoming quite an issue in many areas. I have literally experienced earthquakes in Arkansas due to injection well activities. At first I was very doubtful that the injected water was causing the swarms of quakes; however, when injection activities ceased, so did the quakes. The current injection well near Coal Hill, Arkansas reaches different geologic formations, and so far has not been tied to any earthquake activity. I have been to this site, and have been over the entire area in detail.

Because of my job, I work closely with many who support the gas industry in Arkansas, right up to one of the main drilling companies. The gas boom is going into serious decline, and many who have invested a fortune in it are going broke. One company I visited three years ago hauled well shavings to a field where they are spread out for nature to take care of. They saw the handwriting on the wall and changed their business to flatbed hauling. I have watched companies come, over expand and go out of business overnight. The ones that made money got out before the down turn. The gas is still there; however, the field’s life, The Fayetteville Play, is not expected to last very long. It never was. Many people will be hurt as the boom ends if they are not prepared to move on to something else. Unfortunately, many are not.