Chapter 6

Gram sent me off to talk to Will. I sat down with him and some of the employees who would be investing if the purchase went through. They were excited. This was a small town and the mine was the major industry. Everyone in town had been associated with the mine at some time in their lives. Gram had given me a ballpark figure that she would accept for the mine and equipment.

When we got down to talking price, Will and his fellow investors were a little more than $500,000 short. They were awfully disappointed. They and I knew the value was there in the asking price. The Ryans had been exceptional employers. The group of investors were caught in a "catch 22"--wanting to treat Gram right and yet knowing if they borrowed the extra half million, they would be strapped for working capital.

Will and Barbara invited me to stay over as they had the last time I was in town. Will didn't say too much about not being able to own part of the company of which he was manager. In the back of his mind was the knowledge that as soon as the mine was sold, he most likely would be replaced.

I said to Will, "Don't give up hope of buying the mine. Keep thinking of ways to come up with the financing. I'll talk to my grandmother, and maybe she can think of some other way for you to finance it."

Will asked me about Bethanne and The Preacher. I told him I had talked to both of them. I had kept Will and Barbara out of the conversation. I was hoping that maybe life would ease off a little for my sister-in-law and The Preacher. I promised my wife that I would take her to visit her family shortly, anyway. Barbara asked me to at least say "hi" to Bethanne. She thought that The Preacher was being cruel in the way he treated his wife.

I arrived home the next day in the early evening. Gram had gone back to Ryansville so I was left to cope with my wife and Maria. They were acting more like teenagers than 20 something's. I guess they had wine for dinner and were pretty happy. "Kate you've got to remember you are pregnant. We want a healthy baby. That won't happen if you drink." I was upset and showed it. What was she thinking?

Tears started in Kate's eyes. "Oh Jim, I'm so sorry. Tonight is the first wine I've had since I got pregnant. I was having such a good time laughing with Maria, I forgot. I won't have anymore until the baby comes, I promise." My wife looked so contrite, I forgave her.

"Kate, can we talk a little business?" I looked at Maria. I wanted her to leave, and she did. I gave my attention again to Kate. "I told you that the manager of Gram's mine in Ohio is Will Green. He was originally from your home town. He and the people that work there want to buy the mine. They are about a half million short. You're my financial person and advisor. Let's run the figures and see if there is anyway they can purchase the property and still make a sound investment."

I had the figures and Kate and I sat there and figured for an hour or more. Kate ended up shaking her head no. It was just not plausible to go forward with the business plan with the money the miners could scrape up.

I sensed that Kate might have a problem with Will, because she remembered that he was one of the boys that hung out with her sister. When I could see that she was about ready to say something about it, I forestalled her. "You know I've met Will and his wife Barbara. They are a really nice couple and they have two great kids. Barbara has met Bethanne several times with Will and they have done her some favors. What Will and Bethanne were when they were kids is way behind them."

I then got to the point I wanted to make. "What if they had another investor that would put the half million they need into the business at a reasonable rate of interest? Would that make the figures work?"

Kate thought for a minute, checked through the figures again and said she thought it would. "Would you be adverse to my taking some of the money my great-grandpa left and investing with them? I really know the value is there."

"Well it's your money. Do what you want."

"No, Kate, it's our money. Just the same as what you are carrying in your body is our baby. We have to work together to make it safe. That is why I asked you about investing. I want it safe." There was a little dig in there about her imbibing this evening while she is pregnant. It did not go unnoticed.

Maria came back and I had a drink with her while Kate said it wasn't fair. I knew, though, that until she had our child she wouldn't do any drinking.

I called Gram before it got too late and ran what was going on by her. She said that she wondered how I was going to put her father's money that he had left me to good use. She had always been impressed with Will Green so she was glad that he had come up with a plan to own the mine. Anyway the money was mine to use or lose. Then she asked, "Have you done anything about asking Will to come into our other project?"

"No, we don't even have a mission yet. How can I ask someone if they want to be a part of something when we, ourselves, don't know what it is going to look like?"

"You are right. I just wondered if that was why you wanted to invest money with him."

"No. I have been able to keep everything separate that is going on in my life. Life does seem to be more complicated though. My wife is having a baby. My wife has rejoined her family and has me integrated into it. This Father Juan Carlos thing is taking a lot of time. You are selling off your holdings and I hope I'm not neglecting you in that. I've inherited a considerable amount of money and want it to work for me. Then finally there is this trust project to be dealt with. All this has happened in the last few months. Complicated, I guess it is and then some."

"Do you regret it?"

"No, not at all. I'm actually having the time of my life."

"That's good. That is the way your Grandpa and I felt when we were building our energy company. You feel you just can't wait for the new day to begin. And I must say, Jim, I think you are doing great at it." Gram said she wasn't going to need me for a few days, so if I had any catching up to do, I had better do it now.

I knew that Will wouldn't be in bed yet, so I called him. "Hey Will. I've been looking around and I think I've corralled an investor for you. The only catch is, you're going to have to pay him and give him some crazy-assed job. That way you will have a totally owned employee business. What do you think?"

He didn't shoot me down. Far from it. I said we'd get together and discuss it soon. I'd keep in touch and in the meantime he should see how the other investors felt about it.

I went up to bed. My timing was way off because I met Maria coming from the bathroom. She had on a long nightgown and the light was on behind her. I blocked the image of Maria from my mind as I cuddled up to Kate.

In the morning Kate went over the figures again and they still looked as good. On the spur of the moment I said, "Let's go visit your family. Your papa was really put out when I wouldn't stay last time."

"What about Maria? We can't just go off and leave her."

"Ask her to go with us. Your mama always has room for one more. Maybe she would like to go and visit her ancestor again."

"Okay, but can you stand being around her for a few days? I can see how attracted you are to her. I'm not jealous, but she is such a sweet person."

"Hey babe, I love you, you know that. I'll admit that my eyes and, yes other parts, are drawn to her. I would not trade the rest of my life with you and the baby for one sweet night of unrivaled passion." (I said this, now I had to live up to it.)

Kate teased me now. "What if she comes on to you?"

"What would a mother lion do to protect her mate from another female lion?"

"I get the point. I'll have to scratch her eyes out if she looks at you."

We were joking, but there was an underlying current flowing here. Kate went off to find Maria and invite her to go with us.

Kate, Maria and I arrived and I immediately headed for the farm. I was hoping that Billy Bob would give me some more instruction on shooting. Kate went down to Miss Daisy's diner with Maria. After that she was going to take her around and meet Mary. Bethanne would still be in school but she was due for a visit when the school day ended.

When I got to the farm, Billy Bob was out in the field with his dogs. I didn't go blundering out there as I could hear some shooting. I found a beer in his 'fridge and sat down to relax. I could hear Billy Bob out in the yard talking to someone about a dog that was being considered for purchase. The customer soon left.

Billy Bob came in looking for me. In his hand was a shotgun. He walked over to a gun safe and placed it inside. Motioning me over before closing the door he said as he pointed to several firearms, "Did you ever see anything prettier?"

"I thought you couldn't own guns."

"I couldn't as a felon. I'm not a felon anymore. It seems as though someone petitioned the governor to pardon me. My conviction was scrubbed from the record. It is like the mess fourteen years ago never happened." Tears were in his eyes. "You wouldn't know anything about this, would you? I can't think of anybody else that I know who would even think to do this for me."

"Billy Bob I didn't do anything. I wouldn't know how to go about it. However, I did ask Gram if she knew anybody in the governor's administration. When she asked me why, I told her that I thought you had received a raw deal. My wife spent years away from her family because you were railroaded. Gram loves my wife. When I posed the question, she said she knew the governor personally. She took it from there."

"God son, if there is anything I can do for you, just ask. You've given me back my life and respect." I knew that Billy Bob wasn't demonstrative, but I could see he wanted to give me a hug, so I let him.

When he settled down, he could see I wanted to tell him something. I started with, "Billy Bob, you knew Miss Maudie most of your life. What you didn't know is that she had a secret she kept from the world until she found someone who she could pass it on to. Hattie Mae was involved a little. She was chosen to bring a person to Miss Maudie who could carry out her wishes. I don't understand it myself, but I am also a part of it.

"At one time there were only three people alive that knew the secret. They were Miss Maudie, Kate or Hattie Mae, chosen to find the Chosen One, and that would be me. Since that time I have had to tell several people and as time progresses, I'll have to tell more. It is time for me to tell you. Those people that were here last week were here for a purpose and they knew.

"There is going to be a lot of people from the university showing up here to work in the cave where the secret lays. I'll need you to transport them and generally be of service to them. Also this is going to be big, very big, and I want it contained from the local people and the news people. Before I give you the whole story, listen to this: We think Maria, whom you met the other day, has an ancestor in that cave who is 450 years old." I paused. "Are you interested in the whole story?" Billy Bob was!

So I told Billy Bob everything I had learned the first time I met Miss Maudie. All of it. My travels. Who knew what and when. I finished the tale with the waiting on confirmation that Maria was really the descendant of the body up in the cave. When I finished, Billy Bob said, "I can't believe that Miss Maudie kept a secret from me. Why do you suppose she didn't tell me? I took care of her for years and years."

"You, yourself, said that she had insight. I think she knew that I was going to appear at the right time. She didn't seem worried that she would not be able to pass the information on before she died. She was ninety-three and could have died anytime at that age. When she had everything arranged to her satisfaction, and her work being done, she let herself go. That is the way I see it.

"I've wondered a lot about why I was chosen. I guess it must be I have the capabilities and the financial wherewithal to see it through. I think she is up there helping, not only me, but if you think of it, others are being helped too. Take yourself for instance. You are back with a loving wife. Your daughter is back in your arms. I see a gun case full of your guns and you are taking joy having them to use.

"There are a lot of good instances that have happened that I don't have any apparent control over. This thing that Miss Maudie has me doing has been so smooth it is beyond comprehension. When a problem arises that needs solving, suddenly the answer pops up. Really, I have stopped worrying about the outcome, because someone is showing me the way. I think it is just up to me to take all of these pieces, align them and put them in place as they appear."

Billy Bob sat and contemplated what I had just said. "Well whatever it is, I'll take it. I'm happier now than I have ever been. Happier than I was even before I got sent to jail. As far as what you want when these strangers show up, you have my full cooperation."

I didn't get any shooting in that day, but we did get some beer drunk. I wondered what my father would have been like if he had lived. I would never know, but I did like my father-in-law a whole lot.

Again we had a family gathering at Miss Daisy's. I was curious to see Bethanne and The Preacher. I wondered if I had overstepped my bounds in dealing with them. I had been pretty forward in talking to them. If they acted cold toward me, this would be the first schism in the Gruber family that I had caused. I needn't have worried. When The Preacher's family came, they were much different than before. The two kids came bouncing in laughing and running around, followed by Bethanne and The Preacher.

The oldest, a girl announced, "Daddy doesn't want to be called 'The Preacher' anymore. He wants to be Daddy to us, Claude to his friends and Mr. Ames to everyone else. You can only call him The Preacher when he is in church."

The Preacher, I mean Mr. Ames, had shed his dark gray suit and was wearing a pair of dungarees and a peach colored turtleneck. Bethanne was out of her buttoned up granny dress and had on a plaid skirt and a white blouse. I was standing talking to Billy Bob on the far side of the room when they entered. Bethanne went around the room hugging her sisters and her mother and was introduced to Maria.

Approaching her father she hugged him too. That surprised him no end, I could see, but he beamed and held her an extra minute. I received the same and a whispered "Thank you, Jim" as she bussed my cheek with her lips. I wondered how The Preacher, I mean Claude, was going to take this. I didn't have to worry as he came over and shook my hand saying, "So good to see you again, Jim. Bethanne wants to have you and Hattie Mae over for lunch sometime soon. Bring your friend Maria with you. Now don't you dare leave town before you do."

It seemed as though the family became more and more boisterous every time we came to visit. Miss Daisy had an announcement that Joe was coming from England for a visit. He was bringing his British wife and two kids. This was the first time that Miss Daisy was to see these two grandchildren. Miss Katie said she had some news too. Since she had changed booking agents she was busier than ever. She was to tour with a major country singer and band in the summer. She and her group had second billing and she knew soon she would be a headliner.

After Kate and I went to bed, I was hit with, "What's this with you and Bethanne? She had on lipstick and you have some on your cheek. I wanted to come wipe it off, but her husband didn't seem to mind, so I guess I shouldn't either. Come on, tell me what it is all about. Besides I never saw such a change in anyone as I have in my sister and her family. What did you do to them? I know you talked to them the last time we were here, 'cause I took care of the kids. Tell me."

"Kate I don't want to go into details, but I can tell you this. You know I am friends with Will Green, Jr. He and Bethanne go way back. Will told me some things and The Preacher and Bethanne knew that he did. When we talked they were afraid I was going to make trouble for them. Instead they told me what some of the issues were. Basically Bethanne was feeling guilty about her past and felt she had to do penance.

"He was feeling guilty about his home life when he was growing up. It was something that was out of his control, but it was a burden preying on his mind. He felt he had to atone for the way he was dealing with it. They were at the point where they couldn't go on much longer without their whole family unraveling. I think getting their problems out in the open with a third party was enough for them to see how to resolve their conflict. Seeing them tonight, my listening to them helped."

Kate wasn't satisfied and pressured me for details. "Kate let me ask you a question? Would you like anyone to know about your past missteps in the Red Lion awhile back?"

"No!"

"Okay, I don't think I should tell you about any mistakes they might have made. They haven't asked me not to tell, but I'm sure they trusted me. Besides aren't you happy for the change in them?"

"Oh, I guess so." We left it at that. I felt conflicted over my loyalty to my wife, but I think I was right in this case.

Kate had plans for the cabin that we had inherited from Miss Maudie. Along with Maria she talked Mary, Bethanne and Miss Katie into helping her straighten it up, clean it and refurnish it with a new king-sized bed. I guess we would be spending some time there. The women went shopping for the bed, but didn't stop there. I had to recruit Billy Bob to help move the furniture up the hill in his jeep. Kate, had purchased along with the bed, a new wardrobe, two chairs and a small kitchen table and provisions to stock the cupboards. All of this just about filled the little cabin. The women did make it shine though.

Kate told me that night that Bethanne was having a ball, amazing both Mary and Katie with how outgoing she was becoming. Kate forgave me for not telling her about what went on the day I talked with her and Claude. With a gleam in her eye she suggested we try out the new furnishing in the cabin. We could spend the night. Early in the morning it was planned for me to take Kate and Maria up to hang new curtains, they were going to spend most of the day there while I did some shooting with Billy Bob. Then I was to get Maria and bring her down so she could go into town with Kate's papa.

Things went as planned until late in the afternoon when a storm blew up suddenly. I headed for the cabin. I only got halfway up the mountain when a big boulder slid down in front of the jeep. I hoofed it the rest of the way. When I arrived both girls were glad to see me as they were afraid of the thunder and lightning. I told them there was no way that Maria could get to town tonight.

We were pretty cozy. Kate had laid a fire in the stove to cook on. We had some wine and Kate cooked the two large steaks, put some potatoes wrapped in tin foil in the coals and opened a can of beans and a can of corn for succotash. After the fire went down we snuggled down on the bed with Kate in the middle. Things got weird after that.

I was nearly asleep and the girls were laying there whispering. I was not paying any attention to what they were saying. "Jim, wake up. Maria wants to tell you something." I had no idea what was coming, but just the way Kate spoke it was something serious. Kate and Maria changed places, putting this cute little Spanish senorita next to me. Kate spoke again, "Maria and I planned for us three to be here in the cabin alone tonight. The storm just makes it more believable that Maria had to stay up here with us."

"Jim, I have a problem and Kate has come up with a way to solve it--she thinks. The only way for us to know is to tell you about my life. No decisions have to be made tonight. We can talk about that later. To start with, let me tell you that I am the last of the line of Jesus Domingo. Well anyway, the last that would be able to produce an heir. That has been drummed into me all of my life by my family.

"You know that I have been making a lot of calls home to Spain to someone named Terri. I know you do because you have been within hearing distance when I have been talking. You are assuming that it is my lover and someone I am going to spend my life with. You are right! What you don't know is that Terri is a woman. Her name is Theresa Gonzalas. I am a lesbian. I've known it all my life. I've tried to change for my family's sake. It just doesn't work.

"Let me demonstrate how hard I have tried to change. When I first went to the university, I decided to lose my virginity. I did and it was a disaster! I thought that maybe I chose the wrong person because he was young and nearly as inexperienced as I. I tried again with an older more experienced man. He was the father of my friend and had the reputation of being able to please a woman. That was worse. I hated myself afterwards.

"I know that I have been blessed with a sexy body, but I am not a physical person--with man or woman. One day while reading in the university library I sat next to an older student. We struck up a conversation. She was majoring in psychology. Continuing our discussion over coffee later, we disclosed our preference in lifestyle to each other. We've been together for four years now.