Stephanie’s Deal by Jennifer Brock So far, Steven has agreed to become Stephanie for a week and a half as a punishment, and agreed to go on a date with a boy. In this installment, Stephanie learns what family means to her, and accepts a couple more social invitations.

Episode 3

Steven’s mother was grinning broadly. “You’ve done such a great job becoming a girl for us that we’ve decided to reward you.”

His sister Michelle was there, too. “Yeah, Little Sis, you totally deserve this.”

He looked around and saw that he was wearing one of those paper hospital dresses that tie up in the back so your butt hangs out, but his butt was safe because he was tied down in a wheelchair. He saw the pink toenails on his bare feet shining cutely. “Where am I? What’s happening?”

Michelle was the one to answer. “We all love you, Stephanie. You’re much better than that icky boy was. So we’re going to keep you - isn’t that great? You’ll be able to kiss all the boys you want, now.”

Mom chimed in. “You were so brave when we had them rip all the hairs from your legs, and you didn’t mind when we poured dangerous chemicals in your hair, and you smiled when we had sharp pieces of metal stuck in your ears, so this shouldn’t be a problem for you at all, Stephanie dear.”

Steven was so confused. He saw his father walking toward him. “Dad, help me! They’re going to do something to me!”

His father laughed. “Now Stephanie, you know that Steven was a naughty boy. Remember when Mr. Mittens was a naughty boy and peed on the couch? We took him to Dr. Kellerman, and had him cut off his boy parts. Well look who’s here!” Dr. Kellerman was standing next to Dad, holding a huge pair of scissors. “He doesn’t think people are all that different from cats, so he’s going to do us all a favor and cut off your naughty boy parts, so all that will be left will be the sweet girl that everyone loves. Won’t that be great?”

“Noooooo!”

Steven woke up with a cold sweat soaked into his nightgown. It was the day before Christmas, and Stephanie had a lot to do that day. There were still nine days left in the agreement. Steven wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make it. But since Stephanie had to be a girl angel in the Christmas pageant anyway, it wouldn’t make any sense to try to give up today. And if he gave up, he’d lose his Nintendo Wii, and that was the prize that made this whole thing worthwhile.

Since she had awakened on her own, her mother wasn’t there waiting to guide her through her morning routine. Stephanie took it upon herself to change into her fluffy pink rode and slippers and went to the bathroom to take her bath. She was soaking in the warm floral-scented water when the door flew open and Michelle barged in.

“Oh. Hi, Sis. I didn’t know you were in here, but I can’t wait anyway.” She pulled up her nightgown and sat on the toilet. “It’s a good thing we’re both girls.” Stephanie tried to make sure her important parts were covered by bubbles, and tried not to peek. She did notice that even though Mom had told her most girls slept in panties under their nighties, Michelle hadn’t lowered any. The sound of water pouring into water took way too long, but finally her sister was finished, and she ripped off a piece of paper and wiped herself. Stephanie still didn’t look.

Michelle however had no qualms about peeking. She went over to the tub before she left and looked at Stephanie in the bath. “That’s kind of cute how you tried to cover yourself with the bubbles, like an innocent maiden. Your girlish instincts must really coming along, too — you even covered your little boobies.” Stephanie hadn’t realized that, and hoped her sister was wrong.

When Michelle was at the door, Stephanie made the mistake of pointing out that she hadn’t washed her hands. She walked back over and stuck her hands in the tub and swished them around. “Satisfied now?”

It was really gross thinking that her sister’s pee-hands had been in her bathwater, so she got out of the tub as soon as she’d left. She got back into her robe and did her best to figure out how to dry her hair. Checking in the mirror showed that her efforts came close to what her mother had done the day before. She tried not to think about her nightmare as she put a fresh piece of tape on her boy parts.

It was her first time picking out an outfit by herself, and she wanted to get it right. Fortunately, the pageant dress code got her most of the way there. She put on a plain white bra and panties, the tights she needed for the show, and the slip that would go under her angel robe. All she needed to do was pick out a dress, which was all one piece, so she didn’t have to worry about matching colors or anything.

She opened her closet and she saw that she actually owned several dresses. Mom had really gone overboard buying her wardrobe. It was weird. There were a bunch of separate skirts and tops hanging up as well, and it seemed like way too many clothes than would be needed for only nine more days of girlhood. She picked out a long-sleeved red dress with little white flowers on it and white lacy edging. She pulled it on over her head like a shirt and then fastened the four little buttons at the top. She slipped on her black shoes and looked in the mirror.

Her hair had gotten messed up by the dress, so she had to brush it back into place. She saw her jewelry sitting on the bureau and put on the necklace that matched her earrings. She couldn’t get the bracelet fastened, so she left it off. A little lip gloss and she couldn’t see anything in her reflection that said “boy.”

Mom was in the kitchen still in her robe cooking. She said Stephanie looked very pretty, and complimented her for getting ready all by herself. She told her that her father and sister were out in the driveway clearing the snow that had fallen in the night. Since Stephanie wasn’t really dressed for shoveling, she could help out making breakfast.

Her mother tied an apron around her to keep her pretty dress neat. She’d just finished mixing the batter and showed Stephanie how to pour out a pancake onto the griddle, and they watched as at cooked. She showed her how little bubbles would tell her when the pancake needed to be flipped and that the edge would lift just a little when it was done. She then had Stephanie make one while she told her what to do, and then another one where her mother just watched while she went through the whole process.

Stephanie was then left alone to finish making them all by herself while Mom went to grab a quick shower. On her way out she told her that when the oven timer went off, it would mean that the sausages under the broiler would need to be turned over, and that she should make sure to use an oven mitt.

Stephanie was a little nervous being abandoned in the kitchen, but worked her way through the batter. She was in the middle of a pancake when the timer chimed, and she had to find the button to turn it off. When her pancake was done, then she found an oven mitt to open the oven and pull out the broiler pan. Flipping the little sausage patties was kind of fun; they were like miniature hamburgers so she was kind of cooking like dad at a barbecue and not really being that girly at all. She slid the broiler pan back in and returned to pancaking.

Mom came back down just in time to turn the stove off and tell Stephanie how to set the table, and almost on cue Dad and Michelle stomped into the mud room and took their boots off. They all sat down for a hearty breakfast, and her father and sister didn’t believe it when her mother told them that she’d cooked all the pancakes.

Dad was going to the mall to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, and Stephanie asked to tag along. He said she could come with him as long as she had a watch with her, so she’d be able to meet up with him at a designated time; he didn’t want to be kept waiting around. Michelle had an old watch she could borrow that looked like a pretty gold bracelet with a cheap digital watch face stuck on it.

Stephanie went to the old lunchbox in the attic space behind her closet where Steven kept his secret money. She put the $63.78 that was there into her purse, grabbed her coat, and went to her father’s car.

On the drive over to the mall, the conversation was a little uncomfortable. Dad said, “I can’t believe it’s only been a couple days; you seem so different. I’m really impressed by how responsible you’ve become. I mean, you cooked breakfast this morning, but last week if we’d left you alone with a hot stove you’d have burned the house down.” Stephanie just mumbled a thanks and nodded.

Her father continued, “When your mother and sister suggested this girl thing, I just figured you’d give up in no time. But now that I’ve seen you in action, I think you might be able to last out the week. And I think that if you actually can pull it off, you’ll have convinced me that you actually realize that actions have consequences.”

“I’ll try not to let you down, Daddy.” Steven was starting to realize that he really shouldn’t be thinking about trying to give up being Stephanie before the contract was up. He didn’t want to disappoint his folks any more than he already had.

“It’s very bizarre if what it takes to make my son a man is to put him in dresses, but I won’t argue with what works.” He shook his head confoundedly, and they drove the rest of the way in silence.

The mall itself was very crowded, and Stephanie used her sister’s advice of wearing her purse on her shoulder under her coat to keep from being pickpocketed. She walked around for a while looking for a few last presents, and really felt like a natural girl going shopping for her family. She was standing in line to use the ladies’ room and had a sudden realization that she hadn’t really been worrying too much about being recognized, even though many people who knew Steven were out shopping. She had a moment of panic, but it went away when one of the other women in line asked her for the time.

She got her shopping done fairly quickly, and found some really good deals. She even had money left over that she could make an impulse purchase with. Stephanie made it to the rendezvous with her father with time to spare. It was important to show him that she could honor an agreement, even a little one. She killed time watching people, paying attention to what the other girls were wearing. A screeching noise caught her attention and she saw a really obnoxious little brat throwing a tantrum in the line of kids waiting to sit on Santa’s lap. She wondered if that was how Steven looked to his parents.

Dad was kind of pissed off at the crowds, but he seemed to brighten noticeably when he saw Stephanie waiting. She smiled and then caught up with him, shifting her shopping bags so that he couldn’t see where she’d been. He put his arm around her in a way he never would have done with his son and escorted her out to the car. As a surprise for Mom, they picked up lunch, a bucket of chicken, on their way home.

After helping clean up after lunch, Stephanie disappeared into her room to wrap her new purchases. Shortly after she put her presents under the tree and fiddled with some of the gift tags on old presents that still said “From Steven,” it was time to go to church.

The rest of the boys who were playing angels in the pageant also came dressed as girls. It was kind of cool; they all even had earrings and nail polish. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like she might not even be the only one wearing a bra. They all took off their dresses and put on their angel robes, but it seemed like she was the only one who had to change her shoes. Everyone else had worn their white shoes, even though Mom had said white shoes were unfashionable in the winter.

Mrs. Cooper did Stephanie’s makeup first, just like she had at rehearsal, but then she had to sit still while her mother and the other ladies worked to make all the other angel faces match hers. It was like she was a model; it was really fun! They got their wings and silver wigs and then they were all beautiful angels. The pageant itself went really well; everybody was in the right places when they were supposed to, and almost everyone remembered their lines.

The songs were very pretty. The congregation even clapped a couple of times, which wasn’t something that happens very often in a church. At the end of the service, they got to hold actual real lit candles while they walked out the aisle in pairs, but Mrs. Patterson was waiting right outside the door with a bucket of water that they had to put their candles in.

Stephanie went with the other angels back to the Sunday School classroom to change out of their costumes. Mrs. Cooper was there with special washcloths to take the makeup off. Little Bobby Perrone who was still playing at being a girl named Robin wanted to keep her pretty makeup, so her mom said she didn’t have to. Justin Turner, who’d starred in the pageant as the Virgin Mary with his little sister Rachel as baby Jesus, was also staying dressed as a girl for some reason. Tina and Robin were getting along really well; it was kind of weird. But Stephanie was kind of worried that they didn’t understand

Stephanie’s mother had a new dress hanging up for her to change into. It was fancier than the one she’d worn all day, with a black velvet top and a very long red skirt.
It was disappointing watching all the other girls turning back into boys while she had to get prettier. Some of them even got to change back into boy underwear, and got a little embarrassed to be changing in the same room as Stephanie, Robin, and Tina.

Stephanie pulled back her hair with a red padded headband that matched her skirt, freshened her lip gloss, and checked the mirror to make sure she looked okay. Mrs. Patterson came around to collect the costumes and told Stephanie she looked really nice. She thanked her and said that the pageant had been very fun, and gave her a little hug.

Michelle came in to tell Stephanie that their father was warming up the car. Tina and her family had left, so Stephanie asked for her sister to wait a minute. She went over to Robin and kneeled down to tell her a secret.

“I was the oldest one of the angels and you were the youngest. Since we’re both girls, I say that makes me the Queen of the Angels and you the Angel Princess.” She did a silly fashion pose, and Robin copied it. “When I was out shopping today, I saw something that made me think of you, so I’d like to give you a present, if that’s ok?” She pulled a little wrapped package out of her purse, and looked to Robin’s mother. She gave an approving nod.

Robin unwrapped the little package and saw that it was a little enameled charm with a clip on it. It was a tiny image of Robin, Batman’s sidekick. She looked confused.

Stephanie showed her the clip. “It attaches to a zipper pull. I thought that when your vacation is over and you have to go back to being Bobby all the time, you might want to have a reminder of your secret identity. No one would pick on you for being girly, because they’d think it was just Robin the Boy Wonder clipped onto Bobby’s coat. But you’d know that it really stands for Robin the Angel Princess, and you can remember wearing your pretty dress.”

Robin thanked Stephanie and gave her a big hug, and her mom said that it was a very thoughtful gift. Robin apologized that she hadn’t gotten Stephanie anything, but she said her beautiful smile was present enough. Then Robin whispered a question to her mother and she whispered back a yes.

Robin stood up straight and then made a little curtsy. “Because I have to put my dresses away, my Mommy and I are having a special celebration on Wednesday. It’s going to be a Pretty Dress Tea Party with real tea and real tea party sandwiches and real cake, just for pretty girls in pretty dresses. It’s going to be me and Mommy, and Tina, and Tina’s mommy and little sister. Would you like to come to my party, too?”

Stephanie took a little too long to answer, and Michelle butted in. “I’m sure Stephanie would love to come! We wouldn’t dream of breaking a little girl’s heart.” Stephanie hoped it wouldn’t be too bad. Michelle added, “She’s going to need a ride; can her big sister tag along?”

Robin looked at her mother, who nodded. “Sure, as long as you wear a Pretty Dress.” It was agreed, and Michelle got the details about where and when and they went off to the car.

Stephanie was mad at her sister for making her agree to go to a little girl’s party, but Michelle reminded her that the deal she’d agreed to said that she wasn’t allowed to refuse to do anything a real girl would do, and a real girl wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to get dressed up and have a fancy tea. She tried not to sulk too openly on the way to their grandmother’s.

The trip took almost an hour, so Stephanie was pretty hungry by the time they got there. Michelle helped her fix her hair and told her to freshen her lip gloss. Dad had to carry the laundry basket full of presents for the relatives, so Mom handed the two sisters each a pie to carry, and she brought a third one with her.

Grandma met them at the door and had a big hug for her daughter. “Like I always say, it wouldn’t be Christmas without Carol! Oh, and is that my newest granddaughter? Let me get a good look at you! You’re as pretty as your mother used to be. Some day you’ll break a lot of hearts.” She gave Stephanie a little kiss on the cheek and ushered them all in.

Then it was like Stephanie had to be presented to the rest of her family. Aunt Jeannie, her mother’s sister gave her a big hug and made her spin around to show the full look. Uncle Frank, her husband, just gave a silent nod.

Dan, her seventeen-year-old cousin, gave a wolf whistle. “When Aunt Carol told us you were coming dressed up as a girl, we did not expect that. You’re kind of hot for twelve.” He probably would have gone on, but his mother stopped him.

Twenty-two-year-old Matt agreed with his brother. “You really look natural, Steph. If I didn’t know, I’d never have guessed.”

Matt’s fiancée Grace was with him. She was the most beautiful actual person Steven had ever seen. She had huge blue eyes and long wavy blonde hair, and a figure like a bikini model. She slapped Matt teasingly. “You’re all playing a trick on me, aren’t you? I’ve never met your cousin Stephanie, so you got together and decided to pretend that she was really some boy cousin. Now fess up!” Stephanie was proud that she was that convincing, but inside Steven was sad that she’d forgotten meeting him at Uncle Frank’s birthday party last year.

Matt showed Grace where Grandma had photos of all her grandchildren arranged on the wall behind her couch, and pointed to the one with Michelle and Steven and their parents, to prove they weren’t playing a joke on her. Grace smiled the prettiest smile and apologized to everyone, then told Stephanie she looked amazing.

Aunt Jeannie pulled Stephanie and Michelle aside and had them pose on the landing on the front stairs so she could take their picture. They had to get into a very specific arrangement for her, with Stephanie in front of and slightly to the left of her sister, with Michelle’s hand on her shoulder. Stephanie hoped she wouldn’t be showing the picture to too many people.

Then Grandma ushered everyone into her big dining room to sit down for Christmas dinner. It was a huge feast of ham and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with marshmallows and lima beans with bacon and candied carrots and candied pickled beets and three colors of Jell-o and two shapes of dinner rolls. Stephanie watched how daintily Grace was eating, and tried to copy her. Steven would have wolfed it all down, but even though she was starving she tried to be good.

After eating, it was suggested that they wait to have dessert and instead go back into the parlor to exchange presents first. Stephanie helped her mother and grandmother clear the table. Aunt Jeannie disappeared into the back bedroom, Michelle was lazy and went off with the boys, but Grace pitched in with the dishes, too. Grandma put Stephanie in charge of dividing the leftovers into little plastic containers so that everyone could take some home.

Mom got everyone their choice of coffee or tea or hot chocolate in one of Grandma’s billion Christmas mugs, and they all found seats in the parlor to pass out gifts. Aunt Jeannie went first, handing her special surprise to her sister.

It looked like a framed variation on one of her scrapbook pages. She must have brought her printer, because the photo she’d just taken was on the right cut into an oval shape. On the left was a picture of little Jean and little Carol when they were almost the same age as Michelle and Stephanie, taken on the same spot in the same poses many years earlier. Across the top in big purple letters it said “Sisters,” and in the middle was a pretty poem all about what it means to be a sister.

Mom loved it and cried a little, and showed it off to her daughters. Aunt Jeannie said she needed to take advantage of the opportunity, because when else would there be another pair of sisters in the family? Jeannie gave her little sister a big hug, and Stephanie realized that her mother’s sister was just about as much older than her as Michelle was older than Stephanie. It was something she had in common with her mom. Steven had never made the connection before.

Grandma got all the kids gift cards to amazon.com, which showed that she was pretty cool for an old lady. She said that she was glad that she didn’t have to change her gift when Steven became Stephanie. Also, it kept them from arguing over who got the better present. She even said that she’d mailed the same gift cards to Dan and Matt’s older brother Jack, who lived in California with his wife Paula and their little boy Jordan.

Aunt Jeannie’s gifts for her nieces were also her handiwork. Besides scrapbooking, she liked to do beadwork, so both Michelle and Stephanie received jewelry sets, with a necklace, a bracelet and a pair of earrings made from matching beads. Michelle’s was purple and Stephanie’s was pink. She thanked her aunt for making such pretty things for her.

Michelle promised her sister that she’d show her a trick the next day for how she could change her earrings even though her piercings hadn’t healed completely. Stephanie hadn’t even realized that it would be a problem, so she thanked her.

While they were eating their pie, Grace was talking to Matt. She said, “You know, I just had a crazy idea. Do you think maybe Stephanie could solve our wedding problem?”

Matt shook his head. “You’re right; that is a crazy idea. I don’t think she’d go for it.”

Stephanie was curious. “What’s this problem?”

Grace started to explain, but Matt talked over her. “You know how in TV shows, married guys all hate their mother-in-laws? Well, there’s a reason for that. Mine isn’t even an in-law yet, and she’s already causing trouble.”

“What did she do?”

This time Grace answered. “You know how we’re getting married on June 28, right? Well, mother and I were working on the seating chart for the reception, to make sure we had all the invitations sorted out. And that was when she realized that my little brother Christopher was going to be sitting down at the table with her and my father, but both of Matt’s brothers were going to be ushers, so they’d be up at the head table. She decided that Matt needed to ask Christopher to be an usher, too. But he’s only fourteen, so he’s more of a junior usher.”

“I’m still not sure how this is something I can help you with.”

Grace’s voice was getting more excited. “The thing is, adding another usher would just throw off the balanced look of the ceremony. So what I need to do is add another bridesmaid. But ideally, to balance a junior usher I’d need a junior bridesmaid. And I just don’t have any friends or family members who are young teenage girls that I could ask. But, if Matt’s junior usher is coming from my family, maybe my junior bridesmaid could come from his. So, what do you think? Do you want to be my junior bridesmaid?”

Matt chimed in. “Don’t say ‘no’ right away. We wouldn’t have to tell anyone your secret. As far as anyone else knows, you’d be my female cousin Stephanie. You should be out of school before the wedding, so it wouldn’t be a problem if you needed pretty hair or fingernails or something. You’d really be helping me out here. I can even pay you like a hundred bucks for doing me this favor.”

Stephanie thought about it. It would be really cool to be a hero to Grace, and some money might be cool. But Stephanie was supposed to go away after New Year’s. Did Steven really want to have to bring her back for a day in the summer? It would only be a day; that might not be too bad. Then Stephanie remembered the contract. She wasn’t allowed to refuse to do anything a real girl would do. There was only one possible answer.

“Thank you, Grace. I would love to be in your wedding! Every girl dreams of having the chance to be a part of someone’s magic moment. And no, Matt, you don’t need to pay me. You’re family, and helping family is its own reward.”

Grace gave her a hug and said that even if she wouldn’t accept their money, they’d still cover all her expenses and she wouldn’t have to pay for her dress or shoes or anything.

On the ride home, Mom said that it was a very thoughtful thing Stephanie was doing for her cousin. She was impressed. She did say that it meant she couldn’t go with the buzz-cut plan, since it wouldn’t be long enough in time for the wedding. Instead, Steven would have to slick his hair back or something when he returned to school. It also meant that it would probably be best if Steven kept his earrings even when he went to school; maybe they could find him a pair that were less feminine.

Stephanie hadn’t realized that her decision had so many implications. It gave her a lot to think about as she drifted off to sleep in the car.