This story contains descriptions of graphic sex between males. If that kind of thing does not appeal to you, stop reading now.
This story is pure fiction. If this resembles something that happened to you, it must have been an incredible experience. But it's simply a coincidence.
All comments are welcome: djwarner1984@hotmail.com Please donate to Nifty: https://donate.nifty.org/
-DJ
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The Inheritance Clause - 20
"Babe," Dawson heard Adam whispering softly to him.
"Babe," he heard Adam again, very softly, like off in the distance.
Dawson smiled. He pulled his arms in and hugged himself, dreaming of holding Adam.
"Dawson, wake up," Dawson heard Adam, louder this time.
Dawson opened his eyes and saw Adam looking down on him. He was lying on one of the beds in his room. Adam was standing next to the bed, bent over him. Adam was gently caressing his bicep.
"You fell asleep," Adam said softly.
"Oh," Dawson acknowledged as he stretched, "What happened? What time is it?"
"You must have fallen asleep after we came back from Rosemary's Point. We have about an hour before dinner," Adam said.
"Ok," Dawson said as he sat up.
"What's all this?" Adam said with confusion.
He gestured across the room. Adam's family photo albums were sprawled all over the other bed. Some were opened to a particular page. Others were closed with slips of paper sticking out of them. The canvas bag with the love notes was lying on its side on the bed, next to a small stack of photo albums. The love notes were piled up next to the bag. The Giorgio Brutini shoes were sitting on one of the couches. There was a Spanish-English dictionary next to the shoes. And there were six paintings, all lined up on the floor, leaning against the same couch.
Dawson rubbed his eyes.
"Well... It's just that... ok... so... I don't... I mean..." Dawson started and then kept stopping. He was trying to figure out where to start.
Adam simply looked at Dawson with a concerned face. Dawson cleared his throat and finally collected his thoughts.
"I found something," Dawson said, "I found a few things."
Adam was still looking at Dawson with concern. Dawson got off the bed and went in front of the six paintings. He rubbed his eyes again to try to wake himself up. He gestured down toward the paintings as he spoke.
"I looked up the two paintings in the dining room on the tablet. Turns out, they were painted by someone named Alejandro S. And I found out there were four more paintings in the house, by the same artist. Two were in the living room and the other two were in storage," Dawson explained.
"These are the two that were in the living room. They depict different terrain than the ones in the dining room. It looks like the same two people, though. They were closer, more defined in these paintings. You can see it's two young girls, maybe ten years old," Dawson continued.
Adam bent down and looked at the two paintings.
"Huh, I never noticed them before," Adam said.
"Then I found these two in storage. They are just landscapes. But this one is definitely the mountain we saw when we were out on the lake. These look like they were Alejandro's early works. They weren't as polished as the others. But even more interesting... I found these photos tucked into the corners of each of the paintings I got from storage," Dawson said.
He picked up two photographs. He handed them to Adam.
"These were used as the basis for the two paintings. Then it hit me. Your granddad might have been friendly with Alejandro S. Maybe the photos for these other paintings were in the albums we found in your granddad's office," Dawson said.
"Ah," Adam said when he got the explanation for why the photo albums were spread out all over the bed.
"Then, I found this," Dawson said excitedly.
He looked over the pile of open photo albums until he picked one up. He flipped to a page and handed it to Adam. Adam looked at it.
"See, here?" Dawson said as he pointed to a picture in the photo album.
He was pointing to a picture of two girls on the same hill they saw that afternoon.
"That's the photo used as the basis for that painting," Dawson said.
Dawson pointed at one of the paintings from the living room, propped up against the couch.
"Mmm," Adam hummed in agreement as he looked back and forth from the painting to the photo album.
"Look at the caption," Dawson said.
Adam's eyes widened. It said, 'Sarah Rawley and Camilla Santos'.
"That's my grandmother!" Adam said in astonishment as he looked closer at the photo and then again at the painting.
"Yup," said Dawson with satisfaction, "That's her when she was around ten years old. I got curious and started to look for pictures of your grandmother. There were a bunch with her and Camilla Santos. The Santos property was close by. Your grandmother must have met the Santos family from when she came to Rosemary's Point as a kid. And she became friends with Camilla Santos. Then I found this," Dawson said
Dawson took back the first photo album. He went over to the bed again and picked up the photo album he was looking for. It was opened to the right page. Dawson brought it over to the empty couch and he sat with the album in his lap. Adam sat down next to him. He moved the album to Adam's lap. Adam looked down and saw a picture with a bunch of people. His grandmother as a young girl was in the picture. There were other people in the picture with the last name Rawley, his grandmother's family name. And there were people with the last name Santos.
"Look at the names," Dawson said.
Adam traced with his finger as he read the names to himself. Then he stopped.
"Alejandro Santos," Adam said, "He's Alejandro S... the one who painted these..."
"Yup," Dawson said, "from what I put together from the photo albums, Alejandro was Camilla's father."
"Wow," Adam said as he looked at the picture, trying to match the faces with the names.
"So, it was your grandmother who knew Alejandro, the person who painted these pictures. Not your grandfather," Dawson explained.
Adam had a look of fascination on his face.
"There's more..." Dawson said with a serious tone.
Dawson stood and started to get animated.
"So, from what I can tell, Alejandro had five children, Camilla, Manuel, Luis, Helena, and Jorge. Manuel's daughter is Margherita, who currently runs the Santos farm," Dawson explained.
Adam nodded in acceptance.
"I knew Manuel was Margherita's father. And I knew Helena from when I used to come here in the summers," Adam said, "Everyone called her Abuelita. It was Manuel, Camilla, and Helena's grandkids I used to play with. I never knew Luis or Jorge."
"Ok...so..." Dawson said, "so..." he said again and averted Adam's eyes as he tried to find the words.
Adam looked at him with concern.
"So, I kept looking for pictures of the Santos family to confirm what I thought," Dawson said, "then I found this."
Dawson went to the edge of the bed where there was a closed album. There was a slip of paper sticking out of it. He picked the album up and opened it to where the paper was marking the page. He placed the piece of paper onto the bed. He brought the album over to Adam and slid it onto his lap, covering the first album. He pointed at one of the pictures. It was the Santos siblings all standing together as adults, Camilla, Luis, Helena, Manuel, and Jorge. They were somewhere in their twenties or thirties in age. They were dressed in nice clothes. It looked like they were at some kind of ceremony. Adam looked at the picture and read the names under it.
"So?" Adam said as he looked up at Dawson.
"Look at the shoes..." Dawson said softly.
Adam looked at the shoes of the Santos siblings in the photo. Realization hit him. He shifted his eyes to look at the Italian shoes they found in his granddad's closet, sitting on the other couch.
"They're Jorge's shoes?" Adam said with confusion as he looked closer at the photo.
"Yes," Dawson said as he nodded.
"What would my granddad be doing with shoes that belonged to Jorge Santos?" Adam said.
He looked to Dawson for an answer. Dawson's face looked like he was about to deliver bad news.
"What? What did you figure out?" Adam said.
"I found this tucked into the back of one of the albums," Dawson said softly.
He reached toward the bed and retrieved the slip of paper that he used as a bookmark in the photo album. It looked like one of the love notes they found in the armoire. He held it up and read it out loud.
"Clay -- I was thrilled you came to the rodeo this afternoon. I will call on you next week when we finish the tour. -- Jorge," Dawson read quietly.
Dawson sat down next to Adam and showed him the note. Adam sat in stunned silence as he looked at it.
"It's the same handwriting, same style, same paper, same everything, as all of the love notes we found in the armoire," Dawson explained, "The C in Clay is written exactly like the C in the love notes from Q."
Dawson got up and grabbed one of the love notes. He came back and sat next to Adam. He lined up the Cs in the two notes next to each other to show him. Adam could clearly see that they were the same. He could also see it was the exact same kind of note paper. Adam sat there, stunned. He took the two notes from Dawson. He aligned some of the words and letters between the two notes. Each pairing was close to identical. It was clear that the same person wrote both notes. He finally spoke.
"My granddad and Jorge?" Adam said with disbelief.
"It looks that way," Dawson said, "He was gay... or at least he was bi. Either way, he and Jorge definitely had a relationship. I went through all of the love notes. They all have the same handwriting and style. This one, by itself, doesn't reveal their secret. That must be why your granddad didn't hide it."
Dawson paused to let Adam absorb the news.
"I think Jorge died before I was born, but I'm not sure." Adam tried to make sense of what Dawson was saying, "I know he wasn't around when I used to come here when I was a kid," Adam mused out loud, "Are you sure these are Jorge's shoes?"
Adam looked closer at the picture again.
"I had doubts, too. It did seem hard to believe," Dawson continued, "So I went through the love notes and read them all."
Dawson got up and grabbed the pile of love notes on the bed. He came back and grabbed the albums in Adam's lap. He put the albums on the bed and put the love notes in Adam's hand. He sat back down next to Adam.
"Once you know Q is Jorge, the love notes make so much more sense," Dawson said.
Adam began reading the love notes while Dawson slipped his arm across Adam's shoulder and pulled him closer. He continued explaining what he discovered.
"Jorge spent a lot of time on the road with the horse shows, that's why Q was always out of town. Jorge and your granddad were trying to keep their relationship secret, so they left notes to each other. There were three of them signed by 'Querido'. I found a Spanish dictionary in the library and looked it up. It means, 'darling', in Spanish. I wonder if that's what your granddad called him. Jorge used notes and signed them Q so they could communicate without anyone finding out. If someone did find a note, they wouldn't know who it was from. There are several notes that refer to RP. It's clear by the context in the love notes that it means Rosemary's Point. Jorge secretly met up with your granddad there many times," Dawson said.
Adam was silent as he kept looking through the notes. He didn't know what to think. Dawson knew Adam needed time, so he just kept his arm over his shoulder as they sat there together, embracing him from the side. Eventually, Adam read every love note. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Dawson's torso, still clutching the love notes. He dug his head into Dawson's chest. Dawson held him and caressed his back. He kept leaning down and kissing the top of Adam's head. Eventually Adam sat up and put the love notes on the bed. He reached over to take Dawson's hand. They held hands, resting them on Adam's lap. Adam sighed. They contemplated the impact of what Dawson figured out.
"I just can't believe it..." Adam said softly, "I keep going through in my mind if there was any time he gave me any indication that he was gay."
"I know... that's what I kept thinking," Dawson said, "I went back through the albums. And then I was certain it was true. There were some pictures where your granddad and Jorge were in them, usually with other people, sometimes just them. There were a few pictures where it was kind of obvious now that there was something between them," Dawson began explaining and then paused, "I think if I looked at the pictures and didn't know they were lovers, I wouldn't have noticed anything."
Dawson got up and went to the albums sprawled on the bed. He picked up a stack of photo albums and brought them over. He sat down with the albums piled on his lap.
"Here, take a look. I marked them with these slips of scrap paper," Dawson said.
Dawson opened the first album and put it in Adam's lap. They began looking at the pictures as Dawson went through them.
"Look at this one. It looks like your granddad has his hand innocently around Jorge's back. But if you follow his arm, he has his hand in Jorge's back pocket or he's cupping his butt cheek," Dawson said with a neutral tone, "Either way..."
"Mmm," Adam said.
They went through a couple more pictures. Adam made small sounds as he came to realize the photos showed that there was something between the two of them.
"This must be what Krantz and Niven saw in us. Remember, they said they knew we were a couple because of all the looks and the touching?" Dawson said.
Adam didn't say anything. He was looking at the next picture. He got a funny look on his face as he examined a photo with his granddad, Jorge, and some horses. In the background was a huge sign that said, 'Santos Family Farm'. In the foreground, Jorge was smiling, standing next to the side view of a horse. He had his hand propped up on the saddle. His body was turned, facing the camera. Clayton was standing near the horse's head, facing Jorge, smiling. He also had his hand on the saddle. Their hands were touching. Clayton was looking at Jorge, smiling, with a loving gaze.
"That's weird," Adam said.
"What?" Dawson said.
"I feel like I've seen this picture before. It looks familiar," Adam said, "They don't have that sign anymore. It was from years ago when it was a working farm. But I know I've seen a picture just like this with that sign in it."
"Hmm," Dawson said.
He paused to think about it.
"You spent a lot of time over at the Santos property as a kid. Maybe they have this picture, too. Or you saw one with that sign," Dawson surmised.
"Yeah, now that I think about it..." Adam said, "They did have a lot of pictures in their house with people and horses. That must be why it looks familiar."
They continued to look at the pictures. Finally, they reached the last photo that Dawson had bookmarked. There were six people all posing together. Everyone was lined up with their arms around each other. But the way Clay and Jorge were touching was more intimate, much closer. Adam was about to close the album when Dawson stopped him.
"Wait. This was the clincher for me. Check this out," Dawson said as his finger touched the photo, "Jorge is wearing a gold chain necklace just like the one your granddad had. You can see it clearly in this picture."
Adam looked closer, then he sat up straighter.
"Hang on," Adam said excitedly.
Adam put the album down. He went into his room. A minute later he came back and stood in the bathroom doorway.
"Well, now he's done it," Adam said.
"Who did what?" Dawson said as he stood up.
"My father," Adam said.
He stood in the doorway and sighed.
"Someone went through my stuff. Everything is out of place. It had to be my father when we went to Rosemary's Point. He was looking for this," Adam said.
He showed Dawson his granddad's gold chain which he had retrieved from the safe in his closet. The rings dangled from it as he held it up.
"Really?" Dawson said with surprise, "Wow, good thing we put it in the safe."
"Yeah," Adam said.
He sighed again and then came toward Dawson. They both sat back down on the couch. Dawson picked up the album. Adam laid the chain across the photo. They both leaned in to look.
"It looks like the same kind of links," Adam whispered as acceptance finally hit him.
"Yeah, and there was that love note," Dawson said, "The one where Q thanked your granddad for the gift. And he said that he would always be near his heart when he wore it. Your granddad must have bought matching chains and gave one to Jorge."
Adam leaned into Dawson.
"It's so hard to believe," Adam said as he let Dawson envelop him in his arms.
"I know," said Dawson, "After I came to the point you are now, I lay on the bed to try to figure out how to poke holes in it. I couldn't come up with anything. All I did was come up with more confirming facts. Like, I saw a hitching post at the cabin today. There were those couple of notes that implied Q rode his horse to get to Rosemary's Point to meet up with your granddad. As I lay on the bed, I kept trying to come up with some other explanation for all these things that seemed random. But I couldn't. The shoes... and the notes... and the pictures... and the necklace... they all fit together. The next thing I knew, you were waking me up."
Adam took a deep breath and exhaled.
"We can't say anything to anyone about this, especially my father. My granddad wanted to keep this a secret. We don't have the right to expose it," Adam said.
"I agree," Dawson said softly, "We'll have to figure out how best to dispose of the love notes. I think we can keep the photos. They're fine as long as you don't know about Jorge and your granddad."
"What if we burn the love notes and scatter the ashes at Rosemary's Point?" Adam mused.
Dawson squeezed Adam tighter.
"I love that idea," Dawson said.
They stayed sitting on the couch. Dawson embraced Adam from the side for several minutes. They both contemplated what it must have been like for Adam's granddad and Jorge to hide their relationship.
"We should put these paintings back before dinner," Adam finally spoke.
Dawson slowly let go of Adam and stood. Dawson straightened his clothes, which were slightly mussed from sleeping. Adam put on his granddad's gold chain necklace and then he stood. He confirmed with his hand that the rings were hanging down the inside front of his shirt.
"Umm...," Adam said, "What happened to your hair?"
Adam began to pick at it to try to fix it. Dawson looked at him with tight lips, frustrated that it was messed up.
"Fix it for me?" Dawson said with a playful pout.
"Heh, heh, of course," Adam chuckled, "Here, sit down."
Adam gestured toward the couch as he went into the bathroom and came back with the gel.
Dawson sat on the couch. Adam stood in front of Dawson as he fixed his hair. Dawson gently took hold of Adam's hips. He slid his shirt up and kissed Adam's abdominal muscles. He kept planting little kisses as he moved toward his bruise. He gently rubbed his cheek against the tender spot where Adam was bruised.
"Eh-hem," Adam reprimanded him by clearing his throat, "What are you doing?"
"I was just checking where you got hurt," Dawson said.
Adam smiled as he finished Dawson's hair.
"Gorgeous," Adam said as he finished.
"You're gonna have to show me how you do that," Dawson said as he let go of Adam's shirt.
"I will," Adam said as he made his way into the bathroom to return the gel.
"Ready?" Adam said, coming out of the bathroom.
"Mmm," Dawson said.
The boys stacked up all of the albums and left them on Dawson's extra bed. Dawson picked up all of the love notes and put them back in the canvas bag. Adam picked up the shoes. The boys went into Adam's room.
"See? My drawers have all been gone through," Adam said as he opened a couple drawers in his bureau, "And look at all of my clothes in the closet."
The boys went into the closet. Dawson could see that everything looked slightly askew. They put the love notes into the safe and locked it. Adam put the shoes in his shoe tree.
"I think we'll donate the shoes," Adam said.
Dawson nodded but didn't respond. He had a thoughtful look on his face.
"What?" Adam said, "Did you figure something out?"
"No," Dawson said, "I was thinking... about the shoes..."
Adam looked at him with interest.
"I mean," Dawson said, "How did Jorge's shoes end up at your granddad's house? I can't figure out how you could go somewhere and then leave without your shoes? It's not like you'd forget them by accident, like a hat or a jacket."
"Hmm," Adam said as he started to think about it, too, "Yeah, I hadn't thought about that. That is weird."
Dawson couldn't come up with an explanation at that moment. He shrugged his shoulders. They went back into Dawson's room. Dawson grabbed the two paintings from the dining room. Adam grabbed the two from the living room. Adam opened Dawson's bedroom door and looked out into the hallway for Artie. There was no one there.
They went downstairs and headed for the dining room first. It was set up for dinner, which would be served shortly. They quickly put the pictures back onto the wall. They moved to the living room and rehung the two pictures there. The boys went back up to the room to get the photo albums. They returned them to the living room. As they were heading toward the dining room for dinner, they could hear raised voices.
"Well, I would say you've had enough time," they heard Artie practically yelling.
The boys came to the doorway of the dining room. Artie and the judge were standing, facing each other. Krantz had just come in from the kitchen doorway. He was standing with his mouth wide open.
"Mr. Jameson, I told you already. I will announce my decision tomorrow," Judge Lynch said firmly.
"Well, I don't understand what's holding you up. You should know by now. And you should tell us," Artie fumed.
"Dad!" Adam yelled, inserting himself into the argument.
His father and the judge turned and looked at him. Adam took a deep breath and exhaled. Adam turned toward Krantz.
"Good evening, Krantz. We'll have dinner whenever you and Niven are ready," Adam said as he pulled Dawson with him to take their seats.
The judge took advantage of Adam's interjection and took her seat. Artie looked at Adam, then at the judge. He finally just took his seat.
Dawson had watched the judge during the whole exchange with Artie. He read on the judge's face that she still had some uncertainty about her ruling.
"I've selected a red blend comprised of Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah. It should pair well with the roast Niven has prepared. Will everyone be having wine?" Krantz said.
They all confirmed they would and Krantz began pouring. Adam started talking about the boat ride and the conversation began to flow. Of course, Artie didn't go on the trip, so he had nothing to contribute. When the dinner was served, everyone was very complimentary as they dug in. Except Artie, who didn't say anything while he ate.
When everyone had finished dinner, Adam spoke up.
"I would like to have creme liqueur on the terrace before we watch the film. Anyone wish to join me?" Adam said.
The judge spoke first.
"I'm grateful for the invitation, but I should take some time alone and skip the film. I need to prepare for tomorrow," Judge Lynch said.
"Of course," Adam said.
Dawson watched the judge as she spoke. He was convinced now that he saw uncertainty on her face.
"I will have some creme liqueur on the terrace, Krantz," Artie said, not directly accepting Adam's invitation, but joining him anyway.
After a slight pause where Dawson was momentarily distracted by watching the judge, he said he would join them. The judge said goodnight and the others went out to the terrace.
It was a beautiful night. The two boys stood at the railing looking out on the lake. Artie took a chair about ten feet behind them, facing the lake. Krantz came out with the drinks and left. Adam and Dawson took sips while they gazed at the lake. Then Artie spoke.
"Adam, I want to talk to you... alone," Artie said with a demanding tone.
Adam slowly turned around.
"Do you have any idea how rude you are?" Adam began, "You sat there and let me invite Dawson out here and now you want him to go away so you can say whatever it is you want to say to me?!?!"
Adam paused. Dawson turned and looked at Adam.
"I'm supposed to listen to you?!?! After the way you treated me when I fell at the fence line?!?!" Adam said with increasing frustration, "No... No... You want to say something to me, you can say it in front of Dawson. Or don't say it at all."
Adam didn't wait for a response. He turned back around and looked out at the lake. Dawson looked down at his drink and turned around, too. There was quiet for maybe five seconds when Adam suddenly turned back around.
"Oh, and don't think I don't know that you ransacked my room looking for these," Adam said angrily as he reached into his shirt and pulled out the rings on the gold chain.
Dawson turned around to face Artie again. Artie and Dawson looked at the rings dangling from Adam's hand. Artie licked his lips.
"They belong to me. You will never get them," Adam said with satisfaction, "And you're lucky I don't call the police and charge you with attempted theft."
Adam put the rings back under his shirt as he turned around to face the lake again. Dawson looked at Artie. Artie made eye contact with Dawson. He could see only anger in Artie's eyes. Dawson broke eye contact and turned around to face the lake again.
There was quiet for a bit as the boys looked out over the lake and sipped their drinks. Artie just sat there. After about two minutes, Artie got up and went inside. When he was sure Artie was inside, Dawson leaned into Adam.
"I'm pretty sure he knows we're a couple, or at least he knows we're really close. I think he was going to confront you about it," Dawson said as he reached out his hand and caressed Adam's arm.
"Whatever..." Adam said, "After the judge rules tomorrow, either way, I don't want to ever have to talk to him again. My grandfather was right. He is an asshole."
"I'm sorry," Dawson said with sympathy.
"I know," Adam said.
Dawson covered Adam's hand, which was leaning on the railing. Dawson gently rubbed Adam's hand with his thumb. They stayed outside for a few more minutes enjoying the clear night and the creme liqueur.
Eventually, they placed their empty drink glasses on the service tray and went inside to go to the movie screening. As they were walking by the darkened ballroom, they heard a noise. Both boys immediately thought that Artie was trying to take Sarah's portrait, so they quickly jumped into the ballroom and turned on the light. Judge Lynch was standing in front of the paintings of Adam's grandparents.
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her chest, "Oh, my goodness! You startled me!"
"Sorry, we heard a noise and came in to investigate," Adam said.
"What are you doing in here in the dark? We thought you went to your room," Dawson said.
"Well..." Judge Lynch said and then paused.
She looked back and forth between the boys. She looked very uncomfortable.
"Well, I guess there's no harm in telling you. You'll find out tomorrow. I have gone over all the evidence at my disposal. I still don't have everything wrapped up cleanly," the judge said in a hushed tone, "There are still unanswered questions. I do not like it when things are uncertain. I came in here to see if I could get some inspiration by looking at these paintings of Clayton and Sarah Jameson."
A look of realization came over Dawson's face as he listened to the judge.
"You've just said it!" Dawson said.
The judge looked at Dawson with confusion. Then she looked at Adam to see his reaction.
"Said what? What did I say?" the judge said with her brow furrowed.
"All the evidence at your disposal!" Dawson exclaimed.
Adam and the judge stood there looking confused.
"Clause D... Have you looked at everything in clause D?" Dawson said.
Confusion gradually subsided as a surprised look spread slowly over the judge's face. It was then that the judge realized she had only seen the directives which Krantz and Niven had opened so far. She hadn't looked at the unopened directives from clause D.
"No. No, I haven't..." said the judge animatedly, "thank you, Dawson."
"You're welcome," Dawson said.
"How on earth did you come up with that?" the judge asked.
"Well, I've been wracking my brain trying to explain why Clayton made us stay here, isolated, for six months. Every time I go through in my head all the information I have, clause D is sitting there like a blinking red light because we don't have access to it. When you said, 'all the evidence at your disposal', I realized you have the same problem. Clause D was the first thing I thought of, because it's been bugging me," Dawson explained.
Adam smiled and slipped his hand into Dawson's. The judge looked back and forth between the two boys. Dawson's explanation seemed to satisfy her. She thanked Dawson again, said goodnight with relief on her face, and left the ballroom.
After she left, the boys started toward the screening room.
"Do you think whatever is in clause D will help?" asked Adam.
"I have no idea," replied Dawson.
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If you like this story, tell me: djwarner1984@hotmail.com And then donate to Nifty: https://donate.nifty.org/
-DJ