Chapter 22: Mara, Money and Michelle

“I knew I had to ask himAbout the mysteries of life
He spat between his boots
And he replied{br}

Faster horses, Younger women
, Older whiskey
, More money
“

-The Poet and the Cowboy (Tom T. Hall)

I had planned to spend two days in Oklahoma City and my schedule did leave a little down time each day but I had to keep a tight schedule if I wanted that down time. So up I got at the crack of dawn to start the chores and get ready to head into town.

My first appointment of the day was to pick up my gold and silver, a delicate operation and security was a major concern. It’s not a wise idea to wander around a strange city with a several hundred ounces of gold and silver nuggets. Once the traders at the Whittling started fussing over the prices and hem hawing about the purchase I simply put down my foot and told them I wanted 200oz of gold and 400oz of silver. Now that is not even 40 pounds and wouldn’t be an effort to manage but prices pushed it to over five hundred thousand. I didn’t care, it was my money.

That was how I found myself in a secure garage in downtown Oklahoma City first thing in the morning. It was amusing to watch the high security antics when the armored truck pulled up next to me. Security guards were deployed around our vehicles on the alert, I greeted the guard making the transfer who required not only my ID, which he ran through a reader, but also a thumbprint on a scanner. My identity confirmed I was handed two lockbags and the keys, the guard watched as I inventoried the contents. The look of dismay on his face was priceless as I merely threw the bags into the back seat of my truck and drove away.

Subterfuge and armament would have been stupid for me at that point, if someone wanted to rob me my best bet would be to hand them the gold and buy some more later. There really is no point in dying over something you can easily replace.

Next order of business that day was to meet mara who, if all things went as expected, would be my new mare.

The breeders ranch was not at all what I expected, most of the homestead was headed towards the run down. There were a few nicely tended flower beds around the house but the house itself needed a serious facelift and the majority of the front lawn looked like it had yet to be tended this year.

I had been instructed to pull around back to the stables so I followed the drive around back of the house and parked in front of a surprisingly immaculate horse barn. Well maintained paddocks stretched out next to and behind it with well maintained fencing and beautiful grass. Apparently the focus on this ranch was very singular.

A small flock of guinea hens announced my arrival and a couple of geese seconded that announcement, there was no need for doorbells here. As I exited my truck I was greeted by a smiling woman from the open bay doors of the horse barn, she was as perfectly kempt as the barn and wore a welcoming smile. She was actually quite striking. Her name was Michelle and she had Mara waiting to meet me.

We negotiated the appropriate small talk as she walked me down to Mara’s stall; I commented on the beauty of the horse barn and she responded that the ranch renovations had started with the barn and the rest was scheduled out. We brought Mara out of her stall for proper greetings and observation, she was a fine example of what I was looking for. We saddled Mara up and Michelle put her through her paces and then I took her for a ride. I was extremely happy with this mare, she moved well and had almost perfect manners.

It was time to talk business and I was offered coffee and lunch. I accepted if on nothing more than good manners; truth be told Michelle was interesting to talk to and a fine-looking woman, very easy on eyes if you will. Lunch was a delicious ham sandwich made with fresh bread and vegetables from her garden, she even had some homemade potato salad to go with it. Much better fare than you’d get at most restaurants in the city. The conversation was fun and we ended up sitting there for almost two hours before we got around to actually signing documents.