First things first: Lacey owed Maddie an apology. When she arose on the chilly morning of Thanksgiving, she immediately sought out her cousin. Not finding her downstairs, she instead opened her bedroom door. Maddie was doing squats.

“So this is the secret behind the cutest butt in Pennsylvania?” Lacey quipped. Maddie chuckled, and the girls hugged.

“Sorry I made you clean up last night,” Lacey said. “Lily’s right - I really am turning into a bitch.”

“That’s the cheerleader in you,” Maddie joked. “Now let’s go watch the parade!”

They streaked downstairs and found seats on the couch to partake in the annual parade-watching tradition. Kelly occupied a chair, while the college girls helped Aunt Ida and Mrs. Baker with more dinner preparations. Grandpa was still asleep.

“Look at the ballerinas!” Kelly exclaimed as a dance-themed float appeared on screen. “That could be us someday!”

“God, I’d sure love to have a tutu like that,” Lacey said, marvelling at a ballerina’s beautiful blue pancake-style skirt.

“When would you ever wear that?” Maddie laughed.

“I don’t know! It’s just so pretty!” Lacey was drooling.

“As pretty as Tevin?” Kelly needled, and soon all three were giggling.

“Hey, Lacey,” Maddie said, thinking out loud. “Would you mind loaning me your foundation when we do makeup later? I think I’m out.”

“Absolutely!” Lacey said. “Here, I’ll trade you. I’ll loan you my foundation if you let me wear your bracelet, the one with the blue gem.”

“You’ve got a deal.”

And Kelly was laughing yet again. “What is so funny?” Maddie demanded.

“Are your two girl cousins not allowed to talk about makeup and jewelry?”

“Nothing, nothing, nothing!” Kelly shook her head, still smiling. “It’s still strange.”

“You know what’s also strange? You have no problem wearing my bras whenever you feel like it, and unlike me with Lily’s bras, you don’t have the excuse of being in emotional turmoil. So shut it.”

All three girls were roaring now. This is it, Lacey thought. This is what I wanted. Last year at Thanksgiving, Lacey was at an all-time low. The highlight of her weekend was when her mother and Kelly had gone Black Friday shopping, and Lacey got to try on her mom’s old prom dress. It was an ugly dress, but it made Logan feel like a real girl and set him on a course to loaning foundation to her cousin a year later.

Today is already 100 times better than the last two days, Lacey thought to herself. Even Grandpa was in an amiable mood, declaring he definitely wanted to see her do some cheers after dinner. The girls ate a light lunch and then set off to get dressed, which would be a multi-hour affair.

“Who’s showering first?”

“Here, try on these panties?”

“I brought nail polish remover, just in case.”

The sweet language of teenage girls getting dressed up filled the air. Both girls had picked out what they saw as their prettiest possible outfits for dinner. Lacey had selected a light blue dress with a flared skirt with heels and a bra to match. Maddie opted for a light blue dress shirt with a floral miniskirt.

“I need to do a quick shave.” Lacey rolled a few stray hairs off of her legs and Maddie did likewise. The two girls then changed into their fancy underwear.

For a brief moment, both girls stood before the mirror topless. “Geez, Mads!” Lacey laughed. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were moving fast.” Maddie’s breasts nipped Lacey’s in size by about an inch.

“Yeah, it’s nice to be able to shop for bras with my girlfriends,” Maddie said. “But my butt’s kind of a dud. That’s why I was doing squats before. Yours has rounded out nicely.”

Lacey put on her falsies with her bra while Maddie added hip pads. Both then fled to the bathroom to do their hair and makeup. And then, the moment of truth.

“This is it!” Lacey said in euphoria. “Why I became a girl.” She held her dress out in front of her, and ever so carefully threaded her thin, pale legs through the skirt. She fiddled with the zipper until it fit snugly. She played with the skirt a little bit and made sure her butt was out of the way. Finally, she added some jewelry.

“You look hot.” Lacey thought that Maddie, who dished out the compliment, didn’t look too shabby herself. She’d slipped herself into a beautiful miniskirt and wore black heels. She smiled as she adjusted her bra.

“Let’s head downstairs, I guess.”

Lacey and Maddie crept down the stairs, but drawing their family’s eyes was unavoidable in heels as they strutted into the dining room.

“Maddie...”

“Lacey...”

Rhonda and Lily were lost for words at their sisters’ beauty.

“So ladies, shall we eat?” Grandpa stood up from his perch in the chair and stopped suddenly.

“Maddie, Lacey, you look very, very beautiful,” he smiled, and soon he launched into a story about the girls’ grandmother as a teenager. The girls found it cute, and smiled.

Lacey pulled out her chair, smoothed over her skirt, fiddled a little with her bra, and played with her hair. Finally, this was it. The Thanksgiving she’d been dreaming of.

Then it all went to hell.

“Lacey Baker, you may be wearing a dress but you are not a princess! Get up and get your own food!”

I am a princess, Lacey thought to herself, but that was beside the point. She obliged, making sure to smooth her skirt as she stood up.

And suddenly she was on the ground, yelling in pain.

“What happened?” Mrs. Baker and Lily strutted over and found Lacey flat on her stomach on the floor.

“I... tripped.” Lacey rose and saw where her high-heel had caught a crick in Aunt Ida’s stain wooden floor. She held back tears and bit her lip. It had been a nasty fall, and the tight nature of Lacey’s dress had hindered her breaking it.

“Are you alright?” Lily asked her sister.

“Yeah, just a little scrape, I guess.” Lacey rolled her skirt up. A bright red spot graced her pale legs.

“You’d better go clean off,” Aunt Ida said. “I’ll warm your dinner for you when you come back.”

“Okay.” Lacey sighed and sauntered off to the bathroom. She messed with her dress a little bit, and dabbed a paper towel over the scrape, sighing all the while.

So this day isn’t going perfect, Lacey thought. Oh, well. I’ll just have to make the best of it. Besides, it’s dinnertime. Mom and Aunt Ida make the best turkey.

“Alright, I’m ready to eat.” Lacey reemerged with a crude bandage on her leg and a smile on her face. She took a seat at the table, and conversed with her family lightly while chowing down on her aunt’s delicious turkey.

At one point, Rhonda eyed her cousin curiously. “Lace, are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You look a little pale.”

“I feel fine.” Rhonda shrugged and both went back to eating.

The conversation ebbed and flowed. Girl stuff was mostly the topic of discussion, with Grandpa nodding along, pretending to understand. Lacey gradually dropped out of the conversation. Her stomach rocked and rolled. Rhonda had been a prophetess.

What happened next, like the fall earlier, happened in a flash. Lacey stood up, kicked off her heels, and sprinted upstairs to the guest bathroom. There, she threw up into the toilet - and all over her pretty dress. She threw up, and sobbed, and threw up and sobbed. It was a terrible thing.

This Thanksgiving was a terrible thing! Lacey cursed it. Everything had gone wrong for her, so it seemed, these last few days. The tears flowed. Her mascara ran. “Why?” She whispered to herself. “Why?”

Lacey had this vision of Thanksgiving all laid out. Nothing but girls. Pink and frills everywhere. Trying on clothes and talking boys with Maddie, and then shopping with the family. Nowhere in the plan was the car breaking down, or Grandpa visiting, or knee scrapes, or throwing up.

Lacey had removed her dress and was sitting, crying in her underwear when there was a soft knock at the door.

“Who is it?”

“Maddie.”

“Come on in.”

Maddie pried open the bathroom door and found her cousin in her underwear slumped against the bathtub.

“Oh, honey.” She enveloped Lacey in a big hug, and helped her wipe up her mascara. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I feel better now,” she sighed. “But this Thanksgiving has sucked. And I really wanted it to be perfect.”

“How do you mean?” Maddie had a confused look on her face.

“I don’t know,” Lacey thought out loud. “This was our first gathering with both of us out as girls, and I thought it would be something special, but it seems like everything has gone wrong.”

“Well, I have to agree with you that a lot of stuff has gone wrong,” Maddie said. “But you know, I think it is special, because we’re out as girls. We’re being our true selves. That in and of itself is special. I mean, look at this.”

Maddie stood upright. Lacey looked up and studied her cousin. She had a kind of glow to her - a halo of womanhood that went with her beautiful outfit and her lovely brown hair.

“You’re right.” Lacey stood up, too. “Can you bring me some clothes? I won’t be wearing this dress for a long time,” she chuckled.

“Anything you want.”

Lacey thought for a minute. “Just a big sweatshirt and some yoga pants would be good.”

Maddie complied and a few minutes later Lacey looked completely refreshed. She shaped her butt using the yoga pants, touched up her makeup, found some Converse, and headed back downstairs.

Grandpa dropped his newspaper as she appeared, his face wrought with concern. “You okay, Lacey?” he asked.

“I feel a lot better, Grandpa.”

“Well, that’s good,” he winked. “You still owe me that cheer routine!”

Lacey smiled. She sought out her mother, who was busy helping Aunt Ida clean up.

“I’m sorry this Thanksgiving hasn’t worked out, sweetheart.” Mrs. Baker was apologetic, but her daughter stopped her.

“Mom, look, I’m just glad we’re all together, and I can be who I am.”

Mrs. Baker beamed with pride in her daughter, but shook her head. “That’s a nice thought, Lace, but I still feel like I owe you something.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Mom. I’m a girl and I get to go shopping tomorrow. That’s enough for me.”

Lacey pecked her mother on the cheek. She and Aunt Ida smiled at each other, and, when Lacey and Maddie were out of earshot, agreed they’d been blessed with two beautiful daughters.

Kelly was sitting in a chair, reading. Lacey snuck up behind her, grabbed her shoulders, and kissed her on the cheek as well.

“We’re gonna have such a fun time tomorrow,” Kelly said, grinning.

“I know, right?” Lacey told her little sister. “I’ve got my eye on the cutest pair of boots at Penny’s, and you can never have enough PINK stuff... what about you, sis? What do you have your eye on?”

“I don’t know, really,” she said. “I’m too young for Victoria’s Secret... to tell the truth, I’m most looking forward to the dress boutique.”

That had slipped Lacey’s mind. “You’re right!” She daydreamed about putting on a frilly, petticoat filled princess dress. “It’s gonna be so awesome. I love being a girl.” She addressed this last statement to no one in particular, but Kelly smiled.

Rhonda and Lily were down in the basement, watching TV. Maddie was down with them, thumbing through her phone, when Lacey appeared.

“Feeling better?” Lily asked.

“Yeah.” Lacey skipped over and took a seat on the couch. “I owe Grandpa a cheer routine, though.”

“He’d probably understand if you don’t feel up to it,” Maddie said.

“No, I feel fine. And he seemed really excited about it. Said something about Grandma being a cheerleader too.”

“You’re welcome to borrow my old uniform and pom-poms,” Rhonda said.

“I’ll take you up on the pom-poms,” Lacey said excitedly. After finding the black-and-gold pom-poms, she ditched her yoga pants for a t-shirt and gym shorts. She finished off her makeshift uniform by adding a bow, borrowed from Maddie.

“Hey, Grandpa! You ready?” And Lacey launched into a fifteen minute routine, with Grandpa playing along. When she finished, she retreated to the basement, hung out with the older girls, and eventually made her way back upstairs. Eventually, it was just her and Grandpa, as everyone else had gone to bed early.

They watched football for a while, and made small talk while Lacey texted girlfriends and polished her nails, when Grandpa turned to Lacey and eyed her.

He smiled, and spoke.

“Lacey, I’m really proud of the woman you’ve become.”

Lacey looked at her grandfather, whose smile enveloped his face, practically. She couldn’t think of anything to say. She was overwhelmed with emotion. No more words needed to be said.

She got up, went over to Grandpa, kissed him on the cheek, and simply said, “Thanks, Grandpa. And goodnight.”

“Goodnight to you.” He resumed reading.

Lacey changed into her pajamas and went to brush her teeth and cream her skin. As she made her way to her bedroom, she saw a light emanating from Maddie’s room. She opened the door and found her cousin in yoga pants doing squats.

Maddie stopped, stood up, and gave a little pirouette.

“Cutest butt in Pennsylvania,” she winked. Lacey laughed, glancing at some of Maddie’s dresses as she did. Thinking ahead to tomorrow, her last thought of the night was that there was nowhere to go but up. She laid out a sweatshirt and jeans and fell excitedly asleep.