Katie was not in a great mood that night. Her mother had just divorced her father and they had moved across the country to be closer to her mother’s family. They had stayed in a noisy hotel until the day before the movers were expected to arrive at the new house because they decided to travel by airplane while their belongings made the journey in a mover’s truck. When they stepped off of the plane and went to baggage claim, Katie’s suitcase was nowhere to be found. On top of that, when the movers delivered their belongings, it was discovered that Katie’s clothes were missing. To add insult to injury, they’d spent her twelfth birthday on the plane.

Moving On Part 1: New Life for Katie

Moving could really screw things up, but it could also greatly improve them -- even at the same time. Katie Stanton and her older sister, Carolyn, unpacked their things in their new bedrooms, visualizing how they wanted to set them up. Their mother, Sally, ran the dishes, glasses and silverware through the dishwasher before putting them away in the cupboards.

Katie was not in a great mood that night. Her mother had just divorced her father and they had moved across the country to be closer to her mother’s family. They had stayed in a noisy hotel until the day before the movers were expected to arrive at the new house because they decided to travel by airplane while their belongings made the journey in a mover’s truck. When they stepped off of the plane and went to baggage claim, Katie’s suitcase was nowhere to be found. On top of that, when the movers delivered their belongings, it was discovered that Katie’s clothes were missing. To add insult to injury, they’d spent her twelfth birthday on the plane.

While she unpacked her things, she wore a pair of jeans with cutely embroidered back pockets, a lavender t-shirt, and a pair of black canvas Mary Janes without socks. Her shoulder-length hair was held high up in a pony tail by a lavender scrunchy. She wore a pair of silver clip-on hoop earrings, a silver necklace with a silver heart pendant on it, and a silver ring with a lavender cubic zirconium on it.

Katie was not yet comfortable in her new home or in the new town they lived in, but she sorely hoped that she could leave her old life behind, like everything else. Katie had been born a boy. She began dressing as a girl three years earlier and had continued to do so whenever she could -- but she could only dress as a girl at home and when her father was away. Most of the time -- even after the divorce -- she still had to live as a boy named Kamrin, or as his family called him, KD.

Carolyn had begun to keep her old clothes so that Katie could have them and she had packed them with her other clothes. The movers lost KD’s clothes -- as did the airline -- but all of Carolyn’s clothes had arrived safely. Katie, Carolyn and their mother talked about what they would do. They decided that it really was a perfect opportunity for Katie to explore herself for a while and see what she discovered. Katie might as well take advantage of it. Conveniently enough, the only people within a thousand miles who knew them were the members of Sally’s family.

However, Katie would need a few things to last her if she went down that road. Sally did not have a huge budget for clothes at the moment. She could buy Katie the few pairs of panties, socks, tights and one or two pairs of shoes that she needed — but it was either that or buy more boys’ clothes. Sally couldn’t afford both — or at least, Katie would end up with a tiny amount of boys’ clothes and still be short on girls’ clothes. If Katie wanted the girls’ clothes then that would be just fine, but she would only have girls’ clothes for two months — unless, of course, the movers or the airlines found KD’s clothes first.

Katie made up her mind before her mother could even blink. She wanted to try being a girl for a while.

The decision was made, and with a great big smile on her face, Katie began her life as a girl.

* * * * *

At the age of eight, Kamrin Dolan Stanton informed his family that he wanted them to call him KD and his family began to do exactly that. However, Kamrin had another, secret reason that he wanted to be called KD. It sounded a lot like Katie, except that it was emphasized slightly differently. Anyway, he still preferred that to Kamrin, which for some reason, KD felt was too androgynous.

His family got used to referring to him as KD. It was this new moniker that gave Carolyn the idea of dressing up KD and turning him into Katie. She was unaware that this was exactly what KD wanted, but the similarity of the names KD and Katie was not lost on her. She tested KD a few times by pronouncing KD just like Katie while their parents’ attention was elsewhere. KD always responded quite favorably to having KD pronounced like Katie.

For a while, Carolyn didn’t ask KD if she could dress him up as a girl because she doubted that he would go for it. However, on the night of his ninth birthday, KD quietly knocked on his sister’s door after he was supposed to be asleep. She opened it to find KD standing there in his usual oversized t-shirt and his shoulder-length hair down. The expression on KD’s face made it clear that he needed to talk. Carolyn glanced down the hall toward their parents’ room, stood to one side, and admitted KD to her room.

“Hi Carolyn.”

“Hi yourself, birthday boy.”

Carolyn could have sworn she saw KD wince.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

“Yes...”

KD trailed off. Carolyn wondered what was happening within KD -- and KD soon deepened the mystery by asking a question. Carolyn knew that KD had something to say and she remained quiet to give him a chance to speak.

“Um, Carolyn, um... I have one last birthday wish and... I was... kind of... w-wondering if... you would be willing to... well, help me with this wish.”

Carolyn got the funny feeling that it would be no ordinary wish. She smiled cautiously.

“Well, as long as it’s nothing dangerous or illegal or that we’d have to hide from Mom and Dad or anything, sure I will!”

“Okay. Good.”

KD took a deep breath and Carolyn sat on the bed next to him.

“So tell me. What’s your wish?”

“W-well, um...” KD swallowed hard. “I w-want...” KD closed his eyes, took a deep breath and forced it all out, while he kept his eyes shut.

“I want to dress like a girl.”

He kept his eyes shut, waiting nervously for Carolyn to react.

“You do? Really?”

Carolyn put her arm around her little brother. She hadn’t anticipated that particular wish, but somehow, it didn’t surprise her. KD opened his eyes and looked at her.

“Y-yes, I do.”

Carolyn thought for a moment. KD clearly wanted this and Carolyn could see no harm in it. They would have to hide this little stunt from their parents -- mainly their father -- but...

“Okay. I’ll dress you up as a girl, if you really want me to.”

KD took another deep breath and made himself speak his mind.

“I really want to. Please don’t ask me why because I really don’t know. I just know that I really want to.”

“Okay. Well, then let’s dress you up!”

Carolyn had a smile on her face. She had wanted to dress up KD for several months, and she was getting her wish, but she got the feeling that it wasn’t as simple as dressing up KD. Many girls dressed up their little brothers as girls somewhere along the way, but this... this was different. Carolyn could feel it.

KD slowly smiled.

“Really? Y-you don’t think I’m a... p-pervert or anything?”

Carolyn shook her head and smiled at her brother.

“No, not at all! There are plenty of boys who love to dress as girls and who are nothing like a pervert.”

“Really?”

KD opened his eyes wide for a moment but soon knitted his brows.

“W-wait. W-what do you mean?”

Carolyn sat down on the bed again.

“Well, some boys just like the clothes but they don’t want anything more than just dressing up. They’re boys just like other boys the rest of the time. Other boys are really girls on the inside and they love to dress up because they want to be the girls they really are. Does that make sense?”

KD widened his big eyes.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Wow! I had no idea -- but I’m glad to hear that.”

“I had a feeling you might be.”

KD nodded and Carolyn stood up to get some clothes out of her closet. KD tried not to look too excited -- and the nerve he felt was helping -- yet not helping. He smiled at his big sister.

“All right, KD, here we go!”

When Carolyn turned her back, KD quietly jigged while he sat on the bed. Unbeknownst to his family, he had always wanted to dress as a girl. He adored girls’ clothes and had always wished he could dress the way girls did.

“Carolyn, can I wear a dress?”

She giggled at her little brother, who was so eager to be dressed up as a girl.

“Sure, why not? It’s still your birthday!”

“Yay!”

They shared another giggle and Carolyn went back into her closet. She pulled out an old pink cotton dress that she had loved but outgrown. She laid it on her bed and went to her dresser.

“Ooh, I love that dress! It’s so cute!”

“Yeah, I loved it, too. It’s a shame I can’t wear it anymore. I don’t know what to do with it now -- other than dress you up in it, that is!”

KD smiled brightly.

“I can live with that!”

“You are so cute!”

Carolyn picked out a training bra and a pair of panties and laid them next to the dress. She got out the pair of pink flats that went with the dress and placed them with the dress. Then she paused for a moment, as though considering something.

“Do you want to wear tights, KD?”

KD’s nerves went up a notch -- but so did his excitement. He loved it when girls wore tights and he always pictured himself wearing tights if he ever did get to dress up as a girl.

“Yes, please!”

Carolyn smiled at her younger brother and got out an old pair of white tights which were once her favorite but no longer fit. It crossed her mind that her wardrobe could use a good spring cleaning.

“Okay, let’s turn you into a girl!”

KD’s eyes widened a bit. That sounded great, whatever it meant!

“Okay! I guess we start with these, right?”

“Yup.”

KD grabbed the panties and went into Carolyn’s bathroom to put them on. He removed his briefs and the oversized t-shirt which was his preferred sleepwear. With great joy, he slipped on the panties. They felt so nice! He ran out of the bathroom and into Carolyn’s bedroom.

“Be careful not to make too much noise, there, KD. We don’t want Mom or Dad checking on us -- especially Dad.”

KD’s face went serious and he looked more than a little bit nervous.

“Oh, yeah, I don’t want that,” KD said quietly.

* * * * *

Sally looked up from the book she was reading, as did her husband.

“Sounds like someone’s awake who’s supposed to be asleep, goddammit,” he growled.

“Yes, it sure does.”

“I’ll put the little powder puff back in bed.”

He began to rise from bed.

“Let me. I have to go to the bathroom anyway,” Sally lied.

There was no way she was letting him near KD if he was going to call him names like that. She hated the way her husband dealt with the children. He was always so harsh with them -- especially to poor KD. KD had always been an adorable, feminine little angel and his father had terrible trouble accepting him that way. KD’s father wanted him to be a man. Never mind that he was a child, for crying out loud!

KD’s relationship with his father went to a new low after KD’s father, a career military officer, returned from a two-year tour of duty overseas and Sally had allowed KD to grow his hair while his Dad was gone. Sally began to remind KD that he would have to cut his hair before his father came home, but each time she did, she saw a tortured, haunted look in the eyes of her child. Sally had noticed that KD’s growing hair was the only thing that seemed to bring him any happiness and she began to think that if she made him cut his hair he would be so devastated that she might as well rip his heart out. By the time his father returned, Sally had resolved that KD would keep his hair the way he wanted it. When KD’s father returned home and saw his hair, he was furious.

For the first time, Sally watched in horror as her husband raised his hand to strike KD, but restrained himself, thank God for small miracles. Her husband did, however, storm up to his bedroom and slam the door. It was the last time he would ever call KD anything other than Kamrin.

Ever since that night, Sally had jumped in to handle any problems with KD herself -- not that there were many. Fortunately, her husband was always glad to have Sally handle it anyway. Sally had used that to shield KD from her husband’s worst ires.

She got up and headed for the bedroom door.

* * * * *

“Oh, Carolyn, look at me! I look so pretty. I had no idea I could look this pretty!”

Tears began to slip from KD’s face as he looked at his reflection in Carolyn’s mirror.

“I didn’t either, but you’re right -- you look adorable!”

KD turned around and gave his sister a great big hug.

“Hey, KD, would you like me to call you Katie while you’re dressed up?”

Katie smiled brightly.

“Yes, I would love it!”

Carolyn had never seen her little sibling so happy. Katie seemed lit up and alive like never before -- until they heard a knock at Carolyn’s door. Katie gasped, turned white as mashed potatoes and began trembling. She was terrified that her father would be at the door. Carolyn took a second to reassure her.

“It will be all right, Katie, don’t worry. If it’s Dad. I-I’ll tell him I did it as a punishment for being out of bed.”

Katie might have relaxed slightly. Carolyn couldn’t really tell.

“Carolyn? Is KD in there?”

It was their mother and they relaxed. Mom would at least be rational about this. Carolyn looked over at Katie and smiled as she answered the door.

“Hi, Mom. Yeah, Katie’s in here,” Carolyn quietly admitted.

Sally didn’t notice the way Carolyn pronounced her brother’s name -- she was staring at Katie with her mouth open in shock. Sally recovered enough to close the door behind her and sit on the bed.

“Oh, my Lord, look at you!”

Katie, misunderstanding her mother’s reaction, began to tear up and sniffle.

“I’m sorry, Mom. Please, please don’t tell Dad! He’ll kill me!”

Sally held her arms out toward her child, who sat on her lap and gratefully accepted her embrace. Sally knew that KD was right about keeping this from his father and she had no intention of telling him about finding their son dressed as a girl. If he couldn’t handle KD’s long hair then... Sally could not finish the thought. In recent months she had begun to fear that her husband might start to beat KD. She had seen him raise a hand but restrain himself on several occasions.

“Don’t you worry, sweetheart. I’m not going to tell him.”

Katie calmed down a bit and Carolyn handed him a box of tissues. Katie took one and blew her nose. Carolyn sat down next to her mother.

“Mom, I guess we have some explaining to do.”

Sally looked at Carolyn and nodded.

“Yes, I guess you do. I-I’m not angry at all, by the way -- I was shocked for a moment, but not angry. Anyway, I do want to know how this came about.”

“I’ll tell her, Carolyn.”

Carolyn smiled at her new little sister.

“Go ahead, Katie.”

This time, Sally noticed.

“Katie, huh?” She smiled.

Katie weakly nodded.

“Yeah. Th-that’s why I wanted everyone to call me KD; because it sounds like Katie.”

To Katie’s surprise, her mother smiled at her.

“I like it. It’s very cute -- and it was very clever to use that name and hide it behind your initials so that your father wouldn’t catch on. Speaking of the devil, you’d better start talking before he wonders what’s keeping me.”

Katie smiled at her mother and gave her a big hug. She sat back to make eye contact with her mother, but looked down at her legs in their pretty tights.

“Mommy, I asked Carolyn to dress me up as a girl tonight as a last birthday wish. I really wanted to do it.”

“Well, there’s certainly no harm in that. Do you know why you wanted to dress up as a girl?”

Katie shook her head.

“No, I really don’t know. I just know that I really wanted to -- I’ve always really wanted to -- and now I also know how good it feels to be dressed as a girl.”

Sally was no fool. She had once dressed up her own brother as a girl, but it had been entirely different. Her brother hated it and was not the least bit feminine. Judging from the way that Katie had always been so feminine, the way she had secretly pleaded with her mother to let her grow her hair long, the way she looked so wounded when her mother reminded her she would have to have it cut before her father arrived home, and the way she was now dressed completely as a girl by her own request, there was far more going on than a sister dressing up her brother. Sally wondered if her child might be transgendered.

“Well, I think that’s a good enough reason.”

She kissed Katie on her head and Katie gave her another big hug, tearfully thanking her for understanding.

“Okay, baby, I’d better get back. I’m going to tell your father that you had an upset stomach and needed to run to the bathroom. You can stay dressed as a girl for a little while longer, since it’s a Friday night, but be very quiet, okay?”

Katie had a big smile on her face and hugged her mother one more time.

“Thank you, Mommy! We’ll be really quiet, I promise!”

“All right. Goodnight, kiddos!”

She kissed Carolyn on her way out.

“Goodnight, Mom!”

* * * * *

Katie was glad that her father was no longer in her life. She was enjoying her first day as Katie. She was nervous about leaving the house as a girl, but she decided to worry about that bridge when she got to it.

Part of the reason that they had chosen to move to California was that California was much more liberal than Virginia. Katie and her family decided that California would probably be a safer place for Katie to explore herself than Virginia -- especially if Katie really was a girl. That helped Katie feel a little less nervous about leaving the house as a girl, but it didn’t get rid of her nerves entirely. At some point, after all, Katie would have to face things like school. Fortunately, the move had taken place during the summer so that Katie didn’t need to worry about school for a while.

She decided to take a break from her unpacking and headed for the kitchen. Carolyn was already there, enjoying a glass of lemonade. The first round of dishes was put away in the cupboards, and Katie grabbed a glass, filled it with the lemonade and sat down next to Carolyn.

“Hey, Katie.”

“Hey, Carolyn.”

She smiled at her little sister.

“How do you like being Katie?”

“I love it!”

Carolyn nodded.

“I knew you would.”

The door bell sounded and Carolyn rose to answer the door.

“I’ll get that.”

Carolyn walked out of the kitchen and opened the door to find a girl about Katie’s age standing there.

“Oh, hi, there, how are you?”

“I’m good thanks, how are you?”

“A bit tired from all the unpacking, but good, thanks.”

“Well, I’m Emma. I live across the street.” Emma pointed at a lovely brick house almost directly across from their house. “I saw the moving truck yesterday and I just wanted to say hello and see if there are any girls my age living here. There’s only one other one but I can tell she’s into bad stuff like drugs, so I don’t want to hang out with her.”

Emma was clearly a bit lonely, judging from the way she rambled. For a moment, Carolyn wondered how to respond. Katie wasn’t quite what she appeared to be, and Carolyn didn’t want to reveal Katie’s secret -- but Emma needed a friend. Before Carolyn could respond, Emma looked behind her and...

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Katie.”

Carolyn turned around to see Katie standing there and smiling sweetly. Katie had quietly followed her to the door, forgetting how she was dressed, or perhaps more accurately, forgetting that how she was dressed might not go over well.

“Oh. Katie! I didn’t know you were there.”

Carolyn giggled nervously. She hadn’t heard Katie follow her to the door. She quickly decided not to reveal Katie’s secret.

“Anyway, yeah, she’s Katie and I’m Carolyn. We’re the Stantons.”

“Nice to meet you two!”

“You, too, Emma!”

“So how old are you guys? I’m eleven. How about you?” Emma asked hopefully.

“I’m sixteen.”

“And I just turned twelve.”

“Well, happy birthday, Katie!”

“Thank you! Do you want to come in?”

Carolyn opened her mouth to say something but...

“Sure! Thanks!”

Emma stepped inside and Katie closed the door behind them. Carolyn was feeling nervous -- and astonished that Katie wasn’t!

“I have always loved this house. I can’t wait to see it when you’re finished unpacking!”

“You and me both,” Katie joked.

Katie and Emma shared a giggle.

“Anyway, we were just having some lemonade. Want some?”

“Yes, please!”

“Okay! Come on in the kitchen!”

Katie led the way into the kitchen where Emma sat down at the table and Katie poured her a glass of lemonade.

“I’m going to use the girls’ room, ladies. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay!”

Emma noticed something that struck her as odd and she waited until Carolyn was gone before she asked about it.

“How come she went upstairs to go the bathroom?”

Katie paused for a moment, unsure what Emma meant, until she remembered that they had a guest bathroom on the main floor.

“Well, er, the upstairs bathroom is more unpacked and, you know, comfortable. It has toilet paper.”

“Oh! That’s a mighty good reason!”

“Yup!”

They shared another giggle. Much to Katie’s relief, Emma seemed satisfied with that explanation.

“Have you been in this house before?”

“Yeah, some former owners used to throw neighborhood Christmas parties and we usually came.”

“Well, that’s nice. It’s too bad they moved away -- kind of!”

Emma caught Katie’s joke.

“Yeah. It really is -- kind of.”

They shared a giggle.

“I do miss those Christmas parties.”

The sound of footsteps approached the kitchen.

“Well, hello there, ladies!”

Sally turned to Emma.

“I’m the Mom. Welcome to our house!”

Sally smiled warmly at Emma as Carolyn rejoined Katie and Emma at the table. Carolyn hadn’t been in the bathroom as she had claimed. She had been alerting Sally to the situation and assuring her that Emma ostensibly had no idea about Katie’s secret. Sally decided that she would chat with Emma and if she felt she trusted her enough, then Katie might as well have a girl friend. As long as she was exploring her identity, why not do it right -- and for God sake, why do it alone if she doesn’t have to?

“I’m Emma. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Stanton.”

Sally decided she couldn’t resist a glass of lemonade and poured herself one before sitting down at the table.

“It’s very nice to meet you, too. I take it you’re one of our new neighbors?”

“Yes, that’s right. I live across the street. I’m glad that there’s finally another girl my age in the neighborhood! I was just telling the girls that the only other one is pretty clearly into drugs. There’s just no other way to explain some of her behavior.”

Sally decided that she wanted to know more about this girl.

“Really? What kind of behavior?”

“Well, like one night I heard a noise outside at a little after midnight and I looked out my window to see what it was. I saw this girl staggering around and there was a knocked over trash can behind her, which she probably knocked over. She really looked like she was high on something.”

“Oh, dear. Do her parents know about this?”

“I’m not sure. I think they kind of ignore her.”

“That is what happens when parents ignore their children too much,” Sally thought ruefully.

Well, she would find out more later. Time to change the subject.

“So, which house is yours?”

“The brick house right across the street.”

“Oh, that’s a lovely house!”

“Thank you! We’ll have to have you over to welcome you and give you all a tour sometime!”

“That would be wonderful! Well, I’ve got to get back to making this house look like someone actually lives here!”

The girls giggled at Sally’s good-natured humor.

“It was so nice meet you, Emma. I hope we’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, that would be great!” Katie enthused.

“I would like that, too. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Stanton!”

Sally went upstairs to hang a few more pictures. Emma noticed something else that made her curious.

“So where’s Mr. Stanton?”

Katie and Carolyn looked at each other.

“Ooh, bad question to ask?”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just that our mother just divorced him. That’s why we moved here. Mom’s family lives out here and besides it’s a lot safer for me because--”

Katie stopped herself from spilling her secret. Emma could tell that there was something that they didn’t want her to know. She felt uncomfortable for a moment.

“--well, um, I’m safer from my Dad over here.”

This was absolutely true.

“Oh, I see.”

Emma visibly relaxed.

“He was that bad, huh?”

For a moment, Carolyn thought Katie was going to tell her everything, and was relieved that she didn’t.

“Yeah. He never could accept me--”

Katie’s eyes widened as she looked at Emma. Carolyn nervously took a swig of lemonade as Katie continued.

“Um, let me explain all of this.”

Carolyn accidentally inhaled her lemonade and began sputtering. Carolyn was tense as she subtly shook her head at Katie, who noticed, but made no response.

“He was a military man and all that shit and he always wanted to have a son, right? Well, he was disappointed when Carolyn was born and a lot more disappointed when I turned out to be a girl, too. Oh yeah, and, Mom had dangerous complications during both deliveries. I was a caesarian baby and they tied her tubes while they were already in there. Of course, that meant Dad could never have a son. Anyway, he always tried to turn me into a boy. As if!”

Katie rolled her eyes and her little joke successfully defused the tension. Everything she said had actually taken place, so at least she was telling the truth. Katie did not reveal her secret as Carolyn had feared, and Carolyn relaxed.

Emma’s cellphone began ringing and Emma checked the display to see what number was displayed on it. The display said NO CALLER ID which usually meant that Emma’s mother was calling. Emma answered her phone and briefly talked with her mother before hanging up.

“That was my Mom. I have to get back. It sure was nice meeting you -- and I’m really glad you moved in!”

“You too and so am I! Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”

“Okay!”

Carolyn smiled as she watched her little sister interact with her new friend. Katie seemed so natural being a girl and chatting with her new girl friend that it was hard to believe that Katie had ever been a boy. Katie opened the door and they bantered for a few more moments while they exchanged phone numbers. Finally, it was time to part ways.

“Bye, Emma!”

Katie gave her a little hug.

“Bye, Katie -- keep in touch, okay?”

“Definitely! See you soon!”

“Yeah, you too!”

“Bye!”

“Bye!”

Katie closed the door and found Carolyn smiling at her.

“If I didn’t know any better I would swear that you are happier as a girl.”

Katie smiled at her sister.

“You’re right, I am!”

Katie’s face clouded up as she began to feel somewhat nervous.

“I wonder what that means?”

Carolyn paused before responding. She had a pretty good idea what it meant.

“I don’t know, sweetie.”

“Oh well. Back to unpacking, I guess!”

“Yeah, we got a lot to do! Come on!”

They began to trot up the stairs and Carolyn had an idea.

“Hey, Katie, do you want to put all your girl clothes in your new closet!”

Katie’s face lit up with joy as she gently gasped.

“Yes! I would love that!”

She giggled with glee as they trotted up the stairs.

Three hours later, the doorbell rang again. This time, all three of them went down to the front door and Sally answered.

Emma was back with her mother, who was holding a casserole in a dish while Emma held paper plates, paper cups, and plastic silverware.

“Oh, my goodness, you must be Emma’s mother! I’m Sally Stanton.”

“Hi, Sally! Yes, I’m Eleanor Stewart. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“You too! Please, come on in!”

Sally stood aside and gestured for them to enter.

“Emma has told me a lot about you three.”

“All of it good, I hope,” Sally kidded as she closed the door and Eleanor laughed. “Please, come on in. My, that smells delicious!”

“Well, good, I brought it over for you. I went through a divorce and ensuing move myself and we lived on greasy takeout food for a few weeks after we arrived at the new house. I thought I’d save you from the same!”

“Awww, well thank you so much! That’s very kind of you. I was indeed just thinking about ordering some Chinese food when you rang the doorbell.”

They shared a laugh.

“Well, Eleanor, why don’t you and Emma join us for dinner -- if you don’t mind the ‘not moved in yet’ look, that is?”

“Thank you very much, we’d like that, if you’re sure it’s no trouble -- and please, call me Ellie!”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all. This way, please!”

Sally led the way to the kitchen where Ellie placed the casserole.

“We do at least have our dishes washed and put away. Would you put these on the table, please, Katie?”

Sally handed her five plates, which Katie put on the table while Sally got out glasses for everyone. Carolyn got the silverware.

“So Katie, Emma tells me you just turned twelve, is that right?”

“Yes, Mrs. Stewart. Just yesterday.”

“Did you do anything fun, I hope?”

“We got on a plane and came here,” Katie smiled.

“Oh, dear, a birthday spent on a plane!”

Emma knew the feeling.

“I had to do that once, too, when we went to visit my grandmother in Florida over spring break. We had to fly back right on my birthday! I didn’t even get a party that year!”

“Awww! Well, that reminds me; next Saturday we’re planning to have a get-together at my sister’s house so Katie and Carolyn can visit their cousins and it’s also a birthday celebration for Katie. We’d love to have you if you can make it!”

Katie and Carolyn exchanged glances. Katie really did want Emma to come.

“Yeah, Emma, please come?”

“Can we go, Mom?”

Ellie smiled at her daughter and looked at Sally.

“Well, that’s certainly a very gracious invitation and we would love to come. Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome -- it’s the least I can do to thank you for this delicious casserole. You are one terrific chef, Ellie!”

Ellie beamed at Sally’s compliment on her never-fail casserole.

Sally and her daughters really enjoyed sharing a meal with the Stewarts and Sally was glad that she and Katie had both already made new friends in their new town. When they were finished eating, Sally washed out the casserole dish -- which they had virtually licked clean -- and handed it back to Ellie. They bade each other good night and Sally closed the door behind them. Sally turned away from the door and took two steps away from it before she stopped dead in her tracks, gasped, and put one hand on her forehead.

“Oh, my God! I invited them to your Aunt Franny’s house and we haven’t even told her about Katie yet!”

Carolyn and Katie looked at each other.

“Yeah, we kind of noticed that,” Carolyn spoke for both of them.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m going to give her a call right now and let her in on it. Since KD’s clothes are still missing in action, Katie will have to be the guest of honor anyway unless we want to cancel.”

Katie looked somewhat dejected at the possibility of canceling -- and with that, Sally resolved they were going to go to Franny’s house as planned. Katie had been through enough. Let her have her birthday party!

“Do you think she’ll accept me, Mom?”

Sally hugged her younger daughter.

“Yes, Katie, I’m pretty sure she will.”

Katie relaxed a bit and Sally went to make the call.

* * * * *

“Hello?”

“Hiya, sis! It’s me! We’re here and we’re getting settled!”

“Sally!! I’m so glad you’re in town! How’s the move-in going?”

“Well, so far so good! We’ve already met some very nice neighbors and Katie already has a new friend!”

Sally bit her lip. Luckily, Franny didn’t notice that Sally had pronounced KD as Katie.

“Well, good for KD! That’s great!”

“Yeah, I think we’re both happy about that!”

“Yeah...” Franny paused for a moment. “Sis, are you okay? You sound a little bit... out of sorts.”

“Well, I’ll tell you, Franny. I have some very interesting news about KD that I wanted to let you in on.”

“Really? What’s up?”

“You know how KD loves having his hair long and loves going by KD, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you also know how feminine KD has always been?”

“Of course. He is such a cutie! I still say that gorgeous hair of his is wasted on a boy!”

Sally chuckled.

“Funny you should say that.”

Franny paused again.

“Oh? Do tell!”

“Well, on the night of KD’s ninth birthday...”

Sally told her sister the whole story of Katie’s gender identity confusion and exploration and ended with the part about the airline and the movers both losing KD’s clothes.

“Anyway, Katie was only dressing as a girl at home with Carolyn’s help -- when that ex of mine wasn’t home, that is -- until KD’s clothes went AWOL. We decided that -- since Katie has only got girl’s clothes anyway -- she might as well use this opportunity to do some self-exploration and--”

“Wow. How is Katie taking all of this?”

“She’s thrilled, actually. She’s nervous about leaving the house dressed as a girl but she is loving every minute of being Katie -- which is a damned good thing. The divorce lawyer, the hotel, the airfare and the cross-country movers devoured our savings -- half of which my ex-husband withdrew from the bank the minute he heard I was divorcing him -- and he hasn’t sent a dime of child support so far. I’m probably going to have to go after him legally if I want him to pay up. Anyway, I can’t afford to buy KD any new clothes for a little while -- not if we want to eat with the lights on and a roof over our heads!”

“Well, then it is a damned good thing Katie loves her ‘predicament’! So have you told your new neighbor friends about Katie?”

“No, we haven’t. Emma came over by herself at first and Carolyn answered the door without realizing that Katie was right behind her, so Emma and Katie met right away. Then she returned later with her mother -- who makes one hell of a casserole, by the way. Damn, but that woman can cook!”

“Oh, how nice!”

“Yes, it was a lovely gesture. Anyway, they don’t know -- and to be honest, I’m not feeling inclined to tell them. I mean, I feel somewhat conflicted about trying to make friends with Ellie while hiding this from her, but--”

“Yeah, I see what you mean. Well, you certainly don’t have to tell her now. I mean, are we sure that Katie is a girl or no?”

“Well, not a hundred percent, no. Not yet.”

“Well, there you go.”

“Yeah. Oh, and by the way I hope you don’t mind but I invited them to the birthday party. Ellie was so nice to make that casserole and--”

“Well hell, sis, anyone who takes good care of you is a friend of mine, so please do bring them over! We’d love the have them!”

“Well, great! Thanks, sis! Sorry about not asking you first.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Anyway, sis, this is a really big adjustment for all of you. How are you feeling about Katie?”

“Well, I’m not terribly surprised. I have this feeling like I should be shocked but I’m not. I mean, I was a little bit shocked the first time I saw Katie dressed as a girl but that was because she looked so good, not because I was surprised! I had a feeling she might go down that road eventually. Anyway, I have absolutely no problem accepting her just the way she is -- although, I do want to get her started with a gender specialist as soon as I can afford it.”

“You mean a psychiatrist?”

“Yeah.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“Yeah. So there you have it. The only thing bothering me about it is that I suppose I’m kind of worried about her safety even though California is a lot more liberal than Virginia. Aside from that...” Sally glanced at her closed bedroom door. “I’m finding it quite a bit easier in many ways to have two daughters. I mean, suddenly hand-me-downs are actually an option!”

Franny chuckled at her sister.

“Well, that’s certainly a help!”

“Yeah, it’s a huge help!”

“Well, Sal, I am very happy that Katie is figuring out who she is. I am not surprised by any of this either, you know -- nor do I have the slightest problem with it!”

“Well, good. I knew you’d be great about this, but, you know--”

“--it’s still hard to reveal something like that.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“I understand. Well, sis, I am going to have a talk with my girls and let them know about Katie -- and after the way Katie’s played Barbies with them a few times I really doubt they’ll be surprised either -- and as far as the birthday party we’re planning, we would love to have Katie come!”

“Thank you so much, sis! She’ll be so happy to hear that!”

“What are sisters for? Oh, Sal, I have an idea.”

“Okay, shoot!”

“I’m thinking that since Ellie and Emma don’t know about Katie it might be best to decorate just like I would for either of my girls so Ellie and Emma don’t catch on just yet.”

“Awww, sis, Katie will probably love it! You know, her new bedroom was occupied by another girl before we moved in and the walls are lavender -- which happens to be Katie’s favorite color. You should have heard Katie pleading with me to keep the color and not paint over it and -- yeah, she’ll love it!”

They giggled together.

“Well, sis, I can’t wait to see you on Saturday. We’ll have a ball!”

“Yeah, we will! See you soon, sis! I love you lots!”

“You too, Sal! Goodnight!”

“Goodnight!”

* * * * *

When Katie awoke the following morning, she felt rested and cheerful. She felt very relieved that her aunt accepted her entirely and her cousins likely would as well. She felt much better about facing the party at Aunt Franny’s house and this left her heart and mind open to enjoying her first birthday party as a girl. Her mind was filled with thoughts about what she would wear. She knew that she wanted to look extra special and she looked forward to asking Carolyn to help her plan her outfit. Speaking of outfits…

Katie got out of bed and went to her closet. She opened the door and browsed through her pretty things, a smile slowly spreading across her face. She had had a lovely bubble bath before bed the previous night and she still faintly smelled of the lavender bath beads that she used. She needed no shower.

She pulled out white overalls that had cute floral embroidery on the back and chest pockets. She laid them on her bed, returned to her closet, and picked out a powder pink, three-quarter sleeve cotton top with a scoop neck. She put the top next to the overalls and thought about what shoes to wear. Carolyn had given her a nice pair of white Keds sneakers that looked like Mary Janes without straps. She opened her dresser and selected a white pair of knee socks made of soft nylon. While she was there, she grabbed a fresh pair of panties and a padded bra.

She happily dressed herself and put her hair in a simple ponytail using a powder pink scrunchy. She checked herself in the mirror and headed downstairs for breakfast with a big smile on her face.

Carolyn and Sally were already down there making soft-boiled eggs. Sally had gotten up early, gone to a nearby grocery store, and brought home enough groceries to get them started, much to everyone’s delight. She was very glad that the movers’ deal had included the transportation of her car — and that it had arrived in one piece.

“Good morning, Katie. You look just adorable!”

“Yeah, Kate, you look great!”

Katie smiled sweetly.

“Thanks, you two!”

“Want some eggs?”

“Mmm! Yes, please!”

“All right!”

Sally put two more eggs into the boiling water and a few minutes later, they sat down to a nice warm breakfast, with toast, fresh orange juice, and coffee. They discussed their plans for the day — more unpacking — and also talked about taking Katie shopping. Sally was going back out to pick up some paint, brushes, rollers and a few drop cloths. She wanted to repaint the living room while it was still empty and she’d had the movers leave the furniture in the dining room. She mentioned she’d be home by lunch time and if the girls wanted to help her paint it might be really fun.

The Stantons finished their breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen after themselves. Carolyn and Katie went up to Carolyn’s room to hang up her pictures. They gabbed and chatted while they worked, and a couple of hours later, they were done.

As they stood back to admire their work, Katie’s cellphone rang. She returned to her room to answer it and saw Emma’s number on the screen.

“Hi, Emma!”

“Hi, Katie. How’s everything going over there?”

“Pretty well, thanks. We just finished hanging up the pictures in Carolyn’s room.”

“That’s always nice! How’s your room coming along?”

Katie glanced around at her eclectic room with lavender walls and boyish furniture.

“Slowly but surely.”

“Well, that’s good. Anyway, the reason I called is that a good friend of mine is coming to my house for lunch and I thought you might like to join us if you’re available.”

“Really? That sounds great! What time?”

“Come by around noon. Sound good?”

“Yeah, that’s great!”

“Cool! See you soon, then!”

“Yeah, see you soon! Bye!”

“Bye!”

Katie happily skipped back into Carolyn’s room to tell her about her latest conversation with Emma.

“Guess what, Carolyn?”

Carolyn stopped what she was doing and smiled at Katie.

“What?”

“Emma just invited me to have lunch at her house and a good friend of hers is coming over, too!”

“Well, that’s great! Damn, girl, your social life is coming together almost effortlessly.”

“Yeah, it is! I’ve never had this happen before!”

“Well, you’re going to have a lot of fun. Just be careful about giving yourself away.”

“Don’t worry. I plan to be careful about that since I’m not ready for anyone to know yet -- except for Aunt Franny and the girls, of course.”

“Okay. Well, do you want me to put a little make up on you? A couple of pieces of jewelry would be a good idea, too.”

Carolyn headed for her dresser.

“I would love that! Thanks, Carolyn!”

Carolyn shrugged.

“That’s what sisters are for!”

Katie sat down in Carolyn’s desk chair and Carolyn put a silver necklace around her neck. She got out the same silver clip-on hoop earrings and cubic zirconium ring that Katie had worn the previous day and put them on her sister.

“Okay, time for some makeup!”

Katie giggled happily and Carolyn applied lip gloss, a touch of mascara and a dab of eyeliner.

“That ought to do it.”

“Okay!”

Katie went over to Carolyn’s mirror and looked at her makeup. She loved it! They heard keys rattling in the door and went downstairs to give their mother a hand with the painting supplies.

“Hi, girls! I found some very cute colors I want you to have a look at -- well, Katie, look at you all made up and pretty!”

Katie smiled sweetly.

“I’m having lunch with Emma and a good friend of hers across the street.”

“Well, that’s nice, as long as you’re careful about not revealing your personal exploration.”

“Yeah, I told Carolyn that I’m not ready for anyone other than Aunt Franny and her girls to know yet, so you can be sure that I will be very careful.”

“Well, in that case, have fun! What time are you heading over?”

“Noon.”

“Oh, well you better head over there, then! Have fun, sweetie!”

“I will, Mom! Oh, let me grab my cellphone.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Katie went back to her room to get her cellphone and came skipping back down the stairs. She stopped by where Carolyn and their mother were putting down the painting supplies.

“Okay, I’m heading out! Bye!”

“Bye, honey! Be careful crossing the street!”

“Oh, Mom! I’m too old for that!”

Katie rolled her eyes and giggled -- as did Carolyn.

“You’re never too old for that!”

“Okay, bye, you two!”

Katie gave them a little wave and headed for the front door, where she paused before she opened the door. She realized that she hadn’t been outside the house as a girl yet, and she suddenly found herself nervous at the prospect. Well, she was going to be a girl for a good while and she couldn’t stay in the house forever. She took a deep breath, opened the front door, and stepped outside. She quietly closed the door behind her and walked across the street, trying to hold her head high and walk with her legs closer together than she used to.

Moments later, she approached Emma’s front door smiling at how much more real she felt now that she was being herself outside her house. She rang the bell and Emma opened the door, along with her friend, and smiled at Katie.

“Hey, Katie!”

“Hey, Emma!”

Katie gave her a hug.

“Come on in!”

Katie stepped inside and Emma closed the front door behind them.

“Katie, this is my friend Madison, from school.”

“Hi, Madison!”

Katie hugged her.

“Hi, Katie. It’s certainly nice to meet you.”

“You, too, Madison. So you two go to school together? What grade are you going to be in when fall comes?”

“Seventh,” they answered in unison, making them all giggle.

“Me, too!”

“Cool! Do you know where you’re going to school, Katie?”

Katie’s face blanked for a moment.

“Well, actually, my family and I just moved here a couple of days ago, so I don’t know yet!”

Madison was surprised.

“Really? Is a couple of months enough time to apply?”

Katie was definitely in new territory. She figured that her mother had thought about all of this -- she had, too, to some degree. The thing was, she didn’t know where her self-exploration was going to take her or whether she’d be dressed as a boy or a girl on her first day at her new school.

“Gee, I don’t know!”

“It sure would be great if you could come to our school. That would be so neat!”

Katie smiled at Madison.

“It really would be nice to go to a school where I already know two people.”

“Yeah, of course. Well, when you get home, ask your Mom what school she’s thinking of and let us know!”

Katie was feeling somewhat nervous. She wasn’t sure how she should handle it if they asked why she didn’t know what school she would be going to. Nevertheless, she smiled at her new friends.

“I will do that!”

“Okay! Well, let’s eat, shall we?”

“Yeah, sounds good!”

Emma lead the way into her kitchen and got out some bread, deli cuts, condiments and potato chips. She got out a bottle of Diet Coke and poured three glasses while they chatted amicably about moving and its headaches.

“I wonder how in the world your movers lost your clothes, Katie!”

Katie rolled her eyes.

“God, so do I!”

“I mean, the stuff stays on the truck until it gets to the new house, right?”

Madison was one smart girl.

“I would think so,” Katie admitted.

“Hmm... are you sure that your clothes made it onto the truck in the first place?”

Katie thought for a moment as they made their sandwiches.

“Well, I couldn’t guarantee that. We had everything boxed up and waiting in the foyer -- except for the furniture, that is -- so that when the movers came it would all be right there. None of the boxes were that heavy and that house only had one floor -- well, it had a basement, too -- but anyway, it wasn’t that hard. Anyway, after that was done, we checked the house one more time to make sure that everything was right there. My clothes were in a couple of boxes and should have been with the rest of it. I remember leaving them in the foyer. I don’t know what happened!”

“Hmm. That’s so weird. Well, I don’t know how, but I’d bet money that your clothes never made it onto the truck.”

They sat down and began eating. Madison loved to exercise her mind with a good mental challenge.

“Do you remember where you left them in the foyer? Let’s start with that.”

“Right in front of our basement door.”

Madison chuckled.

“Was the door open?”

Katie’s eyes widened as she and Emma began snickering, too.

“Yes! It was open! Maybe my clothes got pushed down the stairs. The boxes were stacked one on top of the other and we were pushing stuff around a lot to keep making room for incoming boxes.”

“I bet that’s exactly what happened. If your basement was dark and the lights were off it would have been easy to overlook them, especially if the boxes landed near the bottom of the stairs.”

“That basement had no windows, so yes, it was pitch dark without the lights. Frankly, it always gave me the creeps. I always felt like I was buried alive down there.”

They shared a giggle and Madison smiled at Katie.

“That would creep me out, too! Anyway, it sounds like you had a lot of boxes.”

“Yeah, too many to count!”

“Making it even easier to overlook those two boxes.”

“I think you’re right, Madison! My clothes must still be in that basement. I mean, we had about ninety-nine thousand boxes or something, so it would have been stupidly easy to overlook them.”

“Yep.”

Madison smiled with satisfaction.

“Well, that’s one mystery solved -- probably. I wonder how the airlines lost your suitcase. In the age of computerized labels and stuff, that’s surprising, too. The labels must not have made it onto your suitcase.”

“Yeah...” Katie thought for a moment as she chewed a bite of her sandwich. “I guess those barcoded tags only work if they get put on the right bags--”

“Exactly,” Madison nodded. “Any idea how they might have confused your bag with another one?”

Katie chuckled.

“That wouldn’t be as hard as you’d think. My suitcase looks just like every other suitcase at pretty much any airport.”

“Okay. Then we’re getting somewhere! Any other ideas how that barcoded tag missed your suitcase?”

“Well, while we were checking in for the flight a skycap took our bags for us and put them on his cart thing. The airport was really busy and he was hurrying a lot and overloading the... cart thing... whatever you call it.”

They giggled.

“Anyway, when he got to the check-in counter, the bags fell off and landed on someone else’s luggage. The luggage that got buried also looks like everyone else’s, so maybe when they printed out my label they stuck it on the wrong bag.”

“Wow. You had the worst luck!”

Katie giggled. Actually, it was great luck as far as Katie was concerned.

“Yeah, tell me about it. Oh, well, I’m just glad we’re here and all of that is over with -- sort of. They’re still trying to find my stuff -- not that the movers will probably succeed.”

They laughed.

“You sure are taking the loss of all of your clothes pretty well! Anyway, welcome to California!”

“Thanks, Madison!”

Satisfied that they had solved both mysteries together, Madison changed the subject. There was another mental challenge tantalizing her.

“Hey, Katie have you ever been to a Pride celebration?”

“Mmm, no what’s that?”

Katie took another bite.

“Well, it’s LGBT Pride. It’s a parade in San Francisco -- and other cities do it, too -- and a bunch of streets are blocked off to traffic. They have food, drinks, bands, and a bunch of stuff -- and in San Francisco, they have all kinds of interesting people, too! Some people like to dress in really interesting ways -- like topless, for instance --”

They snickered at the image.

“-- but that’s not what I really mean. There are gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and more. It’s really neat! They have it in San Francisco every year in June.”

Katie was interested.

“That sounds like fun!”

“It is fun,” Madison enthused.

“I’ve been going to that for three years now since I’m a Lesbian.”

“Really? Well, that’s cool!”

“Thanks, Katie!”

Madison smiled at her.

“I mean, I’m only allowed to go to the parade and walk around near Market Street with my Mom during the day, but still. It makes me feel good about myself!”

“That’s cool. I’d love to go to that!”

Katie smiled at her. She wondered about those transgendered people.

“You’re just in time -- the next one is in a couple of weeks.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! You should come with me.”

“I will -- if it’s all right with my Mom -- which it probably will be since we’ll be with your Mom.”

“Cool! I’ll give you more details later.”

“Okay, great!”

Katie had a question she needed to ask. Madison seemed to sense that and remained silent. Emma followed her lead.

“So, um, how do these people get treated by the ones who... well who aren’t LGBT?”

“I haven’t seen any problems. San Francisco is friendly to just about everyone. Anything goes in that town -- and I do mean anything! I just love it! Now, I won’t say that San Francisco is free of the bad stuff. It’s a city -- of course it’s not. But, it is a lot safer here for LGBT people than most other places at least in this country.”

“I’ve gone a couple of times with Madison, too. It really is fun!”

“That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, you’ll love it!”

Katie knew she was skating on thin ice but...

“So do you know anyone else who’s LGBT?”

“A couple of our friends are also lesbians -- oh, and we have two transgendered friends, too. One’s a male-to-female and the other’s a female-to-male.”

Katie’s eyebrows raised themselves. She understood exactly what that meant. She wondered if she might be transgendered herself. Everything about being a girl felt natural and everything about being a boy felt dysfunctional.

“That’s cool! So you two really are open minded!”

Madison chuckled.

“In this part of the world, you’d have to be! But I really do believe in being open-minded anyway -- we both do.”

She gestured at herself and Emma. Madison, still working her challenge, thought about what to ask next and chose her question carefully.

“So, Katie, so did you have any LGBT friends where you used to live?”

Katie took another bite of sandwich to give herself a few seconds to think of how to answer that question. She was beginning to feel nervous. Emma and Madison quickly glanced at each other.

“Well,” Katie chewed a bit more and swallowed. “We moved here from Virginia and they’re not so liberal there. Also, my Dad is a career military officer and we lived on a base, so I never met anyone LGBT back there -- I doubt the military’s very friendly about that -- but believe you me, I am perfectly open to that sort of thing -- probably more than most people!”

Katie hoped that she didn’t say that too emphatically -- or say too much. Oh well, time would tell. It crossed her mind that she might have felt safe about the idea of revealing her secret to Emma and Madison if she only knew what to tell them.

The girls finished their lunch and cleaned up after themselves. Emma and Madison glanced at each other and Madison flickered her eyes upward while looking at Emma, communicating that they should go up to Emma’s room. Emma received her message and turned to Katie.

“Got time to hang out for a while, Katie?”

Katie smiled.

“Yeah, sure!”

She felt some conflict about it because she was feeling nervous but she liked them both and wanted to be friends with them.

“Come on up to my room,” Emma suggested.

“Okay! I’d love to see it!”

“All righty. This way, please!”

Emma led the way and in a few moments they walked into a beautiful pale blue bedroom. They sat on Emma’s bed and Madison suggested that they show Katie the pictures on Emma’s nightstand. Emma reached for her nightstand. She picked up a photo of her, Madison, and three other girls.

“These are most of our other friends. All of our girl friends, anyway.”

“Oh, neat! Can I see, please?”

“Sure! The one in the middle is Rachel. The next one to the right is Alex, and the one on the far right is Cyndi.”

Madison executed her next gambit.

“Can you tell which one is the transgendered one?”

Katie looked back at the photo and all she could see was five cute girls.

“Hmm... nope, I can’t tell. Which one is she?”

“Rachel, the one in the middle.”

Katie studied Rachel’s face.

“Wow, I would never have thought she was transgendered!”

Katie was impressed.

“She looks great -- how long has she been full-time?”

“Three years.”

“Wow. How did she figure out that she was a girl?”

Madison answered the question -- and picked up on Katie’s line of inquiry.

“Well, she always knew. She always wanted to wear pretty girls’ clothes instead of boys’ clothes, she always wanted her hair long, and pink has always been her favorite color -- just to give you a few examples. The whole ‘boy thing’ just never worked with her.”

Katie nodded with understanding -- that Madison noted.

“I’ve always wondered if it’s easier or harder to find out so early.”

“That’s a good question. I think it probably depends on the person, the family, the location, you know.”

Katie slowly nodded.

“Yeah... well Rachel sure looks like a girl.”

Katie handed the picture back to Emma and noticed another one on the nightstand of Rachel, Emma and Madison.

“Is that her, too?”

Emma nodded.

“Yup, it sure is!”

“Oh wow, can I see that one, please?”

“Of course!”

Emma handed the picture to Katie and Katie studied it. The picture was taken at Christmas time and the three girls were wearing cute Christmas dresses and pantyhose.

“That was just taken last Christmas.”

“All of you look so pretty!”

“Thanks, Katie!”

Katie found herself wishing she could have been there with them, dressed up as beautifully as they were.

“You’re welcome!” Katie looked up at Madison for a moment and returned her eyes to the photo. “I-I would love to meet y-your other friends sometime.”

Katie tried to smile pleasantly.

“I’m sure they’d love it, too!”

Madison smiled warmly at her. She hesitated to pry further and chose an indirect question next -- but just the right one nonetheless.

“Hey Katie, um... you seem pretty interested in Rachel. Are you a lesbian, too?”

Madison asked Katie gently, but Katie’s nerves kicked into high gear. How the hell should she answer that? It depended on what her true gender really was -- and Katie didn’t even know that! She swallowed.

“I-I do prefer girls... if that answers your question.”

Katie tried to smile again, but she knew that her smile wasn’t fully hiding her nerves. She began to consider going home. She didn’t know where this conversation was headed -- and she wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to know.

Madison gently put her arm around Katie.

“Katie, are you okay?”

Madison could feel Katie faintly trembling.

“Y-yes, um, I am, it’s just um...”

Katie found herself at the point where her brain wasn’t functioning well enough to keep thinking up ways to evade their questions -- or perhaps she was evading the answers -- and she felt like telling them everything. She didn’t know what to do and she was becoming very emotional. Her eyes were beginning to water.

“I-I just... d-don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling. At least, not yet.”

“That’s what Rachel once said -- and I said the same thing to my mother a few years back.”

Katie looked up at Madison as tears began to spill from her eyes. All at once, Katie began to cry. Madison drew her into her arms and held her for a few minutes. Emma quietly closed her bedroom door and got her box of tissues from her desk. She sat down next to Katie and held onto the tissues until Katie was ready for them.

Katie was ready to talk and she pulled back from Madison, smiling at her gratefully. Emma handed Katie a tissue and Katie gratefully took it. She began to talk as she dried her eyes.

“I-I think I’m transgendered. Biologically, I’m a boy, but I hate even thinking about that. I was actually glad when they lost my clothes -- my boy clothes, that is. My girl clothes were with my sister’s stuff -- because they used to be hers -- and her stuff all made it. My family and I decided that I might as well use the opportunity to do some self-exploration and I was so glad I could just be myself for a while. Anyway, my legal name is Kamrin, but a few years ago I asked my family to start calling me KD -- my first two initials -- because KD sounds like Katie. I didn’t want to be called Kamrin because Kamrin is also a boy’s name.”

Katie paused for a moment.

“Wow, there’s just so much to tell...”

Katie decided to start from the beginning.

“I have always been really feminine...”

Katie told them everything -- and it felt really good to do that. She had gone from closeted while her father was in her life, to free after she moved and began living as Katie, to closeted when she first met Emma and her mother and now she felt free again.

Katie ended her story by telling them about the birthday celebration at her Aunt Franny’s house on Saturday.

“Happy birthday, Katie!”

Madison gave Katie another hug.

“Thank you! Madison, I would love it if you could come -- and I would really love to meet your other friends, too -- especially Rachel! Will you invite them for me?”

Madison smiled warmly at Katie.

“Of course I will -- and trust, me -- Rachel will be there! I’m not sure about the others, but you can plan on Rachel.”

“Good!”

Katie’s cellphone began ringing.

“That’s probably my Mom. Let me get that.”

“Okay.”

Katie checked the display and saw Mom’s Cell displayed on the screen. She talked with her mother briefly and hung up.

“Well, I have to go. My Mom wants me to look at some color samples she picked out for the living room. Frankly, she doesn’t know that you know about me and she’s probably just giving me an excuse to come home in case I needed one. But anyway, do you want to meet my Mom and my sister before you leave, Madison?”

Madison smiled at Katie again.

“Yeah! Sure!”

“Okay, let’s go!”

They left Emma’s bedroom, headed down the stairs and paused by the front door long enough for Emma to let her mother know where she was going. When she was done, they went across the street where Katie unlocked the front door and admitted her guests.

“Try to ignore the state of the house right now!”

“No problem.”

Katie brought them into the living room where Sally was painting a small patch of pastel green on the wall.

“Hi, Mom!”

“Oh, hi, Katie. Have you made another friend already?”

Sally smiled warmly at Madison.

“Yeah, Mom. This is Madison. She’s a friend of Emma’s from school. Madison, this is my Mom--”

“Hey Katie -- and hello, you two!”

“--and that’s my sister, Carolyn. Carolyn, this is Madison.”

“Hi, Madison! Wow, Katie, your social life is almost building itself!”

“Yeah, right?”

Katie noticed Sally and Carolyn glancing at each other.

“Oh, by the way, Mom. I told Emma and Madison about me. I hope that’s okay.”

For that, neither Sally nor Carolyn had been prepared. Sally put down her paint brush and smiled at Katie.

“Well, sweetheart, that’s your information and it’s your decision who you tell. It’s okay with me. I can tell it went well, though!”

“Very well! Madison and Emma have a transgendered friend named Rachel and I invited Madison and Rachel to my birthday party, if that’s okay -- oh, and their other two friends, too.”

Sally smiled wider.

“Oh, sure, it’s okay. You know your Aunt Franny. The more, the merrier! We’d love to have you all! Just let me know who can make it!”

Sally was wondering exactly what Katie told her new friends, until Katie answered her question.

“Great! I really want to talk to Rachel. I’m hoping that talking with her might help me figure myself out. Mom and Carolyn, I think I’m probably a girl, but I still don’t feel sure. I have this feeling like I should to be able to prove it or something.”

“Well, I’m sure it would be a big help to talk to Rachel -- I’d always hoped you’d be able to find at least one friend like you, so I think this is wonderful!”

Katie beamed at her friends.

“So how did it come about that you revealed yourself?”

“Well...”

Katie told them about the pictures in Emma’s bedroom, the questions that Madison asked and the ways in which Katie responded to these things.

Sally nodded with a smile still on her face, to Katie’s relief.

“So, Emma, does your mother know yet?”

“No, not yet -- and don’t worry, I’ll let you tell her when you’re ready.”

“Okay.”

Madison’s cellphone began ringing and she answered it. Her mother was letting her know that she would be at Emma’s house in a few minutes. Madison hung up and turned back to her friends.

“That was my mother. She’s almost here, so I should go back to Emma’s and wait with her -- but before I go, Katie, I want to give you my phone number.”

Katie smiled at her.

“Okay, Madison. I think we have something to write on in the kitchen. Come on!”

Katie led the way to the kitchen, where she opened a cabinet on one side, just inside the door. Inside she found a post-it pad and a few pens. She grabbed a pen and the pad and handed it to Madison.

“Okay, that’s my cellphone number.”

Madison removed the top sheet from the pad and handed it to Katie.

“Thanks, Madison!”

Katie wrote down her cellphone number and handed it to Madison.

“Here’s mine!”

Madison smiled at Katie.

“Thanks, Katie! If you need to talk, if you feel alone, if you have a nightmare or anything then promise me you’ll call me -- no matter what time it is -- okay?”

Katie’s head tilted to one side as she smiled at Madison and gratefully hugged her.

“Thanks, Madison. I promise I will -- and I never break a promise!”

“Good!”

“Madison it was so great to meet you! I can’t wait to meet your friends! It will be so much fun!”

Madison smiled at Katie and hugged her.

“I look forward to it, too.”

“Bye, Katie. See you soon!”

Katie and Emma hugged.

“I’ll walk you to the door.”

“It was wonderful to meet you, Madison.”

“You, too, Mrs. Stanton -- and you, too, Carolyn!”

“Nice to meet you, too, Madison!”

“Bye!”

They walked to the front door and Katie opened it for her friends. They hugged one more time and parted ways.

END OF PART 1

[ Other Stories By Mona Lisa ]