Chapter 40

I woke with a start, thinking that I heard a noise. It took a second to realize it was the clanking of a pot being put on the stove. Looking at the clock told me that it was five thirty, so I slid from between Sheryl and Millie and used the bathroom before going into the kitchen.

Mom was in her bathrobe, getting coffee started in the big percolator. She smiled and came to hug me, laying her head on my chest. She almost whispered, "Michael, I know I'm not crazy, but I keep dreaming of your father and some of the others who must have lived here. I know Ben, but not Eliza and Bud. Last night I saw an old woman in farmer's bib-overalls, I suppose that it must have been Eliza, with Ben dressed about the same, and your father. They didn't talk, but I felt as if your father was giving me permission to live my life. I almost feel like he was giving me permission to be with D. I love the dreams, but they do confuse me."

Mom didn't need to know about my hallucinations and mental conversations. I could be dreaming all of these encounters, and the dialog could be what I wanted to hear. "I've had dreams too, Mom. This place has become a new beginning for a lot of people. Think about it; I was first, then I found Millie and Summer. Ben sort of got a new beginning, as he felt more alive for a while, became my sidekick, and helped me do a lot. Ezra was able to come back to work. You came down and started all over with me, and maybe now with D. Just think of Marita and Karen. They are starting over again, along with D. The families below all have a new start in life, so our family has given many a new start. Mystery Mountain has been good for us."

Mom was still hugging me, "You're right, Michael, this place has given us a new start. I hope it gives your brother and sister that same boost. They are two happy families, but living in the city doesn't give their kids the opportunities that you kids had. I hope coming here on weekends and during the summer will be good for them."

When we separated, I said, "Let me dress and go do the chores real quick. You'll have to coerce some of the visitors into going to church; that is, if we're going this morning."

"We're going, because we need to have Sunday as the new beginning of another week. I know your sis and Shirley will go, so the kids will go, but the men may not. We'll see."

I was putting my boots on when Sissy came out, already dressed for chores. "Did you think I was going to let you do everything by yourself? I'll be right with you."

Marita came out and told Sissy and me, "It's my turn to milk this morning. I've been scamming you lately, and not doing much. The ladies from below take care of everything for us, so I'm getting lazy."

It didn't take long to do the chores. By the time we finished milking and feeding, Karen had gotten up and taken care of the chickens. The dogs had had a shadow lately, as the deer would hop over the fence and try to follow them around. I think that having a deer at their heels has spooked them a little, but the deer was always ready to run and play.

Back in the house, the table was being filled with breakfast. The two men, my brother and brother-in-law, were drinking coffee, waiting for everyone else to sit. When all fourteen of us were seated, Mom said, "It is so much fun to have all of my family for breakfast. You know that I want us to do this as often as possible. You city kids need to come and help with the garden on weekends, if you can. If it's raining, I suppose you should stay home and do some extra homework, or maybe help your mom do some house cleaning. But come down when the weather allows, and when school is out, you kids need to plan on staying with me for the summer. Mike will show you around the mountain and you can explore for miles and miles."

Sissy said, "If you ask nice, Mike will take you hunting this fall and winter. You need to learn to be as good a hunter as my brothers, but Mike was always the best at bringing game home."

The kids were elbowing each other and smiling at the prospect of running all over the mountain during the summer. I was thinking that I would probably have to give the kids some lessons on how to detect bears and what to do if they saw one.

As we finished off the huge breakfast, Mom said, "Most of us are going to church. Those not wanting to go to church can begin on the fourth row in from the right, and pull the weeds around the plants. If you're unsure of what is a plant and what is a weed, pull the weeds in the asparagus and rhubarb. Those are easy."

My brother and brother-in-law looked at each other, and my brother said, "We thought we would go to church with you all this morning. We need to get in that habit, as it does help start the week. I like the way everyone seems to really want to be there and I enjoy the feeling I get when we've attended."

It was Mom who announced to everyone, "Begin to get ready now so that we can go to the Bible class before church. There's always something to be learned and Harold is a good teacher."

The Bible study and service were interesting. Sheryl surprised all of us, and nearly floored Harold, with her presence. I think she was enjoying being part of a big family and our acceptance among the other people at church. I found it funny that I had to keep introducing her to people. They didn't recognize her and she had clued me to not introduce her as Doctor Rivers, but as Sheryl Rivers. She was out of uniform. No white coat or scrubs with the ever present stethoscope around her neck.

We didn't have any new guests for lunch today, just our usual. D, his girls, and the road guys came home with us at Mom's insistence to have one of her signature roasts. The two tables were pretty well filled, so the kids ate at the little table and enjoyed their own conversation. When it was time to clean up the dishes, the road guys were going to start in, but Mom told them to grab their gals and go do something fun for the afternoon. There was a rush to get out of the door, with the exception of a couple of the men and Bernie. They assisted with the dishes along with Sheryl. Funny how Sheryl and Bernie began getting acquainted. The two joked and laughed throughout the process, and upon completion, Bernie and Sheryl took a slow walk out toward the garden.

The rest of the family put work clothes on and went to the garden. We worked for four hours pulling weeds, but enjoyed a couple of short breaks. It was funny to have Sissy and Shirley instructing their husbands on what and what not to pull. The kids were good at choosing the weeds over the plants, and quickly worked down a long row. When it was nearing five, Mom sent all of the city people inside to shower and get ready for their trip back to the city.

Mom packed a bunch of sandwiches and filled two small coolers with soft drinks. There were a lot of hugs and kisses with the promise of returning next weekend. When the group departed, the departing women were in one car with the girls, and the men were in the other with the boys. It brought a smile to our faces to see how they decided to go back to the city.

Mom came to me and said, "I think D and I will go into Mount Sterling to see a movie tonight. We'll eat at our favorite restaurant, so you folks pick what you want to eat."

Those left were Millie, John, Karen, Sheryl, Bernie, and three road guys. I made up our minds and told them to help select what kind of pizza we wanted and I would go to Pine Ridge to get it. When the order was made up, I called it in and took off in the Jeep. By going down the back way, it was twenty minutes to get there, and twenty to get back. The pizzas were still warm and the movie was ready to start. I noticed that two road men sat together and were not really interested in our cute little foxy Karen. The third guy flirted with her a little, but was respectful, as Karen was a lot younger. Oh well, to each his own.

When Millie sat on one side of me on one of the couches, and Sheryl got on the other, with Bernie on her other side, Karen stood in front of us with her hands on her hips, "Mike, you need to be three-sided." Instead of squeezing in on the other side of Millie, she plopped down on my lap and stuck her tongue out at Sheryl. This caused Sheryl, Millie, and me to laugh it up. Karen is small and didn't take up much room on my lap.

When the movie was over, the three road guys stretched and said they were heading back to the yard. We made up a box of leftover pizza for them to take home, shook hands, and sent them on their way. Karen said to those still there, "I guess I'm just not a choice enough morsel to taste. Oh well."

Bernie was going to attempt to explain, but Sheryl put her finger to her lips for him to keep it to himself. He didn't have to say anything since Karen said, "I know those types. They are pretty straight acting and good guys, but I'll bet they are all over each other as soon as they get into their room. John was nice, but I think he thinks he's too old for me."

Sheryl and Bernie laughed hard over Karen's observations. Millie was a little confused, and I didn't want to indicate how I felt.

It was Sheryl's turn to stretch as she said, "I think I'm going to head home so I can get an early start tomorrow. It should only be a normal day, but I should get in early to relieve the help from Lexington."

Bernie was moving around, also getting ready to leave. As the two left, I stepped outside and watched as they approached their cars. Bernie stopped with Sheryl at her car and they spoke for a second, then shared a very long tender kiss with them standing in front of each other. When they pulled apart, they spoke again before Sheryl got in her car and began slowly driving down the lane, as if waiting for Bernie. He moved behind her and the two cars sped down the hill. I thought it would be nice if the two found some way to enjoy each other. Bernie has gained a lot of confidence since he's been walking on his prosthesis and Sheryl needs someone with the emotional strength Bernie has. They were a good match.

Inside, Millie was sitting in a rocking chair dreamily nursing John. Karen was sort of watching TV, but paying more attention to Millie. She observed, "Millie gets so much pleasure from nursing John that she won't want to stop. How long can a woman nurse a baby?"

It was Millie who responded, "As long as I want. If I let John nurse, my breasts will continue to produce milk for him. If I slow down, I will dry up and that will be all. I'll let him nurse at least until he is two or maybe longer. We'll see."

Karen was sitting there feeling her own breasts, "I'll bet that feels so good. That was one thing I liked when those boys used me. The girls would suck on my nipples to get me wet enough for their boyfriends to do me. It did the trick and they would continue the whole time their guys would do me. I think they enjoyed nursing me."

It was Millie who said, "You should never be forced to do things, even if it feels good, or at least some parts of it feel good. I hope you get to have loving from someone like Mike so you can know how it feels to be loved by someone special."

Karen sighed, "I've often thought of how good I would feel with Mike making love to me. I know he won't, so it is even more attractive to me. I love Mike for his respect for you and me. I'll have my time and my own guy one of these days. Until then, I have my fingers and fantasies of Mike."

Now that is embarrassing. I've never heard a girl say anything like that before, but there it was. Was that what someone recently called purple pussy lips? That got a snicker from me, and a quick glance by the two women wondering why I was chuckling.

We went to bed and snuggled, with me in the middle of Millie and Karen. It was much later that Marita came in to slip in next to Karen. Shortly after that, I heard Mom come in and go to bed. I hope she enjoyed her date, or whatever it was.

I dreamed of being in a large circle with all of those that I knew were gone, along with the men in Confederate and Union uniforms. There wasn't any conversation that I recognized, but there was a feeling of happiness. All of those souls were at peace.

The dogs woke me early with their paws on Millie. She kept pushing them off, and they must have thought she was playing, as they kept getting back up on the bed to lick our faces. I slid from bed and let them out. It didn't take me long to use the bathroom and dress for morning chores. Before I could warm up a cup of coffee, Mom came from the bedroom with a happy smile. She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, "Mike, I think this is going to work out just fine."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but knew that she would tell me later. We drank our coffee before heading to the barn where we were met by Rosita and Carmen. I did the heavy stuff and the hogs while the women did the milking and chickens. I had to move some of the hogs around to get the little pigs that weren't suckling any longer separated into another pen. Between the two sows, we had twenty-one piglets to begin raising. We needed one more sow so we would have about thirty piglets at a time. We might need four to get a good average of that many, but I would build another two brood houses and find the sows for our stock. I didn't like pigs, but we went through too much pork in those smokehouses for me to get too picky. If the farmer that the butcher and I were using could up his quantity a minimum of about five or six hogs a week, I could sell him my hogs and forget about trying to raise my own.

When we were done with the chores, the two women came into the house and were soon joined by two more of the women from below. They helped get breakfast ready as I showered, shaved, and dressed to go to town. Today was the presentation of the first development.

I was wearing a very nice pair of slacks, a nice shirt, and shined shoes. I asked Mom, "Do you think I should put a tie and coat on, or is an open collared shirt good enough?"

"That should be good enough for the county council. You're the road commissioner, so they know you to be a guy who normally wears work clothes. This is a change for you, so don't get too radical."

I called Benson after breakfast and asked him what time the council meeting was. "Be at the courthouse at ten. You and I will have a short talk and the council meeting starts at ten thirty. Be sure to include the increase in capacity of the sewage system for the next two developments. That will make the acceptance and permits go much faster the next time."

I met Benson at nine fifty and showed him what I had. There was a packet for each council member that I had made up using the color printer at home. I think this thoroughly explained how we would handle all of our demand on the water system and our waste. Benson warned, "Don't get too fancy with these guys. They are common folk, and want to know how it will affect the county and how it will help all of us."

"I got it, Benson. This is just like the briefings I would give the brass. Don't baffle them with bullshit and get to the point."

Benson shook his head, "You put it so elegantly. Come on, let's go in there and get seated."

Inside the council room, there was a large desk in a semi-circle, with a podium in the middle of it facing the big desk where the council men and women sat. Mrs. Jessica Lambs, the elected voice of the council, was in the center. She was a nice person, but didn't like outsiders and wasn't that interested in welcoming new people. She knew that new people and developments would create a higher tax base, but she wanted those people to come to town, and not necessarily be a part of it. I think this development would pacify her to that extent, but she would learn in time that there was no stopping urban sprawl, or in this case 'suburban' sprawl.

The meeting was called to order and Mrs. Lamb immediately called upon me. I handed out my packets of information and directed them to go to the description page first. The way it was written, it sounded like the new homes built on the five acre plots wouldn't even be a part of the county, but would contribute to our tax base. It had taken me hours and hours of writing and rewriting this statement to get it to read just right.

I went through the demands placed on the infrastructure, and what we were willing to contribute to expand county and city facilities if we added more developments. When questioned as to how I was going to pay for these upgrades, I said, "There is a rather large trust that is backing our developments. There is enough money to expand any of the county's and city's facilities for any new properties developed."

There was a financial statement of the trust included in the packet, so that negated any objection the council could have.

Bernie and the newspaper owner were there to report on what happened. Their presence didn't go unnoticed, and all of the council was being wary of what they said.

Benson asked for a vote.

They polled each member and they all voted for granting the permits to build the first development. Son of a gun, I had thought this would be a problem, and it went through as slick as can be.

After the council adjourned, one of the councilmen asked me, "If we didn't accept your proposal, would our roads have suffered?"

I laughed, "No Sir, they are two different operations. I may use some of the men who work on the roads in the development, but the county roads are first. I gave my word and I will stand by that."

The man left with a smile on his face.

Bernie was the reporter on the spot and recorded that short conversation so he could replay it on the radio station later. Benson took my arm and almost forcibly took me from the council room. "You need to vanish now, Mike. Get out of Dodge, as they say."

I left, driving the Jeep and went to the road yard. Everyone was out, so I walked through the yard and the pole barn. The place was military neat. Everything was in its place. I needed to appoint one of the men as leader and let them all follow that one person instead of me giving a little leverage to one or the other for each project. Jimmy was the man. Now, how do I get a consensus that he is the leader? Could it be as simple as just appointing him the foreman?

After checking on the cable path crew and taking another look at the property we going to develop, I drove back home where I found the women from below finishing up for the day and doing the evening chores with the animals. I quickly changed clothes and did the heavy work. When I came back to the milk house, the girls were cleaning the milking equipment preparing to do the milking. Carmen said, "We like this job, but there is a family that has just arrived that knows how to work a dairy farm very well. Would you consider giving them a chance to show you they can do a good job?"

"Carmen, you know I have to have good paperwork on each of the people who work for me. Have them come to me with their papers and let me have Benson help them. We are not a big dairy farm, but we do have a few dairy cows. Why would we be interested in more experienced people?"

Carmen was looking down trying to come up with a reasonable response, "Because they are my family, Mike Grayson. They are good people and they don't need to lose more of their people to those who grow illegal crops to smuggle into the USA. Help them, Mike, and we will show you even more loyalty than is possible."

How do you respond to a plea like that? "Carmen, I will help your people as I have helped everyone you have brought through here. Have them come to me with their papers and I will take them to Benson. It may take a while, but I will get it done."

That was when she said, "They are here legally or with good papers. There should only be the reporting that they are employed."

It was hard to believe that I was constantly being asked to help more and more people who had escaped from a bad situation.

That was it. These people were not just illegal immigrants from across the border. There were also families escaping from the gangster oppression they had been subjected to. They are human beings and people willing to work their way into our culture for the safety of their family.

For the evening chores, I let some new people milk my cows and finish feeding the stock. It didn't take a lot of direction to show the new people how to feed the hogs and what to feed the young pigs. They knew stock and knew what to do if they knew where the feed was.

I took Rosita and Carmen aside, "Are you going to give these people your jobs?"

Carmen said, "They will do the morning and evening chores in the barn and the hogs. We will do the chickens and eggs. You can have more cows now if you want, but it is not necessary as these people don't need a lot. What we have will feed them and keep them right now. We might have the men do more as summer comes, but we will be fine for right now."

The person I wanted to hear from concerning the new people is Doroteo. I'm sure he knew all about them and would have an opinion, but he wasn't around right now so I was going to have to snag him at supper.

Millie and Marita had prepared a pile of pork chops. I'm not sure where Mom found it, but she had a giant frying pan sitting on an entire side of the stove. When I commented on the size, Mom told me, "This is for the wood stove, but it will work on this one. I can cook a dozen pork chops at the same time with it, so cooking the meal will be faster."

I knew D and his girls would be here tonight as the table was set for seven extra. It was obvious that the road guys weren't going to be here since there were no additional place settings. After we ate, I was able to get D off to the side. "What do you think of the new people that showed up? Is it a good thing to have them work with us?"

D and I were sitting in rocking chairs in front of the fireplace. While rocking, D said, "I like them and I know what they have been through. From what I heard, the family had a nice dairy farm with many cows. They were forced to grow other products and were not able to grow feed grains for their stock. The cows were slaughtered for food, and the family was soon desperate as the demands to grow more and more drug crops were accompanied by threats that were carried out on neighbors. I know what happens down there, Mike, and that they ran is only reasonable. I worry that all of Mexico will want to come here to escape those men. If all of the workers come up here, the bad people will come up here and threaten us here too."

"D, you don't have to worry about a bunch of bullies coming up here and attempting to force people to grow their illegal products. The people here will fight back and probably be arrested for defending themselves, but they will fight back anyway. Country people here are protective of their family, their farm, and their neighbors. If there is a problem, they will band together and get rid of the problem."

With a nod of his head, "I see that in the people here and wish we could have been strong enough to repulse those who took advantage of us. I can see the American spirit in the girls that I brought here. They were not going to be taken advantage of for long, and when they had an opportunity, they rid themselves of their captors. I want to join with those people who will defend themselves."

That night, I dreamed I went into the big living room and watched as the ghosts that had been shown to me lately all rocking in chairs before the fire. Others were standing around the fireplace, but none talked to me. It was a dream.

I was up early as usual the next morning, and had just gone out to the barn when I was greeted by a man who appeared to be in his fifties. He held his hand out and said, "I am Esteban. My sister, Carmen, has said you are my benefactor. Thank you for allowing us to attend to your stock."

Well, knock me off of my feet, will you. This guy spoke better English than I did, or at least used better grammar.

"Nice to meet you, Esteban. My name is Mike Grayson, but please call me Mike. I'm told you had a large dairy farm where you were, and what I have is only a family farm."

"Family farms are very important, Mike Grayson. They are how a nation is built. From what I am told, you are very diversified with your farm and other activities."

I was about to burst out laughing, so I had to ask, "Esteban, you speak English so well, with hardly any accent, and your grammar and diction seem perfect, where did you learn English?"

"That is a great compliment, Mike Grayson. Where our home was has a monastery that taught English to all that came. They only spoke English to students and taught all to speak well. All of my family attended the monastery and learned to read, write, and speak English."

"Esteban, you probably speak English with better grammar than most of the local people in the area. I would recommend speaking softly and slowly, as if you are composing the words as you go. Some of the locals may feel you are making fun of them by your proper speech."

"Ha, ha, ha, I have heard many speak and know they do not use the words in the way the priests used to teach us. We will learn the local grammar and speak with others in that manner."

I smiled at the man, "That's a shame, as you speak so eloquently."

"Mike Grayson, I want to ask you what I consider to be an important question. I see you are selling most of your milk from the cows you have. Do you not know that you should pasteurize your milk before you market it?"

"I've heard that, Esteban, Mom and I talked about that before I became the road commissioner, but other things got in the way and we never followed up on it. I grew up on unpasteurized milk and don't see why I should pasteurize the milk if the people don't ask me for it."

Esteban spoke with what seemed sound knowledge, "I have found out the state of Kentucky requires pasteurization of milk and most milk products sold to consumers. Although those who buy your milk and milk products are not concerned, there is always a danger of salmonella, tuberculosis, typhoid, and other problems from unpasteurized milk. I know you and your family are careful to clean your cows' udders and to filter the milk, but there are always germs that can be transmitted through milk. For the quantity of milk that you produce and sell, pasteurization equipment is inexpensive and easy to operate. If you will obtain the equipment, we will make sure the milk you sell is safe."

That had me back on my heels. This refugee from Mexico just quoted Kentucky law and told me how to come up to standard. I guess I should look into it.

"Tell you what, Esteban, I'll take some eggs and milk into the market this morning and ask around about equipment. The men there will know if any used equipment is available. Thank you for advising me on this."

"Mike Grayson," Esteban began.

"It's Mike, Esteban. Let's use first names between us."

"All right, Mike. I am glad to advise you and want to tell you to bring more cows. You could easily handle another four or five cows. Do you have a market for that much more milk or milk products? You know we could make cheese too, don't you? And for the cheese we may be able to get a waiver on the pasteurization. There is a lucrative gourmet market for raw milk cheeses."

It was my turn to laugh, "Esteban, you are like all of my friends down the hill. All of you want me to have a much larger everything, while I only want to be a small farmer. I'll keep an open mind and we'll see."

I was starting toward the barn, when Esteban said, "Oh no, my family will do your morning and evening work for you. We want to earn a living working for you. All of us are willing to do whatever you need for us to do."

Damn, these people need the help, so I suppose I can let them do this. I hate to give away all of my farm jobs, but this can be done.

Carmen and Rosita had the chickens taken care of and were preparing breakfast. It seemed as if the breakfast was going to be larger than usual, but instead of questioning what was happening, I showered and shaved before breakfast so I could go to market early.

Breakfast was big, but it also was shared with Esteban, his wife, two sons, and a daughter. An extra five people were welcomed around our table, as usual, and contributed to the conversation with precise grammar that was far superior to what our ears were accustomed to.

Raul called during breakfast and asked me to make sure that I talked to the contractor in Mount Sterling for the work there. I asked Raul, "How about coming with me to market this morning and we'll drive up to Mount Sterling and talk to the contractor together afterward. That way the guy will know me and you. I have another project for you. It's the one I hinted at, and it is going to be big."

After breakfast, I loaded two five gallon cans of milk, a case of eggs, and a sliced up side of bacon. I drove down the hill and picked Raul up. He was dressed in nice jeans and a good shirt, and looked better than I did.

The market seemed busy for the middle of the week, but it was becoming late spring and people were already selling any excess they had from the winter. In the dairy tent, I was quickly able to sell what I had and pick up a couple of five-gallon cans to replace what was sold. I began asking the men congregated there about pasteurizing equipment they might know was for sale. Several said they knew people who had the equipment and didn't use it any longer. My first bulldozer customer, George, was there and said, "Come to my place later today and look at what I have. I ship all of my milk now, and the dairy who buys my milk processes it. We can probably make a deal on what I have."