“Tracy, I know you're scared, but the sooner they know, the better. Your Grandmother will be there and she is dying to tell them. Your aunt could know already but Shelly and I agree that this is for the best. Plus, we’ve gotten a hold of Joy and Angie and while we’re at Brooke’s race, we’re gonna meet up with them. So when we’re at Alice’s, if you want to go, or she treats you bad, then we go. That instant. No waiting, just leaving.”

“Promise?” Tracy asked her, not totally believing her.

“Promise.” Maggie replied.

Edited by Djkauf

More of Tracy and Family.

Friday February 26th 1983

Vance sat in the living-room of Lynn’s house. He had been there since seven that morning, when his Uncle had dropped him off. He had been sitting at the TV for most of the morning, till he realized that they were repeating a lot of the music videos he had seen. There wasn't much on the TV that looked good and he was getting bored. He could hear Lynn moving around the house and he recalled something his mother told him before she left Thursday morning.

“Don’t be a pest tomorrow, and if you can, offer Lynn some help. It won’t kill you to help a little.”

He turned off the TV, then got up and started searching for her. It took him a few minutes to find her in the laundry room. She heard him as he rounded the corner and she looked up. “Something wrong, Vance?”

“No. I just wanted to see if you had anything you wanted to get done. I feel kinda bad just sitting around and watching TV all day.”

“Well, you don’t have to help. You’re a guest. There’s not a lot to do around here. The girls keep up on their chores. I guess there’s always the dishes from breakfast.” Lynn replied. “I was going to do those after I started the laundry.”

“Oh...well I can do them now, so they’re out of the way.”

“You don’t have to....” Lynn said again.

“I know. But I want to.” Vance replied. He really didn't want to, but he was growing bored with the TV. There would be nothing but music videos all day, other than the soap operas, which he would never watch.

“Okay, you do the dishes and I’ll join you in a bit. Then we can tidy up the house, if you still want to help.”

The phone started to ring and Lynn passed Vance and went to the phone in the kitchen. “Williams house, Lynn speaking.” Vance went to the sink and began rinsing off the dishes as he heard her speaking. “Hi, Honey. Yes, we’re good. And you? How did the case go?” There was a pause, then Vance heard Lynn say. “Again? She attacked them again? In the courtroom? Was she arrested?”

Vance was curious, but he knew better than to ask questions while she was talking. He turned his attention to the dishes and after a few minutes, Lynn finally hung up. She sighed as she headed for the laundry room.

“Mrs. Williams? Did something happen at the court thing?” Vance asked.

“Yeah.” Lynn replied. She stopped at the doorway and turned to face him. “From what Lance said, that Molly woman attacked Tracy again and she got hit a few times. Molly also knocked down Rachel and Sage. But they are all fine. Your mother and sister are at the hospital. They need to be checked out so there is a medical report in the arrest record.”

“Are they still going to L.A.?”

“Yeah. They are still going, or so Lance thinks. We’ll find out when he gets here.” Lynn said. “I thought you were hanging out with Moony and his friend this weekend?”

“Yeah. I just thought that maybe they’d have stuff that has to come up today.” Vance replied. “So if they needed help moving stuff, I could do that.”

“That’s next week. At least I think that’s what your Aunt said.” Lynn replied, before stepping into the laundry room.

“Yeah. But you never know.” Vance stated and Lynn knew how things could change.

“True, but you father is still there for a week and they need to rent, not only a Uhaul, but a storage place.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” Vance replied back. “But still, I just thought maybe they’d just move it all today.”

“And hold onto it for the weekend?” Lynn asked, peeking her head around the corner. “No, I don’t think so. But don’t worry Vance. I’m sure they will let you know when you have to help.”

“Yeah. I know.” Vance replied back. “I know they will.”

~o~O~o~

They left the hospital and on the way to Modine’s house, Maggie looked at the clock, then she took an unexpected right hand turn. Tracy watched as they drove towards the highway, then to the road that led to where William worked.

“We’re going to Dad’s work?” Tracy asked.

“Yep.” Maggie said with a nod, then she quickly glanced at Bart. “I hope you don't mind, Bart. But it should be about his break time and he wanted to know what happened.”

“I totally agree.” Bart said with a nod, but he kept his attention on the small town that he had never been in before that day.

“This way, if he has questions, you can explain it.” Maggie added.

“I don’t mind.” Bart replied. “It is my job.”

Maggie pulled onto a side road, that paralleled the mill, then she went to the guard shack. She stopped at the guard shack and was waved in by one of the men who knew her. She pulled into the parking lot and headed towards the part of the lot that William always seemed to park in. As they got close to his car, she noticed he was on his way to the car. He started jogging to catch up to them.

William slowed down when he noticed Bart in the passenger seat and Shelly and Tracy in the back. Maggie parked behind his car, blocking him in. She shut off the motor and stepped out as he slowed to a walk and then stopped next to her. Bart got out of the passenger seat.

“Hey, how did it go?” William asked, as he hugged his wife..

“Bad and good, all at once.” Maggie said. Tracy slipped out, still looking like Troy. “Ask Bart, he can explain the court proceedings.”

“Well, Bart?” William asked. His daughter hugged him and he looked down and noticed what would be the start of a black eye. “What the hell? Who hit you?”

“That would be Molly.” Maggie said. Bart came around the car and stopped near William.

“She hit Tracy? While at the courthouse?” William asked.

“Yeah.” Maggie said with a nod.

Bart took over, while leaning against Maggie’s car. “ It’s like this, William. We got to the courthouse and as we were headed inside, the kids were walking together, but behind us. The Asian lady...”

“Karen.” Maggie chimed in.

“Yeah her. She was with the girls, pushing her daughter though the crowd. The rest of us were discussing what would happen and how I wanted to call on people when the hearing started. That Molly woman came out of nowhere and started attacking the kids. Mostly yours, but Rachel and Sage got knocked over. It took several cops, your mother-in-law, the old Asian man and your father to keep her away from the kids. When the kids were knocked over, Tracy’s hand hit Rachel’s chest and Molly began calling Tracy a rapist.”

“A rapist?” William asked.

“Yeah. Tracy did her best to protect her face, but Molly got a few shots in. She was arrested and by the sounds of it, it looks like she is going back to the mental institution. Not to mention that she broke the temporary restraining order, so she’ll have to answer for that. There is also the fact that she hurt Sage and there was a temp order on Sage as well. So yeah, the next time you see her should be for the trial.”

“I see. Thank you.” William looked at Tracy’s face closely. “You may want to get some ice, crush it up and put it in a bag, for your trip down. That should help slow down the black eye.” He looked up to his wife. “What about the restraining order?”

“We got it. So do your parents, the Miller’s, the Han’s and the Williams.” Maggie said.

“There is more.” Bart added, then he continued before being asked. “That woman tried to place a restraining order on Tracy, but it would have kept her from being near Rachel, Brooke and Sage.”

“Is....” William blinked a couple of times in surprise. He wasn’t expecting something that underhanded. “Is that legal?”

“Well, if she had been a relation, like she was claiming and she was the legal guardian, like she also claimed, then yes. But with the parents of each girl there, we got it thrown out. In fact it was her lawyer who had told us that she wanted to file them.” Bart added. “He had no idea that she wasn’t a relation to the girls.”

“So it’s all over?”

Bart shrugged and nodded. “Till her criminal trial, but with her outbursts, I would think she is going to go for a plea of insanity.”

“I can see her getting that.” Maggie said. “She was screaming, calling Tracy a rapist, and she was trying to bite and my mom and me, as we tried to get her off of the girls. She was like a rabid animal.”

Through the telling of the story, Tracy didn’t cry. Instead, she leaned against her father. William held out a hand to Bart. “Thank you for coming down.”

Bart took the hand and shook it firmly. “It was no problem. Kinda feels good to get out of the Bay Area. You do need to decide if you both wish to sue her in a civil court, for her actions. I can help with that, that way Lance can be called as a witness.”

“I think we should.” Maggie replied. “At least make sure Molly gets the medical bills for these last two trips to the hospital. The Miller’s should, too.”

“I agree.” William said with a nod. He looked at his watch. “I got about fifteen minutes. So I’d like to get back inside, so they can’t try and fire me for being late in clocking in. Rather be early than late in clocking back in.”

Maggie leaned in and kissed him. Then he hugged Tracy. “Thank you for coming.” He said to Bart. Shelly, you take good care of my ladies today.”

“I will.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy wasted no time when she got to her grandmothers place. She rushed in, grabbed her girl clothes, and raced for the back bedroom. The others were in the process of eating as she went to change.

It only took her a few minutes to change, during that time, Maggie reminded her to fold up Troy’s suit, so it could be used for the court dates, should she have to go. When she walked out, the adults were all at the dining room table and the kids were around the kitchen table. Modine hadn’t heated up much, but it was enough for all of them.

“So, you’re headed on Five all the way?” Lance asked Maggie as Tracy passed.

“Yeah. When you all cut off, Tracy, we’ll keep following Lok and my Parents, till we get into the heart of the city.” Maggie said. Tracy ignored the adults and she went to the table where her friends sat. She took a plate and went to the stove, where the food was. She was feeling hungry and the thought of food was helping her forget about what happened.

“Hey, you wanna see if you can ride with me?” Brooke asked as Tracy sat at the table. “At least until we get to, like LA, or something?”

“Sure. I guess.”

“Man. This blows. You two get to go have fun and we get stuck with Vance.” Sage stated.

“Aren’t we going to Stacey’s?” Rachel asked.

“No. She’s not feeling well, so her parents want to keep us away from it.” Sage replied.

“Then come to my place.” Rachel said with a smile. “Then there is no Vance.”

“True.” Sage said with a nod. “We should, just to keep me safe.”

~o~O~o~

As they headed to the car, after hugging Rachel and Sage, Tracy looked to her mother. “Do we have to see Aunt Alice?”

“Tracy, I know you're scared, but the sooner they know, the better. Your Grandmother will be there and she is dying to tell them. Your aunt could know already but Shelly and I agree that this is for the best. Plus, we’ve gotten a hold of Joy and Angie and while we’re at Brooke’s race, we’re gonna meet up with them. So when we’re at Alice’s, if you want to go, or she treats you bad, then we go. That instant. No waiting, just leaving.”

“Promise?” Tracy asked her, not totally believing her.

“Promise.” Maggie replied. “And when we’re there, we may ask Alice if the girls can join us at Disneyland, but only if you all get along over this weekend. We’re also thinking of seeing if Joy will meet us, so Angie can hang out with you too.”

Persephone came over from where she had been talking to Lance. “Since you’re heading in our direction and the girls are riding together until Los Angeles, why don’t we let Sage and Rachel go right with you to Tracy. You can get off before the off ramp to five eighty and fill up, then we take ours and head home.”

“Sure. It looks like Brooke is riding with Shelly, Tracy and Karen. I’m riding with my Mom and Dad wants to ride with Lok.”

~o~O~o~

“So, what do you all have planned for tonight?” Tracy asked Sage, as they passed through Marysville.

“We’re looking at Rachel’s place. Mom heard from Aunt Lillian and Stacey is sick and Casey was just getting over it.” Sage replied.

“Oh. Well, at least you're out of the house.” Tracy said with a chuckle.

“Yep. No Vance.” Sage answered with a giggle.

“Isn’t Vance hanging out with Uncle Frank today?” Rachel asked.

“I think Mom said he was going to hang out with Moony tonight, so they could have sleepover with those other boys, so Vance can meet new people.” Tracy replied.

“What about you two?” Sage asked, not wanting to think about Vance in her house.

“Well, Mom is taking me to Aunt Alice’s place and then we’re going to stay the night with Brooke and her mom at the hotel. Then the race and more hanging out. I think Joy is bringing her daughter Angie too. She’s kinda cool. She met Tracy at Christmas.”

“Good luck in your race.” Rachel said, reaching over the seat and patting Brooke’s shoulder.

Sage patted her arm. “Yeah. Show them what Livermore girls can do!”

“I intend to.” Brooke replied. “Just think. In another month, we’ll be headed down there, all together.”

“For Disneyland!” Sage exclaimed. “I can’t wait. ‘Romy can’t either. She’s saving her hugs up for Donald Duck.”

“She is?” Tracy and Brooke both asked.

“Yeah. She refused to hug Dad the other night before bed. She said Donald deserves her best hug.” Sage said with a chuckle.

From the front seat, Shelly chuckled, but the girls didn’t pay her any attention.

“I’m waiting for Mickey.” Tracy said.

“I wanna see Hook.” Sage stated. “Or Minnie.”

~o~O~o~

As the adults filled up the vehicles, Sage and Rachel were busy talking to Brooke and Tracy as they all came from the store with goodies for the trip. “Can you come over on Monday?” Sage asked Tracy.

“I’ll try. I know next weekend is out because we’re moving our stuff in Oroville.”

“Yeah.” Sage nodded. “Dad said something about maybe helping move the stuff from the truck to the storage, if your Dad wanted.”

“He should call Mom on Monday and ask. She could tell Dad.” Tracy replied.

They reached the van and Tracy put her stuff into the back. “Well, see you in a few days.” She hugged Sage, then Rachel.

“Remember, no going to Disney without us.” Sage stated again.

“We know.” Tracy replied. “We’ll just kidnap Mickey, but not ride any of the rides.”

“That’s mean.” Sage said, bending down to hug Brooke. “Have fun. And here’s hoping your cousins like you.”

“Yeah. I’m scared of that too.” Tracy said.

Rachel hugged her again. “They’ll love you. We love you, don’t we?”

“Yeah. Yeah you do.” Tracy said, getting one last hug in.

~o~O~o~

Rachel came home, and headed for the kitchen. She stopped as she saw Vance in the living-room, helping Lynn to move one of the couches.

“Hello, Pumpkin. How was the trip?”

“It was good. Dad went to the office to write up what happened.” Rachel replied as she put her night bag on the floor. “What’s going on?”

“Vance is helping out. We vacuumed the den and now we’re working on the living-room.” Lynn said.

“Oh. You didn’t do our rooms, did you?” Rachel asked.

“Nope, that is your job. Besides, do you want him moving things in your room?" Lynn asked her daughter.

"Well....not really." Rachel replied.

"He was bored and offered to help. But we're almost done and he's off to Sage's soon." Lynn said.

"Oh. Well, I wanna put my bag up." Rachel said, heading for the stairwell. "Sage will be over soon."

~o~O~o~

It was around seven thirty when Bernice and Maggie first reached Alice’s driveway. Marion pointed to Shelly, the best place to park on the street. Tracy looked up as her mother got out of the truck and she saw the curtains get moved from the living-room window. A moment later, the door opened up, as Shelly and Marion got out of their seats.

“Maggie! You made it!” Alice said as she came out of the modest little home she had with her daughters.Two girls, one older then Tracy, the other younger, both came out of the house and made for Bernice.

“Alice. It's been far too long.” Maggie said as she hugged her sister.

“It has been. I should have visited sooner.” Maggie replied.

“So, no William, or the kids?”

“Well, William is still in Oroville, and Vance just moved to Livermore last week. He’s getting settled into Shelly’s and starting school on Monday, but he wanted to stay, so he could hang out with his new friends.” Maggie said. She turned slightly around and gestured to her daughter to come closer. “But Shelly and Tracy managed to make it with me.”

“Tracy? Who's Tracy?” Alice asked. “And what about Troy?”

“Have the girls eaten dinner?” Marion asked.

“About five.” Alice replied. “We knew you were going to be late, so we didn’t wait.”

“Then, why don't I take Tracy, Heidi and Cheryl out for some ice cream.” Marion said as they all headed to the house. “Let you ladies talk a little bit. That and I want some ice cream.”

“I don’t mind.” Alice replied.

“Me either. Tracy had dinner already.” Maggie said. He started to guide the children to his truck, when Shelly gave him the keys to her van. They watched as he left, then they all went inside.

Alice watched the door shut, then she looked to her sister and her mother. “Okay, the only time Dad clears the kids out is when there is a talk coming. So what is going on?”

“There is something going on and it's about Tracy and Troy....” Maggie replied. “And I think it is something you should hear about from me.”

~o~O~o~

A short while and one quick telling of the past few months later, Alice was trying to wrap her head around the news. “So, my nephew Troy is no more and now he's a girl named Tracy? Am I getting this right?”

“Yeah. Mom found out and she had a bit of a meltdown.” Maggie said with a nod.

“But I was wrong.” Bernice said with a nod.

“I would have never known that was Troy....” Alice absentmindedly said.

“We know. She does hide well. But you haven't seen her in a few years.” Maggie started, cutting her sister off, who cut her off, before she could continue.

“This is what you were going on about.” Alice said as she looked to her mother. “Isn't it?”

“Yes.” Bernice answered, then she looked to Maggie and Shelly. “I've been trying to soften the blow for when it comes. I've been really pushing the whole what's on the inside speech with the girls and I've asked Alice what she thinks of people that live like Tracy does.”

“I've never had a problem with them. I've known a few guys who dress in drag. The girls have met many people like that and they’ve never had a problem, either. I know some others who like to dress up around the house. I've also met a few who want to become a woman and I've never really thought about what could happen if it were my own family.”

Maggie nodded and leaned back in her seat. “Alice, you have to remember, Tracy is still the same child. The same morals and stuff like that. The only difference is that she should have been born a girl, not a boy. She's even getting girl hormones. Got a shot last week when I moved to Livermore. We're not sure why, but her chest is starting to grow as well. The doctor thinks it may be from the castration and a lack of other hormones in the body. This isn't a little boy in drag. This is a young child who was born into the wrong body.”

“Fact is this, Alice. Troy was never much of a boy.” Bernice said. “I remembered back to his visit in Wyoming a few years ago and the boy that was there was never really there. He was quiet and he hated to do the boy stuff that Vance wanted to do. But that child spent as much time with Maggie and myself. Tracy knew what she was, but was too afraid to tell any of us.”

“What does William say? He always seemed to be a bit macho, can't expect him to be agreeing with this. Or is this why you two are not together?” Alice asked.

Maggie arched an eyebrow. “Alice, we're still together. He's all for Tracy. Ever since Vietnam, a part of him has always wanted a daughter and now he has one. He's in Oroville till next Saturday. Then he will be getting a Uhaul and we’ll go to help load it. He’s been boxing up what he can the past few days. Conner will be helping us in selling the farm while William is moving to Livermore. William is catching hell at work because of the pictures I told you about. Someone pasted one in the lunchroom there and he called the cops, now they want to fire him.” Maggie said.

“What about Vance?” Alice asked. “I mean boys can be mean with information like this.”

“Vance was a bit harder to deal with. When he first found out, he told his friends. The same ones who attacked Tracy, well Troy at the time and Modine. But they attacked him because he caught them stealing, not because of the dress. And that boy was the brother to the one that tried and failed to beat up Tracy when Mom was there.”

Bernice chuckled. “Little punk couldn't fight his way out of a wet bag Tracy slapped him around and the boy who was with him, at the same time. That was the funniest fight I've seen in awhile.”

“Funniest?” Alice asked. “Maggie said that Troy had a friend in a wheelchair and four other girls there. They could have been hurt.”

“It was the funniest because Tracy went up against these kids, one against four, well Vance and Tracy's friend Peter held off the other two, but she faced them down and won, against bigger kids, by slapping them. Backhand slapping mind you.” Bernice stated. “I am thankful the girls never got hurt, but the fight between Tracy and the punks was so one sided, you had to laugh.”

Maggie decided to help her mother out and explain it. “Alice, it's like a villain in a movie. The one who is so sure of his victory and then the hero does almost nothing to them and still wins because the villain is that inept.”

“Now the other attacks, that wasn't funny.” Bernice added.

“Other attacks? There have been more than two?” Alice asked. “Other than the boy from December?”

“The Gas station.” Bernice replied. “The reason we went to the court this morning.”

Maggie quickly covered the gas station too, so Alice decided to ask a question that had popped into her mind. “So she just threw those other two girls away from Tro....um Tracy, and started beating on hi...her?”

Bernice nodded. “Then I happened. No one attacks a member of my family while I'm there.”

The name was still new to Alice, but she was doing her best to remember and to get used to everything. “Wait, now does she hate Tracy, because she thinks Tracy is a lesbian? I have children, I don't go attacking kids. That's just stupid.”

Maggie shook her head in the negative, and she sighed. “She kept quoting the bible and how man can't wear women's clothes. Yet one of them was at my house, in jeans and a masculine haircut, and that verse goes both ways.”

“Some people just shouldn't call themselves a Christian.” Alice said.

Maggie nodded in agreement. “I found out that her father thinks he is a preacher and he is one of those wrath of God type people. All doom and gloom and we're all sinners, he's the only good one.”

“Wow. Nice family. You sure pick some good enemies.” Alice said with a forced chuckle.

“When we were at the courthouse this morning, she attacked Tracy again. They carted her off to jail, once more.” Bernice stated.

“Well, that’s good. I’m guessing that is how Tracy has the start of a black eye?”

“Yeah, and if we could get some ice for that. We’re trying to stop her eye from getting bad.” Maggie said with a nod. “There’s more. She tried getting restraining orders for all of Tracy’s friends, but each of them had a parent with them, so those got shot down.”

“Is she really that crazy?” Alice asked.

Bernice shrugged. “Who knows.”

“I want you to see something.” Maggie said as she pulled a picture out of her purse and handed it to her sister. “This was taken at Christmas time. Tracy is next to the girl in the wheelchair. Notice the smile on my daughters face?”

“Yeah. She looks happy, but then a lot of children look like that for pictures.”

“Now here's one of last fourth of July. Look at Troy's face.” Maggie passed the other picture over.

“Wow.” Alice said as she looked at the boy who barely lifted his eyes for the picture. “But maybe he was just sad that day?”

“No. I've gone over a lot of pictures while I packed my stuff up and I haven't seen a smile on Troy's face since he was a toddler. A lot of the pictures you can just tell it was forced.”

“Okay, you said he has friends?”

“Yes, five girls who love Tracy to death. And please, it's she and her now. Female pronouns. Call her Tracy. You say Troy, him or he and we'll crush her spirit.”

“Okay. I can do that.” Alice replied. “Sorry, it’s still new to me.”

“Actually, Brooke, the Asian girl in the wheelchair is down here for a wheelchair race. She races tomorrow and then after that, I was thinking she and her mother could join us at a restaurant or something. Something to let them see Tracy is a girl and how open and friendly she can be.”

“I think we can do that.” Alice said with a nod of her head.

“Tracy has five friends.” Bernice stated. “All of them are very nice girls. Each of them have seen some sort of discrimination in their lives.”

“We all have.” Alice replied.

Maggie leaned forward, putting her coffee cup on a coaster. “Yes. But Tracy has family who loves her. So she had it a bit better than some. I was told by Persephone, a mother to one of Tracy’s friends, many kids kill themselves because of their feelings and how their family treat them.”

“Maggie is right.” Shelly added. “They get treated badly and others get put into mental health places because their family thinks they are sick. But Tracy isn’t. She’s a good girl.”

“Just with a male body.” Maggie said. “But that can be taken care of too.”

~o~O~o~

Tracy was nervous. She wasn’t sure if she should tell her cousins, or if they would figure it out. So for now, she was just along for the ride, and the ice cream. Heidi looked to her grandfather, then pointed to the radio. “Can we turn on music?”

“I can’t see why not.” Marion said. “Just keep it down.”

Heidi was flipping through the stations and found a modern music channel. The sounds of the Go-Go's started playing and Tracy squealed. Heidi looked back to her and she smiled. "You like them too?"

"Oh yeah." Tracy said with a nod.

"Grandma was talking about a Tracy who saved her Grandmother from being attacked. Was that you?"

"Yeah." Tracy replied.

"And you saved your friends from a bunch of kids who were trying to attack you?" Cheryl asked her.

"Yeah, that was me too." Tracy said as her grandfather pulled into an ice cream parlor.

"That's cool." Heidi said as Marion pulled into a parking spot.

"Come on girls, let’s get some ice cream." Marion said.

~o~O~o~

Forty minutes later, Marion led the girls back into the house and they all went into the living-room where the adults were.

“So girls, you enjoy the ice cream?” Alice asked.

“Yes.” All three replied.

“Did you say thank you?” Alice asked her daughters.

“Thank you, Grandpa!” Alice's girls said, Tracy copied them, leaving off the Grandfather part. She wasn't sure how to proceed, but her Aunt and mother took control of that.

“So what do you girls think of Tracy?” Alice asked her daughters.

“She's cool. She likes good music, not like yours.” Cheryl, the younger girl said. “She is the same Tracy that Grandma said defended her grandmother from a bunch of bad people.”

“And defended her friends when people tried to attack her a week or two ago, like Grandma said.” Heidi added.

“Really.” Alice asked her daughters, trying to sound surprised.

Tracy nodded. “Yeah.”

“Girls, you know you've seen Tracy before, right?” Maggie said with a smile.

“We have? When?” Heidi asked.

Alice couldn’t hold in the surprise. So she took over. “Girls, you remember your cousin Troy? The one who was Vance's younger brother? The one who would play house with you two?”

“Yeah.” They both answered as they nodded.

Maggie took over, and decided to just let the whole truth out. She held out a hand and Tracy went to her. She sat next to her mother and leaned against her arm. “Well, Troy isn't here anymore. She's Tracy now.”

“Tracy....Tracy is Troy?!?” Heidi exclaimed.

“Heidi, remember what we've been talking about the past week?” Bernice asked and the girl nodded. “It's what's on the inside that counts. Tracy has always been a girl, but no one knew that. Her body may look male, but trust me when I say she is all girl on the inside.”

“Let me tell you two how this all came to be.” Maggie said and she started the story once more. When she was finished, both girls were looking at Tracy, who was looking at her feet and trying to be invisible.

“So, in the past hour, has either of you thought that maybe Tracy was a boy?” Bernice asked. Both girls shook their heads. “Good, that's because she is a girl, just born wrong.”

“Do you really have girls for friends?” Heidi asked.

“Don't you?” Tracy asked in reply.

Maggie decided to help her daughter out. “Brooke is down here too and she wants to hang out with all of you tomorrow, after her race. Now she is in a wheelchair, so she can't go climbing in the hills or anything like that, but she can go to the park, if there are sidewalks, or someone to push her.”

“She’s in a race?” Cheryl asked. “Can she run?”

Bernice chuckled. “There are wheelchair sports. She is in that tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Tracy nodded. “She even does fencing, that’s like with swords and she plays basketball. They did good last year, from what she said.”

“Awesome!” Heidi replied.

“Plus she likes cool music too.” Tracy added. “But then, each of my friends are great. Even the ones in Oroville.”

“Girls, you are both okay with Donna, right?” Alice asked and her daughters both nodded. Alice looked to Maggie, her parents and Shelly. “Donna used to be Doug, but he finally went through the doctor’s appointments and is now living as a woman. They’ve known her for years and were totally okay with Donna.” She looked to her daughters. “This is the same thing, just that Tracy started younger.”

Heidi bit her lower lip as she thought about something and then she asked. “You remember back when you were here last? And we were playing house? And you seemed bummed out ‘cause we wouldn’t let you be the Mom?”

Tracy thought about it and it had been years earlier. The day was a blur. She could only barely remember back that far. “Kinda.” She finally said.

“You wanted to be a girl back then, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. But when Vance found out, I kinda hid it from myself. But I was wearing Mom’s skirts and stuff.” Tracy replied.

“So Grandma was right. You were always a girl?” Heidi asked, working through the news on her own.

“Yeah.” Tracy replied with a nod.

“Cool!” Heidi jumped up from her spot near her mother and she went to Tracy and held her arms out for a hug. Tracy got up and she stepped into the hug. A moment later Cheryl got up and rushed the two of them and joined in on the hug.

Alice chuckled. “If more people were this friendly.” She got up and waited for Tracy to be released from her daughters. “Can I get a hug from my niece too?”

Tracy had started to cry for joy, not streams of tears, but a few tears dropped down her cheek as she hugged her Aunt.

“How would you two like to meet Brooke tomorrow?” Alice asked her daughters and they just nodded. “Then good. Maggie, let me know where the race is and we’ll get over there.”

“UCLA.” Maggie stated. “We’re staying at the Holiday inn near there. I can give you the number when we get there.”

“Good. You do that.”

~o~O~o~

Maggie had taken off from Alice's house just after eight thirty and her, Shelly and Tracy made their way from Bell Gardens to the area near UCLA. The drive was short in miles, but traffic was still out as they moved across the LA area and it took half an hour to get there. The sun was down already and Tracy was impressed by the sheer amount of cars. Finally they reached the hotel and pulled in. Maggie had already had Karen call with the room number and that just left Maggie with the job of getting a room key. As they got into the room, Tracy saw a small folding bed near one of the other beds. The adults talked for a moment as Brooke looked over to Tracy.

“So how did it go?” Brooke asked

“They’re cool with me.” Tracy answered. “They have no problem at all and want to meet you tomorrow.”

Brooke smiled brightly. “Awesome!”

Tracy felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked to see her mother standing next to her. “Tracy, we’re going to put you on the cot for tonight.” Maggie said. “That way Brooke can be with her Mom and Shelly is older than you.”

“Okay. I don’t mind.” Tracy answered. She put her bag down, near the cot, then looked out the window that overlooked the highway. Once again the amount of cars out just surprised her. She looked back to her mother as she noticed the time. “Can I change in the bathroom, really quick?”

“Go on sweetie. We need to discuss a few things and I got to call Alice.”

Five minutes later, Tracy came out, ready for bed. Brooke patted the bed place on the bed next to her and Tracy went over and sat down.

Knight Rider began to play as the two girls watched. Their mothers and Shelley took care of preparations. As the first commercial started, Brooke looked to her friend on the other bed. “Ready for tomorrow?”

“Yeah. What all are you doing?” Tracy asked as she watched the old cartoon.

“Well it's racing and there is some fencing, but I'm just going to watch that. Not many kids in that yet. I may look at other sports for something to do. But the youth races are early in the morning.”

“Am I able to be with you?”

“Well, Grandfather is listed as my coach, you're listed as a helper, if you want. You can get drinks and stuff for us. Mom said you got more people to meet on Saturday after the race.”

“Yeah, we’re going to meet my cousins on my dad’s side.”

“So where are we hanging out?”

Maggie looked over from the small table that was in the room, that the adults were using to plan the weekend. “We'll be meeting Olivia at the university, where the race is happening and I think Joy is bringing Angie over too. From there we can go find a park or someplace like that.”

“More Cousins?” Brooke asked, not sure who was who anymore. “Were they the ones from today?”

“No. This is Dad's side of the family. I hung out with them after Christmas. Olivia is cool, so is Joy and her daughter is cool, but she is like a mile a minute.”

“Ah, like Rachel.” Brooke asked and Tracy nodded.

“Just like Rachel.” Tracy agreed. “And she is about Stacey’s age, actually.”

Brooke smiled as the commercial break ended. “You know, this is awesome. You're here, and in a month, we'll be here again and we get to go to Disneyland.”

The phone rang and Tracy looked to her mother, who starting to pull out her night clothes. She nodded to Tracy, who rolled towards the phone. Karen was stepping into the bathroom, for a shower. “Um, hello?” Tracy asked. “Oh, hey, Aunt Alice. One moment.” She pulled the phone away from her ear. “Mom, Aunt Alice wants to talk to you.”

Tracy watched her mom as they talked and she tried to not eavesdrop, but the phone was right next to her. Finally she heard her mother say. “Okay, Alice. We'll see you tomorrow. Yep, we'll meet you there.” Maggie nodded at Tracy and smiled. “Okay, night Alice.”

When her mom hung up, Tracy arched an eyebrow. “What's going on?”

“Your Aunt, cousins and Grandparents are going to go to meet us at the college. Mom wants to watch Brooke compete.”

“Awesome!” Brooke exclaimed. “Now I got to put on a great showing.”

“So they'll be with us all day? Cool.” Tracy replied. “Are we going home tomorrow evening?”

“Maybe. It depends on what Shelly wants to do. And Brooke and Karen, if they want to stay. Let me talk to Shelly and Karen, when she is out of the shower and we'll let you know. But for now, watch your show. Bed time is after Knight Rider.”

“Okay Mom.”

“Karen said the same goes for Brooke, too.” Maggie stated. “So you’re rested for tomorrow.”

“I know. I need my sleep so I can win!” Brooke exclaimed.

“I hope you do.” Maggie replied with a smile.

More with Tracy in LA coming soon.