Tina's Story Chapter 82 What makes you different, makes you beautiful A Gray Muzzle story
Tina's Story Chapter 82 What makes you different, makes you beautiful
You don't run with the crowd
You go your own way
You don't play after dark
You light up my day
Got your own kind of style
That sets you apart
I know sometimes you feel like you don't fit in
And the world doesn't know what you have within
When I look at you, I see something rare,
A rose that can grow anywhere
What makes you different, makes you beautiful
"What makes you different"
Backstreet Boys
Stan was going through his usual morning ritual- shave dress, comb his hair. Stan didn't shower in the morning. You see, Stan is a working man, and working men shower when they come home from work. Well, at least today. You see today is Stan's last day on the job. He was set to retire after this shift. Stan had mixed feelings; after his heart attack, he was desperate to return to work. He worked like crazy at rehab, just to come back. Now, he had mixed feelings. He loved his work, but he didn't have the endurance he once did. The pains didn't disappear overnight. And he could no longer do doubles with ease. Mostly, though, his illness gave him time to think. There was so much to do; time with the grandkids, time with his wife, fishing....
Stan came downstairs and kissed Georgette. She was already hard at work in the kitchen. Tina, Ray and the kids were on a trip to Disney, so she had the day to herself. She planned to spend it baking. Georgette finished packing Stan's lunch as he poured himself coffee. She had a sandwich wrapped in wax paper, a banana, and a bag of Fritos. She filled his thermos, and clipped it in the lid of the lunchbox, .Latching it, she handed it to her husband.
"Last time, eh, Hon?"
Stan nodded
"Going to miss it?
"You know I will. But nothing last forever..."
Just then, Violet blew in....
"Morning, Aunt Georgette, Uncle Stan!" Violet kissed each, then went for coffee.
"What are you doing, dear?
"Koji's taking me to some job interviews today"
"Oh, I almost forgot. You got some mail from Alaska. It looks important"
Violet took the envelope.
"My birth certificate!"
There was a honk outside.
"Koji! Gotta run! Bye....
In a flash, Violet was gone. Stan checked his watch.
"Look at that, I'm gonna miss my bus!"
He kissed Georgette, grabed his lunchbox and bolted for the door.
Stan's routine never varied. He walked to the intersection of the main street two blocks away. He went to the store, where he got another coffee, a copy of trhe "Daily News" and bought a lottery ticket. Then he waited for the bus.
"Morning, Stan" the bus driver greeted "Where to?"
"The plant" Stan replied. They went through this routine every single day. Stan would miss it. The bus arrived at the plant on time, as it always did. He walked through the gate with all the other workers. His ID was in hand as he passed the guard house.
"Last day, Russel?" the guard asked
"Uh huh" Stan replied
"Don't forget to turn your badge in to security before you leave."
Stan nodded, as he headed in. Once inside, he punched the clock, then headed to the locker. Opening the door, he was suddenly overcome with emotion. Inside the door, Stan had stuck things up over the years. His first plant ID. A picture of him from thirty years ago. Georgette's picture. Tina as a little girl in her school uniform. Picture of the grandchildren. Stan grabbed his hardhat and safety shoes, hurredly closing the door. After leaving the locker room, he headed for the foreman's office for a job assignment.
Waiting at the office was Thadeus 'Zerk' Szurkowsky. Zerk was a Polish Lowland Sheepdog, and Stan's best friend for most of his time at the plant.
"So, you leaving me?" Zerk smiled
"Better than the way I almost left you" Stan replied with a smile
"Got us replacing a section of fence back of the warehouse. Already checked out the supplies. They're in the back of the pickup"
So, Stan and Zerk went off . They stretched cyclone fence all day. It was hard, rigorous work, but they were used to it. About three thirty, Stan got a page to report to personel.
"Well, Bud, I guess this is it...."
"Want me to drive you in? I'm almost finished"
"Naw. I'd kinda like the time. See the place one last time. At my own pace."
Zerk nodded. He understood. So Stan took the long walk back to the main building. Along the way, workers waived to him, and he would waive back. At the main building, he went to personel office. There were all kinds of paper to be processed, forms to be signed. He had to get his health benefits card, and set up his pension payments. They had his time card stamped out, then he went to payroll, where he got his final check. Finally, he went to security, where he turned in his ID card. Stan got a box, and emptied his locker. He stood outside the gate, box in hand, looking kind of lost...
"Hey! Buy you a drink at the Union Hall"
It was Zerk.
"That would be a first." Stan retorted
"I'll ignore that. Come on, I'll drive.
The Union Hall was only a mile away, in the same gritty industrial neighborhood as the plant. It was a low brick building, done in that modern style in vogue in the 60's. Now, it just looked dated. Upstairs was an auditorium, where business meetings were held; downstairs was a bar. The lot was unusually crowded.
"Where is everyone?" Stan asked, not seeing many people at all
"I think they're taking apprentice apps upstairs or something. "
Zerk held up his hand, indicating two beers, which the bartender slid down the bar.
"So much has changed" Zerk began. Stan nodded
"Not like it used to be. Remember...back then? You and me was the only dogs here. What shit they put us tru! Remember all them 'jokes' ? Putting our lunch in a dog bowl....throwing bones at us? Remember when they chained me to the post in the warehouse? I was lucky use found me or I'd been there days....."
Stan smiled. There were lots of memories, not all of them good. Back when, the plant was a pretty brutal place. For everyone. Mostly, though, it was a rough place to be a newcomer. Fearing the loss of jobs, the hybrids faced real hostility. Lockers were burned. There were even instances of violence. Stan weathered it all pretty well. With his hard work, ready smile, and friendly ways, Stan had won them over through the years, until now he was one of the most beloved workers at the pant.
"What the Hell is all that noise? Let's check it out."
Zerk signaled for the check.The barkeep waived them off.
"This one's on the house. Good luck, Stan!"
"See" Stan chided "You STILL haven't bought me a drink!"
Stan and Zerk walked upstairs, when they walked through the doors of the main hall, they were greeted by the entire maintenance department. The general manager, and the front office staff were there, as was the president of the company.
"You set me up!" Stan grinned
"What are friends for?"
The company had organized a going away party for Stan. There was food and drinks, and a chance to share memories. Of course, there was a roast, and an address by the plant manager:
"We're here to honor Stan Russel today. He's finally checking out after thirty three years. Of course,he tried to check out early a few months ago, but that's against company policy...."
Everyone laughed at the reference. In reality, there was nothing funny about what happened. But now that the threat had passed, they could joke.
"We couldn't see you off without a little gift, so, come on up Stan, and see what we got you...."
When he got to the stage, Stan was handed a hardhat. It was like the one he had at the plant ,but this one was different. It was plated in gold, and had his name engraved on it, and the dates of his employment, and "for faithful service'
"Look inside"
Stan found an envelope inside. He opened it and looked at the contents with surprise.
"Stan, you never were much for vacations. It was all we could do to get you to take a day, much less a week. So, we did something about it. Your friends are sending you on a fishing trip to Alaska. And since we thought you might get lonely, we made it for two...."
Stan was deeply toughed.
"I....don't know what to say. You've....been like my family. We've been through so much together. I almost died here, and you saved my life. I don't know what I'll do...."
Stan had held it together until now. The emotion of the moment had finally gotten to him. He shook hands with the plant manager and hurried off the stage. His composure restored, he was able to return to the party, and his friends.
Georgette was still baking when Violet returned home.
"Hi, Auntie Georgette!"
"Hello, dear. You didn't invite that nice young wolf in?"
"Uh uh. He had to go to work. He's got weird hours"
"Well, sit down, and tell me about your day"
Georgette poured Violet a glass of milk, and she placed a plate of hot chocolate chip cookies on the table.
"Look what I've got"
Violet proudly pulled out the new learner's permit she had just gotten.
"It's my learner's permit! Koji's gonna teach me to drive. I gotta get a car license before I take my motorcycle test...."
Georgette studied the document carefully.
"Who's 'Katherine Whitebear'? she inquired
" That's me. That's my legal name. Violet is just what people call me. You know, because..."
"That sounds Indian..." Georgette observed, perhaps a little tactlessly
"That's because it is. Inuit. That's like a native Alaskan. Not genetically, of course, but legally. I get a check every month as an Alaskan native."
"Now I'm really confused...It sounds complicated.."
Violet had stuffed about three cookies in her mouth
"Thath becauth it ith....
Violet took a drink of milk, and swallowed the huge wad of cookie in her mouth. She took three more for her plate. Then she began to speak:
"I was born in Japan. Almost all of us were. But, I was sold when I was very young. I don't remember much about Mom, except she was really beautiful! Her name was CH. Mikimoto's Katherine the Great. Since my mother was Katherine, I was Little Kate. Except Mom never called me that. Mom always called me Katey. At least that's what I remember."
"So, how did you end up as an Indian?" Georgette prodded.
Violet stopped eating.
"One day, a man came, and put me in a cage. I had never been caged before. I was scared. They took me away, and I never saw Mom again. I was put on a plane. I just remember I knew I was going to die. It went on forever. It was very cold, and it was always dark.. Finally, it was over. Someone took the cage, and put me in the backof a truck. It was even colder than the plane! We drove for hours. When we stopped, the man took me out of the cage. I was so embarrassed! I had shit all over myself! The man....he took me and hosed me off with a garden hose. Then, he took me by the neck, and threw me outside with the dogs."
"With the dogs?" Georgette asked, incredulously
" Uh huh. And that's where I stayed. At least mostly. He was a musher, so he had LOTS of dogs. Sled dogs.Husky.Malamute. Wolf mixes The bitches took pity on me. They made sure I ate. They nursed me. Kept me warm. I couldn't pull sled, of course, but I'd run with them. I'd chase them every day on their training runs. One day, I boasted that I could run as far and as fast as they could. I made a bet...."
"A Bet?"
"Uh huh. I bet them I could run as long and as fast as they could. Well, I was young, and full of myself....."
"So. What happened?"
"Duh. I couldn't. So, they shaved my head into a Mohawk, and died it purple. You know, a little humiliation. They started calling me 'Violet' Well they called me other things, too. But, I let me hair grow, but I kept the color, until I COULD run with the sleds."
"And did you?" Georgette asked, now very into the story
"Uh huh. By then though, I was digging the color. It was a part of ME, you know? And it was a badge of my first achievement. So, I'm still purple."
"So, how did you become Indian?"
"I was adopted. I lived with the dogs. I was smarter than them, and I knew things. I could talk and write an stuff, so I was valuable to them. In return, they taught me how to survive. Stay warm. Run long distances.Fish. Hunt. The kind of things that keep you alive."
"But, the adoption..." Georgette pressed.
"Oh, yeah. When I was still really little, there was this cold night. I mean REALLY cold. We were all in a big pile in the kennel. The man came out, and arried me into the house. How warm it was! I was never so happy. He put me in the bathtub, and washed me carefully with warm water. I never knew water could be warm! He washed me all over, very carefully. He even used soap that smelled like flowers..."
Georgette was on the edge of her seat
"Then what?"
He took me to his bedroom. He had this huge log bed, It was HUGE and so soft! Well .He put me in the bed, and then he got behind me....."
Violet paused.
"And then he fucked.....Sorry, Auntie. Then he 'did it' with me."
Georgette looked upon her niece with shock and horror.
"Was that...it?"
Violet shook her head
"There were other times. The older I got, the more frequent they became. In time, I was pretty much in his bed all the time. The dogs had warned me...to take 'precautions'. They showed me how I could put things...up 'there' to keep his stuff out of me. One time, though.....I didn't bother, or didn't care. It was my first heat. I just....This time, I wanted it. For me. So, I just let him. I knew right away. I'd gotten pregnant. That's when he adopted me. I guess for legal reasons."
"So you...."
"Yes. A son. A beautiful white boy."
"Well ,where is he, child?"
"Don't know. He was sold .Gone. That's when I realized I'd ended up just like my mother. So I left."
"How did you do that.?"
"The sled dogs taught me well. I could run great distances. I could walk longer ones. I headed south,and never looked back. Eventually, I made it to Peteena's House.
With all I'd been through, I never wanted to see a man again! So, when the time came, I started, well, playing with girls. I lived with girls, always had. The only ones who ever loved me were girls, so I loved girls back From then on, I saw myself as a Lesbian. That's what I told myself. That's how others saw me. Until Koji. Auntie, Koji was so different! He was kind, gentle....I felt myself loving him But now, I'm so confused! I love Koji, I love women! It's like I don't even know who I am anymore....
It was now Georgette's turn to comfort .her niece...She stopped what she was doing, and took Violet in her arms.Violet lay her head on her Aunt's chest. She stroked her head gently.
"Poor dear. Such heavy burdens, for one so young!
Georgette sat down across the table from Violet and took her paws...
"You be whoever you are! You don't owe them a label! Follow your heart, dear. You're still so young...."
Violet looked up and smiled.
"The beauty salon offered me a chair. And the 'Y' hired me to teach a class two nights a week!"
Now Georgette smiled.
"Let's see what we're going to make for dinner...Ever made a pot roast? It's really easy....