E-mail Order Groom

My dad, along with half of my family, got the last valet parking spot for his van at the restaurant we had picked for my parents' fortieth anniversary. I received a paid-for parking slip for the parking garage across the street, so I also dropped off everyone in my van by the entrance.

I pulled into the parking garage across the street and started going around in circles, trying to find a place to park. On the top floor, I finally found a parking spot. I saw it was 8E 9, for when I picked the van up later.

As I walked toward the elevator, I heard a crash followed by explosions that rocked the garage. Turning that way, I saw flying rubble and smoke through the openings.

When I ran over to the restaurant side of the garage and looked down, I saw that there wasn't anything but a deep crater with debris still falling back into it. The hole was probably fifty feet bigger and deeper than the restaurant had been.

I stared till I fell to the floor screaming. People tried to assist me, but finally left me to my sorrow.

Much later, after talking to the police and giving them my name, Bertran Pool, and my personal information, I went home to the nothingness.

Two days later, the police said that the explosions came from a semi-truck with twin tankers of jet fuel crashing into the restaurant and exploding. The police ascertained this from the cams in the area.

The next three weeks were a horrible blur. Setting their memorial services for my entire family and friends, and then attending that memorial with all our friends and employees. Then, placing plaques on the memorial wall at our local cemetery didn't seem real.

A friend I had always respected came over one Sunday afternoon and "Had The Talk!" to me. "You can't go on like this. You are now the owner of four businesses with over two hundred seventy employees who are scared and don't know what to do. For all they know, you could just close everything."

After thinking about it all night, I attended my first staff meeting since the accident. My oldest employee and friend said," The entire staff wants to buy the company from you. You've seemed to lose all your caring for the business, and we're all are scared of what the future will be like. That would still leave you with three other companies. You could get an independent appraisal, and we'll pay you that amount." Before the end of the meeting, I agreed to sell it to them.

I went home and wrote e-mail's to the employees of the other three businesses about them buying the businesses. I saw it was my first time online since the accident.

My wife's and Mom's business employees contacted me late the next morning and said, "They wanted to do it for all of us. Please appraise them, and we will work out the details ASAP (as soon as possible)." They also said, "They each had a long-time patron who could back them." I called and discovered that they were different, non-related women for their patrons.

I got kind of funny e-mails from my father's car dealership. To a person, they all said, "Johnnie's Daddy will buy it for her. Get it appraised."

After thinking for a time, I knew what I wanted to do. I called a sports center to use their meeting room and was told that whenever I wanted, it would work. My family had a long history with them. I requested it in four days, at about 5 pm. I called the Abused Women's Shelter, the Veterans' Outreach program, and the local Operation Feed program. I also called the owner of a clothing resale shop and a friend, who was a bar owner, and asked for help. I told them, "I wanted to talk to them about donations to their programs. They could only have three people in attendance at the meeting."

I called Manny, an appraiser my company had used in the past to receive funding for historical building upgrades. We were mainly restorers of these buildings and brought them up to code without losing their historical status.

After his sorrowful statements about my losses, he asked why I called. I asked him, "How busy is his company right now?" "We are kind of slow with the summer breaks starting soon." "Why," he asked. "Your company just got very busy if you want the work I have for you," I said. "First, I want all four of our businesses appraised for sale to the employees. "You know them, don't you?" He uttered "Yes." "If that isn't enough, I want to sell my parents' house, my brother and sisters' condos, and my house too," I stated. "Can you do that, and how soon?" I asked.

"Let me call you back in about half an hour with the answers," Manny requested.

I agreed, and we hung up.

Forty minutes later, Manny called back. "I can have all four businesses appeased in ten days from when we start. I will put three appraisers crews per business for 1 1/2 days, plus rotate in the other crew to check for a day each to ensure no hidey-holing of assets." I agreed.

"The appraisals on the houses and condos could be handled by Claudia's company; she is my cousin, and you have used her before." "They could also list them for you, too." He said.

"I think you should call Casper's Sales and Auctions about selling everything in the properties after you take what you want." He continued.

I agreed with him and told him, "To get everything going, and bill me for all the coordination, too."

I called Casper's Sales and Auctions and was put through to Fred Rogers, an old friend from school, when I introduced myself.

"Bert, I've been expecting this call from you since my wife, Cammy, called me from work saying you were selling the companies. I thought the next thing you wanted to do was clear out the houses and sell them. We can handle the sales and auctions, if needed, for you. We would have a three-day sale at each property after they were listed for sale. Cammy said you have two large houses with land, plus two condos that are very close together. Is that right?" I said, "Yes." "We think the best way to handle this is a house sale, then the two condos together sale, and then sale the last house." I agreed, and we made a verbal contract.

The following day, the wills for everyone were read, and I owned all their properties, bank accounts, insurance, and investments. All their debts had been paid in full. They handed me all the completed paperwork as well.

Before my meeting, I had returned all the loaner cars my family and I drove to the dealership and moved our three personal family vehicles to the Sports Center's secured parking.

The two hours I planned for the meeting became five hours. All the women's clothes from all the properties were going to the Abused Women's Shelter, and all the men's clothes, except for my everyday clothes, were going to the Veterans Outreach Program. The kid's clothes from my house were going to the shelter. I introduced Mari from Mari's high-end clothing store. I said she could sell the high-end clothes for their charities, which would help their programs earn more money. My family had used her for years to both buy and sell clothes. After a short discussion, the profits from the clothes should be split between the three charities, not just two.

The Operation Feed Program was to take all the foods from all the properties.

I introduced my friend Cory, the bar owner, and told them he was taking all the alcohol, beer, and other spirits with him, because I felt their clients didn't need them. They all agreed with my thinking.

I also gave them each a vehicle for their needs. A heavy hauler with a quid cab to Operation Feed that I had used whenever we needed large or heavy things moved. A 14-passenger van was given to the Abused Women's Shelter. My mother used it for transporting friends, kids, and whoever she wanted to. An extended cab pickup with a tall topper to the Veterans Outreach program, it was our family's camping vehicle.

The next day, all the food, cooking supplies, and alcohol were removed. Spoiled foods were thrown away, and the areas were cleaned. The clothes were removed at the same time. I also took all the electronics to have them wiped and given back to their charities for their use. Plus, any firearms we owned were taken to be sold.

By the second Thursday, all the appraisals had been given to me, and I approved them. After each company approved them, I sent the appraisals to my lawyers to write contracts.

Finally, I had everything set in motion to sell everything. The four businesses were sold five days later, but not without major turmoil. People tried to offer more money for them than was agreed on. I held firm on the prices and who was buying them.

I rented a short-term house and moved everything I wanted into it. I started working on my pride and joy, a 1974 Dodge crew cab pickup, because I planned to travel in it after the sales. Plus, I had a mid-sized camping trailer, which I had bought, updated, and painted to match my pickup.

Unexpectedly, during these times, I received a flock of e-mails from Grace, an ex-fiancée and close friend; I hadn't spoken to too much in the last ten years.

Bert - I've not heard from Jean for our bi-weekly e-mails in weeks. What is wrong?

Grace - read the Explorer Newspaper online dated May 14th.

That day, I thought about Grace and our past. She was my first love, and I had planned on eloping with her when we both graduated from college. The three of us were always together. When Grace and I started dating, Jean was with us over half the time until we got very close. However, she had to return to her home country, Tramgo, which I didn't know she was from, because her father was very ill.

Three days later, an e-mail: Bert - I'm so sorry to re-injure your loss. Jean and your entire family were closer to me than my own. Even though we haven't contacted each other directly, I have kept up with you through Jean. Bert, can we keep in touch via e-mail?

Grace, we can, but not with constant reminders of what I've lost.

Bert - I totally agree. I need you to do something for Jean and me. Go into her desk, and on the left side, in the middle drawer, is a small book and a device with two SD cards with our names marked on ours.

Later, after returning to the house, I opened the drawer with mixed emotions after I sat down. Under a folder was a specially made holder for the book. On the cover was written:

Jean Pool's book My husband, Bert, is the only one else who can read it! If either of us can't read it, destroy it unopened!!! Also, destroy the SD cards!!!

After rereading the cover many times, I unlocked the book with the password we had shared for years.

As I started opening the book, I found it was divided into three parts, plus referencing the SD Cards. The first part was a fifteen-some years-plus diary of important events and people. At three years, it was closed off with a clip holding a note: "Not important for Bert to read this past info. The second was investments, which I knew nothing about, but I was the beneficiary of Jean's part. Grace was a partner in all of them. The investments were spread across the world. The third part is what she and Grace would do for each other and their families.

I started reading part one and was shocked at what it contained. The hard-to-read part started four months ago. Before and after that, I found bios with pictures of important people to Jean and Grace. The bios were almost condensed books of people, including their pictures, places, and organizations with which they were involved. They could have been the pre-scripts of sixty-minute shows on the information channels.

Jean found out she had a slow-growing stage four cancer. She had it checked by three different medical teams. The last doctors found it had metastasized and was spreading more daily. They gave her seven months of normal life with no treatment and maybe nine months with treatment. In the end, she could expect two months of terminal health before death. She was told of this on the Friday before the explosion. Jean planned to tell me and my family about it after my parents' anniversary party.

Jean had gotten three legal end-of-life pills from different countries, none of them from Tramgo, where Grace is from. This didn't surprise me because she had said since she was about thirteen that she would not lie and linger as her Aunt had for almost two years, lying in a coma for the last three months.

A heavy piece of paper was secured in the book, with paper clips holding the other pages together. Bert, if you're here. Read Grace's info on her SD card first, before going on.

I took the SD card marked 'Grace' and went to my old home office, where I set up my laptop and inserted the card. I sat and had a beer from a local brewer I had bought earlier, and worried about what the card would reveal.

As it booted the card, I saw it had been updated the day after I answered Grace's e-mail with no constant reminders.

"Bert - I have so much to tell you, but first, I want to give you a short history about me," she started.

"With my Aunt and Uncle, I was sent to live in the USA to attend high school and college in your town. I was royalty from Tramgo, but I had no connection to it while I was there. That all changed during my sophomore year of college.

I had to return home because my father was sick. He had contracted an illness in the Congo six months before. I hated leaving you, because I loved you so much. I also missed all my other friends too. Jean and I talked about you before I left. I expected she would be all over you as soon as the plane's tail was out of sight, but she fooled me by waiting two weeks." And as she told me, "It was then a full-on press, from which you had no hope of getting away from. Seventeen months later, you were married, and your twins were born."

"When I went home, I found my father, the King, was dying. He named me his executive secretary. Six months later, he abdicated, and I became Queen of Tramgo. Less than a year afterward, he died. "

"Tramgo was a small country in Western Europe. It has a mass of 400 miles by 200 miles. It had never been invaded because there were only three ways into the country: two through narrow winding mountain passes and one narrow pass into a lake in another country, all of which are guarded 24/7. Also, because of the winds over the mountains, there were only limited places and times that small aircraft could land, which were also guarded 24/7," she explained.

She wrote, "I met Rococo, an unlanded Earl, whose country was annexed by another, about a year before my dad died. After six months of dating, we married and seemed to be happy, and I made him my consort with a salary.

After three years of trying to have children, we were tested. He was sterile, and it drove him crazy. He moved out of our home, and he started having sex with the sickest whores. Within seven months, he had HIV and AIDs, plus other diseases. I quickly annulled the marriage as soon as he left, and removed the consort title, but left the salary in place. After eight months, he was killed in a bar fight he started. None of his family came to the service."

She continued, "As an unmarried Queen, I have had numerous suitors. Most of them had titles but not much else. Truthfully, the one I wanted wasn't free: You. Then Jean called me and said, "I will be giving Bert back to you in a few months."

"Watch the travel videos on this card. The one in an open file was produced by our cultural department when I mentioned one for you. It has attracted a lot of new visitors to Tramgo since its release. The one using your and Jean's password was made by me, showing the areas where the public isn't allowed. The only place I didn't record was my personal suite," she explained.

"After seeing these and reading Jean and my info, can I get you to come, visit, and maybe stay?

Jean started the paperwork about three months ago to help you become a citizen through immigration or by marrying a citizen of Tramgo. She has done all the follow-ups on it. It is scheduled to be issued within two months. You also have a two-year visa awaiting your entry into Tramgo. Again, this is Jean's work. "

"If you think I only want you to sit around as a loving puppet for me. Not True!! You can do anything you want as my King. You would be required to do small things, as the King, though.

Jean sent me videos of your classes and your messages to different organizations. I've tried to work with these premises into repairs for our poorer people, who have the greatest housing needs. Most of our permanent workers have seen all the videos and work with these principles. You could have these workers and artisans at your side.

Again, do not think I want you here to work. That is not true. I want you to be happy!! I am only telling you this if you are interested or if it would fill your needs to work.

If you come, they will store your personal items in the shipping containers until you commit to me, or want to have them returned to you there," she added.

"Since Jean's diagnosis, we talked about you. Both of us knew there is still a very strong connection between us. She wanted us to get back together. She added my name and a little about me to your daily conversations. I want you here for me, and my country.

I think a month-long visit would be a good start to show you if you want to work on our relationship and Tramgo in the future.

Call me. I have a local number for all your calls. 777-123-4567 anytime.

I've given you a lot to think about for now. Please think about this, and e-mail or call me anytime with questions or just to talk," she ended.

I removed the cards, the book, and the electrical device from the drawer. I put them and my laptop into my truck. I did little else but think until the first house sale. Before noon on the first day, an offer was made for the full price plus a lot of the furnishings. They put down half of the cash on a nonrefundable deposit. They said, "They were friends with my parents and had always loved how they lived here." By the end of the banking day, payment in full had been deposited into my account. The rest of the auction was canceled, and I moved all the unsold items to my house. The media loved the story, and everyone was excited about the rest of the sales.

The condo sales were not as crazy, but no Sunday sales were required. Monday, both were sold after a slight bidding war, which netted over $5,000 more than the listed prices for the two.

Before the sale at my house, it sold for full price, too. They permitted me to have the sale, in writing, with a first-dibs option. They filled two of the five bedrooms with household items, plus one of the garage bays with maintenance equipment for the house, pool, and yard. My house was also paid for before the end of the third day.

The following Tuesday, I sat down at my bank with a banker and my lawyer, where I signed ten thousand-dollar checks as donations to our three charities from each of my family members, our businesses, and myself. To make it come out, I wrote one from "cause" to ensure the donations come out to $350.000 for each of the charities. The lawyers wrote a notarized letter that they had to sign and have it notarized by the notary, who presented it with the hand-delivered envelope with the checks. These donations were not used as advertising, calls for like donations, or to extract money because of them. With my lawyer's approval and attendance, a plaque with the family's names placed in their headquarters with a minor ceremony would be okay.

During this time, Grace and I e-mailed one another at least once a day. The once-a-day phone calls became at least an hour long.

Just before the sales, a friend called me about something he had seen at a friend's garage that he knew I once had. I went, saw it, and fell in love with the finished idea. I bought it, requested it done in forty-five days, and repainted it Canary Yellow.. I told Grace I had to go on a final trip that could put me out of almost all contact for about thirty days, but I would call her every night I could. She was very sad, but understood. That night, I got on the first flight of several to Tramgo. After the landing, I went the last fifty miles by bus. I received a two-month visitor visa upon entering the country.

I had booked a middle-class hotel at the edge of the capital online.

The next day, I started day-tripping with my guide, whom I hired for the month, with many recommendations from the staff and hotel owner. For the first nine days, I followed a list from the best internet website and the DVDs Grace had sent me.

After the ninth day, we returned to the hotel. Jaco, my guide, asked to see my list and the DVDs. When he stared at me after seeing them, I said, "Don't say anything, please."

He promised he wouldn't. Before going on, he said, "These lists are okay for the average visitor, but you have always asked questions that show your deep interest in Tramgo. I would like to take you on more in-depth trips until you want to return to your list. If you're going to help Queen Grace and Tramgo, let me show you the inner workings of our country. I am also applying for the position of your PA, when you need one."

Since the loss of my family, I hadn't shaved or gone to a barber, so I didn't look like me. No one could recognize me if I FaceTimed them. I felt this would help when I showed myself to Tramgo and Grace.

The next day, we started more in-depth day-tripping. Each day, I learned at least twice as much as before by using the internet, DVDs, and printed works.

I saw Grace in her Queen role, and I was impressed by the thoughtful way she treated situations and people.

Over three days, we visited all four sites that protected the country. They were undermanned, the living conditions were vastly inadequate, and their weapons needed to be repaired or replaced. I was shown the buildings that were built for the troops with their families, with unused and locked armories and jail cells, with the bars stored in an out-of-the-way room. They were all taken by one family as hotels, without purchasing them.

I taught with printed books that all working people were taxed at set rates. This covered all their personal needs, including schools with meals, retirement, universal healthcare, roads, and public works. The tax for this was a maximum of eight percent of their wages, unless two things were true: At sixty-five, it went down two percent. It increased to ten percent if you earned over $100,000 annually. In two districts, the tax rate was a flat eight and a half percent, and no rate change at sixty-five. They sent in the corrected funds and reported having very few high-wage people, which was not true. These actions in two districts were set up by two long-time families that were "Royalty." The two families were intermarried for hundreds of years.

And lastly, a contractor was billing the country for unneeded, unperformed work. They owned two pieces of equipment that repaired the roads at the rate of three miles a day each. There was little need for the emergency repairs.

I was shown different minor problems county-wide, but we felt that if the major issues were corrected, others would self-correct, seeing the changes taking place in Tramgo.

Jaco said next week was the annual meeting of the retired police and military with the Queen. There were none of the people we should fear, but a retired general and his son, a Major on active duty, Como, would be in attendance.

The next day, I contacted Grace and asked to meet with her privately in two days. She screamed, "Yes". I asked to be escorted in the back way at about 10:30 am. Again, the answer was a loud "Yes."

I went to a list of different appointments. A photographer, a barber, and I had my good clothes unpacked after over two months, ironed, and refreshed. Then I went to the capital's main library to check on the public information about the people who would be attending next week's meeting.

When I was shown into Queen Grace's library, I tried to bow to her, but I didn't get over about four inches forward before she grabbed me. After minutes of hugs and kisses, she let me get back far enough for me to smile. I started to kiss and hug her back.

We finally sat across from each other, and tried to talk quietly, while smiling as big as we could, while holding hands.

"I expect you to be mad at me, but I've been in the country for four days over a month, getting to know both the country and its people's Queen from their viewpoint, and I am very impressed at both from looking in. But I was shown three outstanding problems that you and your leaders are currently unaware of. These three, in my opinion, must be corrected ASAP."

Holding up her free hand, Grace said, "I was informed about a foreigner who was inspecting my country in odd ways, and as soon as I saw who it was behind his homegrown disguise, I decided to let you continue. When Jaco took you off script, the people I trusted stayed close to you.

When he showed you the stolen dormitories, I didn't know about them before, and that the arms and personnel were not up to the standards for my country. I had to hide in my private gym and scream with madness and frustration at not publicly doing anything." "Yet!"

"Yesterday, eight huge crates arrived, two of which are stored in four warehouses close to the border control posts, waiting for your orders."

"You and I will discuss how to do it privately. My King to be!" she said, grinning.

I said, "After thinking about it and talking to Jaco, I feel the best way to handle this is at the exact moment when we take over the dormitories and their theft and re-man all the posts till we can check the personnel assigned.

I feel we should arrest the entire families, take their estates, and all their funds and businesses at once for defrauding your people for years and the kingdom." She said. "I think we need to put them all in protective custody, from all the people they defrauded, when they are exposed."

Grinning, she said, "The last problem, I know what it is. I have a personal solution to that problem. My distant cousin, Manie, went to school; he now has four Master's degrees, I think, to work for the man who owns the road repair company. He trained for over seven years, in three different countries, to fully master the job. He hired him and five days later fired him, and "As a former employer," blackballed him here, until he left the country and went to another country, and within a year, he was in charge of the country's major highways. They are four times our size, but he would return for a limited time to get control."

Grace told me, "The Queen needs a dinner party for retired officers." Then she told me, "Later in the evening, only the ones we trust will discuss these problems and how and when to do it. Is tomorrow too soon?"

I said, "No, the sooner, the better."

I found Grace, I mean the Queen, wanted a private dinner party for sixty-four people the next night, so it wasn't a problem for her staff. The invitations were sent out, and all were RSVPED within two hours of their receipt. The Como family didn't get invited.

The next night, the Queen, the top retired General, and I, with Jaco advising me, were in the greeting line at the dinner, along with guards everywhere. The Queen asked everyone to stand at their chairs, which they did rapidly, and the chaplain gave us our prayer. She asked everyone to be seated.

Grace introduced me as her boyfriend from her teenage years, my background, and the recent loss of my family. She added that I had been inspecting our country with Jaco and had conducted an in-depth visit to the country, with no one knowing that he could soon be marrying their Queen. I got up to speak. "I had found three disturbing problems for Tramgo that must be corrected ASAP, in our opinion. I explained each problem to them in depth. They asked to be allowed to talk together for about an hour, if the dinner could be moved back that far.

Smilingly, the Queen said, "The dinner was scheduled in an hour and a half from now, and could be delayed, if necessary."

While they were talking, a huge box was carted to the center of the room and opened. Inside were three cases of rifles, six cases of pistols with holsters, and ammo for both. Then there were guns for mounted vehicle usage and replacements for the present guns guarding entrances to Tramgo, along with their ammunition. As they stared at the Queen, she said," There are seven more boxes secured in locations where they are needed.

Forty-seven minutes later, different men had sat down until only two men were standing. Chuckling, one sat down. The man who was left squared himself and marched up to the Queen's table. Standing at attention, he saluted us and said, "Colonel Hubbard reporting as ordered." He was told, "At ease. Continue."

He said, "During a discussion between the retired personnel, they had come to many quick decisions. He said, "Excuse me for how disjointed my information is at this moment."

The border control posts are located less than two blocks from the hotel/barracks. This has been a problem since before the King got so sick. Deploy the new armaments within minutes after, or with, the takeover of the posts, except for the new rifles and pistols, which should be issued beforehand. Utilize second-year recruit trainees to take over the border control posts, with instructors serving as the top enlisted personnel. Use the 1st year recruit trainees as backups as needed. Recall selected retired officers back on active duty for no less than four months, for at least the four sites as interim Commanders. There may be more needed. Everyone has volunteered to be recalled if needed.

All troops, from the lowest to the top, will need to be checked for their actions before possibly returning to service.

Pull the top eight enlisted shooters from all the different posts around the country. Temporarily reassign them as mounted and mobile firepower for the border control posts. Also, assign and train the top-scoring eight second-year student shooters to improve their skills with the new weaponry.

Just thoughts: When you take the two districts down, use police and military from as far away from them as possible. We have two trucks with reinforced covered sides and tops to put about thirty-five adults each. In the short term, we could use the Senior Training RNs to care for the children in separate locations.

The highway repair company's equipment and offices, our senior enlisted mechanics and operators, will want to take their highway and other wheeled repair equipment. They would drive them off, put them under cover, and disable everything. Our MPs would love to take the employees' prisoners because of the way some of them act.

These are our thoughts.

After talking to Grace, the general, and Colonel Hubbard, I asked how soon, from tonight, a Friday night, could we make these arrests?

He answered, "We all talked about that and agreed that very early morning Wednesday, about 0300. That way, we would catch everyone in their beds and minimize problems.

After the general's input and the Queen's, I agreed. Before they left, the Queen talked to Colonel Hubbard for a few minutes.

The next morning, I was fitted for a military-style suit and was told it would be ready tomorrow afternoon. Seeing my confusion, Grace sat us down and explained, which made me grin widely. Tuesday, about three-thirty pm, a van pulled up, and six people got out and snuck up to Grace's public living room as I was talking to Colonel Hubbard.

As they showed up, unknown to me, Grace told me to get the suit on, and that she would have someone get me when it was time for this afternoon's function. One of the maids came and got me grinning and escorted me back to the living room. Standing there were four Graces, wearing their military silver-gray uniforms, with three men in copies of my new suit. Hers were an exact match; mine were very close with a little more makeup needed. "Bert, in a few minutes, we are going to be on local TV to introduce you and talk about a conference we're going to tomorrow afternoon, said Grace, and then added, "People will see us everywhere during these takeovers, which will give them a relaxed feeling that their Queen knows that this is happening. From now on, you will see these people off and on in our places. I've never had any instances where they were in danger, but it's best to be alert. It will allow us to have some "US" time off and on.

They were off to their appointed locations right after I met each one. Grace and I would be in one of the worst offender districts.

I'm proud to say that everything went off as planned. One family tried to escape, but was quickly caught and returned.

The next day, Queen Grace appeared on international TV and made announcements about the events of the previous day. She also said, "Bert had spent an extended time undercover with other agents checking the people, county, and royals for the Queen and officers." They posted pictures of me in my homegrown disguise.

Checking on the Dormitories: We found that most permanent residents were military with families, and all but three employees were attached to the military by retirement or were part of families connected to the military. This made our job more straightforward to find out about what was happening with the dormitories. The family only came by to pick up the money on the third of every month. The jail cell bars were mounted. It was questioned if some of the family members could be the first to try them out? It took a while to answer them no. The armories were carefully opened. They contained weapons, along with other military equipment and supplies for setting up the dormitories, which were still in their shipping crates.

The road repair was taken over, and all but one employee was shocked by what was happening. Manie, Grace's cousin, arrived to streamline the entire operation. With the Queen's approval, a two-person rotating crew stayed at each dormitory. The people quickly found that a three-day wait for a pothole repair was an unheard-of problem.

The four families were the most complex part, because the information was quickly leaked on what and why Royalties and all their families had been arrested. Their armed guards and help around them were hired from far outside Tramgo to ensure their safety. The Queen sentenced each family group, within the families, separately in secret, with me in attendance. They were given two options. First Option - There is a trial in an open court with a jury for each adult who disagrees with our sentences. Second Option - extradition to countries at least six thousand miles away, with a place to stay for one year, free education at a college or trade school till graduation for all children. With at least a high school graduation for all members' children under fifteen years old when you leave. Each of the families would be relocated at least 100 miles from the others. You will have $20,000 in local cash per family. One personal vehicle loaded with your inspected items per driver. All your funds, property, and other personal items are forfeited. All the charges that could be brought against you in this country will be held in government files. That would be forwarded if you are charged, with other major crimes in your new country. They were all told never to return or interface with people of Tramgo or face trial. I'm doing this because you are my extended family members, and I don't think there is a chance for a normal life for you here.

Everyone agreed to the second, except eight couples and their children. They picked a leader to speak for them. "Queen Grace and Bert: We request that we be allowed to stay here. We haven't had anything to do with our families for at least seven years, and we all changed our last names. We know our parents named us to bring us back into the family, but we won't go. We've built up our jobs and businesses with our hard work. We don't think anyone would do anything to us. Check with our neighbors and friends." Their stories were checked, and it was agreed they could continue their present lives. All of the adult-aged members would carry a special alert monitor in case of problems. Their information was taken out of the usual security channels and held by the Queen.

We watched the turmoil and all these changes made in the short term, but it quickly died down. The people showed their love for their Queen and their regard for me in finding out these problems and helping to resolve them.

Over the next three months, Grace and I lived as the best of friends, roommates, each of us trying to ensure what we really had now.

Finally, I proposed to her, and she said 'yes' at least 20 times. But she said, "But you were my 'E-mail Order Groom", and you were picked months before we started e-mailing again.

A royal wedding was planned to coincide with the Tramgo Festival day.

Luckily, my containers arrived slightly over a week before our wedding. I had Grace's present readied and parked in front of the chapel with the proper "Just Married" decorations. It also had a present ribbon and bow. Grace almost tripped as she saw her 1956 Chevy convertible parked outside. She did stop us and kissed me, and thanked me for her present. She had to leave her 56 when she returned to Tramgo in a hurry to return to her father. Thousands of cheering people lined our route to where a boat waited to take us out of the county for a short honeymoon.

We traveled the country in my truck and trailer. Everyone got to know us very well with these trips. And yes, we traveled with guards, who proudly and happily guarded us at a distance.

Grace announced publicly four months later that she was three months pregnant. Over the years, she announced two more pregnancies, resulting in three more children for us.

At our twenty-fifth anniversary celebration, Grace abdicated in favor of our oldest son. The country loved him, his wife, and his new daughter.

At our thirtieth anniversary celebration, Grace and I reveled in our happiness. As she told of how she wrote for an E-mail Order Groom, and I accepted her request. All of our family and friends laughed and congratulated us.