I felt heavily intrigued by Beth's revelation that her brother was another of Changes' victims. I had to admit to myself that at that time I was so focused on caring for Molly that I didn't notice what happened to the victims besides her.
"So, how has life been for him since he was freed?" I asked curiously after a moment.
"It's had its ups and downs," Beth answered, "my family was overjoyed to have him back... if startled by the fact that that freak show turned him into a gazelle or antelope. I'm not sure what specific group of animals it's in."
"I'd think gazelle because of the species name," Ahab commented, "but it's good to hear that you all still love him."
"He's my brother," Beth said firmly, "I'll love him no matter what. And it's because of what happened to him that lead me here, ultimately."
"Your brother is lucky in that regard," I commented, "Molly's whole family has either rejected her or tried to use her..."
"I wouldn't say he's avoided that," Beth sighed, "his transformation has made him into a vegetarian obviously, but outside of the our family, not many places have altered their menus to give something to eat. Half the time we've actually caught him grazing with the sheep."
"Instinctual type things," I nodded, "Molly's gone through the same things... although hers are likely different from your brother's."
"We manage, an pray every day that someone will find a way to undo what that geneticist did," Beth commented.
That was a forlorn hope that I had given up on. Leona had promised to try, in accordance with her plea bargain, but she was still certain that a cure was unlikely.
"Have you heard anything about any of the other victims?" I wondered.
"No," Beth answered, "Miles said that those who weren't asked to stick around for Changes' trial split the moment they were free to go their own way."
"This may sound out of the blue to you, too, but I don't suppose you or your brother wouldn't mind visiting Columbia Falls at all sometime?" I wondered, "Hearing you say all this has made me curious about finding out what happened to some of the other victims."
"I'll talk with him," Beth commented, "maybe we'll come out for Thanksgiving... that is if you can keep your Serengeti Girlfriend from eating him."
"Tigers don't live in Africa, they are native solely to Asia," I answered, "but I'm sure that Molly wouldn't eat him. I can assure you of that."
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Classes then continued quietly. I continued to study hard and keep myself in shape and a lot of the teachers seemed to notice this. Several of them even complemented me on it, and I took some pride in that. So much so that I occasionally mentioned it from time to time in my phone calls to Molly.
"I'm glad to hear you're doing well, George," Molly said on her end of the line, "what is your schedule for Thanksgiving?"
"We have a week off for the holiday," I answered with a smile, "I figured I'd come up for the week and will return here on the Sunday after."
"It'll be good to have you here," Molly replied, "Dave's family has invited me over for Thanksgiving diner. I was hoping to tell them you would be coming too..."
"Dave's family?" I asked.
"Don't worry, they've promised to cook one turkey with no stuffing," Molly answered.
"No, it's not what I meant," I commented, "one of the relatives of my classmates here is one of Changes' victims and they might be coming out..."
"I'm sure Dave wouldn't mind the extra company," Molly commented.
"I hope so," I sighed, "has Beauregard done anything?"
"Nothing so far," Molly answered, "maybe he had a hissy fit at something and had a heart attack."
"Molly..."
"I don't like him, George, and I'm not going to pretend like I do," Molly answered firmly.
I could only sigh, as I didn't like that man either.
"Okay," I spoke, "I'll see you for Thanksgiving."
"Go get 'em, tiger!"
I shook my head as I hung up. So far she was the only tiger in our "family".
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
By Thanksgiving, Beth had agreed to visit during the week with her brother Miles. I actually drove her to Columbia Falls and we met Miles at a gas station on the way into the town. He was seated in an old truck/sport utility vehicle, probably a Bronco, that looked like the roof of it had been removed.
"Hey Miles!" Beth called over to him.
"Hey, Beth," Miles answered from his vehicle, "this place is very different from our ranch, eh?"
"It's a pleasant change, I hope," I commented, and reached out to shake his hand.
Miles tentatively returned in. His transformation and cost him at least two fingers. The remaining two fingers and thumb were larger and sturdier then my fingers where, and the "nail" on each finger was large and sturdy enough to function as a hoof for him. It made for a fairly odd handshake, but I accepted it.
"If you follow me, I can lead you up to our cabin," I told him.
Miles nodded, "and thank you for what you did."
We arrived at Bandhavgarh Cabin later and quietly got out. As Miles got out, I did get a good look at him. He was about the same size as the average human, wearing a pair of shorts and a button down shirt. That was probably something to do with the horns on his head. I also noticed that his feet and rear legs were identical with how a Thompson's Gazelle normally was, ending in two hooves on each foot. His wire-like fur coat was arranged like any Thompson's Gazelle, mostly a tanish-gold with a white underbelly, along with white fur around the eyes and running along the top edge of his muzzle. Between the white patches and under them were patches of dark brown fur. I also noticed that his pupils had changed to the more sideways pupils that many hoofed animals seemed to have.
"I'd like to thank you for accepting my invitation," I told him.
"Well, we can only stay for today," Miles answered, "but I felt it a good idea to meet with the man who helped rescue me."
I was unable to answer, as we reached the door. It opened to reveal Molly.
"GEORGE!" she said with a big smile and despite being hunched over, lifted me into a hug.
"I take it you missed me?" I gave her a slight tease.
"Only a little," Molly smiled back, "So this is Beth and..."
I then looked around to see that Miles had fled about twenty yards down the driveway at Molly's appearance.
"My names is Miles," he spoke, "forgive me, you gave me a bit of a start."
"Don't worry," Molly answered him, "you're in no danger. It will be interesting to see what has happened to some of Changes' other victims."
Molly then set me down and motioned for Beth and Miles to enter. They calmly made their way into our living room and sat down on our couch. I sat down in a chair nearby and Molly stood quietly beside me.
"I'm afraid I really don't know about the others that Changes victimized with his scheme," Miles said to Molly, "I began my trek home almost immediately after your boyfriend here set me free."
"I didn't really do much," I said modestly.
"You were with the officers that busted him," Miles answered.
"And your dad wouldn't have busted them if you hadn't come to save me," Molly told me.
"Maybe," I managed to shrug.
"He didn't mistreat you, did he?" Molly asked after a moment.
"No," Miles said with a sigh, "at least in the sense that he kept us all alive, but if we ever talked during the "show" or tried to escape him, he had threatened to kill us..."
I felt Molly shudder.
"Then I'm glad that in my own way I could be of as much help to you as I was," I commented, "No one should be treated that way."
Miles nodded.
"And you've been herding sheep now, right?" I asked.
"With my folks, yeah," Miles nodded, "pisses of the cattlemen, but last I heard they do not have a monopoly on the land."
Molly and I nodded.
"Outside of your sister here, is there anyone special for you?" Molly asked, sounding curious, "someone to be there for you? I don't know how I would have adjusted without George."
"Not really," Miles sighed, "I haven't done much in the way of dating... though not that any woman would date a man with a face that matches the sheep he herds."
"You might be surprised," I commented, "from what Molly's told me, there are about half a dozen kids here that want to marry the "tiger-lady"."
"You teach?"
"I'm an aide," Molly answered, "but George is right. All the kids seem to like me."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The rest of the week of Thanksgiving went well. Miles and Beth only stayed for the afternoon before heading to their hotel the next day. Most of their visit was spent making various small talk, which was somewhat disappointing to me. I had hoped we'd have learned more about what happened to the others. But Miles didn't know, and it wouldn't have been proper.
Molly and I spent the next couple of days going over some long term plans. Michael York had hired some men to begin work on a garage for us, and Molly had shown me what they had done so far. They had laid a concrete foundation along with four large wooden posts.
"And how much is this going to cost us?" I asked.
"He promised it'd be cheap and his crew won't actually charge for their work until after they've finished," Molly sighed.
"You know I won't start to draw a salary until next year," I told her.
"Mr. York said he'd pay for it if it came to that," Molly said weakly.
"He really doesn't need to do that..." I said weakly.
Molly only shrugged to that. I hoped Mr. York wasn't doing anything foolish on our account, but I never got the chance to speak with him. He had gone to visit his daughter and her family for the week, which wasn't something I would interrupt. So, as Molly and I sat down to Thanksgiving Diner with the Choir family, we hadn't seen the man who had been so generous to us.
The dinner itself looked fit for a king. There were two large turkeys on the table. One with stuffing for those of us that were human, and one without stuffing for Molly. I had Dave on one side of me and Molly on the other.
"Thank you for inviting us to diner," I said to Dave, "I'm sure you've been busy with family things."
"It is no problem," Dave shrugged, "and besides, this time of year... shouldn't friends always be together."
I smiled, "and I am thankful Molly could have such good friends as you and your family."
"I'm thankful the tiger lady helps teacher Maria," Veronica said from her seat on the other side of Molly.
"And I'm thankful to have you there is Mrs. Fitzpatrick's class," Molly rubbed the top of Veronica's head.
"I am thankful this year's grape harvest went well and that Montana's Mountain Wine will soon be ready," Dave smiled.
"And I am thankful to have friends and family to have Thanksgiving dinner with," Tabby took her husband's and daughter's hands.