Wednesday

Melissa rang me at about half past nine. She sounded excited and also nervous.

“I’ve made an appointment with Dr Mary O”Donnell for three o’clock this afternoon,” she said, “Will that be alright with you?”

“That's fine,” I said.

I had planned to visit the beauty parlour I’ve been visiting for years, so I said to her “I’ve had an idea. Why don’t I come over to your flat right away and help you choose something to wear. Then we can go to a beauty parlour I know and you can have your nails and makeup professionally done.”

Melissa enthusiastically agreed, so I quickly got dressed and then rang ‘La Belle Beauty Salon’, the same place where I had my very first make-over after my initial visit to the gender specialist.

“Shelley my dear, how are you?”

“Very well Mrs Brodie, are you still coming to see us today?” I have tried many times to get her to call me Lesley, but she never will, so I have just accepted she isn’t going to change.

“Yes I am Shelley and I’d like to bring a trainee girl with me before she goes to see her GP and starts on her journey. She can have my appointment time. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course I can, and I'm sure we can find time for you too,” she replied “What would she like done?”

“Well her nails, eyebrows and make-up, and maybe her hair cut and styled if you have time. I’ll leave it to you my dear, you’re the expert. She’s not bad at doing her make-up but she could do with some tuition. By the way, her name’s Melissa, and she's already quite a pretty girl, so she has a head start. Oh, and one more thing, she doesn't know anything about my background.”

“Of course Mrs Brodie. We look forward to seeing you both at half past eleven.”

With that I put on my coat and took a taxi over to the flat. Melissa answered the door wearing a dressing gown.

“I hope you don't think I'm being lazy,” she said, “I've had my shower, put on my undies and done my make-up but I'm not sure what to wear and I'd like your advice.”

She took me into the spare bedroom and opened the wardrobe. It contained a number of pretty dresses, but I doubted if they were suitable to wear today.

“What do you usually wear when you go out?” I said.

She blushed and said “I've only been out with John twice and that was at night. I've never been out in the day because I'm afraid that people will 'read' me.”

“I don't think there's much chance of that, my dear,” I said. “But the important thing is to blend in with other women, wearing the sort of clothes they are wearing.”

As I said this I was rifling through the dresses and stopped when I came to a smart grey pleated skirt.

“Now this is more like it,” I said. “Have you got a white blouse to wear with this? You'll blend in perfectly with all the other office girls. You'll need to wear stockings and medium heels too.”

In a few minutes Melissa was dressed and ready to go out, although she still looked a little nervous.

“You'll be fine,” I assured her, and indeed that proved to be the case. It's surprising how little we look at the people passing by when we are out on the street, so long as they do nothing in their looks or manner to draw attention to themselves.

We arrived at “La Belle”, and Shelley greeted us at the door and immediately made sure that Melissa felt welcome and could relax. She ushered us to two adjoining chairs, and attended to Melissa personally, while one of her young assistants came over to ask me what I would like done.

Melissa was given 'the works' – hair washed and trimmed, eyebrows plucked, nails shaped and given a light coating of clear nail varnish, and finally Shelley did her make-up, all the while explaining exactly what she was doing. At the conclusion, Melissa looked in the mirror and she was nearly crying.

“I can't believe it,” she said softly, “You really do work magic Shelley.”

Shelley smiled, “You're a very pretty girl Melissa, I really didn't have to do much at all.”

There was another surprise in store for Melissa when we approached the counter to pay. Shelley said “The first visit is 'on the house', but we hope to see you again in the future.”

“Oh you will!” said Melissa, and she almost danced out of the salon, leaving Shelley and I to exchange smiles.

“I'll fix up the account next time I'm in,” I said to Shelley quietly, but she responded “I really meant it – no charge this time.”

“Thank you my dear,” I said “She's seeing a doctor for her referral today and you've boosted her confidence like nothing else could.”

There was still a couple of hours before Melissa's appointment with the doctor, so we called into a cafe for a light lunch, and a chat.

“One thing I'm worried about is how my boss at work might react when I tell him what I'm going to do,” she said. “I really don't want to lose my job if I can avoid it. I like working there, and anyway I need the money.”

“I don't want to interfere, but perhaps I could offer a suggestion?” I said.

“Oh please do,” she replied, “Everything you've suggested so far has been such a help to me.”

“Very well, I suggest you don't spring it on your boss – what's his name by the way?”

“Mr Garfield, and he really is a sweetie, but I'm afraid this might be too much of a shock for him to accept.”

“Well, you know how we were saying that people whose only knowledge of trangendered persons is what they read in the popular press, and most of that is totally wrong? You are worried that he might think you are going to arrive at work looking like a drag queen, so we must show him that you will really look like all the other girls in the office. I have a small camera in my bag; I always carry it with me in case I see something interesting to photograph, so why don't I take some pictures of you the way you are looking today? I suggest you go to work dressed as Mark one more day, ask to see him privately and explain what you plan to do, and show him the pictures so he will feel reassured.”

Melissa clapped her hands, “That's a wonderful idea Lesley.”

I took a close-up picture of Melissa sitting at the table in the cafe, and later a couple of full-length shots outside in the street. She really did look exactly like the office girls who were passing by, although she was prettier than many of them.

We found a camera shop close-by that did one hour processing and printing, so we left the film there and said we would pick it up later, which would be after the visit to the doctor.

Melissa seemed quite relaxed when I was taking the pctures, but when we arrived at the doctors' surgery she seemed to have developed a little nervousness again, whispering “How am I going to explain looking like this?”

“Why don't you leave it to me?” I said.

I walked up to the counter and said to the receptionist “I've just come in with my young friend. The appointment has been booked under the name Mark Evans, but she wishes to be called Melissa from now on. Would you mind letting Dr O'Donnell know so as not to cause her any embarrassment?”

Fortunately the receptionist was an older woman and she didn't bat an eyelid, but said “Of course I will.”

We sat down together then, and Melissa surprised me by saying “Would you be terribly offended if I went in to see the doctor on my own? I really appreciate all you are doing for me, but I know you won't always be here to hold my hand, and sooner or later I'll have to start doing things for myself.”

I was actually surprised and delighted and told her so. A few minutes later a young woman in a white coat appeared in the doorway to the consulting rooms and said “Melissa Evans?”

Melissa smiled at me and got up to follow the doctor. I picked up an ancient copy of 'Vogue' (why is it that doctors' waiting rooms always have such old magazines?), and settled down to wait. It seems absurd but I actually felt quite nervous myself, mentally keeping my fingers crossed that all would go well.

After about twenty minutes, Melissa reappeared. She had a smile on her face and was carrying a piece of paper which could only be her referral. I breathed a sigh of relief. As we left the surgery after she paid the account she said “The longest journey starts with single step.”

She's right of course, and I hope her journey will be a successful one.

It's been two days since I flew home and this evening I received a phone call from Melissa. I confess I had been thinking a lot about her and wondering if despite my suggestions and confident attitude, it would all have proved too much for her boss to accept. However the moment Melissa called I could tell from her voice that my fears were groundless.

“I did exactly as you said, Lesley, and Mr Garfield couldn't have been nicer. He complimented me on my work and said that provided I was comfortable with continuing to work for his company, then he was happy for me to be there. He actually suggested that I talk to the girls in the office and tell them that I would becoming in as Melissa today, and they were all fine about it.”

“I'm not surprised at that,” I said, “I think most women take it as a compliment when someone says they would prefer living as a woman rather than as a man.”

“I did feel a little nervous when I went to work today,” Melissa continued, “but it all went fine. I wore the same clothes I wore the last time I saw you, and the girls were very complimentary. When Mr Garfield walked through the office, he nodded to me like it was the most natural thing in the world that I was now dressed as a woman.”

“Excellent!” I said, “I won't be in Brisbane for a few weeks, but please don't hesitate to call me if there is anything you think I can do to help you.”

Well, that's Melissa's first hurdle crossed. It would have been very difficult for her if she'd lost her job, but now she had a secure environment in which to develop her skills in living as a woman. I'm so glad that I've been able to make a small contribution to starting her off on her journey.

To be continued.

Image credit: Australian cattle station by Harris Walker reproduced under Creative Commons licence with attribution.