"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

It's funny how things happen to change your life and how it makes you look at things differently.

First, I'm 24, I think attractive, with light brown hair,green eyes, and an athletic 5'8” body. I work as an engineer for a medium sized construction company. This is not a profession with a lot of women, and I had a tough year getting the men to treat me like one of the guys. Sure I still get a lot of looks, but the abuse has stopped. Any new comers usually are set straight by the regular guys, with a rumor of a broken nose or two on my behalf.

My only hobby is horses, an expensive one, but really fulfilling. There is something about horses; they get you hooked, like drugs, but 'good hooked'. I started out trail riding on weekends, but last year, I started to show my horse at local shows, with the hope of progressing to the big, rated shows.

We had a job doing site preparation for a small strip mall. The topsoil and existing gravel had been dug out, and trucks were bringing in gravel for a base to pave the parking lot. I was bending over a laser level, when a truck driver tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around, ready to peel a layer of skin off his forehead, when I recognized him. It was Gene Thomas. I hadn't seen him since high school.

He was never a big kid, kind of nerdy and skinny, and always being picked on by the jocks. Right now, he looked even thinner.

“Ellen, is that you? This is great!” he looked like he wanted to say more, but his truck was next in line to empty.

“This is my last trip,” he yelled. “Please don't go away.”

I gave a wave, as I walked to the office trailer to drop off the laser. Now what could he want with me? Oh well, I guess I'd soon find out.

Gene pulled up scattering dust everywhere, popped open the truck door and jumped out.

“Boy am I glad I found someone I know,” he started.

”Wait, let's go inside and sit down before you start,” I said as I opened the door.

He followed me inside, asking if there was coffee. I pointed to the K-cuper “Help yourself.”

He seemed to be stalling a bit and the silence grew until he said “Oh shit, I don't think this was a good idea,” and started to leave.

“Gene, stop, you have something eating at you, spit it out.”

“I can't go back to the yard. They'll kill me.”

“Who? Who's going to kill you?”

“My boss and his new partners.”

“Bullshit! I've heard this kind of story before.”

“No seriously. MacDonald's new partners are in the drug business, and the trucking outfit is laundering money and transporting drugs.”

I had to pick at it. “Why you?” Gene got more coffee and spun around.

“Just before this load, I was underneath the truck, looking for cuts on the inside tires when I heard them talking. I tried to sneak into the cab, but that bastard Morales saw me. I've had it!”

“What do you expect me to do? Why don't you call the police?”

With that he laughed, “Half of them are on the payroll. They'd deliver me to where Morales orders. No, I've got to hide.”

He looked at his watch. “Shit, I've been gone too long on that last load, they're going to start looking for me, starting with here!”

“You can't run in that, you'd be seen in a heart beat.” I started thinking, “You and I are about the same size......Maybe. Just maybe. Gene take off your clothes!”

“No way. No damn way!” He started out the door, but backed in quickly. “I think that's them!”

“Get them off and hop into the back room, I've a change of clothes in a bag there.” I didn't tell him it was a skirt and stockings I kept for money meetings. “Let me know when you've dressed,” I yelled.

It was a false alarm, but I didn't tell Gene.

“Ok, I'm dressed,” he called. I walked in, but stopped short.

“Wow, if I didn't know better, Gene; you look great as a woman!”

“I've had practice,” he said reddening. “I like dressing up every now and then.”

“I can tell; you've shaved your legs haven't you?” I asked. “Look for this to work, we have to go all in, or else it'll be Gene in a dress. Sit down and I'll do your makeup.”

To cover his beard, I used a heavy foundation I had in my bag. “Good thing I went shopping at noon for makeup.”

“Let me see,” he said.

“No it'll be a surprise.”

I next tackled his eyebrows.

“Geez,”he yelled, “That hurt like hell.”

“Shut up,” I said. “You want a pair of dormice for brows? Be tough.”

After plucking enough eyebrow to make an eagles nest, I started on his eye makeup. I couldn't do anything too much, I only had a little mascara. Next came his hair.

“It's a good thing you look like a hippie with this hair of yours,” I said.

“Let me see!” he said, “Come on.”

“Hold your horses, Gene, wait till I've finished.”

I stood back to admire my work and heard tires outside.

“Quick, sit at the computer and start typing.”

I barely got the words out of my mouth when the door flew open.

“Where's the asshole that was driving that truck?”

I spun around. “Learn to knock damn it. What truck?”

“The red triax in the corner over there.”

I held my breath and said, ”I don't know, I'm having my secretary run the plate to find out right now.”

“It belongs to MacDonald. He sent me here looking for it.”

He must hear my heart thumping, and I could see the butt of a revolver under his coat.

“Good, get it the hell out of here, we're scheduled to start digging there tomorrow morning, and with the weather, we're behind at a $500 a day fine.

My bluff worked, He walked outside and waved to a guy in overalls to get in the truck and drive off.

“If that asshole shows his head around here, call MacDonald's, we need to talk with him.”

With that he walked down the stairs, got in his Cadillac, and spun tires out the gate.

Gene tapped me on my shoulder, and I jumped a foot.

“Dammit, don't do that,” I squeaked.

“Sorry, I didn't want to talk, in case they were near.”

I looked at him or should I say 'her'?

“Gene, look in the mirror behind that door, tell me what you think.”

“My God, I look like an attractive woman! You worked a miracle!”

He kept turning one way and then the other, admiring how he looked.

“Come on, let's get you out of here. We'll go to my place, we should be ok there.”

After a thirty minute drive we got to my condo near the water in a quiet little North Shore town, and went inside.

“We'll be safe here,” I said to Gene, “Nobody pokes into other people's business around here. The only thing is, you are going to have to wear my clothes until we can buy you some.”

“With a nervous giggle, he said “I wouldn't mind. This is the longest I've been cross-dressed and I really like it.”

“Whichever way you go, you will need clothes of your own. But first, I'm starved. We can go out or have takeout.”

“Go out dressed like this? I'm not ready for that yet.”

I laughed, "OK, but at some time you'll have to face the world in heels, you know.”

“Not tonight, please” he begged.

“Alright, how about a pepperoni pizza? There's beer in the fridge.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

Gene and I finished the pizza. I must have been hungrier then I thought, I had four slices. It was now 10pm, so I turned on the television to get the early news and see if there was anything about Gene or MacDonald's Trucking Company.

My house guest fell asleep during the weather forecast, with his head back and snoring quietly. I listened through the sports, happy the Bruins had won again. With a big yawn, I got up and gave Gene's shoulder a shake.

“Come on sweetheart, time to wake up.”

Well, he woke up all right, falling to the floor and shrieking “I won't say a word, please”. He looked around, sighed, and stood up, his face bright red. “Sorry.” If it wasn't so serious, I would've laughed.

“Come on, we have to remove that make-up before you go to bed. Follow me.” With that I headed for my bedroom, Gene right on my heels. Speaking of heels, he walked in three inch heels as well as I did. I suspect he was lying about just how much he 'walked on the wild side' to quote an old song.

The first thing I had him do was remove the dress and shoes he had borrowed from me. I handed him a jar of make-up remover and told him to get started with cleaning his face.

“You need to do this every night before going to bed, otherwise your skin could break-out, and you'd make a mess of your pillow.”

Gene laughed at this, “That's the least of my problems."

“Your biggest problem is going to be me, I mean these are cold-blooded killers, drug smugglers. I'm now involved just as deep as you! I don't see anything funny about that!” I snorted.

“Sorry, please calm down. Without your help I'd already be dead, my body tossed off a lobster boat off Graves Light.”

I checked out the job he did with removing the make-up.

“Not bad, you've done this before haven't you?”

With a sheepish smile Gene admitted it.

“You know, by the way you handled those heels, that wasn't the first time with those either. Come clean! You do this all the time don't you.”

This led Gene to start crying, “Yes, yes every chance I get. I get out of my disguise and into Ginny, the person I've always been.”

“But”, I started.

“No, let me finish. You can't imagine how it feels to live a lie like this. I wanted to play with my sister's dolls, and would swap my trucks and army guys with her. As soon as my father saw this he grabbed my arm and shook me until my mother made him stop.

“It was no better at high school. I got beat up two or three times a week, and was called Mary by both the boys and the girls. If I went to my parents for help, all I would get is 'Be a man, stand up to the bullies'. Look at me,” he said “Even half the girls could beat me up!”

“So all your life you felt you were a girl?”

He nodded, 'Yes.”

“I've read of this; I think it's called GID - Gender Identity Disorder, and the people that have it are transgender, like Bruce Jenner.”

“That's it,” Gene said. “That's me.”

“Alright, here's a pair of pajamas for you to wear tonight. Let's get some sleep and talk about this in the morning.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

I woke up to the smell of bacon and looked at my clock, “Damn it's only 6am.”

Since I was up, I needed to head for the loo. That taken care of, I headed for the kitchen.

Gene was standing over the stove wearing one of my aprons. “Hope you're hungry,” he said with a smile. “Bacon, eggs, and toast coming up.”

I could get used to this, but I grumbled, “You know it's Saturday, don't you?”

“I couldn't sleep, too worried about Morales,” Gene said. “Now I'm afraid I got you into trouble.”

“We need to talk about this right now; we should be safe for a while here, but that won't last too long. They'll find out who I am and come checking. But first let's eat.”

I turned and grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee. Gene slipped a plate in front of me then sat down beside me at the table.

“You know, I've been thinking about that all night,” he said. “I've got a solution, but I'm not sure if you want to hear it.”

“Spit it out Gene, I'm in this as deeply as you are now.”

“Well, I got out of the office dressed as your secretary, and I was thinking, how would you like to have a full time one at no cost?”

I almost spat a mouthful of coffee across the room, “What? That would mean dressing as a woman all the time!” I took a deep breath, “I mean, where would you live, how would you get back and forth from work, where...?”

“Listen, listen,” he interrupted. “I really want to live as a woman full time, and with your help I can do it. In return, I'll be your office secretary. You can introduce me as your cousin from the Cape who just moved up here. For the rest of it, if you let me live here, you won't regret it. I'm a great cook, I went to the Cordon Bleu cooking school on First Street in Cambridge after high school, and I'm no stranger to a vacuum cleaner, as you seem to be.”

By now tears were running down his cheeks, and I felt like a heel.

“You're not planning on wearing my clothes all the time are you? We'd have to buy you quite a wardrobe you know.”

I was wearing down, damn, I'm a softie. “Just where is that money going to come from?”

With that he grinned from ear to ear. “Look in that purse you had me carry, go ahead,” he urged.

I grabbed the purse, it was surprisingly heavy. “Holy mackerel, what's in here, rocks?”

“Even better,” Gene smirked. “Open it, open it,” he urged.

Why not? I looked inside, and almost fainted; there was packet after packet of $100 bills, with the bank wrapper still on them.

“How much is in here?” I yelled. “They're going to kill us.”

“Now you know why I was so desperate when I ran into the office trailer,” Gene said. “I found that tucked behind the passenger seat in my truck. You're looking at about fifty grand.”

Now he had me sputtering. “But, who, oh crap.”

I choked on my coffee again. Thanks to Gene, who slapped me between the shoulders, I got my breath back, but before I could say anything, Gene jumped in, “I think I know where to find the money for clothes.”

Did I say I'm an engineer? Our minds work differently then other people. See a problem, fix the problem. I was hooked.

“Even with that much money, we still need to be careful how much we spend Gene. This means Walmart, Marshall's and thrift stores, nothing fancy. Then there's makeup, and making you a woman in how you act.”

“I've kinda been doing it for a while,” Gene protested, “Try me.”

I tossed an empty coffee cup at him, he closed his knees together to catch it, even though he was wearing a dress.

“That's what I'm talking about. A woman would have spread her knees, catching the cup on her dress,” I said.
“Our lives depend on it. Enough. We need to go shopping. Let's get dressed and put on some makeup, and start Ellen's Finishing School when we get back.”

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

“Gene, go take a shower, and shave everywhere.” The expression on his face was priceless.

“What do you mean 'everywhere'?”

I repeated myself “Everywhere, or if you want I'll get what you can't or won't reach.”

I could hear him mumbling “Everywhere, everywhere, shit.”

I was starting to enjoy this, in spite of myself. After a while I yelled in to him, “How's it coming Gene, need any help?”

“No fucking way,” he shouted. With that I broke up, with tears running down my cheeks, “Just asking.”

I started on my own re-construction project, brushing my hair, and then tying it up in a ponytail. I applied a quick mascara and put on a deep pink lipstick, with a quick spray of 'eau de girl' and I was ready. Hey, I'm a girl, I don't need to fool anyone.

“Give me a yell when you're dry Gene, and I'll help you get ready to face the world.”

After ten minutes I didn't hear anything, so I stuck my head into the guest room expecting to see Gene just sitting there, but to my surprise an attractive brunette stared back at me. “Wow, you have been doing this a while haven't you Ginny?”

At that she perked up, “You really think so Ellen?”

“Oh yeah, you could give me a few tips on doing the eyes honey, yours are glowing. But for going shopping at Walmart, in the future, tone it down a little. Now what are you going to wear?”

Ginny looked at me, “Why not what I wore yesterday?”

“Well, that is a little bit fancy for where we're going, and besides, I want that dress back.” I thought a minute and said, “Stand up and let me look at you. Have you been taking hormones, young lady?”

Ginny took a quick breath. “Why, does it show?”

“Yes, you're getting hips, and that means you could wear a pair of slacks with a low heel. Want to try on a pair?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

I wasn't sure whether I was helping someone my age or an excited teen-aged girl. The longer Ginny was dressed as a girl the more she acted like one, and a young girl at that.

“You know, Ginny this may just work.”

“Excuse me?” she said.

“See, that's what I mean, you wouldn't say that yesterday when you were Gene.”

She stood up, gave a quick spin and asked, “How do I look, boss?” I have to admit it. She was gorgeous.

“I'm glad I don't have a boyfriend right now, you'd steal him away.”

That's all Ginny had to hear, tears started to form.

“NO, you'll ruin your make-up!” I shouted. “Come on, lets start shopping.”

We looked around before getting into the SUV. Everyone looked like they belonged, so we relaxed. “We'll go to the store in Salem, that way we're going in the right direction for a couple of others I have in mind, besides, I like the store better.”

After twenty minutes, we pulled into the parking lot. On a Saturday, even at 8am, the lot was jammed with back to school shoppers; you know, frazzled mothers, excited little girls, and churlish boys, who didn't want to leave the toy aisles.

If you have never been to a Walmart, it's an experience. The aisles are so narrow a friend of mine would have to force his way through. I'm always teasing Kevin about that, but he's got a quick response at the ready, “Why do you think I push a cart? It's like a wedge starting an opening for me.”

I worked for him for 4 years as a co-op student, and never saw him without a smile when dealing with contractors. I don't know how he did it, but every one knew who the boss was. It's his fault I fell in love with horses. One day, he invited me to come to a horse show that was at the nearby Topsfield Fair grounds.

Horses are big tall scary things with large teeth, or so I thought before I met his horse close up and personal. I showed up, and timidly walked into the barn, calling his name. ”In here,” I heard. The voice came from inside a dark stall. I peeked over the door and saw Kevin on his knees polishing his horse's hooves. All the money in the world wouldn't get me to do that, but the horse seemed to like the attention.

I'll tell you more about horses later, for now, we need to dress Ginny.

She already had a cart and was immersed in the woman's aisles. “Do you like this jacket?” Ginny asked. “It should go with everything, and these skirts feel like wool, so they will be good when the temps drop.”

I had to laugh, it was like a female tidal wave breaking on shore, grabbing clothes left and right.

“Hold up, we came here for panties, bras and stockings. We'll stop somewhere else for outerwear.”

Ginny looked like I stole her candy.

“Don't worry, you don't need to buy a closet full today.”

“But we're here now,” she protested.

“Ginny, you need makeup too. C'mon, follow me”.

We went through the dozens of different colors available, picking the basic colors that worked with her coloring, the same thing with eyeliners. Then to basic blushes, and skin toners. My intention was to take Ginny to Macy's and have a pro determine the proper shades for her. I'm one of those that if it smells good, then on it goes. You know, I think I'll have the ladies at Macy's work on my hide too.

Ginny and I grabbed a quick lunch at the Hearthside in Peabody before going to the Mall and Macy's. I asked her how much money she brought with her, so I'd have an idea of what we had to work with. “No problem, I brought a thousand dollars.”

Was she surprised when I told her that would be a good start.

“You're shitting me!” Ginny gasped.

“Ladies do not talk like that,” I scolded. “Keep it up and you'll get us both killed.”

Lunch finished, we hopped back into the Explorer and headed west, well, actually north, but west sounded better.

We parked near the Sears store and cut through into the mall and Macy's. Let the adventure begin.

As we neared the entrance of Macy's it was obvious this was the correct one. The multiple miasma of different scents drifted into the main aisle of the mall. We were soon approached by one of the sales clerks working the makeup counter.

“What can I help you ladies with today?” she chirped. Now I remembered why I avoided this aisle for so long.

“Ginny needs help with determining what colors are best for her. She spent her life down the Cape on the beach, tanned and never wearing anything beyond a little lipstick.”

When the clerk heard this, it was like watching the land rush in Oklahoma. She didn't know what to do first.

I wandered off, smelling the perfumes, and almost fainting at the prices of the ones I liked. Boy, I need a boyfriend in time for Christmas.

“Miss, oh miss.” I finally looked over at Ginny, to see the sales girl beckoning me to come over.

“Your friend is an 'Autumn'. I've put together a collection of products that will enhance her coloring while flattering her beautiful complexion. Now it's your turn, Ginny's treat. Hop on the stool please.”

Those were words that I dreaded. I sat on the stool looking a little wild eyed. It must have been obvious, because the clerk told me to relax. Thirty minutes later, laden down with a month's rent of cosmetics, safe in the knowledge that I was a 'Spring', Ginny and I escaped into the mall proper to get a cold drink at the Orange Julius.

“I thought we were going to buy clothes, hurry up and drink up.”

Ginny had that glazed look in her eyes. I'd created a monster.

“Ginny, we would go through any money you have left in Macy's, so we're going to the mall in Danvers across the road. You must have heard of Marshall's before Ginny?”

With that we put our purchases in the back of he SUV and drove off. Two hours later, with enough blouses, skirts, dresses, and shoes to outfit a sorority, we were done. Ginny was excited, I was exhausted.

I was a little hungry, but it was still early. I suggested we go home and unload our purchases, then go to a seafood restaurant overlooking the ocean. That's what we did. Ginny's treat. I had scallops Rockefeller, She had the baked haddock.

We got home around 10pm, just in time for the early bulletin. Gene Thomas made the news. The police were looking for him in connection with moving drugs across the North Shore of Boston. Seems like his friend Morales was doing some damage control.

Ginny was more determined than ever to stay Ginny.

“As soon as the cops get me, I'm a dead man. I told you the cops are owned by the cartel.”

“Well, Ginny, they're not looking for a man in three inch heels with bright pink toenails.” With that we both started giggling.

“Come on, lets go to bed. Remember to remove your make up, and I left a spare nightie on your bed,” I thought for a bit. “Ginny what do you use for busts?”

“I just stuff a nylon filled with rice in each side and pray for good weather.”

“Ginny, tomorrow, I'll show you something better, but for now, it's time for bed. Good night.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

I woke on my own, sniffed the air and was disappointed, hoping to smell bacon again. 'Oh well,' I thought as I fought my way out of the bed clothes. By the time I got free, a trip to the potty was important.

The shower felt particularly good this morning, so I stayed in longer then usual. I finally turned the water off, wrapped a towel around my hair and a second towel around my body and sat down at the poor excuse of a makeup table I have.

Ginny's emergence into womanhood got me thinking about my own appearance. I really don't work too hard on it, I mean I'm a Resident Engineer on outdoor construction jobs; most of the time my make-up consists of concrete dust and sweat, and yes I know, women don't sweat, they perspire. None-the-less, other than laziness, I had no excuse on weekends. Maybe I'd start today taking more pride in my looks, or if I'm beside Ginny, people will think I'm the guy.

After drying my hair, I got out the curling iron and went to work. A few twists here, a couple of turns there, and I was satisfied. My mother would be horrified. Since today was going to a home day I put on jeans and a sweat shirt, then went into the kitchen to make coffee.

“It's about time,” I heard. “I've held off on vacuuming until you were up.” I turned around and there was Ginny wearing an apron, with a bottle of Windex and paper towels in her hands.

“I said I was going to do some cleaning and cook for us as my share of staying here,” Ginny shrugged. “No time like the present.”

“Where did you find that Windex?” I asked. “I don't ever remember buying any.”

“You didn't, I just did. I borrowed your car and went to the variety store down the street.”

“You took my car? What if some one recognized it and wondered who was driving it!”

Ginny chuckled and said “Oh, it was recognized all right, a real cute cop asked me what I was doing in it.”

I sat down and groaned, “Who was it?”

Ginny just smiled and handed me a business card. It was a Swampscott police card with Officer Tom Kelly imprinted on it. “Turn it over,” urged Ginny, “turn it over.”

I did; on the back in ink was a phone number.

“Tom said to give him a call, we'll have coffee.”

With that, I burst out laughing. I don't know how much of it was relief and how much was thinking of what Tom's reaction would be if he knew the truth.

“Ginny, what did you tell him?” I asked.

“Just what we talked about before, that I'm your cousin from Falmouth on the Cape, and I'm staying with you, at least for a while. Why, did I do something wrong?” she asked.

I thought for a bit, “No, It's that he collects phone numbers instead of fines from cute girls, and you are definitely a cute girl.”

With that, Ginny blushed a bright red, and asked “You really think so Ellen?”

I grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to the mirror next to the door and said to her “Look in the mirror sweetie, beside you I'm rather plain. Does wonders for my self- confidence. So, what's for breakfast, Martha Stewart, I'm hungry.”

Ginny laughed “Omelets. I waited for you so they'd still be hot when we ate. What kind do you want, or would you rather be surprised?”

“Surprise me,” I yelled from the front door, “I'll get the Sunday papers.”

All I wanted was coffee, hot, steaming, coffee.

I sat down at the counter with the Herald open to the front page. “Well honey, you are now famous,” I said as I held up the paper, so Ginny could see it from the stove.

“'America's Most Wanted',” I teased, “Here's a bad photo of Gene, with the headline, 'Boston man wanted in conjunction with hauling drugs'.”

“Jesus, good thing I was Ginny when we went shopping yesterday, wasn't it?”

I looked at her, “We would have caused quite a stir if you wore flannels and leather construction boots while trying on bras in Walmart.” On second thoughts maybe not. But I kept that to myself.

“Speaking of bras, we have a date with the computer after breakfast, so shake a leg.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

The omelets were eaten, the dishes washed, and I was booting up the laptop.

“Ok, now to really shop for Ginny.”

“What do you mean? I though that's what we did yesterday?” Ginny gave me a curious look.

I just smiled back, “Take off your blouse and bra.”

With a look, Ginny complied. I dug around in my sewing box until I came up with a cloth tape.

“Put your arms out to the side,” I ordered. “This won't hurt.”

Quickly wrapping the tape around her chest I took a measurement. “Hmm, 34 inches, ok that's my size. Ginny, do you think my boobs are big enough?”

That caught her by surprise; she stuttered a bit, not knowing what to say. When she got her composure back she said “I guess so.”

“This is important.” I took off my sweat shirt and unbuckled my bra, turned to her and said “Take a good look, do you want boobs this size or bigger.”

You could have heard a pin drop. “Whaaat?”

“C'mon Ginny, it's cold. Bigger, smaller, or the same?”

“A little bigger,“ she stuttered, “a little bit bigger.”

I quickly dressed. Now I could shop for her boobs on line.

I quickly went through Firefox, typing in the web site I found last night. It came up fast. Ginny seemed glued to my shoulder as I clicked through one site after another, finally stopping at one with apparently a listing of stories and authors, but with ads running in a box on the right.

“Wait, wait,“ Ginny said. “Go back. Did you see that girl in the breast ad? Those must be real.”

“That's the idea, dum-dum, they're supposed to look real. That's why they cost so much.”

By now I found the site I found last night.

“Shit, 500 bucks.” Ginny gasped.

That started me chuckling, “Nothing's too good for my princess. You've got it now so spend it on the most important things.”

We sat back and started reading the different blurbs on silicone breasts that looked alike.
To me, the type to buy was attached with surgical adhesive that require a solvent to remove. I remembered an aunt that had a radical mastectomy, and bought a cup filler. Every once in a while it would shift around, causing her embarrassment.

They recommended a B cup with a 34 inch chest measurement. Check! Next option was nipple or no nipple. I looked at Ginny, “Nipple”, ok check!

Skin tone was next. I had to think about this one. Ginny's face was tanned from driving a truck, I mean, sitting on the sand on the Cape, but what will happen when the beach tans faded, I chose a slightly lighter color then her chest, thinking you need to blend a little anyway to cover the edge, and no color is perfect.

“Ok, Gen, how fast do you want these?” No answer, “Hey, wake up!” I was enjoying myself now.

“Look, it's $499 for the forms. Another $50 for the glue and solvent. $50 more to have them in 2 days. Let's do it.” All Ginny did through this was nod her head.

Now for a more personal question, “How do you tuck it; tape, a gaff, something you made up, or what?”

After that question, Santa could have had her lead his sleigh through a pea soup fog. I mean she could replace the aircraft warning light on top of the Prudential building her face was so red.

“I suppose you want to look at this too,” Ginny said.

“No, I'll pass on that,” I chortled, remembering her scarlet face. “The reason I ask is a couple of these sites sell those too. Take a look and decide for yourself,” I said while sliding the computer so Ginny could see better.

“I never knew anything like this existed. I don't have a computer, but I'm going to get one!”

Just then, I heard a car stop at the curb outside. I got up and looked. There were two men in the front seat and a form in the back. Oh oh.

“Ginny, close the computer, and get in the kitchen, now,” I hissed. “These don't look like Jehovah's Witnesses. Quick, run the water, someone's coming to the door.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

Ginny took a quick look out the front window, “Oh shit, it's him, it's Morales,” she wailed.

“Get to the sink, and relax. I'll handle this no matter what they want,” I said. “Just act interested in the dishes.”

No sooner did I finish speaking, than the door bell rang. Wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, I opened the door. “Can I help you?” I asked the two large men who were crowding the front steps.

“You Ellen Hanson?” I nodded yes, “Boston Police,we need to ask you a few questions.”

I took a breath, “May I see some ID?” The older of the two took out a leather wallet and flipped it open showing a gold badge.

“I'm Sargent Spanos, and this is Detective Maroney, may we come in?” I opened the door fully, and waved them in.

“What's this about?” I asked. Spanos ignored me asking “Who's that at the sink?”

Ginny turned and faced us, “I'm her cousin from Falmouth.”

“I asked what this is about,” I said again. “If I don't get an answer fast, I'm dialing 911. Then you can tell me and the Swampscott cops just what you want.”

“We're looking for a guy named Gene Thomas, seen him?” This again from Spanos.

I thought for a moment, “Who's Gene Thomas?”

“He's a truck driver,” answered Spanos. “As a matter of fact, it was his truck abandoned at your construction site on Friday. He drives for MacDonald Trucking.”

I shrugged, “Look, I'm the Resident Engineer on that job, I don't deal with truck drivers, that's the job of my foreman. You should talk to him. Do you want his phone number?”

Detective Maroney answered, “We just came from his place, he sent us here.”

'Well,' I thought, 'he does speak.'

“Can't help you gentlemen, what do I do if he shows up?”

Spanos handed me his card, “Give me a call, anytime, I'll answer.”

Maroney walked over to my “cousin”, and started to quietly talk to her. They must have heared my heart pounding it was so loud. I was ready to faint.

“Hey, kid, stop chatting up the chick, and get into the car,” shouted Sergent Spanos.

I closed and locked the door and ran into the bathroom, just making it. When I came back out, I looked at Ginny, and swore. “What are you smiling at?”

“He wanted my phone number,” she smirked, “I told him I don't date Catholics. He said he'd be Jewish if I would go out with him.” With that, we both lost it, sitting on the sofa roaring with laughter until we cried.

“Damn,” Ginny said “I just peed myself.”

“Welcome to womanhood,” I gasped, laughing even harder.

Once we calmed down, and caught our breath, I sobered up quickly and asked Ginny if she thought they were Boston cops doing their job. “I don't think so; there was a third man in the back seat of the cruiser, it looked like Morales.”

“What does this Morales look like?”

Ginny shuddered, “You saw him, he's the one who came into the office looking for me Friday afternoon, a real ape.”

I looked at the clock, “Crap, I have a riding lesson in Newbury in a hour. I have to get changed,you too, you're coming.”

I quickly changed into riding pants and tall boots, grabbed a jacket and jumped into the Explorer. Ginny was already sitting in the passenger seat, wearing loose jeans and a polar fleece of mine; somehow it looked better on her then on me.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing typos and puncuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

We quickly drove through Vinnin Square to Route 107, through Peabody to Route 1 North, only stopping at a 'Dunkin Donuts' for a medium black for me and an iced regular for Ginny.

As the early fall foliage sped by our windows, Ginny remarked, ”It's really beautiful up here isn't it? I rarely had a chance to appreciate the scenery when I was driving the truck, too busy avoiding cars.”

“I couldn't live anywhere else. It's in my blood,” I remarked. “My whole family have always lived north of Boston on the Coast.”

We soon arrived at the stables, turned in, and parked facing the barn. “Ready for this?” I teased Ginny, “Hope you're not scared of horses.”

With that, I hopped out and walked to the door of the tack room, with Ginny right on my tail.

“I was worried you wouldn't make it today,” teased my riding instructor. “I was all set to go home early and watch the football game.”

I chuckled, “You have it recorded as usual, don't you? Oh, this my cousin, Virginia, she's going to be staying with me for a while. Ginny, this is Cathy Taurisi, my instructor.”

With that, I checked what horse I was assigned, and grabbed my saddle and her bridle from the rack of bridles, no two the same.

Ginny looked a little bewildered, and hung back.

“Go ahead into the barn, but watch where you step.” said Cathy with a grin, “Land mines.”

I had forgotten to mention to Ginny that when a horse feels the urge, they fertilize where ever they are. In the barn, we grab a shovel and pick it up quickly, tossing it into a large manure basket that gets emptied daily. Outdoors, we leave it alone, it quickly breaks down and makes the grass greener.

I was used to the natural aromas present in a stable, but not Ginny. She parked herself near the open door, gasping for clean air. To bad, she'll get used to it soon enough.
I went into Val's stall, snapped a lead on to her halter, and walked her into the aisle.

You should have seen the size of Ginny's eyes when that 1200 pound, 16 hand animal(a hand=4”) stood not five feet from her. Priceless! I got down to business, quickly removing her stall sheet, and picking up a brush. “Ginny, want to brush her?”

“Are you insane?” she shrieked, retreating further into the corner. “That thing's going to kill me.”

At this point Val snorted, probably in disgust, causing Ginny to be sprayed with a fine mist. That did it for Ginny, she scooted back into the tack room and closed the door.

I was finished with my brushing, and put the saddle and pad on her back, and tightening the girth. Picking up her bridle, I slipped of the halter, placed the bit in her mouth, and tightened the throat latch. Grabbing the reins I headed for the indoor arena.

“Where's your cousin?” asked Cathy.

“Hiding in the tack room, terrified,” I chortled “She's fine.”

The lesson went like clock-work, the horse and I worked like one, making Cathy thrilled.

“Keep this up and you are going showing next season. And not at starter shows.”

I don't know who was happier, me or Cathy. I brushed, blanketed and put Val away. Then called out to Ginny. “It's safe now, you can come out.”

Sheepishly, Ginny walked out into the aisle, “You're not scared of them? Not even a little?”

Cathy laughed at that, “Horses are like big kids, most love people, and the attention they get from us.”

I reached into my jacket pocket and grabbed a peppermint. “Here Ginny, give Val a treat.”

I showed her the way to hold the round mint, and Val took it gently off Ginny's hand with her rubbery lips. Ginny was amazed. “I hardly felt that.”

Thanking Cathy, Ginny and I got back in the SUV and headed home. “If we hurry, we'll catch the second half of the game, let's eat lunch at home.”

Thirty minutes later we pulled into my driveway.

After the game, Ginny brought up tomorrow, beating me to it.

“We need a plan,” she said, “How will we handle it if the owner shows up?”

“Yours or mine?” I teased, “Mine, I'll tell him you need a job and offered to help around the office. I can get him to hire you paying under the table. You know, no taxes, no unemployment, nothing.”

Ginny was uneasy with this.

“Ginny, you have no ID, and no Social Security card, unless you want to use Gene's.”

“I forgot,” she said.

“Look Ginny, I'll tell my boss you're collecting Unemployment, and just want to add to it because it's not very much. I've thought of this all last night; this will work, at least for a while. Don't worry.

“Tuesday we should get those breast forms, then it will be almost impossible to detect you are wearing falsies. Now, lets hit the hay, 4.30 comes around quickly.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

The alarm went off at 4.30am, sounding like a bus had crashed through my bedroom wall. It took me weeks to find one that loud. I slowly sat up and rubbed my forehead, I had forgotten something, what was it?

Then I heard what I'd forgotten, “Christ, what was that?” came from the spare bedroom, “What time is it? Oh Jesus Christ! It's still night.”

I'd forgotten she was next door. Looking down I realized I was naked from the waist up, with a guest in the house. Well, my door was shut.

Suddenly the door popped open, and Ginny stuck her head in. “Hey Ellen,” she started, “Oops, sorry! Hey, will I have boobs like that?” she laughed.

In no mood for this, I threw one of my trainers at Ginny's head. “Get out of here, you pervert. Let me get a shower and no peeking.”

I showered, and dried my hair before coming out. “It's all yours,” I yelled as I headed for my bedroom. I put on a minimal amount of makeup, I was going to a construction job remember, a swipe of mascara, some lipstick, and a quick spray of smelly, I was ready to face the world.

Grabbing a pair of Levis and my Timberland boots, I headed for the kitchen. I wiggled into the jeans, and slid my feet into the boots.

“How are you doing Ginny? We have to leave by 5.30.”

I hit the heat button on the Kurig, and put a bagel into the toaster.

“Don't get your panties in a knot,” yelled Ginny. “I'm coming, I'm coming.”

At that, I looked up at a lovely young lady, dressed in a plaid skirt and loose sweater. She spun slowly around, “What do you think, coz? Does this look ok for the office?”

“You look marvelous,” doing my Billy Crystal imitation, “What are you going to wear for shoes? I suggest something with no heel.”

“I was going to wear the new Reebok trainers we bought. Will they look alright with this skirt?”

“Perfect!, Ginny you're a natural, I couldn't have chosen better. Coffee's ready, would you like a bagel?”

Ginny shrugged, “Yeah, sure, I'm so nervous I don't know if I can eat a thing.”

For someone who couldn't eat, she made that bagel disappear in record time. Speaking of time, it was time to go.

I hit the remote, unlocking the doors, and hopped into the drivers seat. Ginny slid into the other side looking very lady-like,as she tucked her hand under her skirt, keeping it from wrinkling and riding up.

“Where the heck did you come up with that?” I asked, very surprised.

“Off the internet. I couldn't sleep a wink last night. Do you know there are dozens of sites on YouTube showing how to tuck?” she asked.

“Tuck what?” I asked, halfway out of my mouth, I knew what was tucked. I blushed bright red, Very fetching.

“Do you think we could pick up some athletic tape on the way home, also some new men's sweat socks? I saw a couple of ways I'd like to try tonight.” she said “We go right by Dicks in Saugus.”

I turned into the construction site, seeing the foreman had opened the chain and padlock, and pulled up at the office trailer.

“Just follow my lead' I said, “And you'll be fine."

After unlocking the padlock and bar on the trailer door, I stood back and waved Ginny inside.

“Hit the lights would you, and sit down.”

I heard the sound of tires on crushed stone, and looked outside. “Crap, here comes Steve. Let me do the talking. He owns the company.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for correcting typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 10

A red Ford F250 with 'Brady and Sons' painted on the door pulled up and parked behind my Explorer. A good looking grey-haired man got out, gave a quick look around, and headed for the office stairs.

“Ginny, sit down at that computer and look busy, while Steve and I talk.”

“Hello Kiddo, hows it coming out there?” Steve asked as he opened the door, “Are we getting back on schedule after all that rain last week?”

“No 'Good morning, How are you? What happened, no coffee yet?'”

Steve laughed, “Ok, Ok, Good morning Ellen, You look great this morning, any coffee?”
At that we both laughed.

“Ginny, could you come out here? I like you to meet the boss. Steve, I'd like you to meet my cousin Virginia, she's from down the Cape. She's staying with me for a while.”

Steve checked her out from head to toe, only stopping briefly at her bust line. “Hi, I'm Steve Brady, I own this traveling circus, Nice to meet you.”
Ginny mumbled something that sounded like “For sure, me too.”

“Ginny, could you give us a few minutes alone?” With that, she headed back to the computer set up in the other room.

“OK, what's up?”

“Steve, she just got out from a bad relationship. Her boyfriend used her as a punching bag. She finally got away with only the clothes on her back when he went to work.”

I knew this would get his hackles up; Steve's a big supporter of charities that help battered women.

“What can I do to help?” he said.

“She's staying with me right now, but she needs something to do to make some money, Ginny's embarrassed, she doesn't want charity. I was hoping you could give her a job bookkeeping, and pay her under the table, no-one the wiser.”

“How much are you thinking of a week?”

I thought a minute and said “A secretary gets $400 a week, how about half that, $200?” figuring he'd barter a bit.
“Fine, $200 a week under the table, no paperwork. But she's your responsibility!”

I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and called to Ginny to join us.

“Ginny, Steve has agreed to hire you, at least until this project is finished. You'll be paid $200 per week, cash, no questions asked. How does that sound?”

With a squeak, she gave first me then Steve a hug. “Thank you, thank you, you've saved my life. How can I repay you?”

Steve chuckled and looked at me shaking his head. “I'm going to go broke one of these days. Honey, just do what ever your cousin tells you to do. Just like me.”

I sent Ginny back to entering truck slips for the loads of gravel that were delivered during the last month.

Steve and I made a cup of coffee, then walked over to the plan table and looked at the layouts of where the new foundations would go. After a hour or so, Steve looked at his watch, and said “Got to go, I've got a meeting with the planning board in Lynn at 11.30. It's about that lot on the water that's for sale. Hopefully, I'll get permission to build condominiums there.”

After Steve left, Ginny came out of the office to the main room. “Just what did you say to him?” she asked as she made a cup of coffee in the Kurig machine. “200 a week, I can't believe it.”

“I told him you just escaped an abusive relationship with just the clothes on your back, no money, no car, nothing. That's a red flag for Steve, I hated to deceive him, but you'll earn your money.”

I went outside to check the grades and talk with the crews working on grading the parking area. Ginny jumped onto the computer and didn't raise her head for hours.

The canteen truck showed up at 11.45, we grabbed a soda and a sandwich and went back in the trailer.

“You can't believe what is on the internet for cross-dressers and transgendered people.
I even found sites talking about surgery to be a woman, or a woman to a man.”

“Whoa, hold up a minute, one weekend as a woman and you're talking about surgery? Don't you think that you're going too fast?”

“I guess so, but I couldn't believe what I read, I mean shoot, you should see it for yourself.”

“When we get home you can show me, not now. C'mon lets get back to work.”

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and it was time to go home. As I locked the door, and put the padlock on, Ginny reminded me of our errands on the way home.

“We need to stop at Dick's sporting goods behind the Sears off Route 1, I need sports tape and some black cotton socks.”

“What ever for?” I asked. “We have those at home.”

“I was doing research on how to tuck my stuff under, and I want to try it out when we get home.”

I blushed, thinking of what she said, “I hope you don't expect me to help, do you?”

“Well, just a little,” she said.

'What have I got myself into,' I moaned under my breath, “Ok, we'll stop, but make it fast.”

Ginny was in and out in 15 minutes, and we headed home.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for fixing punctuation and grammar

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

Chapter 11

The rest of the day went by with nothing earthshaking coming up. At 3.30pm Ginny and I grabbed our coats, locked up, got into the Explorer and headed home.

As we pulled into the driveway, I noticed a package on the door step. Ginny got there first, picking it up and shouted “They're here, they're here.”

“What's here?” I asked, “What did you order?”

“My boobs of course!”

By this time we were inside, sparing the neighbors the news of Ginny's boobs arriving at the house before she did.

“Open them up and let's get a look at them, then, if you want I'll help you with fitting them in place,” I offered.

Ginny was playing with them and giggling. “Come here, I want to see if they feel like yours.”

“It'll be a cold day in hell before you find that out, you witch, now do you want help or not?”

Of course she did, so I directed her to have a shower to remove any sweat or body oil. This gave me time to read the instructions on how to attach them for the most realistic appearance.

After toweling off and putting on underwear and a pair of jeans, I had Ginny lie down on her bed. I picked up the gel breasts and a felt tip marker.

I located the correct position for them and with the marker outlined this on her chest. Then I put double-stick tape around the perimeter and the adhesive in the middle.

“Here hold these tight while I use makeup to cover and blend the edges against your skin,” I told Ginny.

After a few minutes I had Ginny sit up. “How do those feel, kiddo?”

“Oh, wow, strange, my balance feels off.”

I laughed. “Welcome to womanhood my dear. Now stand up so I can see them better.”

By God, they looked as real as mine, and slightly bigger, I felt a little jealous.

Ginny started walking back and forth. “OMG!” she said. “They even jiggle.”

“Let's get you into a bra like the rest of us. Now what did you want to try with that stuff you bought yesterday?”

“Tucking, you know, my stuff, tucking it under,” said a red faced Ginny. “On YouTube there's everything, including two different methods, one uses tape the other a sock and the elastic from the waist of a pair of panty-hose.”

“What do you want to try first, the tape or the sock?”

“How 'bout the sock.” At this point she was almost unable to talk she was so embarrassed,”I'll need your help.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Get a bag of frozen peas or a freeze pack from the refrigerator, then press on my scrotum. Supposedly with the cold, my testes will go back into a pocket just like a Sumo wrestler does.”

While I was occupied with staring at a frozen groin, she had cut the top off a sweat sock and the waist band from a pair of panty-hose.

With a wince, and a push, “It worked, it worked,” she said. “Now I put the elastic through the sock top, and pull them on, after folding my thing back between my legs. And voila! No bulge!”

She pulled on her panties and a pair of jeans, and spun in a circle to show off.
“With this method I can easily pee and keep clean. I can put a few in my purse if I need to change. I should probably stick a maxi pad in my panties to help smooth out things. “

“You should put a couple in your purse anyway, I do, you never know when you need one. You look perfect, check yourself in the mirror.”

“Now what is this about tape?”

Ginny went to the computer, pulled up YouTube and ran a video instruction on the use of tape.

Eek, that looked pretty uncomfortable, with the shaving, tape between your cheeks, and wrapping your penis with tape also.

“Go with the sock,” I said. “I don't like the tape method; besides, you won't be wearing a bathing suit any time soon.”

Ginny put on a cute pink sweat shirt, and asked “What's for supper?”

“Hey, I said. “I thought you were the cook, what are you going to make?”

“Let's go out to eat, I want to give these boobs a test drive.” she chuckled, “I paid enough for them.”

“You mean Morales paid enough,” I said.

“How about that place on the water, in Nahant, the Tides. We can sit in the bar and watch the Bruins hockey game on television,” Ginny said, “Grab your coat and car keys.” Off we went.

To be continued,

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar

div align="center">

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 12

We drove along Shore Drive headed for the restaurant. The view was beautiful. In the distance a lighthouse was flash, flashing, guiding shipping away from the ledges off Nahant, our destination.

I quickly found a parking space near the bar entrance, and in we went. The hostess guided us to a table by the window.

“I love your sweatshirt,” she said to Ginny, while handing us menus, “Where did you ever find it?”

This made Ginny feel good. “I got it at Walmart for only ten dollars.”

“I'll head there tomorrow,” she said. “Would you girls like something to drink?”

“I'll have a Bud light, how 'bout you Ginny?”

“Sounds good, I'll have the same.”

We were both quiet, staring at the sight of the lights twinkling on the ocean, not one hundred feet from where we sat.

“I think I'll have a lobster roll,”I said. ”Be careful, there's two kinds, one has chopped celery and mayonnaise mixed with lobster meat in a toasted roll. The other is hot lobster meat in a roll with drawn butter on the side, They both come with French fries. I'm having the one with drawn butter.”

Ginny though for a minute, “I guess I'll have the lobster salad, sounds a little different.”

The waitress came back with our beers and took our order, leaving us alone with our thoughts.

“A penny for them,” I said.

“It's this whole male/female thing, I'm torn in two different directions. On one hand, I've never been more happy in my life, but eventually I'm going to come back to earth, as Gene. When that happens, Gene has the lifespan of a gnat.”

At this point the waitress came with our meals, “Would you like some ketchup?“

“Yes, please,” we said.

Neither of us said anything for a while, the only sound was chewing. I started to laugh, “Sounds like a squirrel working on an acorn.”

Ginny started first. “What shall I do, I need help with this.”

“Oh gosh, I don't want to tell you to dress up as a girl, but...”

“I'm not dressing as a girl, I am a girl!”

“Then the choice is easy, do you want to be a complete girl?”

“In the future. I've been checking out gender reassignment surgery online,” she said. “Scared the stuffing out of me.”

“Hey, let's walk before we run; I think first you need to see a psychologist to see if a woman is really what you want to be for the rest of your life, then a doctor for hormones; then we can talk about surgery. But first we need to find some ID for you; then you can get a driver's license, and a passport.”

“That could be easier said than done. I don't know anyone with connections that wouldn't get back to Morales and company,” said Ginny. She
paid the bill with cash and left a ten dollar tip for the waitress.

By the time we got back to my condo, I had an idea.

“I'll ask Steve Brady for help, he knows everyone.”

The alarm went off at 5 AM, waking both of us. I hit the shower first, afterward it was Ginny's turn. I tossed on my jeans, boots and denim shirt, then made coffee. Ginny came into the kitchen, and grabbed a newspaper. While my back was turned she took my coffee, and took a sip, “Yech, hazel nut!”

“That will teach you, make your own.” I hurried around grabbing my laptop, and briefcase.
“Shake a leg, let's go. By the way, that dress looks good, the cutlets make all the difference.”

“Cutlets, what are cutlets?” Ginny asked.

“Those new boobs of yours, we call them cutlets, you know, like chicken cutlets?”

She roared “Now I get it, cutlets.”

We arrived at the job-site just as the foreman was opening the gates, stopped at the trailer, opened it up and went inside. Wow it was cold, I turned up the thermostat to 68 and sat at my desk.

I looked up Steve's cell phone number and gave him a call. The darn phone went to voice mail,
“Steve, this is Ellen, I need your advice on something, please call me back.”

I tucked into my work, and lost track of time. Next thing I knew a shadow fell across my desk.

“Alright beautiful what's wrong?” It was Steve.

“Grab a coffee, and I'll tell you.” Without coffee, would anything happen?

“Look, Ginny ran out with nothing, no credit cards, no money, and no driver's license. She needs ID,” I said. “But not in her name, we'll use Hanson, my name.”

Steve thought for a moment. “That's why under the table.” Not waiting for an answer, he said, “Give me a day or two, I've got an idea on this. Let me get out of here. I'll see you two tomorrow, I should have a solution by then.”

He grabbed another cup of coffee, and hopped into his truck, roaring out the gate onto Route 99, and then, Route 1 North.

Ginny walked up to my desk, “What was that about? He was in and out in fifteen minutes. Does he do this all the time?”

“Only when he's getting phony ID for my cousin,” I chuckled. “He knows everyone worth knowing.”

“ID for me! Really, he can do this?”

“We'll know tomorrow; in the meantime, back to work peon.”

After this the day went by slowly. I put out a bunch of brush fires, none serious. Finally it was time to head for home.

Ginny and I changed into more comfortable clothes. For me this meant changing boots for boat shoes, and a gin and tonic. For her, jeans and a tee shirt, and a cold beer.

“How about baked ham, roast potatoes and green beans for supper? Later I've got blueberry cheese cake for dessert.”

“Wow, don't ever leave, I was going to call for a delivery of Chinese food.”

“Tomorrow night,” she chuckled, “I have to pay my way, you know!”

We were just finishing supper when the phone rang.

“All set,” I heard. “Have Ginny wear a nice top, she's going to have a photo session.”

“Steve Brady, you work fast. I'm not sure I want to work for you,”I teased, I think you are connected to the wise guys.”

“No chance of that, If I was do you think I'd be getting these dinky jobs? I'd have a big bridge job with the State.” with that he hung up.

“Who was that?” Ginny asked. “Who's mob connected?”

“That was Steve, he said you are all set, and to wear a nice top tomorrow for photographs.”

“Photographs?”

“Yeah, how else do you get IDs, in a box of Cracker Jacks?” I kidded. “Are you ready to be reborn? Tomorrow you will be Virginia Hansen, age 22, from Swampscott, Mass., my cousin.”

“Really, really? You're not yanking my chain to get me going are you? If so, it's not funny.”

“Ginny calm down, it's set, let's go to bed. We'll talk more in the morning.”

We headed for our bedrooms. I turned on the television for the weather and caught the end of a story about a drug bust up north. All I heard was MacDonald Trucking. Any way, tomorrow was going to be cloudy, with a high temperature in the 50's. Not bad I thought as I fell asleep; good working weather.

To be continued,

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing typos and grammar

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 13

We pulled into the site at 6:45 expecting no one else would be there, but there was Steve's pickup truck, with him inside.

“It's about time you ladies got here, you're missing half the day.” He said “Sleep in?”
“Don't start with me Steve Brady, or I'll turn around and go home” I yelled back.

“Hey, I thought your cousin wanted to ride with me today?, Never mind then.”
With that Ginny flew out of my car and hopped in the seat of the truck. “I'm ready, let's go!”

Steve and I both laughed at that. “C'mon Ginny let's have coffee first.” I said opening the office door, “Plenty of time for that.”

With that the three of us went inside and found seats. Ginny made three cups of coffee and passed them around. Once everyone had a sip Steve started. “Here's the deal. A pal up in Salisbury can fix you up with everything, including a charge card, but it's going to cost. He's the best, and charges that way.”

“How do you know the guy?” I asked.

“We were in Iraq together, and I saved his ass once, since then, he'll do anything for me.” He looked at me and Ginny, “Bottom line, five grand for everything.”

I jumped in before Ginny could say anything, “That's a lot of money, Steve”

“Don't worry, I cover it, you can pay me back in installments when you can afford it, I'm in no hurry.”

Steve stood up, “You ready, Ginny, lets go !

Off they went to parts unknown, at least to me, I didn't want to know. I just hoped Ginny's secret stayed secret.
After about five hours I heard Steve's truck return. I could see Ginny's grin from my desk. Looks like everything went well.

Ginny ran inside and tossed a driver's license on my desk. “Meet Virginia Hansen from Swampscott!”

“Looks like things went ok, did you two have lunch yet” I asked. “If not, it's on me. .We can go to Kelly's in Saugus, you two can tell me about it over clam plates.”
There was a stampede for the door, as those two hopped into the Explorer, leaving me to lock up the office.

We got to Kelly's and stood in the long line, what a money maker the places are.
Steve told me to grab a clean table, he and Ginny would get the food.
Hum, something may be happening with those two, I need to talk with Ginny.

After 15 minutes they came back wit three piles of golden fried clams. “How much Steve” I asked, “under 100 I hope.”

“It's on me, how often do I get a chance to dine with such attractive company?”

Oh oh.

“Tell me how it went you two, you weren't gone that long.”

Steve went first, “ Bobby was waiting for us when we pulled up, he had every thing set up like a studio. First he did the driver's license, Ginny stood in front of a background like the Registry of Motor Vehicles has. He said not to smile too much, make it look legit. Next he took a photo for a passport.
Those were finished in about 45 minutes. He handed her a Visa charge card with a 10,000 dollar limit, along with the passport and license. “See me in four years when that one expires.” he joked. “Oh yea, here's a couple of birth certificates, You never know when you'll need one.”

I looked at Ginny, “You want to add anything? Or did Steve cover it all?”
“Sorry, I still can't believe it. It was so fast. After we left Bobby's we drove slowly down the coast roads. It's so beautiful in the Fall, all the colour.”

We finished our dinners and headed for the car. “Salads tonight, I think I just put on five pounds.”

We arrived back at the office about 3 PM. Steve slid into his truck and told us to take off, he'd lock up. Will wonders never cease! Must be Ginny, he never did that for me.

On the way home we stopped to buy some lottery tickets for the big drawing, 500 million dollars, can you believe it !

As Ginny and I went inside, she exclaimed, “Darn, I wanted to get ice cream for later, can I have the keys?” as she said it a brand new license was waved in the air in front of my nose.

“Here you go, don't look for that cute cop.” Ginny stuck out her tongue as she ran down the steps to the car.
I guess she's a girl, Gene would never have done that.

Later, after hot fudge sundaes, the topic of sexual orientation surgery came up. Ginny showed me a few sites on my laptop that offered every thing Hotels, rehab, you name it.

“That reminds me, you need your own laptop. When we get done with that, I'll pull up Ebay and show you some reconditioned Dell 630s . That's where I got the one you're using now.”

Look, why don't we look at Thailand tomorrow, I want to look at TV tonight.
With that she turned off the sound ,but stayed on that site, making noises through the news. “Bed time!” I shouted, “hit the hay, kid “

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing typos and grammar

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 14

“C'mon Ginny, you're going to make us late! Just because the boss made googoo eyes at you doesn't mean you can come in when you want. Steve flirts with anything in skirts.”

With that, I headed out and started the Explorer. I heard the house door slam, and Ginny wrenched open the passenger door and flopped on the seat.

“Buckle up,” I said. “I don't want you hurt in an accident.” 'Besides, we need to talk about all this Thailand stuff,' I said to myself.

The rest of the ride was quiet, except me swearing under my breath at the idiots driving in the other cars. One of them was probably doing the same thing, except looking at me.

We got to the office and settled in, me checking the delivery slips for rebar to go in the foundations, Ginny to file her nails. About 10:30am I walked to the other office where Ginny sat.

“Alright, what's all this talk about Thailand? I thought the only people that went there wanted to have a sex change operation.”

“A girl can't think ahead?” Ginny said.

“Ginny, you've only been dressed like a woman for a few days. Surgery, hell, you should be thinking of a pedicure instead.”

“I want to be a woman, I always have! I'd see my sister putting on make-up, wanting to have her show me. I used to dress up in her clothes when she was away at school. I was jealous of the girls in school wearing skirts and dresses.”

“Oh, wow Ginny, you have Gender Identity Dysphoria, GID! I saw a story in the Boston Globe a while ago about a girl from Cambridge who has that. She's in that Amazon show called 'Transparent' about a man that changes his gender.”

“But let's forget about having any kind of surgery, at least for quite a while Ginny. I seem to remember that girl was on two types of hormones for a long time.”

“You're right,” she said. “The first hormone suppresses testosterone, that softens male features, and really slows beard growth, forehead ridge and that square jaw look you like so much. It also shrinks your friend to the point he won't rise to the occasion.”

I thought for a moment. “You know, a friend of mine was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and he was treated with a hormone that suppressed his testosterone and shrank his prostate. He also complained that his nipples hurt.”

“But he's still alive isn't he?” asked Ginny. “The other hormones are female hormones, these will help the process along; create a female figure by widening your hips, and create or enlarge breasts, sometimes to the point that breast enlargement surgery isn't necessary. Some never have SRS surgery, just plastic surgery to reduce the male features and look more female. They even shave the voice box and reduce the Adam's apple.”

“Phew, Ginny, you've done your homework on this, haven't you? I guess you are serious about it. Ok, some of this may be covered by insurance. What kind do you have? And in whose name?”

“Oh,oh,” Ginny said. “It's in Gene Thomas's name, now what?”

“You have a birth certificate in Virginia Hanson's name, a driver's license, and a charge card. No reason you can't sign up for Mass Health. The only question will be, is this covered? I'll make a few calls, the doctors and hormone therapy should be covered though.”

Ginny was visibly excited, “How about I open up a savings and checking account with some of Morales' money?”

“Did a social security card come in that package Steve got you? You need one to open a bank account, and probably health insurance too.”

With that, she turned her pocket book upside down, and fished around in the quite sizable pile that came out.

“Look, it's here, it's here,” she squealed, waving a battered red, white, and blue card in the air. “We're all set.”

“Good, let me have copies of everything, and I'll start the ball rolling. Now, let's see about a laptop for you. We'll use my laptop, I don't want to use the company's for on-line shopping.”

I quickly pulled up Ebay, and logged onto my account. “Here you go, Dell refurbished laptops. Do you want one like this, or a bigger screen?” I asked Ginny

“You know more about these than I do, buy the one that's best for me.”

“Here's a two year old, completely done over, D630 with Windows 7, a nice sized hard drive, and plenty of memory, wifi, and a good dvd/cd burner. Comes with a new battery. Only $150, free shipping, and if it's the same as mine was, you'll have it by Saturday. How's that?”

She could not believe it. “That's all? That fast? I figured I'd have to go to a computer store, have a salesman make me feel stupid, then sell me one with all the features I'd never need, just so he'd make a fat profit.”

With that, she jumped up and gave me a big hug and kiss.

“Would you two like to be alone?” There was Steve Brady, with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I can come back later if you want.”

Ginny's face was as red as a firetruck. “I was just thanking her for her help with a computer.”

“You didn't thank me like that,” Steve said. “All I got was the hug.”

I jumped up, ran over and gave Steve a big kiss on the cheek. “There, feel better?”

He laughed and grabbed a chair. “Instead of a kiss, can I have a cup of coffee?” he asked Ginny.

“Sure, how do you like it?”

“Like my soul, black and bitter, how else?”

We talked about the job for a while, then the upcoming Sunday Night Patriot's game.

“Well, I've got to go, see you ladies tomorrow.” With that Steve turned and went out the door, and got in his pickup.

“Why didn't you ask him about the insurance and stuff? He would know.”

“Ginny, do you want Steve to know that you're really a man, and we've been lying to him for a week? Or do you want me to quietly take care of things? Your call.”

“No, you're right, I didn't think. Ellen, would you please get me insurance coverage?”

“Of course. Come on, let's head home, and we can see about doctors for you. Save your money, in case you pay for the surgery yourself.”

Out we went, drove home, and had leftovers for supper. Uneventful huh?

After cleaning up, we sat in front of the tv in time to hear the end of the six o'clock news, “The Essex County District Attorney announced a major drug bust on the North Shore. We'll be back with that story and a fire in Revere, after these messages.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 15

Ginny and I froze. “Did you hear what I heard?” she asked. “Do you think MacDonald's will be involved?”

“You know, I think I heard MacDonald's name this morning. Listen, the news is back.”

The two reporters went through the normal joking with each other, then they got serious.

“Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Howe held a press conference early this morning in front of a trucking company in Newburyport. We'll go to our reporter on scene; Harvey what do we know?”

“Apparently local and State Police raided MacDonald trucking company late last night
seizing over $1,000,000 in heroin and cocaine, and $500,000 in cash. District Attorney Howe stated that the raid was made after a long investigation. The drugs were moved in the company's trucks across New England. The police are also looking into the disappearance of Gene Thomas, a truck driver who has been missing for ten days. At this time the D.A., said that Mr Thomas was wanted for questioning only. We'll have more on that at eleven, now onto the fire in Revere.”

I turned off the TV, looked at Ginny, and said “You may be off the hook, kiddo.”

“They made no mention of Morales. Remember, I can tie him to MacDonald and shipping the drugs up here; besides, I like being your cousin, I now have family, and boobs!” Ginny giggled, “Hey Prince Harry is still single, you know.”

With that, she struck a pin-up pose. “Am I hot, or what?”

“Ginny, we need to talk seriously about this, is the danger greater or not?”

Ginny thought for a minute. “Ellen, I honestly think Morales will double his efforts to find me. Don't be surprised if those two tame Boston cops come around again.”

“Oh yeah, what were their names again, I forget.”

Ginny laughed, “The one who hit on me was Maroney, the Sargent was Spanos, I think.”

“How can you remember that?” I asked.

“That's why they want me so bad, I don't forget anything, I have an adiabatic memory.”

“Whoo, that's a fifty cent word that doesn't come up in every day conversation. Is that what we called a photographic memory?”

“Click!” Ginny said with a grin. ”Gotya.”

“Why don't you start dinner, Ginny,and I'll look into getting you insured. The more I can do on line the better.”

I went into the den and booted up the desktop, went back into the kitchen and grabbed a Diet Pepsi. By the time I got back, the box was asking for my password. I typed in 'Daisy', and the screen opened up. I typed in Mass Health, and scanned the options, looking for 'new member'.

I found what I needed, sign up at masshealthconnector.gov. The best way to enroll they said was online. This was wonderful, we'd do this after supper. About this time Ginny called me to dinner. Feeling in a celebratory frame of mind, I grabbed a bottle of Riesling, I didn't care if it went with what dinner was or not.

Luckily, neither of us was a wine snob, so it went well with ravioli and meatballs. After the dishes were in the washer, and the pots washed, we trooped into the den. I clicked on Explorer, and typed in Masshealthconnector.gov and went to applications.

Anyone can join if their income is under $16,000 a year. All you must be is a citizen of the USA and the Commonwealth of Mass. Check, Check, and Check!

We proceeded to fill out the online application, provided a charge card for payment, and presto! Ginny was now insured for $30 a week. Not bad, mine costs me $297 every two weeks.

“Now, all we need to do is hook you up with a doctor, and you can get started on your way to womanhood, if that is still what you want to do.”

“Yes, oh yes! Now that I've lived as a woman, this is definitely what I want. I don't care if Morales is dead or not. I'm Ginny! If you don't want to help anymore, I'll figure it out and go it alone.”

With that, she broke down in tears, blubbering like a teenage girl. Apparently the hormones Ginny had are working.

I slid over and put my arms around her, saying, “You are not going on this journey alone, after all, you're my younger cousin Virginia. Now stop crying on my clean sweatshirt.”

She ran off to fix her mascara and wash her face, she's a girl alright. When Ginny came back, I asked if she wanted to see a doctor to start the long process of sex reassignment. She answered that was the idea, so I said let's see if my endocrinologist had an opening.

“This the woman I see for my diabetes treatments. Her name is Singh, she is so nice, you'd love her. This way we bypass one doctor. What do you say?”

“Sure, you're the one who knows what to do, I'm lost,” Ginny stared at the floor for a minute. “She'll know I'm a guy, is that safe?”

“The only way to safely obtain hormones is through a doctor, you need to trust someone, and she is the one to trust,” I sighed. “Look, Ginny, I'll call her nurse tomorrow to see if she has an opening we can fit you into, now what's for desert?”

We watched a couple of television shows. At ten o'clock I switched over to the news on the Fox channel.

The only thing different on the drug bust was that they were looking for a man whose photo was shown. The police gave no name, but it was Morales. He also was wanted by the State police for questioning in the disappearance of Gene Thomas.

We turned off the tv and headed for bed. Tomorrow was another day, another day to help my house guest on her trip to high heels and sore feet.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for checking puncuation and typos

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 16

I put the car radio on WBZ hoping to hear more on the drug bust in Newburyport, but it was a rehash of what Ginny and I heard last night on the ten o'clock news.

“Be on your toes today, I bet those Boston cops will swing by the site, trying to sniff out this Gene character. They know Morales didn't have him killed, so the last place he was sighted was here with that truck of MacDonald's.”

“I'll be careful, that's why I did evening make-up today,” Ginny said. “The more girl I look, the less they'll look at my face.”

“Ginny, think; Gene disappears on the same day you showed up. It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to wonder about that. If the cops try to find Virginia Hansen, good luck, no such beast.”

“If the cops show, and wave a photograph around I'll say, as I got off the bus, someone who looks like that got on.”

With that Ginny walked over to the Kuerig coffee maker. “I mean wouldn't it look funny if no one saw him?”

“I would rather say you were here all day, not say you showed up at the same time Gene leaves on a bus.”

“Oh, I see what you mean; Ok, I saw the truck but I have no idea how long it was there.”

“Ginny don't say any more than that. Again let me do most of the talking, you keep showing your cleavage, that way they won't look at your face.”

“Men are such pigs,” she said. ”Good thing I've got these babies.”

We both settled in to our prospective offices. Me to call my doctor, Ginny to look at shoes on line.

I waited until nine-thirty before calling and asking to speak with Dr Singh's nurse. They owe me a favor, I gave them $3000 in insulin to give to poor patients when my prescription changed.

The doctor's nurse called back in a hour, asking what she could do for me. I explained it was a delicate situation, and I wondered if my cousin could see the doctor. The nurse checked and asked how did Wednesday at eleven o'clock sound? “Great, we'll take that,” I said.

“See you Wednesday at eleven then,” chirped the nurse as she hung up.

I hung up and walked to the other end of the trailer. “Ginny, you have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday at eleven o'clock.”

“Next week?” she asked.

“No, day after tomorrow.”

“How did you get me in so fast?”

“The doctor had an open time and she slid you right in.”

“Shoot, I don't know if I'm ready to see a doctor so fast.”

“Ginny, you've been self dosing with over the counter hormones, it's time to see a pro, besides, I'll be with you all the way. This doctor is going to be understanding, you'll need that. Unless you're telling me you're not ready to be a woman?”

“Oh no! I'm ready, just a little scared to officially be starting on therapy, that's all.”

“Okay then, why don't we do some work today, Are you finished with entering those truck slips? And if you are, could you print them out and file it in the right folder?”

“Ellen, why are we printing them and filing, isn't that redundant?”

“Yes, but that how it's done, someone could walk in and ask for data, we can't point at the computer and say 'help yourself'. This way we hand them a file, or make a copy to go,just like at Mcdonalds.”

“Oh shit,” Ginny said looking out the window. “Here comes Starsky and Hutch.”

“You open the door , and let me do most of the talking, don't offer anything, wait until they ask something.”

Ginny answered the door, “Officers, how can we help you today?” she stepped back to allow the cops inside, “I thought we answered your questions the other day?”

“We're looking into the possibility the disappearance of that truck driver is connected to the drug bust in Newburyport yesterday. Now, when did you see him.”

I jumped in. “We never really saw him, just his truck, and before we shut down for the day, somebody from MacDonald's came and retrieved it. When the truck drove in to empty his load, the driver leaned out his window, and waved to me. I recognized the driver as a Gene Thomas, a kid a year or two behind me in High school. I haven't seen him either before that, or since.” I took a deep breath, “Do you think he's dead? The State Police hinted at that on television.”

Sargent Spanos answered, “We are just trying to locate him as a favor to the Essex County D.A. This is Suffolk County, but he was last seen here. The Staties think there is a larger, state wide group that hasn't been caught yet.”

“Now you are Ellen Hanson, and you are the site Engineer for Brady and Sons Construction Company, is that correct?”

“That's correct.“

“And this young lady is your cousin, Virginia Hansen, who is your bookkeeper?”

“Correct.”

“She's from the Cape, and just came up here?”

“Yes, She was in a physically abusive relationship and fled with just the clothes on her back a week and a half ago. She's now living with me in Swampscott where you two saw her last week.”

Spanos again left his card saying, “If you think of something else, or see him, please give either me or the State Police a call.”

With that, the two of them left the office got in their cruiser, spun gravel and went out the gate.

“OH MY GOD! I think I just wet myself,“ Ginny said, as she flopped in a chair.

“If you did, don't sit in my chair please. I think I peed too.“ I laughed. “This calls for a drink. Ginny open the file draw labeled 'test results' and bring the vodka over to the table please.”

We each had a double shot of Grey Goose, and the tension flowing out of us slowly.

“Are you good,” Ginny said. “You had me believing you.”

“That's well and good for now, but if they decide to dig into our backgrounds, they'll find that I have no cousin on the Cape and that you don't exist. Then we pray that they're legit and not part of the drug smugglers.”

To be continued

Thanks to Bronwen for fixing the spelling and typos

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 17

With the sobering thought of the dirty cops digging into Ginny and my backgrounds, any light- hearted thoughts went out the window.

“Boy, are you a damp blanket,” Ginny said. “Why can't we relax, and have fun once in a while?”

“We can, but keep in the back of your mind that we've been lucky so far. All good things must come to an end, you know. Now let's make believe we actually work here, and do some work.”

With that we made for our offices at opposite ends of the trailer, Soon I could hear angry typing coming from Ginny's end. Oh well, she'll find out I'm right, hopefully with no blood being spilled. Then the whistle in my head blew, signifying the end of the day.

I locked my desk drawers, cut the lights, and called to Ginny to come on, time to go home. In the car we went, heading north on Route 1A, the coastal route to Swampscott.

“Why this way?” she asked ”It's longer.”

“I'm making supper tonight,” I said. “I'm picking stuff up.”

“Oh sure, 'making supper'; what is it that you need at KFC?”

“Supper,” I said. “What kind of wine goes with chicken?”

“Gees, you are a heathen, aren't you? Look, I'll go into the liquor store over there, you pick me up when you have our dinner.”

I went inside, ordered the ten piece family meal, and the chocolate cake for desert. It came up fast, I paid and put it on the floor in the back of the Explorer, and headed over to pick up Ginny.

She came out of the liqueur store pushing a small cart that looked full.

“Open the tailgate so I can empty this cart,” Ginny yelled. “I got us a case of Australian beer, Fosters. Hope you like it.”

I laughed at that. “I grew up drinking those 26oz cans,” I said. ”You could build things with them, they weren't flimsy like domestic beer cans. What else did you buy?”

”I got three bottles of wine, two white, one red, a bottle of sour mash bourbon, and the beer.”

“I hope it was Gentleman Jack,” I said. “Those others don't taste as good, to me anyway.”

Ginny waved the bottle in my direction and I nodded. “Good choice.”

Dinner was served promptly at six, after slaving in the kitchen opening a couple of bags, and getting two wine glasses. Phew, I'm exhausted.

After we ate, I headed for the couch with a book from Amazon written by Tanya Allen, about a woman who was found almost naked, with no memory at all. I was far enough into it that her memory was starting to come back . Good read! Ginny had her nose buried into my laptop. I can't wait for hers to arrive.

A new tv show, 'Supergirl' was coming on at eight. The star was a cute blond, you can figure out the rest of the story' flying, lifting heavy stuff, x-ray vision, etc., a good show to read a book to.

After a while, Ginny came over and sat on the arm of the couch. “I was watching an SRS surgery on their web site. Scary. I'm having thoughts.“

“Ginny, even if you wanted to have the surgery, You'd need to live as a woman for a year or two, before two doctors would write a letter recommending surgery. Lets go slow, Ok? Besides, never watch a surgery you may have, you'll chicken out.”

The night and all of Tuesday went by with nothing unusual happening. We were heading to bed Tuesday after getting my weekly dose of Leroy Gibbs on NCIS, when I remembered Ginny's doctor's appointment at eleven the following morning with Dr Singh. I knocked on Ginny's door, then stuck my head in, “Hey, you have an appointment tomorrow morning.”

“I know, eleven o'clock , Doctor Singh. I have it tattooed on my arm, I've been ticking off the minutes until the appointment,” she grumbled. “Now let me sleep.”

Boy, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought her 'friend' was visiting.

Wednesday dawned blue skied, and warm, a perfect day for anything. We showered, dressed and ate. Ginny spent extra time on her appearance, wanting to look her best for the doctor. I have to admit, it was pretty good. I was feeling a little jealous, to tell the truth.

We worked on reports for most of the morning. Then at ten o'clock, I said “Let's go. We don't want to be late to see Doctor Singh.”

Her office was in the professional building attached to Salem Hospital on Route 107. Easy to get to, hard to find parking though. We parked out front and took the elevator to the second floor. After asking two people, we finally found her office, and sat down, Ginny and I were the only ones there except for the receptionist.

Ginny was handed a clipboard with a hundred questions, and a request for a $20 co-pay. We filled out the paperwork as best we could, and gave it back to the woman at the desk. It wasn't ten minutes before Ginny was called into the exam room by the doctor's nurse. She said 'hello' to me and asked how I was. I laughed and said, “Isn't that for you to find out and tell me?”

I sat down and started reading a six month old People magazine, did you know Bruce Jenner was thinking of becoming a woman? It's on the cover, It therefore must be true.

After fifteen minutes, Doctor Singh stuck her head into the waiting room and said, “Ellen, come in and join us.”

I put the magazine down and walked in, getting a hug from the Doctor.

“Ginny here confused me. I thought she was already a woman. I told her it would be no problem giving her a prescription for hormones. These are very powerful, and every one reacts differently, so I'll need to see her in a week. If everything is ok, then we'll be on a monthly schedule.” She looked at me. “Ellen I've called two prescriptions in to the CVS in Vinnen Square, is that alright?“ I nodded yes.

“Good, we'll get your 'cousin' a set of hips in no time,” she teased. “After a while, we can talk about a more permanent treatment.”

We made our goodbyes, Ginny stopped on the way out to make an appointment for next week at the same time. I found our way back to the elevator, then out to the car.

“Are you happy now?” I teased Ginny. “You've got your hormones, what next?”

“Oh, be quiet, and drive to the CVS,” she ordered. “And don't spare the horses.”

“Where did you ever hear that? This isn't a corny western.”

I asked ”Which way, Willson Rd or the Danvers road?”

“Danvers Road, less traffic lights,” Ginny said, “I used my insurance card for the first time, I'm officially Virginia Hanson.”

I headed for the drive through window, hoping the meds would be ready. A shock! They were ready for us. I handed the pharmacist's assistant my CVS card and Ginny's Silver-script card along with a $20 co-pay.

In no time we were turning into my condo, when we saw blue flashing lights.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for correcting typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 18

Oh no, it looked like the police were at my condo unit.

“Ginny, stay cool, if the cops want to see ID, don't worry, you are all set.” I whispered, “Let me deal with anything that comes up, comprende?”

Ginny was so upset all she could do was nod her head.

I parked out front since my driveway had a Swampscott cruiser parked in it. Two cops who were standing beside the cruiser looked up as I stopped and got out of my SUV.

“Do you live here?” the older,one asked, looking at his partner, “We had a alarm sound and responded with a fire engine. The alarm company couldn't tell if it was a burglar or fire alarm going off.”

“Yes,” I answered, “I'm Ellen Hansen, and this is my cousin Ginny. Please tell me it wasn't a fire, officer.”

“The fire laddies have gone through the house, and found nothing. It appears someone opened the front door and set off the alarm. My partner and I checked everywhere, including the closets, no one's hiding inside.” The officer said. “But I would suggest a different door lock. They opened it by 'bumping' the tumblers of the lock.”

I asked him, “What is bumping?”

“That's when you get a key that fits your lock, grind down the ridges, stick it in the lock, and whack it with a hard object. You know, a hammer, or even a book. This makes the pins in side line up, and Bob's your uncle, it opens.”

“Oh dear, what can I do to prevent this”, I asked, acting the helpless female. “Do I call a locksmith at this hour?”

“After the detective is finished inside, we'll have you two look around to see if anything is missing. That will give time enough for a locksmith to get here. I'll call him myself, that should speed him up.”

I looked around for Ginny, and there she was again, batting her eyelashes at a cop. I am starting to get jealous, no, I'm jealous! I looked over at the other cop, it was Tom Kelly, the guy Ginny was smiling at the other day, Oh well, no trouble there.

The detective stuck his head out the door and asked if the owner was there. Before I could answer, Sargent Salt answered, “Right here, detective, you want her inside?”

“Yes, please.”

I broke Ginny away from her adoring fan, and the two of us went inside. “What do you want us to do ?” I asked.

“I'm Detective Tom English, and you are?”

“ I'm Ellen Hanson, I own the place and this is my cousin Virginia.”

“Could you two look around and see if anything is missing, I've looked and nothing seems to be out of place. Take your time, no hurry.”

I gave the kitchen a quick look, who wants to steal stainless steel dinnerware? Ginny ran into her room, while I checked out the living room and bathroom. I told Detective English, “Everything is in its place here, let me check in my bedroom.”

I was in my bedroom,when the locksmith arrived, with locksets for both front and back doors. Sargent Salt got him started on the front door, while I finished up in my bedroom. I called out to the detective that nothing had been disturbed, and I wanted to speak with the locksmith.

“Sure, go ahead,” He said, “that's more important.”

I asked the locksmith about 'bumping' the lock to open it.

“Not this one, you couldn't open these Yales with a sledge hammer. Once I finish this one, I'll do the back door.” With that, he turned back to the door, and I turned back to Detective English.

'Miss Hanson, we've had a rash of these break-ins lately, when the alarm went off, it scared them away. You and your cousin should be safe, they won't be back, especially if one of you is home.”

With that, he gave us a wave, and told the uniformed cops he'd talk to them in the morning.

Sargent Salt finished watching the locksmith get done with the back door, grabbed the four keys and hand them to me. “Done, you girls will be safe now with those Yales on the doors. Here are the keys, don't loose them, it'll cost a fortune to have new ones made.”

“What do I owe you,” I asked the locksmith, “Do you take a personal check?”

“Yes but your Homeowners insurance will cover this, I was called by the police for this,so you should be ok.”

I thanked him as he left and wished him a good night. After he got into his truck, Ginny grabbed my sleeve and asked,”Do you think it was Morales?”

“No Ginny, I don't. What would he learn breaking into my place, that he couldn't find out just by asking around? Don't become paranoid, it'll eat away at you. Now, what are you making for dinner tonight, and don't say reservations.”

That brought her back down to earth, and got her thinking. “I can throw a chicken casserole together in a jiffy, with some rice, peas, and broccoli. Toss it in the oven at 350 for 45minutes, and it'll be done, Oh look, here's some grated cheese, I'll cover it with the cheese after I pull it out of the oven.”

“Lets change and get after it, but first, I'll put the Explorer in the driveway, and bring in the newspaper.”

She changed and stuck her head into the freezer, while I struggled with what I wanted, beer or bourbon, the bourbon won.

I plunked my self down on the sofa, with three fingers of sour mash, and changed over to the new keys. “Ginny, toss me your house key, and I'll swap the old for the new.”

The time it took to change three keys equaled how long it took to drink three fingers of bourbon. Perfect!

After about an hour, Ginny called me to the kitchen, there was her casserole and a sweating can of Fosters on the table. Perfect again!

After dinner She tossed the television set and we heard about our break-in, apparently there was two others in the neighborhood. The police think the crooks got in the same way in all three cases. Ginny sighed at that, “Oh good, it wasn't Morales, I can sleep tonight.”

I figured now was a good time to tell Ginny I slept with a 9mm Rock Island Arms handgun beside my bed, and I knew how to use it.

“I know,” she said, “the cute cop Tommy Kelly asked me about it.”

“So, it's Tommy is it? Don't get to the point where you leave him disappointed. You know what I mean?”

Ginny nodded, “At this point, we're just friendly, I told him about being smacked around by a boy friend, and didn't feel like getting that close, for a while anyway.'

The bourbon and 26oz of beer did their work, I fell asleep.

To be continued,

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for correcting typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 19

Did you ever sleep on the sofa all night? Everything feels great until you try to turn your head. You can look straight ahead, but turn to the right or left, and Wham! it's like an electric shock.

I headed for the shower, stripped down, got under the spray with it as hot as I could stand. After fifteen minutes of bliss, I reluctantly turned off the water, and grabbed two towels, wrapping one around my body and the other around my hair. I looked at the clock and saw it was only four a.m, plenty of time. I'm glad my hair is only to my shoulders, I can dry and set it in no time.

I started hearing noises indicating Ginny was up and in the shower. I drew on jeans and a sweat shirt over my panties and bra, grabbed a pair of wool sox, and my work boots. I then headed for the kitchen and coffee. I sat at the table and put on my socks and boots. The coffee maker was ready, so I stuck a French roast k-cup in and closed the cover.

Ginny joined me about this time, and pulled out some blueberry muffins. We shared and by
five we were in the car headed for the job-site. On the ride through Lynn, we made small talk about the upcoming weekend.

“Ginny, I have my riding lesson on Saturday this week,” I said. “We'll be inside, so you can watch from the viewing room. There's bound to other people there for you to talk to.”

“But I don't know anything about horses or riding, I'll feel foolish.”

“No you won't, everyone started out the same, besides that's how most people learn, by watching and talking to others. I think you'll enjoy yourself this week.”

By now, we had arrived at the office. I gave Ginny the keys to open up while I parked. As I was going inside , Steve Brady was pulling into the yard.

Ginny turned on the lights and started the Kurig coffee maker heating.

“Great news,” Steve shouted. “The Lynn project is a go! I'll have an office for you set up on Monday. You are out of here girl.”

“Steve, we still need to pave and stripe the parking lot,” I protested. “There's a bunch of payments to make.”

“Ellen, don't worry, I'll send my idiot nephew Bobby down here to finish up. You and your cousin are going to Lynn to get that building started. Heck, it's only a fifteen minute ride from Swampscott. Even in a snow storm you can get there in no time.”

“That's wonderful Steve; Ginny and I will pack up our stuff this morning, and make it an early
day. We'll stop at the site and pick out a spot for the office.”

Steve thought for a minute. “Hey, that's a great idea, then on Monday you and Ginny can be there when the new office shows up. All you'll need is a telephone and electrical line run to the office. Everything else is self contained.”

He grabbed a coffee and ran outside to yell at someone, par for the course.

Ginny looked at me and asked,”Is he always like this? I mean overwhelming like that? Phew!”

I laughed, ”That was nothing, you should see him when he's upset. Come on let's pack and get out of here. It's a nice day, lets spend some time at the water.”

By lunch, everything was in the back of the Explorer, and we were set to go.

“Ginny, have you ever eaten at the Porthole Pub? If not, you have a treat coming. It's so close to the site we can walk there.”

After a ride of twenty minutes, I pulled off the Lynnway into the Porthole's parking lot.

“Is this it?” Ginny asked, sounding disappointed. “I expected more.” As I guided her up the stairs I chuckled, “This was a machine shop that supplied the GE with turbine parts. Check out the inside.”

“Oh wow, It's like being aboard a ship, look at the lights and ship models everywhere.”

“Hi, Ellen, we haven't seen you for awhile, would you and your friend like a table of Christen's with a view, or a seat at the bar?” the greeter asked.

“Debby, this my cousin Virginia, she's staying with me for a while. And yes, a table of Christen's with a view.”

“You know the way. I see Chris waving to you, nice to meet you Virginia, have a nice lunch.”

With that, we walked down three stairs to where Chris was standing, she gave me a quick hug,
and asked how I'd been. “As busy as a one armed paperhanger Chris, what's it been a month since I was here?'

“At least,” Christen said. “Who is the young lady with you? She's a doll!” With that Ginny's face turned red as a beet.

“Chris, I'd like you to meet my cousin Ginny, I got her a job working for me at Brady's Construction Company. She's only been here two weeks, I'm showing her around the area.”

We sat at a table for four at the window. The view of the Boston skyline would be spectacular
at sundown, but right now the view was of sailboats slowly turning at their moorings. You can't buy a view like that. Ginny was captivated, her jaw half open.

Christen returned to the table with a basket of bread and glasses of ice water. “Would you two like something to drink while you make up your minds.”

“Go ahead Ginny we're off the clock have what you want.”

“ I'll have a gin and tonic with a twist of lime,” she said. “How about you Ellen?”

“Chris do you still have Pabst on tap? If so, I'll have a twenty ounce.”

Christen laughed, “You never change. I'll put those in, do you two want salads?”

“Good idea, I'll have a Caesar salad, Ginny, would you like one too?” She nodded.

“Chris, make that two Caesars please.”

All you could hear was chewing while we looked at the menus.

“Did you ever have a Monte Christo?” I asked Ginny. “Other then a deli, this is the only place that has them.”

She thought a bit, “You know I think the baked stuffed haddock is for me, is it good here?”

“You can't find a better stuffed haddock anywhere in New England.”

Christen came back with our drinks , and took our orders. After putting them into the computer she came back to chat.

“Chris, is your son still playing baseball?” I asked. “He must be a senior by now.”

“He's the starting catcher for Saugus High. Jimmy has had approaches from three colleges, all offering scholarships, I am so proud of him.” She was beaming, “We could never afford for more then Junior College, but these are big schools, University of Arizona, Ohio State, and Yale.”

“That's great! Any idea which one Jimmy will pick?”

“I'm pulling for Yale,” she said. “But he likes Arizona. Oh, your dinners are up, time to work again.”

She delivered our meals and went to take care of a table of six, and was busy.

“This is great, what do they stuff it with?”

“If you can believe it, lobster.”

We finished our dinners, said goodbye to Christen and headed for our car.

“Now, to get to the site that's four hundred feet behind us, we go around the Nahant rotary down the Lynnway until the first light with a turn lane, and then back, in all about three miles.

I picked a good spot for the office trailer, near underground power and telephone, marked the spot with spray paint, it only took ten minutes. We now had the rest of the day to ourselves.

We headed home, and as soon as the door was shut, I put my feet up and had a nap. A 20oz beer will do that to me.

'Tomorrow I ride,' I thought. 'Maybe I can get Ginny interested in horses.'

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for correction of typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

Chapter 20

The day dawned bright and crisp. It was about 48 degrees, perfect for riding. I hustled about, grabbing a quick shower. I dried my hair pulling it back in a pony tail then sat down and did the minimum of making me look acceptable to the horses. I knocked on Ginny's door and reminded her that we needed to be in Georgetown by 11am for my riding lesson.

“I'm almost ready,” she yelled. “Should I wear a skirt or jeans?”

“Jeans and those boots I gave you, I still want to give you a pony ride, I think you would love it.”

We grabbed a quick breakfast of a English muffin and orange juice. On the way up Route 1 we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for coffee to drink while we drove.

We arrived at the stable at 10:30, plenty of time. As I was getting my saddle and brushes out of the back of the Explorer, another SUV pulled in. It was my friend Kevin.

“Hey Ellen, what are you doing here on a Saturday, aren't your lessons on Sunday?”

“I've been promoted, I'm riding with the horse show riders today. Hopefully, I'll be on the show circuit like you are,” I said proudly.

“That's great, you will love it. Of course, it's expensive, but worth it. Who's the pretty girl hiding behind you?” Kevin asked. ”and where have you been keeping her?”

“Kevin let me introduce my cousin Virginia, she's staying with me in the condo. Ginny this is Kevin, he has a driving horse that he shows.”

Ginny mumbled something that sounded like a cross between a owl and a gopher that meant 'hello'.

Kevin laughed and while holding her elbow, escorted us into the barn. Cathy Taurisi met us in the tack room.

“Oh good, you're here early Ellen, get ready and bring Freddy into the arena as soon as he's tacked up.” She had a last sip of coffee then said, “Ginny why don't you go to the viewing room, the heats on, it'll be nice and warm.”

“Let me show you the way,” Kevin said. “I can sit with you a little bit until I have to get Doc ready.”

“Who's Doc?” Ginny asked. “Is he your horse?”

“Yes, his real name is Manhattan Design, MD, Doc get it?”

“I get it, cute, 'Doc', will you be riding him today also?” she asked.

“No, I haven't ridden for years, I drive them, er, the horse wears a harness and pulls a two wheeled cart that I sit in. Hopefully things go ok, and I am still in the cart at the end.”

“Don't let him kid you miss,” a deep voice said. “Those two were at the World Championships last year, and he's had the same cart for years. I'm Jim Brady, that's my daughter in the red jacket.”

“Are you any relation to Steve Brady?” Ginny asked. “I just got a job as a secretary working for him.”

“Steve's my brother, watch out for him, he likes a nicely turned ankle, as my grandmother would say.”

I was put through my paces, trot, canter, walk, trot again in both directions. Then Cathy had all of us perform equitation maneuvers to get us to meld with our horses better, I suppose it looked kind of mystifying to Ginny. I looked into the viewing room, she had Kevin chewing on her ear about something. Well, she wasn't bored anyway.

I brushed and put Freddy back in his stall. Ginny surprised me, she actually wanted to pat him, so I held his halter, and showed Ginny where to scratch him; they both loved it.

“Do you think we can stay long enough to watch Kevin drive Doc?” she asked.

“Sure, I wanted to watch the two of them too,” I said. “Lets go back to the viewing room and get a chair, if you want, you can get a cold Coke from the machine.”

We watched them go around the ring changing gaits constantly, but we couldn't see Kevin giving signals to do this. Then Doc started doing figure eights, with the smoothness of the equitation horses. They stopped in the centre of the ring and posed, after a minute Doc slowly backed up three steps, stopped, and walked forward.

Cathy walked up and held Doc's head while Kevin got out of the cart and started to undo buckles and straps. He put the harness in the cart then took the horse from Cathy and led him back into the barn.

Ginny was almost speechless, “Wow, that was something, is it always that smooth?”

“He was showing off a little for you I think,” I teased. “You've made a conquest.”

We went back to the tack room so I could schedule next week's lesson. Kevin walked in about then and asked Ginny if she'd be here next week, and if so, he would hitch the cart with room for two and give her a ride after his training lesson.

Ginny looked at me, I nodded, and said, “Of course you will be here. You might love riding in the cart, it's a different experience. I don't know how Kevin does it, how they all do it, I'd be scared stiff in the cart by myself.”

We made our goodbyes and headed south on Route 1 toward home. As we pulled out of the driveway, I thought I recognized Morales coming in with two young girls in a Cadillac SUV. Wouldn't that be something if his daughters took riding lessons at the barn where I did. Well it was possible, this was the first time I was here on a Saturday.

I started to say something about it to Virginia, but thought better of it, and instead asked if she was hungry.

“I could eat a horse.” she said with a giggle, “Any place we can get one grilled?”

I laughed with her, “No, but here's a place that has great sirloin tips, why don't we eat there?”

We returned home about 4pm, kicked off our boots, had a cold beer and turned on the figure skating on tv. All the rest of the day, I had a nagging thought of that face in the car window.

Sunday started with showers and a cold wind from the North-east, perfect for the Patriots game at 1pm. I never missed a game; too bad Gisele is around, that Brady I really liked. The Patriots won 34 – 17.

I was still worried, thinking about Morales. I thought he stared right at me, and was glad we were in Lynn now.

In bed I tossed and turned all night, all I could see were his eyes looking at me.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 21

Even though I tossed and turned all night I woke up quickly. I'm always excited when we start a new project. Thoughts of site locations ran through my head while I was showering and drying my hair. From the noise, Ginny was up and in the shower too.

I finished first, went into the kitchen to turn the coffee maker on, then went to the door for the newspaper.

Ginny was in the kitchen, “What do you prefer, a muffin or a bagel?” as she banged around. “I'm doing a blueberry muffin.”

“Me too Ginny.”

We sat at the counter with our coffee and muffins each reading a different section of the 'Globe'. It was nice not to be in a rush to get to work, with a fifteen minute ride instead of an hour.

We finished up and headed for the SUV, then to the site on the harbour. I gave Ginny the keys and sent her for coffee, thinking it may be a while before the office trailer showed up.

I was wrong; Ginny had no sooner left the lot than the truck and trailer showed up. I directed the driver to where I wanted the trailer spotted, and after that I got out of the way, and let the pro do his thing. In less than 30 minutes he had it leveled and tied down.

Just about the time Ginny returned, he was handing me the keys. “The septic guy should be here in an hour, and the electrician is pulling up now. Unless you need anything else, I'll be out of here.” he said.

I gave him a wave, and picked up my coffee. A phone company truck pulled in, and parked beside the electrician's van. This was more activity than the lot has seen in years.

“What are they doing?” Ginny asked.

“The electrician will bring power to the meter socket on the trailer; when he's done the electric company will put in a meter. The phone line will come from the pole to the trailer's junction box. We should have phones by lunch. A temporary generator will get hooked up and we'll have power by lunch too.”

Ginny climbed the stairs, and looked inside. “Hey, there's no furniture! Where do we sit?”

“Next stop Staples,” I said. “We'll order desks, chairs, and filing cabinets to be delivered tomorrow. We'll buy telephones, a fax, a copier, and all the other office supplies, you know, paper, copy paper, pencils, file folders, staplers, scotch tape, anything else that strikes our fancy.”

“Wow, I'm overwhelmed, you've done this before, haven't you?” she asked.

“Way too many times Ginny, this time though I'll be here at least two years, maybe more.”

We headed to the nearest Staples and ordered furniture, and bought supplies. I was able to get two chairs in the back of the Explorer, giving us a place to sit when we got back.

I returned along the beach, stopping at Kelly's original place, for roast beef sandwiches, and diet sodas.

“I'm going to like this site, great food everywhere,” Ginny laughed. “I'm going to gain ten pounds, none of my clothes will fit, and I just bought them!”

After unloading the boxes of supplies and the chairs, we sat down to eat. “Ginny, there is something we need to talk about. It's Morales.”

She almost choked on her soda, ”What! Where is he?”

“Not here, I saw him last Saturday. As we left the barn, he drove in the other side. There were two kids in the car with him, I almost fainted.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” shrieked Ginny, ”He might have recognized me!”

“Your own mother wouldn't recognize you, my dear. You are a girl now, remember? And a pretty one,” I added. “Don't panic yet, I'm going to make a phone call to Cathy, and ask her about him. Besides, everyone thinks you're a girl. Do you think Kevin would have been all over you if he had any doubts?”

We were interrupted by the door swinging open. The electrician stuck his head in and said, “The generator will be hooked up in a couple of minutes; you can leave it running when you go home, it's got plenty of fuel and that way the trailer will be warm in the morning.”

I walked over and thanked him, and asked when he thought the power company would put in the meter. “Sometime tomorrow they'll put in jumpers, the meter next week or sooner.”

As he left the phone company tech came in. “Hi ladies,” he said. “Your phones are all set, you have two lines at both rooms. The numbers are written on the box outside, I'm going to do the same in here.”

I batted my eyes a bit and thanked him, Ginny was staring at me in shock, she started to say something, but I waved her quiet.

After the tech drove away, she turned to me and asked what that was about. “You never know when a favor is needed from the phone company. That guarantees it.”

“Let me plug a phone in, and I'll call Cathy about Morales. While I'm doing that, why don't you open the boxes of supplies?”

I grabbed a phone and a chair, walked to the small office and closed the door.

I dialed the barn's number from memory. “Cathy, hi, it's Ellen Hanson, do you have a minute?”

“For you, of course, what's up?”

“I don't know how to ask this, but did I see a man on Saturday named Morales? He's a suspected drug boss.”

Cathy laughed nervously, “You did. Remember the tall girl on the bay in your lesson? That was his daughter Tina. Why?”

“I thought I recognized him, wasn't he in the news last week in that big drug bust in Newburyport? The owner of that trucking company was said to be working for him.”

“I don't know about that, I live in New Hampshire, Don't worry though, He's just another doting father watching his daughter ride. I've got to go, I have a student coming in. I'll see you Saturday at eleven?”

I told her I'd be there, and hung up. I turned around and jumped, Ginny was three inches away.

“Don't do that! You scared me half to death.”

“It was him wasn't it? He was at the barn! I can't go back there again. He'll see through my disguise.”

“Hold on,” I said. “Is wearing a dress a disguise, or is it the real you, a woman in the wrong body? Tell me now, no fooling around, I need to know, and now!

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 22

'Disguise' she had said. I need to find out just what that meant before we went any further, I was risking my life for a kid a year or two behind me in high school, for goodness sake!

“Ginny, just what do you mean by 'disguise'? Are you being honest with me, or just trying to get away with $50,000?”

“Oh no Ellen, I meant being Ginny, not looking like Gene. Really. I am a woman, I am.”

She burst into tears, “I am a girl, I always was. I'm so scared I don't know what I'm saying, I'm so terrified, please, please!”

I stood and gathered her up in a hug. “It's okay Ginny, I had to ask, now wash your face and
redo your make up, you look like a raccoon, for gosh sakes. We'll go and get lunch and a cup of tea and think this out.”

While she was fixing her face, I sat and began thinking about Morales and the riding lessons at the barn. Maybe the best defense is a good offense. Who said that? That Chinese general or was it General Grant? It doesn't matter, I had a glimmering of an idea that just might work.

“Ginny, are you finished in there? Remember, no water yet, we'll go up the street and get a quiet table and talk about this, I have an idea on how to handle our Mr Morales. Let me talk to the plumber, and we can go.”

Ginny walked to the Explorer while I spoke with the plumber. “We are going to have something to eat and should be back in a hour or so. Will you wait for the system to be set up?”

“Yes ma'am,” he said. “I need to be sure everything works okay before I go. Don't worry, this is a great spot, I'll be here when you get back, no matter how long that is.”

I really hate being called 'ma'am', oh well, I've been called a lot worse.

We went to the Porthole Pub again, hey, it's close and the food is good. I waved to the greeter and directed Ginny towards the ladies bathroom. After taking care of nature, I helped her with her make-up.

“Give a quick pass with your lipstick, and we'll go and sit at a private table and discuss your new problem.”

I gave Debbie a wave and headed for a table in the corner. A waiter saw us, brought over menus and asked if we would like a drink. We both ordered Cokes, I sipped a glass of water, took a deep breath and started to tell Ginny my idea.

“Ginny, I was serious when I said no-one sees anything but an attractive, young woman when they look at you. We can use this to our advantage. Here's how.”
I had to stop as the waiter came over with our Cokes, and took our orders. I ordered a cup of clam chowder, and a Caesar salad. Ginny ordered the same except she got the fish chowder. The waiter thanked us and put in our orders.

“We will use your looks to our advantage, Ginny. Morales ran into the office looking for Gene, spoke with me, looked at you and ran out. I'm sure he's seen me at the barn before, but it didn't register with him.

“Let's take the bull by the horns; we'll let him see you Saturday, even introduce you to him. It will work, I bet Kevin will be jealous, are you aware the effect you had on the poor guy last week?”

Our chowders and salads came, and for fifteen minutes the only sound was spoons clicking on porcelain cups as we made the chowders disappear.

She looked up and asked, “You really think I'm attractive? I don't just look like a guy wearing lipstick and a dress?”

“Ginny, I don't know why, but you really look good. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were an attractive girl too. Have you looked in the mirror, what do you see?”

Ginny took a deep breath, “You are right, I guess. But understand, it's my life we're talking about here.”

“Well, you could give him his money back, that might help.” I said Ginny just snorted at that.
“Only a suggestion, don't you have an appointment with Doctor Singh at four this afternoon? We can't be late for that.”

“I was so worried about Morales, I forgot all about her! What time is it, I forgot my watch.”

“It's two-thirty, we'll go back, check with the plumber, and see what's up. The doctor's office is only twenty minutes away, we're a lot closer than the other job was. Relax, you won't be late, promise.”

We took the long ride around the rotary past the site and made a u-turn at the first light. As I drove in I could see progress, a holding tank and a salt water filled tank in the office for flushing. It's a clever idea using an anti freeze mixture to prevent water freezing. Maybe not to the rest of the world, but I am an engineer, can't help myself.

I went through the training program on how to use the system. I was polite and didn't bite his head off. He was very serious, probably the high point of his day. The lesson finished, I was asked if I had any questions, shook my head 'no', still not trusting myself not to say the wrong thing.

The plumber was wearing a grin as he handed me my keys. “Would you like me to go over how to use the sink?” He ducked as I tossed an empty coffee cup at him. “Be thankful it's styrofoam, next time it's for real.” I got a wave and a smile as he left.

“Ginny, lets get out of here, we'll take a slow ride to the doctor's office. I'll show you Lynn.”

We arrived at the doctor's office a little early, which was good, that gave me time to read about last year's college basketball games. I think somewhere, someone collects old magazines and then sells them to doctors for their waiting rooms. I mean, have you ever read a recent magazine there?

At twenty past four the nurse called Ginny in to see the doctor. Next time I'm bringing a paperback book.

The doctor checked on how she was feeling, asking if the Aldactone was bothering her at all; was she sleeping normally, any anxiety? Then she hit her with the big question, “Is this what you want.” My guess, her emotions are all over the place, I could hear her crying in the waiting room. The nurse stuck her head in and called me, saying the doctor would like to speak to me.

I tore myself away from UCLA's latest win and went in.

“Hello, Ellen, nice to see you again. The reason I called you in was to ask if Ginny is still welcome living with you or will she be getting an apartment of her own?”

“Doctor, she is welcome to stay with me as long as she likes, I enjoy the company.”

“That's great, it is important for her to have a support system to be there for her. Soon Ginny will be on an emotional roller-coaster ride, when she starts on hormones, it helps if someone who cares about her is there to help and to hand out the Kleenex.” At the last she laughed.

“Okay, I'll see you in two weeks, at that time I'll decide whether to refer you to a psychologist or not. When you start taking estradol, under their care, it will probably be too late to completely revert back to Gene, and have a normal male sex life, you do understand this don't you Ginny?”

“Yes, I am a woman not a man, no matter what plumbing I have doctor. If you won't help, I 'll get them somewhere else.”

“Don't do that Ginny, the hormones are very powerful and they need monitoring by a doctor. You could get into trouble self-dosing, promise me you won't do it.”

At that, I gave Ginny a nudge, getting her to promise Doctor Singh she would obey her orders, and make an appointment for two weeks.

Before we left, Ginny fixed the damage her tears had caused, and again looked better than me.
Next time I'll help someone built like a gorilla who looks like one also. This is tough on my confidence. Maybe I'll have to do a little more before I leave for a construction job each morning. Am I crazy? I hop in and out of trenches all day long. Any make-up would be sweat off in five minutes. Crap, no wonder I don't date.

I retrieved my car from the parking lot and asked Ginny what she wanted to do. “Well, it's 5pm, too early to eat after that lunch we had, and too dark for sight-seeing, why don't you show me how to get home from here. After all, I am going to start looking for transportation soon.”

This was a good idea, I was dead on my feet, looking to kick off my work boots, and put my feet up.

“Do you feel like take out? I can stop at a Chinese restaurant in Vinnin Square. I've heard their food is really good.”

“Great idea, that will be different from chowder. What would you like, I'll run in and pay, you took care of lunch, my turn.”

We decided on a pu-pu platter, rice, and lo-mein. With a swish of skirts, she went in the door of the restaurant. I could see her at the counter, she was teasing the guy at the cash register, what a flirt! I bet she gets something free, along with a phone number.

She did on both accounts. He stuck an order of chicken fingers in the bag with a phone number written on the box.

We got home, ate, and began planning how to introduce her to Morales so he thought it was his idea. It was decided that we would stay longer and watch Kevin drive his horse, then start a conversation with Morales' daughter. That should force introductions. This would allow me to mention how abruptly he ran into my office looking for that truck driver. This will make him concentrate on me and not look to closely at Ginny.

It seemed like a good plan, at worst, he might bark at me, but with his daughter present, I'm betting he will be on his best behaviour.

We went to bed, looking forward to the weekend, hoping this would divert Morales' attention away from us. You know what they say about plans.

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

The rest of the week flew by as we were engrossed with the things required to set up an office from scratch. I remembered the first time I had to do this on my own. I was overwhelmed; I flew around like a nut, never finishing one thing before I moved to the next.

Believe it or not, Ginny was a big help, showing an aptitude for the minutiae in setting up the file system required for the construction of a four story mixed use building; three stories of condos, and a ground floor of offices.

The electric company gave us a meter, and this allowed the return of the generator. The phone company got our wifi installed and working. Thanks be, The internet was mine again!

I got our color laser printer hooked up to the wifi address. This would allow both Ginny and I to print from our desks. No cables running every where! I still prefer a regular keyboard to typing on a laptop. Desktops are cheaper too. Oh, well.

Friday afternoon arrived. We headed out the door and into my car, heading along the ocean on the ride home. There was an offshore storm producing spectacular surf jumping over the seawall, onto the road. Worth the cost of admission!

On the ride home, Ginny did nothing but talk of a car for her, all thoughts of Morales relegated to the back of her head. We agreed to set Sunday aside for looking. She liked my Explorer so much it was decided to shop for a small SUV with four wheel drive. I was surprised she wanted a compact, in as much as she drove a beast of a truck when she was Gene.

We made a stop to pick-up a nice haddock filet for supper.

At home we changed into jeans and a sweatshirt for me and a tight tee shirt for her, There she went, out-glamming me again!

As she cooked, we talked about a suitable vehicle for her. I suggested a Honda CRV a few years old, to save money. Ginny said she had in mind a Toyota RAV-4, both good cars, and good in the snow. The previous year we had over 9 feet of snow even along the coast, it's unusual, but typical of a New England winter; expect the unexpected!

Ginny made a delicious baked haddock dinner with baked potatoes and fresh green beans. After cleaning up I made coffee for both of us.

Over the coffee I outlined my plan for handling Morales the following day at the barn in Newbury.

“Here's what we'll do,” I said. “We stay late to watch Kevin work his horse. He promised to give you a ride in the cart with him, after all, so it won't be out of character.”

“While I'm watching you, I'll confront Morales about how he slammed into my office a couple of weeks ago, and asked about the driver of that truck that he and the Boston Police were looking for.”

“How will this help me? You're going to draw attention to me that way,” she said with a shudder. “Why ask about Gene?”

“Look, the subject has to come up, also he just saw me ride in a lesson with his daughter Tina. It would look funny if I said nothing, don't you see?”

“Tina will be standing beside me during this exchange after all, so her father won't do anything out of place,” I took a deep breath. “Hopefully, I'll be on the show circuit with them.”

“How will this help me?” Ginny asked. “Will I be with you at the shows too?”

“Sure you will Ginny, you're just a temp secretary, you can't run a job by yourself. Steve will stand in for me, and I don't trust him alone in the office with you anyway.”

Well, with that she tossed a cushion from the sofa at me, only missing due to my outstanding reflexes, I was laughing so hard I slipped off the chair onto the floor. The cushion missed me by a foot.

“It does sound like a plan that should work. I mean he won't grab me down there to check if I have the right equipment or not, would he?”

We settled down to watch one of my favorite tv shows, “Blue Bloods”. That Tom Selleck is still really hot even at his age. Donnie Walberg is pretty hot too! He was great in the series “Band of Brothers”. Don't forget the assistant DA was Tom Brady's girl friend, they had a son together, named Jack. He must be about 8 or 10 by now.

Saturday dawned cold and drizzly, really raw with the mercury hovering about 40°F. I put on a sweater, and grabbed my down jacket, then walked to Ginny's room.

“Full facial make-up,” I yelled with a chuckle, “Look like you're going clubbing. It'll hook Kevin for sure, but we want Morales to be able to look at you, and think unclean thoughts. Don't forget to wear slacks, you'll be in and out of the jog cart with Kevin.”

We bundled up, got into the Explorer and headed for the barn in Newbury. At least one of us had a frog in their throat, maybe two of us.

As we pulled in I spotted a gleaming black Cadillac parked near the door. Here goes nothing, I thought as I parked right beside it, this would guarantee conversation later.

Ginny grabbed my saddle, I got my grooming box, and we headed for the door. To my surprise the stable door swung open. Guess who held it for me? Right. Got it in one try. Morales! Ginny stumbled in after me, looking like she was going to faint, put my saddle down and sat down on one of the chairs.

Morales looked at me and said, “I would like to apologize for my behavior a while ago, I stormed into your office demanding information on a truck driver. I had no right to do that, and I'm really sorry I acted that way, I hope you will forgive me.”

Wow, this guy was smooth. You'd never guess what he did for a living.

“Well, when put that way, I guess I have to,“ I said while extending my hand. “I'm Ellen Hanson, and I know who you are, your name is Morales, isn't it?”

“It's Vincent, but people call me Vinny, or just plain Vin, and who is the lovely young lady who carried in your saddle?”

Oh, shoot, here it comes! “This is my cousin Virginia Hanson, she's staying with me for a while.” Why did I say that?

“Pleased to meet you, my name is Vinny, do you ride also?” he asked. “Your cousin has a riding lesson with my daughter Tina.”

“Please call me Ginny, and no I don't ride, to be honest, I'm a little afraid of horses.”

“That's funny,” he said. “I'm Vinny and you're Ginny.”

About this time Cathy walked into the tack room.

“Oh good, you introduced yourselves, If Ellen keeps riding the way she has, you'll be spending a lot of time together at shows this summer. Time to tack up ladies, lesson starts in ten minutes.”

I headed for my horse's stall to get him brushed and saddled up. Ginny headed towards the viewing room with Vinny Morales on her tail. As she stepped in she heard Kevin's voice coming from the Coke machine.

“Hey, nice to see you again, Ginny, are you going to take advantage of my offer for a ride?”

“Is it still good?” She asked, “I wore slacks just in case you meant it.”

“Oh, I meant it all right, I'll get the two seater out and dusted off. As soon as Doc and I finish our training lesson, you hop in, and away we go. Too bad the weather's so nasty or we could go around the track instead of just in the arena.”

The whole time Kevin was talking to Ginny, Morales was looking daggers at Kevin's back.
It looked like another conquest for Ginny, except this one is Morales, for Pete's sake!

Kevin stood up and returned the look in spades and said “Looks like one of your flunkies just got busted by the Staties. Too bad, huh?”

Morales smiled and said “Not my flunky, kid, but I did own 40% of that business. I'll be lucky to get back a dime for a dollar once those trucks hit the auction. Most of them are junkers.”

Kevin headed for Doc's stall, harnessed him and put a halter over his driving bridle. Then he walked him out of the stall and hooked him to cross-ties in the aisle.

All this time Morales was trying to draw Ginny out with no success. This only made him increase his efforts.

Kevin stuck his head in the door. “Ginny come with me, you can watch from the arena, it'll give you a feel for how the horse trots before you get in the cart with me.”

Ginny got up and went into the cold, happy to be away from Morales, and his pick-up lines.

Our worries were just about over, I thought. Boy does he think she's female, he had a pants tent just from talking to her.

Round one to Kevin, but it was early yet.

I finished my lesson to accolades from Cathy, that's just what I wanted to hear! “Great job! You ride like that all the time, and you will win blue ribbons at any show!”

As we were cooling out our horses, Cathy and Kevin were hitching Doc to the two seat work cart. In no time they were hooked, Kevin was seated, and off he went, counter clockwise around the ring.

That's about all I saw, I brought Freddy back to his stall, gave him a good brushing and tossed a cooler blanket over him until he dried off. Once he was pretty dry I'd put his own blanket on and turn him loose to roll and then search for bits of hay he missed earlier.

I got back to the arena in time to see the end of the driving lesson. Kevin stopped in the middle of the ring and posed Doc by having him stretch his two front feet and lean forward. How they teach a horse to do that, is beyond me.

Instead of unhooking the horse from the cart, Kevin slid over to the right to make room for Ginny. She stepped her right foot into the cart, sat down and then brought in her left foot.

Kevin gave the horse a click, and off they went at a good trot around the ring. At first, Ginny was really nervous, but after a little bit, she started to relax and enjoy the ride. After a couple of figure eights in the ring, Kevin slowed Doc to a walk, and OMG handed the reins to Ginny!

After walking half the ring, Doc started to trot, with Ginny still holding the reins. You could tell she was having the time of her life. Soon Kevin had Ginny stop in the middle of the ring, Ride's over. He stepped out, went to Doc's head, and held the bridle.

“Okay Ginny you can get out now, use the same side as when you got in.” he said, “Wasn't that fun? You did a great job steering too!”

I walked in and held Doc's head so Kevin could finish un-hitching him. Ginny then took the cart and rolled it backward, while I walked Doc forward. Kevin relieved me of my burden saying he had him and thanks for the help.

After standing the cart up against the wall, Ginny hurried up to catch Kevin and watch how a harness was removed.

Oh oh, on two fronts, I think Ginny liked driving, and I think Ginny really liked Kevin.
Before this went too far, I thought we needed to sit down with him and have a long talk, but not here and not now.

We made our 'good-byes' and headed for the Explorer, only to meet Morales, who was waiting for us, leaning on his car.

“Again I want to apologize for my behaviour that day, I was more interested in finding that crook than in my actions in front of two lovely ladies.” he smiled and continued, “I would like to have you both as my guests for a quick lunch and drinks.”

We smiled and thanked him, but said we had an appointment and maybe another time. We got in our respective vehicles and left, both heading south, until he turned right onto Route 133 West, while I continued South on Route 1.

“I think that went as well as could be expected, except I think Vinny Morales wants to get into your pants, my dear,” I chortled, “Kevin too.”

At this she turned scarlet. “Morales can have them, but I don't think they'd fit.”

“How about Kevin then, would they fit him?”

“I wish!” was her answer.

“Ginny, when we get home, we need to talk about Kevin, you can't string him along.”

To be continued.

Thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

Ginny couldn't wait for us to get home, she started in Peabody. “What are you talking about?”
she asked, “Kevin? I'm just teasing, you know, smiling, and looking into his eyes.”

“Oh shoot, Ginny, that's like waving a red flag in front of a bull!” I said. ”You don't know the effect you're having when you do that. If you were trying to catch Kevin, well congratulations, you have him!”

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked, “I'm just being a little playful, that's all. I don't mean anything by it.

“You present as a desirable woman, You had Morales lusting after you, Kevin was ready to confront him, or weren't you aware of this? You were too busy wiggling and fluttering your eyes to notice, weren't you?”

“I was just enjoying being a woman, I didn't mean anything by it,” she protested. “Honestly.”

“Ginny, that is the trouble, you are not a woman, not physically. You can't allow someone to find out what kind of plumbing you have, especially around Morales for goodness sakes. You've got Kevin red faced and stuttering when he's near you. Don't be surprised if he calls and asks you out. What will you do then?”

By this time we were sitting in my driveway with the SUV idling wasting gas.

“Come on, we'll finish this inside. Would you get my saddle please Ginny, I'll open the door.”

Ginny left the saddle in the entry for me and followed me to my room where I was changing out of my riding clothes into my uniform, jeans and a sweatshirt.

“What can I do?” she asked, “I didn't realize what I was doing, I was just enjoying looking the way I always felt. I wasn't trying to have the poor guy fall for me. Now what?”

“Look, with Kevin it's too late, he's hooked. All you can do is try to hold him off for a while.
If he's the man I think he is, we may be able to tell him the truth, at least, that you are transgendered, making a transition. Not any stuff with Morales, that could lead to trouble.”

“What do you mean by trouble?” Ginny asked

“Testosterone will flow between those two. Kevin already disliked Morales for who he is, no need to add you into the mix. If you get outed, Morales might recognize Gene underneath the hair and make-up. We need to be careful. Hey, isn't time you paid your way here? I'm starving, what's for lunch?”

“Okay, how about soup and sandwiches? I was thinking of minestrone soup, and baked ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches. How does that sound? We also have bread and butter pickles and potato chips, a four course lunch,” she laughed.

“Lets eat, we'll talk about where to look for a car for you over sandwiches; Kevin later.”

I turned on the tv. There was a college football game on all three networks, so I put on the Boston College, West Virginia game. We watched that while we ate, all thoughts of romance and used cars flew out of our minds. BC lost by a touchdown in the last minute.

On to used cars.

“Ginny, do you want to buy a car and finance it or pay cash outright? My advice is, you are still being paid under the table so to speak, no-one will lend you money, without a job. We'll talk to Steve on Monday about that. In the meantime, if you don't spend a lot of money, you can buy it outright.”

“I don't want a piece of junk, but you forget, I drove trucks for a while, I know a good car when I see it, I can also fix them!”

“Okay, lets go to the computer to see what's out there for used, mid-sized SUVs. I like the Honda CRV for the price, their reliability can't be beaten.”

“Let's look at the Toyota RAV4 too,” Ginny said, “it's a nice little car.”

I booted up my laptop and typed in the Honda on Firefox. A list of places came up and I selected a dealer that was across the street from the new project in Lynn, the idea being, if a problem came up, we could walk there from the office.

Three CRVs were in stock, along with two RAV4s. Jackpot!

A red 2008 CRV with 62,000 miles looked great. It had a leather interior, CD player, and heated seats. The asking price was $11,000, well in our range. A gray 2014 CRV, equipped the same with only 28,000 miles was available for $19,000. A little too much.

Both of the RAV4s were 2009's one was $9,500, the other was $8,700. the first one had 80,000 miles, the other had 67,000.

The CRV and both Toyotas were in our price range, so we decided to go there first. This was on the Lynnway, so there were several other used and new car dealerships we could go to without having to drive all over the place.

The next locations with SUVs in our range were on Route 114. There must be ten dealerships on that road, including a CarMax, something new, they specialize in pre-owned vehicles. I think I saw that they are all over the country, and if you want a car in Florida they will ship it to you
for a small price, sometimes free.

After deciding to go looking tomorrow morning at 11am, I went back to the television to improve my mind. Ginny's mind being improved enough, she sat down with a book by Andre Norton. Ginny apparently likes classic science fiction.

For years, I thought Andre was a man, and it wasn't until a couple of years ago I discovered he was a she. I guess in the era she was writing, there were no female sci-fi authors, what a shame.

My fix for the wives of crooked politicians, who are crooked lawyers themselves, fulfilled, I changed the TV channel to the early news, mainly for tomorrow's weather forecast.

The Bruins lost, but the Celtics won in the last few seconds. There was a major house fire in Lynn, burning as we watched; a three alarm fire in East Boston last night, and 20 porpoises beached themselves in Cohassett.

The weather on Sunday would be above normal at 55 degrees, and breezy with sun most of the day. Perfect weather to spend $10,000 on a used car.

Ginny and I did the Walton's bedtime routine, and went to our respective beds, and I anyway, slept until 8 AM.

I awoke to the odor of coffee filling the condo, could bacon be far behind? I ran into the loo, did my morning business, washed up, passed a comb through my hair, and headed for the kitchen.

I was handed a mug of steaming coffee by Ginny. “Bacon, eggs, and toast,” she asked with a grin, “or just a bagel?”

“BET of course,” I answered, “any orange juice left?”

We settled in with our eggs and a section of the Sunday Globe, they ought to sell that paper by the pound, it's so big.

Breakfast finished, we headed to our make-up tables to work our miracles once more. I finished before Ginny, of course, nothing to do with gender, I just don't work at it as hard as she does.

With our war paint on, we headed for the Explorer and the car lot in Lynn. After about 15 minutes we pulled into the first car dealership.

“How do you want to do this?” I asked Ginny.

“Why don't you take the lead, that will let me really check out the cars with no one bothering me,”she said. “I'll know right off if there's something hidden.”

A smiling salesman came out of their office and asked if he could help us find a car. I said we saw two Honda CRVs on their web site and we'd like to see those.

He led us to the red 2008 first, ran through the car's options, then asked if we wanted to go for a test ride. We answered yes, and I got in behind the steering wheel, Ginny in the front passenger's seat, while the salesman got in the back behind Ginny. I drove down the Lynnway, over the bridge and stopped at the old Fire Station. Ginny and I switched seats, and she drove back over the bridge. Then she really put the car through its paces. We got to the long causeway to Nahant, and she sped up to 90 mph, making the salesman shout “If we get pulled over by the cops, it's my butt, not yours.”

With that, Ginny slowed to the speed limit, and pulled into the Dunkin Donuts, I asked the salesman if he wanted a coffee also. “Yes, please, but let me pay, after all I'm supposed to be talking you into buying this car.”

We'd had an uneventful ride back to the dealership. “What do you think of the CRV?” he asked me, “Do you want to talk price, or would you like to see something else?”

I mentioned the Toyota RAV4s. He said they had a deposit on one of them, but the one with 80,000 miles was still there. We got in as before, with me driving first and Ginny second. In my opinion, I liked the Honda better, the ride and handling seemed better then it did in the RAV4. Ginny agreed.

After parking the Toyota, we followed him to his cubicle to talk price. I led off, saying we liked the Honda, but not at that price, Ginny surprised me by making a counter offer of $9500. Same price as the RAV4. He shook his head, “Not enough. I need $10,500.”

“That's not going to happen,” Ginny said. “$9500, or we are out the door and heading for the next car lot.”

“I have to ask the manager how much I can take off the price.” He said.

“Tell him it's cash, not a trade, or financing, $9500 in cash.” Ginny said again.

He hopped up like he had springs for legs, and headed for a room in the back. He returned in 10 minutes with a grey-haired man and introduced him as Tom Greenly, the owner.

“What will it take to put you in this car?” he asked.

I started to laugh, somehow I expected him to use that old line. “I had hoped you would be more original.”

Greenly looked at me and said, “How's this, you have a deal. $9500 in cash. Now, let's go into my office and do the paperwork.”

I looked at Ginny and smiled, “Nice going kiddo, you have a car. Now I can get chauffeured around for a change.”

We went over the bill of sale, the insurance forms, and the title for the Registry of Motor Vehicles. We opted to have them take care of the registration and insurance for a $100 fee. The insurance broker was just down the street, but closed on Sundays, likewise the RMV.

Ginny counted out ninety-five 100 dollar bills, and received a receipt for cash paid. Tom Greenly said her car would be ready Monday after lunch. He thanked us for our business, and said, “See you girls on Monday.”

Girls! I hate being called that! I haven't been a girl for ten years, I'm a woman, dammit.

Now to go home and talk about how to deal with my flirt of a “cousin”.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 25

As we drove home along the shore road, you couldn't help but be in awe of the waves smashing into the seawall, and flying 20 feet into the air. Another offshore storm was sending big waves for our entertainment. Why would I want to live anywhere else?

When we arrived home, Ginny got out first, unlocked the door, and went straight for the kitchen. As I came in I heard water running in the sink. Ginny was filling the tea kettle with fresh water. I sat at the table as she placed the kettle on a rear burner and turned on the gas.

“The water should be hot enough in ten minutes,” she said. “I'm still excited about buying a car, those Hondas are nice.”

“I'm glad you're so happy. Think about me, now I can sit back and enjoy the scenery once in a while, as you drive. But now we need to talk. You are flitting around like a butterfly in heat. It's got to at least slow down, if not stop.”

Ginny made the tea, while I got milk from the refrigerator. My favorite tea is Red Rose English Breakfast tea, good and strong. With other teas, I use two tea bags.

“What do you mean, 'a butterfly in heat'? she asked. “I'm just enjoying myself a little. I don't mean anything by it.”

“Tell that to Kevin and Morales, those two are almost drooling over you. When you are nearby, they act like two rival bucks. It has to stop. You're going to blow this.”

Ginny looked out the window, “I can't explain it, I”m not gay, I never looked at guys before.
But now that I'm Ginny, Every good looking guy I see I check out, I can't help myself. Your friend Kevin makes me want to jump on him. I never felt like this before, help me out, please.”

By this time she was crying, with deep sobs. This made me feel like a real stinker, but I pressed on anyway.

“That's what I'm trying to do. Look Ginny, it's too late with Kevin, let's take a deep breath and think how to handle him. Eventually, we need to tell him the truth, then hope he doesn't fly off the hook. He may even still want to see you romantically, I don't know.”

“I hope he does. I'm not teasing him, I like him, really like him, you know?” she looked so pitiful when she said this, my eyes were starting to leak also. “How do I tell him I have the wrong plumbing, or at least the same as his, without driving him to want to beat the hell out of me and probably you too?”

“That's happened a lot, but usually in a pick-up at a singles bar. Things move along quickly, then oops, the man has had a few, his manhood is threatened, and he feels like a homosexual. By beating the stuffing out of another 'man' he restores his self image. The poor TV/TG is lucky to recover. I've heard of TG's hooking to raise money for treatments, even for surgery, but that's not you, and that's not Kevin, at least I don't think so.”

“So what do I do about Kevin?” she wailed.

“Okay, you need to go slow, act like he's a friend. No more riding double, hip to hip in the jog cart to start. No touching, or bumping into, yes I saw that. You're not even on estrogen yet, so no excuses. What's going to happen then, I can't imagine,” I took a breath, “Are you getting this?”

“Yes, I am,” Ginny said. “Cool it around Kevin, don't make things worse.”

“Not just Kevin, if you keep making eyes at that young Swampscott cop, you'll really startsomething that can only end in disaster. Where ever you go, you act like a dog in heat. You did it today with that car salesman.”

“Yeah, but I saved money, with that one.”

I finally had to laugh, I mean what am I going to do with her? It's like having an eighteen year old trying out her new sexuality at any chance she gets.

“Just turn it down a little. I think the scenario with Kevin will work out. Now, what are you going to make for supper? It's getting late. While you come up with something, I have to get rid of all this tea I've drunk, I'm bursting.”

Somewhere Ginny had a ham tucked away. We had baked ham with pineapple slices, au gratin potatoes, and fresh asparagus for dinner, with Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey for desert.

We headed for the couch and the tv remote. Ginny took custody of that, she's not totally a girl yet! She flicked through the channel guide and settled on a Hallmark show 'Mystery Woman'.
Not too bad, but it will never be on the main networks. At ten, we watched a new show with Ted Danson, pretty good. During the news, I reminded Ginny, her car would be ready tomorrow afternoon. It's a good thing each condo came with two parking spaces, otherwise come winter and snow it would be a real pain in the neck.

We made our good nights, and headed for our respective beds.

The next thing I knew, that darn alarm was going off, Four thirty again!

I hopped into the bathroom, took care of business, and stepped into the shower, I was successful in keeping my hair dry. This would save time, time I could spend over the newspaper. I sat at the make-up table and made my normal feeble attempt at beautification. I need lessons from Ginny! I gave myself a spray of perfume, tossed on a fresh pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, then headed for the kitchen, beating Ginny there for once.

I turned on the coffee maker, went to the front door, picked up the newspaper. and headed back to the kitchen. By now Ginny was there, drinking a cup of coffee, and munching on a cold bagel. I filled my cup with New England morning blend, I like these Kurigs. I sat down and flicked through the Herald quickly, looking for something else on the drug busts.

On page four, there was a short story on the State and Lynn police working together on arresting MS-13 members. MS-13 was thought to be a major transporter of drugs north to the New England area. That's probably where the trucking company got its supply. Our 'friend' Morales was mentioned, but the police had no evidence tying him to MS-13 or the McDonald's trucking, except his partial ownership in the company.

I looked at my watch and said, “We better go, Ginny, even though the ride is shorter, I don't want to be late. If I was a man, no one would care, but let a woman come in five minutes late,and it's a big deal.”

“Let me drive,” She said, “You can sit back and enjoy the view.” With that she turned left on Humphrey Street, heading for Lynn Shore Drive. As we went past the Junior College, I said to her to keep going to the McDonald's drive through. I wanted a couple of breakfast burritos and another cup of coffee.

“That sounds good, I'll get the same,” she said, “Should I stay in the right lane?”

“As soon as you pass Wendy's get over, the entrance comes up quick after Commercial Street. Go slow.”

We went through the ordering lane, and I handed Ginny a twenty dollar bill. “It's on me, you need to save your money for surgery if that is really what you want. You need to think of this, you know honey, and before your appointment with the shrink.”

We got our breakfast and headed for the office trailer, went inside and ate sitting at my desk.

We had nothing to do for a while, at least until the architects and surveyors showed up, so I told Ginny now was a good time to surf the internet, checking on web sites that interested her.

I sat at the laptop and typed in a local tack shop's website. After lusting after new $2000.00 saddles, I came back down to reality, and ordered a new Hunt bridle, mine was a little shabby for the show circuit. After the new bridle was broken in, I'd go back to using the old one in lessons.

Ginny wasted no time in investigating doctors and hospitals that did SRS surgery around the world. She was surprised to find a place in Colorado called the transgender surgery capital of the world. After two hours, with copious notes, she came into my office and flopped in a chair.

“You won't believe what I've found,” Ginny said. “Did you know the larger your penis is, the deeper penetration you can later have during sex? And if your penis is short, or you want the preferred method, a piece of your colon is used. This gives 10 inches of penetration.”

Well by now, my face was bright red in embarrassment. “You're telling me more than I want to know about this stuff Ginny.”

“Wait, wait,” she said “You haven't heard the best part! At this clinic in Thailand, they say that if the colon was used, and I quote, “No water or food until fart.” Honest to God Ellen, that is what they say in their brochures. Isn't that a hoot?”

“Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?” I asked, “You're not taking estrogen yet, and you are looking at fees and surgical procedures. Walk before you run.”

The phone rang, thankfully stopping this discussion. It was the consultant , saying he'd be out here tomorrow with the architect to go over the building and site plans before the surveyors showed up next week.

The phone rang again as soon as I hung up, this time for Ginny. It was Tom Greenly, the owner of the car dealership. Apparently, her SUV could be picked up any time. The runner had been to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and breezed through quickly, the insurance company received the fax of all information and all Ginny had to do was call them and make a payment with her charge card.

She told Greenly we would be by at noon to get her car, hung up, dialed the number for the insurance company, went over the coverage she wanted, then gave them her card numbers.

“All set, we'll walk over, and ride back in style. Kelly's for lunch on me.” she said

And that's just what we did!

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 26

We returned to the office in Ginny's new ride and carried our lunches inside. I haven't had a roast beef sandwich in a long time, and this one had my mouth watering.

After doing everything except eating the wrapper, I was content to sit back and look at the bay and the wheeling seagulls, but Ginny had other ideas.

“Ellen, can we talk about my future? I mean, I can't follow you everywhere like a dog; I need to do things on my own,” she said, interrupting the silent communication I was having with a large seagull attempting to break a muscle shell on the roof of my Explorer.

“Ginny, keeping in mind your status, you can do or go wherever you wish. You could've asked to use my car. I would have let you.”

Ginny started to speak, but I interrupted her. “But please don't try to go clubbing alone! I'll go with you. That's how girls like you get badly beaten, by disappointed bar pickups, when they find out your secret. It's dangerous for me, but three times worse for you.”

“I hear what you are saying, but what can I do? I'm going crazy staying in the house at night all the time.”

“Were you a playboy when you were Gene, or is this something new?” I asked her. “Just lay low for awhile,that's all I ask.”

She looked at me, shrugged, and said “I'm sorry Ellen, you're right. I need to just chill, at least for a while. I'll be good.”

I looked at my phone, saw the time, shut down the desktop, yelled to Ginny that there was no overtime, and to pack-up and head home. As we started home I asked if we needed to stop anywhere. Ginny suggested we stop at a supermarket, so she can get the fixing for a couple of nights' supper. I headed for the Stop and Shop in Vinin Square.

Ginny found a cart and headed for the meat department. She got a roast beef, a small turkey, and a canned ham. While she was doing this, I got a package of burger patties, chicken wings, and Italian sausages. We went to the Deli counter, took a number, and waited our turn.

As I stood there, from behind me I heard, “My day has improved, look who's here.”

Kevin!

Ginny turned around, all thoughts of potato salad and cold cuts forgotten. “Your day? You just put mine over the top.”

All thoughts of our conversation yesterday went out the window. Looks like there was no avoiding this, we had to have a serious talk with him, and now.
“Kevin are you doing anything for supper?” I asked, “If you're free, why don't you follow us home and eat with us, Ginny's a marvelous chef.”

With that, he perked up. “Thank you, That sounds great. Chef? Not cook?”

“I went to gourmet cooking school in Cambridge,”she said. “I can make a fancy entrée from hotdogs and beans.”

“Hey, what's wrong with franks and beans?” he said. ”I grew up on that along with brown bread.”

“I'll guarantee, no hotdogs tonight Kevin,” Ginny promised.

While this was going on, I just stood there rolling my eyes, thinking what did I do to deserve this?

“Kevin, we'll do the supper and desert, why don't you pick up some red wine? Do you like cheese cake? The bakery here does a great cake.”

“Who doesn't like cheese cake. I'll head for the liquor store now and meet you at the bank across the street.”

We quickly finished our shopping, Ginny almost running from one aisle to another. We went through the checkout headed for the car, hardly speaking a word. Once inside, I decided to break the silence.

“When Kevin gets there, please don't act like a she dog in heat. We'll have a drink, while you start cooking. This will give me time to lay the groundwork for what's to come. He's going to be shocked, but I think he'll listen. He's too good a friend to loose.”

“She dog in heat?” she shrieked. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know what I mean, look how you act. It's like he's an ice cream cone, that you want to lick.”

“Yeah, I could do that,” she grinned, “Am I that obvious? Okay, I'll tone it down, you do all the talking tonight, cuz.”

We passed Kevin's truck, and headed home, with him close behind. We pulled in to the driveway, I headed to the front door, while Kevin and Ginny got the groceries, and unloaded them in the kitchen. With three of us working, things were put away in a jiffy.

I headed for my bedroom to change, while Ginny entertained Kevin in the living room. I was back out in record time, not wanting to leave those two together too long. Ginny changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, and headed for the kitchen.
“Kevin, we've known each other for quite a while, I consider us good friends. We trust each other, don't we?”

“Ellen, what are you leading up to? Is something wrong? Are you or Ginny sick? Just ask, I'll help in any way I can.”

Damn, after that, I felt sick telling him, but I had to! “Kevin, you must have an open mind about what I'm going to tell you. Do you know who Caitlyn Jenner is? And who she used to be?”

He gave me a funny look, “Bruce Jenner was an Olympic Athlete who decided he was really a woman and decided to live as one. He also had surgery to enhance his appearance, I'm not sure if he had the surgery to make him a complete woman though. Wait a minute, you can't mean, I mean, you look like, ah hell, Ellen, I will still like you, even if you were once a guy. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. But tell me, what was your name before, well, before you became Ellen?

I almost hit him. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry , I mean, I'm the woman here. Ginny must be really be chuckling in the kitchen if she heard this. Oh well, here goes nothing!

“You can't be that thick. I'm not talking about me, you blockhead!”

“Well then who? You certainly don't mean your cousin!” He stopped, looked at me, looked at Ginny, looked back at me, “No, you're kidding, it's impossible! You two are playing a joke, you mean Ginny is a man?”

“Well, you flatterer, I don't mean me, for goodness sake. Wow, how to ruin a girl's confidence. You have been around horses too long. Of course I mean Ginny. She started out as Gene, but she's not him any more, and please don't call her anything else but Ginny or Virginia.”

About this time Ginny joined us, and sat beside me on the sofa. “Did you tell him? Is everything okay?”

“Ask him,” I said. “You're doing something right, he thought I meant me!”

With that, she started to laugh, looking back and forth between Kevin and me, tears of laughter running down her cheeks. “You, oh no. That's priceless.”

Poor Kevin, he sat frozen in his chair, mouth wide open, staring at my femme fatale of a cousin.

He finally came to life, got up, headed for the bottle of bourbon I had left on the counter, grabbed a glass, poured a generous amount and swallowed it in one move.

Returning to his chair, he finally spoke. “You fooled me. Sorry Ellen, between the two of you, I chose wrong, will I be forgiven?”

I got up and made Ginny and I a drink and refreshed Kevin's.

I asked, ”You must have a million questions, now's the time, fire away.”

He looked at Ginny, “Are you a transvestite?”

“No,” Ginny said.

“Are you gay? I mean you seemed to be very attracted to me sexually, I could feel the vibes, and responded back. Now I feel embarrassed, crap!”

“Oh, Kevin, I feel terrible, I'm not gay and neither are you. This is difficult, you see, inside, under this skin, I am a female, just like Ellen. She was born with the proper plumbing, I wasn't. So when you kissed me, it was a girl you were kissing. This is so hard to explain.”

At this point, I jumped in. “Do you know the term 'transgender'? This is now becoming a term used to describe people like Ginny. There are horror stories of parents attempting to 'cure' their children with this 'affliction'. There have just been laws passed to prevent the restraint and 'treatment' of children who are 'confused'.

“Ginny is a woman as much as I am, it's now up to you to accept this, or reject her and head home.”

“Wow, This is a lot to digest. Ginny, how do you feel about me?”

Ginny took a deep breath, let it out and said, “Oh, Kevin, I think I was falling in love with you. That's over I guess. I never felt attracted to a man before this. Don't hate me.”

“Hate you? I was falling for you, I love you! I love Ginny, with or without the correct plumbing. What does that make me?”

Ginny stood walked across the floor and kissed him on the cheek, “It makes you human.”

“I hate to break this up kids, but my nose tells me dinner may be ready.”

Ginny shrieked, and ran to the oven. “Quick, give me a pot holder, something, I've got to get this bird out of there before it's ruined.”

While she played Julia Child, I refreshed Kevin's and my drinks.

“That makes you a great guy,”I told him, “I hoped you would react this way.”

He then got a kiss from me too.

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 27

Dinner was delicious; Ginny really is a great cook, I'm sorry, chef. The turkey was nice and moist, sliced to perfection. I really have to ask her to show me how to carve a roast bird. She took Stove Top dressing, added something to it, and made it taste like mother used to make. Mashed potato with white turnip, fresh asparagus, and gourmet cranberry sauce completed the main course.

All you heard for thirty minutes was chewing and silverware clicking on the china plates.

Oh my, I thought. I'm eating too much, but I can't help myself. Everything tastes so good! Damn! I must leave room for cheesecake and coffee.

Finally, everyone pushed their plates away, and sat back.

“That was incredible Ginny,” Kevin said. ”The gravy and stuffing were out of this world. It's been a long time since I had a turkey dinner like that, delish!”

I added my praise to Kevin's, and this caused her face to turn crimson, and she became tongue-tied.Oh boy, is she hung-up on him.

While Kevin helped Ginny clear the table and put the left-overs in the fridge, I made a real pot of coffee, and put the cheesecake on the counter alongside plates and desert forks. Somehow we found room for a generous slice each.

“Kevin, now that we're finished dinner, we owe you a further explanation about Ginny, and why she's living with me. Why don't we pour some coffee, and sit on the couch. Ginny and I will tell you a story that's right out of a television show.

Ginny and I took turns recounting what happened; from Gene overhearing the plans for shipping drugs, my hiding him when they came looking for him, to her coming with me to the office working as my secretary.

“I didn't intend to lead you on, but for the first time in my life, I felt like a real woman, and wanted to show it off,” she said. “What I didn't expect was to fall in love with you.”

Before she could continue, Kevin jumped in.

“Ginny, are you a man or a woman? I have to know. I'm not gay, but you make me doubt whether or not I am. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Oh Kevin,” Ginny wailed, “you're not gay, neither am I. It's just so hard to explain this. I'm a woman in my mind, I have been since I was six years old. I would dress up in my sister's clothes when she was out. If a woman is attracted to a man, that's not homosexuality, no matterwhat kind of plumbing her body has.”

She looked at me for help. “Ellen help me out with this, can you?”

I took a deep breath, aware of two sets of eyes fixed on my face. “Alright, here goes, Ginny is on a drug called Aldactone. This is an anti-androgen, which means it suppress testosterone. She has an appointment with another doctor on Friday. If things go okay, this doctor will put Ginny on a powerful hormone, Oestrogen.
This will have the effect of improving her skin, creating curves and breasts, and making her moods swing all over the place. After living as a woman for at least a full year while taking these hormones, her doctors may recommend her for surgery. It's a long road, and she will need a lot of support from friends and family.”

Kevin was taken back at this. “A year and a half! Wow, they want no errors, I guess.”

“We have a bigger problem, it's Morales. He's hot after Gene. The big raid at McDonald's Trucking last week took some heat off, but Ginny overheard plans and names of guys that move drugs up and down New England. If the State Police get her testimony, a lot more will go to prison including Mister Morales. To make things worse, Ginny found and kept $50,000 in cash stored in a compartment under the passenger seat of his truck.”

I could see Kevin was getting upset, thinking about Morales and Ginny.

“So you see how important it is that no-one sees through me and comes up with Gene,” Ginny put in. “Half the time I'm terrified people will see through the make-up and laugh at me, the rest of time I'm just scared.”

“What can I do to help?” Kevin asked “I'm in this for the long haul, what ever you need, just ask and it's yours.”

“That is so good to know, but right now all I need is a hug.” Ginny stood up and held out her arms. With no hesitation Kevin stood and walked into her outstretched arms.

“I could use a hug too,” I said feeling like a third wheel.

Hugs and kisses over, every one pitched in with the dishes, and no, I never got my hug.

Afterwards, we returned to the living room to talk strategy.

I explained just how important it was to maintain the stories we told about Ginny's past.

“Two police departments know Ginny as my cousin. The story is, she used to live on Cape Cod with her boyfriend. This relationship ended when she came north to live with me. It was an abusive relationship, and we must assume her ex-boyfriend is looking for her. This will explain why Ginny and I are careful about where we go, and why we try to stay in the background.”

“We never expected Morales would show up at the barn, and that I'd be having riding lessons with his daughter. Any ideas on how to get around this?”

Kevin and Ginny were silent, thinking about a solution to this problem.

Kevin looked up. “What would happen if Ginny became friends with Tina? Morales would never expect the guy he's looking for to be his daughter's girlfriend.”

“I like that idea,” I said. “That might also stop him from trying so hard to have Ginny grab a drink and more with him.”

Ginny looked at Kevin. “No matter how much he flirts with me, you can't butt heads with him.He'll have you taken care of. You don't know him like I do.”

“He should be less likely to go after Ginny romantically with his daughter looking on. I think he would like to hit on all her friends,” I added.

“Ellen's right Ginny, I think Tina would be pissed at the old man if he did this. None of her friends would ever be comfortable around him if he hit on them.”

I looked at the two of them and said, “We have a plan. Saturday I'll introduce my 'cousin' to Tina, saying she has no friends up here, just her boring older cousin who goes to bed at 10 pm. She needs friends her age.”

“Speaking of bed, it's getting late. Ginny and I have to hit the feathers, we get up at 5 am.”

Well, I went to bed, I assume Ginny went to bed, but with company. This wasn't my plan, but what the heck, just how much could happen? They're only going to snuggle, right?

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 28

I woke up at 5 AM, thanks to that alarm of mine, with no problem. As I headed
for the bathroom, I remembered our house guest. I stopped and grabbed my terrycloth bathrobe from the foot of my bed. It would be just my luck to provide an extra bonus for Kevin by walking nude to the shower.

I got there first, locked the door, peed, wiped myself, and stepped into the shower.
I wasn't in there ten minutes before someone was banging on the door.

“Please let me in, I can't wait, hurry!” said a high voice, “C'mon Ellen, hurry.”

I stepped out, and stretching, reached the door, “Ginny, you can come in, Kevin
will just have to wait.”

She came flying in, “What's the rush?” I asked. “You could have peed in an empty
bottle, you're still plumbed for that, you know.”

Just before I turned the shower back on, I heard “Sure, and let Kevin see me?”

When I stepped out, I had the bathroom to myself. I toweled myself dry, grabbed
my robe and headed for my bedroom. “Next” I yelled over my shoulder, as I closed my door.

I heard what sounded like giggles and two sets of feet heading for the shower.

I guess that means Kevin had no problem with her plumbing last night, and I'm
not going to ask anything about how they managed with his.

Since no work or surveying was to go on today, I wore my cross-country trainers
instead of my boots. Might as well be comfortable; once we got going, it'd be boots and hard hat every day. After doing a make-up job that would make Max Factor jealous, (yeah, right) I headed for coffee.

I used the pot again, figuring we would have a second cup, while they explained how we had a sleep-over last night.

Eventually, Ginny and Kevin came out of her bedroom and sat at the kitchen counter.

“Okay guys, there's fresh coffee in the pot, English muffins in the bread drawer. Kevin, you need to move your truck so one of our cars can get out. Ginny, we leave in fifteen minutes, or we will be late.”

They looked at me in amazement. “Wow, you sound like a drill sergeant. Where did that come from?” Ginny asked. Before I could answer her, Kevin responded,

“Ginny, how do you think she can run a construction project with twenty hard-
arsed construction workers, by batting her eyelashes at them? She's as tough as a bale of barbed wire, kiddo, don't forget it.”

“Kevin, I have no idea where you belong, lock the door when you go please. Ginny, saddle up, we're out of here.”

With that, I spun on my heel, and headed out the door, unlocked the Explorer, and blew the horn. C'mon, Kevin, move that darn truck.

He came running down the stairs barefooted, with his keys in his hand, Ginny right behind him. She got into my car at the same time he got into his. Huh, a new Olympic event, synchronized car entry.

He backed up enough for me to leave. In my rear view mirror, I saw him park in my spot and continue on into the condo.

'Hope he puts the toilet seat down,' I was thinking as we drove down Shore Drive.

“Ginny, were you able to eat something?” I asked.

“Not really, can we stop somewhere to get coffee and doughnuts?”

“Sure, How does Honey Dew sound?”

She looked at me, “Anyplace with coffee and food is great. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.”

I started laughing “And whose fault is that? You two weren't that quiet, you know,”

Ginny's face reddened, “It started as spooning, but that lead to one thing then it lead to another. Pretty soon we were......”

“Stop!” I yelled, “I don't want to hear anymore, I have a picture in my mind already, that's enough.”

“Hey Ellen, think of it this way, I won't get pregnant.”

“What have I created?” I moaned, “Do I need to buy you a chastity belt?”

It was our turn to order. I asked for two large black coffee with cream and sugar on the side, and a dozen mixed doughnuts. Amazingly, that ate most of a twenty dollar bill.

I merged back out onto the Lynnway, and fought my way to the left lane and the
U-turn traffic lights.

“How did I get stuck with driving again?”

“You wanted to leave so fast, I barely had time to put on lippy this morning.”

“Ginny, when you bring a man to your bed, usually he leaves first. You don't tell him to lock up when he goes. Boy, I didn't think we'd need that discussion so soon.”

She just looked at me and smirked.

I pulled into the future job site, ending that conversation, at least for now.

We settled in at her desk in the bigger of the two rooms. We made our coffees the way we preferred them, and started in on the doughnuts.

“Weren't we going to look at the different places that perform GRS surgery?” Ginny asked.

I could see she really wanted to have my opinion on the options.

“Okay, why don't we do that now. Pull up a couple of sites, and let me read about them. First, if possible, do you want to have it done in the USA, Thailand or in England?”

“Well, here is the Thailand hospital with the most information. It's called the,
Asia Cosmetic Hospital. They list the prices for a lot of different plastic surgeries along with the creation of a vagina and the outer lips, See, here are before after photographs. Can you tell these aren't natural?”

By now, I'm bright red with embarrassment, but hanging in there.

“The price is less, but once you factor in airfare, and hotels back and forth, they're the same as others.”

She clicked on a hospital,in England. Basically they performed the same surgeries for the same prices, but again, factoring in airfare and hotel stays, the price was about $30,000.

“Here is the one that stood out to me,” she said, “ It's in the US, in Trinidad, Colorado. It's called the “Sex Change Capital of the World.” The doctor who is performing the surgery was actually a patient herself. She took over the practice from the doctor who operated on her twenty-five years ago. The price is $18,000 for the GRS surgery and an a-la-carte pricing for the other surgeries.”

“Well Ginny, I would feel more comfortable with going to a hospital in the United States. The biggest reason is the language barrier in Thailand along with the distance factor if you were to go to England or there.”

We sat back thinking. She looked at me, smiled and said “You know, we could
fly out there and take a tour of the facility. Take a four day weekend before this job starts up.”

“You have an appointment with Doctor Singh next week; why don't we ask her what she thinks before making reservations? We also would need to get a hotel room. I'm going back to studying the plans, why don't you check motel availability for the next couple of weeks?”

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen for fixing the typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 29

Knowing I wouldn't get ten minutes peace until Ginny got this trip out of her system, so I called Doctor Singh's office on the phone. Luckily she had a few minutes to spare to talk to me. We discussed my diabetes, the weather, and finally got around to the reason I called.

“Doctor, Ginny is becoming obsessed with having surgery, to the point that she's making hotel and plane reservations so we can look at this surgical hospital.”

She had a minute of silence, then said, “Oh my God, all the way to Thailand, that's going to cost a fortune for the two of you.”

I chuckled. “Sorry, to Trinidad, Colorado, not to Thailand.”

“Big difference! So what's the harm in that; the two of you get a little vacation, and Ginny gets to see what she's getting into. I will more that likely recommend she continue with her hormones and recommend a physiologist to her.”

I could hear her talking to her nurse in the background. “Ellen, have a nice trip, and smile.”

With that, I hung up, leaned back in my chair, and looked at my calendar, wondering what I did to deserve this.

All this time Ginny was on the computer, clicking away. “Hey Ellen, I've got the info on Trinidad, want to hear it?”

“Okay, I'll come to you, don't move.”

I have to say this about her, she leaves no stone unturned when she wants something.

“To fly to Trinadad, we could take either United or American Air Lines from Boston to Colorado Springs Municipal airport, tickets are $404 each for a round trip. From there we rent a car and drive 113 miles to the intersection of Routes 25 and 160. When we get to Trinidad, we have a choice of six hotels for $70 a night. Should I make reservations and call the clinic to let them know we're coming?”

I was overwhelmed by the information she was able to get in less than an hour.

“Alright, make flight reservations for as early as possible for Monday, and reserve us a car at Colorado Springs. Which hotels did you come up with?”

Ginny looked at her notes, “Holiday Inn, Quality Inn, Super 8.”

I interrupted her, “Why don't you try the Holiday Inn, then if they don't have a room, try the Super 8. I don't mind sharing, so get a room with two beds, otherwise I'll tell Kevin you were cheating on him.”

“How could I cheat on him?........Oh! Ellen, you are nasty!”

I returned to my office and booted up my laptop. Once I typed in my password, it quickly went to my home page. I typed in eBay, signed in, and searched for 'saddles, hunt'.

Several pages of saddles in different sizes and styles came up. I wasn't going to buy, just doing what a girl does best, shopping!

After an hour, Ginny came over to my desk holding a notepad.

“Okay,” she said, “we're all set. We fly out of Logan at 8:57am on United, we arrive in Colorado Springs at 12noon, their time. I rented a Toyota Corolla, and I have a room at the Holiday Inn with two queen-sized beds, checking in on Monday and leaving on Thursday.

Our flight from Colorado Springs leaves at 11am, and arrives in Boston at 5:30pm. We should allow a good two hours driving time to cover the 113 miles between Trinidad and Colorado Springs.”

“Wow, Ginny, we'll have to leave Trinidad at 8am, no oversleeping.”

“That shouldn't be a problem for us though,” she resumed her lecture. “I spoke with several people at the hospital. They are very happy to have us come for a visit, and will make sure we can talk with a surgeon, several nurses, and a therapist or two.”

I started laughing, “You were a truck driver?”

She gave me a dirty look , spun on her heel, and flounced her way back to her desk. Now I know what flouncing is. That started another round of laughing on my part, and soon both of us were giggling.

At this point Steve Brady stepped inside. He looked from Ginny to me and back.

“This is why I'll never understand women. What's so funny? Let me in on it.”

“You wouldn't understand Steve, girl stuff.”

“Dammit, that's what I mean, Your humour is as hard to understand as those Brits in England.”

That started us off again, I think we both peed ourselves a little. But I wasn't going to tell Steve that.

“What's the time table with the surveyors?” he asked. “Are they coming this year?”

“I spoke with them this morning Steve, they will be out here to do a site survey with elevations starting tomorrow, finishing on Friday. Then when we call them again, they should respond in two days.”

“Now, some family business, Ginny and I need to take four days next week, this should work pretty good with the schedule of what's going on out here. They have your cell number if the fit hits the shan.”

“Sounds like you have your finger on the pulse, as usual.” Steve said “Do the surveyors have a set of prints?”

“The consultants took care of that, one less thing to worry about.”

He looked around the office, his eyes stopping briefly at Ginny's chest, before saying, “Off to the old job to see how badly my idiot nephew has screwed up. Bye girls.”

He went out the door, into the truck, and with a chirp of tires, down the road.

For five minutes , Ginny heard me muttering to myself, finally she walked over and asked if I was upset about something.

“That Steve, he knows I hate to be called a girl, he does it all the time, just to stir me up!”

The rest of the week was uneventful; there was a couple of small stories about drugs in the newspaper; one of them said bikers were bringing drugs north, to be distributed by a trucking company.

After work on Friday, Ginny and I got our heads together to figure out the best way to introduce her to Tina Morales on Saturday. My idea was to arrive early, get my horse ready, then walk down to Tina's horse's stall, introducing Ginny to her then. Her father usually sat in his car making phone calls, until the lesson was almost over, so he shouldn't be there. I had Ginny call Kevin to let him know the plan. Amazing, the phone call took over an hour! Ah well, young love.

To be continued

Thanks to Bronwen for fixing the spelling and typos.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 30

Saturday dawned damp and cold; I really hated to toss back the duvet, but the loo called. I finished my business, and stepped into the shower. A shower is a great place to think, and I kept going over in my head our plans for dealing with the Morales threat. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

Ginny started banging on the door, “If you're going to be in there so long, leave the door unlocked.”

I gave her the answer I used before. “Go pee in a jar, you still can you know.”

This happens too often with two women wanting the bathroom. But I saw Janet Leigh get it in the shower, so even when I was alone, I locked the door.

I quickly wrapped a towel around me, and unlocked the door. Ginny almost knocked me over in her rush for the toilet. I admit I snickered a little as I walked back to my bedroom. I put on my bra and panties and sat down in front of my vanity table, determined to look at least as good as Ginny today. I found things I haven't used in months in the drawers. Moisturizer! What is this used for? Lip liner! Why would I want to write a line around my lips? I think I need to ask Ginny for tips on how to look girly.

Oh well, I just did what I do every other day, a little mascara and a light pink lippy. A quick squirt of smell good and I was done.

I put on my riding jodhpurs and boots and threw a sweater over a long sleeved jersey, figuring it would be cold in Cathy's unheated arena.

By this time Ginny was out of the shower, made up and dressed in a pair of jeans and cross country trainers.

“Perfect timing Ginny, why don't you toss a couple of bagels into the toaster oven and I'll make coffee.”

I went to the door,, retrieved the morning newspaper, and looked at the front page. This paper looks more and more like one you'd buy while in line at a supermarket. “Global warming linked to UFOs says scientist at Harvard.”

If true, that would take the pressure off the oil companies.

Over coffee and bagels, Ginny and I went over our plans for making friends with Tina Morales again. In the morning light, it still seemed the best way to protect Ginny from Morales' libido.

We cleaned up and headed out and for once Ginny drove. There wasn't much conversation as we went north on Route 1. We both were lost in our thoughts, me about my lesson, Ginny probably about Kevin.

As per our plan, we arrived early; this would give me time to get my horse ready with time to visit Tina and introduce her to my “cousin”.

I went into Freddy's stall, removed his blanket, and started brushing his coat till it shone. While I was doing this, Ginny was overcoming her fear of horses and stood in the doorway talking to him. I went to the tack room and got my saddle and bridle from my rack on the wall.

I tacked him up and slipped his halter back on over the bridle. This allowed me to leave him and walk down to see Tina.

I gestured to Ginny to follow me and we arrived at her stall at the same time as she did.

“Morning Ellen, who's that behind you?” Tina asked, “I saw her riding in the cart with Kevin last week, But Dad and I left before I got a chance to introduce myself.”

Oh boy, this is better than what I planned!

“Tina Morales, this is my cousin Ginny, she's staying with me at the condo for a while.”

Tina stuck out her hand, “I'm happy to meet you Ginny, my, you are as pretty as can be.”

With that she opened the stall door and put her horse on the cross-ties.

“Are you interested in riding, or just here to watch?” she asked, “If you want to ride, Cathy has a beginner lesson going on now in the arena. I think there's room for one more student.”

Ginny visibly paled, “I'll never get that close to a horse.”

Tina laughed. “That's what everyone says at first, then the next time we see them, they're trotting around the arena with a smile on their face.”

She and I swapped knowing glances.

“The only way she'll trot around the ring is if she's thigh to thigh with Kevin in his cart, Tina, haven't you noticed her panting when he's around?”

Ginny turned bright red, started to stutter something, and turned away to the sound of our giggling.

“Aren't we awful? The poor kid. We should call her back and apologize,” Tina said. “I feel bad, five minutes after being introduced, I tease her.”

“She'll get over it, I tease her all the time.” I took a deep breath, “Her biggest problem is me, her old cousin. She has no other friends, especially her own age. I was going to ask if you would be interested in showing her around, maybe taking her to the mall. Every time I go with her, I get grief about my taste in fashion.”

Tina perked up at that. “I would love to, I hardly have any friends either, everyone's afraid of my father. They think he'll have them killed, especially the boys! No boy wants to deal with his stare when he picks me up.”

Oh wow, mission accomplished!

“Ginny, I'm sorry we teased you, come back.”

Reluctantly, she walked back to the stall. By now Tina was getting her horse ready, so Ginny had to stand in the doorway.

“Look Ginny, after the lesson why don't we go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee, and talk. I'll send my father home if you and Ellen will give me a ride.”

Ginny looked at me before speaking. “I'd love to, the only one I have to talk to is my ancient cousin.”

Sticks and stones will break my bones, but Ginny's digs will never kill me.

“Are you ladies ready, or do you want to gab instead of ride?” Cathy asked “Let's go, you are holding every one up.”

I slipped the halter off Freddy, grabbed a rein and led him into the arena, hopped on with the use of a mounting block, and warmed him up.

The lesson went great!

Ginny followed Tina to her stall where her father was waiting. “Dad, this is Virginia Hansen, Ellen's cousin. Ginny, this is my father, Vincent Morales.”

“Delighted to meet such a pretty lady,” he was undressing Ginny with his eyes.

“Dad, stop that! Ginny's my friend, and I want you to leave her alone. Go somewhere else and do that. You wonder why I have no friends!”

Vinny Morales actually looked sheepish. “Sorry kid, I can't help it. Ginny, forgive me. I'm pleased to meet you; I've met your cousin, but I have never seen you here before.”

“Forgiven,” Ginny said with a smile, “I finally got talked into coming up here by Ellen.”

“Daddy, why don't you head out? Ginny, Ellen, and I are going for coffee, they'll give me a ride home. I'll be fine.”

“If you're sure?” he said, “Then I'll see you when you come home.”

With that he headed back to his limo.

About this time, Kevin showed up. “How's things going?” he asked as he stepped into Freddy's stall. “I got worried.”

“It went better than I expected, Ginny met the dragon, and everything's fine, as a matter of fact, we're having coffee with Tina in a few minutes. That means no tonsil tennis between you and Ginny.”

Kevin turned a little red at that, and shrugged, “Okay, I'll walk down and say hi, before I take Doc into the arena.”

I confirmed my next lesson with Cathy, than got into the back seat of Ginny's SUV, leaving the front seat for Tina.

After a minute or two, the two girls came out and hopped into the car.

We arrived at the coffee shop and sat down. Tina and I talking horses right away. I could see Ginny's eyes starting to glaze over, so I changed the subject to the Macy's flyer I saw in the morning's newspaper. At that the two of them made plans to go there Sunday and take advantage of a pre-Christmas sale, sorry, pre-holiday sale.

We finished our coffees and with her directions drove Tina home. The two of them gabbed from Newbury all the way to Andover.

After dropping Tina off I got into the front seat. “When I make a plan, do I make a plan, or what!”

Ginny looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Thank you Ellen, but I thought I was going to faint while being introduced to Morales. He's really scary.”

“Now you have two friends, Tina and Kevin. Hey don't forget, we fly out to Colorado early Monday morning to visit that clinic. I plan to watch football games all day long with no interruptions tomorrow. Speaking of football, I think FSU is playing Georgia today. Lets get ourselves inside.

Sunday was football for me, shopping for Virginia!

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and spelling

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 31

The Patriots won by a close play in the fourth quarter, again. That horrible alarm went off at 4.30 AM, what a shock!

We needed to be at Logan Airport two hours before our flight at 8.57am. Ginny decided to have a limo pick us up at the condo at 6.30am. This will give us enough time to get to the United departures terminal by 7; we wouldn't have to fool around with finding a parking spot in the long stay parking either.

I hopped out of bed, hoping to beat Ginny to the bathroom, but the little minx beat me to it and locked the door.

“Come on Ginny I need to pee.”

“Use a wide mouth jar,” she yelled, “how does it feel?”

Okay, my bathroom, my lock, and my KEY! I quietly entered, sat, and flushed the toilet, giving her a shot of hot water.

“Eek, you fink, how did you get in?” she shrieked, “I had that door locked!”

I quickly ran back to my room and started packing, my shower could wait until Ginny was finished, and started her own packing.

“Ginny don't forget the limo is coming at 6.30. when you're done, why don't you start the coffee, and have something to eat? I'll be down in a few minutes.”

I dried off, gave my hair a quick brushing, putting it up in a ponytail, and did my normal minimal attempt at makeup. I gave myself a kiss in the mirror, grabbed my suitcase and headed for the kitchen.

“Coffee's ready, do you want oatmeal or dry cereal?”

I paused. ”I think I'll have corn flakes, I'll get them, you eat.”

About 6.20 a car horn gave a short toot. I looked through the window in the door, and flashed the porch light twice to let the limo driver know we were coming. Ginny flew by me yelling “Shotgun” and ran up to the passenger door. I walked down and stopped at the back door and stuck my tongue out, giving her the bird.

The limo driver opened the door for me and asked how long we'd been married. Ginny whooped at this, laughing so hard I suspect if she was a girl, she need to change her drawers.

“Sheesh, she's my cousin, for crying out loud.” I said.

The poor driver turned bright red, “Oh, please forgive me, when I saw how happy you both seemed, I figured you two for a couple.”

He spun away, happy to have to load our luggage into the back of the black Chevy Suburban.

“United Airlines departure terminal, correct?”

“Yes, our plane leaves at 9 AM, and don't feel embarrassed, that was a lovely complement you paid us.” I said.

The rest of the trip to the airport was smooth and quiet. I can't believe how GMC does it; this thing is a truck, and it rides as nice as a Cadillac!

We arrived at the United departures terminal in plenty of time. The driver placed our bags on a cart, and he and I went over our return flight information.

I told him we were returning at 5.30 PM from Colorado Springs airport on United Airlines. He gave me his cell number, asked if I would call if anything changed.

We hurried to the check-in desk, and got our tickets and seat assignments. Next we headed to the gate, but not until I received a free bare footed Xray courtesy of the TSA. After that we sat at the waiting area for our flight. In about 20 minutes we were called for boarding the plane. I've seen the movie twice, oh well.

We had a totally uneventful flight and landed at Colorado Springs at about noon their time. I sent Ginny for the luggage while I went to the car rental desk. I refused the optional insurance (a waste), got my keys and asked for a route map to Trinidad. The girl looked at me funny and asked why I needed a map, the car had built in GPS.

She pointed out a red Toyota Rav 4. “I gave you a free upgrade, since we had more of these than Corollas, besides us girls must stick together, it might snow.”

I opened the trunk and gave the keys to Ginny “You're the professional driver, not me, you might as well drive.”

She laughed at that, “Yes honey, I'll drive, you take it easy.”

“Stop that stuff, if was funny when the limo driver said it, now you are making me nervous.”

She just snickered, put the suitcases in the trunk, and opened the driver's door.

After about thirty minutes, I dozed off, snoring softly.

Ginny woke me about ninety minutes later. “We should be at the hotel in less than twenty minutes, I figured you'd want to be wide awake when we get there.”

I thanked her and looked at the scenery going by.

“Different than home isn't it?” I said. “I hope it doesn't snow.”

Ginny quickly found a parking spot near the entrance. I took the bags while Ginny checked us in at the reservation desk. She gave the hostess a charge card and received two room keys.

“You better not use that phony card, we may want to come back.”

“Don't worry, I used a Gene card. When we leave I'll pay cash.”

I opened the room's door and stepped in, “Oh,oh, it's only got one bed!”

Ginny picked up the phone and called the desk, I heard a few words but could tell from her body language the news was bad.

“There was a computer problem; the only vacant rooms have king size beds. No problem we can spoon together,” she said with a giggle. “You can trust me, I'm a girl too.”

“Like hell you are, you come close and I'll save you some money.” I warned. “I don't care what the limo driver thought.”

Apparently Ginny got a big kick out of this. She started to giggle, than laugh, then a case of the hiccups followed.

Now I laughed, “I'm serious you twit, one hug and it's off, cancel your visit at the clinic tomorrow.”

“Hey, what time do you want to have dinner? It's four now, how about in a hour, that's 7 PM at home.” she looked at me closely. “You're not going out of this room looking like that. I'll do your makeup tonight.”

I gave in to the greater force. She was right though, I was raised by my father, mom died when I was five. The makeup tips I got were from two friends, and they weren't very good.

“Wash your face, and sit at that table.”

I did as I was told. “The first thing you should use is moisturizer, then a light foundation to cover any blemishes. Now this darker base along the nose and the cheeks; this will make your cheekbones more prominent and appear higher. We're not going clubbing so I'll go easy on the eyes, just a little mascara, and some eye shadow to make your eyes more almond shaped. Now some lip liner, deep pink lip gloss and a little powder to set the gloss, and viola, gorgeous! Take a look in the mirror hun.

I turned in the chair and looked at a stranger staring back at me from the mirror over the desk. “Oh my god, that's me? Oh Ginny, I need help, will you teach me how to do this. You fibbed, just how long have you been dressing up?”

“Since I was fourteen, but I didn't go outside until I was a senior in high school, and no I never dated. As soon as we are home, I'll start a school of beauty. You bought all the necessary products that day at Macy's. I bet you haven't used any of it, have you?”

“It's five, why don't we go to the restaurant here? It's just past the reservations desk, that way we don't have to drive around a strange place looking for a good dinner.”

This turned out to be a good idea, My prime rib was perfect, and Ginny's steak melted in her mouth. After dinner we went into the bar and watched the Monday Night football game for a while. At 10 PM we returned to our room.

We took turns washing off the day's makeup. I decided to wear pajamas to bed. This of course started Ginny laughing again.

“Don't you trust me, I'm not a lesbian, I like guys.”

“Okay, what are you wearing to bed cousin?”

“I sleep in the nude,” she said with a gleam in her eye. “But tonight, I'm going to wear this nightgown, you can relax.”

With that we got under the covers as far apart as possible, me hoping it stayed that way!

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in fixing typos and puncuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 32

Well, I awoke with my virtue intact; however I could get used to spooning on chilly mornings, with an arm across my waist, although I would prefer a hairier arm.

I quickly ran into the loo, attended to business, and ran back to the room, waking Ginny on the way.

She had a shower first, as she had some work ahead of her making me girlier than she was. When she was finished, I went into the bathroom to shower with 'don't get your hair wet' echoing around the room.

I came out with a towel wrapped around me, and quickly dressed in bra and panties.

“Okay, sit at the table,” Ginny ordered. “Good thing you got all this makeup from our trip to Macy's.”

She started with a moisturizer whilst muttering under her breath 'OMG this will take time'. Next she brushed on foundation from my neck to my hair line, and stood back and looked at the job so far. She picked up a different brush and a darker powder; this went along my cheek bones and along my nose, causing me to sneeze.

“Sit still dammit,” she said. “The quieter you are, the faster I'm done.”

“Yes ma'am, I'll freeze.”

Next she started on my eye lashes, gluing individual lashes to my own. As if I'll do this myself. She then used a mascara pen to thicken both mine and the glued-on ones. Out came the brush again mixing a dark green with a dark blue, making my eyes more oval, and with some sparkles making them look like someone else's.

“Let me see, let me see,” I begged.

“Not yet, I still have the lips to do.”

With that she rubbed something on my lips, than took a dark red pencil thing and began outlining them. She then picked up a lip gloss in dark pink and went to town, squeezing my lips and than telling me to purse my lips. Finally after putting a little powder on my lips, she stood back, and said “TA DA, who is this mystery woman?”

“Let me see! OH MY GOD, is that me? I look beautiful! You must teach me how to do this.”

“When we get home. For now, put on the outfit I laid on the bed while I do my face.”

“I can't wear this, it only just covers my ass, not only that, I'll freeze.”

“Get dressed,” Ginny snarled. “I'm starved, let's go downstairs for the buffet.”

We filled our plates with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit before finding a table.

“Why don't you get a newspaper, and I'll get us coffee,” she said, “Black, right?”

While we ate, we scanned the local paper. Nothing earth shattering.

I let Ginny drive again. I was the navigator, easy-peasy with GPS. In no time we were pulling into the parking lot at the clinic.

After entering and walking up to a smiling Hispanic woman, we introduced ourselves. This evoked even a bigger smile, “Yes, we were expecting you two today, my name is Denise.”

Looking at me she said “Oh my, you are gorgeous, there's not much we need to do for you, what does your cousin Ellen think?”

Mission accomplished. Ginny spoke up, “Denise, I'm the prospective patient, not her.”

Poor girl she almost died from embarrassment!

“Forgive us, we did an exceptional job on Ellen's makeup, figuring most TS girls would look that way. It worked, lets see how many other times it happens today.”

She looked at me again, and asked “Cis-woman?”

“All my life.” I smiled.

She led us down a hallway to the practice's manager's office, knocked and led us into an airy room with windows along one side.

“Cathy, this is Ellen and Virginia Hanson, they're doing a visit before committing to anything. By the way girls, I transitioned in 2010. Cathy is the gal that makes this place run, and smoothly. When Cathy has filled you in, I'll be taking you around the clinic.”

“Won't you have a seat, How about a coffee or a cold drink?” she asked. “Oh my, looking at you two, I think I may make a fool of my self.” Looking back and forth again, she settled on Ginny. “It's wonderful to see family support, so many people have to go it alone.....”

She stopped, when we broke up laughing again, this time tears were threatening to ruin Ginny's hard work.

“I've got the wrong one haven't I.” she smiled. “It was planned, wasn't it? By you two? Well, you got me,” she laughed.

“We hoped to fool someone, Ginny always is on my back to do some makeup, rather than just lipstick and a little perfume. Sorry.”

“It is nice to see a woman walk in here being able to fool me and Denise both! Now, if you decide to use our services, I will be handling your whole journey, I'll guide you through the requirements, the travel details, and what to expect before, and after your surgery. Why don't you take these booklets to study. Now before I hand you back to Denise, have either of you any questions?”

Ginny thought for a minute before asking, “How much of this is covered by insurance?”

“Normally quite a bit, but Jean handles insurance and billing. You'll meet her later.”

“How long is the total stay? Recuperation?” I asked.

“Generally two weeks in all, but everyone heals at a different rate, and we can manage your pain better in the Clinic than if you were just staying in a hotel.”

“If there are no further questions, let me call Denise. She'll introduce you to Jean. Jean will fill you in on most of things you'll want to ask about insurance and to be honest, she runs the place, not me.”

Denise stuck her head around the door and asked if we were ready for our next stop. I guess we looked a little overwhelmed at this point.

Denise laughed, “It's not that bad, we won't have you go home with that look on your faces, bad for business.”

“Before we talk with Jean, why don't we have lunch in the cafeteria? Follow me.”

It was a better than average cafeteria, every thing smelled really good. I got two grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and ham slices, and a small order of french fries. Ginny got two huge slices of pizza. We both got diet Pepsi's, don't ask me why.

After we ate, Denise brought us past Cathy's office to an identical room facing the east, rather than west like Cathy's.

“Jean, here are the ladies I told you about. The taller girl is Ellen, and the dark-haired girl is Virginia. Girls, this is Jean, the heart that makes this place beat.“

She looked up, went from Ginny to me and back, before asking which one put us up to this. “It's not funny, Denise, ever since you graduated from here, you keep bringing in ringers. I'm too busy to play games.”

Now three of us were laughing. “Sorry, we decided to play a game with you all. We'll stop. I'm Ellen, this is my cousin Virginia, who may need plumbing correction.”

“Nice to meet you girls, I'm Jean. I really am the one who takes care of the important stuff, money. I'll set up office visits, I contact your insurance company to get pre-authorization on surgical fees, and I'll fight to make your Co-Pays as small as possible. I'll also make sure you and Ellen have hotel reservations.”

She smiled, “Here comes the question again, anything you wish to ask about?”

Ginny and I were overloaded with information and questions, and it must showed on our faces.

Denise looked at Jean, “Are you two staying overnight, will you be able to come back tomorrow?”

We nodded yes.

“Wonderful, Ellen, Ginny, you can sleep on the information we gave you and any questions you may have, then tomorrow I've arranged a tour. That will be a good time to clear up any questions.”

We made our goodbyes to Jean and Denise and headed for our rented Toyota. Once inside, I asked Ginny what she thought.

“It's overwhelming, a lot to take in. I am glad we're going to sleep on the information. I have a year to get ready, I guess.”

We returned to our room, kicked off our shoes and watched the news before ordering from room service.

We returned to the large single bed, “No fooling around Ginny, no spooning again!”

“Good night, Ellen.”

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 33

I woke the same way as yesterday, with Ginny making spoons. It is a nice warm way to wake up though. I'll never tell her that though.

I jumped out from under the covers and shouted at Ginny, “You did it again, are you sure you like guys?”

You should've seen her reaction ! Priceless!

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any...” she started, than saw I was doubled over laughing, “You little twit, you had me thinking I was poking you in the back. You are going to pay for that!”

That caused me to start laughing again. “What are you going to do, kiss me? Everyone thinks we're a couple, not 'cousins' anyway.”

Into the bathroom I ran, closing the door just in time, took care of business, and hopped into the shower.

When I came out, Ginny said over her shoulder as she passed me, “Just for that, do your own make-up today!”

I was dressed in fifteen minutes, in jeans, western boots, and a mock turtle necked sweater. A quick swipe across my lips, a squirt of my eau de girl, and I was ready to go.

Ginny on the other hand, was something else! She did a full “I'm going out tonight” make-up job. She shinnied into a pair of painted on jeans, a turtle-necked jersey, and a deep vee sweater.

She then turned to me and asked, “How do I look?”

“You look so hot we won't need to turn on the car's heater on the ride back to the clinic.” I said, “But I though t-girls always wore skirts or dresses?”

She looked at me funny, and said, “Not this girl honey. Where did you hear that?”

“I was reading a few on-line stories at that site you told me about, and that seemed to be the norm in those stories.”

“What would you think if in stories, that pro women golfers were gay, and you were a golfer who wasn't interested in other women? Same thing you know.”

I looked at the floor for a moment and said, “I'm as bad as those people I read about in the newspapers, making assumptions.”

With a quick kiss on the cheek, Ginny headed for the elevator, “Come on, hon, we'll miss the free breakfast, and have to buy our own.”

I gave a sigh of relief, and hopped into the elevator before the doors closed, and gave a thought to what Ginny had said, Everyone is different, that should apply to TS/TG people too.

Breakfast finished, we headed for the rental car. “Want me to drive today?” I asked.

“Yeah, that would give me a chance to take in the scenery. You can't go wrong, Mildred will yell at you if you do.”

I looked at her, Mildred I thought, who's Mildred? Oh, the voice on the GPS, of course!

After a pleasant ride, I turned into the clinic's parking lot. We gathered our shoulder bags and coats, and headed inside again.

With a huge smile, we were greeted by Denise again, “You weren't scared off by anything you two heard yesterday, I guess.”

She offered coffee, which we both accepted, then said, “Today, you'll speak to the actual people who would be taking care of you, and some of the clinic's history. So, if you'll follow me, we'll get started.”

She took us to the hospital part of the clinic, where nurses in colorful pant suits ran back and forth.

“This is the recovery room section, where family and friends can visit after the surgeries. This is the area where the patient's post surgery pain is managed. That is why we highly recommend you stay with us during your full recovery. Although, you may stay at a local hotel, and drive back and forth for exams and progress checks. It is considerably cheaper, and some patients do this.

When this choice was presented to me, I opted to remain here during my recovery. I felt that this was the most important decision of my life and now was not the time to get frugal.”

We walked by airy single bed recovery rooms that surrounded an oval nurse's station. I thought it was a good sign that everyone was smiling and relaxed.

After waving to several of the nurses, we went through a set of double doors into an area that looked more like an ICU unit in a large hospital. This area was unoccupied, so we stuck our heads in and looked around.

I looked at Denise, “I am very impressed Denise, Are the operating theaters as modern and up to date?”

“Even more so, however we can't go peeking into those. I'm starving, why don't we return to the cafeteria, and have lunch? They have a different menu for each day. I've forgotten today's menu, why don't we look and see if anything appeals to you?”

I must say, I could eat here,all the time. Along with a grill and pizza, today's special was grilled chicken breasts with roasted potatoes and fresh mixed vegetables. The three of us opted for the chicken dinner.

Ginny and I got hot tea, Denise had Iced mint tea, that almost made me change my mind.

After eating, we sat around chatting about of all things, NFL football ! Next week the Denver Broncos were playing the New England Patriots at their stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts.

We had a good time going back and forth about the relative merits of each team's quarterback. Denise looked at her wrist watch, “Jean should be back from lunch by now, why don't we return to her office. She'll give you the rest of the tour.”

After knocking lightly on her door, we went in and sat on a couch facing her desk.

“What do you think? Have we turned your heads enough?”

Ginny spoke first, “I am totally in awe of this clinic, it's even more impressive than in the brochures. Denise mentioned you would be telling us a little more about the clinic.

Jean paused. “First, let me give both of you ladies some statistics about what happens to TG/TS people. Did you know 41% of TG's attempt suicide, 19% of those refused medical care? Here's a scary one, 2% have been violently assaulted while in their doctor's office, this is from a survey of only 7000 people in the USA.

“We hope that in some way if money is a problem we can find a way to have the surgical procedures and prescriptions paid for through insurance or charitable grants.”

“I feel I'm successful with insurance payments for the different medicines except for normal co-pays, and in a lot of cases, most surgical and hospitalizations, are at the co-pay levels of your insurer.”

“Before one cent is billed, I obtain pre-authorization from the insurers, fight for the lowest possible co-pay, and then tell you the costs up front. That way there is no surprises. Before I go any further, any questions so far?”

Ginny took a deep breath, “What are the fees again, say I was to pay cash?”

“The surgery and hospitalization would be $18,000, then if other plastic surgeries are done, such as breast enhancement, we have different fees, those are in the brochures.”

“Does that answer your question Ginny? If so, I can give you some history of this clinic.”

“This clinic was started in 1969 by Doctor Stanley Brown. This was the first private practice doing GRS. The current doctor was actually a patient here herself. When Doctor Brown retired in 2004, she took over the practice, which was expanded to the San Francisco area in California.”

I looked at Ginny, who looked back at me and laughed, “I don't have any idea of anything I could ask, you've covered everything.”

“Well in that case, when you decide to proceed, I hope you will choose to allow us to help with your journey. Denise has a list of what we require, and the hormones you should be on. We prefer progesterone under the tongue and prolactin in a patch form.”

Ginny and I stood and made our goodbyes with Jean, and returned to Denise's desk.

“Wow , you were in there a long time, Can I mark you down for a time next week?”

Ginny almost fainted,”N n next week?”

“There, now we're even,” she said. “Seriously, what do you need for further information?”

“Jean mentioned a time table and recommended hormones?” I asked.

“Goodness, you are right, here is a list of everything, if you don't see it or have any questions, our phone numbers, extensions, and e-mail address is listed on the reverse side.”

We made our goodbyes with the expected air kisses, and returned to the hotel, exhausted, ate a light supper and turned in for the night.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and punctuation.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 34

I woke up first again, but this time, Ginny was as good as her word; no making a spoon. To tell the truth, I missed the closeness.

Gently I slid out of the bed not to wake her up. I took care of things in the bathroom; what I wouldn't give for a nice hot bath! Took care of dressing in jeans and Reboks. For a change I pulled on a sweatshirt. By this time, Ginny was awake and in the shower.

I made coffee and clicked on the TV to see the weather. We had a 113 mile drive ahead of us either today or tomorrow. The weather guess was for light snow on Thursday for our ride back to the airport in Colorado Springs.

I put on the Weather Channel for their forecast to see if the two agreed. I was assured that the snow would not intensify and they swore on a stack of snow shovels the amount would be light.

By this time Ginny was dressed, OMG! Jeans, boots, and a sweater. She still looked great.

“What do you want to do today Ellen? Our flight out isn't until tomorrow. We could check out early here, drive to Colorado Springs and sight- see a little. I'm sure we can find a hotel room there, that way we don't have to worry about snow.”

“Fantastic idea, lets check out, then have breakfast. I saw a rack of brochures listing things to see and hotels in the Colorado Springs area.”

We packed and headed down to the restaurant. Ginny went to the desk to pay our bill and check out while I found the brochures.

“Good news, there's a Holiday Inn there, the desk made a reservation for us for tonight. We don't have to worry about finding a room.”

I had a handful of colorful pamphlets, so we were set.

After eating, we loaded the car and headed down 113 towards the airport. The long ride was great for talking about what the clinic told us.

“If you're determined to go through with this, I would feel very comfortable coming here.” I said. “How do you feel, after all, it's your body?”

Ginny thought for awhile before answering, “They certainly put forward a friendly enough image. I liked how everyone was on a first name basis. Also how two of the staff and the Doctor herself had surgery there.”

“Well one thing's for sure Ginny, there's no hurry on this. If you decide on having surgery, it's a year away. You may change your mind too.”

At that she snorted, “Fat chance of that happening!”

The countryside flew past at 70mph, but it still was beautiful, so different than back home in Boston. As they say, “A nice place to visit, but...”

It seemed like no time had passed at all before the hotel appeared ahead.

We registered, brought our bags to our room, (two beds this time yeah!); washed, and decided to drive around and find a likely restaurant for lunch and head for a few of the attractions in the pamphlets.

We found a nice looking Tex-Mex restaurant, and we tucked into a large taco salad for me and a steak fajita for Ginny. I ordered a Tecate beer, and Ginny ordered a huge Margarita.

After we finished lunch, over coffee, we looked at the brochures and made our choice, Shepler's!

What do you expect, looking at dead bison or shopping? Dumb question.

We shopped, and shopped and shopped. What girl can't use some snap-front shirts or authentic western boots with a 3 inch heel?

We decided to sleep late and hang around the hotel until it was time to leave for our flight home.

Our flight left at 11am, this meant arriving at the airport no later than 9am to give us time to return the car and get our pat down by the TSA. Good thing we left yesterday, or it would have meant getting up at 4am!

Without incident, our flight took off at 9.10 for our eight hour flight to Logan Airport.

This included two time zone changes, so it really was a six hour flight.

We retrieved our roller bags and headed for the arrivals pick-up doors. Happily there was our Suburban limo waiting for us, right on time.

The driver loaded our bags into the back, an off we went, home to Swampscott.

After unpacking and hanging up our new purchases, we headed for the soft sofa cushions, and put our feet up on the coffee table.

“You know we have to go to work tomorrow, and you have an appointment with Doctor Singh on Friday?”

“Oh, I had forgotten about Doctor Singh, good thing you reminded me Ellen. I can't afford to get on her bad side.”

The next couple of days went by quietly, I let Ginny drive us to the doctor's office Friday afternoon. The nurse came for Ginny only 20 minutes late, which was actually pretty good.

After 15 minutes the nurse called me to come in. “Have a nice trip Ellen? I heard you went to Colorado this week.”

“It was enlightening, and the scenery was spectacular.”

“Hello Ellen,” Doctor Singh said. “Ginny and I have been discussing the clinic she went to. I'd like to have your thoughts on the matter. Did you like what you saw? Do you have any qualms, or questions?”

“Actually, no,” I said. “If I was going to have major surgery, that place looks as good as any I suppose, and it's in this country. They work with insurance companies with success. What more can you ask for?”

Doctor Singh smiled, sat back and said, “I did some digging on my own, and asked some surgeons I know about the clinic. Everyone said that this was the place to have that very complex surgery done. However, there are rumours that the practice was moving to San Francisco because of conflicts with the hospital in Trinidad.”

“I guess they would keep that out of the tour, I would.”

Ginny looked at me and shrugged, “Hey, it's a year away, a lot of changes may happen between now and then.”

I heard the doctor say, “Maybe not a year, guys. I could recommend the surgery in a few months, I see the presentation of a lovely young woman. She's comfortable, poised, and quite sure of what she wants to do with her life. But for now, I'll keep seeing her every two weeks to monitor the reaction hormones are having on her system, and to adjust the dosage as we go along. So, I'll see you in two weeks. Make the appointment at the desk before you leave.”

Ginny floated her way back to her car in the parking lot, All she kept saying was “A few months, did you hear that? A few months.”

Wanting to live to see it, I took the CRV's keys and drove us back to the condo. By now Ginny had returned to Earth, but still had a smile on her face.

“Hey, smiley, what are you making for supper tonight, I'm hungry.”

“I was planning on chicken pot pies and a salad. How's that grab you?”

It grabbed me pretty good.

Tomorrow was another day at the barn, running the gantlet between Vinny and Kevin for Ginny and a riding lesson for me.

To be continued

Many Thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and puncuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 35

There was a light snow falling as we headed north for my riding lesson. The forecast was calling for no accumulation on the streets, maybe a coating on the grass. A bad harbinger for the winter to come.

For once Ginny listened to me, she had on a loose pair of jeans, a jersey and a bulky knit sweater, nothing provocative.

We had small talk on the 40 minute ride, the topic of GCS never came up. Ginny was deep in thought, maybe Kevin was on her mind, lord knows, that's all she talked about this morning over breakfast.

She hadn't seen him since last week's brief meeting at the barn. I wonder if his over-night slap and tickle was going to happen again. Or was it a one time fling, after being told the truth about Ginny?

I found a place to park in an unusually crowded parking lot. I grabbed my grooming tray and Ginny got my saddle out of the back of the Explorer.

I soon found the reason for all the extra cars, Cathy was hosting a Girl Scout troupe. They were interested in seeing advanced riding lessons and show horses.

I headed for Freddy's stall, put him on cross ties, and removed his blanket. Ginny went to see Tina Morales, and do girl talk, seeing how I'm two years older and a stick in the mud. She wanted to talk with someone her own age!

While I was brushing Freddy, I heard Kevin come into the barn aisle, deep in conversation with Cathy Taurisi and Jim Brady.

Curious as a cat, when they walked by I called Kevin over.

“Morning Ellen, where's Ginny?”

That answered the question about the budding romance between those two.

“She's talking with Tina Morales. What was the topic you guys were talking about so intently just now?”

Kevin laughed at that, “We were planning a Halloween costume show like we had last year. The kids dress-up themselves and the horses in costumes. It's good fun, the parents bring snacks and cold drinks. Cathy has hot water for hot cider and chocolate with marshmallows . Are you interested in dressing up and being one of the judges?”

“Who are the other judges.” I asked

“Well, I somehow get roped in, and Jim Brady's daughter is the other one. If you say yes, then I can help the kids get ready. What do you say?”

“Only if Ginny can come.”

“I'd be heart broken if she couldn't” He paused, “Than it's settled.”

I headed for the ring, Chris Brady was already walking her horse, and Tina was at the mounting block.

As we walked by the viewing room's window, I saw Ginny talking with Kevin and Jim Brady, nice to see her fitting in.

After the lesson, I asked Ginny what she and Tina Morales were gabbing about earlier.

“We were making plans to meet at the Northshore Mall and go shopping tomorrow.

Wow, you are a girl. You'll miss the Patriots footballgame.” I teased.

“Lot you know, the game is in Seattle, and doesn't start until 4 PM. I'll be back before that. If Tina want's to watch the game with us, is that okay?”

“Sure, just be careful with you-know-what. Do you think Tina would like to have supper with us after the game? Why don't you ask her now, that way I can plan a menu.”

“Good thinking, I'll head there now. Be right back.”

I finished up with Freddy tossing him some hay, then walking to Tina's stall to find out what was keeping Ginny. I turned the corner and saw Vinny standing there. Tension was in the air.

“Ginny are you ready to go, I've got some errands to do on the ride home.”

Morales started to say something to me, but Tina jumped in “One more word,and I find an apartment near work in Salem. Leave Ginny and Ellen alone. It's no business of yours if I visit friends, or not, Am I clear?”

You could cut the tension with a knife.

Morales spun on his heel and headed for his car, tossing over his shoulder, “I'm leaving in five minutes, with or without you. From now on, you're on your own !”

Tina ran to the door, “F**k you, you b*****d” she yelled, I'll come when I'm ready.”

I looked at her, “Did I walk in on something?”

“He started to give Ginny a hard time, running his hand up and down her back, and accidentally bumping her breasts, even after she told him to stop. I told him to quit embarrassing her and me, and act like a man, and not an animal, just out of the jungle.”

“He does this all the time to female friends who come by the house, they never come back. You should see what boys go through, they turn white, and run for their cars. I'm fed up, this stops now, or He will be a lonely man, living by himself.”

Ginny and I made our goodbyes, and headed for the parking lot, “ I'll meet you by the Sears lower entrance about noon, If you have trouble, Tina, call me on my cell.”

We loaded the Suv and looked around the lot. There was Morales, sitting in his car puffing on a cigar the size of a baseball bat. There was a lot of smoke, bet some of it came from him and not the cigar.

The topic of discussion on the ride home was about what had occurred when Vinny showed up. I tried to sneak in the Halloween costume beauty pagent next week, but Ginny ignored my best efforts.

Somehow, she and Kevin got together and made plans for Wednesday night, dinner and a movie.

As we got to Swampscott, I asked if we should stop at the supermarket for anything, as we were out, no need to go out again.

“Where is my head, I need to shop for tonight, and Sunday. Good thing, you're paying attention, or we'd be having dry cereal for dinner tonight.”

She went into the Stop and Shop and came back with a pretty full shopping cart. Only a couple of things, huh.

When we got to the condo, we took turns br4inging in groceries and my saddle.

“Hey, Mrs chef, what are you feeding me for lunch?” I teased, “Or is it a PB&J again?”

“You'll be served cheeseburgers and soup, does that meet with your approval Madam?or should I gather up some squab?”

“Squab-burgers?” “Sounds fine cookie, call me when ready”

She threw a wooden spoon at me as I ran out of the kitchen.

I turned on the laptop, and brought up the site Ginny was always talking about. It had a lot of stories written by those who were Transgender. I saw a few interesting blogs about transitioning, and the lack of family support in many cases.

I was surprised by where the bloggers were from. United Kingdom, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and of course the United States.

There was one story that has been going for over nine years! How does any one do that? A new chapter every day, 3000 chapters! No one gets any money for these stories, they do it for fun, can you imagine.

“Come and get it, before I toss it to the hogs,” Ginny yelled.

As I sat down, I asked, “Where did that come from?”

“I heard it in a John Wayne western years ago, I've been dieing to say that.”

Lunch finished, I put on the US national figure skating. I always wondered how they do those jumps, it seems superhuman.

Ginny cleaned up the lunch dishes and joined me on the sofa with her computer. Onto that site Big something Top Shelf. She started to read a story about a boy who became a Shakespearean actress after dressing like a girl.

Ginny had me start back on chapter one. It was a really good read. I noticed a bunch of comments at the end of the story that agreed with my opinion. There were over 300 kudos, what ever those are.

Ginny started planning meals for the week, she must be a trained chef !

“Pizza tonight ?” she asked, “I've still got some Fosters in the 'fridge to go with it.”

We did pizza, the Good Wife and hit the feathers. Tomorrow was Sunday, I could stay in bed as long as I wanted.

At 1 AM the phone rang.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and punctuation errors

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 36

The ringing phone was like having your teeth drilled.

“Hello, this better be good.” I snarled in to the phone.

“Ellen? Ellen? This is Tina, Tina Morales. I really need a big favor.”

“Okay, take a deep breath, and tell me what's wrong. Shit, it's 1AM!”

Tina paused, “My father and I had a big fight when we got home from the stable. I told him he was a pig, always feeling up my girl friends. Making them scared and creeped out. He said it wasn't my business, and real men acted like this all the time.”

“I think he thought I was bluffing when I said I'd move out, and get my own apartment. He grabbed my arm to shake me, and I slapped him. I went to my room , packed a duffle bag and got in my car. I've been driving around for hours, just thinking.”

“What can I do to help?” Ellen asked, Do you need a place to crash for the night?”

“Oh would you let me?” I'm not far away, I'm in Vinnin square at the Starbucks.”

“Okay Tina, my condo is on Humphrey Street just towards Marblehead from the big restaurant. When you pull in, you'll see our SUV's, park behind them. I'll have the porch light on, you can't miss us.”

“Thank you Ellen, I'll be there in twenty minutes.”

I hopped out of bed, grabbed my robe and went into Ginny's room and woke her up. When her eyes opened, I filled her in on our new house guest.

“Quick, get ready to be a woman all the time, do a little make-up and hide anything that might blow your cover. Tina will be here in fifteen minutes. Don't offer to share your bedroom. We'll offer her the couch for the night, and go from there.”

Ginny ran around her room checking for anything that might out her if Tina went into there.

I went into the kitchen and put on water for tea. Then walked into the living room, put on the porch light and waited for Tina to show up.

I didn't have to wait long, no sooner had I sat down, but I heard a car pull up out front. I looked out the window and saw a cute red Mercedes C300 park behind our cars. Tina got out, popped the trunk, grabbed a duffle and climbed our stairs.

I opened the door and gave her a hug as she came in.

“How are you doing ?” I asked,noticing her wet cheeks. “come in and sit down.”

Ginny joined us, looked at me and winked. “Tina, I hope this fight with your father wasn't because of me.”

Tina looked up “No, you were just my latest friend to have him embarrass in front of me.”

I spoke up. “What are your plans now, you said you were getting an apartment?”

“Yes, I would start looking first thing on Monday. I'm a veterinary assistant at the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem. So I thought something close by would be great.”

While we were talking , Ginny brought out three cups of tea with milk and sugar for us. Why tea is so soothing, I don't know, but it is.

We talked about anything but what brought her to my condo. Of course, horses were the first subject that came up. Soon we were talking about the next show season and which shows we planned to attend. Ginny was all ears, totally amazed by what goes into getting a horse ready to go into the show ring. She absolutely couldn't believe we sanded and polished the horse's hooves, just like what we do with our own finger nails.

You should've seen the look on her face when we told her how long it took to braid their mane and tails !

We finished our tea. “Time for bed” I said. “Tina, this couch pulls out. Here's a pillow and blankets. I'll see you in the morning.”

Ginny stayed a little longer, helping Tina with the sofa bed.

I woke with the sun shining in my eyes. Nine o'clock, What was in my mind? Tina!
I hope Ginny remembered too. I dashed for the loo to be there first. I showered, brushed my teeth, and headed back to my room to get dressed. I heard the shower again, assumed that that was Ginny, and peeked into the living room, expecting to see Tina sound asleep on the sofa bed. She wasn't there !

I heard noise in the kitchen. It was Tina making coffee, and looking in the cabinets and refrigerator for breakfast.

“Wow, you're full of surprises, making coffee and everything.”

“I wanted to surprise you with breakfast, I was going to make omelets for us. I just was looking for the fixings.”

“Don't let me stop you, you are doing fine. Keep going, I'll get the newspaper.”

By now Ginny had joined us in the kitchen. “Did I hear omelets? I'm in.”

Soon we had Western omelets, toast and coffee. I got the orange juice and three glasses. We were all set for awhile. The only thing we talked about was the upcoming Patriots football game. Kind of funny, three hot babes talking football. (I included myself in the 'hot babe' category)

After we finished and the plates were in the dishwasher, I looked at Tina and asked if she wanted to talk about her fight with her father.

Tina took a deep breath, “Along with being a criminal, my father is a sleaze. My mother had no friends because of him, actually she did, a fifth of gin, She drank herself to death. She knew if she tried to leave him, he'd find her and beat the shit out of her. He'd done that before, you know, put her in the hospital. He said she fell down the stairs when she was drunk.

“What started at the barn yesterday kept going all day. When I got in his car to go home, he didn't say a word, just smoked his cigar. When we got home it started.

“So, I'm not good enough to meet your friends, you know where the money that buys your clothes, your car, paid for college came from? That's right! Drugs! So don't run around with your nose in the air acting as if you smell something bad. You are the daughter of a criminal, a drug dealer, face facts little girl you're just as bad as I am.”

“That's when I told to stick everything up his butt, except my little car, that was a Christmas gift last year. We called each other bad names and I ran out of the house.
And here I am !”

This left Ginny and I speechless. I asked for a minute or two with Ginny so we could talk in private.

“Of course, I'll go to my car while you two talk.”

“Ginny, every minute she's here increases the chances of you being found out. Every minute she's here increases the likelihood her father will come through that door, locked or unlocked. I'll risk my life, will you?”

That took her aback for a bit. “You're right, we're risking our lives aren't we. Well, that's what we've been doing since that day I ran into your office. So, nothings changed, just the reason.”

Ginny opened the door and called out to Tina, “If we're going shopping, we need to change.”

Need to change to go shopping? Oh wow is she a girl, but what does that make me, I would go in old jeans and a sweatshirt.

They left in Tina's little red car. Ah, peace. I tucked myself into the Sunday Globe and started to devour the paper, The Patriots game wasn't until 4.30 PM, so I had all day to myself.

The girls returned at 4PM, six hours of drudgery, shopping, shopping, shopping. The poor things. I looked outside, the Mercedes was loaded with shopping bags from a half dozen different stores.

Who am I to judge. I do horses, Ginny does Nordstroms.

I turned on the TV for the Pats' game, surprisingly, Ginny started to make dinner, and Tina watched the game with me. Another game down to the last drive, Patriots 31, Denver 27.

The smell of roast beef and apple pie was intoxicating. We sat down to dinner at last.

Tina took one bite and looked at Ginny differently, “Where did you learn to cook like this?” she asked “This is heavenly.”

Ginny laughed, “ I went to the Cordon Bleu school of cooking in Cambridge. I can do wonders with cream of chicken soup and white wine too.”

“Can you teach me?” Tina asked.

Oh oh, this sounds like more than one night on the sofa.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in fixing typos and punctuation errors

" http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/sites/all/modules/bueditor/ico...

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

Chapter 37

Tina slept on the sofa again Sunday night, but I was worried about Monday. Would Vinnie track her down to my condo or not?

Well, three women made it through the morning with only one bathroom. I kept holding my breath, hoping Tina never got a flash of Ginny's extras. So far, so good.

Tina left for the animal shelter, and Ginny and I left for the Lynnway in her car.

No sooner had we opened up the office, but the boring crew pulled in and got started.

This operation would go on for the week, leaving Ginny and I not much to do, other than log in the spots where the cores were taken. This left plenty of time for Ginny to surf the internet on her laptop for TG/TS sites. She particularly liked the site with tons of stories written by amateur authors. Big Closet something.

She even got me to read a couple of stories, I really liked the one about a girl who was a stage actress, the hook was she really was a boy. Another one I liked was about entertainers on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. A trio of girls needed a replacement singer, so a male cousin was talked into masquerading as a female who then decided to have a GCS. Cute story!

Whenever I had a spare moment, I thought about Tina. I can't kick her out, and it was only a matter of time before Ginny's secret wasn't a secret any longer. I was expecting to drive home and see Morales' black Cadillac blocking my driveway.

Ginny found a YouTube site where a cute make-up artist in Toronto was coming to Boston for a full make-over and surgery. The cost? $48,000 Canadian. She actually had a place where the viewers could contribute to her 'Girl' fund. She had about $30,000 so far.

I told Ginny to email her to find out the doctor, heck a taxi ride is better than going to Colorado any day. This way I could sleep in my own bed and drive in to be with her during her recovery. Apparently, price is no object. Ginny now has $70,000 in her 'make-over fund'. Maybe I should start charging her rent?

Anyway, we got home without seeing any black Caddies in the driveway. After changing, we sat in the kitchen over gin and tonics. The topic of Tina came up, surprise!

“What are we going to do about her, we can't toss her out,” Ginny started. “She told Morales that she was getting her own place if he continued harassing her friends.”

“I know, but she's a good kid, I bet she already has been looking for her own apartment.”

“But Ellen what happens if she doesn't, or it takes a while? What do we do then?”

“We'll move,” I wise-cracked.

“When she gets here let's put it out there, I don't want her father flying in here in a rage, one of us will be hurt.”

About 6pm Tina walked in with a big smile on her face.

I looked up, “What has you grinning, hit the lottery?”

“Better,” she said. “I found an apartment, It's right across the street, above the bank.”

“What?” Ginny squealed, “Across the street?”

“Yes, and can you believe only $1200 a month, utilities included? How could I pass this up?”

“That is great Tina, whenever we want to go shopping, ding-a-ling and run across the street.”

I looked at Tina, “Heard from your father yet? I can't believe he's still quiet, and hasn't phoned you.”

“I know, I expected him to be calling my cell last night. I worry more when he doesn't call,” she shrugged. “He's like a volcano, holding it inside, until he erupts all at once. And usually someone gets hurt.”

Ginny took a breath, “Has he hit you?”

“Not yet.”

Ginny started to get busy in the kitchen, “Stuffed pork chops, Stove Top stuffing, beets and fresh carrots. I also have apple sauce, Mott's natural. It should be ready in forty-five minutes.

Tina's cell phone rang about then. She looked at the caller ID, “It's him! What should I do?”

“Answer it, otherwise he might get in his car.” I said.

“Hello Dad, what do you want? No I told you I would leave. You should have thought about that Saturday.”

We were only hearing one side of the conversation, but Ginny and I figured out Vinnie's side too.

“I'm not coming back this time. I don't care if you're alone, you should have thought of it before you molested Ginny, you are such a sleaze, you make me want to puke.”

With that, she snapped her cell shut, threw it across the room, and burst into tears.

I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. “Don't worry, you stood up to him. I bet he was surprised by that. Nice job.”

I made another round of G&T's.

“I bet you can use this.” I said “I know I can.”

I put on the six o'clock news to catch the weather. It wasn't long before Ginny called us to dinner. Delicious as usual. Boy, if she leaves, I'll never cook for myself again.

Between the three of us the bottle of Chianti was empty in no time. Jeeze, two gin and tonics and a glass and a half of wine, that's more than I can handle. I was falling asleep on my feet. Where Tina was using the sofa for a bed, I decided to watch TV in my room. That way, when I fell asleep, I'd be in the correct spot.

“Good night all, I'll see you in the morning.”

From my room I could hear Tina and Ginny giggling for a half hour, then I wouldn't have heard a jumbo jet land in my driveway.

I also didn't hear Tina's phone ringing again.....and again.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for correcting typos and punctuation errors

" http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/sites/all/modules/bueditor/ico...

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 38

What I did hear was pounding and the crash of my front door flying open.

My hated alarm clock said 3am. I grabbed my robe and opened the lock box containing my 9mm automatic. After checking the clip was loaded, I headed for the living room. Ginny was right behind me.

“Who the f*** do you think you are breaking into this house?” Tina screamed. “You don't own me. Get out!”

“You ungrateful little shit,” a deep voice shouted, “You're as bad as that tramp of a mother you had, all she wanted was money, money, money!”

“You go to hell,” Tina responded. “All you do is threaten and have people beat up, and for all I know, you have them killed too!”

With that, Morales raised his fists, about to strike Tina.

Suddenly a sound like no other overrode the shouting, the snick-snick of a slide loading an automatic pistol.

Everyone froze, as I shouted “Don't move, don't even blink Morales. Who do you think you are, breaking into my house and threatening my guest?”

I didn't know if I was more scared or pissed off, but I had the shakes.

Ginny's jaw dropped as she saw the pistol in my hands. “Shiite” she said.

Tina stopped yelling; only Morales moved, right at me!

I kept the gun pointed at his chest.

“You don't want to do that,” he said. “Why don't you give it to me?”

“I'll give it to you if you come one step closer. I mean what I say Morales. Think how it would look, three young, pretty girls attacked by a thug at 3am. I could shoot you now, and when cops arrive, they will see the three of us crying. I might get a medal. Ginny, call that cute cop of yours and tell him what's going on. Tell him I'm holding this guy at gun-point.”

She did as I asked, and soon in the distance, we could hear sirens converging on my condo, and shortly afterwards two Swampscott cops entered through my busted door.

“Ma'am, please put the weapon down and step away from it.” The first cop ordered.

Morales tried to sneak out, but the first cop's partner stopped him. “Hold it pal, put your hands against the wall and spread 'em.

Morales was quickly frisked, nothing was found.

“Now will someone please tell me just what the heck's going on?” the cop asked.

Ginny, Tina and I all started to talk at once.

“One at a time. You who had the canon, you start first.”

So I did, starting with the argument at the stable and finishing with him breaking in to my condo.

Tina went next, saying she was his daughter, and why she moved out of his house.

Ginny wisely kept her mouth closed, except to ask permission to get dressed.

The cops didn't want to arrest anyone, but asked if Tina or I wanted to press charges.

All I wanted was to have my door repaired.

All Tina wanted was to be left alone by Morales.

After suggesting we get restraining orders to keep Morales away, the police left, guiding Vinnie to his car. They waited for him to drive off, before turning to me and warning me about handling firearms.

Tina and Ginny watched in awe or fear as I picked up my 9mm Rock Island. I released the magazine and operated the slide to empty the chamber.

“Holy cow, you weren't kidding when you said you had guns and were a target shooter, were you?” Ginny breathed, “Dirty Harriet, that's what I'm calling you from now on.”

Tina just looked at me, then walked over and gave me a big hug, “Thanks.”

Some how that one word meant a lot, I burst into tears, then Tina started to sob. Ginny looked from Tina to me and started to weep.

It's a great way to relieve tension.

I looked at the clock, oh my, 4.30am, I have to get up in a hour to go to work.

I was able to close and secure the door.

I looked at Tina, “why don't you try to sleep, I think you should stay here a few more days before you live alone. Look how messy tonight was and there were three of us here.

Ginny reached into the pocket of her robe that she left over the back of the sofa. Out came a little .25 Beretta. My eyebrows rose.

“Hey, I always carried a gun in my dump truck, I never knew when I might need it; better safe than sorry.”

“Do you always carry that?”

“Yes, I'm licensed in all five New England states.” she said proudly.

“You never cease to surprise me” I said, “Never.”

With that, she gave me a big kiss on the cheek, and returned to her room and bed.

After holding a man at gun point, I was wide awake, so was Tina.

We decided to put on the TV and watch 70's comedy shows.

After a while Tina started to ask questions. The first one had me wetting my pants.

“Are you a man under those clothes? You faced a killer down; you didn't know he was unarmed, and I've watched you in lessons, you don't let the horses bully you, they know you are in charge.”

“I can say that I was born a girl, and I'm still a girl.”

Tina then said, “The gun, you are comfortable with guns too.”

I laughed again. “I've been around firearms since I was a child , I like target shooting, but that one was for defense, I keep it in a locked box beside my bed, only I can get it. To tell you the truth, that's the first time I pointed a gun at someone, I was scared to death.”

“I'm glad you had it, I think this time Dad was going to hit me. He was so mad, I've never seen him so angry.”

“Tina, will you be safe today? If you want, you can come with Ginny and me to the construction site. Or stay here, of course.”

She hugged me again, “I'll be fine, don't worry, you two go to work.”

My alarm chose this minute to ring. Time to hop in the shower, and get dressed.

" http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/sites/all/modules/bueditor/ico...

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 39

All day long at work I worried about Tina. I had Ginny call her once just to check nothing was wrong. She had gone to work at the animal shelter as usual, and she hadn't had so much as a phone call from her father.

It was good that the only thing going on was the crew taking cores for possible support piles to be driven for the new building.

I just realized I hadn't heard from Steve Brady for over a week, which was unusual. I decided to call his cell phone to update him on progress here and find out how his nephew had made out on the other project.

Steve answered his cell with “Hi sweetie, how's it going up in Lynn? I've been so busy taking care of fixing all the screw-ups my nephew made, I forgot all about you.”

“That's why I called, I was wondering how he did, also to let you know the drilling crew is here taking cores.”

Steve laughed. “See, that's why I wasn't worried, you're there. I think where I'm planning to build the apartment was the site of a Chevrolet dealership, so the ground should be pretty stable.”

“I remember now, it was Beacon Chevrolet wasn't it? They went out of business in the 70's didn't they?” I replied.

“That's why I keep you around Ellen, you know everything.” With a deep laugh he promised to make it up to see us before the week was out. Finally, with a dirty suggestion for his nephew that was not physically possible, he hung up.

“Who was that?” Ginny asked. “Our phantom lord and master?”

That provoked a chuckle from me as I stood up to look out the window at the drilling crew.

“Steve's having trouble on the old job. It seems two weeks is all it took for his wife's nephew to screw it up.”

Ginny smiled at that, but then looked at me seriously. “You know I worry about Tina alone in her apartment.”

“So do I Ginny, I'm going to ask her to stay with us at least one more night. Maybe her father won't try that again if she's at my condo.”

Ginny chuckled, “He's afraid to run into 'Dirty Harriet' again you mean?” she smiled. “You're looking down the barrel of the most powerful hand gun in the world, it can blow your head clean off. So ask yourself, do you feel lucky, well do you punk?”

“Jeeze, Ginny, I wish you'd stop doing that. I feel shaky enough about last night, without you saying that whenever you get a chance. Besides, you never saw my fast draw.”

I said that just to get her wound up. One of these days I'll bring her to the gun range.

Thinking of that I realized I hadn't been there since Ginny came to live with me. I was probably starting to lose my edge by now. That was a great idea; I'd bring her along with me, I'd take the Browning target pistol and my competition Smith and Wesson 1911 auto pistol and I'll be 'Dirty Harriet' forever!

“I'm going to call her now, and convince her to stay at least one more night. You don't mind do you?”

“Not at all, I was going to the same thing. Look at the time, lets go home. So, what are you planing for dinner?”

“I was planning a simple one dish chicken bake Stove-Top stuffing, chicken breasts, Campbell's cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup, and frozen mixed veggies. Pop it in the oven for forty-five minutes and done. Add some cranberry sauce and a nice Chablis, presto!”

“Where did you get that recipe, from school?” I asked.

“No, from the inside of a label of Campbell's chicken soup.”

“Who'd take the trouble to read the inside of a can's label? Amazing.”

“Ellen, there is a ton of recipes on these labels, also the inside of a box of butter and the label of Progresso grated cheese. When we get home, I'll show them to you. Then you too can be a great cook with little work.”

We were five minutes from home when Ginny's cell rang; 'Stairway to Heaven' was her ring tone. It was Tina. By the time we pulled into the driveway, Ginny was successful in talking her to stay longer with us.

We went inside and changed from work clothes to in my case, sweats and a tee. Ginny was in a skirt and heels as usual, so she changed to tight jeans and a polo shirt. I was starting to feel like a frump. I'd forgotten she was not a natural woman. I guess her RLT was working.

I decided to clean my pistols before dinner. This ought to make Ginny's eyes bug out. I opened my closet door, and slid back a couple of jackets to expose a wall safe. I punched in the combination and removed my Browning and the Smith and Wesson .45cal. Grabbing my cleaning kit, I retired to the kitchen counter. After laying down an old towel, I proceeded to strip down one pistol at a time. I cleaned the big .45 first, being careful to clean all the little nooks and crannies with a toothbrush. About this time, Ginny walked in to get a diet coke from the fridge.

“Holey Moley! Inspector Callahan, herself! Where did these come from?”

“I have a safe in my closet with handguns and ammo. These are just two of them. I haven't been to the range since you moved in. I've decided to go on Thursday afternoon, taking you with me, since you carry that .25 cal mouse gun of yours. I want you to try out each of these.”

I finished giving the pistol a once-over, and handed it to Ginny. “A little different from that Beretta of yours?” I asked.

Oh, wow, This thing is huge! Look at the size of the barrel, it's enormous! What's this for, elephants?”

“Actually it was designed for the Army. They needed a gun and bullet that would stop a man with one shot. It's become the number one competition target gun, that's why I own one. The other popular caliber is .22 long rifle, that's this one over here.”

I picked up the Browning Buckmark target pistol that had a red dot sight mounted on the top rail, turned on the sight and handed it to her.

“This is better.” she said. “Neat, look at the red dot, it's everywhere I look!”

“That's the idea, hopefully, it'll be on the bulls-eye, when I shoot. I think you'll find shooting fun. To hit a ten ring is harder than hitting a golf ball.”

I finished up and returned them to the safe.

Ginny started supper, when I heard a knock at the door. I took a deep breath and opened it, expecting to see the face of Vinnie Morales, instead it was Tina Morales.

I gave her a big hug as she came in. She gave me an appreciative look and took off her barn jacket.

“I can't tell you how much I love you two guys. No-one has ever done anything like this for me. Everyone was afraid of Daddy.”

“I'm afraid of him too Tina.”

“Yeah, but you spoke to him while pointing a gun at him. He respects that. Knowing him, he probably now has a thing for you!”

Before I could respond to that thought, Ginny called us to supper.

“What were you two gabbing about? It seemed a little tense?”

I looked at Tina and nodded, She repeated for Ginny what she said to me.

“Shit, I hope you're kidding, what a thought!” Ginny gasped. “Tell me it's joke, please!”

After debating my possible suitors, we got down to talking Tina into staying with us on Wednesday also.

About the time we were getting ready for bed the phone rang again, this time it was my cell phone. This was getting to be a habit. I nervously looked at the caller ID screen, and to my relief it was Kevin, but at ten o'clock at night?

“I heard what happened last night, are you guys alright? Do you want me to come over and stay the night?”

I laughed. “Ginny would probably like you to stay the night, why don't you ask her?”

With that, I handed the phone to her. “It's for you.” I said and sat beside Tina on the couch. I explained the phone call to her, that started her to have a giggling fit.

Ginny ended the call, “He's coming over.”

With a twinkle in my eye I asked, “Where will he sleep?”

Ginny just snorted, “With you.”

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help correcting typos and grammar.

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 40

It seemed the doorbell and ending Kevin's phone call happened at the same time. I opened the door and Kevin came in, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and said 'hello' to Tina and Ginny.

“Where were you when you called, at my driveway? What if I had said 'no'?”

Kevin looked at me sheepishly, “I was in my truck. But I thought someone would let me in.”

“Tell me what really went down last night. My information was delivered by a hysterical female. Ellen, you go first.”

“Morales forced open my door, and started to yell at Tina. It looked like this time Tina was going to get hit. I calmed him down while Ginny called the Swampscott Police.”

“Bullshit ! Ellen grabbed a gun and held Daddy at gun point. He tried to call her bluff, but she wasn't bluffing. He knew Ellen would shoot him ! The cops came at this time and shooed him away,” Tina laughed. “As they left, one cop started to lecture Ellen on gun safety.”

Kevin turned and looked at me, “Calmed him down? Sounds like you were ready to calm him down permanently.”

My face turned bright red, “I target shoot. Vinnie made a good target.”

That made Kevin chuckle, “Next time I need help, I'm calling you, not the cops.”

“Why don't I stay overnight? If Tina's father drives by and sees my truck, he'll probably keep right on going.”

Ginny jumped in. “He'll keep on going because he knows Dirty Harriet is still here. Not because of you.”

“I'm staying anyway,” Kevin said a little childishly. “This way, there's a man here.”

I looked at Ginny, she looked at me, and we broke out laughing.

“What's so funny?” asked Tina, “I think that's a great idea.”

Kevin looked at us, “She doesn't know?”

We both shook our heads 'no'.

“Doesn't know what?” Tina interjected.

“Nothing important,” I said. “Kevin and Ginny have shared a bed before, that's all.”

“Well, hell, that's no secret, everybody knows that.”

“Speaking of bed, it's after 11pm. Ginny and I have to hit the sack, 5.30 comes up fast. Kevin, good luck finding a place to sleep.” I said that with a grin.

I brushed my teeth and slid under the blankets, and turned off the light.

About 30 minutes later, I felt someone in bed with me.

“It's only me.” Kevin said.

“Okay, 'it's only me'. If I get poked by anything, It gets shot off!”

He got out of my bed.

Wednesday dawned cold and sunny. Nice crisp Fall weather; this is why I love New England.

About lunch time, I reminded Ginny that Tina was moving in to her apartment that day, and she should give her a phone call, to check on how things were going. Apparently, things went smoothly, with no Vinnie sightings. As a thank-you, Tina wanted to buy us dinner at the big restaurant next door.

Dinner was very nice, the seafood was fresh, the baked, stuffed haddock was wonderful, and the popovers were great.

Ginny and I promised to see Tina's apartment the following day after we came back from the gun range. Tina said why didn't we eat there? She suggested clam chowder and lobster salad rolls for dinner. Ginny said that was great, and we'll pick up some wine to go with the lobster.

When we got home, I opened up the gun safe and put four boxes of .45 ammo and two hundred rounds of .22 long rifle ammo in my ammo box.

I grabbed the range bag and put it on the bed, storing the Browning .22 and the Smith and Wesson .45 in the bag along with two sets of sound-deadening earphones in the bag's partitions. This would save time in the morning.

Thursday work flew, and in no time we locked up and headed for the range. I think Ginny was excited, but tried not to show it.

We pulled into the range's parking lot after a fifteen minute drive. Ginny looked around at the building and the lot, wrinkled her nose and said the place looked like a dump.

I got my things, told her to grab the targets, and walked over to the key card lock's slot. I ran my card through, heard a loud click, and pushed the door open. Lights came on revealing a white painted, spotless fifty foot handgun range.

Ginny's jaw dropped as she looked around, “Wow! What a difference, from dump to spotless.”

“We wanted the place to look uninhabited, and run down, less chance of a break-in.”

“You succeeded,” she said.

I spent the next fifteen minutes telling her the range safety rules, and handed her a set of headphones and safety glasses.

“Wear these at all times, If someone else were here, they'd be shooting when you weren't and particles fly around.

I took the two guns from the range bag and went over them with Ginny. Although the Smith was bigger, it was similar to her little .25, while the Browning was a little more complicated with the sight.

I loaded the magazines for the .22, turned on the hologram red dot sight and fired a magazine at the target set at twenty-five feet. Happily all ten went into the 10 ring.

I ejected the empty magazine, and reloaded. Ginny picked it up and duplicated my score.

“Nice gun,” she said. ”Love that sight.”

“Come clean, where did you learn to shoot?”

“I was in the JROTC in high school, remember? I excelled at pistol shooting. We used the Ruger Mark II pistol. I like that Browning better.”

I picked up the big Smith and Wesson 1911. “Did you shoot anything bigger, like a .45?”

Ginny shook her head no.

“Well then you have a treat coming up.” With that, I loaded a mag with five rounds, drew back the slide, with that snick-snick that Vinnie liked so much. I then turned and quickly fired five shots into the 9 ring or better.

“Phew, you weren't bluffing with Morales the other night were you?”

“Have you shot or handled one of these before?” I asked. “If you haven't pay close attention. This is a single action, eight shot, auto loading pistol that will fire without a ammo magazine in the gun. Most of the new double action pistols won't fire without a magazine, so people get careless. This gun also has a grip safety; if your grip on the gun is off center, or loose the pistol won't fire. Now, why don't you load five rounds into the magazine and try it out.”

Ginny loaded the gun, racked the slide (snick-snick) and fired a shot at the target beside mine. Miss! She tried again, miss! She engaged the safety, and asked what she was doing wrong.

I said to relax her little finger and tighten her left hand on the gun.

Bang, 7 ring, Bang, 8 ring, Bang bulls eye!

“Nice shooting. The grip is very important with these big guns, you have small hands, so the gun shifts around.”

I let her continue shooting the .45 while I practiced with the Browning at the fifty foot distance.

In no time we had used up the ammo I brought along, and it was time to go.

To be continued

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and punctuation

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 41

The next few days flew by, with no drama at work or at home. Kevin was at his house, Tina was across the street, and no Vinnie!

I kind of dreaded Saturday's upcoming lesson. I was sure Morales would show up.

I now felt better about Ginny and my handguns. I thought I'd give her the combination to the wall safe, just in case.

We did finally see Tina's apartment. It was really large, three bedrooms, a huge open kitchen/living room. And 1½ baths.

I asked her if she wanted to swap. She said no way, Her father knew about my place, this one was a secret.

Saturday dawned clear, the air was cold and brisk, perfect riding weather. Over breakfast, Ginny asked me what I was wearing while I was judging the Halloween horse show.

I almost fainted, “Oh crap! That's tomorrow isn't it? I completely forgot.”

“I can let you have some of my clothes, you can go as a 'Butch Lesbian'. No, you dress like that every day anyway.” she said as she ducked a rolled up napkin.

I went into my bedroom and started to dig around in the closet.

“Oh boy, when are you coming out of the closet?” Ginny shouted. “I already have.”

I easily could grow to hate her!

When I came out of the closet, I had a Western hat, chaps, and boots, and my preference for men hadn't changed a bit.

“There you go, I'll dress as a cow girl. Panic time over.”

“You never cease to amaze me,” she said.

“Hey, that's my line, Ginny. No fair stealing.”

Before we left, I gave her a glance. She was wearing jeans, LLBean boots, a heavy sweater and a barn coat. 'She must feel more confident as Ginny these days,' I thought. 'Or is it because she's already caught Kevin, and doesn't need any fancy lures anymore?'

I loaded my saddle in the back of the Explorer,and started it up. I let it warm up before heading for Route 1 North, knowing it would be colder in Newbury than here.

On the way up, all Ginny could talk about was the dress-up horse show. I said some of the entrants actually dressed up the horses and not just themselves. She was amazed that the horses would wear a costume.

I teased her that the Darth Vader helmet was the hardest to get them to wear; you had to make holes for the horse's ears first. I think I actually had her believing me!

As I pulled in to park, I saw at the end, a black Cadillac. Morales!

I tipped Ginny off to this and said to stay around other people, and not to get trapped by him when she was alone.

I headed straight in through the tack room and unloaded my saddle at Freddy's stall. I told Ginny to stay there, as I walked to the centre aisle and Tina's stall. I saw that both Tina and her father were crying, so I tried to head back from where I came from. I wasn't fast enough!

“Hey, wait,” I heard Morales call. “I owe you and your cousin a huge apology for the other night.”

I stopped where I was. “You sure do!”

“I have a bad temper, and always want to get my own way; that combined with being over-protective of Tina, and drinking too much made me act like a monster. But you really impressed me, holding me at gunpoint and not backing off like that. You showed more guts than a lot of cops have. You know my reputation?”

I just nodded.

He gave out a big laugh, “Tina's safer around you than some of my guys.”

“As an apology, I want to take both you and your cousin for dinner at the best Italian restaurant this side of New York, or we can go to New York if you'd rather.”

Before I knew what I was saying, I accepted saying, “Ginny and I will accept your apology, and there's no need to fly to New York just for dinner.”

“Good, I'll call Tina, and she'll call you with a day and time. How's that sound, ok?”

I just nodded and headed back to my horse. When I got there, Ginny was having a hard time containing herself.

“Well, what did he say, what did you say, how did Tina take it, were you scared?”

“One thing at a time!”
-
“Morales apologized to both of us. He blamed it on being over-protective, and drinking too much. Tina looked relaxed with this. He then as an apology offered to take the three of us to dinner, to New York if we wished. I accepted, and Tina will be calling to let us know when. And yes, I was scared out of my mind.

“Do you know the worst part? I think he was impressed by me the other night! He said I had 'more guts than the cops' when I pulled my gun on him. Now what do I do?”

“Ellen's got a boy friend, Ellen's got a boy friend.” Ginny chanted.

“Shut up ! Vinnie may hear you!”

“Oh ho, it's Vinnie now, a minute ago it was Morales.” she teased.

About this time Kevin showed up, “Ellen has a boy friend? Anyone I know?”

I could kill her! I then had to repeat the whole story for him.

“Yup, Ginny's right, Mrs Morales.” he said as he ran away.

To my delight, the lesson went great, Freddy responded as if we were one entity!

After the horses were put away, Cathy discussed tomorrow afternoon's dress-up horse show.

The judges were to be Kevin, Jim Brady (my boss's brother), and myself. The judging would start at 2pm, and end when it ended. As everyone else left, Cathy motioned me aside.

“How's it going with Tina and her mobster father? After last week, I was worried.”

I told her the story from door crash to the dinner offer today.

“You actually drew a gun on Morales and threatened to shoot him, and he went for it?
I wish I were there to see that.”

“Yeah, it took the arrival of the Swampscott Police to get me to put it away. The trouble is, now, I think he loved that and want's to know me better, if you catch my drift.”

Cathy snorted, laughed and said, “Mrs Ellen Morales!”

“Don't you start! Kevin said the same thing, I'm thinking of shooting him to show how Mrs M would handle it.”

“You're too much.” she laughed. “See you tomorrow.”

Ginny was already in the front seat after placing my saddle in the back.

Before she could say a word, I stopped her with a look that would of made the Gorgon jealous. “Don't say a word, you.” I warned, “Not one.”

We rode half the way home before either of us spoke.

“Do you think it'll be a North End restaurant? I think most of those are overrated and over crowded.”

“You're too funny Ginny, but you are right about the North end restaurants. I used to prefer Givelli's in East Boston better, but I haven't been there for a while. Why don't we leave it up to Mister Morales?”

We arrived home and as I was getting my saddle, I saw Tina's little red Mercedes park across the street. She gave me a wave, than acted like she was on the phone. I nodded yes and went inside.

No sooner had I hung up my coat than my cell phone rang. Gee, she timed that well I thought.

“Hi, Ellen I just had to ask what you really thought of my father today.”

I took a breath to think a bit before I answered. “He certainly caught me by surprise, I can say that. But was there an undertone to his apology that had me nervous.”

Tina laughed, “It's not love, it's respect. That's more important to him anyway, you can relax. I meant about taking us to dinner.”

“I said okay out of shock, it was so unexpected, I didn't know what else to say. What's your recommendation Tina, should Ginny and I beg off, or go?”

“I definitively would go; give him a chance to act like a human being for once. This is how he apologizes, dinner, or a round of golf, sometimes he takes people fishing on his bass boat.”

“That sounds more interesting to me than dinner.” I said.

“I think your cousin would prefer dinner, rather than icky fish.”

'Oh, if you only knew,' I thought. 'If you only knew.'

“I'll tell Ginny what you said. Will you be there tomorrow?”

“Yes, I agreed to help with dressing up the horses. See you then Ellen.”

Ginny was on tenter hooks, wondering what was being said. I decided to tell her everything Tina said, including about the bass boat. That got her excited like I figured it would.

“Enough of that, what are you serving me for dinner tonight, pizza again?”

“No, steak bombs and french fries, you know, the cholesterol special.”

After we ate, I dove into my closet again and came out with a fast-draw holster and belt. I figured if I stuck that new six-gun BB gun in it, I'd look the part without scaring anyone.

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in fixing typos and punctuation errors

"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 42

As you can imagine, the horse show was hilarious; there were horses dressed as witches, hobos, and even Imperial Storm Troopers. The riders themselves were dressed as wild as the imagination would allow. There were two boys dressed as girls, one was Snow White the other was dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ.

My vote as a judge went to Dorothy, and the horse dressed as an Imperial Storm Trooper. Kevin's choices were the same as mine, but Jim Brady didn't like the boy dressed as Dorothy, and instead gave his vote to the girl in the Lady Godiva suit.

She wore a tan body suit with a very long wig, not bad, but to be honest, I think a boy dressed as a girl made him nervous.

By an unanimous vote the Storm Trooper horse won, and by a two to one vote, Dorothy won as a rider.

I wonder what Ginny was thinking about this? I would have to remember to ask on the way home.

Everyone than hit the refreshments, hot chocolate, hot cider, doughnuts, and cookies. We even had peppermints and carrots for the horses. I think seeing the horses behavior when covered by costumes, and with the riders bouncing around on top of them, may have allayed most of Ginny's fear of them. Maybe next week I'd try to put her up, and walk her around on a lead-line.

We made our good-byes and headed home. Ginny was full of amazement over the horses allowing themselves to be dressed up, and how well behaved they were. I asked if she might like to try riding a lesson horse while on a long line. Ginny thought for a bit and surprised me when she said she'd like to try it.

Major victory!

I was so excited about that, I almost forgot to ask her what she thought of the boy cross-dressing, and winning the costume contest. Ginny wasn't aware that 'she' was a 'he' until I told her. Her brow furrowed in thought, and we drove in silence for a while.

“Do you think that was his first time, or just the first time in public?” Ginny asked. “I was taken in; Dorothy looked so natural, I never would of guessed that was a boy.”

“Look in the mirror, you are a woman in every way but one yourself. I think he's really a girl dressing as a boy. It's nice to see parents understand, and try to work out a solution that's best for the child. You hear so many horror stories, of abuse, and of children turning to prostitution to survive after running away from a rigid father who would try to beat the idea out of the child.”

This last was said sitting in the driveway. We ran inside to catch the second half of the Patriot's game with the Jets. They won, 37 to 10. I wish we could play the Jets in Foxbrough every week.

Work the following week moved along at a snail's pace. The crew taking soil cores finished with no shocking news; the consultants came by with a plan for driving piles. No surprises there. I then made phone calls to the general contractor to have him schedule the pile drivers to finish up the pre-foundation work. This would allow the grading be started.

On Friday afternoon, Ginny had another appointment with Doctor Singh. This was another test of her hormone levels to see if adjustment was necessary in her meds.

I went with her, figuring that this might be the last time when I could shut down the job early just to go with her.

Right on time Ginny was summoned into the doctor's office by the nurse, who hung back to give me a quick hug and a “I'll bring you in in a few minutes, dear.” before she led Ginny through the maze that made up the exam rooms.

A good 20 minutes later, I got a wave in by the nurse, and joined Ginny in the Doctor's exam room.

“Hi Ellen, nice of you to join us,” Doctor Singh said. “Ginny has made remarkable progress on her trip to womanhood, so much so, I'm sending her to a Doctor Braun, a psychiatrist. I've had my nurse make an appointment for her next Friday at 4.30pm. Her office is Room 103 downstairs.”

“Doctor, has her RLT allowed her to progress a little in the one year test? Oh, I know that's redundant, but you know what I mean?”

“That was a little convoluted, but yes, if Doctor Braun agrees, I think Ginny will get an approval for surgery sometime in January or February next year. That will make, what seven months since we started her treatment?” Dr Singh said before turning to her computer's screen.

“Doctor, I read in the Boston Globe that the Boston Medical Center will be opening a GRS clinic soon. Have you heard anything about when it will be open to patients?”

“Ellen you know as much as I do on that. Us doctors are the last to find these things out, we learn more from our patients like you and Ginny than a notice saying 'We're ready, send us patients.'”

“Check with the nurse on your way out Ginny. Ellen, I'll see you next week?”

Ginny stopped and made another appointment with Doctor Singh and picked up info on Doctor Braun.

We got to the condo in 15 minutes. Soon the aroma of a new dinner creation filled the room. 'I'm so spoiled,' I thought. 'I need to ask Ginny if she wants to live here permanently.'

Ginny called me in to dinner at 6pm, and by 6.30 my plate shone like it had been washed.

She had made a stuffed pork loin with a homemade apple-mint sauce, it was like nothing I ever tasted! Potatoes au gratin, and Brussels sprouts finished it off.

While doing the dishes , I broached my idea to her. You would not believe the hug I got!

“Yes, oh yes. I was so afraid you'd want me to leave! I finally have someone I consider family, and who returns the feeling. I honestly love you like a sister, not a cousin, You can't know what a relief this is, and what a gift.”

At this point Ginny was in tears, and of course I joined her. There we were, sitting at the kitchen counter, mascara all down our cheeks, eyes red, and the doorbell rings. I got up and answered the door still wiping away tears. Of all people, it was Kevin.

That sent Ginny running for her room and make-up, leaving me to explain to Kevin that those were happy tears.

“I gathered as much.” he said, “Ginny ran too fast for them to be from sorrow. Jeeze, listen to me, I'm around too many girls these days.”

“I never thought I'd hear you say that. You changing sides?”

Well, that caused him to turn bright red, and start stuttering.

“Wha', wha' what do you mean change sides? I'm not changing anything, come on, cut it out Ellen”

I had to run to my room now, I needed a change of panties after that!

Poor Kevin was left alone in the living room, not knowing what just happened.

Ginny made it back before I did, asking Kevin where I went.

“I've got no idea,” he said. “She started laughing real hard, said 'damn', and ran for her room.”

That set Ginny laughing, “Men,” she said, shaking her head. About now I re-entered the room.

“Men? Men what?” I asked.

“Kevin didn't have a clue why you ran to the bedroom, do you want to fill him in or should I?”

“You do it sweetie, also tell him why you weren't here when he came in.”

So she did. Kevin couldn't figure why laughing caused women to pee, but he accepted it. He was very happy I wanted Ginny to stay with me. He felt it would be good company for the both of us.

I asked Kevin why he dropped in, and he said just to visit a bit. That got me laughing again.

“Just don't hog the shower in the morning, let me get in there first.”

Now his face was red again!

To be or not to be!

To be continued.

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in fixing typos and punctuation

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 43

Morning arrived with a lot of giggling coming from the spare, now Ginny's, bedroom. Good! My turn first in the shower. I'm not a rat, I showered as fast as I could, knowing Both Kevin and Ginny would want to use it. I wondered if they remembered their promise to allow me to use it first. No matter, I was able to get there first anyway.

As I sat with my coffee, I tried to think what was on tap for the week both at work and with the never ending story of Gene/Ginny. Work would be relatively easy with the pile drivers continuing to do their thing, with nothing else happening until they finish.

Now to my 'Cousin'. I had been doing reading online myself, and I had several questions for her and her doctors. Apparently, there is an almost permanent solution to the fear of exposure of the extra tackle Ginny still had.

One of these is the use of surgical adhesive, really Super Glue. The other possibility is a few stitches placed just so. Both of these allowed her to pee with no shifting of things around, and would allow Ginny to wear a bikini bathing suit without the fear that something would be exposed.

The information on line also said that you could pass inspection from a distance. Jeeze, what a topic to think about over morning coffee. Well I was going to bring it up when we got to work.

Kevin and Ginny entered the kitchen at this point.

“Hey, why the long face? I thought you loved to go to work in the morning.”

“I do Kevin, I do. It's just seeing a man in my kitchen at 6am. Why doesn't Ginny visit at your palatial manse for a change? Having a man here changes the way I live. You know, not having to be modestly dressed all the time.

“Sorry, if you don't want me here, I won't come by any more.” he said.

“That's not what I mean, I just like to lounge around my condo, without worrying about visitors after 9.00 at night. Call first next time please, that's all I ask.”

“Now it's time to go, or I'll be late for work and have to dock myself. Ginny c'mon, get into the car. Kevin, give her a kiss and git!”

Kevin git, allowing me to lock my door. Ginny decided to use her car and unlocked the passenger door for me.

We followed Kevin down the road until Rte 129; he turned west on Easter Avenue while Ginny and I continued along Rte 1A, Lynn Shore Drive to the Nahant Rotary, and then the Michael Carrol highway, made the U-turn and pulled onto the job site.

We beat the pile drivers by five minutes.

After we had our coffee, and got the subcontractor squared away, I called Ginny into my office.

Ginny realized something was up, so sat quietly waiting for me to start.

“You realize you will be dressing like this until you get approved for the surgery. That could be at least another six months. Are you comfortable with your homemade gaff?” I asked. “Are you aware of a couple of alternatives to what you're doing, like glue or stitches?”

“Not really. Where are you going with this? Surgery?”

“Ginny relax, nothing that extreme,” I laughed. “I'm just support, you are the pre-GCS woman. I thought you would still be surfing the web for information, like I am.”

She took a deep breath, “Well I have heard of stitching to keep the penis up and back, but glue?”

“Okay, this is what I've read,” I said as I was calling up the web site. “In a doctor's office, you lay back, your testicles are massaged into pockets, then the penis is folded back, and then the remaining flesh of the scrotum is glued together with surgical glue. This holds everything in place, with the appearance of a vagina. You then sit to pee and are able to wear thongs and bikinis. You can throw away those gaffs of yours.”

“I understand you have the appearance of a camel's toe,” Ginny said.

That's all I needed, I was close to it anyway, My face turned bright red with embarrassment.

“Oh, look at you, Rudolph's going to be jealous.” she said. “Yes, I've heard of this method now, but only in stories on the Big Closet site. I guess it must be true so many writers use it in their stories.”

“Let me look it up. This may take a minute, hold on. See, there's a whole bunch of do-it-yourself methods. If I look hard enough, I'll find the site where a doctor's assistance is a good idea.”

Ginny was thoughtful for a moment, then laughed, “I saw it, but I don't believe it, I think having three hands is necessary for that method. I'd definitely see a doctor for this.”

“Did you have a site on stitches?”

“Yeah, let me give it a try, I think this is the better way. Damn! For some reason all I come up with are tucking with tape or crazy stuff,”

“I bet you have to go to a medical site,” Ginny said. “Why don't I ask the doctor about that when I next see her.”

“That is without a doubt the smartest thing you've said today,” I replied.

Ginny gave me a sheepish look. “About Kevin, I got carried away, and really pushed the envelope with him. It's wrong to have him stay over when it's really your home, I'm just a guest there, and I'll start acting more like it.”

“Oh Ginny, thank you, but I want you to feel it's your home too. It's just I'm tired and all I see is Kevin; I can't sit in a robe, at night all I hear is moans and screams, from you I hope, it's too much in a small condo. You have to cool it, girl.”

“From now on, I'll have wild sex at Kevin's, that way my room is still neat too.”

The last part of that caused me to start giggling, pretty soon Ginny started too.

Wouldn't you know it, the head pile-driver chose to walk in. He looked at us and politely asked if someone had died. That got us going again.

The rest of the week sped by. Soon it was TGIF time. I called out to Ginny, “Why don't you call Tina, we'll go for an early dinner, then a movie. If it gets out early enough we could have a few drinks before heading home.

An hour later, she stuck her head into the office and said “It's on, Tina will pick us up at 6.30.”

We locked up and flew home. We had a quick wash and did some 'going out' make-up, you know, not smoldering, but still better than usual.

At exactly 6:30pm a horn beeped out front, and there was Tina in her little red Mercedes.

We locked up and got in the car. I rode in front with my long legs. Ginny sat behind Tina, that way she had more room. The car was cute, but it had no interior room.

By mutual agreement, we went to the Outback in Peabody as this put us closer to the movie theater. Tina and I had a steak smothered in onions, Ginny had roasted chicken breast with asparagus, and we all had a salad.

We decided not to go to a chick flick, instead, we went to the new James Bond movie with the guy with the muscles. It was a typical 007 movie, OTT in action and violence, but entertaining. Tina suggested having a drink at the China Sales in Salem, and we both agreed.

Over a couple of cosmopolitans the subject of her father came up. Ginny and I were curious where he was. Tina laughed. “He's out fishing on his boat. That where he goes to think, I don't know if he even has fishing gear aboard.”

Ginny's and my curiosity leaped up. We started to pump her for information on the boat. Turns out it was a 28 foot Stamas, setup for fishing. He kept it at the Point of Pines Yacht Club in Revere. We asked if she was going to return home in the future.

Tina thought a moment. ”I've been asking myselt that same question the last couple of days. I suppose I will, but not for a while. As long as my place remains secret from him, I'll hold on to it. That way I won't come bursting in on you two.”

“Tomorrow's Saturday, do you want to ride up with us? We have plenty of room?” I offered.

That's a great idea Ellen, what time do you want to leave?” she asked.

“Our lesson is at 11am, if we leave at a quarter to ten we should be there in plenty of time.“

“Okay then I'll walk over by 9.30, and I'll get coffee for the ride.”

Ginny spoke up. “Why not park your car here? If your dad's watching he won't see you cross the street.”

“Good idea, I'll do that, Which car will we take?”

I spoke up. “The Explorer, it's the biggest, with more room in the back.”

We left the Chinese restaurant in very good spirits.

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and punctuation

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 44

Before we left, I made sure Ginny wore normal jeans and low boots with a small heel. I had an ulterior motive, since I was hoping to get Ginny aboard one of Cathy's lesson horses and lead her around the ring. My co-conspirator was Kevin, of course.

Right on time Tina knocked on the door, with Dunkin Donuts coffee and muffins. We all went out to the Explorer and I started it, waiting for Tina to hand out the coffees and muffins before I drove off. How I'd eat that muffin and drive I didn't know, but I'd try. We were more likely be a traffic fatality statistic, but I was starved!

The three of us gabbed all the way to Newbury. I found a way to drive and eat my muffin; no news at eleven for us this time.

Soon it would be the time of year where the show horses themselves were given time off, just like human athletes. They'd only be worked enough to stay in shape, nothing requiring perfection though.

Tina went to get her horse brushed and tacked up while I took care of Freddy.

Soon we were ready and led our horses into the arena. Along with Chris Brady, we started to slowly trot along the wall clockwise.

Cathy soon set us to work as if a show was next week. After trotting and cantering to her satisfaction, she had us line up in the center for individual workouts.

All this time, Ginny and Chris's father were chatting in the tack room while watching us
go through our paces.

As soon as the lesson was finished, I hooked Freddy up on crossties in his stall, while Cathy tacked up an older school horse for Ginny to ride.

Tina was nice enough to finish untacking Freddy for me while I helped Ginny up on Riley.

After getting on usuing the mounting block, Ginny sat still while Cathy and I adjusted the stirrups for her. I leaned in real close, “You may have pain from your tuck, just say “Ellen” and we'll stop, okay?”

I could tell from the way her face went white, she hadn't thought of this before agreeing to try riding.

With me holding the lead rope, I started her at a walk around the arena. So far, so good. After seeing Ginny had her balance, I speeded it up to a trot for one half of the ring. Any more than that, and I'd have to find a teen in shape.

We walked some more, than trotted again. Ginny took to this like a duck to water, so Cathy hooked up a longe line, and had her trot a circle.
Well actually Riley trotted in a circle, Ginny was only on his back, along for the ride.

None the less, Ginny did a great job. The gleam in her eye told me everything, another person bitten by the horse bug. How does that song go? “Another one bites the dust.”

We hung around for Kevin's lesson, again amazed at the ease that he and 'Doc' went around the ring, changing from one gait to another seamlessly, as if the horse was doing it on verbal command by Cathy.

After he was finished, I asked Kevin just that question.

He laughed and replied, “You found us out, that's our secret. He responds to Cathy's voice and mine, and will walk, trot, and stop on verbal command. I just need to make sure he doesn't get going too fast.

“Last year, in August, Chris and I had another customer show him. We spread out around the ring in case of trouble. We told her to say the gait loudly, and she'd be okay. Well, she froze a bit, and was trotting when they should have be walking. I said in a big voice, “Doc, walk”. Boom, down to the walk. Everyone heard me even though I ducked behind the rail. After the class, the judge gave me a wink and said 'Nice timing' and walked off. Oh yeah, Susan got third out of nine.”

We made plans for the four of us to go for dinner and have a couple of drinks later on. The three of us would decide where, and let Kevin know, so he could meet us there.

The subject of discussion on the ride home was our newest equestrian. Ginny didn't stop for a breath, she was so excited. It was really nice to see. It's like measles, very contagious. That's what happened to me years ago. Never ask a horseman about their horse unless you aren't doing anything for an hour.

We arrived home, and all went inside for lunch. Over soup and sandwiches we chose where to go that night. It was unanimous, we'd go to the 'Tides' in Nahant and stay there for drinks at the bar. Hopefully, a Bruins or Celtics game would be on TV.

Tina went home to shower and change. Ginny and I did the same thing. We also decided to remove her breasts that night to give her skin a chance to breath; that way they could be glued back on for Monday.

After showering, I gave Kevin a phone call telling him to meet us at the 'Tides' at 7:30pm,and that we were planning to stay there after dinner for drinks.

Kevin was very happy with this choice. He loves their Fisherman's Platter. Between Ginny and myself, we couldn't finish one, but he could.

I gave Ginny a look, meaning 'no Kevin tonight', but she was free to visit him. Remembering the great ungluing scheduled for that night, she whispered “not tonight.”

We had a great time watching a Celtics basketball game after dinner. Oh, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 103 to 97, but we still enjoyed ourselves a lot.

After the game, we headed in our separate directions to go to bed. Ginny and I decided to stay up late watching an old movie on the big TV in the living room. 'Casablanca', ever hear of it? One of my favorites of all time. There are great lines in this movie. My favorite is at the end where Rick and Captain Renault walk off into the fog, Bogie says, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” This as Ingrid Bergman's plane takes off for Portugal.

At a commercial break, I had Ginny lay back on her bed while I swabbed glue solvent on her chest to remove her artificial breasts. She rubbed lotion on the reddened skin where they were glued. I must say, it looked funny to see her flat-chested. “How do you feel?” I asked.

“Really strange, with just a couple of pounds removed, my balance feels wrong. And it's like I lost who I am. Does that make sense?”

I symphisized with her, knowing how breasts identify a woman more than anything else. I understand now the trauma felt by those women that have mastectomies. It must be heart-breaking. After the movie Ginny and I headed for bed, figuring to sleep late on Sunday.

We woke at 8am, late for us. Over coffee, I asked her if riding might be something she would like to continue. Her response was a resounding affirmative.

“Okay then, you will need riding boots and the proper type of pants. You should like this, the pants are made to fit tight. That will show off your curves nicely kiddo.”

“Where would we go for those, I mean the boots and pants?” Ginny asked. “I have no clue about this.”

Her intensity had me smiling. There was a couple of places we could go, but I recommend inexpensive boots to start. However the jodphers needed to be good ones, so they were comfortable.

“If you stop riding, you can wear them to attract men at the mall.”

With that, she hit me. “At the mall? What am I a hooker? A fine friend you are.”

“The best place for boots is in Andover on route 114. When you're ready we can leave. We'll buy Jodphers there also. You have to have jods on to try boots to make sure they fit your calves properly.”

“Wow, this isn't simple is it?” she asked. “Expensive too.”

“You can look like a pleasure rider, or you can look professional, it's your choice. Besides think how you'll look with tall black boots carrying a whip. There's a lot of online sites for that,” I kidded.

That got me another dirty look from her, “For that, you drive.”

I laughed all the way to her Honda CRV

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in correcting typos and punctuation errors

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 45

After a pleasant forty-five minute drive I pulled up at the store providing almost everything for the equestrian; Hunter, Dressage, or Western. As we walked inside, Ginny's eyes got huge.

“Oh my goodness, this is incredible! Look at all the stuff,” She cried. “There must a million dollars worth of inventory here.”

“You may be right Ginny, check the prices on the saddles.”

“Hi Ellen, nice to see you again,” said the owner Paul True. “How can I help you?”

“Paul, this is my cousin Ginny, she's just starting out, and needs boots and a pair of jods”

“That'll be easy; Ginny follow me and we'll get your size first, then find the right pair for you, brand, and color.”

Paul measured her waist, went to the rack and took down three pairs. He showed her the fitting room and said, “Remember, they fit tight, show us one pair at a time.”

While Ginny was changing, Paul and I chatted about what was happening with gender specific bathrooms and the upcoming holidays. I said I want a pair of jods set aside as a gift from me to Ginny. And when Ginny was through, I needed a new English bridle with two reins.

Ginny stepped out, and Paul had her stand on a platform and turn around.

He looked at me, “These are too loose in the hips. Ellen, you agree?”

I nodded yes, and Ginny went back to try the next pair. In no time she was back out. What a difference! Even I could see these looked right.

Paul had a smile, “I knew these would be the ones. These are 'Tailored Sportsmen', almost every slender rider buys these. Ginny, how do these feel?”

“These feel great, much better than the first pair. Should I try on the other pair, or am I finished?”

“Keep those on, we'll try the boots next,” Paul said. “Ellen, would you mind getting the other jods for me while I measure Ginny's foot?”

After measuring her feet, Paul asked how much does she want to spend. I told him she is a brand new shiny penny rider, so let's start out inexpensive.

Paul went and found two pairs in 9 wide. He found a long boot sock for her to put on first. He handed her a pair of boot pullers, showed her where they went and had her try on the first pair.
“I don't like the way these feel,” she said. “They're above the back of my knee, these'll hurt.”

Paul had her pull them off and try the second pair, saying, “Both of those are 100 dollars, How does this pair feel?”

Ginny made a face, “Not much better.”

As she took them off, Paul went into the back room and came out with a single pair.

“These you'll like.” he said.

As Ginny picked them up she said, “Look at these Ellen, they have zippers! It will be a snap to get these on and off.”

Paul smiled, “Everyone says that. These are made in the Philippines, that keeps the price down. Ellen you have field boots don't you, the ones with lacing?”

“Yes, but mine were 400 dollars, how much are the ones with zippers?”

“With your discount, 75 dollars for the jods and make it 150 dollars for the boots, the sox are free. Did you know which bridle you wanted?”

I gave him a kiss on the cheek, “You really are a nice guy Mr True. I put it on the checkout desk.”

Paul looked at the English made bridle and made cash register sounds. “ka-ching, ka-ching. That's 350 dollars for the bridle for you and 225 dollars for the boots and jods for Ginny. Now, cash or charge?”

We quickly paid Paul and with promises to come back at least for his annual Christmas party, we put our loot in the car. Ginny's loot was hugging her backside nicely, which made her happy.

“You are such a girl, I bet you want to stop for lunch somewhere there are lots of men around.”

Ginny smiled. ”Jealous?”

I pulled into a sports bar on Sylvan Street near the mall. “There should be enough guys in here to satisfy you. Just get their eyes off the football game”.

As we walked in, you could hear the click as every eye in the house followed Ginny as we walked across the floor to a table.

“I give up, give me some of those hormones, I need help, I've got a boy's butt, and you have a
girl's backside. Like the old song,”Backfield in motion”, I'm going to have to penalize you.”

We ate, and hurried home. The Patriot's game with Seattle was at 4:15. It looked like we'd just make it before the kick-off.

I suggested that Ginny give her new boots a good coat of shoe polish before she put them away.

I surprised her with a gift certificate good for four lessons from Cathy's farm with a riding instructor who specialized in new adult riders.

That got a squeal and a big kiss on the cheek from Ginny and a sore neck for me.

“I can't believe you did that! You've done too much already.”

“I don't know how you do it Ginny, but you are a delightful girl, who makes everyone around you smile and relax. It's a pleasure being with you, it was well worth it.”

With that her face turned bright red and tears sprung to her eyes. She gave me a look and ran to her room.

Now what did I do?

Five minutes later Ginny came back to the living room, now dressed,in loose jeans and a sweat shirt. She sat beside me and again gave me another hug.

“What's the score?” she asked. “Are we winning?” Just then, the score was put back up on the TV screen. Seattle 7, New England 7.

At half time Ginny got up, went into the kitchen and started making dinner. She poured two cups of rice into a Corning Wear dish. On the rice she laid four chicken breasts, then a can each of cream of chicken soup, a can of cream of celery soup, and a can of cream of mushroom soup. This was covered with tin foil and set aside while the oven heated. Forty-five minutes at 400 degrees F., and supper was done.

The Patriots won by 7, 21 to 14. and so did I. Supper was delicious. We hung around until 10pm. Then bed called out to both of us, 5 AM came quickly.

I staggered out of bed and into the bathroom just ahead of Ginny. Quickly I ran through the shower and headed for my bedroom. I worked on my hair thinking how easy it was to take care of when it was short. Make-up on, clothes on, where's my boots? In the closet where they belong. Do I need coffee. Ginny breezed by into the kitchen, and made coffee.

“Do we have time for a real breakfast, or just toast?” she asked.

“I'd love scrambled eggs and bacon, I haven't had home-made scrambled eggs made for me since I left home when I was eighteen.”

Ginny smiled, “This is the first meal I was taught at chef's school, sit back and watch.”

They were as good as advertised; she sprinkled a little sugar in the mix along with some crumbled bacon. So simple, but so different! I could've had seconds, but it was time to leave.

We arrived at the job site by a quarter to seven to find the security gates open, and lights on in the office trailer.

“Well Dirty Harry, did you bring your canon today?” Ginny teased. “Or do we call for backup?”

I looked at her as we walked to the office. ”You've been watching too much TV, It's probably Steve.”

The door flew open and Steve shouted, “Anytime, ladies, daylight is burning, let's go!”

I turned around, and headed back to my car. Ginny's jaw dropped and then she started to follow after me. Steve started laughing at our backs.

“Shit, I could never get a rise out of you girly, come in the coffee's ready.”

He got me, Steve knew how much I hated to be called 'girly'.

After making us coffee, Steve started talking about the Patriot's game with Seattle yesterday.

“That Brady is amazing, he has to be related to me, he's so good.”

This elicited groans from me and Ginny.

'What are you two groaning at, it's a possibility you know.”

He finally got down to business, saying how it took a week to straighten out the mess his nephew made of the job in Melrose, saying 'never again', no matter how much his wife asked, would that idiot ever run anything but his nose on one of his projects.

“The consultant's report says we only need piles on that spot where they are set up now; the soil on the whole is stable enough to support the structure we are building.”

“That's great news Steve, we'll save a lot of money and time. The bottom line just got much better.”

“Your bonus just doubled.” he joked, “Now how is Ginny doing with that bastard she was living with?”

I paused, forgetting the made up story for a second, but Ginny hopped in “He vanished, just like I hope I did.”

Steve smiled, “Then let's make you legitimate girl. From now on, You are on the payroll with deductions and insurance, and taxes. We'll use your new social security number, it's clean. Now what do we pay you?”

I spoke up, “We were paying her $400 under the table with no deductions, how about $750 per week with all the standard deductions, taxes, FICA, social security, and IRA for when she gets old like you?”

He started laughing so hard he got hiccups, “Old like me huh? Okay, done deal, you have the employment forms here don't you Ellen? Fill them out and send them to the office. That should make my wife think Ginny is my new girl friend.”

His red Ford pickup drove up to the trailer with his nephew driving. This explained two things, why Ginny and I didn't see it earlier, and how he put his foot down with his wife on the kid.

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 46

After Steve drove off, Ginny and I discussed her new status, a legitimate full-time employee!

“Steve is a gem, he tries to act like a tough guy, but he's really a softy,” I told Ginny. “At least with me.”

“I did notice the nephew was his new driver, and I noticed this envelope tossed on my desk. It must have come from him before we came in this morning.”

“What are you waiting for girl? Open it, open it” I urged.

Inside was a smaller envelope from the Beverly Theater. Inside that were two tickets for Friday night, front row.

“OMG,”said Ginny. “It's for Hamlet! My favorite! You know the most famous Shakespearean quote is from this play. 'To be or not to be, that is the question.'”

I know I said, “Act III, scene I, the Nunnery Scene.” these must be nearly impossible to get a hold of. I said Steve was a softy. I'll bet he was planning to change your status for a while, and got these as a gift.”

“Now I really feel rotten deceiving him the way we have,” Ginny said. “I'm going to tell him right now, where's his cell number written down?”

“Whoa, Seabiscuit. Slow down a minute. Steve has known ever since he got you that phony ID and driver's license.”

“What! How did he find out? I thought we were very careful.”

“You might have been careful, but I told him that afternoon.”

Ginny was shocked, “He's known for months and didn't let on, why?”

“Because I asked him not to. You know, he was going to have his buddy who did the ID shoot Morales and end your problem.”

“Shoot him how?”

“Steve's Vietnam buddy was a Marine Sniper, 'One shot, one kill'. He could do it from over 1500 meters away. Morales would be dead, before he heard the shot. I asked him not to do it, Morales has too many associates. Remember the two Boston cops? They didn't work for Vinnie you know.”

“I should be upset at the both of you, but I'm not. The two of you should be on stage Friday night.”

With that, she got to her feet and gave me a big hug. I could hear and feel my bones creak in her embrace. “You are the best.” Ginny murmured into my shoulder, “I love you.”

Lunch was a salad and a sandwich from the canteen truck the foreman talked into stopping on the site. Surprisingly it was pretty good.

After getting home, Ginny asked where my Christmas decorations were stored. I said in the basement, and led her there.

“You call these decorations?” Ginny said. “I call these crap!”

“But it isn't Veteran's Day yet,” I protested. “Why look now?”

“Because by Thanksgiving I want all the decorations up, That way we can enjoy them longer. Let's go shopping, we'll get supper on the way home.”

Off we went to Christmas City on Route 1 south at the Route 95 split. Two hours and 500 dollars later Ginny and I headed home.

“Now that was fun. Did you enjoy it Scrooge?”

I hated to admit it, but I did, Now all I had to look forward to was a cheerful Christmas.

We had supper at the Hearthside in Peabody. I had the sirloin steak, Ginny had lobster with macaroni and cheese. I've never tried it, so I had a spoonful of Ginny's. Not to my taste, I love them both, but separately.

After unloading Christmas from the CRV we just made the early news on Fox 25. A slight chance of light snow early tomorrow, then cold in the 20's F, minus 12 C. Cold for early November!

Ginny was all ready to start decorating, but I held her off saying “There isn't enough time tonight. We could start tomorrow when we get home from work.”

We arrived at the Lynnway in the darkness as usual but today the ground was a pristine white. It was snowing, just like the TV weather chic threatened last night. Boy, I hope she was correct also about the amount too.

The first snow always creates havoc for the drivers who obviously forgot how to drive in the snow from last year. Ginny and I had a ringside seat, as there was a traffic signal beside the office for the main road into Lynn and the junior college.

By noon, the count was two t-bone accidents, and six rear-enders. A great day for the tow-trucks and auto body shops. The piledriver crew wasn't coming in. They had a small car slide through an intersection in front of their truck. The car was flattened, the driver seriously hurt.

Ginny and I had nothing to do so we ordered a pizza delivery and went online looking at fancy decorations. With Amazon Prime, we had free delivery in 2 days. I was talked into an artificial tree, pre-lit for $300 dollars, on sale. That did it for me, $300 bucks for a plastic tree, c'mon. A real tree was only $15 dollars!

When we got home Ginny dove into yesterday's purchases, planning where to hang, place, or just prop her treasures. She informed me where the tree was going, in the corner by the French doors looking towards the ocean, and look at the cute angel for the top.

In spite of my self, Ginny was getting me into the spirit, with the decorations and the freshly fallen 3” of snow, It looked like a Currier and Ives lithograph of Christmas.

The only thing missing was the horse drawn sleigh with the warning bells tinkling away as the family went to the white church.

See! I said Ginny's attitude was contagious. I thought I'd ask her to bake gingerbread men, no, I'd ask her to make supper instead. Jeepers! I'm not that far gone.

Over a baked ham and pineapple dinner, I changed the subject from Ho, Ho, Ho to the tickets to Hamlet. I talked her into going on line to learn about the Danish Prince after we ate, the dishwasher would do the dishes that night.

The more Ginny read, the more excited she got, except for the Scottish Play, this was the favorite of the producer and director at the Beverly Theater. They would put the Scottish Play on next season. Something to look forward to.

The snow stopped overnight with a total of four new inches, the weather people were closer than usual. Tuesday's commute was a monster, even if ours was only 5 miles. The drawbridge at the end of the Lynnway was a sheet of ice, seems the people who ploughed the road didn't believe the forecast.

We arrived eventually, driving through the snow, a snap for the Explorer. I cleared the snow from the entry stairs with my boots, thinking I should add a snow shovel to the SUV. If we received this much before Veteran's Day, I shuddered to think of the coming winter.

The pile drivers made it in that day, hoping to finish the following Monday or Tuesday. Ye,s in construction we work on Veterans Day, and most take the Friday after Thanksgiving off. A smart move, only half the men would show up anyway, might as well not work that day at all.

Friday came with both of us excited to be attending the play that night. The last of the snow had disappeared by late Thursday. Driving to the theater would be easy.

Now, the big decision, What to wear? I gave up and let Ginny pick my outfit, I forgot I had a LBD. She found it, along with smokey black tights and black patent leather 3 inch pumps, If I didn't break my neck, I'll turn a few heads.

Ginny wore the same thing except, if not careful with crossing her legs, she may cause the actors to forget their lines. I have T-shirts that cover more then that dress did.

Inside I was laughing, thinking about how many men would be snapping their necks to stare at another guy. As we walked inside I whispered just that to Ginny. Her answer, I know, that's why the tiny dress. Aren't I a caution?

We were led to our seats, front, center, oh Steve what seats!

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in fixing typos and punctuation errors

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 47

We were so close to the stage, it seemed like the actors were talking to us. 'Steve, you wonderful man, how did you ever get these tickets?' Ginny and I got absorbed into the story. Poor Hamlet, his mother marries his uncle, is that incest?

We decided although Gertrude is the lead role, Ophilia seemed to be more fun to play, at least until Hamlet accuses her of being a whore and tells her to go to a nunnery. That drives her mad and she commits suicide.

No wonder the boy considers suicide too. We also decided being a court jester was a bad job; something to lose your head over? Hamlet holds a skull, “Alas poor Yoric (his skull!) I knew him”. How long ago did this guy die?

This play was all we talked about on the ride home, well, along with how many guys got whiplash checking us out in our LBD's and heels.

Once home We shimmied out of our dresses, kicked off the heels, threw on a robe and went into the living room. We were still wide awake after the play, and decided to have hot chocolate and watch a rerun of Perry Mason. He got his client free from the murder charge, while pointing out to Hamilton Burger who the murderer actually was. In all the years this was on TV I think his clients were found guilty twice. Of all the young beauties on the show I think the hottest was Perry's secretary, Della Street.

After the show Ginny and I headed for bed, tomorrow was Saturday and her first riding lesson!

I woke up to the sound of pans banging around on the stove in the kitchen. I squinted at the alarm clock, only 6:30! I guessed Ginny was really excited about that lesson. I tried to roll over for another hour's sleep, but no luck!

I tossed back the duvet and ran into the loo. I just made it. I wondered if Ginny left any hot water for my shower.

After a 'warm' shower, I pulled on my jodhpurs and riding boots with a turtle neck jersey and a zip sweatshirt.

As I walked into the kitchen, Ginny smiled at me, “It's about time, sleepyhead. I've been up forever. How does an omelet sound?”

I poured coffee and sat down to a wonderful omelet, a cross between a western and a Texmex. That girl sure can cook!

We finished our breakfasts and headed out for Newbury and our riding lessons. That's all she could talk about. For once Kevin's name wasn't mentioned, a new record!

I explained to her that once Cathy finished with our lesson and Kevin's driving lesson, she would ride. That meant not until about 1 o'clock.

Ginny didn't care, she'd watch my lesson, then Kevin's. Wow, has she got horse fever bad. I guess she's not afraid of horses anymore.

Tina arrived a few minutes after us. “I thought the three of us were riding up here together. What happened, did you forgot?”

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry; Ginny was so excited about her first lesson, I totally forgot about you.”

“No problem, I saw the two of you leave before I was ready. I remembered her lesson on the ride up here. I also was able to stretch out the Mercedes a bit.

“How fast?” I asked

“One hundred miles an hour.”

“On Route 1? Are you alright? That's way too fast for that road, Tina.”

I just got a funny stare from her, as she turned to get her horse tacked up. Uh oh, maybe something's going on here.

I got Freddy ready in record time with Ginny's help and headed for the arena. I had the place all to myself, so I urged him into a slow trot, changing my diagonals every four steps.

A diagonal is when a horse trots, the rider posts (rises), this is to the timing of when the horse steps off with a front leg. The “correct” diagonal is to rise in time with the inside leg, if the horse is going in a circle, like in a ring.

Tina and Chris entered the ring the same time Cathy did.

“Okay ladies, first way of the ring, posting trot. Look sharp and we'll get done early today.

She put us through all the paces, changing gaits constantly. After walking to allow the horses to catch their breath (the heck with us!), Cathy had us go the other direction, again changing gaits constantly. Soon Cathy had us line up in the middle of the ring.

While I was catching my breath, I saw Vincent Morales enter the viewing room. He started walking towards Ginny, but Jim Brady said something and stood between them. Ginny got up and walked into the ring and stood in the corner.

“Well done everyone, no figures today, the three of you did so well changing gaits, I figure that's enough for one day. Ginny, Kevin's not here today, so I'll get you started early. No sense in Ellen having to wait an extra hour.

Cathy beckoned to Ginny. “Follow me to Tigger's stall. We'll start out on her. After brushing her,the next thing to do is to pick out her hooves, we do this before riding every time.”

Cathy picked up her front leg, bent it back and started to clean out the hoof with a funny shaped tool with a dull hook. After finishing she handed Ginny the tool and said “Three more.”

Phew, smelly! Ginny finished that and went on to saddling and putting on the bridle. She led the big Appoloosa mare into the ring next to the mounting block, and Cathy held her while Ginny got on.

I looked over my shoulder for Morales, but couldn't see him. Worried, I walked over to Tina's horse's stall to check on her. Tina was fine, no Vinnie in sight. Together we returned to watch Ginny's lesson.

Cathy had her posting while Tigger was on the end of a longe line. Ginny had a smile from ear to ear. I have a feeling she will soon be paying a bill of $1200 a month.

You know the old saying, “If you have to ask the price, you can't afford the training.”

I mentioned to Tina that I saw her father, and he seemed to have something to say to Ginny.

This got her upset, “I'll speak to Ginny and apologize. Why is he bothering her?”

Ginny finished her lesson. It appeared to be a success, both Cathy and Ginny were smiling.

Looking at me Cathy said, “This girl is a natural, Ellen. I'll bet next week she'll be off the longe and riding on her own.”

As we walked to our cars, Tina suggested we meet for lunch and proposed going to the Porthole in Lynn again. We quickly agreed, I love their food; Ginny loves their prices.

Over a cold beer, Tina asked Ginny what her father said that stirred things up.

“He walked in and demanded that I tell him where you are living. When I said I didn't know, he called me a slut, and said to tell him. At this point Jim told him that that was no way to talk and to apologize to me. Your father looked up at Jim and muttered something as he walked off.”

I chuckled a bit. Jim is six foot six inches and weighs about 280 lbs, he can be a little daunting.

Tina was all wound up, “I'm going to call that bastard and tell him where to go. He can't do this with my friends.”

“He won't do it with Ellen,” Ginny laughed. “I think Dirty Harriet has him scared, or he's infatuated with her.”

“You couldn't wait until after we eat, could you Gin?”

We finished our deserts and headed for our cars.

The boats in the yacht club next door looked funny, all done up in white shrink wrap for the winter. It looked like a sticky snow had fallen, but only on the boats. There was a pleasant clink-clank of the stays on the aluminum masts. Good thing it was here, not next door to my bedroom window though.

We promised not to forget to pick her up the following week. Tina suggested we do something during the week, around Tuesday.

With that we went our separate ways. Although a short ride home, Ginny and I discussed if we planned to do anything on Sunday.

We decided to watch football all day. I know, I know! Look I'm a tomboy and Ginny likes watching all those big, muscular guys in tight pants bending over! Alright?

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 48

The new week dawned clear and warm temperatures in the low 60's. I hope the snow last week was a fluke, and this weather would continue.

The crew finished driving piles on Tuesday as promised, and our guys brought in front end loaders and bulldozers to start with the grading of the building lot. I kept yelling at the operators not to hit the stakes put in by the surveyors.

Thing's were finally starting to take shape! I was making a dozen phone calls a day trying to schedule material deliveries and the subcontractors to use them. I finally had to have a survey crew here all the time for the lot grading.

Not really a big deal. Once a base is established, a laser level is set up. This laser sends a red line around the whole property. This way, the crew setting drain pipe has a grade along with the operators of the earth movers.

I had told Steve a long time ago, I don't work on Saturdays unless a disaster has struck.

On Friday Steve dropped in with coffee from Kelly's in Revere. He wasn't here an hour before he headed of for parts unknown.

“Has he done this a lot?” Ginny asked. “It seems he wasn't here long enough to learn anything about the job's progress,”

“He's been in construction long enough to know what's going on. He also trusts me enough to know things are under control, no matter how wild it looks.”

“Look out there Ginny, what do you see happening?”

“There's a ton of activity, one crew is near the sidewalk digging a trench for drainage. Another crew is running a 'dozer back and forth, while a loader is making a pile.”

“Does it look like any one's standing around?”

“No”

“ Is every one contained in their own spot?”

“Yes”

“Therefor the maximum effort is being given by each crew” As Steve says “ Time is F****ng money”.

With that Ginny colapsed in my chair tears running down her cheeks, she was laughing so hard. “You sounded just like him. How do you do that?”

“Simple” I said, “Just think of having a pelvic exam with a cold speculum.”with that I broke down in giggles.

I heard this gasping noise. Looked up and saw Ginny bent over the desk making the most unladylike wheezing sounds as she tried to catch her breath.

“Seriously though, you don't want a crew of electricians waiting for mason to put up a wall, that's construction management.”

“Ginny, it's almost 4 months into your RLT, didn't your doctors say after the first of the year you would have their Okay for the surgery?”

“Doctor Braun said if things were the same, He would give his okay for the surgery.
Then it all depended on the clinic's schedule, it could take almost a year for a slot to open up.”

I wondered if she could legally change her name to Virginia Hanson without Morales finding out. The newspaper notice is what I worry about.But if she was a whistle blower,the judge may waive that requirement.

I brought the question up to Ginny, and she was intregued but wary about her new name getting to Morales.

When she has the surgery, she'll have to do it, but not now she said. I said out of curiosity, I brought up the Registry of Motor Vehicle's site, and found it's simple to do. The only hitch was going before a probate judge, and running a newswpaper ad.

“See, that's the part that scares me,” Ginny said, “Anyone could read about it.”

“The information I found said the Probate Court judge could waive the newspaper ad under the correct circumstances.”

“What circumstances would those be Ellen?”

“It didn't say”

The day flew by, at the end of the week things looked a little saner on the project site,

This allowed me to take a few deep breaths and relax.

Ginny now was able to see a method to the ant- like madness. As a Gravel truck driver, she would have been on a hundred sites like this. Friday snuck up on us rather quickly. It now was only a week to Thanksgiving and a four day weekend.

I asked Ginny if she skied. after getting an affirmative, I told her we could use Steve Brady's condo near Black Mountain in Jackson New Hampshire. She said she was afraid to return to her appartment to get her equipment No worry I said, you can rent boots and skis there.

Another Friday night another Ginny bouncing off walls, she was so excited about her lesson with Cathy tomorrow.

I finished my lesson, and brushed and reblanketed Freddy. Then Tina and I walked to the open door of the riding ring. Ginny was posting nicely on the longe line. Soon Cathy stoped the horse and unsnaped the line. Holding the bridle she led the horse to the wall.

“Okay Ginny, just like that. Nice and easy along the wall. Keep him nice and steady, and breathe. You won't die”.

Off they went, Tigger and Ginny. Tigger with a nice smooth trot, Ginny posting along on the correct diagonal. I don't know who was happier Cathy or me!

“Okay” Cathy called, “How about reversing our direction and changing diagonals.”

The three of us held our collective breath. Damn ! She did it, a smooth reverse and a seamless diagonal change.

Cathy turned and said to us, “You might have company next season, Tina. The way Ginny's riding, by next April, we may have to shop for a horse for her. That would make two new riders on the circuit, Ellen and Ginny!”

To say I was thrilled, was an understatement. I couldn't wait to give her a hard time.

Tina and I were hopping up and down and hugging each other in excitement.

Cathy turned to us and said “You two act like you've never seen anybody trot before.”

We just grinned and walked to the ring's center where Ginny and Tigger were stopped.
I thought she had a big grin last week, but now she had a grin like a watermellon slice! Ginny couldn't wait to hop down to ask if we saw her trot.

Tina and I said we were both brushing our horses, and how did she do ?

That earned us a punch on the arm. “Okay, okay, we saw you. You looked great.” said Tina, “Ellen will have to watch out, you're going to beat her!”

Cathy said to Ginny next week no safety line, she and Tigger would be on their own

The three of us headed for Ginny's Honda CRV for the ride home. All she could talk about was her soloing today, and her lesson next week.

Tina suggested we go for ice cream sundaes on her. Tina stayed on Route 1 and got off for the Putnam Pantry.

My idea of a proper lunch, a monsterous Banana Split covered in whipped cream and ground walnuts.

We waddled back to the car and headed for the condo in Swampscott.

As we drove up in front of the condo, Ginny asked what I wanted for supper.

I just groaned, and put my head back. “Surprise me.”

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 49

Ginny surprised me! Supper was boiled lobster, corn on the cob, steak fries, and a fresh garden salad. How she gets the groceries inside the house without me seeing her do it is a miracle.

After those huge sundaes, we ate later than usual. This was not a big deal as the following day was Sunday, the kind without a cherry on top. We could sleep late, eat breakfast late, whatever we wished could be done late.

The football started at 1pm; Ginny could get her big, athletic, 'men in Spandex' fix anytime from 1pm to midnight. I'd be watching right along with her, but for different reasons. Heck I'm a fan, I used to tailgate with my dad and his friends at the games in Foxborough. Nothing like overdone chicken, and underdone burgers in a parking lot, filled with drunken, under-aged men.

Ah, the national favorite, American Football. At least we don't cause riots during games, like happens with the game also called football, but actually called Soccer. I wonder, do the Italians tailgate before a game with Brazil? What do they have? Spaghetti with meat sauce, and grilled medallions of veal and pesto sauce? Somehow it doesn't sound the same.

As promised, we woke late, had a brunch of scrambled eggs, bacon, melon, and pink grapefruit, washed down with gourmet coffee, grown in Kenya. How decadent! What do you expect from two equestrian women?

I hurried into the living room, to watch the Patriots' game, while Ginny washed the dishes, and pans. She made it in time for the first play. Ginny only missed the first kick-off, no big deal today; take a kneel, spot the ball on the twenty yard line, ho hum.

During the advertising breaks we talked about her future with the drug cartel, and Mister V. Morales. It seemed clear that there was more to this than just Vinnie. Having the two Boston detectives go so far out of their jurisdiction looking for 'Gene', made that definite. I suspected a Mafia connection here, and wondered how much the mob wanted Gene.

The trucking company had already been taken apart by the State Police; Morales was suspected to be the cocaine connection on the North Shore. The biker gangs were known to be carrying drugs in from New York down the Massachusetts Turnpike.
It seemed to us his only value was bringing in drugs from offshore.

I thought that if Ginny went for a name change before the probate court in Massachusetts, no one would read the public notice. Now to find a newspaper suitable to the judge, but not read very much. The Boston Herald was out, so was the Boston Globe. I wasn't sure about running the ad in the Lynn Item, or The Salem Evening News.
Ginny was concentrating on the Essex County papers, and came up with the Newburyport News.

It was decided, file the change of name papers with the Salem Probate court, and run the declaration of change of name in the Newburyport paper. That was the easy part, now who to use as a lawyer, and the timing for it?

“I think to put it in the paper over Thanksgiving will almost guarantee no one reads it,” Ginny was positive on this. “If not then, over Christmas.”

“Your driver's license is based on a birth certificate”, I said. “You already have that. You need real charge cards, and a passport. “

She looked at me and smiled, “Ellen, what would I do without you? I forgot about the phony driver's license.”

“You'd remember quickly, if a cop ran your license! Since Steve is aware of your status, and got those funny ID's, why don't I ask him tomorrow about a lawyer?”

“Are you sure Steve will come by the project?” she asked.

“You forget, we're staying in his condo in Waterville Valley when we're skiing over the Thanksgiving weekend. They've been making snow since we had that little storm down here.”

“I'm not sure I have clothes for skiing,” Ginny said. “I may have to buy some.”

Now that got me laughing, she'd use any excuse to shop. “Ginny, you do ski, right?”

“Oh yeah, but now I'm going to be a snow bunny, I'll let the guys help me down the slope. I've skied double diamond slopes since I was a teenager,” She smiled. “I actually did some ski racing as a kid.”

“Okay, you can ski, but don't show off too much, and bring attention to yourself.” I thought for a minute, “Do you want to ask Tina, or distance ourselves a bit over the weekend?”

“She will be alone you know, she's not going home to have Thanksgiving with her father and what ever hooker Vinnie has staying with him. We should ask. Unless you don't want to, Ellen.”

Now I felt like a rat, leaving her alone on a real family day. “Do you want to call, or should I?”

Ginny gave me a hug, smiled and said ”I'll call her. I'll say you asked me to invite her, whether she skis or not.”

We had a quick sandwich and iced tea during the half of the Patriots' game. Ginny grabbed her cell phone and gave Tina a call. I don't know what they talked about, but the call lasted most of the second half of the football game.

Ginny waited for a time out. “I asked Tina over for supper, I tempted her with a pot roast dinner.”

“When did you start a roast?” I asked. “We eat in an hour.”

“One of the things you can get at Cosco's meat department is a pre-cooked pot roast that is very good. If you add a can of carrots to the roast, it adds just enough flavor. It's as good as most restaurant pot roasts.”

Tina walked across the street about this time. Never empty handed, she had a couple bottles of Chianti to enhance the meal.

I was still watching the final minutes of the late afternoon game, the score was tied, with a little over a minute remaining, threatening overtime.

“Oh good, you have the game on,” Tina shouted,”I've been watching this game, I can't believe it's still tied.”

Denver ended the game with a 62 yard field goal, this with only 15 seconds remaining. Tina and I were disappointed, we both were rooting for Oakland to win.

While we were watching the game, Ginny laid the table and sliced the roast. She let Tina open the wine, while I got three glasses of iced water for the table.

We talked about the coming ski trip. Apparently, Tina skied at my level, so we'd be company for each other, while Ginny played snow queen on the experts' slopes.

She mentioned her father's boat. “He leaves it in the water all year, just moving it from the yacht club in Revere to Boston harbor. Frankly, I don't see the point; when it ices up, he has to run pumps to keep the ice away.”

“What did he do last year?” I asked, “It was below zero degrees F for a week at night.”

Tina laughed, “It stayed in. As a matter of fact, he told me over the phone yesterday, that he and two friends were going out on Thanksgiving Day to fish.”

And I thought I was dedicated to my hobby.

We left it with Tina that we'd leave at noon on Wednesday, taking my Explorer. That way we had more room and a better four-wheel drive in case of snow.

“Great, I'll call your cell in the morning to be sure,” she said.

With that, Ginny and I bade her a good night, watching her to the sidewalk, before closing the door.

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for her help in fixing typos and grammar

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"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin < A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 50

Steve showed up at the site five minutes after we did, but he had brought coffee and muffins from the Dunkin Donuts down the street.

“No offence Ellen, but I like double D's coffee a lot better than that Kurig stuff, besides, we needed muffins.”

That's Steve. He'll never change. Thank Goodness!

“I suppose you lovely ladies are wondering why I'm here so early? That's because I'm leaving for Puerto Rico in two hours, not to be seen here again until next Tuesday.” Steve smirked at me and said, “After all, look how hard I work, I need the time off.”

“Good, may I have the key to the condo in Waterville Valley? And we need to talk.”

He handed Ginny the key, looked at me, smiled, and asked, “Now what, beautiful?”

“Steve, you're aware of Ginny's true condition, and her given name, but did I ever tell you the whole story?”

“No, not really Ellen.”

“She saw and overheard a major drug deal being planned. Ginny also saw Vincent Morales giving orders to a major distributor of cocaine and money in New England. She ran into our office to hide from Morales himself, because he thought she'd overheard him. Now it turns out, his daughter takes riding lessons with me, and if you can believe it, Morales tried to pick her up!”

Steve looked at Ginny and grinned. “He'd be a damned fool not to try.” he said.

“You can't believe how much she appreciates the ID's you got her, but now's the time to get legitimate licenses and charge cards. To do this, she has to have a legal name change in Probate Court. She'll stick with the SSN card for now, but may change the name on her original card.

“She needs to file a request with a Probate judge, and take out a newspaper ad stating the name change. For this, I think Ginny should use a lawyer. Do you know a lawyer that could help?”

“Girly, I know just the guy. He plays golf with my brother, Jim. I've got his phone number in my truck, hold on, I'll get it.”

With that, Steve ran out the door. He missed the sound of me grinding my teeth over the word “Girly”, but I'll guarantee he was grinning as he went to his truck. A moment later, he bounced back in with the number written on a business card.

Ginny looked at me in wonder. “How did he do that so fast?”

I just shrugged.

“Here's his number, tell him you work for me, and he'll take good care of you. Now, I'm off to sun and sand. Happy Thanksgiving.”

Ginny and I finished the muffins, apple and spice, my favorite after blueberry.

Wednesday couldn't come fast enough. Tuesday afternoon, we shopped for a cute, warm ski jacket and several heavy sweaters. Ginny was delirious with joy. I was just with her.

The Explorer was packed, Tina's and my skis on the roof rack. We told Tina to wait for us, no sense having her carry a suitcase across the busy street. I drove around back of her apartment where she and the suitcases were waiting, and ten minutes later we were headed north for Route 93 and New

Hampshire.

With three girls in the car, there was no lack of talking for the two hour ride. Soon we arrived at Steve's condo with plenty of daylight left to unload the SUV and make a fire in the living room fireplace.

Ginny had a large cardboard box in the backseat, marked 'Thursday'. When she went to retrieve it I asked what was in it. She smiled, and answered, “Not cook for Thanksgiving dinner? What kind of chef do you think I am? That's tomorrow's dinner!”

I was flabbergasted, “Ginny, I planned for you to take it easy, no dinners, just skiing and restaurants.”

“Creating a feast for Thanksgiving is a joy, not work. Besides, we'll eat leftovers for the rest of the weekend. I hope you and Tina like turkey.”

“Ginny, you are amazing, I was planning for us to ski all day tomorrow, and had reservations for dinner.”

“You and Tina go, I'll cook and watch the Macy's parade. On second thoughts call and cancel the reservation, we won't need it. As a matter of fact, I have tonight's dinner all set. If you can eat it again, lobster salad and seafood chowder. I cheated, The chowder is Legal Seafood's.”

Supper in front of a fire is the finest kind. I just love the seasons in New England. Then we headed to bed. Ginny and I would share the master bedroom, while Tina had the small bedroom to herself.

Thanksgiving dawned with a gentle snow falling, perfect for skiing. Tina and I had a breakfast of coffee and toast. We gave Ginny a hug and said we'd be back by three in the afternoon.

“Perfect! I'll have dinner ready, with only carving the bird to do. Be careful driving, it looks slippery out there.”

Tina and I headed for the slopes. After buying a lift ticket we got hot chocolate before skiing. The chocolate finished, we started with the intermediate slopes to warm up. Neither of us had skied for a while.

Soon we were worn out. Tina checked her watch. “Perfect timing, let's head back, it's almost 2:30, dinner's at three don't forget.”

We walked in to the aroma of roasted turkey, and pumpkin spices from a fresh pie cooling on the counter.

Dinner was absolutely wonderful; the turkey was moist, the gravy like silk, and Ginny's stuffing was delicious. While watching the late NFL game we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Tina looked at Ginny and me and groaned, “I don't know about you two, but I'll be happy to walk, let alone ski tomorrow. I ate far too much.”

We laughed at that and helped with the left-overs and washing the pots and dishes.

The alarm went off at 7am. I reluctantly crawled of bed and headed for the loo, beating Ginny by a nose. I came out and she rushed in. I wondered, was there a second bathroom? I went toward Tina's room, listening for the sound of a shower.

There it was, Tina had her own bathroom!

I found Steve's coffee maker and a can of Maxwell House coffee. I made six cups, figuring a second cup each. I'd leave breakfast to Ginny to dream up.

Soon Tina and Ginny joined me, both thankful for the strong coffee.

“I've got bacon and eggs for today, and pancakes for tomorrow. Unless you want the eggs tomorrow?”

“Eggs today,” Tina and I said in unison. “And toast,” I added.

In no time we finished breakfast and packed up for a day's skiing. Tina and I stuck together, while Ginny trolled for young ski instructors at the double diamond trails.

A little later, it looked as if she hooked one; a tall, blonde, twenty something seemed to be smitten, following her every move.

Tina got a charge out of this. “I need to get some tips from her. Look at me, I'm skiing with you, not him.”

“You're a fine one to talk, what am I, chopped liver? Where's my date?”

Tina and I finished our ski runs for the day, and were in the chalet coffee shop waiting for Ginny. We were surprised when she showed up sans beef-cake.

Tina was cute, asking if Ginny was done with him, then could she have him to play with?

We opted for pizza for dinner on Friday, but planned for a turkey dinner on Saturday night.
I woke up Saturday to the odor of turkey stew on the stove. What time did Ginny get up?

“This will be for Sunday night, I have enough for turkey and stuffing sandwiches, not just dinner tonight.”

“Ginny, why don't we open a small restaurant of our own? We'll call it “Chez Virginia”, or “Ginny's Restaurant Service”, you know, GRS for short.”

She hit me with a wooden spoon. “Shh, Tina will hear.”

“Take it easy, kiddo, she won't know what GRS is, all she would have heard is SRS.”

Tina came out, looking like a million dollars. “Are you two ready? Let's go, breakfast is on me.”

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 51

We went to a cute little diner just down the snow covered road from Steve's condo. Even at 7:30 AM the place was crowded with skiers hoping to get as many runs in as possible before they have to return home.

After waiting 20 minutes we were seated at a window booth. Actually, it was worth the wait, what a view, it looked like a Currier and Ives pen and ink drawing.

Tina and I went for the 'Lumberjack' breakfast, a short stack of pancakes, home fries, bacon, sausage, and three eggs. Ginny ate like a girl, she had a Western omelate and toast.

Somehow, Tina finished before Ginny, I was still working on my pancakes. Maybe I should herring bone up the hill to work this meal off. Yeah, off my hips.

Tina paid the waitress, and left her a nice tip. While I waddled and Ginny walked back to the condo, she ran to catch us. Can you believe it? She ran ! Even after eating enough for two.

We loaded ourselves into the Explorer. Tina's and my skis were already on the roof rack. Imagine doing that at home? 500 dollars worth of skis and bindings left out in the open. What's that movie? “Gone in 30 seconds”.

We waited for Ginny to get rental skis and boots, before getting on the chairlift. Today Ginny decided to stay with us on the intermediate slopes. The three of us had a great time kriss-crossing over each other's trail. The best part was Tina and I attracted some male attention, three pimple-faced teens wearing baggy pants on snow-boards.

Ginny sounded like a burro, giving us the he-haw laugh the rest of the way down slope. To make things worse, the three boys got on the chair-lift behind us.

After maneuvering ourselves off the chair-lift, Tina waited for the boys. She walked over with a big smile and said something to the tallest one. All three turned bright red, got on their boards and took off, without a look back.

After exchanging looks, Ginny asked what she said to drive them off like that.

Tina smiled and said, “ I asked the tall kid if he knew how to please a woman, or was he a virgin like his two pals. I think he peed himself.”

“What would you have done if he said yes?” I asked

She just smiled, “He had joy-stick callouses on his thumbs, or at least I think they were from joysticks.”

Now Ginny turned red, I laughed so hard I had hiccups.

We finished before dark, about 4 PM. The thing I dislike about this time of year is it gets dark so early. Ginny returned her boots and skis, while Tina and I secured ours to the roof rack. We returned to the condo to the aroma of turkey stew. Somehow my 'cousin' found a crock pot in a cabinet under the counter. It's been slow cooking all day.

We headed for our rooms to cleanup and change, Tina and me in jeans and a sweatshirt. The fashion plate in a pair of tight fuchsia slacks and an angora sweater. She reminded me of Mary Fran in the Bob Newhart show about a B and B in Vermont, always wearing tight sweaters.

Ginny quickly opened two Pillsbury French loaves and put them in the oven. We'll eat at about 6 PM. She said.

“We played too long, now we won't be home until Midnight.” Tina remarked, “Hope no one's doing an early surgery tomorrow.”

That got me laughing, “I thing Ginny will still be able to do her nails, I'm not sure I'll be able to function though. Oh drat, I have to call Steve's lawyer tomorrow, I'd forgotten.”

Tina's ears perked up, “A lawyer? Who's being sued?”

Shoot, how to blow this off? “Steve has a permit to be submitted on the site near the Community College. No big deal.”

Just then Ginny called us to supper, great timing!

We feasted on fresh bread, a garden salad, and a wonderful turkey stew. I don't care if she gets married, I'm following her. What can you add to a stew? This is great!

Since I was driving home I had diet cola while the others had wine. I guess I'll have the radio for company on the ride home. I'll put on the Christmas carols I've been resisting for two weeks.

The suitcases were packed and loaded into the back of the Explorer. Soon all I heard was soft snores and “Rocking around the Christmas Tree.” soon the mellow tones of Gene Autrey was telling us about the discrimination poor Rudolph faced. I loved every one of them.

Just a few minutes before Midnight I pulled into Tina's driveway, waking up the two sleeping beauties. They got out and stretched, Ginny helped get Tina's skis down, then hopped back into the SUV. A quick kiss, and Tina was off to bed.

We pulled into my driveway, parking beside her CRV. I took down the skis while Ginny got both of our bags. She wanted to talk, but I just waved and hopped into bed still dressed but for my boots. I was asleep in minutes.

One good thing, when the GD alarm went off , I was dressed, no shower for me today, I'll use my 'shower in a can' as my college roommate called Secret deodorant.

After a minimal washing, I stumbled into the kitchen for coffee, wishing I could get it in an IV drip.

Ginny came out all smiles and good cheer, Giving me a big “Good morning”.

I could have broken her neck.

Two quick coffees and I was ready to leave, Ginny drove today, I dosed until we arrived at the security gate to the site.

With a groan, I mounted the stairs to the office, removed the padlock and went inside. With little miss Sunshine behind me, yammering about something. I think she wanted to put up Christmas lights in the office.

As predicted, No one showed up to work except the foreman of the grading crew. He came in and made a cup of coffee, asking if it was worth it for him to start up the small bulldozer and do something.

That got a laugh from me . I said “Tim, have a ball, do what you want, leave when you want. Did you and the kids have a nice Thanksgiving?

“Yeah, I took the boys to the Swampscott verses Marblehead game. Big Blue won, if they hadn't I never would have lived it down. My wife went to Marblehead High, you know.

He and Ginny made small talk before he headed out to do some grading before the ground froze too hard to move.

She looked around the office and smiled. “I'm going to run down to Walmart and pickup a small tree with lights. It'll look great in the corner by the copy machine. Do you want to come with me?”

No, you go, I'll stay here and man the fort. Also, I better call Steve's lawyer, before he goes to Aruba, or Puerto Rico, or some warm place.

Hey, I read a good lawyer joke in the paper last week. A man was putting a bumper sticker on the rear of an ambulance, a second man leaned over and started reading, “If you can read this, you must be a lawyer.” I started to giggle, Ginny looked at me funny, and said, “I thought I had a strange sense of humor.”

With that, she got in the Honda and headed for Walmart.

Finally, peace and quiet! I turned, faced the wall, and nodded off.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 52

I woke up to find Ginny shaking my shoulder. “Hey, sleepy-head rise and shine,” she said, “Check out our new Christmas tree!”

The first thing I did was check my wrist watch, to see only a hour had gone by. How could she have gone to the store, bought a tree, and come back so soon?

Ginny stood beside my desk, with a big grin in her face. “I found the perfect tree for here. They had a display setup by the doors as you come in. I talked the store manager into selling me one that was already decorated for a great price.”

“How much did you finally spend? How did you talk the store into this deal?”

“One question at a time,” Ginny laughed. “She charged me the cost of the tree and the decorations, minus 10% for an 'out of box' product. That came to $65, minus 10%, only $53.50.”

“I told the manager my boss was a grouch, who only allowed me fifty dollars to buy decorations for our office. When she thought about that longer, she said “Merry Christmas, just pay fifty dollars for the whole thing.”

I looked up at her and said, ”The next time we have union problems, I'll have you negotiate with them.”

I stood and made a cup of coffee to help wake me up. Once that was done, I turned and looked at her Christmas tree.

It was wonderful! The tree was about four feet tall, with multi-colored lights, and a rope of red and silver garland winding from the top around to the bottom branches. There must have been over fifty ornaments hung on the branches, with a little angel on the very top of the tree.

I was flabbergasted,“You got this for fifty dollars? That's amazing, It looks beautiful Ginny, wow, did you do a great job!”

Her face became bright red. I could see I embarrassed her with my praise.

“I have a way of talking people into doing things. Look at us, six months ago did you think things would be like this?”

With that I shook my head and laughed, “You're correct there, cousin, I would have no cares, and peace and quiet at home. I probably would have bought a cat for company; her friends wouldn't have a father crashing my door open at midnight either.”

Ginny started giggling, which of course set me off. At this point, the foreman came into the trailer to say he was heading out. All I heard was “women” said under his breath as he left.

That got us going even more, “If he only knew he'd faint,” Ginny said, “He tried to ask me out last week.”

“I don't think the canteen truck is coming today. What do you want to do for lunch? After we eat I figured we go home early.”

“Good thinking,” she said. “Why not the Porthole? It's on the way, no matter where we would decide to go.”

“Great idea, I've wanted fried clams for awhile, and we could have a drink since we're done for the day, but only if I pay.”

In no time the office was 'lights out', the door locked, and we were on the way to lunch.

After a great lunch and a Margarita apiece, we headed home, with the idea of finishing our decorations. Hopefully, the tree Ginny ordered had arrived.

As we pulled into the driveway at the condo, we spotted a huge box blocking the door.

“The tree, the tree, boss,” she said, copying the actor Herve' Villechaize in 'Fantasy Island'. “It's here.”

We “manhandled” the box inside into the living room. Ginny could hardly wait to remove her coat before opening the box. In no time she had the three piece tree standing up. I do admit, it appeared to be a live tree with strings of small coloured lights already installed.

I found a small round carpet in the hall closet to place the tree on, and together, we slid it into the spot Ginny had selected for it. Perfect! It was visible from the living room, the front through the front bay window, and from the back through the French doors.

Ginny ran into her bedroom and returned with two huge bags, “Now we can start decorating the tree and the house with the things we bought last week.”

She was as excited as a ten year old kid. I took a bag, emptying the contents on the sofa, and said, “Okay Santa, lets get started.”

We had the tree decorated in a short while, with garland ropes and about 200 ornaments hung by supper time. We could enjoy the Christmas tree while eating.

Ginny whipped up a fast supper of macaroni and cheese and baked canned ham, with orange juice and pineapple chunks.

After the dishes were done, a collaborative effort, we started to decorate the condo. First, all the oil lamps, functional and decorative got a small fir and pine cone swag. Ginny had bought small fir candle wreaths. These were perfect slid down over the window candles she placed in each window, each getting a white LED bulb.

I asked why the expensive LED bulbs instead of the normal fifteen cent bulbs. Ginny's answer was the LEDs would last longer than I will and we wouldn't have to worry about turning them on and off, because they don't get hot and cost almost nothing to leave on.

“Umm, are the bulbs on the tree LED also? Is that why the tree cost so much?” I asked out loud.

Ginny heard me and answered both questions at the same time, “Yes and yes. You keep asking multiple questions in the same breath today El.”

I looked at her and said, “HO, HO, HO, must be the season don't you think? Does this sweatshirt make my butt look big? How does Santa really come into my house? How about if I don't have a chimney?”

After the fourth question sentence in two breaths, we both broke out in giggles heading for hiccups.

Once the jocularity stopped, Ginny became serious and asked what the lawyer said. Oh shoot, I had fallen asleep, I didn't call him. After telling her this, Ginny said that tomorrow was another day, and not to worry.

We finally decided to curl up on the couch and watch the evening news. During a commercial, I turned to Ginny and asked her if she remembered the two Boston detectives, and what their names were.

“The young good-looking cop's name was Maroney, I forget his first name. The older guy was a sergeant, I forget his name.”

“Figures you'd know the good-looking guy's name. I got it! The sergeant's name is Spanos, the same as the guy in NCIS that plays the FBI agent.”

Ginny gave me a funny look, “What ever made you think of them, it's been months since they came around looking for Gene.”

“As I was sitting here watching the news about another drug bust, it occurred to me, that just maybe it wasn't Gene they were looking for, but the $50,000 Gene took off with.”

“Oh no, that would mean they weren't working for Morales but someone else.” Ginny paused, “The Mob? Oh my gosh, that's worse, they'll never quit. You still haven't answered me. Why think of them now?”

“Did I ever tell you my mother and grandmother had something like second sight? They'd get a feeling about something and sure enough, it'd come true. I just had one of those 'feelings'.”

“So you have the power of hoodoo?”

“Ginny, don't start that Cary Grant stuff, I'm dead serious about this, maybe we should hold off a bit on the name change.”

“Well, I have to say, this is the most worried I've seen you since this all started. All right, the name change can wait. What else do the tea leaves foretell?”

I wished she would treat this seriously, darn it!

“Just be on your guard, this feeling is rarely wrong.”

We watched the rest of the news, a final warning from the weatherman about over-night frost with a twenty percent chance of light snow by lunch time.

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 53

We woke to pristine white everywhere; the fresh snow covered every tree branch, every shrub and bush. This is a postcard moment, the sort you'd love to see on Christmas morning, but around here, there'd be a rain storm, or a warm-up to melt it all away, leaving bare trees, and dead grass for Christmas.

I said to Ginny that it was my turn to drive today, but help clearing the snow would be appreciated. This time I remembered to get a snow shovel from the garage, so we wouldn't have to clear snow with our feet when we got to work.

Together we made quick work cleaning the snow from the Explorer, and were on our way in fifteen minutes. I hoped this year wasn't like 2014 when over one hundred inches fell in a month and a half.

Well, snow cleared, lights on, coffee made, all by 7 AM. If women ran the world, at least things would be done on time!

Now the subject of the drug dealers came up. Ginny was worried about the money, more than what she'd heard that day between Morales and MacDonald, the trucking company's owner.

“Look Ginny, I bet they think Morales grabbed the cash, blamed the truck's driver with taking it, and then made a deal on his own. He needs Gene, to take the pressure off with the Mafia.”

“So as long as I ,err, Gene stays hidden, the more Vinnie has trouble? Maybe that explains the way he was acting with Tina, he's under a lot of pressure.”

I nodded, “The kind of pressure that results in a funeral. Morales already lost his distribution method when the State police raided the trucking company last August. He set up something on the fly that's not as profitable, I'd think.”

“It's a good thing Tina moved out, otherwise, she might be in deep trouble,” Ginny took a deep breath. “We can't tell her my secret, just in case.”

“The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced not to move on a name change. With the publicity of Caitlin Jenner and bathroom use, if you get stopped carrying a man's license, the cops will probably just laugh a bit, and call you a name.

Ginny decided that when we got home, she'd finish the outside Christmas lights, and I'd pay the bigger electric bill. Nothing like a division of labor.

That night the news was full of auto accidents, from Portsmouth, NH, south to Plymouth, MA. Why don't people slow down in the snow?

The weatherman had a Cheshire Cat smile, as he bragged about being right ten per cent of the time. In the next breath, he warned of black ice overnight, with a slow melting following day, and sunny on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ginny finished those outside lights by 6.30 PM,and I made supper. It arrived a little after 7. What? You thought I was going to cook?

The next day a full crew showed up, and got busy on rough grading the site. Even though it was cold, we could pour the concrete foundation and first floor slab in two weeks. These days, concrete could be poured almost any time, and kept from freezing.

The following day, the carpenters and iron workers would get started on the forms and reinforcing steel. Once the slab was poured and had set for two weeks, we could start the real work, framing, and floors. This called for four stories, and a loft to be built on the foundation.

There would be three floors of apartments, with businesses on the ground floor, and a couple of huge loft apartments, with panoramic ocean views. I'm starting to sound like a real estate broker!

Needless to say it was busy at work, and thoughts of name changes and drug deals were pushed to the back of my mind. Ginny was very busy keeping the paperwork filed and up to date, and Morales never came up.

On Friday afternoon she had another appointment with Doctor Singh to monitor her oestrogen levels. We left the office at 3 PM with the sounds of Christmas music on the radio. In a week or two, I'd be sick of Rudolph, St Nick, and Gene Autry.

When we got home, I called Tina to see if she wanted a ride tomorrow. I was surprised when she said she was at her father's house, and would stay overnight, promising to fill us in at the barn after our lesson.

I repeated this to Ginny, who said, “I hope she knows what she's doing.”

“You know, last week when we forgot her, she told me she had the Mercedes up to 100 mph on Route 1, When I said she was crazy, I got a funny look from her. Something is going on. Hey, what's going on with you and Kevin? You haven't even mentioned his name for two weeks. Is it off?”

Ginny blushed bright red. “It's still on, just a little cooler. I spoke to him this morning, and we'll see him at the barn tomorrow. I can't wait to show him how well I'm doing with my riding.”

“Now you have a scheduled lesson, you can't go for rides with him until your lesson is over. That makes it hard on his horse. He'd be going for well over an hour, it wouldn't be fair to Doc.

By now, Ginny had a pot roast ready, along with mashed potatoes, carrots, and Brussels sprouts. I'm putting on weight!

We arrived at the barn early, giving us time to chat with Cathy. She said Chris Brady wouldn't be here for the next two weeks, and that it would just be me and Tina.

About this time, I saw Tina's red rocket go by the windows, well, she made it out of the house anyway.

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 54

Remember the old line,'careful what you wish for, it may come true'? I think it happened, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We arrived home around 3:30pm, in plenty of time for the two of us to shower. We did the rock, paper, scissors thing. I was paper, she was scissors. Ginny had a hot shower, I had a warm one.

I was finishing my attempt at make-up, when the phone rang. It was Tina asking if it was okay if she came over now, rather than later. Ginny gave her the okay she was looking for.

By the time she walked across the street, I had given up at playing Max Factor, and poured myself a V-8 and vodka. The vodka helps digest the vitamins in the juice, at least, that's what George Jefferson's mother used to say.

We decided it was Tina's turn to choose restaurants, and Ginny's turn to drive; the best part, my turn to just eat.

She suggested a new Tex-Mex place on Route 1 in Saugus. I haven't had that for quite a while, it really sounded very good to both me and Ginny.

We grabbed our coats, and headed for Ginny's CR-V. We had a pleasant ride through Lynn and Saugus gabbing all the way, this time about horses and tack. It's like a switch was thrown in Ginny. Now she was interested in riding tips, and information about taking part in a major horse show.

We guessed the correct exit to use to go north on Rte 1. Meanwhile Tina and I kept after Ginny, asking if she had riding experience, or was she just a natural? She finally broke down as we arrived at the restaurant's parking lot.

“I used to go to summer camp where horse-back riding was an activity. I wasn't much for canoes and fishing, so I rode as often as possible.”

At this Tina and I exchanged knowing glances.

After being led to our seats by the hostess, Ginny started to explain again. “This was when I was eleven, and I rode in a Western saddle, but I had a bad accident. The horse stumbled and fell on me, breaking my leg in two places. That's why I was so skittish around the horses at the barn.”

Tina looked at her and asked why didn't she say so when Cathy started her on the line?

“I was afraid I'd panic and embarrass Ellen, I didn't realize it would come back to me like it did. Now I have to tell Cathy the story, so I've embarrassed both Ellen and myself.”

By this time she had tears in her eyes, poor thing.

“Don't feel bad for me,” I said. “I don't embarrass that easily, and although Cathy will be disappointed that she's not Super Instructor, I'm sure she's had students like this before. Someone who rode in summer camp or leased horses for an hour or two on a weekend.” I laughed. “I lost a half dozen boyfriends in high school by dragging them to ride rental horses. Their egos took quite a beating when they were flopping back and forth in the saddles.”

The waitress came and took our drink orders, Margaritas all around; she also left salsa and a basket of corn chips. We were silent while we poured over the menus. By the time our drinks arrived our minds were made up. A nacho salad for Ginny, Tina decided on a chicken chimichanga with corn bread and rice. Just to be different, I got the three soft tacos with refried beans and corn bread.

If you've ever gone to dinner with three girls, you know we talked more than we ate, but we finished our dinners in spite of all the yakking.

It turned out, Tina was concerned about her father, saying he was carrying a pistol, even when he was at home. She thought he felt like someone s after him. I don't think Ginny was very sympathetic, and to be honest, neither was I.

We arrived home before the late news at about 10pm. Ginny asked if Tina wanted to come in for tea or coffee, but she refused, saying she wanted to go home to Andover early, before her father left the house.

Ginny and I changed. I put on flannel pajamas and a robe, the fashion queen actually put on sweats, but cute pink ones and a cotton hoodie. When the water was hot I made tea. She and I snuggled into separate ends of the sofa and watched the news.

A new terrorist attack in France, a car bomb exploding in Iraq in front of a school. Wow, that really cheers you up, gets you ready for a weather forecast of heavy snow the following day, starting around noon and continuing overnight. It's no better when delivered by a woman meteorologist. Her guess was ten to forteen inches, more in spots, who might get up to eighteen inches or more.

Just ducky, the next day was December third for crying out loud, this much snow early might shut the new job down.

Well, I might see a repeat of the snow bowl at the Patriot's football game the next day. The game started at 4:30pm. I felt bad for the fans driving home at 8 o'clock in the snow, some people drive over a hundred miles to get there.

No problem for me, I'll be butt in chair by one o'clock, just waiting for the first flake to make an appearance. On this great news we went to bed.

Sunday started off windy, with some fine flakes blowing in from the ocean. Oh, oh, this could mean a Northeaster, just like the weather predicted.

I got a fire burning in the fire-place while Ginny made us scrambled eggs and bacon, along with the rest of the fresh melon. Isn't it funny how comforting a fire is during a snow storm?

We ate, washed up and started reading the Sunday paper over cups of coffee. The early football game was the Buffalo Bills at the New York Jets. It was already snowing in New Jersey where the Jets played, but their totals were expected to only be six to eight inches of wet snow.

Ginny and I were chatting during the game and about half time,she dropped a bomb!

“I know how long it could take to have a spot for GRS, even after letters of approval from the doctors, sooo, I got my name in at the clinic in Trinidad, Colorado, and the one in California.”

You could have knocked me over with a feather!

“But the place that had a cancellation and therefore an opening the end of January, is the clinic in Montreal. Their price is a little better, with the exchange rate. They require a non-refundable deposit eight weeks prior to the date of the scheduled operation. I sent that to them last week.”

“Ginny, you're really going to have this done aren't you?”

“Yes, I've also booked breast enhancement surgery to give me a bust size a little smaller that these prosthetics, the cost of my own girls is $7000USD, and the total will be about $26,000 USD.”

I still was in a bit of a daze at the news she dropped in my lap. I looked like a guppy with my mouth opening and closing, but no sounds came out.

“Hey, cousin, are you proud of me?” Ginny took a can of Coke from the refrigerator, opened it and took a sip. “The only change would be because of the exchange rate differing between here and Canada.

“But what if the doctors won't give you a green light, it's only been seven months for your RLT. You could lose your deposit!”

“Ellen, you worry too much, you should never play poker,” Ginny sighed. “Doctor Singh is on board, you heard her, and Doctor Braun felt she was seeing a woman not a man wearing a dress. I have an appointment with Doctor Braun next Thursday at 4pm. I'll ask her for a letter of recommendation then. Wow, I lost track of the time, we should eat lunch before the Patriot's game starts.”

While she made lunch, tomato soup and grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, I did some deep thinking.

She had acquired $50,000 from Vinnie, plus her weekly paycheck of $700 from work. Her expenses were modest, the car and groceries, no rent. This put her in position to pay cash for her surgeries, no insurance company involved. I bet the minx had $35,000 in the bank plus another $40,000 in her mattress.

“Lunch is ready, do you want tea or soda with it?” She exclaimed, “Holy Mackerel, look outside!”

That got me out of my reverie, I looked across the street, or I should say, I tried to look across the street. It was snowing with big wet flakes. The visibility was down to fifty feet at best.

“Ginny, after lunch, want to drive to Foxborough to see the game?” She just looked at me in disgust, not saying a word.

“As for Montreal, are you going to take cash, or write a check? It's a different country, a check could take a while to clear. Is this place different from Trinidad?”

Ginny walked over to her purse and removed a notebook. “The clinic in Montreal wants you there for twelve days total. After four days in the hospital, out comes the catheter and heavy packing.” She flipped a page, “That's about the same, the benefit is we could drive to Montreal from here if we had to. It's great for follow-ups with the surgeon.”

Enough of that, the Pat's game was starting, OMG, you can't see the yard markers. The Miami Dolphins must love this! The blizzard didn't seem to bother Tom Brady's passing game, he threw for four touchdowns, three in the second half! They won, 42 to 7. Next up, the New York Giants.

After the game, Ginny made penne pasta and Italian sausages with red vodka sauce, and home made (Pillsbury's in the can) French bread.

The wind was really whistling, you could hear the moaning around the gutters. That reminded me I had to go into the garage and turn on the gutter heaters, to prevent icicles and ice dams.

She and I sat up to see the 11 PM news, I guess we had a day off at least, the forecast was for 24 inches on the coast, maybe more, with ocean effect snow mixed in. We went to bed with the reflections from the fire dancing on the ceiling.

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Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 55

I woke to the sound of wind whipping around the corners of the building, and it was really dark. I looked at the clock; knowing the weather forecast, I hadn't set the alarm the previous night. OMG, it was 8:30am; it should have been lighter than that outside.

I put on my robe, and looked out of the French doors toward the ocean. I couldn't see through the windows because snow was caked over the glass, but I could feel the wind blowing through the doors.

About this time Ginny was up and looking out the front bay window. “Ellen come look at the snow drifts, they must be five feet high!”

I joined her at the window. ”Those aren't drifts, those are snow banks from the plows. I think it's coming down faster than they can push it back!”

I grabbed the remote, and turned on the local weather. The meteorologists were playing a tag-team, shuttling from one to another with dire forecasts. One fed off the other, finally evoking the ghost of the blizzard of 1978. Neither Ginny or I were born then, but I'd seen the books and videos of that storm. This was no 1978, no matter the frenzy the on-scene reporters were working up to. At 9am the Governor declared a state of emergency, closing all State offices, and requesting everyone to stay home. The list of school closures went on for ever, It would be easier to list those open that day, and maybe tomorrow. I had a feeling it would be a while before work started again on that Lynn project.

We passed up a shower, our eyes glued to the television set. It was quite a storm. Twenty inches had already fallen along the coast, with the possibility of eighteen inches more before it ended. Apparently, the storm moved in faster then expected, but might take longer to pull offshore.

I finally made a pot of coffee, and decided on instant oatmeal and toast for breakfast.

Ginny took down a box of Wheaties and a loaf of raisin bread.

The tide was almost at its highest. The TV showed waves breaking over the seawalls, aided by 40mph winds. A lot of roads were closed due to flooding; the Nahant Causeway and rotary were closed, the road to Marblehead Neck was closed, and several roads in Boston also were closed.

You couldn't pay me enough money to try traveling along Lynn Shore Drive, at least not until the tide went out.

Ginny and I finished breakfast and got dressed to face the day. I prayed the power and cable would stay on. The power in particular was important. If we lost cable, I had one of those doodads that received broadcast television, so we could watch the regular television stations and keep abreast of the storm.

This was a good time to go over Ginny's plans for GRS in Montreal once more.

“You've thought this through I hope? Once it's done there's no undoing it.”

“I know,” she replied. “I want this like nothing else I've ever wanted.”

I scratched my head,”How are you going to pay for this, I don't know if you can bring $25,000 across the international border without a lot of scrutiny.”

Ginny gave a little grin, “I opened an account with the Bank of Nova Scotia two months ago. Right now my balance is $25,000 Canadian. That's more than enough to cover my surgeries. I sent them $5,000 each week until I had that balance.”

Again, I had underestimated her. This is one sharp cookie. I should have her take a look at my finances.

“Well you have that covered, now what about the name change?”

Ginny paused a moment, “I think having a change in gender on the documents is as important as changing my name, don't you agree, Ellen?”

She was right. I was thinking of her becoming Virginia Hansen, but a male Virginia was just as bad. We really need legal advice on this. I want to run this by Steve Brady too; he got her a phony birth certificate in the name of Virginia Hanson, maybe that's enough to get the rest of the documents, a driver's license, and charge cards.

“Ginny, do you have a savings and checking account?”

“That's the first thing I did,” she answered. ”I'm worried about taxes and a Social Security Number that's on the up and up.”

I groaned, “I hadn't thought of those, this is becoming complicated.”

“Your idea of legal advise is the only way to go if I want to fix this identity stuff correctly. I wonder if Steve has any ideas?”

I found a book that I'd been meaning to read, but hadn't found the time, perfect. I poured a cup of tea and settled in, the television on in the background pounding away with doom and gloom.

The book took me to the Caribbean, on board a British brig patrolling the area for pirates or French Men of War. The right book to read with a blizzard blowing outside.

Ginny stuck her nose into her laptop, surfing the internet for I don't know what.

She said she found a site with stories written by a lot of people like her, trans-gendered.

She looked up, “Hey Ellen, some of these stories are really good, you should look at them.”

“Later,” I said. “I've got my nose into 1811, on board a ship of His Britannic Majesty, patrolling for pirates, near Aruba.”

“Alright, I'll print one out for you. Most of these have multiple chapters. I'm reading one about a trio of singers on a cruise ship. It's got a funny name, but turns out it's the name of the band.”

“Okay, show it to me after supper, speaking of which, what are we having tonight?”

“A New York Strip with baked potato and asparagus, a tossed salad, and pistachio ice cream for dessert.”

“That does it, I'm going to install surveillance cameras to find out how food is getting in here!”

Ginny laughed, “A girl must have some secrets, you know.”

It was still snowing after we finished supper. The news figured we'd receive a total of thirty inches along the North Shore with heavy pockets of snow on the South Shore. The governor was still requesting every one to stay home one more day.

I thought I'd give Steve a call, and find out what he wanted us to do the next day. The site needed to be plowed, so at least we could get to the office.

I got him on the phone. Every other word out of his mouth was a curse and I made it worse by laughing at him.

“I think I've been driving for two days,” he said. “I went to that football game, and I got home at 2am. It's a good thing my truck was filled with empty coffee cups.”

“Empty coffee cups?” I asked. “What for?”

“To pee in sweetheart, to pee in.”

“You guys have all the advantages, don't you? Peeing in a cup, jeeze.”

“Ellen, I'll plow out the site tomorrow, you and Ginny stay home until Wednesday.”

“Ginny, the boss says stay home tomorrow.”

With that the lights went out.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 56

Damn! Oh, course the phone went dead at the same time, thank God for cell phones.

“Ginny, stay where you are. I've got a light by the door, let me get it.”

I walked slowly to the back door, grabbed my Kel-light. “Let there be light!” I said as I turned it on. Revealing Ginny in the recliner in the corner.

“You had no intention of moving,” I accused. “You let me wander around in the dark, didn't you.”

She laughed, “You're the big fan of the movie 'Wait until Dark', I figured you'd just copy Audrey Hepburn and move around in the dark, no problem.”

“Thanks a lot honey. Rather than cuddle up in that chair, go to the hall closet. On the shelf are two battery powered lanterns. They will give me enough light to fill a couple of oil lamps.”

Under the sink was a quart of red and a quart of green paraffin oil I kept around for sexy mood lighting. Boy! This will be wasted on Ginny.

I had some blown glass hurricane lamps on the fireplace mantle, which I filled. These were copies of lamps used in the 1800's for real. They really provided light!

“Okay, we'll save the battery lanterns for visits to the ladies room, I don't have too many extra batteries.”

Ginny walked to the kitchen sink and checked the outside temperature, “18 F and dropping. It'll get cold tonight, Ellen what do we do?”

“What we do is bring a lot of logs in from the garage to keep the fire going, and I have two sleeping bags that can be zipped together.”

Ginny started to jump around, “We get to sleep together again, just like the trip to Colorado!”

My face turned red again. “I wish you didn't act so excited about that, you minx.”

To change the subject, I asked her if she had her phone setup to receive television broadcasts.

She said 'no', but ran into her bedroom and came out with a tiny, portable TV that ran on AA batteries. “This gets digital broadcasts, we can watch over 20 different channels!”

She quickly set it up on the coffee table, and presto! 'Storm Team Five' was describing the damage the storm was causing. The two reporters were almost panting in excitement, they both had a sheen of sweat on their foreheads as they went back and forth between in-studio weather people and those lucky reporters out in the storm.

“This just in,” said one. “It is reported that sections of the North Shore have lost power, Lynn, Nahant, Swampscott, and part of Salem have gone dark. We have been told the problem is located in a power station in Lynn, and they expect the repairs will be done soon.”

Ginny looked at me, smiled, and said, “Nice to see we're not alone. I feel so much better now.”

I just chuckled, picked up my Kindle and went back to reading how Lieutenant Bolitho was going to get saved after wrecking his brig on a reef during a hurricane. I'm so glad I bought the Kindle Fire model. This is great to read in the dark.

Ginny changed channels and started to watch an old “Big Valley” western.

“Ginny, before we fall asleep, the sleeping bags are in the same closet the lights were in, do you mind getting them?” I asked.

I unzipped mine, and laid it open on the sofa. I sat on top of it, tucking my toes in the bottom. This way, if I got cold, all I had to do was flip it over me.

Before dozing off, Ginny put two more logs on the fire, and zipped herself in the bag.

I woke up several times, twice to feed the fire, and another to make a trip to the loo. The battery lantern worked great, just enough light.

Around 6 AM, the power came back on, but I let Ginny sleep, and I just turned over in my bag. I had forgotten how great these were to snuggle in.

I woke up at 8.30 with Ginny shaking my shoulder and saying “Wake up, Steve's on the phone, he wants to talk to you!”

I raised the phone stuffed into my hands, dropping it once before croaking “Hello?”

Steve chuckled, “Hey, wake up girly. It's your boss on the phone, not some lounge lizard.”

“Did you say 'long blizzard?'” I asked, “What's up Steve?”

“Forget about coming in tomorrow sweetie, I'm going to need a big loader to even open the gate, you should see the drifts down here. One goes over the end of the office trailer. You can't see out of your windows.”

“We just got our power back a while ago Steve. I'll get Ginny to turn on the TV, I bet the video is something.”

“Yeah, the causeway to Nahant is still closed, and only one lane out of three is open on the Lynnway. I busted through the snowbank to the sidewalk, but that's as far as I can go with the F250.”

We chatted a bit about the storm, and just before hanging up, Steve shouts, “Wait, wait. I've been thinking about changing Ginny's name and called my pal Peter, the lawyer. He suggested waiting until she goes for surgery. What the hell, I got her the funny ID's so she should be okay for now. Oh, and Peter knows about the phony ID, it was his brother that made them!”

“I'll call and let you know when it's time for you and Ginny to come in. Until then, relax, dig out the cars, shovel the walk, and watch the co coos try to drive.”

We hung up. Well that saved me a possibly uncomfortable phone call to a stranger about Ginny's situation.

Coming into the kitchen fully dressed, Ginny asked what was so important the Steve had to speak with me.

“Ginny, you forget, I'm the minor deity in charge of everyone on that jobsite, except Steve, he's the major deity. I'm the BOSS.”

She looked at me and laughed,”Okay Boss, what did BOSS want?”

“He said stay home until he says it's okay to come in. The road's almost closed, and he will need the Cat 950 to remove the snow. “Oh, he spoke with his attorney about you and the idea of an official name change.”

I started to walk away to turn on the wide-screen TV. “STOP RIGHT THERE!” Ginny ordered. “Tell me what was said, or do I have to call Steve and act blonde.”

I had got her back at last! I explained, “The lawyer, Pete, felt the ID Steve got for you is sufficient for now. He felt it would be better to do the name change after your surgery, and remember to stay out of North Carolina in the meantime.”

“Well, that is good news,” she said. “How long did he think it would take to open the site?”

“He didn't, but he has to shovel his way to the machine, get it started in this cold, and then fuel it up. All that before a bucket of snow is moved. He also needs to be careful not to dig up or damage anything. My guess, two days with luck, maybe three.”

She made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. No melon, so we had make do with pink grapefruit pieces. Actually, pretty good.

After eating, we dressed warmly and attacked our own snow removal.

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 57

We were a long time digging out. Not only was there a four foot high bank from the plows, but we also had to dig through a six foot snow drift right behind the cars.

Earthquakes and brush fires sounded good right now. Even the smog that goes with it. How does that song go? “California, here I come”. One way to look at it, is a white Christmas should be guaranteed, unless we get an awful lot of rain between now and December 24 .

“Leave it to you to smile at all this snow. What are you thinking?” Ginny asked

“I was thinking of a white Christmas, and Steve going nuts trying to clear snow at the site.”I responded, Hey, you wear the same shoe size as me, want to try my cross country skis?”

Ginny snickered a little, “I was thinking of Steve too. And I would love to try your cross-country skis. If you have two sets, we could ski to work and see how Steve's doing.”

I was glad I had only one set, if we got there when Steve was, we'd be put to work doing something. We finished clearing snow, and went inside through the garage.
Taking off my boots and parka , I turned to Ginny, “Grab an arm-full of logs before you leave the garage please, I'll do the same.”

“This is the first time I was in here in the daylight Ellen, you have a lot of things in here. Wow you have a 'Specialized' road bike and a Peugeot mountain bike. We should go riding sometime.”

I just laughed, “How about tomorrow?”

Ginny had a huge armload of logs, all she could do was grunt,”smart ass” as she carried the load upstairs to the fireplace.

I followed her inside, and finished filling the log holder.”Soup and sandwiches today for lunch?” I asked

“Great idea, what kind of soup? I have tomato, Italian wedding, and chicken noodle, you choose.”

“Tomato? With ham and cheese if you have it? Would be great.”

After lunch, we sat down and talked about GRS surgery. I reminded her it was a painful operation, and that for several months after the surgery, she would have to dilate her new vaginal area. Hmm, I thought to myself, how else to describe this.

“I'm aware of this, I got more information on line on dilation, than I got from the clinics. The dilation process is painful, the clinics don't tell you this.”

I looked at her, “I figured it may be uncomfortable, but painful? I have a battery-powered friend in my drawer that doesn't hurt, just the opposite.”

Yes, I turned red when I said this, afraid of questions by Ginny. She ignored me and started talking about a 12 day stay in the hotel next to the clinic.

“One good thing Ellen, you can get your fill of hockey games. We'll be only a half mile from the arena the Canadians play in. And if you're short of cash, you can dress up and wander around on Saint Catherine's street.”

The hockey I was fine with, but Saint Catherine's Street? “What about Saint Catherine's Street?”, I asked.

She snickered, “That's the red light district in Montreal. You know, hookers.”

Beautiful, I turned red again, this time real red.

That closed our discussion on surgery, I tossed a couple of chunks of wood on the coals of the fire, and sat down with my book on the travails of Captain Bolitho in the Caribbean. I heard Ginny dialing on her phone, Kevin I assumed. We hadn't seen him for a while. From what I overheard, the romance wasn't over.

An hour later, Ginny came over and sat beside me on the sofa, and admired the fire. Saying, “That feels good, Ellen, should I put another log on?”

She did that then started to fill me in on Kevin and the snow in Lynnfield where he lived. “He said they had snowdrifts over 6 feet high, one going from his front yard across the street to his neighbor's house. It needed a front end loader to clear a path for the snowplows.”

“Will we see him on Saturday for our lesson?” I asked, “He wasn't there last week.”

“Yes, he was planning to get there early to see us before the lesson starts.”

“Us, you mean you don't you?”

Now it was her turn to turn red. After watching some television we went to bed, planning to sleep late again.

I was pleasantly wakened by the smell of pancakes about 8:30. I ran into the loo, did the basics, and entered the kitchen. Ginny poured me a large cup of coffee, and asked how hungry I was.

I said I could eat the pot holder, she laughed and passed me a plate with eight big pancakes on it. As I buttered the stack and opened the maple syrup, she finished her plate and joined me at the table.

“No news paper yet, that makes two days. Tomorrow we'll probably have three papers, so he doesn't have to credit us.”

I laughed at that,”A newspaper is full of old news anyway, three days old is so old you can't call it news anymore.”

After finishing a last cup of coffee, we headed for the garage and my cross country skis. “Where will you head” I asked.

“I was thinking of following the beach toward Nahant, and may be to the jobsite. I should be safe from Steve.”

“Take your cell phone, in case you run out of snow to ski on, or if you get tired. I'll come get you with the Explorer.”

She set off nicely down hill towards the ocean, that made me want to watch the surf. I tossed on my Gor-tex parka and Bean's boots, and walked to King's beach to watch the surf pound the seawall and shoot up 30 feet into the air. After an hour of this, I headed home to my book and fire.

A couple of hours later I heard noises in the garage and guessed Ginny was home. She came upstairs red-faced and excited.

“Wow, you should see the surf. The causeway to Nahant is just being opened. I went as far as the job, almost no snow there, the wind blew it off onto the road.”

“Ginny, sit, calm down, and take a breath.” I poured her a cup of tea, “Now tell me again, but slower this time.”

“The surf going over the seawalls was spectacular. I've only seen this on television, in person it is something else. The National guard must have been called in, I saw their heavy equipment clearing the road to Nahant, they must have been cut off for two days.”

“I guess we missed that on the news. You said you went to the jobsite also.”

“Yes, that Steve was fibbing about the snow there. In some spots you could see the dirt poking through, most of the snow must have blown across the street. Our office had a big drift, that, Steve shoveled out of the way.”

I laughed at Steve saying he said to stay home tomorrow, which we'll do, returning to work, happily on Thursday.

Ginny was just starting to boil water for pasta, when a pounding on our front door startled us.

I got up and opened the door to find Tina there with tears streaming down her face. I pulled her inside and hugged her.

“Tina, what happened, what's wrong.”

As I helped her off with her parka she said, “It's my father, I think he's dead!”

.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 58

I looked at Tina in shock. “What do you mean he's dead?”

Ginny came running over, and hugged her, saying, “Sit by the fire, and tell us, why do you think your father's dead.”

I went into the kitchen, turned the water for pasta off, and got three cold seltzers from the fridge. By the time I got back, Ginny had Tina calmed down a bit.

“I haven't seen Dad since before the Patriot's football game. He normally leaves on Saturday night for a friend's house he stays with. They go to the game, and if it's late, he stays overnight again, before coming home.”

“Have you called him?” Ginny asked.

“That's the thing, he always calls when the game is over, to let me know if he'll be home or not that night. He didn't call.”

Ginny repeated her question, “Did you call him?”

Tina looked at us blankly. ”Call him? Why yes, I think I did.”

Oh boy. “Ginny, does she have her phone?”

“No, not on her,” she answered. I walked over to her coat, and fished in her pockets, finally finding the phone in a zippered inside pocket.

“Here Tina, try your dad now,” I said as I handed her the iPhone.

Tina dialed several times, each time the phone went to voice mail.

Tearfully she looked at us, “See, just the answering machine on his business line, voice mail on his cell. What do I do?”

“The first thing you do is have dinner with us. Would you like a drink, or is that seltzer okay like it is?”

“Could I have vodka over rocks? I'll pour some of this on it.”

I helped by turning on the television and putting more logs on the fire. I probably helped more by not talking.

As Ginny made a pasta dinner, Tina finally opened up to me. I asked her, if her dad was in an accident wouldn't the police call her house, not her cell, how would she know? If her father called, how would she know?

I could see her winding up again. “Tina, don't you have a code number that lets you hear messages from the home phone?”

She looked at me blankly, so I took her purse and started looking for a number on a card. After ten minutes of digging, I came up with a card with four numbers on it. I showed it to Tina.

“Is that what that is?” Tina asked. She's not blonde guys.

I had her dial, and put in the code. Sure enough, we heard her father's voice. “Hi, honey, It's snowing so hard I'll stay at Ernie's in Revere tonight. If it lets up tomorrow, I'll head home. See you then, bye.”

Than a second message. “It's so bad I'm staying again. On the way home Ernie and I are going to stop at the Boston Marina to make sure the boat's okay.” Then came a couple of calls trying to sell cable TV, and a reminder from CVS pharmacy of a refill ready to be picked up. Then, “Tina, Ernie and I are at the boat; it looks all right, but I need to brush off some snow.”

“See Tina, that was today, he's probably on the way home or staying overnight at a motel on Route 1 in Saugus.”

Before Tina could answer, we were called to dinner. Ginny had a nice layout, salad, garlic bread, vermicelli with meat sauce, and Burgundy wine. Tina ate like it was her first meal in ages. It was probably her first today, with her worrying about Vinnie.

After we ate, I asked Tina why she felt her father was dead, not just missing.

“He said if ever I went two days without a phone call, consider him murdered. I know how he makes his living, with selling drugs; I also know he works for the guys in the North End of Boston and Providence, Rhode Island - the Mafia.”

Ginny and I exchanged glances, the Mafia! Oh boy, that's what we figured.

“Tina, stay the night with us, you can try the number tomorrow before you head home. Is your Andover house cleared of snow, can you get in?” Ginny asked.

“We have a contractor come and plow the driveway, and shovel the steps, put down salt, everything.”

“Good, when you leave in the morning, Ellen and I will follow you to make sure everything's okay. We have the day off.”

After watching the news, I changed channels to watch a repeat of a 50's Perry Mason show, it's still entertaining. We finally turned in, Tina wrapped up on the couch in my sleeping bag.

We got out of bed around 8 AM and did the best you can with one bathroom and three girls, but we've had practice. The first out was Ginny, who headed for the kitchen. I followed and made 8 cups of coffee, bypassing the Kurig maker.

Tina walked in and sat at the table, rubbing her eyes, and yawning. “Can I help?” she asked.

I passed her a cup of coffee, and said Ginny and I had everything under control.

Ginny looked up,”How do you want your eggs Tina, over easy or sunny side up?”

“Over medium I think. Thank you for the coffee, any milk?” I handed her a carton of half and half. “Will this do?”

After cleaning up, we got dressed in parkas and snow boots, and headed for the Explorer.

“Tina, I'll drop you off at your car then follow you home to Andover, Okay?” She just nodded.

Soon we were driving down streets that looked more like tunnels than open roads. It was funny, the snow banks got smaller the more inland we drove. This is unusual. After twice as long as normal, we pulled into Tina's driveway. Vinnie's Cadillac Esclade was missing, and the lights in the house were off.

Not ten minutes after Tina opened the door, the phone rang. Tina grabbed it, ”Dad, dad is that you?” Her face froze, “Yes, this is Vincent Morales's daughter, how can I help you? No, I haven't spoken with him since early Sunday afternoon. He said he and a friend were going to check it and remove snow. That was yesterday. Why? Where was it found?”

At this Tina sagged to the floor, Ginny grabbed her and helped her to a sofa and I took the phone.

“This is Ellen Hansen, I'm a friend of Tina's, can I help you?”

Yes ma'am, this is the United States Coast Guard, Boston. One of our patrol boats found her father's boat drifting north of Peddock's Island with no one on board. What should we do with it?”

I asked Tina about the boat; she said it was tied up at the Boston Harbor Marina. I passed this on to the Coast Guard, asking if it looked as if someone had been on board.

“Well, the key's in the ignition, and the engines are in gear. The fuel tank's empty though,” the Chief said. “I don't know how long it drifted.”

“Her father's missing, there could be evidence on board.”

“Lady, you're watching too much TV, he's probably curled up with a babe and a bottle.”

“Oh yeah, let me speak with your officer, now!”

A minute went by, then a high voice said “Lieutenant Sands, whom am I speaking with please?”

I gave him my name, the reason for the call to Tina, and asked “Didn't the name Vincent Morales raise any red flags over there?”

He said “Morales, as in drugs Morales? I have to call the State Police, will you be at this number for a while?”

I said we would and hung up. It looked like Ginny had one problem resolved anyway.

Tina looked at me and asked, “Dad, was he on board?”

“No honey, they found the boat drifting near Peddock's Island with no one on board, so I guess your father's friend Ernie's missing also.”

“Dad wouldn't go out in this weather unless he was forced. Oh no, I guess he's done for.”

Ginny rubbed her shoulders and assured her she wasn't alone, she and I would help her.

The phone rang again, this time a State Police Captain was calling for Tina with questions.

I went into the kitchen, about the size of my whole condo, and got cold drinks from the fridge.

I heard her say “Yes you can park in my driveway, I'll be home. There are friends here, they might stay.” I nodded yes. She asked when and said “In an hour then,” and hung up.

“Ginny and I will see you through this, don't worry. Where's the State Trooper coming from?”

“He said the Andover barracks, that's around the corner. I'll put water on to heat for tea.”

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 59

We sat quietly for about a half hour. Soon the crunch of automobile tires on the snow was heard. The doorbell rang, I got up and answered the door ushering in the uniformed trooper.

“I'm Captain Smith, are you Tina?”

I introduced myself and Ginny, and said Tina was in the kitchen, and would be coming out shorty. “Would you like a coffee or soda?” I asked.

“Coffee would be grand. It's really cold outside, but don't make a special effort just for me.”

Tina entered the room with a carafe of coffee, cups, and cream and sugar. “I was making coffee for us anyway, I'm Tina Morales.”

“Thanks, Tina, I'm Pete Smith, I work homicide in Boston. With this storm, I was helping out up here in the Andover barracks. There's no delicate way to say this, but you knew your father was responsible for the distribution of drugs on the North Shore, and he was connected with the Mob in Boston?”

“Yes, I was,” Tina answered.

“You received a call from the Coast Guard earlier that your father's thirty foot boat was found drifting and had been towed to the base on Northern Avenue in Boston?”

She answered 'yes' again.

“Good, this is where I come in. It appears your father is missing; when was the last time you saw him?”

“I last saw him before the Patriot's football game last Saturday evening. He was going to stay with a friend in Revere because of the snow storm. He left a message on my phone saying he would swing by the marina in Boston to check on the boat.”

“When was that?” Captain Smith asked.

“Sometime Monday afternoon, let me check my phone. Yes, here it is, 1.35pm.”

“Good, that narrows things down a bit. Did you try to call him back at anytime?”

Tina looked at me, I spoke up, “Captain, she's been living across the street from me in Swampscott after having a fight with her father. She came to my door this afternoon, worried something had happened to him, saying she kept calling and calling with no answer. Ginny and I brought her here to see if she could find out what had happened to her dad. That's all we know, I doubt Tina knows more.”

Captain Smith finished his coffee. “You've been really helpful; now I have a place to start. Oh, would he have any reason to go out in the boat this time of year?”

Tina took a sobbing breath, “I think he went out to pick up drugs, but when I accused him of it, he got mad and said only a crazy man would do that.”

“Again, thank you very much. I'll be keeping you informed. Here's my card, I've written my private phone number on the back. Call me any time, whether you have any questions or not, either my sergeant or I will call you right back. Good night, ladies, be careful, it's icy out there.”

We watched him return to his cruiser, and turn north out of the driveway.

Tina started crying again, Ginny hugged her and rubbed her back until the crying subsided.

“Let me look in the kitchen, I bet the makings of supper are out there. Why don't you and Tina watch the News, while I throw something together?” said Ginny.

The news was still full of scenes from the storm, quite unbelievable. Slowly Tina recovered,
thanking us for coming over, and offering bedrooms for the night. What bedrooms they were! They made mine look like a tent and cot.

Soon the sounds of pans banging around came from the kitchen, Ginny at work. Tina and I made our way to the kitchen and sat at the center island counter.

“What's for dinner?” I asked. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?”

“Not on your life, I found chicken cutlets in the freezer, and pesto sauce in the refrigerator.
We're having fried cutlets, garlic-Parmesan bread, and pesto spaghetti sauce, over vermicelli pasta. I also found some nice Chianti in the fridge.”

This got a small smile from Tina, “I haven't eaten for a while, I was worrying too much. I'm
starving.”

I opened the Chianti bottle and poured three glasses. “Tina, you realize it looks bad for your father? The fact the head of the State Police homicide division is involved isn't a good sign.”

'Ever since my mother died, I've expected some policeman to knock on the door with the news my father was dead. I wondered what I would do, how I could live by myself. It's really a miracle its happened now that I'm an adult and can care of myself.”

Ginny started serving supper, “If the worst happens, are you going to keep this house or put it on the market? It must be worth two million dollars at least?”

“I really have no attachment to this place. My father bought it after Mom died. We used to live in Chelsea on the Revere line in a nice Colonial. He was different then,less gangster than he is now. After Mom died he changed, lots of money, new Cadillacs, real scary people hanging around.”

I looked at her as I poured more wine, “The boat, isn't it too small for running drugs in from the ships off-shore?”

“I think dad only used it in the spring and fall, and really fished from it in the summer. He also went duck hunting in the late fall and early winter if the weather was nice.”

“Why don't we go to sleep early and see what's going on tomorrow? Steve Brady told Ginny and me to stay home tomorrow too, so we will be here with you all day.”

Tina showed us to our rooms, and wished us good night. After stripping to my underwear, I slid under the blankets.

The next thing I knew, Ginny was shaking my shoulder. “Rise and shine, sleepy-head, it's eight o'clock, time to get up.”

I dragged my body into the bathroom, wow! I didn't look closely last night; a tub with a Jacuzzi, and the shower had ten heads! I decided on a shower. If I got into that bath, I'd never get out again. After showering, I fixed my face with the little stuff in my purse, and headed down to the kitchen for coffee.

Tina came down twenty minutes later, she looked like a raccoon, with black rings around her eyes. She gave Ginny and me a weak smile, “Good morning, I guess,” she said.

I gave her a quick hug, “Coffee?”

She nodded yes. Ginny slid a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of her. “Eat this, you'll feel better.”

Two more plates were put on the counter island, and she and I ate. I filled three cups with coffee.

When we were almost finished, the phone rang. Tina got up and answered. After hanging up she told us “The police are impounding the boat; one less thing to worry about I guess.”

She led us to Vinny's study, looked around and opened his desk with a key she found under the desk leg.

“Now, how much of what's in here would the Staties like to see? As far as I'm concerned, they can have it all. I'd rather see him in prison alive, than dead in the harbour, but it's too late!” With that she broke down again.

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 60

Ginny and I stayed overnight, not mourning, just being there for Tina, so she wasn't alone in that huge house.

I was able to have her agree to return with us to Swampscott that afternoon. That way we could go to work in the morning, with her going to the animal shelter in Salem. Tina wanted to stay one more night in case Vinnie called.

“I can drive his Audi, he had the Cadillac Escalade when he went to the game,” she said. “I forgot to tell that to Captain Smith, I'll call him tomorrow.”

“Why not call now; even if he's not there, you can leave a message. The car might have been abandoned, and towed. There could be evidence in it,” suggested Ginny.

I looked at her,“You sound like one of those CSI TV shows, where everything is solved by the third commercial break. Tina, how is your Mercedes in the snow? You may want the Audi at your apartment to get around easier?”

Ginny thought for a minute, “You will have dinner with us tonight anyway; why don't I go with you in the Audi, and Ellen drives the Explorer by herself?” She stuck out her tongue at me as she said it.

“Good, I can chose to listen to Christmas carols in my own car, without you complaining after the third song to put something else on, anything!”

That exchange finally got a smile from Tina.

“You two are more like sisters than cousins, the way you disagree with each other.”

Before we left, Tina called the State Police homicide division in Boston. Surprisingly, Pete Smith answered. She told him where her apartment was and that her father was driving the Escalade on Saturday.

He thanked her and said he'd checked; her father's ticket had been used for the game, and the man in the seat next to him confirmed Vinnie was there. It did seem he was in the boat when it left the harbour.

Since Tina was upset again, Ginny offered and did in fact drive from Andover to the condo in Swampscott. Parking was impossible, so Ginny parked at Tina's apartment, and the two walked across Humphrey Street to our condo.

Tina excused herself, and went to the loo. While she was gone, Ginny asked if we should tell her of her gender and upcoming trip to Canada.

I still felt there was no reason to say anything, even after the surgery. I had no sooner said this when the phone rang and it was Kevin. No more Ginny for an hour!

I had put the kettle on for tea and asked Tina if she wanted a cup, or I could make instant coffee, her choice.

“Coffee sounds better right now, I need the caffeine kick. Do you have a computer I could use? I need to check my email.”

I pointed to my laptop on the table saying, “Be my guest and when you're finished, I'll check mine. I haven't done that for a couple of days myself.”

With both of them busy, this gave me a chance to pick up my paperback and read some more about Captain Bolitho's adventures.

Before sitting down, I started a fire to take the chill off the room. I really like the fireplace. The other condos in this group didn't have one. It was worth the extra money I paid.

After an hour, Ginny sat beside me, “Kevin sends his love, and he checked with Cathy. The lesson is on for Saturday, she got the parking lot cleared enough for us to find room for the cars. Wow, it must have cost her a small fortune to move that snow, and winter hasn't started yet!”

“I'm worried about the snow load on the barn and arena's roof. I hope the wind was strong enough to blow most of it off. If we get rain, that snow can absorb a lot of water, increasing the dead weight by a factor of four on roofs around the area.”

Ginny laughed, “Always the engineer, aren't you Ellen.”

“You watch, the evening news will be talking about this, if not tonight, then tomorrow night.”

“I just looked, canned ham, macaroni and cheese and a salad for supper tonight? We also have a cold six-pack of Sam Adams beer in the fridge. Sound good?” said Ginny.

“Right now, creamed chipped beef on toast sounds good, do you mind pouring me more hot water for a another cup of tea?”

“Creamed chipped beef? Isn't that what the Army called S*** on a shingle?”

“Yeah, but I don't think it's that bad. A little salty maybe, but better than Welsh Rarebit.”

Ginny shuddered, “You will never see me make either one of those, I'd rather miss a meal than make that stuff.”

By now Tina was finished with the computer, “Thanks Ellen, it all yours.”

“Anything important in your email, or was it all Spam like I'm sure to find when I check mine?”

“One from the animal shelter asking me to come in, and a note from Cathy saying the lesson is on for Saturday. The rest was junk, you know, 'Take this pill and lose weight without dieting or exercising.'”

Tina's cell phone rang. From her side of the conversation, I could tell it was the police Captain, but not what he was saying.

After saying 'thank you' and hanging up, she looked at me, ”Dad's car was found in a storage tow lot in Charlestown. It was towed from the marina on Sunday night at 3am, or should I say Monday morning?

“They found some blood on the rear seat, but only a little bit, not enough to be very suspicious, just a trace. Captain Smith is doing like he promised, letting me know anything they find, rather than having me guess.”

Ginny rang the dinner bell calling us to supper. As usual, it was delicious.

After the dishes were washed and put away, Tina decided to go home and go to bed early. Ginny and I decided to watch some television and the ten o'clock news before turning in.

The first story after “Breaking News” was telling people to clean snow off their roofs to prevent collapse.

I gave Ginny the 'I told you so' look, and never said a thing.

She just laughed,and muttered under her breath, “Engineers! Always right.”

I banked the fire and headed for bed, thinking I'd snuggle into the sleeping bag rather than use the bed clothes. Seven o'clock found us headed for work, not knowing what we'd find.

Steve had done a great job clearing snow, but we'd need a thaw to find our survey points to pour the first floor slab. Well, it was only December 7th, oh, Pearl Harbour Day. Less and less people remember the attack that got us into WWII.

My father was a young Ensign on the 'West Virginia', the only battleship to get up steam, and motor to the mud flats to sink and not block the channel. Until he was too ill, he made the reunion each year it was held.

We didn't even have to clear snow from the office door, Steve had done it already. We went inside, turned up the heat and made coffee, well turned on the Kurig anyway.

What a spectacular view looking out at the harbour and Nahant Causeway in the background.

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 61

After coffee, I got busy making phone calls to our sub-contractors. The first call was to the concrete foundation company. I asked if they would be coming out to pour the floor slabs this year. The owner didn't hold out much hope. All his grade points were buried or knocked over when Steve pushed snow around. He was worried the air temperature wouldn't rise enough to thaw the surface frost, and he didn't bid for the job with building a house around the slab and heating it around the clock for a week. He suggested calling him in two weeks in case the weather broke. I thanked him, promising to call again if the temperatures rose enough.

That call pretty much made the others redundant. I called the steel fabricators to check on our rebar delivery date. I was told, even with the snow, they would deliver the steel on schedule. They required someone to be on site to sign for the delivery, so I said I'd call the day before to confirm delivery.

The next call was the framing contractor. He had a good sense of humor, singing “See you in the Summer.”

I jumped on that, growling, “I better see you sooner than that!”

He promised to check in with me in two weeks. His problem was he had committed to another project in the first week of January, thinking his part in this job would be finished.

Well, this was nothing I didn't expect since I knew this storm finished us for the year. Steve and I had better figure March before any more work would be done out here!

Well that worked out for Ginny's scheduled surgery and rehabilitation. She would have the month of February to recover at home. I would be able to check on her and take her to any doctors' appointments.

All the time I was making phone calls, Ginny was in the other room, on her laptop, checking on recipes and food deliveries. She was actually worried I would go hungry while she couldn't cook. I hoped she liked pizza and Chinese food every other day, because this girl wasn't cooking.

She gave me a Mona Lisa smile and said that Peapod would deliver healthy food to the door, and she would oversee me in the kitchen. She promised easy meals that even I could fix. Also one of the take-out places had fresh garden salads and very good pasta dishes.

After going out for lunch at the nearest fast-food place, I checked my calendar for Ginny's appointments. She had a 4pm appointment with the physiologist, Doctor Braun on Friday and a 3.30pm appointment with Doctor Singh on Monday.

She was excited about the timing of these, “I can have them write my letters of recommendation for the surgeon in Montreal while I'm there.”

“Ginny, what would happen if the doctors changed their minds, and felt you should wait a few months longer?”

“I don't think that will happen; both doctors felt I was ready to have the surgery, and I wouldn't have any regrets with the GRS.”

“I'm looking at the worst case possible, would you lose your deposit at the clinic?”

“It's possible, but not probable. I would still have my surgery there, and they are the ones that had an earlier cancellation, that allowed me to slide into an end of January date.”

I rubbed her shoulders, “I just don't want to see you get hurt, just for a few weeks difference in time. The results will last for a long time. You're only twenty-four, just a kid!”

With that the water works started, she started weeping, and blowing her nose. ”You really care about me, don't you? It's no act is it? I walked into your life six months ago from nowhere, and you care about me!”

Now I was choking up; you know girls, once one starts crying, it's contagious. She stood up and hugged me. Wow, she was still strong, I felt my bones creak. The ringing of Ginny's phone saved me a trip to the chiropractor.

Ginny looked at the caller ID, “It's Tina, I hope nothing's wrong.”

She talked for five minutes, listened for twice that, and hung up,saying “We'll see you about 3.30 at the condo.”

I looked at her expectantly, she shrugged and said, “Something's happened, but she really didn't want to talk about it over the cell phone.”

“Then what was that fifteen minute call about, the weather?”

Ginny shrugged again, “She rehashed what we already knew, asked my opinion on whether to stay at the apartment or return to Andover. She really wasn't making a lot of sense. I think she was drinking.”

“That's great, really just great. See why I wasn't comfortable telling her about Gene and your trip to Montreal for surgery? I was afraid something like this would happen. For your safety, even Kevin knowing makes me nervous.”

Ginny gave me an old fashioned look, “I kind of think Kevin would have noticed something different with my body the three or four times we had sex. “

“Three or four times!” I puffed. “You don't know how many times? Should I call Kevin to see if he can remember how many times?”

Ginny started to get excited, took a look at me laughing at her, and started to laugh also. “You were just winding me up weren't you? Well, you got me you witch, you got me. Should I call Kevin and ask him how many?'”

I put on my parka, “Come on, let's go home. We have Tina to deal with, don't forget.”

We weren't home ten minutes before Ginny's phone rang.

“Sure, anytime.” she said, “I'll put on the kettle for tea.”

She looked at me, “She said she was on the way. She sounded okay, Ellen, no crying.”

Ginny was watching for her and opened the door before Tina could knock. “Come in, let me have your coat.”

She came in and sat beside me on the sofa.

“Tina, what's going on that got you calling Ginny at work, any news on your father?”

“That Captain Smith called again, the blood they found in the car wasn't my father's, but the Escalade's interior had no finger prints, it was wiped clean. He said he was now sure what ever happened to Dad wasn't an accident.”

Ginny arrived with tea for us, “We figured that out ourselves. You knew he wasn't crazy enough to head out to sea in a Northeaster on a thirty foot boat.”

Tina took a sip or two before answering, “This means he's dead, him and his friend, they're both dead.”

“Wait a sec, his friend? The friend from Revere? Has anybody seen him, do you know his name, Tina?”

Once I started down this route, the more I wanted to ask questions about the friend. Was that blood the friend's? Are two men missing or just one? Holy Cow, why am I asking questions like this? The best thing for Ginny and me is for Vinnie to be dead. That way there would be zero chance somebody might slip around Tina and give Ginny away. I know the mystery bothered Ginny also, and she was as torn as I was over Vincent Morales' fate.

“I wonder if Captain Smith knows the identity of dad's friend? I certainly can't help him. I never knew any of my father's friends. I guess I was afraid to know them. The only one I met was the guy that owned a trucking business in Newburyport. I think it was Newburyport.”

With that, Ginny and I exchanged looks, and changed the subject quickly.

“Look Tina, you're here now, why don't you stay for supper? Ellen and I were thinking of ordering Chinese food from that place in the mall. They deliver here, so we don't have to go out again.”

“Ginny, you talked me into it, do you have a menu I could look at?”

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 62

The food came in only thirty minutes, the aroma making my mouth water. We received a variety of dishes, Sesame Chicken, General Tso's Chicken, Pork Lo Mein, Spring Rolls, and Pork Fried Rice.

Even with three hungry girls, there would be some leftovers, hopefully enough to provide lunch for Ginny and I the following day. I dug out some Oolong tea bags and we were all set.

After eating, the subject of Tina's father came up again, the three of us playing detective. Was Vinnie dumb enough to set out in a 30foot outboard after a storm that bad? The peak of the storm is when they would've arrived at the Marina, but someone did, since the boat was found north of Peddock's Island. With a north-east gale, the boat must have been quite a long way off shore.

How big were the waves? In the “Perfect Storm” they were almost fifty feet high in this area. How would it be possible to be in a boat in those waves? Would it be possible to transfer from one boat to a larger one, and how big would that boat have to be?
\
These were all questions we came up with, no answers though, so who would we ask? Was this something for which Captain Smith would have answers?

If no one did, how could the thought of murder have any credence? What would be the other choice, suicide? There are easier ways to kill one's self without going to sea in a small boat in a storm. Also where was Vinnie's friend Ernie, did he commit suicide also? A hundred questions, but not one answer.

After the news, we decided Tina would stay overnight again. Ginny got extra pillows and blankets out of the hall closet while I opened up the sofa bed. This would call for a bathroom plan in the morning; well Tina could have her shower after Ginny and I had ours.

A terrible noise woke me up at 5.30am, my alarm! I rushed into the shower beating Ginny by a hair. As she showered, I dressed warmly for the day. Then I headed for the coffee maker, passing the sleeping Tina on the sofa as I did so. Ginny soon joined me for coffee and bagels, and with Tina still sound asleep, Ginny left her a note and the office phone number.

We took Ginny's Honda, it was her turn to maneuver around ice and pot holes. We passed the first u-turn choosing instead to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a Box O'Joe (ten 10oz cups) and a dozen jelly doughnuts, in case Steve dropped by.

I sat there staring at snow banks, wondering where I would go this winter. Usually, we had a project working somewhere. Oh well, Steve's office was in Lynnfield, not far away. I could work on costs for bidding on a new project in Peabody. Ginny could be 'laid off' and stay home in the condo, planning meals for me to cook. That's like teaching a fish how to fly! Hmm, is that similar to fly fishing? What was in my coffee that morning? I seemed to be acting a little strangely.

I heard Ginny laughing in the other room at the computer. “Ellen, come see this on Youtube, you won't believe it.”

I obeyed orders, sitting beside her watching people intentionally jumping from roofs into snow banks, some of which contained parked cars and rubbish barrels. Other people were sliding off roofs sitting on a lid from a steel trash barrel. Dear Lord, these people vote and have children! This was all planned, after all, since some one was recording it. Were they trying to win money on that 'Funniest Movies or Videos' show?

After lunch, I called Steve to ask him what I should do, stay on the job, or head to his Office?

Surprisingly, he said to stay where I was. He had found a long range weather forecast saying warm air was coming up from the South bringing some rain with it.

I went back to my laptop and searched for the weather underground site. Sure enough, they felt the temperatures would rise well above freezing and maybe two days of steady rain was likely early next week.

I told Ginny it looked like she'd still be employed through Christmas, and maybe her surgery might be paid for through her insurance.

We really felt that with Morales missing she might be safe, after all $50,000 is chicken feed to the mob, (I always wanted to say that). If Vinnie was in trouble for that small amount being missing, he could look under a rug and come up with it. I think those two Boston cops were doing Morales a favor, just trying to scare me and the foreman into telling where Gene went to.

We arrived home early, even after stopping to pick up groceries for the weekend's dinners. As we brought the bags into the kitchen, Ginny found a note from Tina on the refrigerator door.

She thanked us for our kindness and said she was heading to the house in Andover for a while. She had called Cathy, saying she would miss the next two lessons, because of her father's probable death, but would be there just before Christmas to see everyone. This took a burden from our backs, allowing us to relax and plan our Christmas without the worry of Morales or the mob.

Ginny's cell phone rang as she was getting things ready in the kitchen. It was Kevin wanting to take us both out for dinner. I told her to go; I'd have a chicken pot pie, a baked potato, and solitude for a while. She could fill him in on the Vinnie front.

Kevin picked her up at 7pm. He tried to get me to join them, but I was looking forward to my book and a nice log fire. I probably wouldn't turn on the TV until it was time for news.

I got a fire burning, put the potato into the microwave for eight minutes, then the the chicken pie for seven minutes; the potato was still hot enough when I removed the plastic wrapper. I sat at the counter with a cold Sam Adams and couldn't be happier, alone at last! Not since April had I really been by myself. After doing the dishes, just a fork and knife, I curled up on the sofa with an Afghan knit by my ninety year old aunt, and my book.

I woke to a gentle shaking of my shoulder by Ginny, “Hey, Ellen it's eleven o'clock, do you want to watch the news?”

I mumbled something, wiped the drool from my chin, and sat up. Looking around, I asked if Kevin was here or just her.

Ginny laughed, “No just your cousin tonight, hows the book?”

“Rats, I only read a chapter before falling asleep, again.”

We watched the news, which again warned us to clear catch basins and snow covered roofs before the rain on Monday.

As we went to our separate beds, I heard Ginny say under her breath, “All these years, I never worried about snow on the roof.”

I just chuckled to myself as I put out the light.

The next morning, I reminded Ginny of her appointment with Doctor Braun the psychologist in the afternoon, and did she want to go to a Dollar Store before the appointment?

She thought that was a great idea. There were two on the way to Dr Braun's office, so we went to the new one in downtown Lynn. After picking up things like wrapping paper and Scotch tape, we headed to the office. Cool as a cucumber Ginny was nervous as a cat with two tails in a rocking chair factory. She wouldn't admit it, but she was worried the doctor wouldn't give her a letter of okay for the clinic in Montreal.

I stayed in the waiting room reading year old magazines. I looked up as she came out of the examination room with tears streaming down her face. 'Oh,no!' I thought.

“Doctor Braun gave me my letter! I'm all set!” she cried.

To be continued.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 63

The receptionist must have thought we were crazy; two girls hugging and crying and jumping up and down. We made so much noise Doctor Braun came out to see just what was going on in her lobby. She gave us a big smile, “Nice to see a patient who's tears are from joy for a change.”

I apologized, but Ginny thanked the doctor, the receptionist, and would have thanked the elevator operator if there had been one.

As we made our way to the car I asked where she would like to have supper to celebrate the good news.

“You won't believe this, but how does 'The Outback' sound? I'd love to eat at Red Lobster, but no-one knows where they are. Why do they run ads for the Boston area, if there aren't any restaurants within two hundred miles?”

“Okay 'The Outback' it is. It's on Route 114 near the shopping mall, correct?”

We drove out of the medical building's parking lot and headed for US Route 1. All we talked about was Ginny's letter, she must have read it to me a dozen times.

I finally realized just how much this meant to her, and how much tension she had been under, but she had covered it up well; her calm facade never slipping until Doctor Braun's office.

We arrived at the restaurant, thankful to finally be out of the homeward rush hour traffic along Route 114. Looking around at the massive snow mountains in the parking lot, I was happy I wasn't the one to decide where to place them. This parking lot is usually full with Christmas shoppers; how many spaces were being taken up by plowed snow?

Ginny and I were seated quickly. We were ahead of the supper crowd, but not the frazzled mother with wild children who ate too much sugar crowd. The waitress took pity on us and placed us at a table as far away as possible from the noise and shenanigans by those 'cute' cherubs. She received a very nice tip!

Ginny and I ordered drinks, a tall Bloody Mary with a long stalk of celery for me and a Cosmopolitan for her. She informed me that this was going to be the first of many so she gave me the keys to her car.

The conversation quickly went to the following day's riding lessons, something else Ginny was excited about. I asked her just how much she had ridden as Gene.

“I used to ride all the time, I owned my own Quarter Horse. I rode western, but the principles are the same. Funny, when I was a kid, I wanted to barrel race, but couldn't.”

“Ginny, I've got all kinds of questions, but why couldn't you barrel race?”

“Simple, barrel racing is only for girls,” Ginny giggled, “No problem now.”

That got me laughing too. Our drinks were delivered, and our waitress took our meal order.
We got one of those “Blooming Onions” for an appetizer, and we both ordered steaks, medium
well done.

“So, you're saying you really can ride, and you were faking it? I'm not sure how Cathy will take that.”

Ginny paused in devouring the onion and answered, “I really was nervous around horses and had a balance problem. When I was fourteen my horse went over backwards on top of me, I had bad concussion and a broken pelvis. The concussion gave me an inner ear problem that affected my balance for years afterwards. I meant nothing by being over-cautious; then I was embarrassed to tell you and Cathy.”

I could see our dinners coming, so I waited to respond to that until our steaks were in front of us We pounced on them with sharp knives and appetites.

“You shouldn't feel bad about not telling us, but sometime tomorrow, I think you need to have a heart to heart with Cathy.”

“That's not going ruin my mood tonight! Waitress, can we have another round please? Yeah, I'm telling her the story before my lesson.”

By this time the steaks had disappeared , only a grease mark was left from the onion, and we needed another drink, but mine was a Virgin Mary, no vodka, I still had to drive home! Not Ginny though, she ordered her third Cosmopolitan.

“So, Ginny you have a letter from Doctor Braun, on Monday you see Doctor Singh, are you going to ask her too if you're ready for the GRS?”

“Yesth, that's my plan.” She was slurring by now. “But that's not a prob, problem.”

I was laughing now. ”Okay, you've had enough, we are going home. Put on your coat while I pay our waitress.”

We giggled our way back to Ginny's car. She started to get in behind the wheel, but I turned her around to the passenger side, and opened the door for her.

The ride home was a series of short stories filled with Ginny's constant giggling. No matter how hard I tried, she was contagious! By the time we got to Peabody Square, I was laughing myself.

We got inside without a problem, but the giggles started again as soon as we sat on the sofa. “Will these last all night?” I asked, “We'll never sleep.”

Ginny stood up, and headed for the kitchen,”I'm having tea, would you like some?”

“Anything,” I answered. “Maybe that will end this giggle party.”

She had the kettle whistling in no time, and came into the living room with two large mugs of tea. “Anything good on television tonight” she asked.

“That police show with Tom Seleck, and the guy from Cambridge Donnie Walburg, but that's not until 10pm.”

Ginny suggested we watch the news, then change the channel to the cop show. That gave her a while to internet surf, and for me to read my book. I was getting close to finishing that one, and was going to have to order another one from Amazon soon.

Morales' plight was the Number One story on the news that night. They were talking about the mystery of the unmanned outboard, and linked him to the drug dealers on the Northshore. They also questioned whether he was connected with the latest drug busts on the motorcycle gang and the trucking company in Newburyport.

At that, Ginny perked up and started to listen and said, “Yes, he's connected with the trucking company, just ask me, I'll talk your ears off!”

“Ginny be careful what you wish, it may come true. That would bring your change of identity and gender to the public, and you know how the news would love to spread your life choice across every newscast and newspaper. You'll be called everything including gay, lesbian, and every kind of child molester, and don't be surprised if they pick on your friendship with Tina. They could have a ball with that!”

Ginny gave that some thought. “I wonder if we can talk Tina into calling the State Police and offering them access to her father's desk like she said to us?”

“Speaking of Tina, why don't you give her a call to see how she's doing. She said she wasn't coming to her lesson for a couple of weeks. Maybe you can ask if she called the Staties about the desk while you two are gabbing.”

Looking at the time, 9.30, Ginny said, “Why not, plenty of time before “Bluebloods” comes on.”

“That's the show's name, good memory kiddo.”

While I finished reading the last chapter of my book, Ginny called Tina. It seemed to be a relaxed two-way phone call. After ending the call, Ginny went into the kitchen for more tea.

“You look thoughtful, what did Tina have to say?”

“When she got home, the door was unlocked. Not only that, but the contents of her father's desk were all in disarray. She couldn't tell if any thing was missing, but things looked the same as when we were there.”

“Is she okay, does she want to stay with us again? Has she called the police?” I asked, rapid fire.

“Slow down, I asked if she wanted someone to stay with her, or if she wanted to stay here. She said 'no' to both questions. She called the local police, but since nothing was missing, they just blew it off.”

As I digested this news, Ginny spoke again, “Tina did call Captain Smith's office, but Smith hasn't called her back yet. I told her to call again, except this time call his cell number.”

Before I could reply, her cell phone rang again. Ginny picked up, “It's Tina.”

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 64

“Hello Tina, what's going on?” Ginny asked,”He did?”.

I'm going crazy, dieing to hear the other side of the phone call. Finally Tina 'hung up'. She just stood looking out the window.

“Tina said that Captain Smith was interested in the break-in. She offered to let the police look at her father's paperwork in the desk, and anywhere else they find some. Smith seemed taken aback at the offer, but accepted right away, saying he'd see her first thing in the morning.”

“Wow, sounds like he was shocked to be given the keys to the kingdom.” I paused a moment, “You know Ginny, the State Police were hindered by the FBI when they were after the Winter Hill gang, Whitey Bulger in particular.”

Ginny snorted, “I wonder if Smith was part of that? He seems to be the type of cop that would be on that organized crime unit.”

Blue Bloods was starting, so any other chatting would have to wait for commercials.

Finally the show was over, and the TV station went right to the weather. The weatherman started right out with a flood watch for most of Eastern Massachusetts tomorrow. It seems a large warm low pressure front would be slowly moving through the area bringing 2 to 3 inches of rain.

Steve was right again!

“Believe it or not, but most places won't have a white Christmas this year, as this is the first of a
series of lows marching eastward across the country from Oregon, bring a lot of rain with them, causing flood in West Virginia, and locally where we have so much snow on the ground.”

The station went to a commercial break for 3 minutes, when they came back the two reporters, looking serious, said,”Remember those roofs we told you to shovel off? Well, if you didn't a lot of buildings may collapse. This is because the snow is like a sponge when it rains, absorbing a lot of water and increasing it's weight by a factor of 5.”
At that, Ginny groaned, Will I ever hear the end of that? First you, then Steve,now these talking heads,grr”

To make it worse, I started laughing, rocking back and forth on the sofa. I told you, I told you!

“Did you hear about the arson fire at the clinic in Montreal.” Ginny asked, “There's supposed to be a backlog of 1100 patients.”

“Oh no, does this affect you Ginny. What will you do, other clinics have a 6 month waiting list or longer.”

“There was over $700,000 damage done to the surgical clinic. The fire was a while ago, maybe that's how I got my surgery date so quickly. Although, you'd think it would be the other way around.”

“Ginny, you are the luckiest person alive. The only guess I have is no one else had letters of approval for the end of January.”

“I wonder if you walk in with cash, not insurance. to the Thailand clinics,if you can fast track the procedures.”

I laughed at that, “Do you have the phone number of that big clinic in Thailand? The clinic with the great web site. If you do, why not call them just in case, you never know.”

Ginny smiled at that idea, “I don't know if I wrote one down, but I'll call up the web site tomorrow. If there's no phone number, maybe there is a contact email address.”

“There must be, how else would you get information on the surgery requirements and make appointments.?”

“Ellen, should I call the Trinidad clinic also? The people done there are called 'Bibber's Girls'.
What do you think, do I look like a Brassad's Babe?”

“Why not call and find out if the doctor has nic-names for his patients. Hopefully, they have a sense of humour. Remember, you'll be unconscious for quite a while.”

“You just gave me the chills up my spine, Thanks, Ellen.”

“Are you kidding, any surgeon that does this work must have a sense of humour, at least to cheer up patients in pain. And that applies to everyone I think.”

“You do realize how much pain is involved in this process, don't you Ginny? And also dilating the newly constructed vaginal area every day, several times a day for months to make sure you don't collapse and are able to have sex?”

Now she turned red thinking of the reason for dilating. “Hey, I've read the dilation can be very pleasant, after all, those stretchers are similar to dildos, you know like that thing in your night stand drawer .”

Now it was my turn to redden.”That is for relieving muscle knots.”

“Yeah, and I know how far in the muscles are, about 8 inches, right?”

“Boy, I'm glad no one else is here to hear this, otherwise I would have to fess up and die from embarrassment. Enough of this, time to change the topic. We have a riding lesson tomorrow, are you going to tell Cathy of your childhood horse ownership?”

Ginny looked embarrassed again, in all the excitement with my letter, I forgot all about that. I guess I have to.”

“Yes, this gives her an idea just how much she can throw at you, and if you would rather ride Western, she an teach you that also.”

She perked up, “Have you seen the slinky outfits girls wear when they show Western? Think of the shopping and trying on of clothes. All a guy does is buy boots and chaps. Think of the sparkling blouses and differently colored hats and cute boots, OMG I think I'm getting excited just thinking of the clothes!”

“Ginny only you would get this excited over shopping. Don't forget, Cathy has to approve the outfits.”

But the ones she doesn't, I can wear every day, and spurs! Those would be cool to walk around in.”

“I've got a honky-tonk room-mate. Ginny you surprise me! Are we going to put sawdust on the floor, and play those tear-jerker country songs all day?”

“No, but I can get excited about the shopping and wearing spurs.”

“Ginny, did Kevin say whether or not he'd be there tomorrow when you spoke with him? Oh wow, you can give him the news on your letter. Wait a minute, the weather is back on. Lets see about when the rain is going to start.”

The weather guessers thought the rain would start before dawn, about 4 AM, and become heavy by noon. Most of the rain would end by 8 PM. Overall we should receive 2 to 3 inches total.
It 's expected to have a major effect on the snow pack. The temperatures will be in the 40's all day, with mid 50's tomorrow.

Ginny and I set out a little early for our lessons in the morning figuring the possibility of flooded roads, and Ginny wanted time to explain her new-found riding ability to Cathy, No mention will be made of Gene and his barrel-racing wishes.

We got three coffees, one for Cathy to drink as Ginny wove her tale. Always bribe the teacher when you tell her you were 'sand-bagging', (under reporting ability for an advantage). I don't think Cathy will be angry, just as I don't think she thought she was Superteacher either.

The parking lot was a mess, puddles everywhere, mud showing in spots, and huge snow banks from the front loader that plowed there.

We grabbed our stuff, and my saddle headed for the tack room and Cathy. After some swapping of blizzard stories, Ginny had a heart to heart with Cathy about her riding when she was young and her accident that left her scared of big horses.

Cathy was okay with it,saying she had been scratching her head over Ginny's sudden ability, from lesson to lesson. She was actually happy, knowing Ginny could be pushed along. Her desire to ride Western was good, Cathy had a older, past World Champion just hanging around and was available for lease. This would save Ginny a good $20,000 trying to find a horse as good.

“Ellen, do you know what's going on with Tina, she sounded strange on the phone the other day.”

I sat back and filled her in on most of it, leaving out the more personal things Tina had told me and Ginny.

“The poor kid, having the uncertainty of her father's death. I knew he was some kind of criminal but not that big.

Get your horses ready, Ginny you'll ride Junior today, let's see what you can do Western.

Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 65

Cathy helped Ginny tack up Junior, which included using Cathy's silver trimmed Western show saddle. I wonder if Ginny ever rode in a $12,000 saddle!

As soon as I finished saddling Freddy and Chris Brady finished tacking up her horse and we headed towards the arena. After loosening up for a few minutes, Cathy had us trot clockwise, Junior jogging of course. It took Ginny a circuit or two before she had 'muscle memory' return. Ginny was starting to relax and get in time with Junior's gait.

Cathy had everyone walk so the horses could catch their breath, then had Chris and I canter, while Ginny and Junior loped. The rest of the lesson went like this.

When we were finished and cooling the horses out, Cathy walked along side Junior,talking to Ginny. “You must have been a very good junior rider, you mastered the jog trot after 5 or 10 minutes. It usually takes a new student hours to feel a three beat jog, and not a four beat.

After that praise, Ginny floated through the barn, her feet not touching the ground. What made it worse was Kevin coming over and asking for her autograph. After giving her a big kiss.

I thanked him, saying she was going to be impossible to live with, and didn't he have a lesson to go to.

I helped Ginny with the saddle, putting it back into it's protective bag, and wheeling it back into the tack room.

“I never saw a saddle like that before, all that silver, even the stirrups were silver! And it was a perfect seat, really comfortable .”

“You notice the bridle and breast plate match the saddle. The silver bit cost $400 alone! Cathy must really like you, she normally uses an older Circle J saddle, not the new one for a student rider.”

The three of us sat down in the viewing room to watch the remainder of Kevin's driving lesson.
We gabbed about the snow, the rain, and whether a white Christmas was possible. Everyone wanted a Currier and Ives scene with snow covered trees and shrubs.

After his lesson, Ginny walked over to Kevin and Doc and told him the good news on her letter. She had to hush him to keep it secret. She did that with a big kiss and tongue wrestling.
Kevin didn't seem to object.

We made our goodbyes, promising to see everyone next week, just a couple of days before Christmas. Cathy was going away from Christmas until New Years with her husband to bake in the sun in Aruba.

“When we get home, lets check with those Thailand Clinics just in case there is a scheduling problem with the Montreal Clinic. Maybe if you paid cash Ginny and not an insurance payment, they fast track you? I remember a contact email for two of them.”

“Ellen,I remember a phone number, but it might be a fax number. Hey, want to get a pizza for lunch? There's a Papa Gino's just up ahead.”

“Sure, what do you think, mushroom and onion?”

“Okay, pull in here, I'll order and come back while we wait.”

After eating, we sat down at Ginny's laptop and pulled up first clinic, the Doctor Chettawut clinic reading their services and pricing, I wrote down the contact email address, and phone number.

This one was kind of funny, the clinic was a store front beside a grocery store and a restaurant.
They talk of McDonald's and KFC being in walking distance, along with a couple more American fast food places.

I looked at Ginny and quipped, “If the hospital food is lousy, I can walk next door and get some Big Macs.”

That got both of us giggling,”I wonder if they deliver,”laughed Ginny.

After pouring over this clinic's site, Ginny pulled up the next clinic with an impressive web site, the Doctor Suporn Clinic.

This one was more impressive, a large surgical clinic with a major hospital a few miles away. A hotel was next door, for the extended stay of family and the patient once released from the hospital.

They listed days they did surgery and days not scheduled for surgery. On the scheduled days, they were booked for almost two years,but the open days were about 33%. I wonder if a very persuasive phone call may find an extra day for surgery. Interestingly, the same day, January 29 was open.

Well, now we had phone numbers to call and a possible fall-back option in case the clinic in Montreal canceled Ginny's date. I can't imagine the reaction if her surgery was canceled, she'd fall apart.

No reason why Ginny can't call tomorrow, even though it's Sunday. Actually, I think it's Monday there anyway.

We went back to the two sites figuring the information they listed was educational, at least for me. I actually was fascinated by the before and after photos. Comparing Ginny to these facial photos gave her a real edge, she really looked feminine, no heavy brow, or masculine jawline. She naturally had high cheek bones, so no facial surgery was necessary, at least in my opinion.

“Hey Ellen, did you see the veejayjay photos, are these acurate?”

“Why are you asking me, do you think I stand over a mirror and take notes? Are you going to get weird with me?”

“I just figured, you know.”

“Find a porn site and make comparisons, for crying out loud. Stop asking me questions like these, or so help me I'll post stuff on facebook!”

“What stuff?”

“Keep asking me private questions, and you'll find out, sweetie.”

With that, she went back to investigating the web sites, and I picked up a new Bolitho naval adventure book.

After the 10 O'clock news we both went to bed, figuring tomorrow would be an interesting day.

I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee, and ran for the loo. That taken care of, I quickly got dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and joined Ginny in the kitchen.

“Eggs or pancakes,” she asked.

“Pancakes for me, do we have breakfast sausages?”

“Coming right up!”

“Wow, you're cheerful this morning, what happened?”

“My riding lesson, it all came back to me. I felt in command of Junior. And that saddle! Oh my god! I never rode in anything like that before, it was wonderful!”

I had to smile, sounds like she's been bitten by the riding bug, I expect her to join me at horse shows next year.

“Ginny will you still feel this way after having surgery? Will you still want to work for Steve Brady? Will you want to stay living here with me?”

“Oh Ellen, I love you like a sister, of course I want to live here, if you will have me. Steve has been good to me I should stay working for him with you on jobsites.”

“I think after two months of recuperating, I should be able to ride Western, that will be a Question for the Doctors, along with trying out the equipment, wink, wink.”

“That makes me very happy, I feel I have family finally. And I'll bet Steve will want you to stay.

We finished breakfast, I sat down with the paper and put on the local sports. The Patriots kickoff is at 1 PM.

Ginny grabbed her computer and the phone to investigate the Thailand clinics.