Susie gave me a call during my lunch break on Monday to discuss a birthday present for Julie.

‘She’s been such a lot of help over the last few weeks that Mum and I feel we ought to buy her something to show our appreciation.’

‘Me too,’ I replied. ‘After all, she’s been paying me to look after her for the last two months but requires very little effort on my part. Also it is her money that will be funding our new flat. I will be paying some rent and contributing to the running costs, but I would have to pay a lot more and be less comfortable if I were living anywhere else.’

‘So what will you be giving her?’

‘There’s a rather nice trouser suit at work which would look good on her. I could get it at a reduced price with my staff discount. How about you?’

‘Mum and I thought we would buy her a nice set of lingerie.’

‘Good idea! Would you like me to buy something suitable for her on your behalf with my staff discount?’

‘Yes please. We don’t really have a lot of time to go out shopping before Wednesday.’

‘Alright, I’ll try and sneak them to you when I collect Julie tonight, and you can settle with me afterwards. One thing though, can I suggest you give them to Julie when she leaves work on Tuesday evening rather than at her birthday meal as I doubt whether my parents will have got her anything.’

‘Alright, and that way she can wear them on her birthday if she chooses.’

That afternoon I made the relevant purchases using my staff card and even selected a yucky girly birthday card ‘To my lovely sister’. Any other time I would have chosen something both rude and jokey, but Julie had been going through a difficult time, and I guess I must be mellowing with age.

I picked Julie up at the usual time, and whilst she was getting her things I managed to pass the bag containing the lingerie set to Susie without my sister noticing.

‘My boobs have been quite tender today and they have also started to itch, it was all I could do to prevent myself from scratching them in public,’ Julie announced in the car as we were driving home. ‘I had to go to the loo once or twice. Do you think they may be beginning to grow?’

‘Your doctor did warn you that would happen. It is something all girls go through, just a little bit later than normal in your case.’

‘How long is it likely to go on for?’

‘It was two, maybe three years in my case. I’m afraid there will be times when they are quite sore but you can put on some lotion to help.’

‘At least it means that I am beginning to acquire a woman’s body and can look forward to the time when I won’t have to bother with all this padding.’

‘It may take a year or more before you can entirely do without it.’ I replied.

‘By the way, Clare called me at work today. She invited me round to her place on Wednesday, but I explained that I would be cooking for the dinner party. She offered to come round and help, if she could get a lift over to Woodley. What do you think?’

‘I don’t mind giving her a lift over and back as well, but you can hardly have her helping with the meal and then not invite her to your birthday dinner.’

‘I suppose not,’ said Julie. ‘In which case, it might be better if she were to learn the truth about me before the others arrive, just in case something should come up in conversation during dinner.’

‘That is up to you to decide, Julie.’

‘Alright, I’ll ring her tonight and say that you will collect her and take her home again after the dinner. I will tell her the truth as soon as she arrives. I just hope she does not freak out.’

‘I don’t think she will, after all her brother didn’t do so.’

Tuesday was fairly uneventful; we were both working as usual. Susie and her mother presented Julie with a package and a birthday card as she was leaving work, but told not to open them until the following day. We called in at the supermarket at Woodley on the way home to get in the supplies for the forthcoming dinner party. Since we got back from Thailand, and had faced my parents I was no longer worried that Julie might be recognised by one of her neighbours or former school friends. She did see a couple of people she recognised from the locality but neither of them appeared to take any particular notice of her.

We both had a day off on Wednesday and so did not need to get up. I set my alarm for eight though so that I could prepare Julie a nice breakfast. However, I needn’t have bothered as she was awake an hour earlier and by the time I got up she was already downstairs and had opened Susie’s present.

‘Look what Susie and her mother have got for me,’ she said excitedly holding up a dark blue satin camisole.’ I really love wearing nice lingerie.’

‘So I’ve seen over the last two months,’ I replied

I handed over my present and card.

‘Happy birthday Sweet Sixteen,’ I said giving her a kiss and ‘You have made it this far without being carted off to a children’s home, and I don’t see that there is much likelihood of it happening now.’

‘Perhaps not, but I shall be relieved when we leave Woodley and I can start again where nobody knows about my early life,’ she replied.

‘Me too!’

She proceeded to open my present, and then to try it on.

‘Oh, thank you very much Jenny, it’s lovely and I look quite the businesswoman. I think dark red suits me. But you are forever trying to get me into wearing trousers,’ she said in a voice which indicated that she didn’t really mind. .

‘No more than you are forever trying to get me to wear dresses. All I am trying to do is to insert a little more practicality into your wardrobe,’ I replied. You can still wear your girly underwear.’

‘Maybe we each provide a useful counterbalance to one another’s tastes.’

‘Perhaps.’

‘Thanks for the present; shall I wear it tonight?’

‘It’s my pleasure,’ I replied, ‘but I think I can allow you to wear a long dress for tonight, since it is your birthday.’

‘Thanks for everything Jen. I don’t know how I would have managed over the last few weeks without you,’ she said giving me a hug and with tears in her eyes.

‘Now don’t start getting emotional, remember you have a dinner party to prepare for.’

All the same I felt a little sad for Julie that she would only have two birthday presents to open. No doubt she had been thinking about her parents on this day, but she did not say anything.

The post arrived at 10.00am, just as I was going out to collect Clare. There was just one further card, addressed to Julian, with an Australian postmark.

‘You’ll have to tell your Aunt at some stage,’ I commented handing it over to her.

‘Yes, I suppose so, but not until I’m eighteen and my transition is complete,’ she replied.

Clare came armed with a birthday card and a small package for Julie, so my sister would at least have one more present to open. I delivered Clare to Woodley and then made an excuse to go into Reading for a couple of hours. This was partly because I wanted to give Julie the opportunity of telling her new friend in her own way. I’d previously said to her that she could always ring me to come and take Clare home if she became really upset by the news, but I couldn’t really see that happening. Clare was reasonably level headed — in so far as that description could ever be applied to a fifteen-year-old. The only slight worry I had was that she might be so excited by the news that she would want to tell all her friends as well, and post it up on Facebook. That way the news would soon reach the crusties and afterwards, perhaps the authorities. However, we now had less than three weeks remaining before we moved, so it was probably worth the risk.

I also wanted some time on my own to take stock of everything that had happened to me over the last couple of months. The discovery that I had a sister, the decision to share a flat with her in Nottingham, the trip to Thailand had all had quite an impact on me. I had absolutely no regrets about my summer job but I needed to absorb it all. I did not feel as if I was the same person as I was at the beginning of the summer, and undoubtedly things would change even more over the next few weeks.

When I arrived back at Woodley at lunch time I found both girls working together in the kitchen and chatting happily together. I gave Julie a questioning look, just to make sure that she had in fact told her friend.

‘It’s alright Jen; I’ve explained to Clare everything and answered all her questions. She was quite surprised by the news but says she is quite cool about the discovery.’

‘I’m glad you now know Clare, just as Joe does. I hope you and he will keep Julie’s secret for her. That way we can all stay friends and perhaps you and your brother can come and visit us in Nottingham.’

‘I should like that, and I promise not to tell anybody else until Julie gives me her permission to do so,’ said Clare.

We had all agreed to dress up for the evening and I had already conveyed that information to Susie and my mother. Thus we had to find something suitable for Clare to wear from Julie’s mother’s wardrobe, which fortunately proved not to be too much of a problem. As soon as all the preparation for the meal was complete we helped one another to get ready. Julie, who was now the acknowledged expert on the subject, finished off our hair and makeup for us.

‘Wow, you really do know how to use cosmetics, I don’t remember ever looking this good before,’ commented Clare.

‘Thanks, I really want us all to look our best tonight as Susie and her mother are coming, and they are the real experts,’ she replied.

Given the unpropitious events of the previous Saturday evening, Julie’s dinner party went remarkably well. Julie is an excellent and imaginative cook and young hostess. She was ably assisted in serving out the dishes and clearing away each course by Clare, so all I had to do was sit back, look pretty and enjoy the conversation. My parents handed over a birthday card to Julie but seemed a little awkward at first. I guess that Dad was a bit overawed as the only man among six women, and that mum was still slightly coming to terms with the fact that the former son of her first husband had suddenly turned into a beautiful young woman. However, they both seemed to be making an effort, and after a glass of wine they had both mellowed somewhat. Susie and her mother, were both great at making conversation with anybody after their experiences working in the salon. Clare and Julie were both enjoying the new experience of being sophisticated adults. But all good things must eventually come to an end and it fell to me to bring the proceedings to a close.

‘Clare I promised your mother to have you home by 11.00pm.’ I said, looking at the dining room clock.

‘Alright Jen, I suppose I’d better get changed.’

‘You can borrow the dress and let me have it back later, if you like,’ said Julie.

‘Yes please, I would love Mum and Dad to see how good I look,’ she replied.

‘I’m afraid that Susie and I will also need to leave as well,’ said her Mother, ‘as we have a full day in the salon tomorrow.’

‘Jack and I can help with the clearing up whilst you take Clare home, Jenny,’ said Mum. ‘We’d like to have a word with the two of you afterwards.’

That sounds a little ominous, but at least she didn’t called me Jennifer,’ I thought as I said goodbye to Susie and her mother, and arranged to ferry Clare home.

I returned after half an hour or so to find the table cleared, the crockery and cutlery loaded into the dishwasher and the kitchen tidied. Mum and Dad were chatting to Julie in the lounge. I went in and joined them wondering what might come next.

‘We wanted to thank you both for a lovely meal and an enjoyable evening,’ Dad began.

‘Julie cooked the meal and did most of the work,’ I commented.

‘Yes, we’d guessed that,’ added Mum, smiling.

There was a brief, slightly awkward, silence

‘Irene and I have been talking a lot together over the last few days and we want to apologise to you both if we have not been as understanding as we might have been,’ continued Dad.

Julie looked as if she wasn’t quite sure how to react.

‘And we hope that in future Julie, you will regard yourself as a part of our family and call us Uncle Jack and Aunt Irene,’ he concluded.

I shot a glance across at Mum, to make sure that she was in accord with the statement. There was just the merest hesitation before she nodded in agreement. With that, they got up, walked over and gave Julie a kiss. Tears began to appear in my sister’s eyes.

‘Thank you, Uncle Jack and Aunt Irene, I should like that’ she replied.

After a second or two Mum continued.

‘Julie, I have two nice pieces of jewellery that were given to me by your late father, and I should like you to have one of them. It is a gold locket with his picture inside.’

She handed over a small red jewellery case. Julie looked inside then opened the locket and began to sob.

‘Thank you Aunt Irene,’ it is a lovely birthday present,’ she said between her tears.

I was on the point of going to comfort her, but Mum was there first and put her arm round her and hugged her, something I don’t remember her doing to me for many years. I was standing next to Dad, so I gave his hand a surreptitious squeeze, as something to take my mind off the emotion that I was feeling. He returned the gesture, but didn’t say anything.

After Julie’s tears had subsided Mum came over to me.

‘Jennifer, I also kept the engagement ring given to me by your natural father. However, I have a new husband now and I wear his ring,’ she said glancing at Dad. ‘So I would like you to have it.’

She handed over a small black box containing a beautiful, and quite expensive looking, platinum and diamond ring. I took it out and tried it on.

‘Thanks Mum,’ I said, not knowing what else to say.

‘We would also like you to know how proud we are of you and that you have turned into a lovely young woman. We shall both miss you very much when you leave for Nottingham,’ she continued.

It was now my turn to begin to cry, and to have Mum comfort me.

In no time, all four of us were sobbing and hugging one another.