The moderator leaned back in her chair and studied StarShine for a moment before turning to me and sitting upright.

"Do you want to become a member of our Society?"

"Yes," I replied after a short pause. The question had caught me by surprise.

"Why?" Sheila asked.

"Survival," I responded.

Sheila tilted her head to one side as her eyes widened in an expression of puzzlement. "Survival?"

"Yes, survival. This is the high mountains in winter. Without the warmth and shelter of this place I wouldn't last a night out there." I swept my arm in a broad arc and gestured at the wilderness beyond the walls of the conference room. "Survival is much more than staying alive while we wait to die." 

I rose from my chair and walked to the edge of the stage. "Most of my life has been as a solitary man with few friends. Alone but not lonely. All my best friends have been female. I have no close male friends. Maybe it's because I was sexually abused as a kid, or maybe I'm weird. Whatever the reason, I enjoy the company of women more than I do the companionship of men." 

I held the palms of my hands open at my side and looked into the faces of the members. "All my best friends have been women. Some relationships were sexual and others were not. None have been with men." 

I twisted around to face Sheila and Alice. "I've only been here a short time," I glanced at my wristwatch and fingered the necklace I wore, "and most of that time was alone with Alice in the dark." I half laughed, brushed my thinning hair with my hand, turned sideways and scanned the attentive faces in the auditorium.

"Since my arrival I have made the acquaintance of some remarkable people and shared time with Sheila and Alice, many, many moments with Darlene, and a brief encounter with StarShine." I smiled and did a slight bow of honor and appreciation to StarShine.

"You want to know if I would like to be a member of this family," I extended my arms to embrace the membership. "I already feel like we are kin. It's strange, even from the moment I first arrived it was as if I were returning to a home I never knew I had. The answer is most definitely, yes!” I raised my voice and nodded in the affirmative.

"Yes. Yes I would," I spoke in a voice not much louder than a stage whisper as I returned to my seat.

My pounding heart drowned out the ringing silence of the hall. I forced myself to take slow steady breaths. It was unnerving. I couldn't figure from which direction the wind was blowing and that scared the shit out of me.

"Would you care to put that question into the form of a motion?" Sheila asked Alice's daughter.

The question appeared to take StarShine by surprise. For a brief instant her eyes darted around the room as she appeared to waver before she turned to her mother for support. Her reward was a broad smile and an enthusiastic nod of approval.

Her mother's support appeared to give StarShine the resolve she needed. Her posture became ramrod straight as she sat in her chair, took a breath and said, "I move we let him join our society."

"So moved. Is there a second?"

When Alice shifted in her seat I gave her a slight head shake while mouthing the word “wait.” It would look less like a family affair if someone else besides her mother seconded her motion.

"We have a motion on the table, is there a second?" Sheila repeated as she scanned the silent meeting.

"Second, for the purposes of discussion!" A voice called from the back of the hall. It was Brenda, the Society's Quartermaster.

"Moved and seconded. The question is now before us: shall Dennis Richards be admitted as a member of the Liberty Mountain Society of Sisters?" Sheila spoke in the neutral tone of a seasoned meeting moderator. She gave a tiny emphasis to the word “shall.” I couldn't be sure if she was using the word as a question or a command.

"StarShine, would you like to speak to the motion?"

"Huh? Eer, yeah, I mean yes, Madame Moderator." Alice’s daughter hesitated as she rose to her feet, uncertain of the protocol of motion making. She was a typical meeting rookie. Folks making a motion for the first time are often unprepared to explain why members should support their position.

One of the women sitting behind StarShine whispered something and the daughter nodded, paused and stood straight and poised as she gathered her voice.

"I had never met a man before he came here," She studied my face and brushed her hair with her hand as a nervous smile wrinkled the sides of her eyes. "I like him," she grinned at me, "and my mother likes him also." She paused and started to sit down.

"And I think he likes me, too. Please vote for him, " StarShine blushed and dropped into oh her seat with a soft woosh.

Doing a quick head count, it seemed like slightly more than half the membership seemed to be on the friendly side with several showing obvious signs of approval. Many of the women had relaxed smiles, neutral to positive body language, and most returned my glance with a glance of their own.

Three or four ladies were in the same clique that accused me of assaulting Alice and her daughter; they glowered at me with faces which could have been carved out on a glacier.

Then there were the woman of the twilight zone. I had no idea which side they were on; whatever emotional cards these ladies were holding were being played too close to their chests.

"Point of personal privilege, Madame Moderator," Alice held her hand in the air and rose from her seat.

"Which point is that?" Sheila inquired as her eyebrows arched in an expression of puzzlement.

"My daughter, bless her heart, misrepresented the relationship I have with Mr. Richards. I rise to correct the record." Alice's hand gripped the back of her chair.

"Continue," Sheila said with a wave of her hand.

"My daughter said that I like him. It's much more than like. We became lovers, but not the kind of casual lovers who enter our lives for a moment to be quickly forgotten. It was different and it felt like we were family," Alice explained.

"So noted for the record." Sheila tapped her gavel lightly on the wooden sounding block and checked her watch.

"We have a motion on the floor and we've been meeting for just over two hours. The chair declares a ninety minute recess for dinner and a body break; I've reached the limit of human endurance and I gotta take a piss and get something to eat." Sheila shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "We'll continue debate on the motion when we reconvene." Sheila banged the gavel, "We stand in recess."

A chorus of "Amens" and one "Thank God" gave testament to her impeccable sense of timing as members headed for the exits and the nearest bathroom.

Darlene, StarShine, and the Brenda the Quartermaster rushed into the well of the amphitheater and motioned for me and Alice to join them.

"We've got only and hour and a half so we've got to hustle!" Darlene gave me a hug as we gathered around her in a group huddle.

"I want you, Brenda, and StarShine to talk to as many people as possible while we're in recess and try to get their support for the motion," Darlene told Alice. "While you're doing that, I'll bring him around to shake hands and let him introduce himself. I think we may have almost enough votes to carry the question," she explained as she pushed me in the direction of the beverage cart by the exit.

"Everyone, grab a coffee for the road, we've got work to do," StarShine said as she thrust a hot mug of Java in my hands.

The next ninety minutes passed in a hurried blur of introductions, handshakes, and friendly hugs as Darlene and I moved among the multitude of women. With the exception of the frost queen and several of her companions, most of the sisterhood were friendly and receptive to the idea sharing their home with me.