The Rich Man’s Daughter

This is the tale of “The Rich Man’s Daughter,” as told by Papa McMillan, the oldest, drunkest, most lying cowboy in the Middle of Nowhere.

“It all began when Ken arrived at the ranch. Now, that a man named Ken arrives as a new worker in a ranch would have nothing remarkable, except that this man’s complete name was Ken Watanawa, and he was a Japanese cowboy, if I may put it that way.

At first, the other cowboys didn’t like Ken. However, he was a brave man and a hard worker. So, after a few months, the others abandoned their hostility toward him. Especially when he saved Stanton Jr., the ranch’s owner’s son, from drowning in the river; that was probably Ken’s best day at the ranch.

There was, however, a weird rumor about Ken. Some of the girls in the town said that he liked doing “weird things” to his dates. This, of course, excited the curiosity of the other men. But the girls who had been with Ken wouldn’t talk. That is, they would admit that he had unusual tastes, but none of them would complain about them.

Then, along came the war. I’m talking about WWII. After Pearl Harbor, Mr. Stanton couldn’t stand the sight of Ken, even though he was totally innocent. He was looking for an excuse to fire him, and, when he heard about the girls, he began spying on Ken. He wanted to find something dirty enough to fire him on the spot—something scandalous.

And scandalous it was! One night, Mr. Stanton got the tip that Ken was in the barn with a girl, doing his weird things. He summoned some of his closest employees, took a lantern, and headed with them for the barn.

There, he found Ken tying up none other than Shauna Rose, Mr. Stanton’s daughter. The old man got mad and wanted not just to fire Ken, but to kill him right then and there.

And you can’t blame him. In those days, nobody knew a word about bondage or Shibari. It took a long conversation for Mr. Stanton to understand that it was a consensual practice, and a valid alternative to traditional activities.

The end of this story isn’t a happy one. Mr. Stanton wouldn’t allow the interracial marriage, and Shauna Rose and Ken ran away on a rainy night. It is said that they opened the first bondage club in New Mexico.

And this story about the rich man’s daughter is as true as my name being Papa Scott!