[The events in this part of the story take place before County Sheriff – Part 17.]

When Ingrid returned home, she had started to call Sean’s place home now, and she found him kneading some bread. Despite trying hard, she failed to stop herself from laughing.

“What’s so funny?” said Sean as he used the back of his hand to move a lock of hair from his eyes.

Ingrid put down her shopping and stepped up to Sean. She gave him a brief kiss and fixed the errant bit of hair. Then, after another kiss, she smiled and said,

“When I was in town, I bought some of that Sourdough that we like, only to find you making some bread, which is something that I’ve never seen you do before.”

Sean smiled.
“I normally do it at Jake’s place. I made the bread plait for Saturday Brunch, but the oven is being serviced today. Therefore, here I am beating the hell out of some flour, water and yeast.”

“Oh. So, my buying the bread wasn’t wasted then?”

“No, it isn’t, but I need to get this finished so that the dough can rise. Give me five minutes, and you can tell me all about town. Something happened because you have a wet patch on your pants legs.”

“Something did happen. Well, two things. I’ll put my purchases away and put the coffee on then, and I’ll tell you what happened.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Sean as he turned back to the kneading.

---

“Right. That dough will take an hour or so to rise,” said Sean as he covered the large bowl that contained the dough with clingfilm. Then he put it into the warming drawer of his oven.

Ingrid watched in awe. She’d wondered why Sean had such an expensive oven in his home. Now she knew. It all started to fit together. Jake had told her on that first day how Sean had changed the food that the Bar offered its clients and how it had improved takings. She knew that Sean was more skilled in the culinary arts than her, but until that day, things had not clicked.

“You like cooking, don’t you? Why didn’t you become a chef?”

“Have you seen how Gordon Ramsay treats his commis? No thanks. I could never do that.”

Ingrid managed a chuckle. Those shows had been almost compulsive viewing at times.

“Surely all chefs can’t be like that?”

“They aren’t, but you have to spend years training, and I could never last that long. I taught myself when I was a student and have carried on learning ever since.”

Ingrid knew of his distaste for things like a Big Mac or a Whopper, or any chain restaurant place. He had a reputation back in London for searching out small family-run places for lunch. She remembered hearing about a fantastic Pie and Mash shop in Spitalfields. Some of her colleagues had been and had raved about it for weeks afterwards. Ingrid had always brought a salad into work, so she wasn’t part of the ‘going out for lunch’ clique.

“There’s a notice on the door of the Bakery. The owner is retiring at the end of the year.”

Sean smiled.

“That same notice has been appearing about now for as long as I’ve been here.”

“I get the feeling that others around town think that this time he means it.”

Sean looked at Ingrid right in the eye.

“Are you suggesting that I take over the Bakery?”

“Why not? You obviously love baking, and besides, he does not run it alone. I could help out. I’m going to have to find a job sooner rather than later.”

“I don’t know. It is a big commitment and a lot of very early mornings.”

“There isn’t a rush, but I’d not leave it very long though.”

Ingrid paused. She was unsure about mentioning her encounter with Brad. In the end, she decided to tell Sean.

“After buying the bread, I went into the Café next door and ordered a Latte. I sat next to the window and was daydreaming. The next thing I knew, Brad Mortensen came and sat opposite me.”

Sean smiled.
“Let me guess, he asked you to shack up with him… again.”

“Yeah. He did. I told him no. Then I stood up and accidentally knocked over my Latte. It went all over his apparently expensive designer jeans. He was not pleased.”

“I can bet he wasn’t. Was he wearing the ones with creases down the leg?”

“Yeah, why?”

Sean giggled.
“About five months ago, I was down near Oakland with Jake, looking at a new drinks wholesaler, when we saw Brad’s truck going the other way. Jake said, ‘We are early, so why don’t we see what Brad is up to?’. I didn’t argue. Anyway, Brad went to the huge WallyWorld just off I-5. He bought six pairs of jeans, all like that. I’m sure he got his Ma to remove the WallyWorld label from the back when he got home.”

“Did he spot you guys?”

“Nah. That’s the beauty of it. He thought that he was far enough away from town that no one would spot him. About a week later, he started wearing them and telling everyone that they were expensive designer pants.”

Sean smiled.

“What did Brad do when your drink went all over him?”

“He mouthed off. Called me a bitch and then stood up, and in doing so, he knocked over his drink. That went over those tooled cowboy boots he wears. He wasn’t happy and may well have taken things further, but his Pa saved the day.”

“Good. If there is one saving grace in that family, it is that old man Mortensen respects women, unlike his sons, who seem only to want to get them into bed to prove their manhood. The old man tries hard to keep them on a short leash, but as we know, they get loose.”

“Those two need to be seen, too. Castration would calm them down. They have an excess of Testosterone that is making life hell for almost everyone in town.”

Both of them laughed. They could imagine the brothers without balls.

Ingrid then wiped the smile from her face.

“Being serious for a moment. I’m a tad worried about Brad wanting to exact revenge for his latest public humiliation. You might be in the firing line when you are working.”

Sean thought for a moment before replying.
“His bark is generally far worse than his bite, but I think that both of us need to watch out.”

[later that evening]

“Were you serious about taking over the Bakery?” asked Sean.

“It is a possibility. As I said earlier, I’ll have to find a job sooner or later, but to be honest, the first thing we need to do if we want to pursue this further is to get a look at the books. I have no idea what sort of money he’ll want for the business and how much for the goodwill.”

A smile slowly formed on Sean’s face.
“You have been thinking about this, haven’t you?”

Ingrid laughed.
“Not really. I had a summer job when I finished my A-levels with an accountant's business, and spent most of the summer working on a merger. By the end, I was almost dreaming about ‘Due Diligence’. I was totally bored by the whole thing, but it seemed to stick. The money wasn’t bad, though.”

Sean laughed.

“How many more skills do you have hidden away?”

“Hey! What about you and making bread?”

“Touché!”

---

After the weekend, Sean and Ingrid got down to working on the carport. In the privacy of their home, Sean let his hair down from the normal ponytail, and Ingrid styled it in a more feminine way. She saw an immediate change in Sean. His defences came down and he became a far more sympathetic and lovable person. This reminded her of the rare glimpses of his feminine character that she’d seen in London.

They’d nearly completed the work by the end of Tuesday, so they celebrated by eating on the terrace. While Ingrid was preparing the meal, Sean had changed into some much more feminine clothes. He still hadn’t decided on a female name, which caused Ingrid to taunt him from time to time, but she knew that it was all part of getting him to open up and become the real person that she knew existed.

They’d just finished eating when a voice said.

“Well, lookee here! Sean really is gay. I always thought so. Now I know it.”

The voice belonged to Brad. The smiles that had been on both Sean’s and Ingrid’s faces were now a distant memory.

“Fuck off, Brad. You are trespassing,” said a defiant Ingrid.

“Ohhhhh. I’m so scared. Look, darlin’, that queer nobody is even more of a loser than I’d ever imagined. Why not come with me and experience what a real man is like?”

“Brad, as Ingrid said, you are trespassing. This is private property and you are not welcome.”

Brad put his hands on his hips and laughed.

“Whatyagonnadoaboutithen?”

His words were slightly slurred. It was clear that he’d been drinking. He smelt like a stale brewery.

Ingrid got up from the table and calmly picked up a bow saw that they’d been using earlier.

“What am I going to do about it? How about I cut you up into little pieces and feed you piece by piece to the Sea Lions that live down at the dock? I’m sure I could even charge admission!”

Brad laughed.

“Showing some spirit! I like a feisty woman.”

Sean joined Ingrid, who was standing on the edge of the porch.
“Do you realise that every word you have said has been captured on camera? I’m sure the town would love to see Brad the toothless bully at work!” said Sean defiantly.

“Toothless! Who are you calling toothless? I’ll get you for that.”

Brad took two steps towards the two. As he did so, Sean picked up an axe that had been propped up against one of the porch supports.

Brad stopped.

“I think I kinda like Ingrid’s idea of chopping you up. If I had a gun, I could shoot you and walk free. Didn’t you see the notices? They clearly say ‘Trespassers could be shot!’”

Once again, Brad laughed.

“You don’t have the guts to take one more step.”

Brad was goading the pair.

Sean looked at Ingrid. She nodded, and together they came down the porch steps and started towards Brad.

The smirk disappeared from his face. Then he turned and fled. As he did so, he tripped over a tree root and fell flat on his face. He grunted as he picked himself up and headed up the track and back to the road.

Sean was shaking like a leaf when they sat down again. Ingrid held his hand and gently stroked the back of it. Gradually, Sean calmed down.

Then he reacted.
“Fuck! Shit!”

“Don’t get angry, my darling.”
Ingrid wrapped her arms around Sean. Then he started to cry. The adrenaline high that he’d briefly been on had worn off.

“It had to come, my dear.”

“What had to come?” he said between sobs.

“Someone from outside finding out about the real you. Isn’t it time to fight back?”

“What do you mean by to fight back? Isn’t that what we just did? Now Brad is going to broadcast this far and wide.”

“So? Why not pre-empt his tirade? Let’s get you properly dressed, and we can go into town as a couple. Then people can see the real you for the first time. That way, Brad will be shooting blanks. Besides, we have the video of him trespassing. I’ll get my brother to file suit against him.”

Sean said nothing for several minutes.

“I suppose so,” he eventually muttered.

Ingrid stood up smiling.

“Good. Now go and wash away those tears. Then we’ll fix up your makeup, get dressed and go into town. Nothing like striking while the iron is hot!”

“Red hot branding iron and aimed right at my backside!” said Sean, trying to make a joke.

It sadly went right over Ingrid’s head.

---

An hour later, Ingrid climbed into the driving seat of Sean’s truck. Sean, or rather Melissa as she now preferred to be called, stood outside, hesitating. Ingrid leaned over and opened the door. Reluctantly, she climbed in and fastened her seatbelt.

Ingrid took hold of Melissa’s hand. She was staring straight ahead.

“One day, we’ll look back on today and wonder what all the fuss was.”

Melissa didn’t respond, so Ingrid started the truck.

“Right,” she said.
“Jake’s place first, ok?”

Melissa managed a small nod of her head.

The short drive to Jake’s Bar was done in silence. Ingrid was hoping that a friendly face would make her companion a lot more sociable. A lot was hanging on it.

“Stay right there,” said Ingrid when she stopped the truck outside the bar.
“I’ll go and get Jake.”

Melissa remained motionless. Ingrid took a deep breath and went inside the bar. Being a Tuesday evening, it wasn’t very busy. There were only three vehicles in the car park. One belonged to Jake, one to Jo-Anne, who was tending bar that night. That left one customer.

“Hi, Jake,” said Ingrid when she saw him wiping down the bar.

“Hello, Ingrid. Sean not with you?”

“He’s in his truck. He wants to see you.”

Jake’s smile disappeared.
“Bad news?”

“It depends.”

Jake got the idea. He came around from behind the bar and walked to the door.

Ever the gentleman, he opened the door for Ingrid. Together, they walked over to where Sean’s Truck was parked.

Jake saw the new Sean and smiled. Without hesitation, he opened the passenger side door.

“At last.”

His words surprised both Ingrid and Melissa.

Melissa turned to look at Jake.

“Don’t look surprised, Sean. You have been dropping the odd hint here and there almost since you came here. I must say you are looking good. What do I call you?”

“Melissa.”

“Pleased to meet you, Melissa, but what brought this sudden change on?”

“Brad!”

Jake nodded his head.
“What happened?”

“We were sitting on the porch when he appeared. Sean was wearing some makeup and a feminine top,” replied Ingrid.

“I get it. I expect he went off to tell the world then?”

Melissa nodded.

“Where are you going next?” asked Jake.

“Into town and to the Café. I had an incident there with Brad the other day. I spilt my coffee over his so-called designer jeans.”

Jake laughed.
“He wouldn’t like that.”

“He didn’t. I was only saved by the arrival of his father.”

“You got lucky, but that was why he came visiting.”

“We got it all on CCTV,” said Melissa.

“Good for you. He needs to be taught a lesson. Mind you, he hasn’t won any encounters since this lovely lady came on the scene. He must be getting desperate.”

Then Ingrid said,
“You don’t mind the new Sean?”

Jake grinned.
“I’ve often teased Sean about the length of his hair, so no, I don’t at all. I’ll make sure that my customers don’t object. They shouldn’t have any cause for complaint thanks to the improvements in the food that Sean introduced.”

Melissa managed a small smile.

“We’d better get going if we are going to get to the Café before it closes.”

Jake leaned over and gave Melissa a brief kiss on the cheek. She went red in the face.

“You two get along now. We can manage without you until Friday.”

“But Jake?” muttered Melissa.

“No buts. Who’s the boss around here, eh?”

---

“Ready, my darling?” asked Ingrid.
She’d parked the truck in the slip road that ran along the front of the group of stores that included the Bakery and Coffee Shop.

“I guess so.”

“Jake was very accepting.”

“He’s a good man. Bartenders have to be good listeners.”

“I know. I had to learn that quickly. Jake is a good teacher.”

Hand in hand, the two walked into the Coffee shop. Nancy, the owner, was behind the counter. She recognised Ingrid but did a double-take on Sean.

“Sean?”

“It is Melissa from now on,” replied a very hesitant Melissa.

“What has brought this on? Please don’t tell me that it was Brad!”

Both Melissa and Ingrid nodded.

“After that episode the other day, I wondered how long it would be before he exacted revenge.”

“He trespassed onto our property and caught Melissa in the act, so to speak,” said Ingrid.

“Sounds about right for that low life.”

Nancy smiled.
“Sit yourselves down and I’ll bring over your drinks.”

Melissa was slightly reluctant, but Ingrid insisted that they sit at the table in the Window.

Nancy brought over two coffees to the couple.

“This is on the house,” she said defiantly.

“Thanks, Nancy,” replied Melissa.

Nancy disappeared into the office behind the counter.

“You did it!” said Ingrid.

“Thanks to you. I may well have never come out like this.”

“More like ‘never’ but Brad forced our hand.”

“Our hand?”

“Yes,” replied Ingrid, smiling.
“I’m now on the surface a lesbian.”

Melissa took a moment to think things through.

“I guess you are right. That will make Brad angry. He only likes women who bat for one side, so to speak.”

“Well then, I hope that he leaves me alone from now on.”

Before Melissa could answer, several more people came into the shop. They all headed for the couple sitting by the window.

“Nancy called us to say that Brad is on the warpath. We are here to support you.”

Both of them were speechless.

Over the next fifteen minutes, the shop filled up with people. All came and congratulated Melissa and also berated Brad. There was a lot of conversation, and everyone seemed happy.

That continued until the shop door opened and Chief Harrison walked in. He glared at Melissa.

“So, it is true! The faggot has come out and shown himself at last.”

There was silence in the shop.

The Police Chief sauntered over to where Melissa and Sean were sitting. He looked pleased with himself.

“I hope you two have a ride home, as that wreck of a truck has been towed. I judged that it was parked too close to a fire hydrant.”

The shop owner, Nancy, came from behind the counter. She looked angry.

“There is no fire hydrant within fifty feet of where the truck was parked, and you well know it.”

“I make the law around here, and if I say that it was parked too close, then too close it is. Judge Parker will agree with me, so if I were you, good folk, I’d get off home now before I decide that all your cars are parked too close to the same fire hydrant.”
The Police Chief hadn’t noticed that Jerry Markovitz, who was the one and only mechanic at the gas station, had been filming the whole thing on his phone.

The chief headed for the door. After opening it, he turned to address those in the shop once again.
“You have five minutes before I call the tow truck. Then it will be two hundred dollars for each of you to get your car out of the impound lot.”

He slammed the door behind him. There was silence in the Café.

Jerry was frantically working away on his phone. Then he stood up and announced.

“I recorded everything and put it up on Facebook with the hashtag PoliceCorruption. That should get some likes.”

Before anyone could respond, there was a banging on the rear door to the Café. Nancy went and opened it.

Bob Schultz, the local Tow Truck Service Owner and Operator, dashed in. He made a beeline for Melissa and Ingrid.

“The Chief made me tow your truck. It is in the back of the Church Parking Lot, well out of sight of the main road. He was with Brad and… Well, Brad was ordering him to get your truck into the Impound Lot within an hour. I was going to do it, but Brad boasted that all the cars in the Lot were being taken down to Oakland tonight for crushing. He specifically said that yours was to be amongst them. That’s all wrong, so I towed your truck, but didn’t take it to the impound yard. As I was leaving, Brad told me to come back and take all the other cars parked outside, as they were illegally parked. The Chief was putting up some ‘Parking Suspended’ notices on the street lights.”

Bob’s explanation almost caused a rush towards the exit of the customers. Many moved towards the door but sat back down again when they realised that with the Tow Truck driver in the Café, nothing was going to get towed that night.

Bob smiled.
“You look good, Sean.”

“It is Melissa from now on, but thanks, Bob. It is much appreciated.”

One of the occupants of the Café had taken a look outside and returned looking worried.

“The Chief is ticketing all the cars.”

That news did cause an exodus of people from the Café. Before they went, Bob said,
“Please take photos of where your car is and be sure to include the ticket in the photo. If you are on Facebook, then please post it. The more that we can expose their wrongdoings, the better. Eventually, someone in Sacramento will take notice.”

As the customers filed out, several could be seen preparing their phones to record the injustice that had been done to them.

Bob Schultz slipped out the back after saying that he was going to switch off his radio and phone and make himself scarce for the rest of the night.

Nancy came and sat next to the woman.

“You certainly have stirred up a hornet’s nest. What will they do next?”

Ingrid didn’t say anything, so Melissa took charge.

“The Mortensens seem to be about to do something big. I get the feeling that whatever it is, it is going to be big and affect everyone in town. Brad is a loose cannon, though.”

Ingrid added,
“I hope that you have decent insurance cover for this place. Now that they know that you are on our side, there is no telling what will happen next, and the Chief of Police will somehow ignore calls for action. He seems to be controlled by the Mortensens.”

Nancy managed a smile.
“That’s because they are family. Well, sort of. Ma Mortensen is the Chief’s Aunt. His Ma died when he was just a baby. She got drunk and went off the road one wet night. They didn’t find her for three days. Anyway, his Aunt, his Ma’s sister, brought him up. When the Chief was twelve, she married Pa Mortensen and the Chief and Brad, and his brothers and sister all lived under the same roof. Chuck only became Chief because Pa Mortensen made sure that no one would stand for election against him. Since then, the Chief’s much older brother has become Mayor, and the town is under their control. There are only a few of us store owners who don’t pay protection money to them.”

“That isn’t good,” said Ingrid.

“It is good that you got Brad really mad. He deserved the ticking off he got from Pa Mortensen the other day after pestering you and blaming you for spilling coffee over him.”

“Something has to be done about them,” said Melissa.

“True, but who? I guess that they have the squeeze over all the local Politicians that matter,” replied Nancy.

Silence fell over the Café.

After a couple of minutes, Nancy stood up and said,
“I’ll give you good folk a run down to the Church if you like. It is on my way home. I just need you to witness me locking the place up properly. I wouldn’t want anyone to come waltzing in, you understand.”

Melissa didn’t say much during the short journey to the church parking lot. Sean’s truck was right where Bob had said it would be.

“Thanks for the lift, Nancy,” said Melissa as they emerged from Nancy’s car.

“Think nothing of it. Melissa is a nice name,” said Nancy.

The comment took both Melissa and Ingrid by surprise.

“Nancy? I don’t understand. What with you having something to do with the church and all that?”

Nancy laughed.
“I only go because my dear departed Husband used to play the organ. I was young once, and back then, for a brief while, it didn’t matter what people wore, and it sure doesn’t matter to me today. I think that most people around here are pretty liberal thinkers, and the show of solidarity tonight proves that. Apart from the Mortensens and their friends, who worship at the church of money and corruption. They’ll be the ones that become friends with Satan if they haven’t done so already.”

Melissa smiled.
“Thanks, Nancy.”

“I’ll bid you good folk goodnight, but Ingrid, if you are looking for some work, then drop by. I heard from Jake that you are good with books. A lot of small businesses around here always struggle when it comes time to pay their taxes. Just having someone who can look them over would go down well.”

“Thanks, Nancy. I’ll bear that in mind.”

---

The drive back home was done in far better spirits than earlier.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” remarked Ingrid.

“No… but. I’m sure that Brad and the rest of the clan are thinking up more schemes to make the town bend to their wishes. I just wish ‘you know who’ would do whatever it is that they are going to do.”

“I know, darling. I’ll send an email with what happened today before we go to bed. I don’t know about you, but I sense that there is a feeling of desperation coming over the other side.”

“I hope so. When that sort of person gets desperate, they make mistakes,” replied Melissa.

Melissa stared out of the window. Ingrid took her eyes off the road just long enough to see that she was miles away.

“Penny for them?” said Ingrid.

It took a second for Melissa to respond.

“Oh… sorry. I was miles away.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Where was that ‘miles away’ place?” asked Ingrid.

Melissa smiled.

“I was thinking back to the night of the Summer Ball and how much things have changed since then.”

Ingrid laughed.

“The question is… are you happier that you are now out of the closet?”

“Yes, I am, but I also know that things won’t be plain sailing from here on in.”

“I was thinking much the same thing back at the church. I’m sure that in the end, we’ll get through it and we will be stronger for it,” said Ingrid as she turned the Truck off the main road and onto their property.

[to be continued]