Becoming Antonia Part 5.

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“Toni wait!”

This was the first time he’d even acknowledged my existence since my change, and all I could do was just turn in my seat to look at him as the tears started to roll. He opened the door and gave me a big hug, which I returned.

“Oh daddy.”

Becoming Antonia Part 5.
By Toni Trepasso

It’s been a while so I’ll give you the update. Brit and I have been seeing each other exclusively for the past year, since that night we shared our dreams in that tent. My mom simply loves her, and what’s not to like? She’s a very intelligent woman. She is finishing her Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and she’s asked me to marry her. This is not the problem I thought it would be since talking to a few friends I met during a golf tournament for work with one of our other plants in Canada. One of the other women in the foursome of myself, Helen, and Rachel, told me that her and her life partner were from the states originally too, and they moved to Canada because they recognize same sex marriage there. I spoke to Brit and told her my idea. She kissed me and told me it sounded like the perfect plan to her, so I put in a transfer to the plant in Canada. I got news that I can start 3 weeks after Brit takes that walk across the stage at graduation, and we will have that week to move to Brunswick to start our new life together. Mind you, it’s not that I need to work for the money, I already have more then enough of that to get the two of us through the rest of this life and most of the next. But I have had one period of time where I was out of work for an extended period of time, when I was helping my dad recover from the stroke he had that made me leave working in the Nextel Cup. To say that I was getting a bit bored would be an understatement. I was going crazy from not having anything to do. I had fixed everything in the house that was broke after one week, and there are only so many times you can wash a floor. So I work to keep busy, and have something to do. I hate not having something to do.

On the scheduled week off from work I get once a month, I went to visit the plant I was transferring to, to meet my new boss, and to make sure I knew how to get there. I also, as luck would have it, found a nice house near the plant and sent pictures to Brits phone using the camera in mine. She called me back in a couple minutes and told me that it looked perfect, so I called the realtor, and I bought the house.

Brit was busy for the next couple weeks with finals and getting ready for graduation, so I had plenty of time to make the final preparations for the move. I had gone to her parents house in Pennsylvania and her mom and I packed all her things into the moving van I rented. I just love her mom, she reminds me so much of Brit it’s scary. They have the same laugh and similar mannerisms. After we finished packing the van she offered me a drink. As we sat there drinking a soda together, she told me that she was happy Brit finally found a woman that treated her like a woman instead of her last few girlfriends who treated her like she was a man without a penis. This shocked me that her mother would say that to me and I actually did a spit take, spraying my soda all over the deck behind their house.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I know my daughter is gay, but you treat her like a woman. Those other girls acted like she was the man in the relationship.”

“Wow, Mary, I don’t know what to say. Um... did Brit tell you how she and I met?”

“Yes, she has told me the whole story, about how you both shared the same dream and how she was your first.”

“Um..... did she tell you anything else?” I wasn’t sure how to approach the next question I had.

“Yes Toni, I know you used to be a man. She called me that day she came to visit you in the hospital, and since then, I’ve put two and two together to realize you are the same “Hermes” she was talking about.”

I bet my face was glowing red with embarrassment right then. I mean I didn’t want to be the one to tell her mom, and the woman surprised me by figuring it all out by herself.

“And you’re cool with me being with your little girl Mary?”

“Like I said Toni, you treat her like the woman she deserves to be treated like.”

“I really care about her, and I would never knowingly do anything to harm her. I want you to know this. She means the world to me, just like I’m sure she does you. I’d never had even considered moving to another country just so I could be with a woman before.... well you know.”
“I know Toni, and I think it’s wonderful you were able to find a solution to that little problem. Sometimes this country scares me in how narrow minded it is. And can you believe the reasons they give in congress for denying same sex marriage?”

“Yeah, what ever happened to the whole separation of church and state that this country was founded on?”

She just shrugged and we sat there watching the sun go down, and finished our soda’s. Brit’s dad, John came home a while later and we all had pizza together since we were all too tired from the day for any of us to cook. After dinner Mary went for a swim, while John asked to have a word with me.

“What’s up John?”

“I just want you to know that if Brit is going to share her life with anyone, I’m glad it’s you Toni.”

I just stared at him and started to cry, realizing that he was accepting me into his family. He pulled out a tissue for me, and pulled me into a fatherly embrace.

“Thank you John, it means so much to me.” I tried to wipe the tears out of my eyes.

“I mean it Toni, you really are welcome in this house anytime, and I’m happy to have you as my new daughter in-law.”

“John you have no idea what that means to me.”

“Brit told me about the trouble with your dad. I’m here if you ever need to talk about anything.” He just hugged me tight and let me sob into his shoulder.

“Thanks John. Did brit tell you what I am doing for Father’s Day for dad?”

“No, can’t say she mentioned it.”

I started to tell him about how my dad’s first car was a ‘54 Plymouth Savoy, and how I had found one on line. I bought it and restored it mostly, but as for running gear, I knew if dad had something like this he would drive it every chance he got. This reason caused me to put a fuel injected 318, and new transmission out of a pickup in it. I also updated the suspension, and brakes so it will be able to take day to day driving if needed. I even painted it the same factory color dad used to have.

John told me that my dad was a lucky man, and didn’t know what he was missing. I told him that I wasn’t just trying to buy dad’s love. I had been working on this project since well before my change. He nodded and explained that Mary had told him all about me.

“Do you have a picture of what you used to look like?”
I pulled out my wallet and showed him the picture of me and dad at my cousin’s wedding a couple years ago. He just looked at it, then back at me, then back at the picture. He didn’t believe it was the same person, so I went out to my car, and got the photo book from the hospital. He was awe struck looking at the photos. Mary came back from her swim and asked to look at the book when he was done.

“Wow, you were a big boy, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that Mary. I played rugby and threw discus all thru school.”

“When Brit first told me you used to work in NASCAR, I thought she was pulling my leg. But looking at these pictures I can see how you could have done it.”

“Yes John, I get that a lot. I mean there aren’t that many women in that field to begin with and I don’t know of any that actually go over the wall on race day. It’s fun though for me to watch the reaction of people when they find out about my racing days.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Well, yes and no. I miss being at the tracks. But I don’t miss the 20 hour days in the shop. I worked for smaller teams so we all went both ways. At the bigger shops they have a designated track crew and guys who only work in the shop to get the next batch of cars ready.”

We talked some more about the upcoming wedding and I showed them pictures of the house we were going to be living in. I then let them in on the gift I was getting Brit for graduation, a brand new Jeep. They both just smiled and said Brit would love it. I went to bed early since I had to drive to the new house to unpack in the morning.

The move went pretty smooth and I picked up the new car for Brit the day before the ceremony at the school. I put on my best suit skirt and matching heels, to meet her parents for the ceremony. Much to our shock Brit was giving the Valedictory speech. John and Mary asked me if I knew this was going to happen. I told them no, and then asked them if they had known. They too didn’t know, so we all just sat there beaming with pride as Brit made her speech and then received her well earned diploma. Brit met up with us out in front of the gym, and we all hugged, then I told her I had a gift for her. I lead her over to the Jeep that I had tied a big pink bow around.

“TONI! IT’S WONDERFUL!”

“Yeah, you can retire that old beater of your’s now.” I laughed as she continued to hug me.

“You didn’t have to do this. My car could have gotten me thru till I could afford something different.”

“You forget. We’re moving to Canada. So you’ll need something to get thru the snow.”

She agreed and we picked up her things at her room, then after a quick dinner with her folks, we were off to start our new life. We pulled up to the house a little after 8pm in the evening and made quick work to get her things into the house. We both agreed that we would just bring them in and then put them away in the morning. We went to bed and just cuddled all night. We’d be married in a week and tomorrow I was going to surprise my dad for Fathers Day.

We both got up early and had a light breakfast of coffee and toast. I pulled the car out of the garage and gave it one last once over with the wrenches, as Brit finished putting her college things away. We were off for my dad’s a bit before noon, with me in the Plymouth and Brit in her Jeep. I have to say, the old car handled the trip quite well. We got to my dad’s house, just north of Syracuse around 5pm. I had decided that I would just park out front and then tape a card with the keys inside to the back door. Things were going as planned but as I reached for the back door he stood there looking at me just staring.

“Can I help you miss?” He didn’t seem to recognize me.

“Um yes sir, I have a delivery for you.” As I handed him the card and then walked away to Brit in the waiting Jeep.

I asked her to drive off as dad came running out of the house trying to flag us down. Brit just rolled down the window, to see what he wanted. Damn her, I just wanted to make this as painless as I could.

“Brit can you please just go! Come on!” Then I heard dad call to me.

“Toni wait!”

This was the first time he’d even acknowledged my existence since my change, and all I could do was just turn in my seat to look at him as the tears started to roll. He opened the door and gave me a big hug, which I returned.

“Oh daddy.”

“Can you come in and stay a while?”

I nodded and Brit parked her Jeep in the drive way. We went inside and the place hadn’t changed a bit since I was last there. I couldn’t help but notice that there were a lot of pictures of me, apparently from time spent with mom. She must have sent them to dad to keep him up on how I was doing.

“Toni you don’t have to do this. I don’t deserve your gifts. I’ve been a fool.”

“Dad, I’ve been planning this since well before any of this happened. Remember when I told you I had bought a car in Arizona when I was out there working for that sprint car team. Well, I didn’t get my money back, I just had him ship it to a friend of mine’s shop, and we restored it. Oh, and dad, this is Brit, we’re getting married next week.”
Dad was floored. Apparently mom hadn’t told him about the engagement, and here I was after he hadn’t spoke to me in over a year, dropping the bomb on him that I was getting married, to another woman.

“I thought New York didn’t recognize same sex marriage?”

“They don’t dad, we’ve moved to Canada. We’ll be having the ceremony there next week. You’re welcome to come if you want.”

He smiled, and told me that he would call mom and see if he could ride with her and my step dad. He hugged Brit and welcomed her to the family, as we went outside so I could show him the car. He was impressed that I was able to do all this and keep it secret from him for so long. I told him that he made it easy when he stopped talking to me for a year, and laughed as I said it. I missed him so, and I know how much he had to be hurting inside. We hugged in the street and then I told him I’d call him when we got back home to give him directions to our new house. Then Brit and I just drove on home.

“I don’t know if I should be mad at you for making me go thru that back there, or if I should just hug you and kiss you all over for forcing me to stay and talk to my dad.”

She laughed at me. “Who are you trying to kid, you know you can’t stay mad at me.”

I just hugged her as she drove. “True, and don’t you forget it.” I kissed her on the cheek.

We got home sometime after midnight and both just poured ourselves into bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I had a weight on my chest. I soon found out it was just her arm as she had rolled over and draped it over me, while she just softly snored. I thought to myself how truly lucky I was to have her. She helped me get thru some rough times when I first changed and now she’s helped get my dad and I back together. I can’t help but wonder what I have done to deserve such a great girl in my life, as I rolled over and fell asleep with her holding me in the spooning position.

Next Time: Wedding Bells, or Funeral Bells?

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