Molly and I stayed as all of the cattle were branded. Once the last cow moved off into the pasture, Albert Ames took the branding iron and placed it into a large bucket of water while Frank Rhoer began putting out the fire. That was mostly done with a separate pail of water and kicking some of the dirt that surrounded the rock ring onto the ashes.
"And there you go," Albert Ames said with a smile, "job all done."
"Thank you," I said politely, "it was very educational on certain things."
"Glad to be of service," Albert Ames replied, "and the brand is yours to keep... after all... it does identify which animals are YOURS. It wouldn't do me any good to run around with it."
Molly and I slowly nodded. Albert Ames returned the nod and began to move off.
"Mike, I have some other work back at my place to get to, so I'll be heading out," Albert Ames said to Michael York. The elderly rancher nodded and Albert made his final comments before moving out of the area, "see you around, George and Molly. Here's hoping the two of you are very successful out here."
"Thank you," I said politely again.
Molly and I had been managing to do fairly well. Molly had her job in the school, which despite the district superintendent's dreams of forcing her out, seemed to be fairly secure. I was doing well the the police department. We had both made friends with David Choir and his family, though we hadn't seen much of Dave lately. I had guessed that with the snow starting to melt, he was beginning to go into overdrive making sure that his vines survived the winter and would survive the coming summer. And with R.A.M. gone now, things looked relatively stable for Molly and I.
Albert Ames probably meant in relation to ranching industry, but Molly and I weren't going to argue on that now. Our move with the cattle was to insure that Frank Rhoer and his family weren't left without the means to support themselves.
"Thanks for coming out," Frank Rhoer spoke up as he came up beside Molly, "I know you two aren't all that big on ranching, but this sort of thing means a lot to a lot of ranchers. Mr. York gave you your home and has been very friendly with you two. Being here for the branding I would think reinforces those perceived friendships."
Molly and I then watched to where Michael York was headed. He had moved off and was headed slowly back toward his house for the moment.
"How's he been doing?" Molly asked after a moment.
"Pretty good," Frank Rhoer commented, "which surprises me a bit at his age... Mr. York is old enough to be MY father... yet he still managed to get a lot of things done. I have to admire stuff like that... anyone around here does, really."
"I think everyone values hard work, no matter where you are from," I commented.
"Yeah, and I saw it while in the service and on my days as a wandering "tumbleweed"," Frank Rhoer nodded, "the nature of the work changes from place to place, but everyone values hard work... but with Mr. York, it's been a lifetime of hard work. He's been involved in ranching since he was a boy, as his parents before him, and their parents before them."
"And as his daughter is and will be after him," I nodded, "though he told us the man she married lives elsewhere in Montana, and she can't afford to manage or help manage two pieces of land that are miles apart..."
Frank Rhoer nodded, "He's told Nessie, Meredeth, and I that story too since we've started managing your cattle here... It... it seems sad to me. He loves his daughter very much, but knows all she can really inherit from him are the cattle and whatever money he has, which will have to be shipped to her."
Molly and I nodded.
"But, he does like the two of you, and that's where I think he two of you coming today was important," Frank Rhoer commented, "not so much in the working of ranch itself, because he does understand that you aren't ranchers... but in the since that ranching will still go on here... I think he sees you two as his heirs among the "Old Guard" ranchers."
"But you, Nessie, and Meredeth would be running all the day to day operations and doing the work," Molly pointed out.
"Yes, but we are hired help," Frank Rhoer replied slowly, "and we won't actually earn a paycheck until the calves the four cows are carrying are big enough to sell... don't worry about it though. We've managed to save enough of Beauregard's old pay checks to let us hang on until that happens, and with a herd this small, Meredeth and Nessie can take some smaller side jobs as well."
Molly and I slowly nodded. The statement led me to believe that Molly's Uncle was a little bit better off then he had led us to believe when we had made the offer to let him work these cattle, but at that time, he was looking at no work at all. If no one hired him and there was no promise of a paycheck eventually, those savings would evaporate quickly. Hopefully, Frank Rhoer knew what he was doing and that he wouldn't hit rock bottom before we had cattle we could sell.
"So, what will you do for the rest of the day?" Molly asked.
"Mostly double checking some fences and such," Frank Rhoer answered, "We helped Mr. York's men set up a series of fences within his pastures to insure that his cattle didn't mix with yours and that when it comes time to brand the calves, we're not confused between whether or not one calf is yours or Mr. Yorks."
"I'm sure that'll make a lot of your work easier," I gave a slight smile, "and you can hold on to the branding iron as well."
"I know," Frank Rhoer gave a knowing chuckle.
"It does look good, Uncle," Molly commented, "You did a good job designing it."
Frank Rhoer slowly took one of Molly's paws and gave it a slight squeeze and then patted the top of it.
"Thank you, Molly," Frank Rhoer replied slowly, "it feels good to have you being friendly with me again... you're family..."
"Thank you, Uncle."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The return to Bandhavgarh Cabin was a quiet one for Molly and I as some of what her Uncle and told us was somewhat surprising. Michael York had been very kind to us, but consider us heirs beyond the obvious inheritance of the land was somewhat surprising to the both of us.
"It feels like we're taking advantage of him," Molly said after a few moments as we continued walking, "I mean, all we wanted to do with the land was let it go wild so it could be our private hunting preserve..."
"Even that could be viewed as taking advantage of him," I commented.
"Maybe... but now we're being expected to step into his shoes, carry on his legacy in the area," Molly commented, "Uncle Frank may be able to manage everything... but with everything going to us... we'd end up representing Michael York in everything... but we aren't of his family. I am Molly Rhoer-Wayne. You are George Wayne. And neither of us knows anything about ranching."
"We must have made a really good impression if he's doing this sort of thing for us," I commented slowly after a moment.
"Maybe," Molly commented and we continued on.
The rest of the day went calmly for the both of us. We relaxed and tried to let some of the odd things of the morning sink in. By late evening, we flipped through a few channels on television before turning it. The result ended up taking us onto a news broadcast that seemed to focus on issues related to Leona's serum.
"The country's animal people may be facing some new challenges coming very soon," the reporter announced, "the victims of the Animatrix Fun House have already faced many different problems, usually related to the denying of their sentient rights and regarding them as mundane versions of the animals they have been turned into. The best known cases of this include the still unsolved murder of one Animatrix Fun House victim in Texas and George Wayne in Montana, and his recent struggles against a conspiracy launched by a local rancher in the area, and the trial of whom made national headlines."
Molly and I sighed. Their facts were a little off. Yes, I did end up becoming an animal person, but I wasn't an Animatrix Fun House victim. I was transformed by my mating with Molly. Molly was the freak show's victim, but we couldn't argue with the television, and remained quiet.
"The latest issue is rather different, though," the reporter continued, "it comes not from humans seeking to "oppress" the country's animal-people. It is coming from people wanting to join them."
Molly and I both gasped in surprise.
"Various individuals have made contact with Leona Washburn and the Peoria Police Department seeking knowledge about what parts of the serum were available for possible injection," the reporter continued, "both Leona Washburn and the Peoria Police have repeatedly refused to even consider allowing these people to be given the serum."
We then sighed in response.
"However, these groups have recently pooled their efforts and have filed a class action lawsuit against Leona Washburn and the various government offices that have sided with her insistence on not sharing the serum," the reporter continued, "they claim that since the serum poses no significant health risk beyond the transformation, and that the people filing this lawsuit WANT to be transformed, they believe the withholding of it to be illegal... and representatives have even voiced that they would accept government control and regulation of the distribution of the serum in individual doses."
"Why would anyone want to become like us?" Molly asked softly, "we're not all that bad off... and you are magnificent, George... but..."
"I know," I nodded, "if we could both be human again we'd take it... I know... but then, we've also experienced the consequences of being as we are. The people doing this likely have not."
"Leona Washburn made a formal reply with her present probation officer in response to the filing of this lawsuit," the reporter continued as the screen then switched to a shot of Leona being hounded by several reporters. Molly and I could both tell that she was uneasy and probably fighting the instinctive urge to either fight or run away.
"The grounds for this case are weak and have little or no understanding why the serum was initially developed, and what happened that made it what it is now," Leona spoke on the screen, "I began my research on it in the hopes of curing cancer and giving humanity a strong enough immune system to fight off the various diseases that threaten to cause mass pandemics. It was never developed with the intention of creating a drug rewrites the human genetic pattern into something... not human..."
Leona paused and then continued.
"My then partner, Eugene Changes, then hijacked the project seeking to make money and using weapons... hired thugs... and whatever he could... forced the improper use of an incomplete retrovirus, resulting in my transformation from a human woman into a female African Lion," Leona continued, "and from there, my partner's crimes with the Animatrix Fun House began... and now a bunch of Furry Fans are suing me because I am not continuing to distribute this serum. Mostly because they do not understand the nature of the transformation the serum causes in people."
Molly and I both sighed on our couch.
"Because the serum uses the actual animal DNA as the blueprint of what the person injected would turn into," Leona continued, "the person would not only gain the form of the animal but also its instincts. The DNA that was used to transform me came from a male lion... and as a result, I have gained many of the instincts and urges of a male lion, despite retaining my original gender... the urge to gather lionesses... to form a pride is there... the urge to hunt is there... and to certain extent, some uneasiness among large groups of people is there. I am not merely a "human" who looks like a lion... I AM a lion..."
She then paused again and appeared to sigh.
"And there are other consequences that I do not believe these people realize," Leona finished, "they seem to think that they would merely gain the form of the animal... and beyond missing the instincts that they would also gain, they would also gain the SIZE of the animal. Suppose someone wanted to be an elephant. Taking this serum would not turn them into a human sized anthropomorphic elephant. It would turn them into an elephant sized anthropomorphic elephant, and to my knowledge, there are few human buildings that would safely accommodate an animal of that size."
The screen then returned to the reporter.
"Those filing the lawsuit have claim they could cope with such difficulties and that not everyone in their organization wishes to an animal that is too large to function in human facilities," the reporter finished, "the first court date is scheduled for a week from this coming Monday."
I had only one response to the whole thing.
"They're all nuts," I grumbled.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next day began like most days did for me. I got up early to ready myself for the day's shift at the station. Molly shut the alarm off when I got up and went back to sleep, but since it was the weekend, she didn't have to get up early. I let her sleep and quietly dressed myself and prepared my own breakfast. The news report about people suing over not being allowed to take the serum because they want to still played in my mind as I made my way into work, but at the same time, I knew I was probably going into another odd situation that was much closer to home.
Officer Jenkins was parking her car as I arrived at the station.
"Good morning, George," she said in a friendly voice as she got out.
"Good morning," I replied, "Have a good day off?"
"Yeah, caught up on my sleep and did some family stuff," she smiled, "wonderful."
"So, how goes your pursuit of happiness?" I asked half teasing.
"I can't do it," Officer Jenkins then replied, "I'm too nervous to do it... you gotta ask him if he likes me that way..."
"I can't play matchmaker between you two," I told her, "you know that."
Officer Jenkins only sighed.
"And besides, I'd think it would be a joke if someone had asked me if I liked Molly when we started dating," I commented, "and you've already told me you like him. Just ask him.... it doesn't even have to be a formal "date" date. Invite him over for dinner. It isn't that hard."
"But..."
I didn't understand how a grown woman could go on like a high schooler.
"You've already said he's a friend of yours," I told her, "it's doubtful he'll throw the friendship away because you feel something more... and you won't honestly know until YOU ask him."
Officer Jenkins only sighed nervously.
"And if you can be a successful officer here, all while raising a daughter as a single mother," I encouraged her, "certainly asking another man to dinner wouldn't be that hard... you can do it."
"You think so?" she asked me.
I slowly nodded, not knowing what else to do, and hoping this would end some of the drama that was going through my life.
"Okay," she said slowly, and somewhat hesitantly, "I'll try..."
We then made our way in to the station. Officer Barnes was already at the desk as we came in. While I went to clock in, I gently nudged Officer Jenkins forward to give her encouragement. I then listened in as she and Officer Barnes talked.
"Good morning, Officer Barnes," she said in a half formal half friendly tone.
"Good morning, Officer Jenkins," Officer Barnes responded, "everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine," she answered slowly.
"Good," Officer Barnes replied and then spoke with a little humor, "I don't know how you can remain so stoic with the desk work... a lot of it seems fairly boring to me."
"It can be... but it's still important," Officer Jenkins told him as I turned around.
Officer Barnes slowly nodded.
"Say, before Officer Wayne and I go on today's patrol, can I ask you a slightly personal question?" Officer Jenkins asked, "I promise it's not to reveal anything improper... it's just with the work of the day, I do not know if I'll get the time to ask you..."
Officer Barnes only shrugged for a moment, "I suppose..."
"Would you like to come over and have dinner with my family some time?" Officer Jenkins asked, "It doesn't have to be tonight... it'd be just you, me, Megan, and her grandmother."
"Any special occasion?" Officer Barnes asked.
"Oh... just to find out some things," Officer Jenkins replied.
"Talk with me at lunch," Officer Barnes answered, "we can schedule a night for that then."
"Sure... I will," Officer Jenkins answered with a bright smile.
I inwardly sighed, things were going well, and it looked as though I wouldn't be playing matchmaker, for the moment.