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Chapters 32, 33, 34 & Epilogue: Their mountain journey is about over, but their life journey is just beginning. We’ll finally find the answer to the mystery that none of the readers to date have questioned. We’ll also clean up a few things. Thanks to the faithful few for sticking this out.

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Introduction:

Chapters 32, 33, 34 & Epilogue:

Their mountain journey is about over, but their life journey is just beginning. We’ll finally find the answer to the mystery that none of the readers to date have questioned. We’ll also clean up a few things. Thanks to the faithful few for sticking this out.

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.

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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Chapter 32 – The Journey is Over or Is It Just Beginning

“Pat, I think we better get up before I stain your sleeping bag. I probably need to clean up a bit.”

Pat handed her his undershorts, and she wiped up a bit and held them between her thighs. There was a little blood in the mix of their fluids, but it didn’t seem to be too serious. He gingerly walked to the fire area, and retrieved the partially filled coffee pot. The water was still warm. He had her lie on a towel, took a warm wash cloth, and gently cleaned her. When he was through with what he could do, he gently kissed her outer lips and still very sensitive clit. Then kissed her and pulled her to him.

“Karen, I am so sorry. I didn’t know what to say to you. I was in love with you, and I was sure I had lost you. I’ve never been out of love with you, and when you showed up this afternoon, I couldn’t believe you were here. I have dreamed about you being at my side as we explored the world, and there you were. This couldn’t have been a coincidence.”

Karen rummaged around, found the thin sanitary pad and panties she had set aside, and put them on. The physical heat generated by their passion was wearing off.

“Pat, it’s getting a little chilly. Let’s get under the covers. You don’t want me to separate the bags, do you?”

She rezipped her side of the bag, and snuggled up to him. “There’s no coincidence. I decided to try to find you and ask you to go on a backpack trip with me in Olympic National Park. I probably hadn’t thought it out very well; however, your mother straightened me out right away.”

“My mother!”

“Yeah, she’s a piece of work isn’t she? She told me you would be here. I met your brother, sisters and a bunch of your nieces and nephews. I slept in your bed. I hope you don’t mind. It’s a nice bed. It smells like you.

“You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Mad about what?”

“About not letting you know about my recent condition that you so nicely took care of.”

“Other than you emphasized how stupid I was. No, I’m not mad. It serves me right. I’m a little mixed up, though, about this whole thing.

“No, I’m not mixed up. I was before. When I looked up to see who was coming into camp, I felt something and I didn’t understand it. It was in my head and gut. Now I know what it was. It was happiness settling in, and a whole lot of misery and doubt starting to leave. I love you Karen Markley. That’s what I felt. You walked into camp, and I was whole. I was just going to have to figure out how to get you back. I guess that’s not a problem, now.”

He leaned over and kissed her, and she returned it passionately. She turned a bit and backed into him. “That tickles” were her last words before she fell soundly asleep.

~*~

Karen woke as the sun was cresting the far, east ridge of the Sierra. Pat’s arm was around her and gently holding her breast. It was a wonderful feeling. Nature was calling and she slowly extricated herself from Pat’s arms. She turned, and he was smiling at her.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“I have never been better. I need to use the kitty box. I’ll be back in a minute.” As she took care of things, she checked herself out. There was no visible difference; however, there was a big difference in her self awareness. She had made love to a man, and he had been in there, and it was wonderful, and they were going to do it again and again. As she moved, she realized there was a little soreness, and as she cleaned up, noted a little blood on her pad. Blood! Shit, she was in mid-cycle. She had intercourse and wasn’t using any protection. Her first time, and she could be pregnant. Wasn’t that wonderful!

As she pulled her clothes back on, she could hear Pat rummaging around at the camp. He had the fire going, and the smoke was holding close to the ground. It smelled wonderful. It was all wonderful: the smoke, the early morning sun, the sound of the stream, the birds (Clark’s Nutcrackers and chickadees) and Pat with his scraggly beard.

“I wanted to go up to a basin to the south of here. I locate the lupine for data purposes with the GPS, and take some samples for DNA comparisons. I would love to have you come along. Maybe we can talk about things.

“How about some pancakes? It will take only a few minutes to mix them up. I have butter and maple sugar. The coffee is in the pot.”

“I would love some. I just realized that I am very hungry.”

They had to make a second batch.

It was deja vu all over again. They could have been climbing around the tide pools on the coast of California. They were a team. Each knew what the other wanted, and what the other meant. They took the path up the creek that Karen had come down the day before. About one mile from their camp there was a cascade coming down a small canyon from the northwest. The retreating glacier had left considerable soil, and the bushy Lupine plants were everywhere.

They worked the area for several hours, and by the time they had finished collecting what Pat needed they were several hundred feet up the mountain. “Let’s climb up a couple hundred feet. There’s a nice lake up there and a couple of shallow tarns. The lake has some nice Eastern Brook Trout and we can catch some for dinner.

“Wanna go up there?”

“Sure, it sounds like a neat place.”

It wasn’t a difficult hike, and it was only a matter of a few minutes when they crested a rise, and the beautiful lake was spread out in front of them.

“See that granite knoll over there? The tarn I was talking about is behind that. It’s out of the wind, and we can eat lunch there.”

They made their way across the gentle terrain, passing boulders left there by receding glaciers. The tarn was separated from the large unnamed lake by a low ridge. There was a little meadow, and they set their packs down and relaxed in the warm sun but chilly air.

It just seemed like the natural thing to do as they cuddled against each other. They weren’t seeking warmth. They were just basking in the feeling of being close to each other. They looked at the many wildflowers still hoping to be able to create seeds for the next generation. A little spit fire, Rufous Hummingbird darted in and out of the flowers, and then darted over to the two lovers, probably asking what the hell they were doing there. It checked them out, then sped off to feed its young and get ready for the journey to Central America. Fall would come quickly to this area.

“Would you like to go swimming? The water is warmer here than the creek. It’s not very deep, and the sun heats the water a bit.”

“Sure.”

Karen stood and only somewhat self consciously took off her clothes. Pat wasn’t sure that she would be game at first; however, she did not seem to be too concerned and he followed suit. As she stood, her firm, little conical breasts jutted horizontally from her narrow chest. He looked at her; he couldn’t avoid it, and thought how much she reminded him of Amy. Other than the obvious difference in bust size, they were very much alike. He had always liked Amy. She was like a big sister to him, and had been there as long as he could remember. Karen was like Amy in other ways. She was very intelligent, loved life and the outdoors. The big difference was that Amy was very outgoing; sometimes almost outrageously so; however, she was true to Joe, and like his mother, was a great friend.

It might have been that his Nordic goddess sisters intimidated him a bit; however, the truth was he found that Karen was the intellectual complement he had always looked for. And now he found out that he had underrated her greatly. She was very strong internally. He had screwed up, and she had forgiven him.

They waded out into the chilly water, it was warmer than the river, and reached a point where Karen had to tread water. Pat reached out and pulled her to him. He could feel the warmth of her body, and she could feel his. They held onto each other for a while. She could feel his growing erection, and he could feel her hard nipples against his chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him. A little hesitant at first, he quickly warmed to her.

“Pat, I really liked what we did last night, and I know it will get better. It wasn’t really fair to you to do what I did, but I had to let you know. Give me another day or two. I’m a little sore. To be quite honest, you are making me very horny; however, I think it will be a lot better for us if we wait a bit. I think I might be able to do something to help ease your pain though. Let’s go back to the shore.”

Pat did not set her down, and he easily carried her back to where their clothes lay on the rocks. He set her on a gently rounded boulder, took the towel he had brought, and gently dried her. When he had finished, he placed the towel on the edge of the rock and knelt there. His hands grasped her buttocks and he pulled her to him. Before she could comment or protest, his tongue found her cleft and parted her folds to find her hard little clit. Her hands were around his head, holding him to her. Her hips started bucking gently against his ministrations, and she would have collapsed when she came if it hadn’t been for the fact his strong arms were holding her up.

She gently pulled him up after she regained her composure and kissed him gently. “That was very nice, and now it’s my turn. You’ll have to be patient because I’ve never done this before.”

As a novitiate, she proved to be an eager amateur. She was much like Amy, she didn’t know it at the moment, and she could never be a porn star. Still, she had a good idea of what would bring about the desired results, and she wasn’t wrong. He held her like she had held him. Nothing more needed to be said.

Pat caught a couple of nice sized Eastern Brook Trout from the large unnamed lake that was a few hundred yards from the tarn before passing the rod to Karen. She rather skillfully enticed two more to take the fly, and they had food for dinner.

They didn’t hold hands on the way back to the camp, but they were linked none the less. Once back, Pat hooked up the solar charger to his phone and started to uplink his data. As soon as the data was transferred, his mother sent a text message.

“How’s Karen?”

“She’s beautiful, I love her, and we’re fine,” he texted back.

“We might take a few more days to get back than I had originally planned. I think we will go to Nine Lakes Basin tomorrow, and after a few days, on to Big Five and Little Five Lakes before we head to Mineral King. Karen and I have some things to talk about.”

They snuggled together later that night.

“Pat, what do you think of unintended consequences?”

“What do you mean?”

“I came here with the hope that you wouldn’t reject me. I wanted to tell you I loved you regardless of what may or may not have happened in the past. I had made up my mind quite a while ago that you were going to be my first, and hopefully, only lover.

“My emotions sort of took over when I decided to track you down and give myself one more chance. Well, your mother and the rest of your clan got me on the right track. It seems they knew as much about how we felt about each other as we did; however, I didn’t plan things that well, although subconsciously I might have.”

“You mean about us making love? We did make love didn’t we? At least I thought we did, and you did add a very meaningful surprise.”

“I had hoped we would make love, although I didn’t specifically think I was going to jump in the sack with you the first night I was here. It was just that the opportunity was there, and it seemed like the right thing to do. By the way, the sleeping bag I brought isn’t mine. My mummy bag is at your home. Your mother, bless her heart, gave me this one because it could be zipped to yours. She hoped we would do what we did.

“See, I didn’t plan on zipping our bags together. There’s something else. We didn’t use protection, and I am not on the pill. That’s what I meant by unintended consequences. I am at the peak of my cycle and probably have just ovulated. If you aren’t sterile, there is an excellent chance that I may be pregnant.”

“Wow! You mean you might be carrying our child right now?”

“If the egg is fertile and it implants that would be the case. It will take about a week to find out.

“I didn’t intend to trap you by getting pregnant. I just want to be with you. Your mother saw that, too. I am teaching school in Sacramento. I probably should have told you that, too. I didn’t have any set plans. I figured I would probably call you when I got my courage up. Then I decided to do this, that is, to try to get you to go on a pack trip with me. I wanted to tell you I was sorry that I walked away from you after our orals. That was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life.”

Karen paused. She had more to say. Pat held her closely. He never flinched when she said she could be pregnant.

“I was very afraid when Brenda started to come after you. Brenda is a very pretty, physically attractive woman. I knew Brenda four years before you did, and in my opinion, she is not a very nice person. I couldn’t tell you that. Maybe I should have.

“I certainly don’t have her body, she is so pretty and talented; and she is so self assured. She intimidated me. I tried to be strong, but she was stronger. I was mad. I was mad at me for being so weak. I was mad at her for stealing you away just when I thought we had something going. And, I was mad at you for falling for her.”

Pat kissed the back of Karen’s neck, and she shivered slightly.

“You had every right to be mad at me. Let there be no doubt that she is an attractive woman; however, I found out that you have more love in your little toe than she has in that cold body of hers. She had it all figured out. From my grandmother and grandfather on down, there’re a number of accomplished musicians, composers, doctors and artists in my family. She thought I would be her ticket to get on the bandwagon.

“She came on strong, and I began to wonder what I was getting involved in. She wanted to meet my mother and father right away. She wanted to meet Gramma because she has all those Grammies. She wanted to meet my aunts and uncles. Aunt Fanny has two Pulitzer Prizes for music composition, has a Grammy for a recording she made with Gramma, and a bunch of Oscars. She wanted to meet my sisters so she could find out who to meet in the recording industry, the world of opera, and English gentry. Demi and Arturo have kinda taken the opera world by storm. She wanted to know who their agent was. I don’t think she realizes that Helen’s husband is one of the more important agents around. Maybe she does. It went on and on. She wanted to get married right away. I had never mentioned marriage, but she didn’t want to have children because they would hamper her career. She wanted me to quit my education, “Nobody wants anything to do with a stuffy botanist.”

“I began to realize it was all about her. I told her I wasn’t interested in seeing her any more, and she went ballistic. She went on and on about giving me the best sex I ever had. I’m sorry that happened, Karen. She has an undeservedly high opinion of her abilities. I said something about hoping to get back with you, and she told me you were already sleeping around with a couple of guys. I didn’t want to believe it, but those other guys that I had met led me to believe that you liked to play around and were rather promiscuous. That didn’t seem right, that wasn’t the Karen I knew, but then I would hear it from someone else.”

Karen turned around, parted Pat’s beard and mustache from his lips, and gave him a vigorous kiss. “Pat, they were all on her payroll. I’m not sure who all of them were, but Brad Bishop and Dan Shobe are her toadies. They are part of her entourage. You would have eventually found out. They are both gay, and give the gay community a bad name. I’m sure that others who came to you out of the goodness of their hearts are part of her group of camp followers, too.

“Look, I am not quite as innocent as I may seem. Before you, I had few friends and I never dated; however, two of my roommates were bi, and led me into some of their lifestyle. That’s how I met Brenda. She is very bi, by the way. I was way beneath being worthy of her efforts, and she never approached me about a relationship.

“As far as I am concerned, all of that mess is long over with. I think we both know what we want, and it doesn’t involve anyone from San Louis Obispo. I’ll tell you this: I am happier now than I have been for a long time, and I think you are, too. Let’s build on this happiness.”

She turned and spooned into Pat’s protective embrace. She was happy, and asleep in seconds. Pat thought about how happy he was, and followed her quickly into the land of Nod.

Chapter 33 – Getting to Know You

Packing up the next morning wasn’t too much of a problem. Pat was very organized about how he distributed things, and it wasn’t long after breakfast before they were on the trail, heading southwest along the path Karen had taken two days before. Karen realized her pack was considerably lighter than it had been two days before.

They passed the precipitous route she had dropped down in the rain, and eventually skirted the ‘eagle on a rock’ lake she had noted before. The canyon started closing in, and she could see a cascade dropping off a bench to the southeast. There wasn’t much of a trail, if any at all. The piles of rocks indicating a desired route were about the only thing they had to go on. Karen realized early on that Pat probably knew this area like the back of his hand as he didn’t appear to be searching for anything. He was just ‘going’.

“OK, we're going to go up that chute to the southwest. It looks bad, but it’s pretty easy. We just have to take our time.

“You can see why there’s no trail through here. It would have been a major project, and probably would been too damaging to the scenery. There’re all sorts of these unofficial back pack routes throughout the Sierras, and there’re some excellent books describing them. We passed one that goes over to Lion Lake and Bearpaw Meadows a while back. It’s real nasty. This one’s not nearly as bad. My grandmother’s been over it.

“See that ridge of black rock? That’s the Kaweah Peaks ridge. Gramma used to come up here before and after she married, and one summer she and Mom climbed all the Kaweah Peaks. It was sort of a challenge she had imposed on herself. When she was about ten, her dad and brother climbed the main peak. She painted a picture of the whole ridge. Mom has it in the Family room.”

“Your grandmother painted that? I saw it but didn’t ask about it. I didn’t realize that this was the place. So what’s that peak?”

“That’s Black Kaweah. We’ll be able to see the whole ridge in a couple of days. If the area is available, we’ll camp where they camped more than 80 years ago. I wish I had had a chance to be with her more. She was in her seventies when I was born and she was 90 when she died. Grandpa died just a few months later. I know they are together now.”

Pat was silent for a while, and Karen could tell he was feeling some emotion.

They turned up a chute filled with talus. It was basically a stairway made of three foot steps. With Pat’s help, the climb was not too difficult, and after about an hour they were at the top of the ridge. It was mid day, and the pass seemed to be as good a spot as any to have lunch.

“Has Mom told you anything about Gramma?”

“Not really. I know that she was a famous musician, and long before I ever knew you existed, I can remember hearing her recordings. I do remember someone saying that she started out as being one of the most underrated pianists of her time, but by the time she was in her fifties was probably one of the most sought after performers around. There were all sorts of things alluded to, but I didn’t pay much attention to what was being said.”

“Gramma had a birth defect, and before she was twelve, almost everyone thought she was a boy. Gramma didn’t. Some things happened, and they fixed what was wrong. She and Grandpa had been in love forever. Anyway, Gramma did that painting when she was about ten or eleven. No, I take that back. It was just before she was eleven. It’s signed Joey Beebe. Joe is named after Gramma.

“Karen, there’re so many wonderful stories to tell you. Did you meet all my sisters?”

“Yes.”

“So you met Helen?”

“Yes. Damn, I forgot to tell you. They have been approved for adoption of a newborn. It will be a five or six weeks before the baby arrives. Helen’s undergoing treatments so that she will be able to nurse. She and Jimmie are so excited.”

“I guess I don’t have to tell you about that situation, then.”

“I don’t think you have to explain a thing. She is so happy about finally being able to be a mother. She is going to be a wonderful mother just like your mother is.

“Speaking of being a mother, have you thought about what I told you about last night?”

“About the fact that you might get pregnant? If you want to have our baby, I feel honored. I thought about it months ago. I don’t want to set the world on fire. I just want to make a contribution to the discipline, and I thought it would be wonderful if you and I could work together and raise a family the way my parents have.

“If things happen and you are pregnant, then I hope we can start this family thing soon.”

Karen leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Then I guess we’ll just have to find out.”

The descent into Nine Lakes Basin wasn’t much different than the slope they had just ascended, and it wasn’t long before they entered the wide and gentle upper basin of the Big Arroyo. There were several lakes visible from the pass, and Karen wondered where they would be camping that night.

“I don’t think I want to spend more than two nights in this area. Kaweah Gap gets a lot of traffic, and we will probably see quite a few hikers once we get to the main trail. There’s a pretty nice camp below that lake; however, we will have to use our camp stove. There’s not enough wood around here for fires. It’s early enough that I can get the data I want in this basin today, and work a couple of the side basins tomorrow. We’ll go on to Little Five Lakes the day after.

“When I finish with the Nine Lakes Basin, I’m through for this trip. We’ll come back and finish the upper Kern River next year.”

He stopped talking for a moment, realizing the assumption he had proclaimed. “Would you come back with me next summer?”

“Of course; however, I may have a nestling to take care of. If we can figure out how to take care of the diaper problem, I am all for it.”

“You’re right. That would complicate things a bit. I think that I didn’t get into the back country until I was about three. Well, I might just have to do that part by myself. I’ll just have to work it out.”

They started the surveys of the areas Pat had designated, and by the time they were through, the sun was settling over the peaks to the northwest.

They found a good campsite in a grove of stunted Lodgepole Pines about a half mile below a fairly large lake. They had been following a major trail since the lake, but hadn’t seen any packers.

It had been a pretty full day, and the dinner meal was welcomed. Their camp site had absolutely no appeal. They were essentially out in the open, and there was no privacy; however, they had no choice.

Karen knew she wanted to make love with Pat again and soon. There were, however, some issues. She was still a bit uncomfortable about making love. It wasn’t an emotional thing. She knew what she wanted to do; however, she knew she probably would need another day or two to heal. The other thing was the total lack of privacy in this area. She could never be sure that someone wouldn’t show up at just the wrong time. She wanted to have some very private time with Pat so that she could really express herself without the fear of interference. It might have to wait for a day or two more.

They spent the next day surveying the areas Pat had designated, and finished by mid afternoon. They did see several groups of back packers once they returned to the main trail. Most were heading for the Kern River and Mount Whitney beyond. Some were returning from the same general area. One group of four was on their second day out, having spent the night before at Bearpaw Meadow. The area was definitely getting too crowded.

“You know, Karen, I have just about had all the fun I can stand around here. Let’s pull up stakes tomorrow, and head down Big Arroyo. I have a spot in mind that will probably be a bit less crowded.”

A bit of a chill was gathering in the flat valley, and they sat close together, drinking some hot tea as the last of the light faded in the west. They noted several satellites tracking across the starry background. There were also several meteorites that zipped what seemed like just a few inches before they expired. There was one that was quite bright and shown a white-hot, almost bluish tint. They tracked most of the way across the black dome before it exploded into several pieces that gradually faded as they descended toward the earth.

“I wonder if any of those will make it to the ground,” Karen mused.

“Grandma and grandpa used to talk about a big one that they saw when they were about ten years old. Gramma was camped down the way at Forester Lake, and Grandpa was in southern California. There was a rather large meteor that tracked from north to south, and it impacted in Baja. The scientists found several large chunks. Gramma made sure we saw them when they were on display at a museum. It seems that she and Grandpa both made a wish, the same wish, on it, and they maintained it came true.

“They wished that they would be best friends forever. That was a tough time for Gramma. Of course the wish came true, and they maintained that because they made the same wish at the same time on the same falling star that the effects of that wish have been passed on from generation to generation. There has never been a divorce in this family since that generation; not even close. There have been a lot of weddings.”

“So, do you think that wish is working on us?” she asked as they slid into the sleeping bag.

“It must be. I kept wishing that you were with me, and here you are.

The hike the next day was quite easy. After only a few miles they left The High Sierra Trail, crossed Big Arroyo, and made a switchback ascent to Little Five Lakes. From there it was only a bit further around the shoulder to Big Five Lakes. The area was nicely forested and very peaceful. They hadn’t seen anyone since leaving the Nine Lakes Basin. That solitude was not to last.

As they rounded a large granite boulder, they met a National Park Ranger who was sauntering along the trail toward them.

“Pat, you scraggly Q-tip, what are you doing around here, and who is this lovely young beauty?”

They shook hands and exchanged shoulder slaps.

“Barry, this is Karen Markley. We were graduate students together at San Louis Obispo.

“Karen, meet Barry Lloyd. We were roommates at Humboldt.

“So, you tied on with the Park Service. What are you doing back here?”

“I’m bivouacked over at Little Five. I get to spend the summer here and check on the visitors. I basically monitor the Big Arroyo and Chagoopa Plateau. I have a couple of horses and a mule corralled by my camp. I just felt like walking today.

“If you are going to Big Five, you’ll have the area to your selves; unless some back packers come over from Spring Lake or Lost Canyon. There’s plenty of wood, and the Golden Trout are in good shape.

“Come on by and see me if you get back to Little Five. There’re some huge trout in Marie Louise Lake. I think I’ll leave you two alone. Nice to meet you Karen.”

Barry watched the two walk leisurely out of sight, then pulled out his satellite phone.

“Ira, I just ran into them between Big and Little Five….

“Yeah, she found him, and I would definitely say they are very happy. It’s about time he found someone….

“There’s nobody over there right now, and there’re plenty of camp sites.

“Good. So, his family knows already. I’m heading back to camp. Mary said she was going to fix something special tonight. I think we’ll invite them over for dinner in a couple of days. I don’t think Pat knows that Mary and I are married. We were all classmates at Humboldt.”

The upper four Big Five Lakes are relatively close in altitude, and the biggest of the five offers some nice camp sites. The lake is accessible from three sides. On the fourth and south side there is a massive granite cliff that thrusts a thousand feet above the water. The trail led the two through a very pleasant Lodgepole Pine forest, and brought them into the center of the north side of the lake. Pat had a special spot in mind for their camp site.

“What do you think of this for our camp?”

‘Our camp, he said our camp.’ “I think it’s perfect.”

Pat had led her to a spot a few hundred feet from the lake. There were giant granite boulders scattered about; left by the receding glacier that had carved the lakes 10,000 years before. They made the walls to a room open to the sky above. It was a very comfortable place, very cozy, and very private. It took about 20 minutes to put together an ideal campsite. There were several fallen dead trees close by, and firewood was not a problem.

“Let’s get some fish. You get to catch them.”

The upper three lakes teamed with small Golden Trout that eagerly attacked a well presented fly. Karen had not fished much before she met Pat; however, she was a natural at fly fishing. There was just something about it that felt right to her. She thought the small trout were spectacularly beautiful, and almost regretted catching them. Pat assured her that there was no problem with catching them, and that there were plenty available to assure the population wouldn’t be affected by what they caught.

~*~

“How soon before you think we can do that again?”

“I take it you are OK?”

“‘OK’ wouldn’t begin to describe how I feel right now. It doesn’t really matter whether ‘it’ happened or not. I am with you and you are with me. That’s all that matters right now. The fact that you curled my toes so far back that I may not be able to walk for several hours is an added bonus. My God, that was good! I think you are very good at what you do. I don’t need to run any comparative studies here.

“Hold still.” He did and she slapped at his side.

“Got her. Boy these mosquitoes are big. I think we need to get under the covers before we need a transfusion. Why are there mosquitoes around here? We haven’t been seeing them before.”

“It’s that lake back there. It doesn’t have any fish and there’re all sorts of things living in there because of the lack of predation.”

“Why don’t they put fish in it?”

“They tried, but the Golden Trout can’t survive due to the lack of spawning areas. Eastern Brook trout probably could, but if they got into the other lakes, they might crowd the Golden’s out. So they just leave it barren to protect the Golden Trout population. They haven’t hybridized with the Rainbow Trout and will be a source of a pure subspecies if they ever need them to restock another watershed.

“Enough of that; what do you think about this?”

“Oooo, that tickles.”

“How about right there?”

“That tickles, too. Don’t stop”

“How about here?”

“That’s nice. Hmmmm.”

“You’re wet.”

“I know. Why don’t you try -? Oh, yes, just like that.”

“I think this goes here.”

“Yes, right there. Further. In please. Oh, yes. Right there. More. Oh, God! Shit! Keep doing that.”

“You are so tight.”

“I know. Isn’t that nice?”

“Yes, but it’s you that matters. Is this OK?”

“Oh, yeah. Keep doing that. Jesus Christ, here it comes again. Oh, fuck meeeee!”

The next few minutes were punctuated only by their motions and breathing. Karen was exhausted, having come twice. Pat finally came, and held her close to him. Twice in a little more than an hour was quite an accomplishment, in spite of what all the porn novels said was possible.

The next morning they bravely took a swim in the shallow cove that was close to their camp. The winds were light and they just lazed around the camp for a while. It was a bit after lunch when they heard a horse approaching.

“Hey, you two decent up there?” It was Barry Lloyd.

“Sure, come on up, Barry”

They could hear him dismount and doing whatever was necessary to secure the horse. Soon, he appeared around the edge of one of the large boulders.

“Well, this is certainly cozy back here. The only reason I found you was your tracks down by the lake. Water cold enough for you?”

“Actually, it’s perfect; for Golden Trout, that is. What brings you over here?”

“I’m supposed to make my rounds of all the major areas at least once a week, and I thought I would drop by to see if you were getting along ok. Besides, Mary insisted that I invite you over for dinner. She wants to meet the lady who finally lassoed Pat.”

“Mary, Mary Round?”

“Yes, but it’s Lloyd now. I think she’s hungering for some female companionship. There haven’t been a lot of packers coming through here the last few weeks. Why don’t you come over around four or five? That way there will be plenty of light for you to come back by.”

“We’d love to,” Pat said as he glanced at Karen who nodded her assent.

Barry headed up to the head of the valley, and they heard his horse pass going the other way about an hour and a half later.

Karen noticed that Pat seemed to be a bit distant during the day. He would sit and stare at the massive reddish peak across the Big Arroyo.

“You seem to be a bit thoughtful. Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. In fact everything’s right since you showed up. You have very pleasantly distracted me this last week, and I forgot that I had something else to do while I was here. I have some folks to say goodbye to. I meant to say something about it earlier, and I just kept putting it off.

“How do you feel about climbing that peak over there?”

“You mean that big one? That’s Mount Kaweah, right.”

“That’s the one.”

“Pat, I said I was going where you were, and if that’s where you are going, I’m going with you.”

“I was tasked with a mission by the family when they knew I was coming up here. Just a second, I have something to show you.”

Pat opened up a side pocket on his back pack and retrieved a sheet of paper. “This was taken back in 2015. Mom was five. Grandpa carried Uncle Matt. There was a whole bunch of the Beebe and O’Donnell clan up there. That was right after Johnny Gigliotti and Great Grandma Musetta got married. They were on their honeymoon then, but I know they climbed it a few years later. It’s sort of a rite of passage with the family.”

“My goodness, that picture was taken 61 years ago. I didn’t realize your parents were that old.”

“I don’t believe they think about it much. They’re in pretty good shape and longevity seems to be something our family members have. Great Grandfather O’Donnell had Alzheimer’s and lived to be 87. Gramma and Grampa O’Donnell were 90 when they passed away. Gramma’s folks were both in their 90’s and her brother was over 90 when he died.

“Anyway, I have a task. I have Grandpa and Gramma’s ashes; actually about half of them, and I’m going to scatter them from the top of the mountain, weather permitting. I don’t think the weather is going to turn, and would like to do it tomorrow. The worst part of the climb is going down into Big Arroyo and the first thousand feet or so on the other side. The rest of the climb is just boring and long, and the top’s a little over thirteen-eight.

“Let’s head on over to see Barry and Mary. By the way, Mary is black, something you probably won’t miss. I just wanted to let you know. They had some trouble up at Humboldt. Some of the folks still have some issues up there. I’m glad they got married. They suffered a lot of subtle abuse. But they had a lot of friends, and still do, I imagine.

It was a very gentle walk back to Little Five Lakes, and the ranger outpost had a pleasant location near the second lake. Mary was doing some chores, and had just hung some laundry to dry. Mary was tall and slender, except for a rather prominent ‘bump’.

She waved as they approached and Karen could feel that Mary was appraising her.

“Pat, what a surprise” She gave him a big hug and a not too sisterly kiss. “And this is the lucky lady?”

“Mary, this is Karen Markley. We met at UCSLO two years ago. There was a little misunderstanding, totally my fault, and Karen took it on herself to find me up here and let me know that I was forgiven. I’m a very lucky guy.”

“Karen, this is certainly a pleasure and I must say I’m a bit surprised, having met Pat’s sisters. I expected you to be another Amazon. Instead, you are just this cute little bundle. I have a feeling you are very strong on the inside. Wow! Imagine coming all the way back here to find this unkempt so and so. I know this, if his mom and dad told you how to find him, they must think a lot of you.

“Oops, I think I may have said more than I should have.”

“You sure did,” said Barry as he came up behind his wife, and encircled her in his arms. “There isn’t a Park Service employee around here that doesn’t know about you two.” Pat and Karen were blushing furiously. “They kept an eye out for Karen, and told everyone to leave you two alone, unless there was a problem, of course.

“Karen, they have your rain slicker. You can pick it up at the station. Now, how do you two like your steaks cooked?”

“Steaks!”

“You bet. They brought our supplies in the other day, and there was this freezer chest with some very nice steaks packed in dry ice. We’re going to have to eat them, because they are just about thawed out, and they won’t keep. I seem to have a bottle of wine to share, too. Mary’s not drinking, though. Our daughter will be making an appearance in October.”

“In that case, I’ll probably forego the wine, too. Nothing’s definite, but I think I may have a passenger, also,” Karen said as she pulled Pat to her and gave him a kiss.

Mary had graduated with a degree in forestry as had Barry. When they applied together for a job with the National Park service, the Park service was more than happy to hire them. It worked out perfectly as Mary could stay at the camp, and Barry would check on the more remote camping areas. He seldom had to be out overnight, and neither of them was much worried. Mary wasn’t carrying a weapon at the moment, but she had one, and would wear it if Barry was not in the camp.

Barry had been exaggerating about the steaks spoiling. They had a small propane operated refrigerator, and the freezer section could adequately keep things cold enough for a while. The park service had private packers under contract who kept the seven outposts supplied during the summer.

After a very enjoyable dinner, they sat around and talked about their past school experiences. Barry and Mary had taken classes from both of Phil’s parents, and commented on what ‘hard asses’ they were. Mary said it with a wink because what it boiled down to was one didn’t go to either of the Professors Esterházy classes and not go to learn. They were known world-wide for their expertise in habitat restoration, and they had a wealth of experience and knowledge to share.

Humboldt did not have a doctorate program; however, if one intended to get a doctorate somewhere along the way, Humboldt would lay an excellent foundation. There was a bit of a problem for Pat, though. As much as they tried to avoid it, he had to take classes from both of his parents, and he caught hell for it from the other students. A solution was difficult; however, there were several times that he took oral exams, in addition to the written examinations, from other professors who taught the same courses just to assure everyone that he didn’t have access to the test material. That was one of the main reasons Pat went to the University of California at San Louis Obispo for his masters program. His degree would not be questioned.

~*~

“That wasn’t too bad a climb, was it?” Pat asked as they did a 360 and took in the scenery. There wasn’t a higher mountain for many miles. They looked across the deep groove carved by the Kern River to the spectacularly jagged ridge of the east side of the Sierra Nevada.

“Which one is Mount Whitney?” Karen asked as she shaded her eyes from the glare.

“Fortunately, it stands out pretty well. It’s that highest point right there,” he said pointing vaguely to the east. “There’re 12 peaks in the Sierra ridge that are over 14,000ft. Mt. Muir and Mt. Langley are the only peaks south of Whitney that are over 14,000ft. The only peaks outside the Sierras over 14,000 ft in California are Mt. Shasta and White Mountain. I think there’re over 50 in Colorado that are 14,000 feet or higher. Most of them are pretty easy climbs.

“Okay, let’s see how much history has been saved up here.” There was a small pile of rocks on the highest point, and Pat carefully removed several flat rocks and set them aside.

“Wow, someone has gone to a lot of trouble.” He pulled out a steel box and snapped it open. Inside were several dozen notebooks of varying ages and sizes. Someone had carefully secured each with a twist tie and added a label.

“Oh my, they’re still all here. Look, here’s my great grandfather Andy and Great Uncle Pat in 1988. Grandma Jo didn’t climb it that time, but she did climb it a bunch of times. Here’s 1959. Look at this. This guy climbed it every year on Labor Day until he was well in his 80’s.”

Pat sorted through the journals until he found the one he wanted. “Here’s the time that this picture was taken. I’ll put that in here. Look, here’s the first time Mom and Dad and all the kids climbed up here. I was four and made it up here on my own. Dad carried me back down for quite a ways. We were camped down there by Moraine Lake that time.”

The wind was gusting pretty strongly, and Pat found a stub of a pencil that was hardly serviceable. He reached into the knapsack and pulled out a bundle of pencils and a small sharpener. Karen had taken the stub of a pencil and was making an entry in the most recent journal. Pat looked over her shoulder as she wrote.

Patrick Esterházy, Karen Markley and unnamed passenger, 8/19/2076. We are the fourth and fifth generations of this family to make this climb since 1988. We leave the ashes of Congressman Michael S. O’Donnell, Medal of Honor Recipient, and the ashes of Dr. Josephine O’Donnell, Physician, Musician and Humanitarian. They will never be forgotten. We hope we can do as well as they did.

Pat read the words, and turned away. Karen could see he was crying. She stood on a rock, pulled Pat to her, and just held him tightly. The sobs gradually subsided, and they went to his knapsack. He pulled out a small flask and motioned for her to hold it with him. He opened it and they turned it over. The contents disappeared into the wind and the Kaweah Basin below.

They secured the journals in the box, covered it with the rocks, and started the laborious trek back to their camp.

“Pat, you said those were only half of their ashes. Where are the rest?”

“They’re going to Mars. Amy’s brother is taking them. Just don’t tell anyone.”

“Oh my!”

“He convinced the powers that be that they needed some actual cards rather than just computer card games. Their ashes were incorporated into several decks of magnetic cards, and they will be on the trip. I don’t think they are the only ones. Gramma and Grandpa had a lot to do with the landing ship being named the ‘Robert A. Heinlein’. It’s only right.”

They spent the next few days just lazing about, fishing, swimming, making love and taking pictures. They had lunch with the Lloyds on the day they decided would be their last full day in the area. After lunch, they made the short walk up to Lake Marie Louise where Pat caught and released a couple of huge rainbow trout. That night they made love under the stars. There was no doubt they had reached a very deep understanding of each other. Maybe it was just a reconfirmation of what had developed the year before and then had been almost destroyed.

The hike to Mineral King by the main trail was a two day hike for many. The backpackers’ route they took was much shorter. It was shortly after sunrise when they finished breakfast, packed the last of their baggage, and took one last look around their camp. They would be back.

They took the gentle walk to the back of the basin and the gentle climb to the saddle separating the headwaters of Cliff Creek and the Kaweah River basin from the Big Arroyo/Kern River basin to the east. The view was spectacular. Spring Lake, on their route, lay a thousand feet below with its two much smaller companion lakes. Off to the left was Cyclamen Lake in its deep pothole and spectacular cliff rising more than a thousand feet. Above Cyclamen Lake was the much larger Columbine Lake. The lake itself was not visible; however, the towering needle of Sawtooth Peak peeked above the ridge.

The descent to Spring Lake was relatively easy, and then they had to make up the altitude they had just lost to climb Glacier Pass. The rocks changed from the gray/white granite to russet browns as they made the climb. Finally, the Monarch Lakes basin lay below them, and they had only a three thousand foot drop to the Mineral King Valley. They made excellent time, and it was very early in the afternoon as they walked off the last of the slope to the lightly tarred surface of the Mineral King Road that was basically unchanged in over 100 years.

Pat never questioned why Karen walked beside him as they made their way to the second parking area a half mile away. There were still a few private cabins in the area that had not yet been wiped out by the snow avalanches that the area was prone too. By agreement with the Park Service, once a cabin was destroyed, the land reverted to the park service. They could hear the sounds of children playing as they crossed the small bridge over the East Fork of the Kaweah River, and there were several children climbing on a large boulder at the side of the road.

Two hundred feet more, and they were at the parking area. There were a dozen or more cars, most belonging to day hikers. They stopped at Pat’s car, and he slid his pack off. “Where’s your car? I don’t see it. Did you get a new one?”

“Oh, it’s not here. It’s at Wolverton.”

“What? I thought you said your car was at Mineral King.”

“No, what I said was that I was going where you were going. We can get my car on the way back. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Wolverton. Wow, you made the climb out of Lion Lake. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“With everything going as well as it did, I didn’t see any point in it. I was going where you were going, and my car was a moot point.”

“Obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly. For some reason I thought you came up the Kern River, but that would have taken you days.”

“Your mom, dad and I went over the options, and figured Lion Lake was the quickest way to get where you were. That was a fun hike. So here I am. Can I get a lift back to my car?”

Chapter 34 – The Trip Home and Some Questions Answered

They didn’t have any choice but to make the precipitous 25 mile trip down the East Fork of the Kaweah to Hammond, make a sharp right turn on California 198, then back up the mountain through Giant Forest to Wolverton.

Karen’s car was fine, and there was no need to transfer her things from Pat’s car to hers as they would be travelling together back to his parents’ home. It was late, and after picking up her rain slicker they headed for Fresno to spend the night in a decent motel. A hot shower was in order. The skinny dipping had been adequate and fun; however, there was nothing like a hot shower to ease the tired muscles and get rid of that last layer of trail dirt. It had been a very long day.

The sun was close to setting as they pulled into the nice motel. It was still hot on the valley floor, and the temperature was hot in the spacious room. The efficient room air conditioning soon brought the temperature down to a comfortable level. They had stopped down the road from the motel, picked up a six pack of imported beer, and now were lounging, just basically vegging out for a few minutes while they downed the pleasant brew, the first they’d had in a long time.

Karen set her empty bottle on the table, walked to Pat and grasped his hand. “Let’s get a shower and get rid of some of this trail dirt.”

She started removing her clothes and let them drop haphazardly on the floor. Pat followed suit while enjoying the view of her pert little breasts that defied gravity. The hot shower welcomed both of them, and they proceeded to use most of one of the motel-supplied bars of soap. The bottle of shampoo didn’t last either.

The close quarters and warmth had left them both aroused; however, they needed to get to a restaurant before it closed for the evening. There would be plenty of time for love making later on.

There was a nice chain restaurant a short walk down the street. The steaks were excellent, and the bottle of domestic wine on top of a margarita left both of them feeling pleasantly warm and looking forward to some time exploring each other when they returned to the motel.

This was the first time in quite a while that they could be close to each other in a civilized area. As they made their way back, Karen reached around Pat’s waist and pulled him to her. His arms pulled her shoulder to him, and they walked slowly joined at the hips and thighs. It may have looked a little odd, his towering over her by more than a foot; however, they were in love, and it didn’t matter one bit. Karen never again felt insecure because of her physical stature.

They undressed each other at the side of the bed, but were a little more careful in hanging their clothes this time. Karen eased under the cool sheets. Pat started to join her, but then excused himself to go to the bathroom, and turned out the lights on his way. Karen had turned on the local classical music station, and found herself drifting off to sleep. Her last thoughts were, ‘Why is he taking so long?’

She awakened as the bed shifted under his weight.

“Did you fall asleep in there? I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”

“No, I just needed to take care of something.”

He gently pulled the sheet from her, and she anticipated his kiss. He kissed her; however, it was not where she expected. He gently spread her thighs, and eased into her little cleft with his tongue and lips. His nose pressed into her softly furred mound and his tongue sought and found her clitoris and brought it to full attention. Her orgasm crashed through her before she was even aware she was on the way. Her little hands grasped his head and held him to her as the waves receded.

“My God, that was good. No one ever did that that well before.” Then she realized she may have said more than she should have. It didn’t seem to bother Pat in the least as he continued to bestow gentle kisses on her pouting nether lips. Her hands gently caressed his face.

“Pat! Your beard! You shaved your beard.”

“Well you said it tickled. I was getting tired of it anyway, and it gets in the way of what I would like to do a lot of for you.”

He raised and came forward, kissed her, and gently eased his considerable length into her. She groaned in appreciation and wrapped her legs around his thighs. There were no words spoken as they gradually brought each other to their mutual pleasure. She may have been small in stature and inexperienced; however, she was a quick learner, and she was in excellent condition. There was no race to the finish. They took a long time, measuring the response to each other, finally coming to a drawn out peak. It was very, very good for both of them.

“Pat, does it bother you that I am probably pregnant?”

“Not in the least. I just thank the powers that gave you the courage to find me and remind me what I knew for a long time. I love you Karen and have almost from the first time we met. I just didn’t know how to say it. Then that bitch had to go do what she did. I was so stupid.

“Pregnant or not, I want to marry you if you will have me.”

“Is that a proposal?”

“No, this is. Karen, please marry me. I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life if you don’t.”

“I don’t know Pat. Some say one should never propose after having sex. It fogs the brain a bit; however, since I’ve got you at a weak moment, I’m accepting before you realize what you’ve done.”

They were up with the birds, and had an acceptable breakfast in the motel lobby. They’d wanted to get an early start because Karen wanted to stop at her apartment in Sacramento, get some clean clothes, and check on a few things. Back in their room they packed their last few articles, and Karen ducked into the bathroom. A few minutes passed before she called to Pat.

“Pat, I want you to see something. I know what you said several times before. I had to find out. I should have started my period, and none of the signs are there. The two little blue lines on this stick explain the reason for that. Are you still okay with this?”

“Karen, I love you. This means we’re going to be parents, right?”

“Well it’s not 100% accurate; however, I don’t think there’s any doubt. You knocked me up that first night, and that is so special. I love you, Pat, and this is going to be a very special baby. I guess we have several things to tell your family.”

The morning was still cool as they got in their cars. There was the smell of freshly cut grass and alfalfa. They headed for California 99 and Sacramento, driving with their windows opened to the fresh air. Three hours later, with Karen leading the way, they pulled into the parking lot at Karen’s apartment.

“This is it. What do you think?” Karen’s apartment was a very nice two bedroom, two baths with an en suite bath in the master bedroom. The kitchen was adequate, and there was a reasonable eat-in area plus a dining area. “What do you have to live in at Davis?”

“Actually not much: there’s some housing for graduate students, and I was going to share with a couple of others. If you are asking do I want to live with you, the answer is yes - for the rest of my life. Other than a bunch of academic stuff I don’t have much. I don’t have any furniture or anything like that. It looks like you have plenty of furniture.”

“I have a lot more that’s in storage. When Mom and Dad were killed, I sold what I didn’t want, and put the rest in a mini-storage in Sunnyvale.”

Karen paused for a moment, and Pat could see she was trying not to cry. Instead of saying anything, he pulled her close, holding her tightly in his strong arms.

“That was a bad time for me. I think I was in a trance for more than a year. Then you showed up, and life seemed to become important again.

“Let me get a few things, and let’s head for your folks’ place. We can probably get there before dark, barring traffic problems.”

Many people think that San Francesco and Sacramento are close to the Oregon border, but from Sacramento via Highway 101 it’s over 300 miles to the border. It was not a high speed trip to Arcata, but they were able to get there before sunset.

A little less than three weeks before, Karen had timidly approached the home where they were now pulling up, hoping hope above hope that she might have a chance to see Pat again. Now she was sitting by his side and she was returning as his betrothed. Sylvia had been right. All Karen had to do was take the initiative to go after what she desired.

She saw Clara and Persephone’s car and a car that she did not recognize. Joe and Amy’s car was there also. Contrary to her first trip up the walkway to the friendly front door, when she almost turned around without knocking, she almost raced to get there. The only thing holding her back this time was the fact she had Patrick’s hand firmly grasped in hers as she pulled him up the steps.

She let Pat lead the way through the door and into the welcoming family room. She could see the children eating at the table in the kitchen. Sylvia was tending to them and gave a wave. Then she noted Pat’s beardless state, brought a hand to her face, and nodded her approval.

Clara came up to them and gave them both a very warm hug. “I don’t think we need a ring to know what has been going on. It’s written all over both your faces. It was about time you got rid of that beard, Pat. It was rather scraggly and you are much too handsome to hide your face like that.

“Karen, I want you to meet my parents.” She pulled Karen toward a middle-aged couple who were sipping margaritas.

“Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Karen Markley. They haven’t announced it, but I think there is going to be a wedding in the near future.”

“Karen, this is my mother, Ekaterina Rimashevskaya Titorenko. Everyone calls her Kate. It’s much easier to say. And this is my father, Maksim Ivanov Titorenko. Max is good enough right now.”

Kate grabbed Karen in a fierce hug and held her for a long time. Karen could swear there were tears in her eyes when Kate gave her an almost passionate kiss. Max too hugged her and kissed both of her cheeks. He turned to Kate and said something to Kate in what Karen assumed was Russian.

“Not yet, Dad, let’s wait until after dinner,” Clara turned to Karen. “He was saying to Mom how much you and I look alike. I think we all have a lot to talk about and dinner is almost ready.”

By this time, Pat and Karen were both sipping on Phil’s excellent margaritas. Karen had decided that a little bit of libation this evening would be okay. Amy and Persephone had herded the children off to the computer/game area where they hoped the children would play quietly while the adults had dinner.

Pat seated Karen, and then before he sat, made an announcement of the obvious. “I just want to make this official. I have asked Karen to marry me and she has graciously accepted. I should have asked her last year, but I was a bit too slow to realize how much I loved her. Mom, Dad, thank you for giving her some great directions.”

Phil had retrieved several bottles of an excellent wine from his cellar, and Joe proposed a toast to his baby brother and future sister-in-law. The remainder of the meal was spent mostly on small talk. There was a brief discussion about some of Pat’s research; however, the talk returned to more interesting subjects such as the wine and weather.

After dinner they retreated to the large family room. Phil put on some music that his mother-in-law had recorded more than forty years before. There was a plate of brie and a couple bottles of port to be enjoyed.

Something had been bothering Karen all evening long. She could swear something was going on that she wasn’t privy to. There had been a number of glances between Clara, her parents and others, and Karen was beginning to think something strange was about to happen. She was right.

Everyone was comfortable and probably feeling pretty good due to the fine wine and food. Clara was seated next to Persephone and was holding her hand. “I thought Karen would like to know a little more about my side of the family. She knows about how Persi and I got together and a bit about my mother and father and our origin. I thought it would be nice to tell her and everyone else for that matter, except Mom and Dad who already know, about our lives in Ukraine before our arrival in the U.S.

“As everyone but Karen knows, Mom and Dad are nuclear engineers. We lived in the city of Korosten which is west of Chernobyl. The population in the area was much reduced due to the proximity to Chernobyl. The Soviet Government had called it an area of ‘voluntary evacuation’. Mom and Dad were there because they were doing work at the reactor site for the Ukrainian government. We had a nice home provided by the government, and our situation was really very comfortable now that I look back on it. It was the only place I knew until we had to evacuate to Kiev and then moved to the United States.

“The reason we had to evacuate was because of the second Chernobyl disaster. The ‘sarcophagus’ surrounding the mass of radioactive material from the reactor failure had disintegrated, and the very hot radioactive material created a steam explosion that once again threw radioactive material into the atmosphere.

“There were evacuation plans in place, there were designated evacuation routes, and places to report to in the event of a catastrophe. I was in school when the alarms went off. We were quickly put on busses and driven to the assembly point near Kiev. In spite of all the planning, the situation was chaotic. It would be three days before we were able to find each other.”

Clara paused for a moment and took a sip of port while Persephone squeezed her hand. “All was not well. Somebody was missing. This is something that we have never talked about until today, and Mom and Dad have never wanted to talk about it. I had a little sister. Her name was Raisa, Rose, Maksimovna and she was not quite a year old.”

There were several gasps and Kate was dabbing her eyes with a hanky.

“Raisa was in a daycare center, and the children there were supposed to come to the same assembly point. There were three vans; however, one never arrived. It was found in Belarus a month later. Ten children were never found. The driver and the attendant were found a week later at a sugar factory in a pile of beets. They had been shot. We think the children were sold to an adoption ring.

“Mom and Dad always hoped they would find Raisa; however, there were no leads in the case, and Belarus didn’t seem to be interested in doing anything about it. They were far more concerned about the radiation cloud and residual radiation.

“When I was nine we were able to emigrate to the U.S., although the Ukrainian government was reluctant to let Mom and Dad go. For the last 20 years they have been teaching at the University of California.

“I had almost forgotten about my missing sister until a little more than two weeks ago when I walked into this room and met Karen for the first time. I think she was as startled as I was when we met. As you can see there is quite a resemblance. But for about seven year’s difference in age and my state of pregnancy, we could be twins.”

Until that point, Karen had not realized where Clara was going. “You did startle me that first time we met. I was sure I had met you somewhere before. But surely you can’t mean….? I mean… I was born in San Jose.”

“I didn’t think it was anything but a coincidence, too. However, I was given an opportunity to do a little research. Karen, were there any baby pictures of you in your home?”

“No, the only pictures are from about one year and older. There was a house fire, and all the early things were lost. At least that was what Mom and Dad said.”

“How about your birth certificate, have you ever seen it?”

“No, I don’t think I have. If there was ever a need for a copy, mom or dad would request a copy and send it to the people that needed it.”

“Well, I did get a copy. It wasn’t too hard to do. I found a number of documents that indicate you were born in Minsk and legally adopted by your parents. I was even able to get a copy of your alleged birth certificate. You were naturalized and probably never knew what was going on. The documents concerning your birth in Minsk are all forgeries. Mom and Dad have your original.”

Karen was near tears. “I don’t believe it. How can you prove any of this?”

“Karen, I’m sorry if this upsets you; however, I found out a lot more. Believe me, it’s not bad. At least I hope you won’t think it’s bad.

“How’s that cut on your arm healing up?”

“Uh, it’s fine. It healed up rather quickly. Why?”

“Karen, I’m a doctor and I have access to many laboratories and lab technicians. I had a few tests run on some gauze pads and cotton balls with your blood on them. It was very easy and very conclusive.”

Karen was so confused and openly weeping. Clara came to her, held her close, and kissed her forehead.

“Clara, why are you doing this: saying these things? I don’t understand it.”

“It’s very simple. Nearly 23 years ago I lost a sister, and Mom and Dad lost a daughter. Well, I found her.”

Still holding Karen tightly, she gently turned her toward Kate and Max, “Raisa Maksimovna Titorenko, say hello to your mother and father. They have been looking for you for a long time, and now the search is over. DNA never lies. There is a 99.99% certainty that you and I are sisters. I would say 100%, but the labs will never say that.”

By this time, Kate had her arms wrapped around her youngest daughter and was furiously kissing her. “Moya malen'kaya devochka (My little girl).” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

It took several minutes for Karen’s sobs to subside. “I find this all hard to believe. Why didn’t Mom and Dad tell me if I was adopted?”

“Karen, that’s not unusual. Many times adoptive parents don’t really know how to tell their children for fear they will lose them. That fear is usually unfounded, but it’s a real fear none the less. There’s another possibility. Your parents may have suspected that your origin was not what it was purported to be and didn’t want problems to come up if you started searching for your birthparents.

“You do know this, and it’s very evident from what you’ve told us. Your parents loved you very much. I don’t think they would have been too disturbed today if all this had been revealed to them. I know it would have been a shock, as it has been to all of us. But this is a good shock.”

Karen was once again seated next to Pat who had obviously been surprised by all the revelations. He was holding her close and gave her several soothing kisses.

“I knew something was up when Pat and I came in. I thought it might have been an acknowledgement of the obvious when Pat and I came in joined at the hip. Then I began to feel there was something else. My God, what a surprise! How many of you knew?”

“Just Mom, Dad, and Persi: I told everyone else that I had a surprise for them.”

Karen thought about the last few weeks and what wonderful families she had met. She had been pleasantly surprised about everyone’s openness and decided it was time for a surprise of her own.

“I asked Pat before and again last night how he felt about children. It seems that when I took off for the Sierra I hadn’t planned for everything. This whole thing was a bit of a desperation move on my part although I know now Pat was in the same mind set I was. It was due to some unfortunate circumstances. When we figured out what was wrong, nature kind of took over.

“Well, we didn’t take any precautions, and it didn’t really matter to me. I was with the man I loved, and I knew he loved me. I didn’t want Pat to feel I was trapping him, and I told him that the time was such there was a good chance I could get pregnant.”

She turned to Pat and looked him in the eyes and kissed him once again.

“We stopped at a store last night to get some refreshments, and I don’t think he noticed that I included an EPT kit in our purchases. I showed him the results this morning. I guess we’re going to have to plan for a wedding soon because our firstborn will be arriving in about 37 weeks.

Epilogue:

“And who gives this woman to be bound in marriage to this man?”

“Her mother and I.”

Max took Karen’s hand and gently placed it in Pat’s. He turned and took half a dozen steps to sit next to Ekaterina. They were both smiling, although Kate was already tearing up. It was a perfect wedding.

Two months ago they were still mourning the loss of a daughter who, unknown to them was growing up only a few miles away as the daughter of very loving parents. It happened so suddenly. The daughter they thought was dead and gone was back with them after more than 20 years. The lost years could never be reclaimed, but everyone knew that the years for Karen had been good except for the tragic loss of her adoptive parents a few years before.

The most amazing thing was that she was going to be part of the same family they had grown to love over the last nearly ten years when their older daughter fell in love with Persi.

Much had happened over the last two months. Karen and Pat spent almost every weekend with her parents in Walnut Creek. She was a bit uneasy at first. After all, they had not had any contact in more than twenty years. It was much easier than any of them thought it would be. After getting over the initial shock of the discovery, they found they got along remarkably well. Clara was the big sister she had never had, and conversely, she was the little sister that Clara had never quite forgotten.

Karen never forgot the love her adopted parents had given her. She often wished she could tell them how much she loved them and how much she missed them.

The fortunes of chance do strange things. Somehow she had ended up being adopted by an American family who resided only a few miles from where her real parents and sister had moved to only a couple of years after she had been kidnapped. What if she had decided that Pat was a lost cause, and had just written him off? What if Clara had found a decent boyfriend, someone who treated her right, and she had married him. If she and Persi had remained friends, maybe Clara and Karen would have met. Maybe Clara would have still figured things out. The possibilities were endless.

Karen’s story did hit the news, and it was a deliberate act on her and her sister’s part. There were nine other children kidnapped that day more than twenty years before. There were nine other families torn apart by Dmitri and Iryna’s act. The list of the missing children was found, and the families were found. Some were still in Ukraine, a couple were elsewhere in Europe, and two were found in the U.S.

The agency that had offered Karen up for adoption no longer existed. They got their money and disbanded years before. That avenue was shut forever. The authorities knew the time frame of when the adoptions would have happened, and pleas went out to parents who had adopted alleged Belarusian children during that time to come forward. Many did over the next year. The children, now young adults, were tested. Most of the DNA tests did not match; however, four did. There were a couple of instances similar to Karen’s where the adopting parents did not tell their child about their origin. There was one case where the adopted child’s parents were deceased. Over the next three years two more kidnap victims came forth. That meant six of the ten were re-united with their original families. The other four were never found.

It turned out there were hundreds of similar kidnappings throughout Eastern Europe during the time of Karen’s kidnapping. An international group took on the task of trying to find the missing children, and many cold cases were opened. A major break came when a number of clues led to Boris Gromyko who was living a life of luxury on the Italian Riviera.

Boris was connected to the murders of Dmitri and Iryna, plus several others. Part of the plea bargain with the Belarusian authorities left him with a life sentence in a miserable prison. He died of prostate cancer less than five years after his imprisonment. The good news was that information he supplied led to the identification of fifteen more kidnap victims. The search is still going on.

~*~

Joe and Amy’s family increased by two. Amy gave birth to a little girl, Mary. Both she and Joe decided that was enough, and she took measures to prevent any further conceptions from taking place. That did not end their having children.

Jake Scott died in a house fire. All evidence pointed to the fact he was highly intoxicated and had passed out while smoking in bed. Adam was in Joe’s summer school class when the word came in about the fire. Joe took Adam home that afternoon, and he and Amy got custody very quickly.

It was obvious from the beginning that Adam had been abused by his father. After a visit to the doctor, physical evidence of that abuse was obvious. Several ribs had been broken but were now healed. There were scars on his back and buttocks from being caned. Even one of the metacarpals in his left hand had been broken recently.

“Adam, how did you get these injuries?” asked the doctor.

For the first time in his life, Adam did not have to fear the wrath of his father. He was free, but he was still terrified of what people would think of him. “My father hit me.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because.”

“Because what? I can’t imagine you would do anything that would warrant something like this.”

“He caught me wearing my mother’s dress.”

“He did all this to you because of that?”

“No, he found the other clothes I had hidden.”

The doctor confided with Joe and Amy. “Adam has been abused for quite a while. He is malnourished, and has had several bones broken over the years. It seems he is a cross dresser, and it may go further than that. I think he needs some serious counseling so he can sort things out about how he feels.”

Adam’s life was just beginning.

~*~

Persi and Clara had two children each and adopted three more. The clinic was quite successful; however, they had to put up with periodic demonstrations from some fundamentalist groups that felt they working against God’s wishes. Nothing was ever violent.

What really surprised them one day was when one of the most outspoken individuals sought an appointment with them. He said God had come to him in a dream and told him that he should be listening to his inner self. After all, God had been trying to tell him something for years and he wouldn’t listen. She was eventually hired as a counselor. “He works in strange ways,” she often said.

~*~

Helen and Jimmie gradually pulled back from the full concert life. Helen became very selective about her performances. After all, they had a large family to raise.

It took a little longer than she liked, but Helen proved to be an excellent nursing mother. It took several months of hormones and determined breast pumping before her milk came in, but once started she would become what she referred to as a regular milk cow. She successfully nursed all of her infant children.

Their children were multi-national in origin and their upbringing was very eclectic. Their weekends were involved with taking their children to the synagogue, several churches and one mosque. Helen had accepted the Jewish faith and was very happy with her decision.

The family finally moved to Trinidad, California permanently. After their children grew up, Helen became the head of the Fine Arts Department at Humboldt. They started a small music academy for local artists who otherwise might not have the opportunity to work with top line artists in the music world.

Demi and Arturo would spend a month there every year providing vocal instruction. Their children loved the area around The Ranch, and it gave them a chance to practice their English.

Demi and Arturo settled in Vicenza. Their four children spoke Italian outside the Palladian mansion that overlooked the city; however, inside the house, it was the ‘language of the week’. The payoff was tremendous for their future international careers.

Their opera careers flourished and they performed for more than 30 years on the stage. They continued to do recitals right up to their seventies.

They attended church irregularly; however, they went at least on the Holy Days when they were at home. It pleased Arturo’s mother that her grandchildren went to church and had actually decided on their own to be ‘enlightened’ Catholics. None of them took it very seriously; however, they were all married in the Duomo, much to their grandmother’s pleasure.

~*~

Pat and Karen’s love never dimmed. Their first little one was ‘Raisa’. She was the image of her mother when she was young; however, she was nearly six feet tall by the time she was eighteen. She was followed by Edward, named after Karen’s adoptive father. Then followed Myrtle, named after her adoptive mother. There were already too many Michaels around, and they settled on Andrew for their second boy. Their third daughter was Klarysa.

They didn’t really have time for a honeymoon immediately after the wedding; however, they were of the opinion that the honeymoon would never end. The weekend after they married, they took the trip up to The Ranch to pick up a few of Pat’s things and spend a pleasant weekend with his parents.

It was very strange, because when they showed up at the parking area, there was a very large gray tabby waiting for them. As soon as they stopped the car, he trotted up to the car and waited for Pat to exit. It was very obvious what he was doing. He came up to Pat and sniffed his feet, then twined around his legs.

“Hello cat,” said Pat as he reached down and scratched his head, “Have you missed me?”

The cat then turned his attention to Karen, who had come around the side of the car. The cat looked at her and then gave her the same treatment he had given Pat.

He slept at their feet that night and the next. He kept them in his sight the entire weekend, never leaving the house unless they did.

They were loading the car Sunday afternoon when he jumped into the back seat, curled up on a pile of clothes, and refused to leave. There was nothing else to do but take him back to Sacramento where he lived the next fifteen years being loved and returning that love to Pat, Karen and their children. He wouldn’t let them tickle his tummy, but he loved to have his head and chest scratched.

It turned out that Karen was only temporarily burned out on education. She received her doctorate in secondary education five years after they married. She eventually became the Superintendant of Education for the Sacramento Public School System. After finishing his PhD, Pat stayed at Davis. They bought a late Victorian house near central Sacramento, and spent many hours restoring it to its original grandeur. During the summer, the entire family could usually be found walking through the higher mountains of California. There is a series of pictures taken over many years of the family on top of Mt. Kaweah.

~*~

Oscar scattered the remainder of Jo and Mike’s ashes on Mars. The return trip to earth was in doubt for a while, but they made it. He went back to start the terra forming project four years later. There had been a hue and cry about damaging the ecology of Mars; however, there had not been one study that indicated life had ever existed on Mars, much to the disappointment of many.

That had all changed. There was now a self sufficient colony operating there. Who knows what the future would bear.

Klarysa Maksimovna Titorenko = Clara
Raisa Maksimovna Titorenko= Rose (Karen)
Father – Maksim Ivanov Titorenko
Mother – Ekaterina Rimashevskaya Titorenko

An afterthought: Brenda Filzen peered at the smoldering ruins of the double-wide. She was cuffed and sitting in the back seat of the county sheriff’s patrol car. It had been an interesting but unpleasant couple of years. The roles never came. Finally, she auditioned with several of the shows in Branson, Missouri. She was picked up by one of the venues that existed parodying Ozark mountain life. She was in the chorus and sometimes had a minor part. There wasn’t much money and her boyfriend of the moment suggested a source of income that many of the local entrepreneurs existed on. They would make ‘meth’. Fortunately, for her anyway, she was able to get out after the explosion. Her boyfriend wasn’t so lucky. The rescuers had just placed his tarp wrapped body in the coroner’s hearse.

There was one fortunate result of the disaster. The baby she wasn’t even aware she was carrying would not be harmed by her frequent drug and alcohol use and would be adopted by a very loving family in northern California.

Brenda’s family refused to help her after her release from prison. When last seen, she was working the show scene in Las Vegas.

~*~
Author's Note: Next: I’m not sure what to do next. I think there is a story there about Katherine, Sylvia’s older sister. I have wanted to do a story about George Essegian; however, that will require a lot of research and time. There is a follow on story to ‘An Incremental Journey’ that is only in my head. I am also thinking about a more real life story – very short. I’m going to rest for a while. This one took a bit out of me. Thank you, loyal readers, for the feedback. It was much appreciated.

Thanks again to Holly H. Hart for her very professional assistance and Jenna From FL for posting this last part.

Portia Bennett

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