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Chapters 7, 8 & 9: Sometimes forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission. That is certainly the case here; however, instead of forgiveness, the two young lovers receive acceptance beyond what they originally hoped for. The two families look only forward, trying to make the young lovers’ transition to adulthood and parenthood as easy as possible. Fanny makes the trip from Redding with George to talk to the newest member of her family and make sure she is properly cared for. We will see Fanny many more times as this story progresses. We knew Fanny was special when we first met her and we are going to find that she is a rock.

Joe is forced to become an adult, as is Amy and they make the transition smoothly. When the secret breaks at Joe’s high school, there are mixed reactions and some of the early results are rather hateful. Joe handles the opposition quite well and has the support of the school administration. Their school years are tough, but they handle things well once on their own. Joe’s athletic prowess catches the eyes of the athletic staff at Humboldt and it leads him to places no one would have expected.

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Introduction:

Chapters 7, 8 & 9: Sometimes forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission. That is certainly the case here; however, instead of forgiveness, the two young lovers receive acceptance beyond what they originally hoped for. The two families look only forward, trying to make the young lovers’ transition to adulthood and parenthood as easy as possible. Fanny makes the trip from Redding with George to talk to the newest member of her family and make sure she is properly cared for. We will see Fanny many more times as this story progresses. We knew Fanny was special when we first met her and we are going to find that she is a rock.

Joe is forced to become an adult, as is Amy and they make the transition smoothly. When the secret breaks at Joe’s high school, there are mixed reactions and some of the early results are rather hateful. Joe handles the opposition quite well and has the support of the school administration. Their school years are tough, but they handle things well once on their own. Joe’s athletic prowess catches the eyes of the athletic staff at Humboldt and it leads him to places no one would have expected.

Author's Note:There are references to characters in previous novels, and I would strongly recommend that you read them if you haven’t already done so. Musetta Gigliotti O’Donnell is mentioned and referred to several times. Although she has been deceased for many years before this story begins, her influence is very strong. ‘Musetta’s Waltz’ is not very long and will give some important background. Musetta is a wonderful transgendered woman who overcomes extreme adversity.

This story is the fifth in the series and to date, the entire series covers nearly 100 years and five generations. The first story is “The Heart of the Beholder” and deals with the early life of Mike and Jo O’Donnell. “The Narragansett Fork” is about Fanny, the O’Donnell’s adopted daughter and a rather remarkable individual. It is in this book that we first meet Musetta. “Musetta’s Waltz” is her autobiography and the third book in the series. “Who Is Sylvia” is the story about Sylvia O’Donnell and how Phil Esterházy wins her. That brings us to the current story, which takes place 37 years or so after the end of the previous story.

Being transgendered or intersexed is not the main theme of this story. This is a story about a rather large family where two people happened to be intersexed and another, now deceased, was transgendered. This is a story about how people find love, over and above everything else.

There is a little mystery that shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. The clues are there. There are 34 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue. The story is complete. I am not sure how it will be posted. Regardless of the voting and comments, or lack there of, I will post it until completion. I’ll try not to let hurt feelings get in the way.

My thanks must go to Holly H. Hart for taking time from her harried life to correct the multitude of errors made while creating this story.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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The two lovers had to figure things out. It was going to take some doing; however, they maintained a positive attitude. So far, Amy had been able to hide her morning sickness that seemed to happen any time of the day and seemed to be getting worse.

At The Ranch, Persi shocked Joe when she approached him one afternoon after school. “Amy’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

Joe looked at his beautiful sister as she smiled affectionately at him. “Yes, how did you know?”

“Oh, you’ve been far too serious of late, and you’re always texting. She’s the only person you ever text to. So, I figured something important was going on. How far along is she?”

“Just about a month; we’re going to tell Mom and Dad and her parents when they come up here after Christmas. We’ve been working on a plan and want to have it ready when we tell them.”

“So what happened? Did you stop using protection?”

“You know her mother wouldn’t let her get on the pill, so we’ve been using condoms. One broke, and we made a decision that we wouldn’t do anything to prevent the pregnancy from taking if she was to conceive. It just didn’t feel right. Something could happen, and that might be the only baby we could ever have.”

“One month, that would be when we were in Willits. You were never alone very long. Shit, you did it in the theater, didn’t you, you dirty old man. So that’s what she meant.”

“Yeah, she thought it would be fun. We’re just going to have a whole lot more fun that we expected. Dad will probably kill me.”

“He just might. No, you know better than that. Mom and dad are pretty rational folks. I’m sure they will be shocked. You guys did a pretty good job hiding it from them all these years. You know, if you and Amy have a good plan and don’t just dump the whole thing in their laps, I’ll bet they’ll be cool about it. I think Mom may have suspected something. She was sorta hinting around about you and Amy a couple of months ago. I think she began to realize that Amy was too eager to help with the baby sitting when she was visiting. That’s what clued Demi and me. We snooped and found all those rubbers.

“My goodness, I’m going to have a little niece or nephew. Good luck.”

For the next few days, Joe had to endure the knowing glances from his two older sisters. They had not told Helen.

It was two days after Christmas when the hammer dropped. The parents were in the front room listening to some nice music and drinking some after dinner port. The younger children were in the back of the house when Joe and Amy walked through the dining area and down the steps to join their parents. They were holding hands rather firmly.

Phil looked up and noticed the two standing rather closely together. Something wasn’t right. “So, what have you two lovebirds been up to? You didn’t run off and get married this morning, did you.”

“No, we were just trying to go over some plans for the next few years. It seems we’re pregnant,” Joe said rather matter-of-factly.

“This is a little early for an April fools joke. You are joking aren’t you?”

“No, we’re very serious and very happy, and as soon as you are through beating us to within an inch of our lives, we hope you will be happy, too. We want to get married, and we are going to have this child, regardless. Amy and I have been trying to work some things out, and we know we’re going to need your help.

“This is what we would like to do, with your blessings of course. Amy is going to finish school in Willits. We will get married next summer and Amy will move in here. There’s plenty of room, and Amy will help take care of the kids and house while I finish high school. Amy will hold off going to college for one year so she can devote time to the baby. I’ll be getting a full scholarship and should be eligible for some grants. With Amy’s grades she should be able to get scholarship assistance, too. We will move to Arcata our freshman year and rent a small house or apartment. There’s good childcare on campus. Amy also has her share of the insurance money. I think we can carry 15 hours apiece, and I’ll get a part time job if necessary. We’ll go to school during the summer, too.”

Trish had been looking a bit like a fish out of water since the beginning of their proclamation. “My God, how long has this been going on? What have you done to my little girl?”

“Mom, shut your mouth and listen. Joe has done nothing to me but be a sweet, gentle lover and companion. We are best friends and have been for a long time. If anything, I am responsible for accelerating the inevitable. I know we took a chance, especially with me not being on the pill.” She looked directly at her mother when she said that last little tidbit. The inference was not missed. “We have always used protection and last month the protection failed. That was my fault.”

“Last month! When were you alone last month?” Trish was still having a problem accepting the situation.

“I don’t think we need to go into that. Besides, it’s immaterial. I am pregnant and this is no joke. I know it’s going to be tough, but we will make it.”

“You didn’t tell us how long this has been going on, although I guess that’s immaterial, too. I guess we would like to know that this was not a result of a one-time thing,” Sylvia hesitantly asked. The fact she was going to be a grandmother far sooner than she expected had not yet sunk in.

“You know that is rather personal; however, I guess you sex crazed adults want to know.” Amy turned to Joe. “We could be in big trouble and I could go to jail.”

Joe took over for a moment. “Remember that day Amy caught that big steelhead?”

“But that was almost two and a half years ago! You were just children.”

Joe pulled Amy to him. “I know, but once we started, we didn’t want to stop. We grew up a lot that day and we really did try to be careful.

“You need to understand something else. We have never made love or had intercourse with anyone else.” Joe almost said ‘had sex’; however, the definition of having sex was somewhat vague depending on who you talked to, and he knew that Amy had done some pretty heavy petting before she moved to Willits.

Trish was still in shock. She would get over it. She began to realize that she had been partially responsible for her daughter’s current status. Trish had been pretty loose over her early years, and it took having Amy and her horrible experience with Arnie Hurst to straighten her out. She didn’t want her daughter to have the same uncontrolled life she did, and she was beginning to realize her approach had been wrong.

“My God, we raised a pair of sex fiends. This has to stop. You are both too young to get married. You can’t know what being in love means,” Trish grumbled to herself more than anyone else.

Sylvia started to say something, but Joe caught her eye and she kept quiet.

“Aunt Trish, I love you very much and have known you all my life. You are going to have to accept the fact that things are different than you thought they were. There has been a history in my family of people falling in love, truly in love, at an early age. Gramma Jo and Grandpa Mike fell in love when they were only ten.”

“So they say, but if I recall, they didn’t marry until their late twenties.”

“That wasn’t their fault. They would have married much sooner except some then evil people screwed things up for them.

“My Aunt Fanny and Uncle John fell in love when they were eleven. They were 21 when they got married. I am not saying that getting married at our age is the best thing for everyone; however, I think it’s the best thing for us now that we have a child on the way. Amy will be eighteen and I’ll be seventeen. That’s not that young. Look in the paper. There’re all sorts of people getting married at that age. I know there’re no guarantees; however, I think this is the best thing for us.”

Phil had been holding his tongue and just listening. He and Sylvia loved Amy like a daughter, and they had begun to realize a while ago that Amy was probably going to be a permanent part of the family. Thinking back over the last few years, he realized that Joe had shown a great increase in maturity and responsibility about the time he and Amy had started their relationship. Joe’s grades, though always good, had gotten better. He didn’t have to be asked twice to do anything around The Ranch, and most of the time didn’t have to be asked at all. Phil knew his first born was a fine young man who had a good head on his shoulders. He just happened to have fallen for a very nice young woman, and they decided to have sex earlier than most. They had tried to be careful, but got caught.

“I am thinking about how to handle this,” said Phil. “As far as I am concerned, Amy is a wonderful young woman, and this doesn’t change my opinion at all. We’re going to have to make adjustments and make sure we do responsible things.

“Maybe they shouldn’t have been having sex, but at least they were responsible enough to try to avoid this situation. They certainly aren’t the first young people to have this happen to them.”

Phil turned to Joe and Amy, “Does anyone else know about this?”

“Demi and Persi do. They caught us asleep in bed last summer. We never asked them not to say anything. They were cool about it and never gave us any trouble. Persi guessed a few days ago that Amy was pregnant. She’s pretty smart. They haven’t told anyone.”

“We think Amy’s cool, and we wouldn’t tell.”

They looked up to see Persi and Demi taking in the whole conversation.

“This is a private conversation, young ladies. You need to go back to the game room,” Phil admonished.

“No we don’t. We know all about sex and babies. You and Mommy taught us. Besides, Amy is going to be our sister-in-law and we love her. We just want to say, please don’t be mean to them. Demi and me have known for a long time that they love each other. We want them to be happy.”

There were several rather strong glances thrown in the girls’ direction.

“Okay, we’ll go now. Helen and Pat don’t know anything. Oscar knows that they have been doing it. He doesn’t know, yet, that Amy’s pregnant. I don’t imagine that will be a secret much longer.”

There were many decisions made that night. After Trish finally calmed down, they decided there was no point in keeping the two separated. There was also no point in meting out any punishment. It would serve no purpose. The most important thing was to look to the future. The two young lovers needed to feel secure in their future life.

Tom Barrett had been relatively quiet during the evening. But finally put in his two cents worth. “Trish, Amy and Oscar have been the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I have eight grandchildren and another on the way. The last thing I want is to have my children be unhappy. I think Amy and Joe should be able to spend as much time as possible with each other. There is absolutely no reason for us generating any stress at this point in their lives. I have no objection to their sleeping together. We need to look forward to a wonderful event. In eight months there is going to be another life brought into this world, and that little baby needs to know happiness from the first day it enters this world.

“Now we need to make sure that Amy gets the best health care possible. She doesn’t need any grief from any of us. I think the two of them have thought this out pretty well, and they need all the support they can get.

“None of us save any face forcing them to get married. Why don’t we just work this all out so that it comes together this summer like they said?

“Sylvia, do you have any objection to their living here for a while? We certainly have room in Willits, but Joe is going to school here and should stay here.

“As far as I feel, there is no shame in my daughter being pregnant by the man she loves. If they don’t let her walk up there to get her diploma, fuck ‘em. Amy is a very smart young woman, and I want her to have the best life possible. Joe is a fine young man, and I’ll be proud to have him as a son-in-law. Let’s help them get the start they need, and as far as I’m concerned, that starts right now.”

Tom walked to Amy and Joe and embraced them for a long time. He kissed Amy, and then hugged Joe and shook his hand. He finally tousled his hair a bit before sitting down.

Amy turned to Trish who was trying not to cry. “Mom, it’s ok. We can do it.” Two seconds later they were embracing each other and sobbing their hearts out.

“God, Amy, I love you so much. We almost died together. I don’t ever want to have to face anything like that again. You’re my little girl and you are a woman, and I am going to be a grandmother.”

“Oh, shit!” exclaimed Sylvia. “So am I.”

Finally, there was a group hug and Persi and Demi seemed to be in the middle of it.

“Demi, Oscar, and I moved some things while you guys were trying to figure out how to kill Joe and Amy. They can have a room by themselves now.” Persephone was obviously on Joe and Amy’s side.

“It’s okay with me,” said Phil as he looked around at the others. “I think these two need to start being as domestic as they can be. Nothing can be gained by keeping them apart. I agree with Tom.”

Even Trish seemed to have come around to accepting the situation. “I’m okay with this. It has just been a shock to me. Look at me. I had my first baby when I was 38 years old, and now my little baby is going to have her own and she will be 20 years younger than I was. I think I have been trying to hang onto my youth, what’s left of it. I’m just going to have to accept the fact that I’m going to be a grandmother. I know I have been a grandmother for my stepchildren’s children; however, that was part of the package when I married Tom. That was easy. This is going to be a lot different.”

It had been an emotional evening to say the least. Sylvia and Trish went back to the bedroom to make sure it was acceptable for the two lovers. It shared a Jack and Jill bathroom with another bedroom, and the two older sisters were sharing that room. Since they knew what had been going on and seemed to be very mature about the situation, the parents didn’t see any reason to change things. They were going to have to tactfully explain to Helen and Patrick that Joe and Amy would be together a lot and that they were getting married. They would wait for a while to discuss the baby issue.

Joe had outgrown the bed he had grown up with and it had been replaced with a queen sized bed that was really too short, except that he slept on it diagonally. They were all tired and sleep was probably going to be the best medicine.

They showered separately that night, more because they had not quite accepted the fact they could do anything else with their parents and siblings so close by.

Snuggling together under the light duvet, the realization of what was happening began to sink in. Other than a few naps, they had never really slept together and now they were doing it with the full approval of their parents.

“That went a lot better than I thought it would, Joe. I thought Mom would totally freak out. She was OK, though. Our dads were pretty cool about it. I knew your dad would be. I wasn’t sure about Tom. Your Mom hardly batted an eye. I know she likes me a lot and that made it easier. I really think they expected us to get married some day, just not this soon.

“You know what’s neat? We don’t have to sneak around any more and we don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant. There’s something else. I threw all those rubbers out, and I never want you to have to use one again.”

Amy spooned up against Joe. His arm was around her and he was lightly squeezing her breasts and playing with her nipples which were rapidly hardening and stretching out. They would learn a lot over the next few months about the physiological affects of pregnancy on a woman’s body. Amy’s areola would darken considerably and increase another inch in diameter. Her D-cup breasts would never get within two cup sizes of that again. Joe’s erection was finding its way between her thighs and buttocks. She hadn’t thought about making love that night, and the anticipation of what she and Joe were going to have to confront their parents with had cooled their ardor a bit. Now it was returning.

She could feel her arousal building and her moistness was on her inner thigh. She wiggled a bit and Joe’s erection found her portal. She snuggled back and he gradually entered until he was as far as he could go from that position. He was hitting all the right spots.

“Don’t move,” she whispered, “I’ll take care of us from this end.” She gradually caressed him with her vaginal muscles as she let her fingers lightly dance around her clit. After a while he was no longer able to hold still, and started taking short, quick strokes. He lunged hard as he came and gained another inch. Amy contracted several times around him and whimpered as she came with him. They hadn’t realized how much better it would feel with their bare skin contacting for the first time. They would never worry about that again.

They wakened together the next morning and his morning erection was firmly in place at her entrance. When he realized she was awake, too, he starts placing little kisses on her neck. He could feel her moisture increase and he slowly entered her. It was basically a repeat of the previous night.

“Is that thing always like that in the morning?”

“Most times, why?”

“I think I’m going to enjoy sleeping with you,” Amy said while wiggling her behind against him. “I feel a lot better than I have for a long time about things. I know we unintentionally forced the issue, but it’s nice knowing that they expect us to be doing this.

“Oops, I’m going to throw up. This should take only a minute or two, and then we can take a shower together.”

The sounds of her throwing up were unmistakable, and after a few minutes she beckoned him to come in. “I should be OK for a while. If I can get food in my stomach, the nausea will go away. Hopefully we won’t have to put up with this too much longer.”

This bath did not have a separate shower, and it was a bit awkward because of the narrow tub. Joe gently washed Amy and then rinsed her off. She returned the favor and teased him into a semi-erection. He tried to envision her belly expanding over the months. His mother carried her pregnancies well. She was a big woman and her frame was well suited for child bearing.

“What are you staring at?”

“I was just thinking how you were going to look over the months and how beautiful you are going to be.”

“You mean how fat I am going to be. You’d better be careful. Pregnant women get sensitive about comments about their bodies. You had better enjoy these nice perky boobs while you can because if I am anything like my mother, and I think I am, my boobs are going to get very big and sag a whole lot. Maybe that won’t be so bad. You’ve always had an eye for big tits.”

It was still relatively early when they made their way to the breakfast table. The Barretts were not yet up, and Persephone and Demeter were nowhere to be seen. Patrick and Helen were shoveling down some breakfast cereal. The sky was getting very dark and it was obvious the rain would be starting before long.

“Hi, sleepyheads,” said a cheery Sylvia, “Oscar’s out feeding the chickens for you, and Phil’s making sure the wind generator is secure. The forecast is for high winds. We’ll run the generator if the lines go down.

“Amy, why don’t you have some coffee? That might settle your stomach a bit. How’s the morning sickness been?”

“Not too bad, really: if I can get some food down, it tends to go away. It’s when my stomach’s empty that it starts to show up. How long does this go on anyway?”

“Based on my experience and what Mom and Fanny have told me, it’s usually over after the first few months. Some unfortunates seem to experience it through the entire pregnancy. Let’s hope that’s not your case. Saltine crackers seem to help, too.

“I hope you don’t mind, I told Mom this morning. She’s excited and happy for you. She’s pleased that you told us when you did. She and Dad are very open-minded about these things. My older brother and sister have all sorts of kids and never bothered to get married. At least their children didn’t carry on that tradition. My oldest sister, Fanny, told Mom that she and John were going to have unprotected sex when she was eighteen, well, she was on the pill. She said if she got pregnant, that was fine with them. They did wait until she was almost through her residency before she got pregnant with Tony.

“Phil’s going to talk to his folks later today. I know they will be surprised as we were; however, they were overjoyed when Phil and I decided to have all these children. As far as they were concerned, both Phil and Margo started way too late to have a family. Well, both our families made up for it, and now they are going to have great-grandchildren to spoil.”

Sylvia stopped talking and turned away, looking out the window at the lowering storm clouds. Joe could see she was holding back some tears.

“Mom, you’re not mad at us, are you?”

“Mad? No, I’m not mad, and your parents aren’t either, Amy. Our families were thrown together in such a strange and terrifying way, and yet it has worked out so well. There wasn’t any agenda. Phil and I had all that stuff going on up in Yosemite. Then there was Joe, Teena, and their brood. They helped get Phil and me get together. It was just so nice to have friends around where we worked.”

Sylvia paused again, and then sat at the table. She picked up their hands and held them for a minute. “You know, it was that damned snake. I knew then that you two had something special going on. I just didn’t realize then how special it was. I knew last year that you were probably in love and I was thankful for the restraint you were showing. Boy, did you have me fooled. I look back now and realize all the signs were there and we just didn’t pick up on them. I think naïve would be the right word.

“I am definitely going to have to be a bit more active with your sisters; the boys are already sniffing around them. I know for sure that Persi and Demi haven’t been sexually active. They just had their check-ups. Helen’s a bit young still. God, three beautiful, blonde daughters: I wonder if I can find some chastity belts somewhere.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get married now? We could get everything lined up and do it this week if you would like.

Joe shook his head. “We thought about it, but we weren’t sure you would accept us getting married. Then there was the separation thing. We didn’t want to be married and not be together. It’s very important that we don’t disrupt our schooling, and being husband and wife and not being together for the first months of our marriage just didn’t seem right. We know now that you will allow us to get together before this summer, and we appreciate that very much.

“If the arrangements we suggested last night are acceptable, we can start our official marriage this summer and not have to worry about being separated. Just knowing that you have accepted this situation is a huge relief, and now we can get on with our plans.”

There were a number of phone calls and emails over the next few days that went literally all over the world. Nothing was hidden or implied. There were going to be two joyous events next summer. The Esterházys’ oldest son was marrying his best friend since childhood, and they were expecting their first grandchild.

Amy met Sylvia’s oldest sister later in the week. She had heard quite a bit about Aunt Fanny and her exploits over the years. She knew she was a medical doctor, a world famous composer and musician. No one had mentioned how petit she was. Her husband towered over her. Their two oldest children were taking their residencies and would not be able to leave their respective hospitals. The three younger children opted to stay home as their parents were making a day trip out of it: over and back from Redding.

Fanny wanted, more than anything else, to meet the newest member of the family. They would be getting together many more times in the future; however, she wanted to talk to Amy about her pregnancy, and make sure that she got off on the right foot.

Fanny and her foundation ran a series of clinics in the poorer areas of northern California. They provided free medical care for Native Americans and others in need, and due to excellent management, a very skilled and compassionate staff, were actually breaking even. The fact that Fanny had more than one hundred million dollars backing the operation made it all that much easier. She had said she would give her money away; however, after her initial contributions, they were staying pretty even. The bottom line was they were providing outstanding medical care and not having to worry about the money.

Fanny pulled Amy aside after a very emotional introduction. “So, my little niece to be, how did this happen? You are what, seventeen, right?”

Amy nodded. She suddenly felt she was going to be lectured.

“I understand you are going to be spending most of the time until this summer in Willits. I want you to see Dr. Smalley. He is the best around. This is your first pregnancy and you don’t need to be taking any chances. Since you are going to be up here for the delivery, I want you to see Dr. Kelsey. He does work for my clinic at Willow Creek and I can’t think of anyone better to have around for your delivery.

“Sylvia tells me that you and Joe have been lovers for quite a while and that you were using protection, but your mother wouldn’t let you use the pill.”

“Mother thought if I was on the pill that I would be promiscuous. I don’t think I was, really. I just love Joe. I know he’s younger than I am, but that wasn’t an issue. We liked the same things. He is so much fun to be with and he is so handsome. It wasn’t just the sex. After we got over the thrill of the first few times, we found we were just that much happier together. The sex was great, but there was so much more. Dr. …. Shit, what do I call you?”

“I’m Fanny, nothing more. I’m sorry if I seem pushy. I run across so many cases where young girls try to hide their pregnancies and don’t get the right help. We’ve been able to prevent a lot of problems since we started. Sylvia said you were about a month along. This is early enough that there shouldn’t be any problems. Have you done anything?”

“Fanny, I messed up. I would get condoms, and we never had sex without them. I just wasn’t careful enough. I didn’t rotate my stock, so to speak, and we ended up using one that was that was three years old. The damn thing shredded. I was at the peak of my cycle. Joe didn’t know that it broke and I told him afterwards. There was never any question. I probably could have gotten a morning after pill; however, it was an instantaneous decision on both our parts. If I had conceived, we would not kill our baby. It was such an easy decision, and we both felt so good about it. As far as doing anything, I have been taking vitamins including folic acid. I don’t smoke and I never have had anything alcoholic, well I have had a little sip around Mom and Dad, but not in the last month. I don’t do drugs.

“Everyone has been so good about this. We didn’t really have any reason to expect anything else, but you can imagine we were scared. We decided to be honest about it; however, we had to have a plan. So, we put together what we thought was the way to handle the situation, and the amazing thing was they agreed with everything we planned. It couldn’t have worked out better.”

“Amy, I know we haven’t met before, but I know a lot about you. It would have been difficult not to, considering what went on early in your life. I want to welcome you to the family, though you have really been a part of it since shortly after your birth. You are very strong in here,” she said while touching Amy’s forehead, “and you and Joe are perfect for each other. I don’t think there is much else to say other than if you ever have any questions about anything, call me. I’m calling Dr. Smalley and Dr. Kelsey and they will be expecting to hear from you.”

It was during the second storm of the week, which was much stronger than the first one, when Amy found out a little more about the family she had come to love. They were going through some photo albums, and Amy notice a picture of Sylvia’s mother with a tall, very attractive woman who had to be about Gramma Jo’s age or maybe a bit younger. Her one time dark hair was mostly gray and her complexion was tanned. She obviously spent time outdoors.

“Who’s this pretty lady?” Amy asked.

“Oh, that’s my great grandmother, Musetta. She died a few years ago. You would have really liked her. Everybody loved her. She was very special to all of us.”

“I’ve heard that name somewhere. Wasn’t there a book called Musetta’s Dance or something like that? It was supposed to be sort of controversial.”

“It was called Musetta’s Waltz, and it was her autobiography. Gramma Jo wrote the epilog.” Joe looked at his mother, silently asking for help.

“Amy, I have a copy of the book. It’s not very long and you could probably read it in an afternoon. I’ll get it for you. Some of the subject matter is pretty adult; however, you have joined those ranks. You need to know about Musetta. She was much too young when she died and we miss her terribly.”

Sylvia returned with a copy of the book. “You may keep this one. We have a box of them. It sold several million copies, and Mom’s and Musetta’s charities benefitted greatly.”

Amy curled up with the book in a corner chair near the fireplace. Everyone left her alone. They knew several hours later that she had finished the book. They could hear the sobs wracking her. The story, and she would learn a lot more about Musetta over the years, had a deep and lasting affect on Amy.

The night before the Barretts were to return to Willits, Joe gathered everyone in the family room. He had Amy stand with him in front of the cheery fire. “We wanted, one more time, to thank everyone for supporting us. I know our life isn’t going to be easy these next few months; however, the way you have accepted us is giving us strength.

“When we knew what might be going to happen and then confirmed it. We just gravitated into the fact we’re going to get married a bit sooner than we had originally talked about. Our plan had always been that we would get married after college and then we would go out together and conquer the world. Assumptions like these have been fairly concrete; however, in spite of the acceptance we have received, we have never made a formal commitment.”

Amy hadn’t been expecting anything once the forgone conclusion had been made, and she suddenly realized what was going to happen. She couldn’t stop the tears that started to flow.

“My dearest Amy, I have been in love with you since we were little children. I declare my never dying love for you and am asking will you please honor me with your hand in marriage?”

“Of course I will, you silly fool.”

He reached into his shirt pocket, and pulled out the ring he had purchased several weeks before. “Please accept this ring as a symbol of my promise to you.” He slid the ring on her trembling hand. Amy almost lost it completely at that moment. The ring was not large, and in spite of Joe’s promise to replace it with a larger diamond when they could afford it, Amy would never replace it. She would have larger diamonds over the years; however, they would never take precedence over that one.

Amy’s pregnancy proceeded normally. She and Joe knew they couldn’t see each other every weekend, but they were able to get together during the longer holiday weekends in January and February. Amy proudly introduced him to her friends. She and her parents told the school officials she was pregnant. She was excused from the physical education class, and was allowed to help in the school administration office instead. The fact that she would be six months pregnant at graduation never became an issue. She graduated fifth in her class, and that made the problem of having a pregnant girl addressing the graduating class during the graduation ceremony moot.

The morning sickness passed rather quickly, and Amy was curious to see how the changes in her body would be progressing. There wasn’t much to see at first; however, her breasts started to get a bit tender, the skin started itching, and after a while her bra became too tight. Her little belly that never quite disappeared when she lost her prepubescent chubbiness started to gradually expand. For Joe, who couldn’t see her every day, the changes were very apparent. Her sensitive areas became more so; however, Joe treated her with tenderness and their love making became even more erotic.

She spent the Easter week at The Ranch. She was noticeably pregnant at that time, and Joe was concerned that he might hurt their baby boy (they had found that out a few weeks before and Amy had emailed the sonogram pictures to everyone). Amy assured him there wasn’t any problem.

Word had not escaped into the public domain around Arcata and McKinleyville about the fact Joe was engaged and that his fiancé was pregnant. His sisters had kept their mouths shut. There were many girls who had hopes that they would be the ones to bed him and steal his heart. What they didn’t know, and he never told, was that his heart had been stolen many years before.

The shit hit the fan during the spring break. Amy needed some new bras, and Sylvia and Amy decided to go to the mall in Eureka. Joe volunteered to go along as he was driving now, and Persi, Demi, and Helen decided they would like to go shopping as well. During past shopping trips to the mall, Joe usually avoided the ennui brought about by the girls’ shopping by going to the electronic games arcade. He didn’t make that choice this time as the woman he loved was shopping and he just felt he should be there with her.

The first place they went to was the department store where Sylvia had shopped with Phil many years before. The saleslady, who Sylvia considered a dear friend, greeted them and ooed and ahed about how pretty the three sisters were. “My goodness you have grown, Joseph. And, who is this beautiful woman you are holding onto so tightly? Oh my!” she quietly exclaimed when she realized Amy’s condition.

“Ms. Holtzclaw, this is Amy Barrett, the love of my life. We’re getting married this summer. As you can see, we’re getting a head start on creating a family. It was an accident, but we were going to get married eventually. It’s just going to be much sooner than we had anticipated. Mom and Amy want you to help her getting some girl things. I’m just here to learn about how wives shop so I can be prepared.”

As Joe finished his very mature announcement he looked over to the lingerie area, and there were two slack jawed classmates of his. They had obviously been close enough to hear the conversation. They were both members of the cheerleader clique, and there were bets as to which one of them would bed Joe first. They would never have the chance. Before the Esterházys and Amy left the store, the word was out that Joe was engaged and had knocked the girl up. No one knew who she was, and most assumed she was from Eureka.

The rumors were particularly malicious, and some eventually evolved into the story that Joe had raped some girl and was going to jail for it. There were at least a dozen versions of the story out there by the time Joe arrived at school the Monday after Easter. He didn’t much pay attention to the hushed comments that were buzzing around him as he made his way to his first class. He was putting his jacket in the hall locker.

“Hey Joe, I hear you knocked up some Eureka slut. What’s the matter, couldn’t you get any of the McKinleyville whores to go to bed with you?”

Joe turned slowly to see one of the school’s trouble makers grinning a misshapen grin at him. Joe played football, baseball, volleyball and basketball for the school and Amos Luster, who thought he was God’s gift to athleticism, had always had to take second or third position behind Joe. He would complain about favoritism due to the fact Joe’s parents were highly respected college professors. The bottom line was that Amos, although not bad as an athlete, refused to train properly and didn’t take to coaching very well. His father owned a local bank, and if there was any favoritism, it was definitely being paid towards Amos.

Joe was known for being exceptionally cool under most circumstances. He never lost his temper on the field, and more than one opposing player had taken a cheap shot at him trying to knock him out of the game. Quite a crowd had gathered around the two and they were expecting a fight.

“Excuse me, Amos, what did you just say?”

Amos was feeling very cocky at this point and was swaggering a bit. “I said your girlfriend is a cheap whore and that the only way you were ever going to get some cunt was to find some whore that would be willing to fuck your queer ass.”

Amos was on a roll, and his swagger increased as he nodded to a couple of his cronies. What happened next was very fast, and at first, several of the observers thought Joe had taken a swing at Amos. However, Joe’s hand stopped just below Amos’s chin. Now, Amos was no thin man. He was about five-ten and 180 pounds, and Joe proceeded to pick him up by the front of his shirt with the strength of his right arm. Adrenaline probably had something to do with it. There was no mistaking the words that Joe said, and there was no mistaking what transpired after that. Several students caught it on their cell phones.

“Amos, I don’t know where you heard that; however I am going to make myself very clear. If I ever hear you or anyone else say anything like that about my fiancé, or anyone else for that matter, I will rip your arms and legs off and feed you to Big Foot. I am not going to ask you to apologize because I know the meaning of that word is not present in that dope soddened brain of yours. I am going to have a wonderful life ahead of me with the woman I love. I know that whole concept is beyond your comprehension.”

Still holding Amos by the front of his shirt, he lifted him up to a coat hook on the inside of the door of the upper locker, and hung him there by the strap at the back of his jacket. Amos started to kick at Joe, and Joe grabbed both of his ankles in his massive hand.

“Amos, maybe you don’t get the picture here. If you try to kick me, I am going to hit your balls so hard that your doctor will think you have goiter. Now, just rest there for a while and maybe someone will get you down. I have to go to class now.”

Joe gathered up his books and turned. There were several cheers; however, most of the crowd was struck dumb and they silently parted for him. Joe looked up to see the Vice Principal, Mr. Arthur Benedict, standing there. “Joe, let’s go down to my office and talk. I heard some things over the holiday and I wanted to talk to you about it anyway. You can afford to miss class.

They made their way to Mr. Benedict’s office. “Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?”

“Thank you, sir. I would.” Joe was starting to shake a bit as he got his emotions under control.

“You showed some amazing restraint out there. I saw the whole thing. If and when Amos gets down, I think I’ll send him home until he can learn some manners.”

“Mr. Benedict, if that is the case, we’ll never see him again.”

Arthur laughed and Joe joined him.

“So, what started this rumor? He obviously got to you, so there must be something true about it.”

“Sir, a couple of cheerleaders were at the mall last week and they overheard me telling a sales lady that Amy and I, she’s Amelia Barrett and she lives in Willits, are getting married this summer. Amy is obviously pregnant, and I know that got the girls’ attention. Mom and my sisters were with us.” Joe proceeded to tell the whole story.

“Joe, I appreciate your candor. I’m proud of you for doing the right thing, and I bet your parents are proud of you, too.”

“Sir it’s easy to do the right thing when she’s my best friend. Had that not been the case, there probably would have been a different solution. There never would have been a different case though because she is the only one.”

“I think you’d better go to class. What are you going to do about these rumors?”

“That’s easy. I’ll just tell the truth. I was going to do that anyway, but that ass….”

“I think you were going to say ‘asshole’.”

“Yeah, I was. I was going to tell my friends first, but now I’ll just tell every class. I don’t need this crap going on. I need to get ready for college and fatherhood.”

They shook hands and Joe returned to what was left of his first period class. Amos had gotten off the hook and was nowhere to be seen. The whispers started as soon as he came through the door. “Mrs. Franske, I need to say something and I have the OK from Mr. Benedict to do it. This will take only a few minutes.”

“Go ahead, Joe.”

“I am not proud of what you saw in the hall this morning; however, there are limits to what someone has to put up with; what someone has to listen to.

“My relationship with a certain young woman, her name is Amy Barrett, has really been no one’s business but mine and our families; however, two people saw us together in the mall last Wednesday and overheard a conversation. I wish that those two’d had the decency to have come up to me and introduce themselves to Amy and my family. They would have met a wonderful person. If they had, maybe what had happened this morning might have been avoided.” He was staring directly at the two who were sitting in the front row.

“I’ve heard the stories about me being gay and not liking women. Believe me that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve often wondered why I was being singled out when there’re others on this campus and in this room for instance who have come out of the closet and have been treated with far more respect than I have.

“Amy and I have been friends nearly all our lives. The circumstances that brought us together don’t need to be discussed here; however, if any of you would like to know more, I’ll be glad to tell you. I just never figured it was anyone’s business but mine and Amy’s. Yes Amy is pregnant and the baby, a little boy, is mine. Yes, he was an accident, but we love our accident. We have intended for many years to get married after college, and I guess we still could have waited; however, we decided we would wait until school was over this year. The main reason you haven’t seen us together is that Amy lives three hours from here.

“I am certainly not the first person in this school to have sex with someone, although in our case I would prefer to call it making love. If you took notes in the locker room and other places on this campus, at least 95% of the male students have, and unless there have been several miracles of late, several of the female students have, too. There’re at least two seniors who are married. They never had to endure what was being spread around about Amy and me.

“So, what was it: jealousy? I’m not sure. Is someone mad at me because I wouldn’t date her or go to bed with her?” Again he stared at the two in the front row. “If that’s the case, then that person or those persons better have a serious introspection. Why would anyone want to date anyone like you? I don’t care if you are the best looking woman on campus. It’s what’s between the ears that matters.

“As we get older, we will change. Our physical abilities will wane and our good looks will need more and more help. Inside, Amy will always be Amy, the person I love. As far as the people who did this, maybe they will change; however, I doubt it. When their outer beauty goes, there will be nothing left to love. I feel sorry for you because you have nothing to live for. What a tragedy.”

And that was the way it went for the rest of the day.

Mr. Benedict called for a meeting of the cheerleaders, and met with them after school. First he told them what he was going to say was intended for only two of them; however, as the two had not been identified, what he had to say would be addressed to all of them. For the next 30 minutes he gave what would be called an old fashioned ass chewing. He held little back. The fact was, the two guilty parties had contacted all the cheerleaders, and there was not one person there who had not been guilty of passing on the malicious gossip.

Over the next few weeks, Joe received a number of apologies. He never did receive one from Amos. Amos Luster was killed that summer. He was setting a shotgun trap at his marijuana farm and accidently set it off. He blew most of his right leg off and quickly bled to death. His body was found by some deer hunters the following fall. The remains had been scattered by varmints. The hunters returned and harvested his crop. They made a small fortune, and sent an anonymous letter to the local constabulary and told them where the remains were.

Joe was able to get to Amy’s graduation, and she proudly dragged the somewhat embarrassed Joe around and introduced him to her friends. He was close to his maximum height of six feet five inches and he towered over Amy. He was broad shouldered and his athletic frame stretched his shirt. Some of the girls were amazed that little Amy could have someone as handsome and athletic as Joe as a lover. She wasn’t ashamed of the fact, but she never told any of her classmates that he was just a junior.

Amy didn’t have that much stuff, and they could get it in two cars. Her parents followed them as they wanted to see where the two would be residing for the next year or so. There had been a few changes made in the bedroom arrangements. Amy and Joe now had what was the original master bedroom. Phil and Sylvia’s huge bedroom had been added to the house many years after the original construction. The old master bedroom had an en suite bath and room for the king size bed that had been recently added. There was also a bed for the baby whose arrival was to be in a little over two months.

The wedding was to be a family gathering which created some transportation problems. Getting to and from the Eureka-Arcata area was either by a lengthy automobile trip or by air. Sometimes, weather was a problem with the persistent fog and the airport might shut down at a moment’s notice. There was another transportation problem and that was the narrow, twisty Maple Creek Road. There was not ample room to park more than a half dozen cars in addition to the immediate families. They hired a bus and ferried many of the guests from Blue Lake to The Ranch and back. It was a lengthy trip of almost 15 miles each way.

The weather turned out to be perfect. The civil ceremony was in the morning, and Amy was as radiant as an eight month pregnant bride could be. She had to stand only a few minutes, and there was a chair available if she needed it. As far as the two mothers were concerned, the wedding was perfect. The guests circulated to Amy and Joe, and she was able to meet many more of the extended family. There were Essegians and O’Donnells everywhere. Fortunately they had several photographers, and they did an outstanding job of getting everyone in pictures. Amy and Sylvia would spend hours putting a physical and virtual album together.

An unexpected pleasure was that Musetta’s two adopted children showed up with their spouses and children. At first Amy wondered who the Hispanic couple and Hispanic gentleman with the Anglo wife were. When Sylvia saw them she rushed over and hugged and kissed them and then dragged them over to Amy.

“Amy, these are Musetta’s children. This is Anna and her husband Jorge Pellegrino; and this is Cecilia and Pablo Hidalgo.”

Amy got a bit emotional thinking about Musetta and all she had to go through. It was obvious she loved her adopted children, and it was very obvious they had loved her and missed her. Amy wondered why Pablo’s last name was Hidalgo, and found out that although Johnny and Musetta had adopted them, they worked it so they did not have to change their last name, and could retain as much of their Latin heritage as possible. They were now very successful attorneys and citrus farmers. Musetta and Johnny had left their children very well off.

The party wound down in the late afternoon, and the now married couple retreated to their bedroom. Amy needed a nap. It would be several years before they would take an official honeymoon. Joe looked at his beautiful little bride, with her enormous belly, and curled up behind her, pulling her to him while he cradled her enormous breasts in his arm.

Sylvia looked around as her children and some others helped with the cleanup. Her first born was now a married man. His wife was a wonderful young woman, and was going to have her first grandchild in just a few weeks. She looked ahead, thinking about her three beautiful daughters and very young son. There would be more weddings in the future; however, this was the first one and would always have a special place in her heart.

~*~

“Joe.”

“Huh?”

“Wake up. I think it’s time.”

“What? Oh, shit, are you sure?”

“As sure as I can be: not having ever gone through this before.”

Their biggest problem was the distance to the hospital in Arcata. Amy and the others had been advised that there was no reason to panic when the contractions started. It would be many hours before labor began in earnest. Everything was normal so far, and they just needed to take their time and get her to the hospital as safely as possible.

Amy woke Sylvia and told her she had several contractions, and that she was pretty sure they were the real thing. Phil drove as they headed down the mountain in the predawn light. The hospital had been notified, and the room was ready when they arrived.

The delivery was uncomplicated but lengthy, and the exhausted Amy held her little bundle of joy, Michael Thomas Esterházy, nine pounds – five ounces, and 23 inches. His hair was dark like Amy’s and his eyes were bright blue. They would never darken.

~*~

“Joe, if you ever come around me with that thing again, I am going to break it off.”

Amy was feeding Mike, and he was getting very good at it. It had taken a little while to get things started, but everything was working fine now.

“Just kidding, my love. I think I want another baby soon. We’ll get Michael out of diapers and then give it a try. The doctor says we can start practicing again in about six weeks. They did a lot of practicing.

Things went pretty much as they planned after that. Amy proved to be an excellent mother. Michael was a good baby and seldom caused any problems. Amy ran the household when Sylvia was not there and learned to be a very good cook. Persi, Demi and Helen pitched in. School took the top priority on the list of work; however, it was seldom a chore.

The girls were excellent students and participated in many school activities. Persi and Demi took after their mother and father. They were exceptionally attractive and very athletic. Helen liked sports but never had the skills her older brother and sisters demonstrated. She liked ballet; however, like her sisters would grow much too tall to be a ballerina. Helen was the domestic diva of the three. She played with her dolls and played the piano. She was not yet ten, but had caught the eyes and ears of many.

Having taken a year off from school allowed Amy to learn many skills that she had not been able to when she was living with her parents. Trish was a good mother at heart, and there was never any question that she loved her children. Her early antagonistic relationship with her parents, long since overcome, and her poor relationships and failed marriages had dulled some of her domestic skills. Sylvia on the other hand, threw herself into mothering and parenting. They involved their children in everything, and every minute was a life lesson of some sort.

The fact that Sylvia’s mother, father, aunts and uncles were world travelers was a huge benefit. The children had been to Europe with their relatives, and had once traveled as a family to Vienna prior to Patrick’s birth. Patrick would get his travel opportunities later on.

Joe and Amy both received scholarships to Humboldt State on their own merit. Joe had decided to major in physics and minor in geology. He found that his parents had probably taught him more about geology and other earth sciences than most college students would ever be exposed to. His math skills were outstanding and he felt physics was the right concentration. He wanted to teach and he wanted to teach the sciences. Amy also wanted to teach and she felt a degree in secondary education was the way to go for her.

Because they were parents of a young child with the thoughts of more in the future, life on The Ranch would not be practical in this stage of their life. They found an old clapboard house a few blocks from the university. It had been recently updated and reconfigured into a nice duplex with the intent of renting it to married students. It had everything they needed, including a laundry. They excitedly brought Phil and Sylvia over to see it and seek their approval. Phil started laughing as soon as they pulled up to the curb.

“You don’t like it?” said the somewhat disappointed Amy.

“I like it just fine. I lived here before I bought The Ranch. I’ve been told it’s haunted; however, the ghost never bothers anyone in love. I never did see or hear any ghost.”

They moved in the next week, and would spend their undergraduate years there.

~*~

Sports ability was one of the reasons Joe received his scholarship, and he immediately proved his worth. The football coach moved him to tight end, although he had the speed of a wide receiver. His upper body strength was a major reason. He could have been the quarterback for that matter. One day while at practice he made a comment about the third string quarterback’s arm. The remark was overheard.

“I suppose your arm is stronger,” said the offended player.

“As a matter of fact, it is. I’ll make a little wager with you. We’ll throw from this end zone. You can even take steps forward before you release the ball. I’ll stand flatfooted and throw it further than you.”

“So, what are we betting?”

“If I win, you can mow my yard for a month. If you win, I’ll buy you a steak dinner.”

“You’re on.”

The soon to be ex-quarterback got a running start a fired a nice spiral that landed at about the 40 yard line for a total distance of a little over 60 yards.

“Not bad. Nice tight spiral. No distance. Toss me that ball and let’s see what happens.”

Joe hefted the practice ball and checked his grip. He took a semi-baseball windup and let the ball go. Actually, his right foot left the ground and came forward as Joe followed through. The ball flew in a perfect spiral down the field. It kicked up chalk at the far goal line and took one bounce into the goal post.

“That wasn’t flatfooted,” said the chagrinned teammate.

“You’re right. I’ll tell you what. Bring your girlfriend over to our house Friday and Amy and I will fix your dinner. We can burn a couple of steaks. I’m afraid I can’t offer you any beer.

“What I think you need to do now is tell the coach you want to work out at defensive back. You have the speed.”

Had the football coach seen the performance, he wouldn’t have been too impressed. He knew Joe had an exceptionally strong arm; however, accuracy was not his forte. Sometimes he was a bit like the 400 pound gorilla on the golf course.

Someone else saw Joe’s toss and that was the track and field coach, Frank Sarbo. Sarbo approached Joe in his sophomore year. Joe was an adequate track and field man, and could usually be counted on to get points for the track team when he was in high school. He was an excellent hurdler, and could be counted on for points in the 100 meter sprint. He also was very good in the long jump, in spite of his size. Granted, Humboldt was not in a conference where the most talented participants in the individual sports in track and field would think about attending; however, they did have a good track and field program, and Coach Sarbo was a very astute coach. He saw something that no one else had seen.

Coach Sarbo called a meeting of the coaches.

“The reason I want to talk to you is that young Esterházy has something that I have never seen in an athlete at this school, or anywhere else for that matter, since I’ve been a coach. He is neither the fastest nor the strongest athlete I have ever seen; however, he has a combination of talent and abilities that I have never seen before.

“I want him to try to qualify for the decathlon in the Olympic Trials. I am going to have to teach him how to pole vault and high jump. I think he has the raw strength to qualify in the javelin right now, and as far as I know, he has never picked one up. I know he is strong enough to put the shot, and I have a feeling the discus will be like a Frisbee for him. I want him for a year, and then you can have him back.”

Joe had never considered doing anything like the decathlon; however, he was willing to try. He would do whatever was necessary to preserve his scholarship. As it turned out, he was a natural. He was far too big to be an outstanding high jumper or pole vaulter; however, he got the technique down well enough that he would be able to score an adequate number of points.

The whole point of the decathlon is to score as many points as possible in each of ten events. It is very possible for someone not to win any of the events and still win the competition. The only stickler is that one must complete and finish in every event in order to win or qualify for a medal.

The event is conducted over two days. On the first day they do the 100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meter run. On the second day, the competitors do the 110 meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meter run.

The decathlon is an excruciatingly difficult series of events, and when Joe went to the Olympic Trials, he had no idea what he was in for. Never in his life had he thought he would be in this position. He was an unknown as far as the rest of the world was concerned, and the whole rest of the world was an unknown for him.

The trials went far beyond his expectations. Maybe it was having Amy in the stands cheering him on. He had two scary moments when he had to go down to his third attempts in the pole vault and high jump, but when all was over, he finished second, and he was going to the Olympics in Moscow.

They got the money together, and Amy and Michael were able to attend the competition. He knew where they were during each event and he could see her waving while holding little Michael up as he waved a little flag. It was all the incentive he needed. He won going away, set a new Olympic and world record, and the shocker was that he missed a world record in the javelin by only one meter.

The hullabaloo was unreal. At least as far as the young Esterházys were concerned. There were swimmers and sprinters who won more medals and claimed much of the media interest; however, the story of the unassuming son of two college professors who had married his sweetheart while in high school began to capture the hearts of the American public. Many drew parallels between Joe and Bob Mathias, another Californian. Bob Mathias had won the Olympic Decathlon in 1948 as a high school student and again in 1952, setting world records each time.

The young family was in great demand for the morning TV shows, and special spots were dedicated to them on other major news spots. Of course the internet was flooded with pictures of his cute but busty young wife, and quite a bit was made of their early affair and marriage. The tabloids had electronically altered pictures of Joe doing the night scene with some starlets in New York City, and he was already being romantically tied to several well known actresses. The young couple laughed it off.

Amy was asked about the rumors when she appeared on an afternoon TV show popular with the stay at home housewives. “Yes, my husband has been involved with an older woman.” There were sympathetic groans from the audience. “It’s okay, though. In fact he was in bed with her the other night.” There was another sympathetic groan. “Well, let’s just say he was screwing my brains out.” They had to bleep the last portion; however, reading lips was easy.

They could have sued the tabloids, but just chose to ignore them. There were many benefits realized from Joe’s victory. The US Olympic Committee gave cash prizes to medalists, and Joe received an unexpected $50,000. Then there were the endorsements. They received substantially more from a well known breakfast cereal company for placing his picture on a cereal box. There were several lucrative endorsements contracts with makers of athletic equipment. Life had taken a very unexpected turn.

They had been able to get along well enough in their rented bungalow, and now they had the money to buy a small house. They didn’t have to work at their little part time on-campus jobs, and they could spend more time together and concentrate on their class work. They were able to do one more thing. They were finally able to take a honeymoon.

Joe had a great aunt and uncle in Vienna. He had met them several times over the years, and had stayed in their rather opulent home that was just off the Opernring Strasse. MJ (Mary Jane) and Franz had not been able to attend the wedding because it was the middle of the tourist season; however, they gave them a cruise on any of their river cruises. All they had to do was let them know when they would be there.

It was a fabulous trip. They flew to Berlin and boarded the boat just outside Berlin in Potsdam. They followed a series of lakes and canals to the Elbe River, and then followed the river south to Prague. It was a quiet, romantic trip. The fact they had the owner’s cabin made the trip that much more pleasant. Little Michael was staying with his grandmother (they were a mutual admiration society) and that gave the two lovers that extra bit of privacy.

Prague was everything they had heard it was. Amy had done some touring in Moscow, but this was much more fun. From Prague they took the train to Vienna and spent three fabulous days with the Ernsts.

Their return luggage contained many gifts and souvenirs for their friends and family, and they brought back the best gift of all: little (very little) Frances Patricia was firmly implanted in her mother’s womb.

They graduated together with their two children sitting on their grandparents’ laps. Joe had a Bachelor of Science in Physics with minors in Geology and Kinesiology. Amy had a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Elementary Education.

Joe had continued to participate in the sports programs and had caught the eyes of many agents and recruiters. He was the second leading scorer on the basketball team where he played forward, although he was a bit small. He had fun with baseball and led the conference in hitting. His arm was a bit wild at times but he wowed more than one crowd with his clothesline, no hop throws from deep right field to home plate. Some of his home runs were said to have never come down.

The coaching staff convinced him to continue to work on his decathlon skill after his eligibility was over. He could be seen working out almost every day after his classes. Amy would get the children and watch them as she studied. Then they would drive home together to their little house on Fickle Hill Road.

Joe did compete in the Pan American Games and was never threatened. He was also now competing in the javelin as a separate sport. His winning throw in the previous Olympics had been a matter of luck when his technique came together. Technique would always be a problem as he often tried to overpower the spear rather than let aerodynamics work for him.

They received their Masters Degrees and had been hired on the spot by the Humboldt County School District. There were no plans to move closer to the schools in Eureka where they would be teaching; at least for a while. There weren’t really too many loose ends to take care of. They had been married seven years and were still madly in love with each other. Amy was talking about more children; however, they decided to wait a while until they got their careers on track.

The Olympics were that summer and the Olympic Gods had smiled on them as the pageant was going to be held in San Francisco and the surrounding area. There was going to be a huge entourage of family members attending. They managed to get tickets for the decathlon events for almost everyone.

Joe had to go through the qualifying process, and some thought he was holding back a bit. Still, he won the decathlon tryout and qualified for the javelin. When the Olympics opened, the only question was how much he was going to win by. He didn’t disappoint anyone, and he surprised them even more. He set a new Olympic and World Record in the javelin. He then proceeded to set a new Olympic and World Record in the Decathlon. His record in the decathlon would not be surpassed in his lifetime.

He publically retired from competitive athletics immediately afterwards. In spite of obscenely huge bonus offers from all the major sports, he did exactly what he had set out to do all those years before. He became a school teacher and coach. He also took up golf where his drives were as long and wild as any seen in the area. With the help of his cousin, George Michael Essegian (actually he was Fanny’s brother-in-law), he was able to get his handicap down to single figures. His grandfather gave him a tough time on the course and Joe, more often than not, had to buy the beer at the end of the day. His grandfather still would occasionally shoot his age. George Michael would end up in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Joe and Amy were in their twenties and an old married couple. Oscar Barrett had graduated from the Air Force Academy and was now a fighter pilot. Joe had three beautiful sisters and a young brother. He just hoped their lives would be as wonderful as his was. He couldn’t see any reason why not.

~*~
Author's Note: Next time, Karen’s quest continues. She learns much more about the relationship between Persi and Clara. They take a nice walk and Clara almost takes a header. Fortunately, Karen and Persi are able to prevent her fall. Karen is slightly injured while saving Clara. Karen will meet the beautiful Helen, the youngest of the three Esterházy sisters. Helen has an interesting tale to tell and for the next two installments we are going to learn a lot about Helen and her overcoming a traumatic revelation. Helen has CAIS.

Thanks again to Holly H. Hart for her very professional assistance.

Portia Bennett

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