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Now we know what happened. Maybe it wasn't that bad but it was devastating to Jo. Obviously, Jo lacked confidence about her femininity and gender. Now the lovers are united and all is well. Wait a minute. There are two more parts to this story. This just takes us to the end of Part I. We will clear up quite a bit more in the next two chapters. I’m sure you are wondering what Jo’s parents were doing and what they thought when Jo’s problems were starting. We are also going to find out about some of the other things going on in Loma Sierra that Jo and Mike were not privy to. Many of you have a pretty good idea who the real bad guy is. Just how bad he is remains to be seen. Much of the angst in the first part is over; however, there is much to resolve before we reach the end of Jo’s journey. Besides, it’s not the end. It’s just the beginning.

Chapter 19: A Conspiracy Is Revealed; July 14, 2005

Needless to say, Kate and MK were stunned. Who was this evil person and who would have put her up to it? MK knew she was going to find out. It may take some time, but she was going to get to the bottom of it. Two people she loved dearly had been terribly hurt and for what reason?

Jo was sobbing quietly and was holding Mike’s hand in a fierce grip. Mike turned and put the fingers of his right hand under Jo’s chin and peered into her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jo. I wish I had been able to tell you a long time ago. I was stupid. This never should have gone this far. Sometimes I have trouble getting the words out right; however, I remember the lines from a great movie and if you haven’t seen it, I want Kate to go out and get it for us. ‘When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible’.”

Both Kate and MK had seen the movie. Jo had not.

“I don’t think I understand.”

“What I am saying is I want you to be the mother of my children. Of course this brings about some complications, so we are going to have to get married.”

The tears were streaming down her face, but Jo was nodding her head up and down. Her smile was incredibly wide and bright. “Oh yes, Mike, I will marry you and don’t you ever blame yourself. I didn’t have to run and if anyone was stupid, it was me. If there is any running to be done from now on, we are running together.”

Kate and MJ let out a loud whoop before they realized where they were. They quickly ran out the door to let the remaining staff know everything was okay. As they rounded the corner they almost ran down a middle-aged couple that had looks of surprise on their faces.

MK was so happy she couldn’t stand it. She grabbed their hands in hers and said, “You don’t have to worry about a thing. It worked! I’m getting the best sister-in-law in the world and you are getting the finest son-in-law around. Everything is wonderful. Give them a couple of minutes. I’ve got to call Mom. I don’t care what time it is in Venice. Oh, Kate, this is Jo’s Mom and Dad. Life is wonderful.

“Now there’s work to be done. I’ll be back in a while.”

Andy and Linda got away almost as early as MK had and neither was aware the other was on the road. Linda had received the phone call from the distraught and nearly incoherent Jo a couple of days before. Jo did not go into much detail other than to say Mike had been hurt, but he was out of danger. Mike was in the hospital where Jo worked and she was caring for him.

It was one of those ‘good news, bad news situations’. They had found each other as everyone had hoped; however, they certainly hadn’t expected any serious problems.

It was a long drive from Loma Sierra to Redding, one that the Beebes had made several times over the last year. They had come almost as far many times over the last eleven years to visit Jo and MJ in College and Jo in Medical School and her residency in Sacramento. They knew the route like the backs of their hands. Regardless of their familiarity with the route, it was going to be a long trip. Just to make it less boring, they decided to take Highway 99 up the more eastern side of the valley through Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno and Stockton, then on to Redding via Interstate 5. That way, they could stop at some of the fruit stands on the way and get some things for Jo’s larder. She never seemed to take the time to properly stock it.

Linda and Andy both felt some guilt about Jo’s childhood. Things had been missed early on by the doctors and then Andy’s childhood problems with his own delayed development and Dr. Scharff’s overly cautious approach had all led to the rather traumatic discovery that their middle child was their daughter, not their son. Perhaps the most astounding thing had been Jo’s eager acceptance of the situation. What they didn’t realize at the time was that even though Jo had readily accepted what had happened, the trauma caused by her misidentified gender had long lasting and deep-seated affects. Some of these would not be resolved for many years.

Jo had received professional counseling early on; however, her exuberance about the revelation of her true gender masked some serious inner doubts that the counselor was unable to bring out. Her counseling sessions were cut short of what they should have been. Had they gone a bit further they might have been a great assistance in her psychological maturity.

After her corrective surgery, the doctors had assured them that she would be perfectly normal physically and perfectly capable of bearing children. Now it was 14 years later and just maybe Jo and Mike would be together at last. They had worked hard for this moment; all of them had. Now they could only hope that all their guesses had been correct and their efforts had not been wasted.

“Andy, when did you first really wonder about Jo? I think we realized early on that she was not going to be the robust type you and Pat were, but when did the clues really start to show up that should have told us there may have been a problem.”

Andy, who had just taken an evasive maneuver due to a truck making an illegal lane change, thought about it for a while. “You know, the fact Jo was not the boyish athlete that Pat was never bothered me. She was so damn good at the piano and painting and her grades were so good, I was just proud to be her parent. I think the first inkling of a problem was that day I came back from hanging some paintings.”

“Yes, I remember that day very well,” said Linda.

“I wish I had been born a girl,” Joey said one day after school as he dropped is books on a chair at the back of the shop and headed for the piano.

“Other than the fact that can’t be, why would you want to be a girl?”

“I don’t know. At least then I wouldn’t have to deal with boys. It just seems that I’m being picked on because I’m a boy.”

“Alright, Joey, what happened this time?”

Joey proceeded to describe the tripping incident in the school cafeteria. After the rather bold statement, Joey went back to the piano and warmed up a bit, then started playing.

Linda Beebe continued working on the framing project while Joey played the piano. All of a sudden she realized he was playing a medley of songs from Les Miserables, that musical that was so popular. What was strange though was that she knew they didn’t have any music for it. She stopped what she was doing and quietly moved to the other room where she could see him play. He was playing without any sheet music. He had memorized the music. But where had he a chance to study it?

She looked at her son. He was such a delicate child, not at all like his big brother. With his blond hair and bright blue eyes he looked much more like his little sister, another joy in her life. Maybe he was right. Maybe he should have been a girl.

“Don’t stop dear. It sounds so nice. Where did you learn that? Do they have the music at school?”

“No, I’ve heard it on the radio and I just thought I would try to play it. I think I got most of it, though I missed that one key change. It’s not too hard and it’s kinda’ sad, sort of the way I feel.”

“Why don’t you play something happier? I think I heard your dad pull in out back. He’s been working at the Robinson’s house, hanging some of the paintings they bought last week.”

She went back to the shop as her husband came through the back door. She gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Andy could see something was bothering her.

“What’s wrong?” he said as he put his tools on the bench.

“It’s Joey. Those bullies are still picking on him in spite of our talks with the principal. Today, they tripped him in the cafeteria and he wasn’t able to eat lunch because the line had closed.”

“Those little bastards,” he grumbled. “When is this crap going to end?”

“That’s not the only thing. When he came in I overheard him say he wished he’d been born a girl. Andy, I’m concerned. For a long time I just put his appearance to the fact he had more of my genes than yours, figuratively speaking that is. He looks like an older version of his little sister. I think there may be something wrong. He’s not developing at all like his brother did.”

“Linda, he’s only ten and a half. His brother is just entering puberty at 13. Give him some time. Things will start to happen.”

“He’s our son, Andy, and I just want him to be happy. I can’t believe how good his attitude is in spite of everything. He’s an excellent artist and you should have heard him play the piano earlier.”

“Well, he’s playing it pretty well right now. That’s the ‘Entertainer’ if I’m not mistaken.”

“It is; however, earlier he was playing a medley of tunes from ‘Les Mis’ without sheet music. Not only that, he had only heard it on the radio. He’s never seen the music. He did complain about messing up a key change though. I caught the key mess up and the next thing I knew he created a bridge and was in the right key. I couldn’t do that until I was much older.”

“You’re right, Honey, he’s sharper than a tack. Let’s close up shop and go home. The kids are there and if they haven’t snacked too much, they are probably hungry. What do you say we fix some pork chops? I’ll start the barbeque when we get home.”

The ride home was quick and quiet.

They had a pleasant dinner and moved to the family room. The children had gone back to their rooms to get ready for bed and the next school day.

In the midst of this, Andy suddenly put his magazine down.

“Shit, I almost forgot. I need to call Jim Frazier and talk to him about those bullies at school.”

“Joey calls them assholes,” said Linda, somewhat seriously.

Andy looked at her over the rims of his reading glasses.

“That’s a little strong for a ten-year old, isn’t it?”

“Dear, think back when you were that age. If I recall correctly, you swore like a trooper. Thank heavens you changed your ways or I might not have married you.”

“Yeah, I guess I did. It was part of trying to belong. Fortunately, I was able to turn it on and off. I don’t think I ever slipped up in front of my folks. Besides, I wasn’t trying to impress them.”

“Well, I don’t think Joey is trying to impress anyone at all. I think he is really upset and we need to do something about it.”

“I’ll call Jim now. The kids are back in their rooms. They don’t need to hear this.”

Andy got out the PTA directory and found the principal’s number. He dialed it.

“Hello, this is Andy Beebe. May I speak to Jim Frazier, please? It’s about my child ….

“Thank you ….

“Hello, Jim?

“It’s about my son, Joseph ….

“Right, in the fifth grade ….

“Well, it seems he’s having problems with a couple of students there. They have been picking on him a lot ….

“Yes, I have called you about that before ….

”Well it’s different this time. They tripped him in the cafeteria at lunch today and he spilled his food. By the time things were straightened out, he missed his lunch ….

“Look, I know he’s not an athlete; however, I seriously doubt that he tripped over his own feet. He’s really very sure footed ….

“No, I don’t think we can let this pass. I want you to call the parents of those boys and put a stop to this. My son has never hurt anyone. He’s one of your best students and deserves more respect than you and the faculty members, other than his own teacher, have been giving him ….

“Well, it’s Billy Conklin, Freddy Smith and that new kid, O’Donnell ….

“Right. Maybe calling their parents again would help. I would appreciate any help you can get. We are about at the point where we may have to go over your head if nothing is done. Believe me we will sue if my son is hurt in any way due to their action. This has gone past ‘just childish pranks’ as you call them ….

“Well, I hope so. Have a good evening.”

Andy hung up the phone and turned to Linda, “Well, there’s an asshole for sure. He had the nerve to say that Joey had probably just tripped over his own feet, as he ‘really wasn’t much of an athlete’. What a jerk!”

“Dear, you handled yourself very well. Why don’t you get us a couple of glasses of port and we can get back to relaxing and listening to the music. Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony is going to be on in a few minutes. I’ll go check on the kids.”

Linda went down the hall toward the kids’ rooms. She thought about how lucky they were to have been able to get the house they had. The master bedroom was on one side away from the other bedrooms and it gave them the privacy they desired for their not infrequent bouts of passion. The kids were able to have their own privacy too, although, Joey had to give up his room to any guests that might spend the night. It wasn’t too bad though, because each of the children’s bedrooms had twin beds. With the hide-a-beds in the family room, they could really put up a number of family and friends if they had to.

She looked in and saw that Mary was already under the covers with the cats curled up by her feet. She was reading one of her favorite Oz Books. Linda noted it was The Marvelous Land of Oz. Little did she realize how prophetic that was.

Patrick was in his room playing one of the interactive computer games that was so popular. Just as she looked in, he gave a quiet cheer.

“Yesss! Oh, hi Mom. I’ve been working on this stage for so long. I had to cross the bridge to get some treasures that were on the other side; however, if I could bribe the troll with one of the treasures that I already collected then he would let me cross. The only trouble was that I would lose that treasure. Well, it suddenly dawned on me that the nest with golden eggs goes back to its original place if you say the right magic word and then you can go back and get it later. Now I just have to figure out how to get back across the bridge with the other treasure. I may catch up to Joey yet, if I can ever figure out what he meant by “You never know what you might find hanging around”. This is a neat game!”

Little did Patrick know that Joey had already solved the game. He was so proud of himself and asked his mom not to tell the rest he had figured it out. He said he would just drop a hint now and then to his brother and sister to help them through the next stage. Joey said that right now he was trying to see how few moves it would take him to solve the puzzle. He’d written the whole thing out and essentially had the entire cave memorized. Joey had a phenomenal memory and just how good it was would become more and more apparent over the years. His playing of Les Mis earlier that day was just one clue. If he listened to a piece of music intently, he never forgot it, even after many years. It was the same with what he read. Maybe not quite as accurate in reproducing something word for word; however, the content and the reference were permanently in place in his mind.

Joey was just finishing his bath when his mother knocked on the door to see how he was. He told his mother to come in, that it was okay. The place was like a steam bath. Joey loved hot baths and showers. He’d washed his hair and was trying to dry it. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and was slightly turned away from his mother.

Something was not quite right. She’d noted in the past month or so that Joey seemed to be putting on a little weight and suddenly she could see it. It was on his hips, buttocks and abdomen, and if she didn’t know better, his breasts were puffed out very slightly. Just like those of a pre-pubescent girl.

Linda’s stomach turned and she could feel the blood draining from her face. Something was going on here.

“Are you alright Mom? You look funny.”

“I’m fine, dear. It’s just that you’ve let it get so hot in here it made me feel faint for a moment. Be sure to open up the window and let this place dry out and cool down. I wish you wouldn’t take such hot baths and showers. It can’t be good for you.”

Actually, she knew there probably was a problem. Her brain was going into overdrive and she had to say something to avoid talking about what she’d seen.

“Mom, would you come to the room for a minute? I want to ask you something.”

She did and appraised him a bit as he got into his pajamas. He wasn’t shy around his family; however, each respected the other’s privacy and, this time there was definitely an invitation.

“Mom, about what I said at the shop. You know, about wanting to be a girl. I didn’t mean to upset you, but I’ve kinda’ felt this way for a long time. You told me that every one was different and that some felt differently about themselves. I don’t belong where I am. That is, I’m not sure what I am. My thing is small, I have a big butt and I look like a girl. I’m tired of being called a fairy and a faggot. I never hurt anyone and you told me just because someone is gay it doesn’t mean he is a bad person.”

“Oh my! This is serious. Do you think you are gay?”

“I don’t know. All I know is if I can’t be a boy, I may as well be a girl. The trouble is I’m not a girl either. This whole thing sucks!”

“Would you feel better if we got you an appointment with Dr. Scharff? He’s a good man and you could talk to him about how you feel. I’ll call him in the morning.”

“Okay, Mom. That might be a good idea. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight dear,” she said as she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

Linda walked slowly back up the hall. She and Andy had some talking to do.

“Thanks for the port, dear.”

It was Sandeman’s Special Reserve and it was a nice way to top off an evening – at least outside the bedroom.

“I just saw Joey after he had his bath. He’s changing and I’m not sure into what. He seems to be putting on a little weight and most of it seems to be going to his hips and butt. Not only that, there is what appears to be some breast development starting.”

“Linda, when I was his age the same thing happened to me. I was scared I was turning into a girl and made my mother take me to the doctor. It turns out that when puberty hits, not all the hormones kick in at the same time. All men have some estrogen in their systems; however, the testosterone overrides it. When the testosterone is a bit late, as it was for me, what you see in Joey happens. Believe me, I was scared shitless that I was going to be a girl, but when the testosterone kicked in, bang! Now I’m the handsome hunk you see before you.”

“Andy, he’s not scared at all. It almost seems that he is happy something is going to be resolved. He’s just concerned, as he doesn’t know what destiny has in store for him. He says he would rather be a girl if it would just end the torment he’s been going through.

“I am going to make an appointment for him with Dr. Scharff. He’s a good man and the children love him. Maybe Dr. Scharff can explain things more clearly about puberty than we can and explain to him that he just needs to wait before making any rash decisions and I want to know what’s really going on. If he’s just inherited this mixed up puberty from you so be it. I just want to know and Joey needs to know.”

They had crested Tejon Pass were heading down the steep grade toward the San Joaquin Valley. Linda was thinking about that weekend trip to Buckhorn when Pat caught that huge trout. She thought about the long ride back down that hill and looking back at the two sleeping children and wondering what was in store for Joey. The next day they had gone to that nice Community Church and Joey had the conversation with Matt Cassil and his then new companion Roger Copeland. Matt had come by the shop later that week after Billy’s attack on Joey in the restroom. Matt had come to her because of Joey’s expressed insecurity with his sexuality (if they had only known).

Matt praised Joey for his candor and ability to carry on a very intelligent conversation before he passed on Roger’s concern that Dr. Scharff may not be the best person to address such matters. He also mentioned that Roger had thought Joey was a girl.

They all agreed that they needed to go to a doctor and felt they would go forward depending on the recommendations from Dr. Scharff. It was this examination that lured Andy and Linda into a false sense of security. Linda could remember the conversation like it was yesterday and so could Dr. Scharff.

“Dr. Scharff, I don’t think Joey is developing normally. I looked at him the other night after his bath and he appeared to be developing more like a young girl entering puberty. His fat distribution does not look right. He’s way behind where his brother was at that age. Another thing is he seems to think he is becoming a girl.”

“I vill haff a look. He is still young und sometimes zese things take time und zey don’t always start ze same vay. Ve vill see vat ve can see.”

It was after the examination that Dr. Scharff returned with his diagnosis.

“Mrs. Beebe, Choey seems to be a fine young boy. His nose may actually haff been broken; howeffer, ze bone is not displaced. He should not take part in any azletics for the next month until ze bone heals. I don’t think x-rays are necessary at zis time. As to ze other issues, he may be a bit behind his brother, but he is still in ze normal range. His testicles have not descended and if zat does not happen in the next year or so surgery may be necessary; howeffer, let’s let nature take its course for now. Alzo, ze testes sometimes retract shortly after birth because of ze strong muscles. The doctor who took care of Choey at birth probably noticed normal testicles and they have since retracted. Zis is not unusual. His fat distribution is not unusual for this point in his development. Frequently ze hormones are not quite in synch und little boys look like little girls for a while.”

“Dr., Andy told me that was what happened to him and it scared him. He said when the testosterone kicked in, changes happened almost over night.”

“In light of zat, Mrs. Beebe, Choey may haff inherited zose same traits. Effen more the reason to vait a vile.”

The problem was, and Dr. Scharff admitted it later, he was too eager to assume that Jo’s gender was male. He felt Joey was just late in developing and was prejudiced by the fact everyone assumed Joey was a male child. He never keyed in on the fact Joey might not be a male child at all and therefore never seriously looked for positive signs that Joey was in reality a prepubescent young lady. Had he been just a little bit more diligent he would have discovered the vaginal opening hidden beneath the thin layer of tissue. Things may certainly have turned out differently if he had; however, the point was moot. Jo would always be close to Dr. Scharff and she never blamed him for not being more diligent.

That was when they probably should have sought another opinion. The problem was the doctors at Joey’s birth had completely missed the fact that Joey was not a male child. They would never know for sure what had happened and it didn’t matter now. Basically, they had been led to believe that Joey’s rather small genitalia were not that unusual and that they would probably grow as he matured. As he hadn’t had any problems as he grew up, they didn’t dwell on it. They hadn’t been aware of the physiological changes that were occurring during the months before Billy’s final attack on Joey. Joey kept them hidden and had been trying not to call attention to them. He was playing a waiting game.

Then there was that hike up Big Santa Anita Canyon.

They were very pleasantly surprised when Mike O’Donnell sought Joey’s friendship and invited him to go with his family on a hike. Andy told Linda about Mike’s promise to protect Joey, but neither took it very seriously.

When the O’Donnells returned from the hike to Big Santa Anita Canyon Andy was going to invite the family over for a barbeque and drinks and Linda was puzzled why he didn’t as they had both discussed it earlier that day.

As the O’Donnells drove off, Linda said, “I thought you were going to ask them over. What happened?”

“We’ll talk about it tonight after the kids go to bed.”

“Oh,” Was her only response. She knew that something was wrong.

After the kids had moved to the back of the house, Joey to the shower and Pat to the computer, Linda turned to Andy. “Alright, what’s the problem? You seemed awful quiet during dinner.”

“I’ll tell you in a minute; however, I want to make sure the kids, well, Joey at least, are in bed.”

“I think Joey is in bed by now. Pat’s working on the adventure game and just found some more treasure. Joey had to give him a hint. He has the whole game memorized.”

“You mean to tell me he has solved that game already? That’s amazing! Chuck Crowley’s kid solved it and he took three months to do it and, he’s a junior in college on a math scholarship. Sometimes Joey amazes me. Make that most of the time.

“Okay, here’s the problem. I recognized Richard O’Donnell from some literature that is being passed around. Apparently, he belongs to an ultra conservative group that is trying to block the progress being made around here concerning equal rights.

“He moved, or was moved here to try to get elected to the vacant city council position. They moved him here just in time to fulfill the residency requirements. What’s funny is they seem to have a campaign machine well established. He has been seen around several fundamentalist groups and is courting their vote. The primary election is in June and Pfeifer’s backers don’t seem to have anyone around that can step into his shoes. Putting Bill Blass in there might have worked had they not put O’Donnell in to oppose him. Bill is not the aggressive type and I’m afraid he may just roll over and play dead. I wish you or I could have done it; however, between the kids and shop, I just don’t see how we could have done it at this time.

“There’s another thing. There’s been an anti-gay movement going on for a while and hate literature has been showing up at most of the addresses in the community. Matt Cassil showed me one that was pushed under the door at his shop and needless to say it put some of Joseph Goebel’s anti-homosexual campaigns to shame. I’ve been told that Earl Scroggins, the one you met at that church, and Al Conklin have been seen passing a lot of this stuff out and after our confrontation with Scroggins, I don’t have any trouble believing it. O’Donnell runs a printing company in Arcadia and I wouldn’t doubt this literature is being printed there.

“I think I see his problem this afternoon is that he is concerned that his son is hanging around a somewhat androgynous child and that immediately makes the child gay and he can’t have his son hanging around a gay person for appearances sake. I see nothing but problems here.”

Andy was obviously disturbed. He, Izzy Pfeifer and Matt Cassil had been working hard to establish Loma Sierra as a cultural center. A chain of stores wanted to buy up a couple of blocks in an older residential section, raze the homes and build a huge store. Fortunately, Matt Cassil was able to show that a number of the homes in the area were significant representations of the Arts and Crafts movement that established itself in this area of Southern California in the early 20th century. He found a number of architects that were willing to invest in the area and help restore the houses. The final result was several square blocks in the city were designated as a Historical Region.

“Andy, I think you are being a bit harsh on Richard O’Donnell. You just met him once. He may have been tired from the walk or maybe he had other things on his mind. I think you may be a bit too judgmental without having all the facts. Let’s not be too quick to build fences. After all, his son is the first person who has tried to be friends with Joey in a long time. Why don’t we see how things go for a while? I haven’t seen Joey this happy in a long time. I think this new friendship is doing him a lot of good.”

As they headed past Bakersfield, they could see the oil fields to the east and the rolling hill some of which were covered with golden wheat and barley and others that were covered with the dark green orange and lemon trees that had become more and more prevalent over the years. They remembered all the years they had passed this way on their trips to the southern Sierras. They had managed to take a trip every year in the area until MJ had gone to college. They missed those trips and hoped that maybe they would be able to start taking them again as their children married and had children of their own.

It was funny. They called Mary Jane MJ, just as they called Mary Katherine MK. If it hadn’t been for Mike and his sister, that never would have happened. Those names had stuck in spite of the split Mike and Jo had almost eight years ago. What had happened? Why did they split? It was obvious to everyone that they had loved each other very much and yet Jo refused any attempt at reconciliation. Mike had tried and Jo refused to even give him a chance. Maybe their efforts would help bring them together again.

They talked about the trip that summer when Joey had wanted to invite Mike to join them, but due to his father’s hostility, they’d decided that it would be fruitless to even think about it. This was the first time that Andy was able to see the changes in Joey that Linda had been talking about.

The children were swimming in the shallows of Forester Lake. “Linda, you were right about Joey. He does seem to be getting a bit fat in some unusual places. I don’t think I ever reached that point before puberty kicked in.”

“I know, dear, but Dr. Scharff said he was still in normal range, especially in light of your medical history. The only thing that he was a bit concerned about was that his testicles hadn’t yet descended.”

“Hell,” said Andy, “if I played in that water as long as they have, my balls would probably retreat for a month.”

When they arrived home there were those letters and the phone message for Joey from Mike. They didn’t want Mike to get into trouble, but decided that if Mike wanted to see Joey he probably knew whether or not it was safe. They thought that the friendship might survive in spite of Richard’s bigotry. So, they let Joey go with the instructions to avoid any contact if Richard was in the area.

While Joey and Mike were in the park, his parents were talking to Matt Cassil and Roger Copeland about the anonymous letters they had received. Matt had received a similar one, as had several of his acquaintances in the area. They were not very complimentary and alluded to serious consequences if they and their friends did not leave. The one the Beebes received suggested that their queer son would be better off if he stayed away from the good Christian children of the community. If he did not, some serious measures would be taken.

The four of them noted that the letters came from the same place, Arcadia, and were printed on the same paper with the same typeface. Although they did not yet have any proof, they were pretty certain about the association and conclusions that could be drawn.

After some discussion, they decided that they would bring it up before the city council. They felt the best thing to do was put it out in front of the community and put the community conscience to work. They called the Mayor’s office and made sure they were on the agenda for the next council meeting.

The meeting was on the following Wednesday and for much of the evening proceeded like every other meeting. Mrs. Murphy complained about the dogs using her front yard as a toilet. She had every right to complain.

The city had passed a leash ordinance as some people just turned their animals loose in the morning to do their thing in spite of the law. The city did not have a pound or animal shelter and had an agreement with the county to pick up strays. The Loma Sierra Police Department was small and could not respond to every stray animal call unless the animal appeared to be badly injured or sick. Rabies was still a problem in wild animals, but had not been a problem in domestic animals for some time because of the rather strictly enforced vaccination laws. Unfortunately, the disease showed up in the feral dogs and cats periodically.

The council suggested Mrs. Murphy try to follow the animals to their home and then file a formal complaint. It might help if she could get a picture of the animals. Mrs. Murphy left the meeting feeling unsatisfied. She would be back.

After several more mundane matters, it was Andrew Beebe’s turn.

“Mr. Mayor, Council Members, thank you for letting me address you tonight about what I feel is a very serious matter.

“When my family returned from vacation last week, this letter was in the stack of mail waiting for us. I have made copies of it and you have them before you. If you have not yet read the letter, please take a minute to do so and then I will continue.”

The mayor and each of the council members looked over the letter. There were several raised eyebrows and a muted conversation among several of the members. Richard O’Donnell gave the letter a perfunctory glance and let it slip to the tabletop, a sound of bored exhalation escaping from his lips.

“Now that the board has had a chance to read the letter, I want to express my serious concern about an undercurrent of ill feelings and bigotry that seems to be pervading this community. I hope that we, as a community, embrace all people regardless of religious persuasion, ethnic background or sexual preference. This community has made tremendous advances culturally and is recognized for its artistic endeavors, cultural advancement, high standard of living and an excellent school system.”

“Mr. Beebe (mispronounced), we don’t have all night here and we certainly don’t have time to listen to a ‘History of Loma Sierra’ course and your ultra-liberal whining. Please get on with it,” interrupted Richard O’Donnell.

“Councilman O’Donnell,” interjected the Mayor, “please refrain from interrupting Mr. Beebe. He has the floor. You will get your chance when the board responds.”

“Thank you Mr. Mayor. As I was saying, this community has set high standards and has done a wonderful job in bringing itself to the top of communities in this region of Southern California. Now we suddenly have someone or some group sending letters of this nature to some of the finest citizens of this community. I thought this sort of stunts went out of style when we started to grow up after the racial crises of the 50s, 60s and early 70s. This letter is a throwback to the Nazis and all they represented. If this community is to survive and continue in the direction it has been going, this council, this city and its citizens are going have to stand up and vociferously demand an end to this sort of hatred. If anyone should be leaving this community it should be the hate mongers behind this sort of trash.

“Izzy Pfeifer was a good man and now he is gone. He understood how to encourage and promote what we felt this community was about. I’m so sorry his accident, if it was an accident, happened. We will miss him dearly. We can’t afford to let the good work he did go for naught.

“I have one more thing to say before I turn the lectern over to Matt Cassil.

“My son, Joseph, has never hurt anyone. He has had the misfortune to inherit none of my athletic abilities. He will never grow to the physical stature I have. He is slight of build and effeminate in appearance. He has never professed to be gay; however if he did, I would support him 100 percent. He is not a pedophile and has never attempted to seduce younger children into ‘the evil road of depravity and homosexuality’ this letter talks about. He has to face one of the toughest adventures any child has to face and that is the entry into puberty with all its inherent problems and pitfalls.

“Because of his appearance, he has been subjected to unending teasing, insults and physical abuse. He has been physically attacked at least three times by a student at his school and he has twice been insulted by a member of this council for doing nothing other than trying to be a friend to his son. All his son did was probably save Joey’s life, yet now his son is forbidden to see Joey. I do not understand this cruelty.”

Most of Andrew’s speech was delivered as he faced Richard O’Donnell and looked him squarely in the eye. Richard just sat there with a smirk on his face.

Andy turned and addressed the entire board, “There are federal and state laws against the sort of thing this letter professes. This is called terroristic threatening and should be considered hate crimes and the person or persons responsible, if convicted, could go to jail for a long time. This letter alludes to injuries and loss of property if we don’t stop our ‘evil’ ways. That is a physical threat to my family, and I will not stand for it, nor will I run from it. I’m going to take every step I can to end this sort of hatred in this community, and I hope this council will support me.

“Now, Matt Cassil has a couple of points to add. Thank you for your attention and politeness.” The last part was directed toward Richard O’Donnell.

There was a brief round of applause as Matt stepped forward.

“Hi, my name is Matt, and I am gay.”

There was an outburst of laughter from the crowd. They all knew he was gay and it was no secret. Matt did not flaunt his gayness. Stereotyping aside, there was very little, if anything, about him that was a signboard professing his sexual orientation. He ran an antique store and although single for a long time, he now had a companion. If anyone had bothered to check his business card, they would have also found out that he had a PhD in Fine Arts plus numerous designations.

He’d met his companion, Roger Copeland, who also had a PhD, at an important arts and antiques conference on the east coast the previous fall. They had known each other at graduate school and then lost track of each other. Roger had joined the military as he felt an obligation for service and fortunately, for the four years he was in, was not outted. When they met the previous year, they realized they still had a strong attraction for each other. They both had experienced personal losses due to the AIDS epidemic and each recognized that their meeting came at the right time. They were lucky to be reunited. Also fortunate was the fact they were both HIV negative.

Matt looked at the Council one member at a time, “Mr. Mayor, council members, I’m not sure that you are aware that the Beebes were not the only people that received these letters or at least ones like it. I have copies of 17 more, and I know of at least seven others, that were sent to members of the gay/lesbian community. The letters I have do not express the specific malevolence that the letter to the Beebes did. However, even without that, they drip with hatred of a the type I have never had expressed to me in person.

“I have trouble believing that this sort of thing would come from, much less be supported by the fine people I have come to know and love. The Beebes certainly don’t deserve this torment, nor does anyone else for that matter. I would appreciate it, as will all of the other intelligent, loving people who live here, if this council would take an official stand against this sort of conduct and behavior. I think the city also needs state and/or federal assistance in getting to the bottom of this heinous vendetta.

Richard O’Donnell was fidgeting, and unfortunately for him, he could not keep his mouth shut, “Mr. Cassil, you are an abomination of God’s word and have no business in this Christian community ….”

“Stop right there, Mr. O’Donnell! You have a right to your beliefs, no matter how skewed they may be. This country was founded, among other things, on religious freedom. However, the founding fathers made it very clear that one can have religion in politics; however, religion has no place in government. Church and state must be separate. In spite of anything you may have been taught or heard, this is not a Christian country, state, county or city, nor is it Jewish or Moslem. This is a country governed by the laws of God, which man in his ignorance keeps misinterpreting and screwing up. Religion is just man’s spin on reality. I suggest you study your constitution and apply it accordingly.

“Mr. Mayor and Council members, I thank you for taking this matter under consideration.”

Once again the attendees broke into applause. Needless to say, other matters after that were pretty. The council decided to keep the matter of the letters open. They would present their plan at the next meeting. The mayor appointed three of the council members to come up with a plan. Richard O’Donnell was not among them.

After the council meeting closed, Andy and Linda Beebe, Matt Cassil, Roger Copeland and Jim Frazier decided to walk to the ”Hill of Beans” a very nice coffee shop.

“Boy, am I sorry I ever voted for that sorry SOB,” said Jim. “He talked well at the time and this other side of him hadn’t come out.”

“I think the council is going to isolate him.” commented Matt. “I get the feeling they are not happy about him one bit. I was watching him closely when you passed out the copies of that letter. He never really looked at it. He just snorted and dropped it,”

Andy was still on a roll, “When this all comes out, and it will, he will be politically dead in this community. He obviously does have some support here. I met several of them at his church. That’s a venomous lot there.

“What really pisses me off is that he twice, publicly, verbally attacked my son. Joey was so happy about going on a hike with the O’Donnells. He was proud of the fact that for once he had been in a leadership role and felt he had done it well. That O’Donnell kid seems like a nice kid, and after a rough start, the two of them really seemed to get along well. Then, to have his dad turn everything to shit just pisses me off.

“I found out something else interesting. His son, Mike, called and wanted to meet Joey after we got back from our trip. Apparently, Mike’s sister is on Mike’s side and is helping them meet. It’s a shame that they can’t just play like other kids their age. We told Joey to play it cool and not do anything that would get Mike in trouble.”

“Matt,” said Roger, “I couldn’t believe what you said. I hope no one took offense about your AA introduction. You certainly caught me off guard.”

“I had to do something, Roger. Things were getting so dark I felt I had to ease tensions a bit. They all know we’re gay and, with the exception of O’Donnell, they could care less. I came to this community because I knew I wouldn’t just be tolerated, I would be welcomed. With the exception of these Neanderthals, everyone has made me feel welcome. I intend to stay here for the rest of my life and I hope you do too.”

Jim Frazier commented that tolerance and understanding of all people and ethnic backgrounds was going to be part of the curricula for all grades in all schools. Some of the parents still had problems, but maybe they could reach the kids before it was too late.

The talk gradually gravitated to less serious subjects. They had trouble believing Andy’s stories about the fish they caught; that is until Andy brought out pictures of the fish taken as they released them back to the wild. He also had pictures taken from the top of the 13,800 ft Kaweah Peak they had taken a day to climb. The panorama was spectacular.

Gradually blood pressures dropped and a bit of peace reigned again.

Then there was Joey’s birthday party. Something had happened after the council meeting and suddenly Mike was allowed to meet and play with Joey with the stipulation his sister was along. This hadn’t been a problem at all and the fact MK and Pat liked each other made it a very agreeable situation for every one. During the clean up after the party, Linda remarked to Andy that they were going to have to get Joey some new clothes. Joey had had a growth spurt over the last few months and appeared to have put on about two inches since the first of the year. He also seemed to be putting on some more weight around his middle. Nothing about the changes in stature and weight did anything to alleviate his mother’s concerns.

“We had that awful fire and that horrid Earl Scroggins and someone else painted Matt’s house. Andy, you said you thought you knew who the other person was even though they never caught him. I’m glad we went to the proceedings and I think that whole thing brought to the attention of a lot of people just how far out of kilter that bunch was. I wonder what happened to him. After he finished his sentence, he fell out of sight.”

“I always thought the other one was Al Conklin,” said Andy. “I had seen him hanging around Earl on several occasions and someone had told me he saw both of them distributing hate literature.”

After the fires, things got back to normal, or at least as close as they could be. The weather turned cool and talk was around the upcoming trial of Earl Scroggins for malicious mischief, trespassing and resisting arrest. Earl was out on bail and was generally out of sight. He worked in a garage in a neighboring town and lived in an apartment with his current girlfriend near Foothill Boulevard. They ran around with a motorcycle gang; however, Earl wasn’t doing much motorcycling lately because his cycle had been confiscated after the authorities found it on a trail near the canyon. The other set of tracks was noted and photographed.

Earl’s lawyer had been meeting with the prosecutors. As the offenses had occurred in Los Angeles County jurisdiction and in Federal land in the Angeles National Forest as well as the city of Loma Sierra, each jurisdiction would have its chance at him. His lawyer was hoping to ‘cop a plea’. It took some convincing; however, the lawyer finally persuaded Scroggins to plead guilty. The arrangement was that if he pled guilty, the higher court would waive jurisdiction.

The first trial was to be held at the county courthouse. The lawyer managed to get Scroggins to clean up and rent a suit. Scroggins’ instructions were to not say a thing unless spoken to and to always say “Yes Sir” and “No Sir.” He was to be very contrite (the lawyer had to define that) and apologetic.

Once the preliminaries were over and the charges were read, the judge asked the defendant how he pled, “Guilty” or “Not Guilty.” The lawyer had to nudge Scroggins.

“Guilty, your Honor.”

“Mr. Scroggins, what you have done disturbs me very much. It is an offense against the very things this country stands for. Frankly, there is no place for conduct like yours at all.

“I am aware this is your first offense; however, a number of things disturb me. Your unwillingness to reveal who your partner was indicates a lack of sincerity that displeases this court very much.

“Concerning the matter of criminal trespassing, this court sentences you to six months in the county jail. For the charges of malicious mischief and destruction of private property, this court sentences you to 90 days. These sentences are to be served concurrently. If you serve 60 days and behave yourself, the period of confinement will end; however, you will be on probation for two years.

“By the way Mr. Scroggins, your service is to be with a group that is assigned to the US Forest Service. You will be helping clean up the area devastated by the recent forest fire. I hope you learn something positive about this experience, but I somehow doubt it.

“You are hereby remanded to the Los Angeles County Jail. But before you go, Mr. Scroggins, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry that the fire didn’t gut them queers’ house, it would have saved us a lot of trouble,” muttered Scroggins. His lawyer just shook his head.

“I’m sorry too, Mr. Scroggins. I just noticed I made a mistake in your sentencing document. That should have been 120 days in jail. That’s all Mr. Scroggins.

“Bailiff, please take Mr. Scroggins away.”

Then there was that fateful day at the end of the school year. The school nurse had called and said Joey was ill. It did not appear to be anything serious, but she wanted Joey to take the rest of the day off just in case. Andy had the car and Linda wondered if Joey could walk to the store. Joey said he could.

So, when she was working in the frame room and heard the door open she thought it was Joey; however when she looked out to the front she saw it was Matt Cassil.

“Hi, Linda, we just picked up an old painting and I need to find a frame for it. Actually, it’s not that old. It’s a Paul Dougherty landscape and the frame that came with it is not right. Here’s a photo and the dimensions. You can see what we need. The frame can’t be too fancy. What do you have that would fit the arts and crafts style?”

“I know we have what you need. While I’m looking, would you do me a favor? Joey is not feeling well and has left school to come here for the rest of the day. I don’t have a car. Could you drive over there and give him a ride? We would appreciate it.”

“I would be glad to. Sorry to hear the little guy’s under the weather.”

“You haven’t seen him up close lately, have you? He’s grown several inches in these last few months.”

Matt left and just a few minutes later the phone rang. It was the police and they said Joey was in the park and had been hurt and an ambulance was on the way. Linda took off on a run. She never locked the shop.

As Matt related it to her in the emergency room, he got in his car and headed for the school. As he drove by the park he saw something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Two boys were in the process of beating up a two smaller kids. One of the boys had another in a hammerlock while the other one was kicking a child that was curled up on the ground. He stopped and could hear the hysterical screaming. As he ran up to the scene he could hear the boy in the hammerlock shouting, “Leave her alone. Leave her alone. She never did anything to you.”

“My god,” he thought, “It’s those two hoodlums and that’s Mike O’Donnell.”

Matt told her how he waded in and threw Billy to the side, temporarily disabling him. It was only after he got on his knees that he realized the one he thought was a girl was Joey.

It was a somber waiting room. Matt was comforting Linda when Andy arrived. The O’Donnells arrived a bit later. After a little while, a doctor came out and told them that Mike was fine and could go home. He would have a couple of bruises, but there were no serious injuries.

Richard O’Donnell was ready to drag Mike and Marcia back to the car and home but Mike protested saying he didn’t want to leave until he knew how Joey was. Marcia glowered at Richard, as Richard was obviously getting ready to tell them all to go home. Richard muttered an “OK” and turned and left without even determining how Marcia and Mike were going to get home.

Another doctor came out of the treatment room area and asked for Mr. And Mrs. Beebe.

“Would you come with me please?”

“How’s Joey? When can we see him?”

“Joey is going to be fine. I just want to talk to you about a few issues. We had to take some stitches and the nurses are doing some cleanup. They are also getting a room ready. Joey will have to stay here for a while.”

“What’s going on doctor?” said Andy. He could sense that the doctor was being deliberately evasive.

“Joey has been through a lot. There has been some significant soft tissue damage due to being kicked numerous times. There will be a lot of bruising; however, no bones were broken. I was worried about the coccyx and kidneys, but the x-rays were negative and the blows were just below the kidney area. We did some minor repairs: however, we will need to do some corrective surgery immediately.

“What happened, Doctor? Do you mean Joey’s sex organs have been damaged, that he won’t be able to father children?”

“Mr. And Mrs. Beebe, there was a considerable skin tear that should heal relatively quickly. Joey actually did not lose very much blood. Joey is still conscious and is now lightly sedated. Joey was able to tell me what happened and about the illness that led to Joey’s leaving school. Because of Mike’s dedication to Joey, Joey was not alone when attacked and that probably saved Joey’s life. Mr. Cassil didn’t get there any too soon.

“Back to the injuries: I want you to listen to me carefully because this is something I hadn’t personally seen before. Joey’s penis and testicles were not damaged because Joey does not have a penis or testicles. It just looked like a small penis. Most of the damage was done to the tissue that appeared to be a penis and scrotum. Most of the blood was actually menstrual blood.”

The doctor paused briefly as the comment sank in. Linda gasped and Andy started in disbelief.

The doctor continued, “Joey was feeling poorly because she is having her first period. Joey is a fully functional, with the exception of some external anomalies, young woman entering menarche. From what I could see, she will be fully capable of having children. In addition, her hymen was torn and we removed some extraneous tissue. There will definitely have to be a follow up in that area.

“Joey has a condition similar to what is known as Gonadal Dysgenesis. This is where all the internal organs are female and the external genitalia may appear to be male as is Joey’s case. There are other similar conditions where the child may behave more in a masculine manner and there may be physiological development problems as well, which does not appear to be the case here. Due to Joey’s response, I don’t think masculinization occurred either. What is unusual is that other than an enlarged clitoris and what was a closed vaginal opening, all of her organs appear to be perfectly normal. Additionally, her pelvic structure appears to be that of a normally developing female of her age. However, something happened early in her embryonic development that we may never know the reason for. Everything was apparently developing normally when something caused the vaginal opening to close or fuse at the outer edge. Because her kidneys were functioning normally, urine had to be eliminated and this caused the urethra to migrate and fuse into the clitoris creating what superficially appeared to be a penis.

“As I said, she is going to need some surgery to correct the position of the urethra, repair the labia majora and modify the clitoris. We have the doctors here that can do that surgery and I would recommend it be done before she leaves. There is no reason to believe that she won’t be a normal woman in every way and should be up and about in a week or two.

“Oh, my, God,” came out of Linda’s trembling lips and she dropped her head into her hands.

Andy just shook his head.

“Joey is an extremely intelligent young woman. She listened and observed throughout the repairs. She’s had local anesthesia only. We did a caudal block. She even knew the medical terminologies. I’m sure she has done some studying on her own. She knows she is a young woman and does not seem to be disturbed about it at all. In fact her first comment was “Good! Problem solved.” She wants to see Mike and tell him. There seems to be a connection there. Would that be okay with you?”

“Let us talk to him, er, her first. This is all rather a shock to us,” said Andy. “I’m having a little trouble getting used to this. There have been issues out there for a while and she had even gone to our GP. He felt her problem was similar to my early days of puberty and I guess we all just chose to ignore the obvious.”

“Doctor, I think she knew this was going to happen. She recognized what was going on and was willing to wait things out. It’s too bad we had to find out this way. What would have happened if this assault hadn’t occurred?” Linda asked.

“I think there could have been some serious problems such as infections, maybe even sterility; however, she was developing obviously into a pubescent young woman. I think someone would have noticed sooner than later, if she didn’t come forward to show you on her own. I think it would have been a matter of days rather than weeks or months. Her discomfort probably would have continued and become worse. In some ways, this was a fortuitous event.”

“Our good friend Matt is out in the waiting room. He was the one that broke up the assault. He said something that sounded strange at the time. He said when he was running up to break things up he kept hearing Mike shouting, ‘Leave her alone.’ He just thought it was the emotions of the moment. Now, I’m not so sure. I may have to ask Mike someday,” said Linda while shaking her head. “I’m just so thankful she’s going to be alright.

“Let’s go in and talk to our daughter.”

What an amazing series of events that had been.

They were making good time and stopped in Modesto for lunch. By this time it was close to 100º.

They had made several stops and picked up some fruit and vegetables at about a third the price they would have cost in Southern California. At Stockton they took the cutoff over to Interstate 5 for the fairly quick drive to Sacramento, then on to Redding. They took the now familiar exit to the hospital and pulled into the parking lot. It was well over 105º even though the temperature for the day was past its maximum. They parked next to a car that had a Pasadena, California license rim, but didn’t really think much about it.

Their plan was to see Jo first, they had already determined she was not at home and did not answer her phone at the hospital. The nurse that picked up her line said Dr. Beebe was with a patient and she would leave a message for her. Their plan was then to see Mike whom they had only seen briefly during the last few years when he’d been home on leave. Maybe things would be alright now that the two of them were together (at least in close proximity) at last. Maybe they could finally get Jo to open up about what had gone on those many years ago in college.

They took the short walk across the drive to the main entrance. Once inside, they passed the reception desk that was seldom manned this time of day. As they did, they thought they heard someone shout, but couldn’t figure out where it came from. They turned to the left and headed down the hall to the nurses’ station and Jo’s office. Just as they hit the juncture of the halls at the station, they were literally run into by two very excited young women. One was Kate DeMoss and the other was MK. Both of them had tears running down their cheeks.

MK grabbed their hands in hers and said, “You don’t have to worry about a thing. It worked! I’m getting the best sister-in-law in the world and you are getting the finest son-in-law around. Everything is fantastic. Give them a couple of minutes. I’ve got to call Mom. I don’t care what time it is in Venice. Oh, Kate, this is Jo’s Mom and Dad. Life is wonderful.”

The impact of MK’s statement was like a wall of euphoria wrapping itself around them. Things had happened a lot faster than they had ever anticipated. However, that was okay. Life was indeed wonderful.

Chapter 20: Another Conspiracy Revealed

Kate was ecstatic. She had helped engineer a very wonderful reconciliation. What she didn’t realize was what had transpired to get the two reunited after a much too long separation. She would learn more over the next few days.

“Hi, Mr. & Mrs. Beebe, MK doesn’t realize we’ve met before. Let’s just say that we are a bit overjoyed at the moment. Mike just proposed to Jo and she accepted. Have they always been this slow? You might want to wait a couple of minutes before you go in. I don’t think Mike’s up to any hanky panky at the moment, but you never can tell about people in love.

“Come on to my office and chat for a few minutes. I think there’s some catching up to be done.”

“Kate, you know we are Andy and Linda. Please dispense with the formalities. I thought we got this straightened out the last time we were here,” scolded Linda.

“I can’t help it Linda. Everything has happened so fast, if you can call 16 years fast, and I’m so excited. Please sit. Do you want anything to drink?”

“Could you get us a couple of glasses of ice water? It’s been a long drive. I wish we had known MK was driving up, but maybe it’s just as well that she got here when she did. It really is late and we need to go back to Jo’s place and get cleaned up.”

Kate called the nurses station and asked her assistant to bring a couple glasses of ice water. They showed up very quickly.

“I’m sorry I’m on swing shift or I would take you, Jo and MK out to dinner. Why don’t you go and say hello to Mike and, if you can, drag Jo out of here for a while and take her to the Chinese restaurant. It’s a favorite of hers. MK and I have put both of them through the wringer over the last few hours and Mike needs his rest. He’s also missed dinner and I’ll have to go to the kitchen and put together a meal for him.

“I do want to find out something though. Do you know what happened to Mike and how it happened? He’s been through a lot?”

“When Jo called us a few days ago she was a mess. She said Mike had been hurt, but that he would be alright. We came up here to be with both of them,” said Linda.

“Jo didn’t tell us any details. It was just obvious that she was very upset,” Andy chimed in.

“Mike was shot, twice. Look, I know all about Jo and Mike. They both filled me in on the early years and neither knew what the other one had told me. I know I may have been a bit nosy and pushy, but I had to do it. Jo told me she loved Mike; however, she didn’t want him to know. I then realized Mike loved Jo and had for a long time and he didn’t want to talk about it either. They had been apart for a long time and I didn’t realize at first how long it had been. I just knew for the sake of their well being I had to get them together again. Then MK showed up and was obviously motivated in the same way I was. She took over.

“The gunmen were Billy and Freddy. They are both dead. I’m not sure who killed who. But I do know this. Jo killed one of them. Jo also saved Mike’s life. If it hadn’t been for her quick thinking, Mike would have died on the stage of the theater. Billy and Freddy were trying to blackmail Jo and she went to the police for help. If the little twit had just told us what was going on from the start we probably could have had those two in jail and no one would have been hurt. She was afraid we would find out about her past and was afraid there would be a stigma attached to her about it. We’ve treated girls with similar conditions twice since I’ve been here and no one’s ever thought anything about it. It happens.

“I just realized, you don’t sound as if you are surprised that Mike was here in Redding. Is there something going on that I’m not aware of? Jo didn’t know he was here until two weeks ago.”

Linda smiled at Kate, “Kate, we have a lot to tell you, Jo, Mike and everyone else and we will do it later. You do need to know this: the senior staff of this hospital is aware of what Jo went through. There are not as many coincidences as you may think; however, Billy and Freddy were something that no one anticipated.

“I think Andy and I better go and see the two lovers. Thank heavens that’s been taken care of. I know we will see you later.”

They left Kate and headed to Mike’s room.

“What the hell is going on?” Kate was shaking her head as she headed to the kitchen to get some food for Mike.

Andy knocked on the door. “Come in,” chimed two voices simultaneously.

They walked in to see two beaming faces close together. Jo had climbed up on the bed and was lying next to Mike. She had her head on Mike’s pillow and he was gently caressing her face and hair. They were two obviously very happy people, although tears stained their cheeks.

“Well, I guess this takes doctor/patient relationships to a new level,” joked Andy. “Of course you realize that you are going to have to marry my daughter. We are a respectable family.”

“Someone’s been talking. I’d get up and shake your hand, but this wanton trollop is lying on my arm.”

Jo sat up, got off the bed and gave both her parents a hug and kiss

“Your mom and I are so happy for the both of you,” said Andy with a slightly choked up voice.

“Mom, Dad, I’m such an idiot. I probably would have died an old maid if Mike hadn’t shown up when he did. Thank heavens he did,” Jo said as she sat on the edge of the bed while taking Mike’s hand in hers.

Andy looked at Linda and she nodded in return. “You can thank whomever you want to; however, we went to a lot of trouble to get you two together. Let’s just say both of you have many friends in many places. You were meant to be together. We never doubted it for a moment and when you split, it almost broke our hearts. Mike, your mom and MK know a lot about what has been going on and fully approve.

“Jo, your being at this hospital was a stroke of good fortune. As you know, Dr. Arneson actively recruited you. He was very impressed with your academic record and every doctor you worked with throughout medical school and your residency had nothing but the highest praise for you. Fortunately, Redding is in a beautiful place and the hospital was able to make a good proposal for you. Dr. Arneson and his staff did an extensive background investigation on you as they would for any doctor they would want to hire.

“I guess there were some coincidences in this whole thing and this was one of them. Dr. Arneson and Matt Cassil were good friends in college when they were both working on their respective doctorates. They have a great respect for each other. Dr. Arneson also knew Roger Copeland. I think the three of them played poker. Anyway, Dr. Arneson knew that Matt lived in Loma Sierra and called him and asked him if he knew you. He said he did but would have to talk to us before he could provide any details. Matt told us that we had nothing to worry about as far as Dr. Arneson was concerned and that it would be helpful if he knew the whole story as he could put a stop to any rumors should someone find out and start something. Jo, every senior member on the staff of this hospital knows about you and has known since before you were hired. They were then and are now determined to protect you any way they can. You are far too respected and loved in this community for them to want anything to happen to destroy that love and respect.

“A question did come up about your relationships with others. He was a bit concerned that you did not appear to have any close friends. When he asked Matt about that he said that Mike was your best friend and that something had happened in college and you two split up. I guess we still don’t know what happened there.”

Mike stepped in, “Mr. Beebe…”

“Andy.”

“Andy, we know that we were set up. We don’t know who was responsible, but we are going to try to find out. We’ll give you the details later. Suffice it to say, the whole thing was well thought out and carried out with malice. It was no accident.”

“Mike, this was the next fortunate thing to happen. Matt let on that you were quite the hero during some events in Afghanistan and that you had saved several lives including that of the man who had originally been your Air Force Recruiter. Matt told him you were in the Security Police and were a Squadron Commander. No one thought much about it again until the Field Operations Division Commander in Redding had that hunting accident and decided to retire. No one was hurt, but he almost shot a buddy and realized he was a liability with a weapon because of his poor eyesight. Besides, the time was right. Marcia had told us that you were not going to be a ‘lifer’ and were getting out in a few months and were looking for a job. We knew your resume was on the Internet and Matt told Dr. Arneson who in turn told Chief Krewzewski.

“Mike, you were the best candidate out there. They were scared to death that some big city would grab you up by dangling big bucks in front of you; however, we felt that you would think this was an ideal place and would take the job. Fortunately, we were correct. By the way, one of the articles Matt sent up here had the name of Chief Master Sergeant Edward Stephens in it and Captain Krewzewski remembered he had seen the name in the Chico Enterprise-Record. Apparently Chief Stephens had just been medically retired and had been given a hero’s welcome. Stan called him and said they were trying to hire you and asked him what he thought about you. Chief Stephens said if they didn’t hire you he would personally come up here and thrash every one of them with his artificial leg. I know he’ll be up here soon. He wants to meet the girl who drove Mike to join the Air Force. He’s an optimist too.

“We knew it would just be a matter of time before one or both of you would find out that the other was here. We certainly didn’t plan on it happening this way, though. We thought that the music might do it or that maybe you would just run into each other. We had accomplished more than we could ever have hoped by getting you both in the same city and from that point on we just had to hope you would meet. The fact that one of you worked in a hospital and the other was in the police force probably increased those odds. Anyway, we hope you aren’t too mad about being manipulated into this. Too many people love you and want your happiness. We just wanted you two to find each other again.”

Neither Mike nor Jo could believe what they just heard and yet they had to. Jo, who had had a tendency to cry a bit lately, was tearing up again, “Mom and Dad, I love you very much. I know we will be eternally grateful to everyone who helped us through our period of stupidity, especially mine. Now I want to get Mike well so that we can start making grandbabies for you to spoil.

Kate entered carrying a dinner tray for Mike, “Guys, don’t ask me how I got this tray this late, but it’s really time for Mike to eat and get some rest. Why don’t you take Jo to that restaurant and then get some sleep. We can work some more of this out tomorrow.”

“Kate, you won’t believe what a conspiracy has been going on behind our backs. Everyone has been in cahoots.”

“You can fill me in tomorrow. Now get out of here.” Kate DeMoss was back in the “nurse” mode.

Jo rolled over and gave Mike a lingering kiss before getting off the bed. There had been a number of kisses punctuated with I love you’s between them the few moments they had been alone. They were kisses of comfort and reconciliation. They were not kisses of passion. This kiss was a kiss of passion. It was the first really and the first of many to come, and it was the longest and most passionate ever between them. Mike knew he was going to get well real soon.

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