Orphaned at 14, Angelo is a shy, sensitive boy who is helped to become the girl he always felt he was by a caring new foster mother. He becomes a prettily dressed teenaged girl who finds new friends and enjoyment. At the same time, a dark cloud is overhead, threatening his future.

The Foster Mom’s New Daughter — Part Two

By Katherine Day
(Copyright 2007 by Katherine Anne Day)
(Dedicated to and inspired by Angelo, of Rome, Italy)

Synopsis: Orphaned at 14, Angelo is a sensitive, shy boy, and is placed with a foster mother who had wanted a girl. She accepts the boy into her household, quickly finding out that he feels comfortable sleeping in a girl’s bedroom and wearing lovely, frilly outfits. Before coming to live with his new foster mother, Angelo lived for a year in the mean household of his aunt and her family (where his cousins teased him and beat him up regularly because of his delicate body). Now he finds comfort with his new foster mom who has found the daughter she always wanted. In his first weekend at the foster home, Angelo finds great joy in dressing as a girl and, when he does, he becomes Angela.

Chapter Three: Learning to be a Girl

Mary Elizabeth left her new charge alone in the lovely bedroom, giving him a little space to feel more comfortable in his new surroundings. She was convinced he loved the room and also the idea of dressing and acting like a girl. She told him to occupy himself because she had phone calls to make for her real estate work. Most importantly, she felt Angelo was happy with his new situation.

In the late afternoon, Angelo entered a back extra bedroom, which she had converted to an office. She was going over house listings on her computer, when she was interrupted, with a soft, tentative voice: “Mummy? Have you a minute?”

“Oh yes, darling,” she said automatically, before turning around to face Angelo.

“I’m afraid I’m not the girl you wanted,” the boy said. It was said in a weak, tentative voice.

“Why? What do you mean?” she said, turning around to see him, now dressed in the lovely green gown she had bought for Julia, who was originally to be her foster child. “Oh darling, you’re lovely. I see you’ve found the prom dress. Isn’t it divine?”

Angelo did a little twirl, smiling in a most pleased manner. “It’s so pretty, mummy. I love it.”

“And you look so sweet in it. Any boy would be pleased to have you on his arm. Now what are you saying about not being the girl I wanted?”

“Mummy,” he said, tears again flowing down his face, messing up his mascara.

“Yes, dear. What’s the matter? Come hug mummy.”

Angelo set on her lap, his delicate body easily comforted by Mary Elizabeth as she hugged him.

“Mummy, my voice. I still talk like a boy. And, I walk like a boy. I don’t know how to sit as a girl.”

“Oh, and you wanna make sure you do those things as a girl would, right.”

“Yes, mummy.”

“Well after supper, we’ll work on some of those things. Tomorrow, we’re taking you to buy girl shoes, and I want you to dress as Angela when we go shopping. OK?”

“But, they’ll think I’m a boy,” he said.

“Hardly,” Mary Elizabeth responded. “Right now, you look all girl. The other things we’ll take care of. That’s if you want to.”

“Oh mummy, I do. I do feel like a girl.” He leaped off her lap, skipping about in happiness. “I love you so much, mummy.”

“Now take off that dress, before you ruin it, and put on something more comfortable for supper. Choose from among the mini-skirts and blouses in the closet.”

“Yes, mummy,” he said, skipping off to his pretty room.

Mary Elizabeth herself changed to a pair of shorts and a tee shirt for supper, tying her hair up for the chore of making dinner. Before she started, however, she had to call Sharon, her girl friend.

“Sharon,” she said excitedly, as her friend answered. “Honey, she’s a lovely girl. You and Tanya want to join us tomorrow? We’re going to the mall tomorrow. I need to get shoes for Angela.”

“Angela?” her friend asked. “You’ve renamed her?”

“Sharon, she loves it. She’s so natural as a girl. You’ll simply adore her, I know it. And I’d like her to meet your daughter. Tanya is a so nice, and she knows other girls.”

“You’re going to take her . . .” Sharon stopped. “I mean him . . . to the mall to shop. Will he be dressed as a girl?”

“Oh my, yes. She’s truly very feminine. No one will know.”

“Lizzie,” Sharon said, using the name she’d used for years with her friend. “Aren’t you going too far with this?”

“No Sharon. And please call her Angela and she’s a she, not a he. Remember that.”

It was decided they’d meet at 1 p.m. at the food court for shopping the next day. But tonight, Mary Elizabeth realized she had work to do to turn this lovely boy into a girl.

*****

Angelo had decided against wearing the mini-dress for supper, as Mary Elizabeth had suggested, and had put on a pair of denim shorts, which hardly went to mid-thigh, topped off with a girl’s light blue tee shirt containing the words in glitter, “Hot Number 15.” He wore pink tennis shoes and short white socks.

“My, aren’t you the cutie!” Mary Elizabeth proclaimed.

“Are you mad I didn’t wear the dress?”

“No, honey. You look fine. Just the spitting image of a teen age girl.”

Angelo truly did look cute with his slender legs and arms, so smooth and pretty.

“I wanted to help you out in the kitchen, mummy,” he said by way of explanation for wearing the more informal outfit.

“You can set the table for now, and for this special occasion, our first supper together, I think we should have candles and flowers. You can get them from the pantry.”

Mary Elizabeth was impressed with how gracefully and daintily Angelo moved about. He showed a true artistic bent in setting up the table. For the supper, Mary Elizabeth had bought a nonalcoholic champagne to share, and told Angelo where the wine goblets were.

“Oh these goblets are lovely,” the boy said.

“You seem to know what you’re doing in the kitchen, Angela,” she said, using the boy’s girl’s name.

“When mum was alive, I did most of the cooking and cleaning. Even the clothes washing. I had to clean the house. She was always too sick.”

“Well, you were a good son. I’m so sorry about your mum.”

Angelo wanted to cry. He did miss his mum, but she had been dead for over a year now. She was a very talented, lovely person, but suffered terribly with her mental illness. It had been Angelo who after the age of eight had maintained the household.

“But, you’re my mummy now,” he said. “I hope you’ll like me, too.”

“Oh darling I do.”

After supper was done and the two shared the chores of cleaning up and doing the dishes, to the background music of light classics, they went into the living room to begin training Angelo in the subtleties involved in appearing to be a girl. Mary Elizabeth sat Angelo down on one of the two dining room chairs they brought in, and she sat before him in the other.

“First of all, from now on, whenever you’re being my foster daughter, I will address you as Angela. OK?”

Angelo smiled. “Yes mummy.”

“Angela. Look at how you’re sitting. Just like a crude, dirty boy. Is that who you are?”

“No mummy. I’m a girl.”

“Yes, and you’re a pretty, sweet, dignified girl. Don’t forget that!”

She told the boy to look at how she was sitting, with her knees together, back straight and hands folded neatly on her lap. He, in turn was laying back in his chair, his legs apart in a slouch position. He quickly adjusted to assume her position.

“Now, that’s better.”

“Do I look OK this way, mummy?”

“Yes, honey. And also, when at a table eating, don’t put your forearms on the table; keep you hand in your lap when you’re not using a knife, fork or spoon.”

She smiled, and continued. “At dinner tonight, honey, you were still eating like that crude boy. Taking big bites and wolfing everything down without much chewing.”

“I’m sorry, mummy.”

“We have to get rid of all those nasty boy habits, right?”

“Yes, mummy. I want to be your sweet girl.”

Mary Elizabeth was overcome with the joy and excitement she felt with this lovely child.

“You are my sweet girl, honey. But we need to refine just a few things. When you eat, take smaller portions on your fork or spoon. Then, chew your food, with your mouth closed, quietly and with small chews.”

Angelo nodded, and smiled back, a sweet smile that Mary Elizabeth couldn’t resist. She took the boy’s hands in hers, squeezed them and leaned forward giving him a light kiss on the cheek. He smelled so clean and fresh.

Angelo’s own heart jumped as she did that, and he felt he wanted to be in her arms, hugged and caressed. He wanted so badly to please his new mummy, to be her true girl child.

“Now, when it comes to getting up and down from a chair,” Mary Elizabeth began. “Let me show you.”

She demonstrated slowly, rising from the chair with her legs still together and then sitting down, smoothing her dress from behind as she sat. “You must always smooth the dress,” she said. “Otherwise, the dress with bunch up in back and get mussed.”

“Sit with your legs together, even if you move them to one side or the other. It’s not good to cross your legs, but if you do, let me show you how women do it.”

She crossed her legs below the knees, and the reached across where he had been sitting with his knees crossed. “See. You look like that nasty boy again,” she told him.

Angelo assumed the prescribed position, but it didn’t feel natural to him, he told her. She responded: “That’s OK, practice it, and you’ll soon be doing it like a girl always.

“Now, let me see you walk,” she commanded.

Angelo walked across the room and back a couple of times, trying to take small steps.

“How’s that, mummy?”

“Not bad, honey. There’s a bit of girl in that walk now.”

It was true Angelo had been picking up some girlish movements in the last year; his cousins often teased him, telling him he walked like a girl. In fact, when he sat on the couch, he usually tucked his feet under his butt, also looking very feminine.

“But, Angela,” she said. “You must walk more erect. Keep your back straight and walk with your toes pointing almost directly forward. That will create a natural sway to your hips.”

“Ok mummy.” He followed her instructions and walked back and forth several times.

“That’s very girlish,” she said.

“It feels so natural, mummy.”

“Now sweetie, I want you to bend your arms at the elbow while you walk, but not too much, just a little. And, let your wrist be a bit limp.”

“Like this mummy.” He demonstrated.

“No. No. No.” she protested. “That’s too extreme. Now all you look like is a faggot.”

“Oh mummy, but you said. . . “

“Now do it again, but don’t bend your elbows that much, and let your hands and wrists hang naturally.”

He walked back and forth several times, each time feeling more comfortable with the motion. She ordered him to sit down and he did so, trying to do it slowly and with grace.

“No, Angela. You forgot to smooth your dress.”

“Oh, I’m sorry mummy. I forgot, and I didn’t have a dress on anyway.”

“I want you to get in the habit of doing the motion. OK?”

They paused in the teaching and Mary Elizabeth suggested they get some ice cream as a reward. “You’re such a good little girl, and you learn so fast,” she said.

“Thank you mummy. I think I like being a girl.”

While they ate their ice cream, Angelo realized he had never in his life felt more at home, more comfortable than he was in his new home. He also realized that his quick transformation into girlhood might indeed have been a trek into his true feminine nature. He had always been afraid of being a boy, fearful of the need to be aggressive and to talk rough and to be strong, ready to fight physically if he had to. As a boy, he knew he would somehow have to develop a masculinity that just didn’t seem to be in his nature.

“Now, you’ll have to work on your voice, Angela,” Mary Elizabeth said when they were finished with the ice cream. She smiled at the child before her, now with his lips covered with cream.

“Wipe you mouth off, honey,” she said.

Angelo used a paper napkin and swiped it across his mouth.

“No. Not that way. Do it more daintily. Just dab it this way.” Mary Elizabeth demonstrated, and the boy copied her perfectly.

“You’re such a good girl,” she said.

“Now, we must deal with the toughest part of making you a girl. Your voice.”

“Yes mummy,” Angelo replied, trying to soften his voice and placing it in a higher register.

“You already have a gentle, sweet voice, dear, but it’s still more boylike.”

Mary Elizabeth suddenly had an idea. “If you were talking to a little baby, how would you do it? Talk like you would to an infant about six months old.”

“You mean like this, mummy,” he said, raising his voice to a higher level, adding a few “Coo, coos.”

“That’s better, yes. Try to talk to me like I’m a baby, now.”

“You mean like this mummy,” he said, finding his voice wavering a bit, and not being constant.

“Yes. Practice that,” she said. “Don’t force your voice. Try to talk natural, and you can be a bit softer, too.”

Angelo began talking, trying out his new voice, still not satisfied with it. Mary Elizabeth grew frustrated, as it appeared the child could not present a constant, steady girlish voice.

“Not yet, honey. You’ll need more practice. I’m afraid tomorrow at the mall, when you’ll be my daughter, you’ll have to talk very little. Just act shy.”

Angelo smiled. He had no trouble acting shy. It was in his nature.

“No, Angela, honey,” Mary Elizabeth continued. “Here’s another hint. Listen closely how women and girls talk. Listen to how we accentuate certain words. Once you master ‘girl-talk’ you’ll be able to even talk in a lower, almost male voice, because the way you handle the words will mark you as a girl.”

“Oh kayyyyy mummy,” he said, mimicking how she said “OK.”

“Darling, you’ve got it. You understand the concept, I think.”

Angelo smiled. He continued to talk and walk and act as girly as he could. Mary Elizabeth went to her room to finish up some computer work, asking Angelo if he’d like to watch a DVD movie later. She had rented several that were aimed at a teenaged girl population.

“Oh mummy. I love that idea.”

*****

Later that night, after Angelo had dressed in a light blue nightie and put on fluffy matching slippers, Mary Elizabeth put his hair in curlers. “We’ll have to let this grow longer, honey, but this’ll work for now.”

Together they sat on the couch, Angelo in his nightie, his legs tucked up under him, nestling next to Mary Elizabeth. The movie they watch was “Election,” the story about a high school class president election starring Reese Witherspoon. Angelo had never seen it and began identifying with the heroine, wishing he could go to school as a girl. Halfway through the movie, he said: “Aren’t those girls so pretty?”

“Yes, honey, but I have a very pretty girl right here.”

Angelo blushed, but reached up and kissed his foster mother gently on her cheek. They both smiled.

It was a lovely sight: the older woman in her long pink nightie and a slender, cute teen aged girl in her light blue nightie, snuggled together on the davenport. For Angelo, this night was the beginning of a new life, a life that may be closer to his real self, that of a girl. For Mary Elizabeth, this night was the sweetest, warmest night since the death of her husband many years earlier. She now had the daughter she always wanted.

Chapter Four: The Shopping Trip

“Now Angela, you must make up your mind, honey. It’s getting late.”

“Oh mommy, I can’t decide what to wear.”

Mary Elizabeth smiled as her 15-year-old foster son fussed about in the closet, trying to find just the right outfit to wear to the mall to meet Sharon and her daughter, Tanya, for a day of shopping. It would be Angelo’s first time out of the house, dressed as a girl.

“Mummy, I am undecided. Should I wear this dress? It looks too formal for shopping, I think. Or, should I wear these shorts and the tank top, like most girls wear when they shop? What do you think, mummy?”

He was acting just like a girl in puzzling over his outfit, and Mary Elizabeth was feeling pleased as she watched this girl-to-be act so totally feminine. It seemed to come natural to him.

“Honey, I think you could go informal. Wear the shorts and tank top, and also take a top along, in case the air conditioning in the mall is too cold.”

Angelo agreed. He wanted to go dressed just like other girls would be at the mall. With his slender legs and arms, he knew he could easily look like a girl in the shorts and tank top. Besides, the only shoes he could wear comfortably were the girl’s tennis shoes, which wouldn’t go well with the dress.

“Oh mummy, I hope I remember everything you taught me about being girly,” Angelo said when they reached the mall.

“Angela, honey, don’t worry. You look very sweet today. No one will think of you as anything but a girl, believe me.”

“Oh, mummy, I hope so,” he replied, then added: “I like it better than being a boy.”

“Let’s go, honey, Sharon and Tanya must already be there.”

They hurried into the mall and up the escalator to the food court, Angelo trying hard to remember to take shorter steps, and to keep his body erect. As far as he could tell, no one gave them a second glance; he reasoned the two must have looked like any mother and teenaged daughter, and Angelo felt so warm with the thought.

Mary Elizabeth wore light green full-length shorts and a darker green-blue sleeveless blouse; Angelo wore denim mini shorts, a pink G.U.E.S.S. sleeveless tee shirt, a light blue jacket and the pink tennis shoes with short, white sock.

Mary Elizabeth spotted Sharon and her daughter, seated at a table at the edge of the food court; both had soft drinks in their hands and were chatting. Tanya, the daughter, seemed to be complaining to her mother about something, and their demeanor changed as Marry Elizabeth and Angelo approached the table.

“Sharon, Tanya, sorry we were late, but here’s Angela.”

Angelo came forward, and Sharon and her daughter rose up to meet them. Angelo gave a slight curtsey and smiled, not speaking, still worried his voice would give him away.

“Why, you’re very pretty, Angela,” Sharon said as they sat down, strategically placing Angelo next to Tanya.

“Thank you,” he said in a hard-to-hear whisper.

“Speak up darling,” Mary Elizabeth said, then explained: “She’s really very shy.”

“Thank you,” he said in a voice that sounded weak and unconvincing.

Tanya seemed to be the same height and have the same body size as Angelo; she was slender with a dishwater long blonde hair reaching down past her shoulders. She wore a tank top and grey mini-shorts with sandals. She wore modest pink lipstick with matching colors on her toenails and fingernails.

Mary Elizabeth had suggested that Sharon tell her daughter that Angelo was a boy, but a boy who felt more like a girl. The two older women began talking and Angelo and Tanya sat there, not saying anything, not even looking at each other, although Angelo felt that Tanya must be glancing at him.

Finally, Tanya said, in a gudging tone: “Well, I must say. You at least look like a girl.”

Angelo didn’t reply. He could tell Tanya was not pleased with this meeting; she must have thought it was weird that a boy should come dressed as a girl, and argued with her mother about coming. Only for her mother’s final plea that she was doing it for Mary Elizabeth’s sake did Tanya relent. The girl had always liked Mary Elizabeth who had cared for her when her mother was hospitalized for a month several years ago.

“You going to always be a girl?” Tanya pressed on.

“I think so,” Angelo answered softly, trying so hard to sound girlish.

The two sat there for a while, then agreed they’d go up together to get some drinks and pizza slices. There was a long line at the Pizza Pete stand, and two teenage boys were right in front of them in line. They were laughing and making fun of everything around them, just being typical of teenage boys. Angelo was glad he didn’t have to take part in their banter.

“Hi girls,” the taller of the two boys said. He had cutoff shorts, sandals and blue tank on, exposing strong muscular arms.

“I’m Gary and this is my friend, Jason,” he said. “Who are you?”

There was no response, and Gary repeated the question.

Finally, Tanya answered: “Hi, I’m Tanya and this is Angela. She’s just a friend of my mom’s.” Her response seemed to indicate to the boys that she was not a friend to Angelo but had to be at the mall with him because their mothers’ desires.

“Well, Angela, say hi,” Gary pressed on. “We won’t bite.”

Angelo gave his same tentative “hi,” hoping it sounded girlish enough.

“She’s shy,” explained Tanya.

“Well she shouldn’t be. She’s a cutie,” the other boy, Jason said. He was crew-cut, slender with a wiry body and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a tight white tee-shirt and shorts.

Angelo blushed. That this sparkling, lively boy would think he was “cute” excited Angelo excitedly.

As their turns at the counter came up, the boys asked if they would join them at their table, but Tanya explained they had to go with their mothers.

“Well, give us your phone numbers, at least,” Gary joshed.

Tanya laughed. “No way. We’ll see ya’ around.”

As they walked back to the table, Tanya said: “You’re going to have to learn how to handle yourself around boys, Angela.”

“I know. Thank you for being there.”

“You know, you’re really pretty. Maybe we can come here again; we’ll see if those boys show up next Saturday. They were hot.”

Angelo only nodded his head. He wasn’t sure how he would handle being a girl with boys like those. He could imagine their conversations now at their own table, comparing which of the two girls they met was the hottest.

*****

Mary Elizabeth, Sharon, Tanya and Angelo went shopping; spending several hours, hitting mainly women’s clothing stores. Tanya started talking to Angelo more eagerly as the day wore on and they both became impatient with the older women and their slow way of shopping.

As the day wore on, Tanya seemed to warm up to Angelo, and the two soon were giggling together, making comments about some of the boys they saw in the mall. Angelo, who always liked to perform, mimicked some of them, bringing smiles to Tanya’s face.

While the two older women shopped in a high-level store, Angelo and Tanya headed for the Old Navy store. Mary Elizabeth said she had not purchased much casual clothes for Julia. “Perhaps, Tanya, you can help Angela pick up some cool outfits,” she said, sending the two off with $100 in cash to spend.

As they went down the mall’s hallway, the two chattered, stopped at show windows, and admiring some of the outfits, criticizing others.

“Oh that’s gross,” Angelo said, now having more comfort in his voice, as he pointed out a particularly garish outfit.

“It is awful, isn’t it?” Tanya agreed.

“I like more simple, light styles,” he said. “Gauzy type materials.”

“Oh, me too, Angela.”

“Like that one,” he said, pointing to a prom gown in the window of the next store. It was a strapless gown with a taffeta skirt, in a light teal green. “You’d look lovely in it, Tanya.”

“You too, Angela,” she said quickly. Then she added: “Oh I’m sorry. I forgot you’re really a boy.”

“Oh, but I’d love to wear it,” he responded as thee two continued looking at the gown.

“Angela, you really are so much a girl, I can tell. You have great fashion sense; you seem to be totally feminine.”

Angelo smiled. He liked the fact that Tanya was now accepting him as a girl and he was hoping the two would be girl friends together.

“You girls got prom dates, already.” The words came out loud and teasingly, interrupting Angelo’s musing. He looked to see the two teenage boys they met at the Pizza Pete stand.

“You following us?” Tanya challenged.

“Not really,” said the bigger boy named Gary. “But it’s not a bad idea.”

His partner, Jason, laughed in conspiracy, adding: “You’re both worth following.”

“Well, we’re shopping. Leave us alone,” Tanya said.

“Aww come on. We don’t mean any harm. We think you’re both pretty special girls.”

Angelo blushed, turning a bit coyly to one side. He was not used to be praised, but now as a girl he was finding he was something lovely and special.

The two boys finally persuaded them to sit down for a moment on a nearby bench, pairing Tanya off with Gary and leaving Jason for Angelo. They shared small talk for a while, with Jason even taking Angelo’s soft, tiny hand in his. Jason, it turned out, was a theater student at the local high school that specialized in the arts.

“Oh that’s neat,” Angelo said, admitting he was new to the city and was looking for a school in the fall. He told Jason that he wanted to study theater; he loved to act, he said.

“You have to audition to get into the school,” Jason said.

“Oh. I did theater in middle school,” Angelo said.

Jason explained that auditions were next week and told Angelo how to apply.

“You’re very pretty,” Jason said. “I’m sure if you got any talent at all, you’ll get in.”

Angelo was gaining affection for this boy, who seemed to be a bit shy himself and had come up to the girls only through the urging of his more aggressive friend. He let Jason hold his hand, feeling very warm and light-headed.

“You wanna go with me to a movie or something sometime?” Jason finally said.

“Oh, Jason. I’m not sure. Mummy doesn’t want me dating or being with boys yet.”

Jason seemed downfallen. “I’m sorry, Jason,” Angelo continued. “I can’t.”

He knew full well that Jason, if he found out he had dated a boy, would be furious and might beat him up, or embarrass him in some way.

They finally broke away from the boys, but they did agree to take the boy’s phone numbers, just in case they ever wanted to call them. They refused to give the boys their own phone numbers.

“I think that Jason has his eye on you, Angela,” Tanya said.

“I know, and he seems very nice, and a little shy. How about Gary? Did you like him?”

“Oh he’s all right, but he’s too full of himself.”

“I saw that too.”

“Oh Angela. It’s so much fun being with you. You’re going to be my best girl friend, I bet.”

“Tanya. That would be so nice.”

“You really think like a girl. I can’t believe you’re actually a boy.”

Angelo laughed: “Well, I never was much of a boy, anyway. Look at my arms; they’re so weak. I bet you could beat me up if you wanted to.”

The two hugged then, transmitting a warm friendship that would overcome all odds.

The two never got to Old Navy, being waylaid by the boys, and realized they had to race back to meet the two older women in the shoe department.

“You two are late,” Sharon scolded as they entered the department.

“We’re sorry mummy,” she said. “But we met these real cool boys.”

Mary Elizabeth was stunned. “I hope you didn’t do anything dumb, like giving them your names and phone numbers.”

“No, mummy,” Angelo said. “But we took their numbers.”

“My God, girls. We can’t let you two loose here.”

“Oh it was just in fun,” Tanya interjected. “This one boy. He’s real cool. He was so interested in Angela.”

“Yes, mummy,” Angelo continued. “His name’s Jason and he’s a student at the arts school in theater. He told me how to apply for the school.”

“Yes, Mrs. Dayton. Angela would be perfect for that school. She’s such an actress.”

“I’d say she is,” Mary Elizabeth said. “She’s fooled everyone into thinking she’s a girl.”

“Isn’t she really a girl?” Sharon said, and they all laughed. Angelo beamed; he so loved being a girl.

The young man who waited on them in the shoe department made a point of saying to Mary Elizabeth: “We want to make sure your young lady here gets the shoes best suited for her lovely feet and legs.”

The fitting went easily, with Mary Elizabeth buying a three pairs of shoes, flats, sandals and pumps with three inch heels.

As they broke up to go home, Tanya turned to her mother, and asked: “Can Angela go to the beach with me tomorrow?”

Angelo was surprised. Tanya hadn’t said anything about joining her at the beach.

“I’m not sure about that,” Sharon responded to her daughter. “Ask Mrs. Dayton what she thinks.”

“Mummy, can I?” Angelo interjected.

“Oh Angela. I don’t think we’re ready for that yet. Why don’t Sharon and Tanya come to our place tomorrow? How about it, Sharon?”

It was agreed the four would get together on Sunday and the two girls could do girly things together. Angelo was so happy as they headed for home.

“Mummy, you’re the bestest mummy in the world,” he said.

“And you’re the darlingest daughter,” Mary Elizabeth said, hugging her charge gently.

Angelo knows now that he has become “Angela,” and he knew that was to be his destiny.

Now, it was Angela who smiled. Angelo was no more.

(To Be Continued)