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Chapter 13
Friday, December 16, 1994

Mark Jenkins, dressed for his part as Joseph the father of Jesus, was ducking punches thrown at him by Jim Collins who was Melchior, the Magi bearing frankincense, and Henry Addams who was Gaspar, the Magi bearing gold. Luckily, the boys were not yet in possession of the props.

Daniel James who was Balthasar, the Magi bearing myrrh, sat by himself examining the lining of his costume and wondered if his hair was looking out of place. He looked as if he was enjoying his moment but he always had a way of fidgeting with his appearance.

Although the rough-housing boys were only play-fighting, they received blows that became giant black-and-blue bruises. It was a good thing that the long sleeves of their garments would cover up the discoloration because Veronica Owens would have come undone.

While the boys were fighting amongst themselves playfully in the room just off the staging area, Cindy Martin who was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Judy West who was Elizabeth, her cousin, were talking and giggling as they found the marks for the first scene of the nativity play. Ben King, who was Zechariah, also found his mark. Several of the other children who were playing shepherds, boys and girls alike, were placed about the stage.
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No one had seen me or Robbie and Jun because we had been sequestered in Mrs. Hawes’ office so that nothing would happen to our costumes. Hana didn’t want us to lose feathers from the bulk of our angel wings. But most importantly, we didn’t want anyone to see Robbie prior to the play.
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Hana and Veronica, together, decided that although our hair was dark and most paintings showed blonde angels, we would stick with our natural hair color. The women had decided on a Fran Drescher look. Our hair would be as big and fluffy as Nanny Fran Fine wore it on television.
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Hana had spared no expense outfitting us. Robbie’s costume was the most lavish, of course, but that was because he was her son and he also happened to have the lead part. He was more important to the play than Mary and Joseph. Even the baby Jesus took second fiddle to him.

Robbie's wings were articulated so that they moved up and down as well as sideways. He could even swish them back and forth with a control hidden in the palm of his hand. Jun and my wings were beautiful but not nearly as intricate.
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We knew that everyone would be thrown for a loop when they saw Robbie’s breasts. No one had noticed them to this point. I hadn’t noticed them either and he is my best friend. He and Hana had been binding his breasts with an ace bandage and a sports bra but they could not do that for the play.

Robbie's, like mine and Jun's costume was designed in such a way that some of breast flesh would be visible. This would hasten their revelation and he would have to explain to everyone why his cleavage looked so real.

Robbie had come up with a relatively good explanation. The harness which attached the wings to his body and allowed him to be attached to a device that would make him appear to fly was based on a corset design. Rather than fabricate an entirely new corset device, Hana purchased three white ones at Victoria’s Secret. Due to the way the corset formed his body… he said it was for support… his breasts were pushed into the cups giving him ample cleavage.
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Robbie wore face and eye makeup and had his fingers and toes manicured. Hana found a nail lacquer called Always an Angel and had painted every cast member’s nails that color. Joseph had protested but was overruled by his mother. Everyone saw him trying to hide his fingers in his costume during practice but he had no pockets to thrust his hands into during the play. And his sandals would be open-toed.
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When Miss Owens had finished assembling the other kids on their marks, she ushered Robbie, Jun and me onto the stage. In order for the curtain to raise and reveal the first of our cast to the mothers and fathers and other family members, Jun, Robbie and I needed to be positioned on stage.

We were given our marks facing the audience with Zechariah and Elizabeth, facing toward us. You should have seen Ben King, who played Zechariah's eyes. I know he wanted to rub them but he must have had second thoughts. Judy West looked as if she wasn't phased by the feminized Robbie.

Robbie recited his lines and turned to Mary who would become the mother of the savior of mankind.

“Greetings, Mary. You are highly favored and the Lord is with you. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end.”

Robbie seemed to be having the time of his life. His smile was genuinely radiant and he annunciated his words so perfectly that everyone in the audience clearly understood what he was saying. As the scene ended I saw people rising from their seats in a round of applause for the cast. Most especially they were complimenting my best friend Robbie Shannon for his performance thus far.
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In the second act, Robbie visited Joseph. In an angelic soprano, my best friend said:

"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

As he finished his speech to Joseph, Mark Jenkins immediately burst into laughter so loud that everyone could hear him. The people in the audience strained their necks to find out what the heck had happened and saw Mark whispering up to Robbie.

“So. You’re fairy godmother turned you into Princess Jasmine? But why did you ask for wings? Weren’t the boobs enough?”

Robbie’s joyous face saddened with the put-down Mark directed at him. No one in the audience could hear what the boy was saying, but Miss Owens could and she immediately ordered the curtains on the stage to be drawn.
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“What’s the meaning of this, young man?”

She was irritated.

“Just look at him, Miss Owens. He looks like a girl.”

“And what is that supposed to mean? Robbie is playing an angel and angels do look more like girls than they look like boys. If it was you in his place, you’d look like a girl, too.”

The children started laughing and Mark blushed.

“But nail polish and makeup? Isn’t that a bit too much, ma'am?”

“Look at yourself, Mark. You’re wearing face makeup and the same nail polish Robbie is wearing.”

“Yea. But I don’t have breasts and big poofy hair like a girl.”

The other children started laughing, but Robbie was nearing tears. He hadn’t started crying but I could tell that he was becoming deeply hurt.

“Well, I expect the rest of the play to go off without anymore interruptions. If you don’t make it through the rest of the play none of you will get to attend the holiday party tomorrow afternoon. I’ll cancel the whole thing.”

When the children heard that they promised not to say or do anything more to hurt Robbie’s feelings. Robbie recovered and finished the play. The crowning glory of the play was when he sang O Holy Night in his own natural soprano. He received a thunderous applause from the audience. The curtains closed and Miss Owens had a cast call.
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Our teacher called everyone to the stage and presented Robbie with a dozen red roses, the usual gift given to the stars of her plays. That, coupled with the ones his mother had given him had Robbie covered in sweet smelling flowers.
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As we readied ourselves to go home, several of the girls ran up and hugged Robbie. The boys kept their distance and sneered at him.

“You were wonderful!”

Cindy Martin said as she kissed Robbie on the cheek.

“You look like a million dollars, Robbie! How did you transform yourself so convincingly? Those breasts look so real!”

Robbie blushed and said something about the corset he still wore.

“Can you give me some pointers some time?”

Robbie blushed, shrugged his shoulders again and simply said, “I’d love to.”
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Chapter 14
Monday, December 19, 1994
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“Momma, I’m nervous. What if Daddy disowns all of us because of me? I don’t know if I could live with that thought on my mind.”

“Honey, if your father disowns us it shows how very little a person he really is.”

“But you love him, Momma.”

“Yes, Ami. I love your father deeply. He is very set in his ways, honey, but I know deep down inside of him, he loves you with all of his heart. I believe that he only wants what is truly best for you. We’ve got to let him see how happy you are as a girl, sweetie.”

“But he’s never seen me like this before, Momma.”

“And there’s a first time for everything, Ami. People change.”

“But this is a drastic change, Momma.”

“Not really, honey. You’re the same person you’ve always been with just a little different dressing.”

“And a new gender, Momma.”
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Hana treated Ami and Jun to a day at a day salon called My Favorite Things. When they came out of the salon Ami had a brand new set of acrylic nails that were lacquered in a color called I Can’t Believe It’s Christmas. It was from a new line by one of Hana’s favorite cosmetics companies. Its festive holiday color was much like Santa’s red suit but had subtle green, blue and gold flecks mixed into it.

Ami had her first facial and felt invigorated. The beautician also arched her eyebrows into delicate wisps. When she saw her face in the hand-held mirror she couldn’t believe how much a simple thing like thinning one’s eyebrows could enhance her feminine appearance. And the funny thing was that Ami was not wearing any makeup at all.

The beautician went to work on her face and applied the slightest amount of makeup. A smoke-colored tint was applied to her lids and a touch of eyeliner and mascara finished her eyes. A rosy rouge powder was lightly applied to her cheeks. Then she tinted Ami’s lips with a color that matched her nails exactly. Ami was floating on cloud nine.

The next stop was to have their hair done. Ami didn’t want any of her hair cut, but the stylist convinced her to let him trim the edges. He told Ami that her hair would grow much faster if she did and Ami agreed to only the slightest amount being taken off. He trimmed her bangs so that they evenly framed her face.

As the girls walked from the hair salon, Ami was wearing a pair of hip-hugger jeans, a red midriff-baring halter top and, since it was rather cold out, a black pea-coat duster. Her feet were enveloped in her brand new pair of Nine West three-inch high-heeled boots. Adding all that she had been through that day, she looked like a million bucks.
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Thursday, December 22, 1994
As Ami, Hana and Jun boarded the United 747 at Lindbergh Field that would take them to Denver International Airport for their connector flight to New York City, the five-fifty departure time was soon extended to six-forty due to heavy snow on the eastern seaboard.

Several high school boys went out of their way to try to talk to Ami. Each of the boys thought that she was in high school but she alone knew that she would be thirteen-years-old in only a few days. The boys kept telling her how pretty she was and kept asking her for her phone number. Because of all the attention, Ami was having the time of her life.

The stop-over in Denver, Colorado was about thirty-minutes and the Shannon girls had to run from one end of the terminal to the other in order to make their connection. They barely made it in time and soon Ami would spend the next hours wondering what her father would say about how she looked and who she was deep inside.
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Robert Shannon was there to pick his family up when they arrived at JFK. Hana had given him a call to inform him of their delay so he was prepared for their late arrival. What he was not aware of was what was happening with his son.

For eleven hours Ami had been treated just as she appeared, a soon-to-be-thirteen-year-old young lady.
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As Ami, her mother and her sister approached the end of the arrival tunnel, Robert spotted Hana and Jun but looked perplexed when he didn’t see Robbie. What he saw was a young girl with his wife but didn’t put two-and-two together for a couple of seconds. When he realized that the teen-aged coed was his son, Robert looked very irritated. When they made it to where he was standing, Robert took Hana off to the side by themselves.
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“Why the hell is our son dressed like that, Hana?”

Robert wasn’t yelling but could have been if they were alone and not surrounded by thousands of people.

“Are you crazy, Hana? What if someone asks him for his identification? You’ve got to be out of your mind.”

“Ami is dressed like that because that’s the way she wants to dress from now on, Robert.”

Hana spoke is a firm, non-apologetic voice.

“Besides, she hasn’t been treated any differently than Jun or I have been treated all the way here.”

“But Jesus Christ, Hana, he’s a boy.”

“Have you taken a good look at her lately, honey. I don’t see any boy in her at all.”

“But this is ridiculous, Hana.”

“No it isn’t, Robert. You can see her. Look at her, honey. Look around her. She’s got the attention of every teen-aged boy in this airport.”

“Sure, he does, Hana. But that’s because he’s making a spectacle of himself. Is that dress he’s wearing short enough?”

“Spectacle? Robert? Ami’s not trying to fool anybody anymore. Have you ever really sat down and talked to her since her accident?”

“Well… honestly, Hana, I’ve been very busy.”

“Busy? Robert, it’s been seven years. Being busy is no excuse. I love you, honey, honestly, I do… but I also love Ami. You need to get to know your new daughter. She’s really quite a wonderful lady.”

“Ami?”

“Yes, honey, that’s Robbie’s name now. I mean, it’s the name she’s going to be using after she graduates from Rouge Castile in March. After that she’s going to be living full-time as a girl… as our daughter.”

“And you’re going to let him, Hana? Are you fucking nuts?”

“Watch your mouth, Robert. You know about the test results. You saw the CAT scans. Ami has everything it takes… all the reproductive organs… everything it takes to become a mother.”

“What’s he going to say when the other girls start talking about their menstrual cycles and their new boyfriends? Robbie’s not gay is he? Well...I’ll take that back. He is gay. Look at what he’s wearing.”

“Honey, Ami tells me that she isn’t gay, so we have to believe her. And, besides, she’ll have menstrual cycles, too. On that subject she’ll have plenty to discuss with her girl friends.”

“Ugh. Has he said anything about boys? I mean, does he like them?”

“Ami hasn’t told me that she likes boys but Meghan mentioned that she’s said something to her about them.”

“And?”

“I guess Ami likes boys, honey. I’m just going to let her tell me about that when the time is right.”

“My son’s a freak.”

“No, honey. Ami is no freak. She is brilliant and witty and very intelligent. Why don’t you try to talk to her while we’re here? It’s Christmas, after all. And it’s Jun and Ami’s birthday. It’s my birthday, too, Robert Shannon. The best present you can give me is to get to know your new daughter.”

Robert quickly changed the subject.

“So I guess we have to take him out looking like that.”

“Robert, Ami looks adorable. You’ve got to agree with me about that.”

“Why do I have to agree with you?”

“Because if she wasn’t with me and Jun, you’d be trying to get into her panties. We need to talk about your new secretary…”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

He tried to change the subject again, but couldn’t.

“I wouldn’t try to get into his pants, Hana. I’m into girls.”

“You bastard. We’ve got some talking to do when the girls aren’t around.”

“Yeah, talk, talk, talk, that’s all you ever want to do.”
“Well, if you talked more to other people, you wouldn’t be surprised about Ami.”
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Reluctantly Robert took his girls to dinner at Aureole in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. As they entered the brownstone that housed the renowned restaurant, he was having a lot of trouble accepting the fact that his son was in a short red dress, had red acrylic nails and breasts that would put most girls his age to shame.

What bugged Robert the most was that Ami and Jun were acting so much like two sisters, giggling between themselves. He saw them pointing to a young man in a Hugo Boss suit on the arm of a young woman wearing Armani. Ami was ogling the gentleman and he winked at her. She threw him a kiss as he sat down at his table. The young woman looked like her eyes were daggers. Ami giggled some more with Jun.

It was only then that Robert wished that he’d taken the time to talk to Robbie more as he was growing up. He couldn’t do that anymore because, obviously, Robbie had switched teams and was batting for the other side, so to speak. As he was watched his son he couldn’t kick the feeling that maybe he really had failed in his role as a father.

The waiter kept treating his son as female, referring to Ami in feminine adjectives, but all Robert saw was his little boy dressed up as a girl, his legs and breasts so totally exposed. What really gnawed at Robert, however, was that he seemed to be to enjoying himself. He could smell his son and he smelled like the Vera Wang fragrance he was wearing.

After dinner he watched his son gleefully enjoy The New York City Ballet’s rendition of The Nutcracker. He even saw his son prance off to use the ladies restroom with Hana and Jun. He bit his lip when all of them passed through the door marked WOMEN.

Robert saw all this and his blood temperature nearly boiled. He had to put a stop to this whole profane charade and he had to stop it right there and then. As Ami came out of the restroom with her mother and sister, Robert took the child by her arm.

“Come with me Robbie,” he said. “I want to have a word with you.”

“Okay, Daddy, but you’re hurting my arm. And please call me Ami. Please, Daddy?”

“I will not. Your name is Robert…”

“Daddy, it is Robert now but please call me Ami, tonight. Please?”

“Oh, all right. May I have a word with you, Ami?”

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Ami?”

“I’ve had a wonderful night! Thank you for the nicest birthday present ever!”

“Well… I… uh…”

“I love you, Daddy. I hope you can grow to accept me like this.”

“Well… uh… I…”

Ami batted her eyes at her father and Robert couldn’t help but see the same look Hana had given him when she was Robbie’s age. “Thank you, Daddy. I love you!”

As Ami kissed her father on the cheek, Hana and Jun found them and put their arms around Robert.

“Thank you, honey,” Hana said. “Thank you for not making a scene.”

“Sure... I guess?”

“Let’s go get the girls some ice cream! What do you say?”

“Well… okay.”

Robert gave in and as they scurried to find the nearest ice cream parlor he couldn’t help but scheme about getting his only son back. Why couldn’t I have spent more time with him when he was young? He thought to himself.

As the Shannons found a Baskin Robbins’, Robert knew he had to find a way to reclaim his son. After all it was for his son’s own good.