Chapter 7

All day Wednesday and Thursday, Abraham Churchill hadn't heard a word from his friend, Sheriff Warren Richards and the concerns kept on growing because this wasn't like him to stay away from his property or the animals for this long.

In his state of wonderment, Abraham decided that he should call his office to see if was there or if anything was the matter with him; because he realize that he was more than a friend to him; and was seeing him now more as a brother to him.

Although, their initial encounters were far from being brotherly or friendly.

However, the report at the office was that he would be out of the office for the week and would not return to work until the weekend; so he if he wanted to he could call back at the station on Sunday and speak with him then.

Receiving such information about his friend, Abraham thanked the person at the other end of the line, seated himself down and began wondering where on this green earth Warren Richards could have gone without saying a word to him of where he was going. So he decided if he hadn't heard from him by Sunday, he would certainly call again to the police station and find out if he had shown up for work on that day.

Set aside but not forgotten, Abraham decided that now would be a good time to call the dating agency and make his report to them about the date they had set him up with, Katharine Chapman. He wanted them to know that she was no woman but a man and the harrow that she had put him through that very first night of going out with her on their date.

Just like he had called prior to this seeking his love interest, the very pleasant voice of the receptionist answered the telephone once again receiving his call.

"I don't know if you can recall, but around five months ago I call your agency seeking to meet someone for a date and I was asked to send you some pictures along with three-hundred dollars, which I did comply with that request! And four days later; on the weekend of that very same week, I had a date with one female by the name of Katharine Chapman."

Abraham expressed.

But before he could continue on with relating his statement to her, the receptionist ask.

"Sir what is your name?"

"My name is Abraham Churchill, Mam!"

He replied.

Looking through her records, she found his file with his pictures and the rest of his details and so she exclaimed.

"I remember you! Was your date good! We haven't heard back from you from that very first date and thought you had fallen madly in love with your date and the both of you had ran off somewhere... to one of the Islands to tie the knot or do something romantic like that without even inviting one of us!"

Rolling his eyes, Abraham lashed out!

"I wish the outcome was something pleasant like you are saying!"

But before continuing with the details of his frightening dilemma the receptionist asked.

"What, the both of you broke up with your relationship already?"

"Miss, there was no damn relationship for us to begin with in the first place, much less, for us to have broken off from... that thing, that Katharine Chapman who you had sent me out with, is a damn man and not a woman!"

Abraham shouted angrily.

Then there was dead silence on the phone for a good four or five minutes.

"Hello! Hello, Hello, are you still there?"

Abraham asked loudly after the long silent paused.

"Yes, Mr. Churchill, I'm still here!"

The receptionist replied with a sense of great sadness in her voice.

"Mr. Churchill, I'm so very sorry about this incidence!"

The reception went on to say with even more gloom in her tone as she sigh heavily trying to contain her grief.

"Well you don't be sorry, because you haven't heard the worst part of it as yet!"

Abraham lashed out at her angrily.

"After having dinner with him, he invited me to his apartment over in Union and held me there as hostage for over four hours, after I had found out that he was an actual male and started rejecting his sexual advances on me!"

Abraham went on expressing with great anguish in his voice.

"My goodness, Mr. Churchill, this is all very dreadful and shocking to hear! I really can't believe this had really happen to you with one of our escorts! So how did you finally get out of his apartment?"

The receptionist ask anxiously.

"Well, my dear young lady, you are not going to believe what I'm about to tell you!"

Abraham voiced depressingly.

"Ho no, Mr. Churchill, don't tell me that you end up having sex with him before he decided on letting you go!"

The receptionist lashed out assumingly.

"If that were the case, I wouldn't be here right now talking with you! Because I had told myself that I would fight him to the death before I would ever allow any such thing to ever happen to me!"

Abraham stated pressingly.

"You wouldn't believe what that evil son of a bitch did to me!"

"He locked himself inside his bedroom, call the police, paramedics, and whomever else that he needed to, told them I was her brother and that I was mentally ill and off my medication and acting crazy inside her apartment right now! Therefore they should come by her apartment building and get me, because she was so afraid of me hurting her or anyone else living on the building!"

Abraham explained.

"And all I can remember was she having one of those heavy frying pans in her hands, waving it in my face and telling me to stay away from her while the police and paramedics kept on pounding on her door and she opening her apartment door to let them in!"

"Soon the police, paramedics and whomever else, were all on top of me like mad dogs, ripping my clothing off and pinning me down on the floor! Then they began restraining my hands behind me, cutting off my clothing and sticking large needles in my arms; and minutes later they were hauling me off to some mental institution as if, I was some dangerous terrorist who wanted to blow the entire world up!

Abraham went on telling his story to the receptionist.

"Mr. Churchill, this is just so awful to hear! I just can't imagine anyone going through a situation like this resulting from going out on a simple date with someone as beautiful as Katharine Chapman and even yourself! But I'm sure that medical staff soon realized that he was lying to them and then release you soon afterwards?"

The receptionist expressed observingly.

"Soon! Soon! Soon afterwards!"

Abraham loudly and unyieldingly reiterated.

"There was nothing soon about releasing me from that nut-house! I was in there for three whole months and seven days before they decided on letting me out! And they only had come to do so because one weekend the in-house doctor came to the facility and began making numerous calls all over the place and learnt that not one doctor or pharmacy had no recording of ever treating me! Because if they did, my prescription would be in their computer system and the doctor who wrote the prescriptions for my psychotic problems would also be registered there in the pharmacy's computer system.

He continued on, sharing his experience on the very first night he went out on a date, using the service of the dating agency.

"So have you made a report to the police about your situation... about what happened between you and Katharine Chapman?"

The receptionist ask with an air of concern in her voice."

"What am I going to report to them when they were the same ones who came and drugged me out of his house and haul me off to the nut-house?"

Abraham asked adamantly.

"I'm reporting the matter to you, so you can do something about it! Because you are the ones who is sending this man out on dates with other men who believes that he is actually woman! You are the ones who has to stop him, confront him or band him from using your services, because the next time around, he might just kill someone, or he might just meet his match and then that will just be the end of him!"

Abraham lashed out angrily.

"But no one else has never complained about her before!"

The receptionist forcefully responded.

"Probably he might have killed them or they were freaks, and into whatever he was into with them!"

Abraham viciously replied.

"Those are serious allegations you are making, Mr. Churchill!"

The receptionist interjected.

"Serious allegations my ass... it's better I stand her and make some serious allegation than to later hear that that freak has snuff out someone's life and dump their body into some forest for the crows to eat! If I were you, I would go and check your books to see how many of those clients he had been out with who had returned to use your business!"

Abraham suggested with great concern in his voice.

"Well, I will definitely speak with my superiors and let them know about your experience with Katharine Chapman, and certainly let them get her off the dating list of escorts we are now using!"

The receptionist informed him.

"Well you please hurry-up and do that!"

Abraham shouted in her ear angrily.

"And while you're at it, let them also know, I would like a portion of my damn money back also!"

Abraham lashed out firmly.

"So Mr. Churchill, you don't want me reassigning another date for you to go on?"

The receptionist devotedly asked.

"Miss, whatever your name is, didn't you just hear what I just reveal to you about the hell I've been through because of one of those same bloody dates you are asking me to take a chance with again?"

Abraham asked with much hostility.

"The name is Baily... Ms. Shirley Baily! Well, not because you had one bad experience that doesn't me you can't try again, for the right one; the second time around, you just might find the perfect mate who will love you forever and make sure that you are happy!"

Ms. Baily, the receptionist replied pleasantly with much conviction in her voice.

With his fuming emotion mellowing down a bit and his heartache had shed some pain, Abraham express to the receptionist that the only way he would ever use their services ever again, he would have to show up at the agency in persons and then first feel the crouches of his potential date before taking that person out on any date with him.

"Mr. Churchill, you know we would never allow you to do anything like that, and neither do I think any individuals here would allow such to be done to them either!"

Ms. Baily expressed firmly.

"Now you know I'm done using your services because that lunatic you set me up with could have placed me into some serious trouble with the law! And please, call me, let me know when you are ready to send me back a portion of my money!"

Abraham stated playfully but meant every word of it.

"If I were you Mr. Churchill, I would never say never, because the next time around, you just might meet that perfect lady who would end up being the apple of you eye! And as they say, sometimes one has to kiss many frogs before finding his prince or princess!"

Ms. Baily spoke persuasively trying to convince him to go out on a date with someone else. But adamantly, Abraham told her that he wasn't interested in going out with anyone at the dating agency ever again, said his good-bye to the receptionist and hang up the phone.

Now that he had finally made that long waited call to the dating agency complaining about his date Katharine Chapman and all the fiasco she had put him through, Abraham was feeling much better all over; in his mind and in his body - his emotions and spirit. But he wasn't feeling so good in his belly because he was on the phone a very long time speaking with the reception from the dating agency without taking a break and now he was feeling the results from it.

So he made his way to the kitchen, fixed himself a sandwich and plantain shake; and then made his way in front of the television to munch of his snack. Anticipating that as soon as he was done eating, he would go outdoors and check on his animals in the barn.

He had presumed that it was now around three o'clock, therefore, the three o'clock news would be broadcasting on the television at the moment, so Abraham turned on the television an began taking in the details of the news. It was after the details of the second highlights were read that a very familiar face flashed on the screen grabbing his attention and had him almost chocking on the bite of sandwich he had in his mouth.

Nervously shaking, he wanted to call back the dating agency and tell Ms. Baily to hurry and turn on the television and watch the news on channel fifty-five. But he was too dumbfounded to move from where he was seated.

Finally he uttered.

"Shit! Some has got him!"

As a clear split-screen of the perpetrator face stayed paused on the television screen for at least five-minutes for all who was watching it could see.

It was Katharine Chapman's face on the television screen being broadcasted as a man and also as a woman, after someone he had convincingly connived with his pretty face almost beat him to death for deceiving them with his sexuality and the hostage takeover he had conducted with them inside his apartment similarly to what he had done to Abraham.

Abraham now learnt that his legitimate name is Carvel Mucky, only twenty-four years of age and swindling both men and women out of their hard earn money so he could finish his surgery of becoming a full fledge woman. With the changing of the news clip, Abraham placed the of plate of sandwich he had in his hand on the side table in front of him and went straight across the room to his telephone. Calling the dating agency, informing them about what he had just seen on the three o'clock news pertaining to their infamous client Katharine Chapman and the dreadful situation she was now in with someone who thought he was a woman.

When the phone wrong, it was Ms. Baily who answered the phone like she oftentimes did and right away Abraham excitingly bellowed out.

"Have you guys seen the news?"

"What news are you talking about, Mr. Churchill?"

Ms. Baily asked confusingly.

"Turn on your television... the three o'clock news... the same guy we were talking about earlier on, someone has beat him badly; almost half to death!"

Abraham shouted into the phone loudly causing the receptionist to east the telephone away from her ear.

"What channel is this on?"

Ms. Baily asked as she flipped through the television channels with the remote control.

"It was on channel fifty-five... that's the channel I had seen it on!"

Abraham responded astoundingly.

Flipping through the various television channels, Ms. Baily finally came across the news headlines showing the face of their beautiful client Katharine Chapman. And so she placed that television on pause mode, so she could capture the horrific news of their client in more details after the advertisements were done broadcasting.

"Have you found it? Have you found it?"

Abraham kept on shouting repeatedly in her ear.

"Yes, Mr. Churchill, I found it on some other television channel, but I'm waiting for the advertisements to finish broadcasting so I can hear what had happened to him in more details!"

Ms. Baily responded.

"What did I tell... didn't I tell you, he was going to meet his match and that was going to be the end of him... now here it is! Here it now!"

Abraham kept on ranting with much hostility in his voice.

And as much as he already had heard the news about the man who had escorted him on a date pretending to be a woman, Abraham began straining his ear over on his telephone, trying desperately to hear the same news on the dating agency television while Ms. Baily try gathering all the information from the office's television.

The advertisements were now done broadcasting and the details of the news were now being read by the newscaster, and even though Abraham had a television inside his house, he stayed on the phone still compelling himself, trying to hear the disturbing news about the transvestite who had held him hostage inside his apartment for over four hours and also had him spending over three months in a mental health facility.

Just after the newscaster had finish reading that specific headline news about gruesome beating of Carvel Mucky the transvestite who also went by the name Katharine Chapman, Abraham lashed out with great despondency in his voice.

"Karma really can be a real a bitch!"

Overhearing his comment on the other end of the phone line, Ms. Baily reverberated - echoed.

"Whatever is in the darkness must come to light!"

With this revelation of one of their client secret life being publicized for the entire nation to behold, Ma. Baily apologize to Abraham once again and informed him that she had spoken to her boss about his dilemma he had had with accused who happens to be a client at their dating agency.

But Abraham didn't care for much apologies right now, and neither did he care much about having that refund he was anxiously seeking back from the dating agency since they had unintentionally sent him out with man instead of a woman. Because he was feeling very remorseful about what had transpired between the young man and his suitor he had for the evening who had smashed his face in probably after learning that he was a man.

He now was contemplating that regaining that money from the agency would only bring bad luck more than the bad luck he already had finding a good woman to fall in love with and share the rest of his life with. And before hanging up the telephone with Ms. Baily, Abraham told her that id they made the decision to give him a refund, she should make sure that the money they were refunding to him goes to, Carvel Mucky, because he sure was going to need it to help him get back on his feet. With that act of generosity being mentioned Ms. Baily promised him that she certainly would do that for him, before sharing good-byes and putting the phone receivers to rest.

Putting the phone to rest, Abraham finish eating his sandwich and drank the fruit, vegetable and protein shake he had made for lunch, then hurried through the back door to attend to his animals in the bran. He should have attend to them from much earlier but hadn't done so because of the horrific news he had heard on the television about Carvel Mucky, the transvestite.

But now he was inside the barn and the food trollies were very empty and all the animals were acting up and ready to be fed. So he hastily began throwing grains inside their feeding containers, hay in the stalls of the horses and pellets in the chicken coops. With the food been distributed to all the animals, Abraham cleaned away the excessive manor and set down fresh saw-dust for the goats and chickens to sleep on. As soon as he was out of the barn, he went and took a shower to cleanse from himself the stinky orders that were lurking on his clothing from the manure inside the barn.

Feeling refreshed, relaxed and rejuvenated, Abraham grabbed a book he had been reading for quite some time now but hadn't finish and began turning through the pages to refresh his mind on the position of the characters in the story. However, he seemed to have some difficulties concentrating on the story he was reading because his mind kept on shifting towards Tracy and the date they would be having that upcoming weekend.

He certainly didn't want to disappoint her, and neither did he wanted to go overboard like he had done with the transvestite only to be struck with a flare of disappointment and ill will towards men and women. He had learnt his lesson very; that things might not go as planned or as in his case, the female could very well end up being a man.

So he decided to approach this date with a little more reservation or caution both in his heart and in his mind so the blunt of the blow wouldn't hurt too much if they should ever come full force at him this time around. Because now he would be a little more experience and would be better able in handling it.

While reflecting upon the various possibilities and circumstances that could easily occur while out trying to find the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, Abraham took some deep breaths and told himself that all would be well this time around.

And with that sense of optimism settled throughout his mind, he began turning through the pages of the book one page after another and he now began concentrating and grasping the essences - the soul of the story from the book.

Three hours later, he was done reading the rest of the book through to its entirety and thought he should lock his doors and get ready for bed, but the thoughts of Carvel Mucky rest on his mind. So he turned on the television once again to hear of they were still broadcasting his situation on the news.

Sure enough, the transvestite story was on the evening news and even more popular than the mid-day news. Almost every television channel were talking about him; some giving a sympathetic view of him being victimize for being transgender while other television channels portray him to being a monster and should be lacked up for trying to swindle others out of their hard earn cash and having men believing that he was a real woman.

Hearing the disturbing news over and over again on almost every television station, Abraham grew weary and decided that it was time for him to enter his bedroom sleep off the distressing news that almost found itself at his doorstep.

However, the weekend was now here and Abraham was excited and nervous about his date, even though, he tried position his mind to be optimistic about the results of the date. Around nine o'clock in the morning Friday morning he made it a point of his duty to call Tracy Hepburn to find out from her if she had a change of heart about going out with him.

And without any doubts or hesitation, she told him that she was all game and was really looking forward to see him later that evening for their very first. So they made the arrangements to meet at the restaurant they were planning on having dinner, it wasn't as fancy as the one he had some months back with Katharine Chapman the transvestite, but it was still a pretty decent restaurant and one of the best around town.

But, was Tracy Hepburn just as conniving as Katharine Chapman?

No doubt it was a beautiful evening! The atmosphere was on par for romance; wasn't too hot or too cold and the fresh air felt magical as if, it was already the reindeers and elves season.

Tracy nicely dressed for the occasion and Abraham tried his best to put his best foot forward and was looking quite smart; nothing that would make any woman feel bashful and wanted to escape from the scene as if she had a bad case of the runs.

His only wish was that he wasn't driving a nicer vehicle, but he knew that Tracy had seen his old truck at the bank parking lot, and yet still, she wanted to go out with him. So he reversed his truck from the side of the house onto the streets and then he was on his way to meet his date at the Chilly-Pepper Steakhouse, after calling her letting her know that he was leaving out from his house now and on his way.

Somehow he had reached the restaurant before her, and realized such after scouting the inside of the restaurant and realizing that she wasn't inside there, so he returned to his car and waited for her to show up there. And after she had arrived, they both entered the restaurant and snuggled up on their cushiony seats at the far end of the restaurant.

Not wasting any time, Abraham asked for the menu to be placed at their table, and when the waiter brought it to them, Abraham made his pick and then waited for Tracy to make hers, before calling back the waiter to the table and having him take their orders.

Twenty-minutes later, their meals were in front of them and they began eating their meals and they were enjoying their meal as well as each other's company and conversation.

As Abraham laid his cards on the table, expressing to her all that he wanted from them being in a relationship with each other, and how he was envisioning their future to be once they had tied the knot and started living together as husband and wife. While Tracy just sat there, biting into her steak and nodding her head to all that he was saying to her as if her tongue was castrated and she didn't have any opinion of her own.

He was very contented with her, although, he didn't like that she wasn't saying much or wanted share with him her future desires, but redirected her faults to the fact that she wasn't saying too much because their relationship was very new.

Suddenly Abraham noticed that Tracy was sliding down in her seat with her legs stretching across to where he was seated. At first he thought that probably her belly was quite full and she was somehow was easing herself down into the seat to make herself feel much more comfortable on the seat. But he soon came to realize that her beautiful brown eyes weren't at all gazing into his, but they were very much interested at something or someone at the opposite side of the room.

He wanted to look around and see what was distracting her from his conversation with her and somehow put an end to it, but instead of turning around to see who was grabbing her attention away from him, Abraham snapped harshly.

"Tracy, I'm speaking to you and you keep looking at someone behind me! Can you please show me a little curtesy?"

"I'm sorry Hun, it's my boss over there with one of my co-workers that I'm looking at! You know, there has been a rumor that they were together and they kept on denying it, and now I seen them red-handed!"

Tracy explained.

"Aren't they adults and free to see each other if they please?"

Abraham asked questioning eyes and frowned brows.

Soon she began ducking deeper and deeper under the seat as if she didn't want to be detected by whomever was behind him. It was only the top of her hair that was now visible to him and Abraham found it strange that she didn't wanted to be seen by her boss and his presumable date. So he asked.

"Have you slept with your boss before or have you been sleeping with him?"

From under the shadow of the table she replied.

"How can you ask me such a thing? What do you take me for?"

But before Abraham could replied, and tell her what he thought of her, there was a tall Indian man, nicely dressed standing at their table, not looking quite pleasant and calling numerous time for Tracy to come from under the table and speak with him because he had already seen and know that it was her.

Still, Tracy refrain from budging - from showing herself, and now the top of her hair was missing from Abraham's sight.

Looking up at the man standing over his table, Abraham asked in a stern and confident manner.

"Mister, who are you; are you somehow related to my girlfriend?"

Staring down at Abraham with scorn and hatred written all over in his eyes, the tall handsome Indian man replied.

"Whoever you are, just know that your girlfriend is another man's wife!"

In great disbelief, Abraham pulled his chair from around the table and stood up to his feet like he was ready to do some Chines Kong-foo!

"That couldn't be, she told me she was free and single; and no one else was in the picture!"

Abraham blurted out with great anguish written all over his face.

"Well, she neither free nor single and from the way she was eating not too long ago, you must can tell she has new life coming in the picture!"

The Indian man blurted out.

"You mean to tell me, she is pregnant?"

Abraham lashed out.

"So what; she didn't tell you that she is a mother of three?"

The stranger echoed back with bitterness in his voice.

Filled with infuriation, Abraham stuck his hands inside his pockets and began making his way out through the restaurant doors, but was quickly stopped at the door by one of the waiters marking the tables for those patrons who hadn't paid their tabs as yet, and realized that he was one of them.

Consumed with hurt, anger and pain, to the breaking point of tears, Abraham didn't want anyone touching him, neither did he care to cover for her portion of the bill, so he lashed out once again.

"I'm only responsible for paying for my own damn steak, okay! She has to pay for her own damn steak!"

And with those words spoken, Abraham took a twenty-dollar bill and threw it at the waiter, practically hitting him in the face with it, and stepped out of the restaurant, into his car and then on his way home with bitterness boiling in his heart once again.

With the feelings of being dismayed, disheartened, distraught, and discouraged where dating and women were concerned, Abraham drove a long way past his house, into some bushes at the foot of the creek, and there he stayed for the rest of the entire night, weeping acrimoniously.

A sense of lost, loneliness and confusion had overshadowed him and now he wasn't sure of what to do with himself next.

Thoughts of Roxanna raced through his mind and he thought is he only know where she was living, then he would have gone there to visit her and share his problems with her.

Moments later, he began reflecting on Ms. Baily and what she had told him about saying he would never use the dating agency ever again!

Soon he removed his thoughts from thinking to praying and began praying that he meets the right woman to settle down with soon because he didn't want to turn twenty-one and still remain a virgin. And neither did he want to give up his virginity on some one night stand, or for some cheap fling in a bar!

He wanted to moment to be memorable, to be well thought out, to be spectacular with some whom he loved and who was in love with him also; but time was running out and he had no idea where to find that unique love he has been searching for.

And in the moment of one of his lowest point, in the darkness, in the bushes, far away from civilization, once again Abraham thought about giving the dating service another chance. Although, he would have preferred to meet that special someone on his own at the park, in the stores where he usually goes shopping or on the streets, but that tactics simply wasn't working out for him right now.

So he decided on seeking some help!