I get my exam results and
Mum returns from her overseas trip

A Fortuitous Adventure:
or, how I got my first job

by Louise Anne Smithson

Chapter 25

Mum’s return

On Friday morning, I was having coffee and toast with Anne and Clare, before they both left to go to their respective jobs. I didn’t have to worry as I’d agreed with Joyce to work an extra shift on Sunday evening in return for taking the day off to go and meet Mum at the airport. Aunt Carol came in and handed me a brown envelope that had just been delivered. It was addressed to Chris and no doubt contained his exam results. (Knowing that he was going to be spending the summer in Shrewsbury he’d arranged for them to be posted to him at his aunt’s house.) I stared at the envelope wondering what to do with it, as it somehow didn’t seem to be mine.

These days I found myself thinking of Chris as a different person, and his previous life as being of less interest or relevance to me. It was not that I disliked my former self, more a question of feeling sorry for him. He’d led a rather dull grey life compared to Emily’s exciting colourful one. I realised that the envelope held part of the key to Emily’s future, but somehow it didn’t seem right for me to open it. My Aunt and my two cousins had no such qualms about the letter and insisted that I should go ahead, and do so quickly, before they had to leave. I therefore took a deep breath, opened it and examined the printed slip inside.

In the event the results were not at all bad: five respectable passes; two at grade ‘C’ two at grade ‘B’ and one ‘A’, no fails or referrals. It’s a pity that they were in the wrong name, but hopefully that would be fixed in due course. Chris was never one of those geniuses who achieved straight ‘A*’ grades without trying; no-one was ever going to suggest that he considered a career in brain surgery or rocket science. However, with five good passes including, Maths and English, Emily now had a passport to further education in terms of either the more academically based ‘A’ levels or else a vocational course, if she wanted to do so. I was especially pleased with the grade ‘A’ in English, which was written by Chris before he’d even thought about life as a girl. I would undoubtedly write differently today as Emily saw life from a different perspective.

I was also relieved that I would not have the complication of a September re-sit, as these sometimes included a ‘How I spent my summer holidays’ type essay question. I smiled to think that if I were ever called upon to write an account of my fortuitous adventure this summer, I might lose some marks for ‘improbability’.

My two cousins offered me their congratulations and a kiss on the cheek before they had to leave to go to work. Aunt Carol stayed to talk for a while.

‘I hope your mother with be pleased with your results, and that you can now settle down and find a college course to suit you.’

‘Yes I hope so too. Thanks again for letting me stay on in Shrewsbury.’

‘Think nothing of it; nobody wanted to see you try and study at home on your own.’

‘I just hope that I get on alright at college.’

‘You’ll inevitably have some problems adjusting over the next year, and the novelty of wearing makeup and nice clothes will soon wear off, but I believe that you have the ability and determination to overcome them.’

‘I hope so. I’m sure it is what I want.’

‘I know. By the way, I have to go into town briefly this morning, Emily, is there anything you need?’

‘I’ve almost finished the tablets that Karen gave me, would you mind taking my prescription to the chemist for me?’ I replied.

She took it from me and noticed that it was in Emily’s rather than Chris’s name. Dr Morrison had been thoughtful in this respect. She had given me a prescription for a three-month supply of Aldactone.

‘Are these having any effect on you?’ she asked.

‘I seem to need to go to the loo more often, but the main purpose of them is to stop testosterone from changing my body. The real changes will only begin once I start on oestrogen.’

‘Alright I’ll collect your pills for you, but you’ll have to sign the back of your prescription for me to be your representative first.’

I did as she requested. It was one of the first official signatures that I’d made using what I hoped would soon become my legal name.

‘Remember that we’ll need to leave for the airport after an early lunch, so what have you planned for this morning Miss?

‘Nothing really, I need to wash my hair, de-fuzz my arms and legs, and then decide what to wear to look my best, to welcome mum home. After all, I might as well enjoy wearing nice clothes and makeup before the novelty wears off,’ I replied in a jokey voice.

Aunt Carol smiled.

‘Three hours should be enough time if you hurry,’ she said with a touch of irony.

‘Alright then, I’ll also prepare us a light lunch ready for when you get back,’ I replied smiling.

---

Having taken some trouble to achieve perfectly smooth legs, I wanted to be able to show them off, but I didn’t want to wear an outfit which Mum had already seen. The American girl had owned a pale green ‘Vintage style’ pleated pocket dress, which was made of a lovely textured fabric that was light enough for a hot Summers day, whilst the lining gave it a smooth and comfortable fit. This would do fine. I combined it with the pair of strappy gladiator sandals that I’d bought for myself a few weeks back, a matching belt that I’d recently picked up in a sale and a shoulder bag. Although I enjoyed wearing high heels, I also liked these sandals as they showed off my painted toe nails.

I hadn’t really given a lot of thought to the mysterious American girl over the last month, despite the fact that she’d inadvertently changed my life forever. I began to wonder who she was and how she reacted when she discovered her mistake early in July. I hope she had enjoyed spending my holiday money, because I’d certainly enjoyed wearing some of her clothes, and, in retrospect, I can’t help but think that I got the best of the bargain.

Aunt Carol didn’t pass comment on my chosen outfit when we had lunch together before leaving for the airport, but I could tell that she approved of my choice. Her attitude to me had changed since my decision to make a permanent transition to Emily. She was no longer treating me as being ‘special’ or ‘different’. I was now her niece who just happened to be staying for a few weeks. As long as I didn’t try to wear anything too outlandish or provocative, such as my rah-rah skirt, she was happy to let me get on with things and learn through trial and error. For my part I preferred it that way. I was gradually getting the hang of what looked good on me and was no longer as reliant on the guidance of my cousins or Jenny as I had been a couple of weeks before.

Before we left she handed over to me three boxes of the Aldactone tablets, each containing a month’s supply.

‘Good luck with those,’ she said.

‘Thanks.’

‘I hope they help you achieve what you want.’

‘This is just phase one, things will really start to change once I start taking oestrogen, but I do feel that I have now set out on my journey.’

---

My Aunt’s house was fifty-five miles from the airport, almost all of which was motorway. On a good day it would take just over an hour for us to drive, but the M5/M6 junction just north of Birmingham was a bottleneck and was often badly congested, particularly on Friday afternoons. Probably we would be safe enough if we allowed ourselves an extra fifteen minutes for the journey down, but we would be almost bound to be sitting in a traffic jam on the way home. For that journey it might be better to take the M6 toll road, even though it would add an extra five miles and an additional five pounds to the cost of the journey.

We chatted together on the way down. She wanted to know how I was getting on with Rob and what was going to happen when he went back to university. I gave her the expurgated version, although she probably guessed as much. After all, she had been sixteen, herself, once, even though it was thirty odd years ago, before they even had mobile phones, let alone Facebook! (How on earth did people organise their social lives in those days?) We also talked about Karen’s engagement and my Mum’s plans to move her business to Shrewsbury. We eventually arrived at the airport and, after parking the car in the ‘Short-stay’ car park found our way to the Terminal 1 ‘meeting and greeting area’. The indicator boards were showing that mum’s flight had recently landed, which meant we had about twenty minutes to spare before she emerged. We stood around impatiently and the minutes really seemed to drag until at last some passengers from the Moscow flight began to emerge.

‘I don’t know what possessed your Mum to go to Moscow?’ Carol commented.

‘Trying to sell her lingerie I suppose’ I replied.

‘I understood that doing business in Russia was supposed to be very risky.’

‘I don’t believe the Russian mafia has moved into lingerie yet, but she employs an agent out there who knows her way around the clothing business and can translate for her. For some reason, they seem to like her designs in Eastern Europe.’

‘Good! It sounds as if this summer trip has been a great success for her.’

‘Yes I believe so,’ I replied and then quietly added, ‘and for me as well.’

---

Although I’d briefly seen Mum at the beginning of August, and had spoken to her several times on the phone, it was not until I saw her emerge from the gate with a luggage trolley loaded with two large suitcases and a cabin bag, that I realised just how much I’d missed her over the last six weeks. As soon as I saw her I rushed over to throw my arms round her and tell her how pleased I was to see her, with tears in my eyes. It was a spontaneous reaction on my part, yet it occurred to me later in the car that it was something that Chris would never have done. I had not yet got as far as taking oestrogen, but my outlook on life and emotional identity already seemed to have changed. Maybe the testosterone blockers that I’d been taking over the last ten days were having an effect, or perhaps I just felt more able to show my feelings as Emily.

Mum was clearly pleased and surprised by my welcome and glad to be back in the UK once more, but she also looked tired. So after a few hugs and kisses all round I took charge of her luggage trolley and the three of us made our way to the car park chatting happily. Her luggage certainly had grown since she had left at the beginning of July.

‘Didn’t you have to pay for excess baggage for all this?’ I asked.

‘A little, but I couldn’t come home after being away for so long without a few gifts for you, your cousins and your Aunt.’

‘But you’ve already bought me something nice for my birthday,’ I replied.

‘I think you’ll soon discover Emily, that a girl can never have too many clothes,’ added Carol.

‘Come on then Emily, don’t keep me waiting any longer, what about your exam results?’ asked Mum.

‘One, ‘A’, two ‘B’s and two ‘Cs’,’ I responded, proudly.

‘Well done,’ she said, stopping to give me yet another hug.

‘I suppose it was Chris rather than Emily who got the grades, but it will be Emily who makes use of them. I hope that I will be accepted to do a travel and tourism course at the local college.’

‘In that case I’m very proud of both of you,’ Mum replied.

---

During the car journey home we all caught up with events in our respective lives. Mum told us the latest about her business and how she had more than enough work for the next year and would need to take on some clerical and also perhaps some other help as soon as she could re-site her business. I outlined my plans for Shrewsbury College. Mum said that we would make an appointment to see an Admissions Tutor at the earliest opportunity, to explain my particular situation. Aunt Carol confirmed that I could stay living with her, and that Mum could have the use Karen’s room until she could find somewhere in the area for ourselves. It turned out that Mum had already been doing a fair amount of preparation at a distance and had been in touch with Estate Agents in both Eastbourne and Shrewsbury. Those in Eastbourne had collected a key to our house and had drawn up specifications so that it could go on the market as soon as she returned. Apparently our house was a desirable property and they did not foresee any particular difficulties or delays in selling it despite the difficulties that were being experienced elsewhere in the housing market. Mum had also been sent details of properties from Estate Agents in the Shrewsbury area and had in mind three or four likely candidates. Aunt Carol promised to drive us to have a look at them over the next few days. Like Aunt Carol, Mum also wanted the lowdown on Rob, which surprised me as I’d never got round to mentioning his existence to her, but you never could keep a secret like that in our family.

---

Once we were back in Shrewsbury, Aunt Carol realised that Mum and I would need some time to talk together privately so she suggested that I helped take her cases up to Karen’s room whilst she began to prepare the evening meal. As soon as we were alone, Mum turned to me and took both of my hands in hers.

‘Your Gran and your Aunt both tell me that I should be proud of my new daughter and forget that I ever had a son,’ she said.

‘I realise that may be difficult for you, given that you raised me as a boy, but it is what I want more than anything,’ I replied.

She sighed.

‘So it looks as if it’s going to be Emily permanently from now on then?’

I blushed but then nodded. Mum smiled and then hugged me.

‘How could I not be proud of such a beautiful daughter? Of course I will support you and your decision in every way I can.’

‘Thank you, I am so pleased to have you back Mum,’ I said beginning to cry once again.

‘I’m sorry I had to go away, but I’ll now do my best to help you get settled into your new life as a girl,’ she replied still hugging me and beginning to cry herself.

‘Thanks,’ I replied sniffing.

‘You know, I always wanted a daughter. It is not that I didn’t want a son as well, but a daughter is something special to a mother.

‘I think I may have subconsciously known that, all the time,’ I said. ‘I hope I’ll be able to live up to your expectations.’

‘Of course you will. Although I’ve bought you some more things to wear, whilst I’ve been away, I am most of all looking forward to going out shopping with my new daughter.’

‘Me too,’ I replied feeling happier than I’d ever done before.

(Next time - June 2011)

With thanks to Angharad for her help in editing.


I hope to be able to post the final instalment over the next three or four days. Louise