Authors note-This is a rewrite of one of the very first stories I posted here. I’ve always liked it, but I always felt I could do it better. I hope I have, at least a lttle, without ruining it.

Jesse sat in his antique rocking chair, the one that his Grandfather made for his Grandmother when she had nursed his father by the fireplace. There was a fire in the old stone fireplace, and Jesse relaxed under a blanket, watching the snow storm outside. The snow and the comfortable warmth soon had him drifting off on a nice Sunday afternoon nap.

He fell into a dream, the same dream he’d had every time he daydreamed. There was a girl, a pretty girl with shoulder length honey-blonde hair. She wore a beautiful long white dress, just as she always did, and she just...looked at him.

She stood on a grassy beach, the sunset coloring the clouds in purple, pink and orange. He could hear the crash of the waves on the beach, and her dress and her hair moved gently in the breeze off the lake. She never said anything, she just stood there. Sometimes she would brush a stray hair from her eyes, or perhaps look down for a second, but other than that she seemed to just stare at him with a look of absolute love in her eyes. He knew who she was of course, that was easy. She was Jesse.

The dream had first come to him in his teens. Where others dreamed and fantasized about sex and dating, Jesse saw only this female version of himself calmly waiting for... well, something.

He’d always known that he was “different,” but he’d quickly learnt that being different is a bad thing, even if you aren’t even in kindergarten yet. His parents seemed clueless, but maybe they just couldn’t imagine that he was anything but perfect. They saw him only as the intelligent, friendly, and handsome child that everyone else saw.

He told no one about the dream. It was a private and personal treasure. He didn’t have the words for it, but he knew that being a girl in a boy’s body was dangerous.

He had a powerful empathic gift, one that sometimes seemed almost telepathic. He called it “bouncing” his feelings, and as he eventually realized he possessed a valuable talent. He also had an instinctive talent for languages, and he spoke fluent Spanish and Japanese.

He held multiple belts in different martial arts styles, and he valued the Japanese concept of honor. He developed a reputation for honesty and he guarded that reputation fiercely.

After obtaining a degree in marketing and business management, he obtained a position with the prestigious advertising and marketing firm of Impressions & Imagination. It is said that cream rises to the surface, and Jesse’s talents served him well. He quickly became a vice-president. Jesse helped the company rise to record profits.

He saw a therapist and a psychiatrist who specialized in gender issues. He had considered going through transition, but felt that his client base was far too conservative to accept that, and it remained merely a dream.

He didn’t have a love life. He felt that he couldn’t commit to anyone, so he avoided the issue entirely. He didn’t date, although several people of different genders tried to interest the handsome young man, and eventually people stopped asking. It was generally accepted that Jesse was just Jesse.

His only real friend was his assistant Kenny. Jesse was his mentor, hero and friend. Kenny was the only person who truly understood Jesse and knew his secrets, and only Kenny knew about Jesse’s hopeless crush.

David Stieger was a character. He was the Art Director and only child of the company founders. Flamboyant and devilishly handsome, He never lacked for dates, but had no relationships. He claimed that the perfect partner was out there, and several beautiful young women actively pursued the wealthy young man.

David was extremely talented, and his artwork hung in several offices. Jesse owned a beautiful and almost photo realistic painting of the company sponsored Indy race car.
David loved to present his work to those he chose as recipients. It was rumored that the current painting that he was working on was actually a form of marriage proposal. He allowed no one into his studio, and although his workload was always current, everyone knew that David worked on the painting at every opportunity.

Jesse and Kenny were at lunch when they got a text that David had placed a beautiful painting in the company lounge. In his heart, Jesse wished that the painting had never been completed. As long as it remained a secret, Jesse could dream, but now he could feel his heartbreak. Kenny knew how Jesse was feeling, and his heart hurt as well, but in sympathy for his friend.

“Oh well. We’ll have to see it sooner or later, might as well get it over with.” Jesse said, and they returned the office. As they walked in, a small crowd surrounded the painting.

“So who is the Juliet to our Romeo?” He asked with false cheer. Deep in his heart he could feel his precious dream die. He’d always known it was an unrealistic fantasy, but it still felt like someone was pulling the heart from his chest. As he made his way through the room, people looked at him, but no one said anything.

The picture showed a young couple, quite obviously in love, standing on a dune by the beach, the setting sun set the clouds on fire with color. The man was very obviously David. The girl was...

“It’s...me?” Jesse’s knees shook, but he couldn’t move. It wasn’t possible. How could he have known? Jesse couldn’t accept that it was real.

The painting showed Jesse just as he had always wished she could be. The shoulder length honey blonde hair, the beautiful long white dress that looked to be gently blown by the evening breeze off the lake, just as in the dream. Her hand gently touched his face as they looked in each others eyes with absolute love.

Jesse slowly, carefully reached out, as though expecting the painting to vanish like a soap bubble. He traced her face, tears flowing down his cheeks. It just couldn’t be. He’d never told anyone this much about the dream.

Yet, here it was.

He didn’t see that many of the others had tears in their eyes. He barely noticed they were even there.

“I... I have to...” He tried to stand, but he could barely move. Carefully he stumbled to the door, and almost fell, but suddenly someone had his arm. Jesse looked up, and saw Kenny, with tear filled eyes reaching out to hold him up. Silently they left the room, as other hands reached out to offer support and love.

David sat in his office, his eyes closed, his headphones on as he listened to his music. He wished he could have been there to see what had happened, but his emotions were like raw nerves. What would Jesse say? Would he be offended? If Jesse was angry, David wanted the privacy of his office to mourn. David was a proud man, in his way.

David didn’t see or hear as Kenny helped Jesse to a chair in front of David’s desk. He backed out of the room and softly closed the door. David noticed the door close and he turned to look Jesse in the eyes.

They stared at each other for some time. Neither knew what to say for a while. David was overjoyed to see that Jesse didn’t seem angry, but he was afraid to say anything that might break the spell. When Jesse finally spoke, it was little more than a whisper, but it was so silent in the room that the sound carried well.

“Ho...how did you know?”

“I had a dream,” David said quietly. “It was so intense and clear, I HAD to paint it, I had no choice.”

Jesse seemed to think about that for a minute. He looked into David’s eyes and whispered. “I love you, God help me, I do.”

David’s heart leapt, and he almost passed out. He had dreamed of hearing those words.

“I love you so much Jesse, it hurts. Please, will you let me help you? Let me help you to be the way you should be, the way I know you want to be.”

“The way WE should be? Yes, I will,”

It took time, and great pain, but eventually David and Jessie stood on the dunes, the breeze blowing her hair and her dress softly. She touched his cheek as they looked into each others with a look of absolute love, as she said the words they had waited so long for her to say.

“I do.”