Chapter 2

December 25, 1849

I woke up to the feeling of someone's mouth caressing my cock. I just lay there enjoying the sensation until with a shuddering release I came. With a last slurp and a lick at my purple head the mouth was removed. When I opened my eyes I saw a tub filled with hot water and three new outfits on the chairs near the bed. Elizabeth was the one doing the caressing while Claire was at the desk writing something. I kissed Elizabeth and pointed with my chin toward the new clothes, "Where did you find anything open on Christmas?"

She looked at the clothes, "I didn't. The 'group' wants to let the governor know what we see as the future of Oregon. They made or loaned us outfits for the governor's dinner today."

"Does that mean I have to be nice to the governor?", I asked in an innocent tone.

Elizabeth glared at me, "Alex xxxxxx, you behave!" Claire laughed at our conversation as she continued to write.

I got out of the bed and trotted over to Claire and gave her a kiss too. "What are you writing so industriously?"

"Your report on the Huntly and our rescue." This wasn't the first report Claire had written for me. I usually just looked it over and signed at the bottom. I certainly wasn't going to object this time either! I hated writing reports, especially as the judge and sheriff seemed to want them written like a political speech.

I headed toward the bathtub where Elizabeth handed me a packet full of some sort of an herb mixture, "Sun Lee said to use this to get rid of any body parasites". I tried it out and it left a slight track of slipperiness behind it when I used it like a bar of soap. Elizabeth got behind me with a bucket of warm water containing some of the herbal mix in it and washed my hair. I don't know what was in the packet but it worked. I could see the fleas and body lice I had picked up from the trail and the sailors' clothes floating in the water when I got out of the tub. I offered the left over water to Elizabeth or Claire for their bath, but both looked at the dead bugs and turned me down. I went to the window and with a "Ware below!" dumped it out the window.

I enjoyed the feeling of not having any bugs on me and got dressed for the Governor's dinner. I had no idea who would be there, but I assumed that it would be more of the Governors Democratic Party faithful. I admit that I was not a fan of the Democratic Party here and now. They were too pro-slavery and states' rights for me. I wasn't much more impressed with the Whig party either as they were dedicated to protecting business with an evangelical Christian view of social virtues and vices and almost evenly split between the pro- and anti-slavery groups.

When I got a chance to see my wives I was astonished the difference the dresses made. They wouldn't have been out of place in a palace, let alone in the governors mansion in Oregon. "Where did these beautiful ladies appear from?", I asked. Claire and Elizabeth giggled.

"You can thank Sun Lee for the makeup and hair", Claire told me.

I stood there and admired my wives for a while. There was no way they could ride a horse to the Governor's dinner dressed like that. I wasn't too sure that there was a vehicle fancy enough in the entire state! I looked outside the room and spotted Josh standing there talking to Sun Lee. "Josh, could you make sure we get the best buggy the livery stable has?"

Josh looked up and his eyes widened when he saw his stepmothers. They weren't the only thing that grew I noticed. I could see that Josh wouldn't have a disappointed wife on his wedding day. "Dad, I already got the best one they had, but I better make sure everything is ready", he said as he fled followed by Sun Lee. Elizabeth and Claire snickered.

I turned to them and said, "Women, behave!" and then broke out laughing. It was getting to be past time that Josh got married. I turned to my wives, "What do you think about Sun Lee and Josh? Will it be all right with Frieda?"

Elizabeth became serious, "Alex, I think it will be fine, but we have to let the youngsters meet each other and decide between themselves. Josh and Sun Lee have no problem with a polygamous marriage, and I think our example is enough to convince Frieda."

Claire added, "I think that anyone who wants to make a polygamous marriage around Cincinnati won't have the problems we had. You've become fairly well respected and every woman who has gone through the Krav Magen training with us has heard how well we like it."

We waited until around 6 o'clock when one of the deputies from the posse came up and told us that they were ready to start off to the dinner. We went down and you could almost hear the jaws hitting the floor when they saw Elizabeth and Claire. I felt like I was the cock of the walk between my beautiful wives. We went outside and I saw the buggy was ready for us. Josh was going to be our driver and I saw Sun Lee waiting for us inside to repair any damage to the makeup.

When we got in the buggy I was surprised but not upset to find that Josh had made sure we had a rifle for each of us and my gun belt was under the seat. Josh had a sawed off shotgun under the drivers seat and a rifle next to it. I kind of hoped someone would attack tonight if we had all this firepower available. Nothing happened during the trip to the governor's mansion and we arrived around 7 o'clock. I handed down my wives and we presented our invitation to the doorman.

When we got inside I felt somewhat overdressed for the surroundings, until I saw the other guests. I was the youngest man there and had the youngest wives as well. I felt that I needed every bit of an advantage I could get to deal with these people. I got a kick out of seeing the Governor's face when he saw my wives and he remembered the wording of his invitation. I saw his wife talking into his ear before he came to greet us. He was more gracious than I would have thought to someone who probably totally ruined his seating arrangements.

I could see the eyes of the men follow my wives as they went through the room toward the other wives. Some of them acted as if they weren't sure of how to react, while others acted like they recognized my wives from somewhere else. I was led to the men's group where I was greeted like a buyer on a used car lot. I don't think I've ever seen so many insincere smiles since I fell through. We made small talk about the weather and the towns we lived in until dinner was announced. The governor's wife paired couples as they went to the door of the dining room and I was introduced to an older lady as my dining partner. When we got into the dining room I saw that there had been quick changes in the layout of the tables. One side now had a different number of settings than the other side.

During the dinner I was separated from Elizabeth and Claire. They were between men who had to be at least 20 years older than them while I had as my seat mate a woman who was older than Corrie and a young lady about Josh's age. I actually enjoyed the older woman's conversation but the younger one reminded me of a valley girl. You know, a blond bubblehead. We talked to each other and to the person across the table, in my case a ship owner, who spent much of the night moaning about the lack of federal infrastructure in the western states.

We were served a first course of soup of which there were two kinds, followed by large platters of roast beef or chicken with smaller plates of several sweet or savory preparations. I had to attend several formal dinners when I was working on various projects in the future so I didn't make the mistake of filling myself up during the first course. The second course had the largest dishes of the meal, accompanied by vegetables, salads, and more sweet and savory preparations. The main course was brought in looking like it should be displayed as a work of art with the central roast surrounded with a large number of garnishes. Finally they brought out the dessert, consisting of cheeses, pastries, and fruit. The placement of the courses seemed almost as important as the preparation. I noticed that the main dish was placed in the center of the table and all the secondary dishes were placed around it.

I tried my best not to ignore the young lady on my right but it was hard. Elizabeth was about her age, but I could never believe that Elizabeth was ever so empty headed. Finally dinner was over and the men were invited into the library where the pretense of civility began wearing thin as we began to talk. We talked about the status of the Oregon harbors and roads and there began to be a vigorous dispute between those wanting money to upgrade the sea ports and those wanting to upgrade the river traffic. I wanted more traffic on the rivers and talked about railroads along the rivers to carry people and goods. The question that the governor had was who would pay for it. I suggested that the government might be able to interest private investment by giving grants of land for each portion of railroad that was finished. I saw several men nod as they thought about the implications of such grants.