Five months following the events of “All The Way...”

The June night was quiet, almost seeming to gnaw at Jared as he rocked back and forth on his porch, staring out into the darkness illuminated only by his small town’s streetlights.

Grace was there with him, but remained respectfully silent, as it was clear he was thinking very hard. He was on the precipice of a life milestone, but seemed nervous. Grace stood up from her rocker, strutted over to Jared’s, and patted her brother on his back.

“It’s your last night as a boy, Jared,” she told her brother. “You should enjoy it.”

“I’ve never enjoyed being a boy, so why should I start now?” Jared had a far-off look on his face when he uttered these words.

“As soon as we get to Pittman I’m burning all these,” he continued, gesturing to his drab outfit. “They’re incredibly ugly. I’m going to the store and buy every single pair of short-shorts there is.” He resumed his dour stare into the night.

“Jared,” Grace sighed, “we should at least do something. Come on! We can do whatever you want. It’s your night.”

“Darden’s gonna be here in ten minutes!” Jared exclaimed. “Let’s just sit here and wait for him.”

Grace nodded knowingly. She could see Jared was anxious, oh-so-anxious, for a fresh start, which he would get in seven hours, when the Barnes family, Dad, Grace, and Jared, skipped town in the middle of the night, crisscrossing the state in the wee hours of the morning, where a father, a daughter, and son would get a fresh start as a father and two daughters, far from the town they knew and loved but knew they had to leave behind.

For Dad, it meant a new job in the field he dearly loved. For Jared, it meant a new life in the gender he so adored. And Grace - well, Grace would be there as well, supportive of her soon-to-be new sister every step of the way.

“Well, I do have something planned, after we help Darden load the boxes,” Grace finished. Mr. Darden, a longtime friend of Mr. Barnes’, was in on the “plan” and was going to help with the moving process, as well as explaining to the Longwood townsfolk the family’s sudden departure.

Silence again, and Grace looked her brother over. It suddenly dawned on her that everything she took for granted about being a girl, things that she did every day - applying makeup, fixing her hair, trying on dresses - Jared was longing to be able to do, and psyched out of his mind to be able to do, when finally given a chance.

Grace couldn’t help but smile. She remembered the first time Jared had greeted her at the front door in her clothes. Her jaw dropped, and, admittedly, she was caught off guard. But she embraced it, and was there for her brother/sister from the moment Jared decided this was something he wanted.

Looking ahead to Pittman, her excitement only increased. A twin sister to laugh with, cry with, dance with, and - hopefully - double date with. She was overcome with joy. Out of nowhere, she started to cry.

“What’s wrong?” Jared’s face turned on a dime from apathy to sympathy. He was clearly very concerned for his twin sister. Grace saw this, and saw the sincere look of concern on her brother’s face, and was again overcome, only descending further into tears.

In between sobs, Grace recounted her train of thought to Jared, and soon they were both crying. Jared had been thinking of laughing with, and crying with, dancing with, and double dating with his sister for so long - and now, here he was. His attitude changed from somber and reflective to joyous.

“I can’t wait to double date with you!” Jared whispered after their joint crying jag had subsided. “Maybe we can wear matching outfits! We’ll have to go dress shopping as soon as possible.”

Jared and Grace just smiled, at peace with themselves and one another. No more anxious silence - the kind of silence that filled the muggy evening was anticipatory and hopeful.

A black car crawled slowly into the driveway, obscuring the moving van that had already been parked at the Barnes household earlier that night. A door slammed, and the tall, friendly figure of Mr. Brian Darden appeared on the porch, greeting Jared and Grace.

“Evening, Grace. Evening, Jared,” he said warmly. “Your father told me there’s some more boxes in the living room?”

“I’ll get them,” Grace announced. She motioned Darden into the living room and signaled for Jared to stay put.

Jared grinned as he sat on the porch, still looking out into the night, and still longing, now more than ever, for a taste of girlhood. To know it was so close - that he was on the cusp of a new life, in a new city, with new friends, in a new body - was mind-bending. He drifted away, filled with dreams, of the teenage girlhood that had long eluded him but was now so close...

He was awakened shortly thereafter by talking - it was Jared’s father, Mr. Barnes. It was now eleven o’clock, and Jared realized his family would be leaving soon. He left the porch and conversed with his father and Darden briefly, before helping to load the last of the boxes into the van and Darden’s car, the two participants in the convoy that shortly before midnight would set off into the cool Midwestern night.

Suddenly a voice - Grace’s - cried out from the front door. “Jared! Come here!”

Curious, Jared followed his sister into her empty room. She beckoned Jared to her closet, gestured toward a cardboard box, and implored Jared to open it.

Fifteen minutes later, Jared and Grace Barnes were standing side by side, in matching black dresses obscuring the top parts of clean-shaven legs, wearing black headbands and high heels and giggling uncontrollably.

“I look silly!” Jared snickered. “I can’t wait to grow my hair out! And hopefully I can start the transitioning process right away!” He looked down at his chest. “These rolled up panties just aren’t doing much for me.”

A knock sounded on the bedroom door. “Girls! Can I come in?”

Grace opened the door and saw her father’s mouth fall open. Mr. Barnes was stunned, and as he looked upon his son dressed impeccably as a pretty girl, he began to cry.

“Jared, you look so beautiful,” he sniffed. A group hug ensued, and in the midst of the cryfest, Jared’s father shoved a piece of paper into his hands.

“Read it,” he implored his son.

The old note, in impeccable handwriting, read:

May 15th, 2001 - Names Decided!

For boys, it’s Jared Anderson and Brian Nicholas! For girls, it’s Grace Anne and Kayleigh Marie! More excited than ever!

“This is for you, Kayleigh,” Mr. Barnes said, welling up.

Kayleigh almost collapsed, she was in such an emotional state. Mrs. Barnes had died shortly before the twins’ first birthday, and their father had raised a son and a daughter alone. Little did he know he was just getting started, as now he would raise two, twin teenage daughters. Mr. Barnes was apprehensive but ready.

After weeping, as Mr. Barnes gushed over how proud his wife would have been of her two daughters, it was time to go. And after saying goodbye into the house in which she grew up, Kayleigh Barnes strapped herself into the moving van and prepared to grow up again.

It was just Kayleigh and Mr. Barnes in the moving van, as Grace had opted to ride with Mr. Darden. Both cars wound carefully through the country roads, finally reaching the highway as a half-hour of their five-hour journey lapsed.

It was quiet. Neither Mr. Barnes nor his daughter spoke for a while. Kayleigh looked at the window at all the familiar sights she may never see again, and fingered at her dress, reflective all the while.

“You know I’m proud of you, Kayleigh.”

She turned her head. Her father continued.

“I mean, you were so brave - and you’ve been so brave through the whole thing, having the guts to be your true self. Few people in this lifetime - have your courage. Be proud of yourself.”

Kayleigh gulped. She was literally starting over and there was no turning back. She was going to be a girl. She had left all her old friends behind, cutting off contact with people such as Dan and Nick and Earl - Earl, who had set her on the journey she was now undertaking. This was a new frontier.

“I can’t wait,” she said out loud.

“Neither can I,” Kayleigh’s father said. “Neither can I.” He admired his courageous daughter as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

---

The sun peeked over the horizon as Kayleigh stirred. It was the first thing she saw as she looked out the window, into a new town a world away from her old one. Tucked in Northern Michigan, it was an idyllic setting for the raising of a young woman such as herself. Half-asleep, Kayleigh mustered a smile.

The van rolled into the driveway of their new house, where Darden and Grace were already unpacking. Kayleigh hopped out of the car, hugged her sister, and inspected her new residence.

“It’s beautiful,” she said to Grace, as she helped her unload her clothes in her room.

“It really is,” Grace agreed, as she stared in unbelief at the homely arrangement of the three bedrooms, as well as the pretty entryway. After hanging up some of her clothes, she called Kayleigh into her room.

“We should go shopping tonight!” Grace exclaimed.

“Already? It’s our first night in town!”

“Yeah, but you need some clothes! We can’t keep sharing!”

“Daddy says we’ll have a whole week dedicated to shopping as soon as we get settled in, and I get fitted for a wig,” Kayleigh said matter-of-factly. “I’m not going out until then.”

“Come on, we’ll just walk to a thrift shop or something. I’ll put a headband in your hair and I’ll drench you in makeup. It’ll be fun!”

Kayleigh thought for a minute, but not that long. After some convincing of Mr. Barnes and a lot of unpacking, the sisters were on their way. It was a short walk to Anna’s Goods, and the weather was unseasonably cool. Both girls wore leggings with sweatshirts, Grace blue and Kayleigh pink. Kayleigh’s hair was done in a girly style and featured a headband, and she wore a relatively large amount of makeup.

“Are you sure I don’t look like a boy?” Kayleigh asked for the umpteenth time as they neared their destination.

“No, no, and no again!” Grace was indignant. “For heaven’s sakes, Kayleigh Marie. You are girlier than me!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kayleigh wasn’t reassured, and continued muttering, all the way to the store. Once in there, Grace was incensed.

“Will you stop whining?” Grace nearly shouted, stopping as the girls approached the dress section.

“What?”

“You are not a boy, so why don’t you just drop the subject! Okay?”

Kayleigh was speechless, deep in thought, when she made a plea both to herself, to Grace, and to the world simultaneously.

“Prove it.”

Grace was unsure of what to make of her sister’s comment - for but a moment. Looking at the rack of dresses, she pulled one down. It was something a bridesmaid would wear, a romantic looking gown with a tulle skirt and sequined bodice.

“Go buy this.”

Kayleigh eyed the dress. “This?”

“If the cashier thinks you’re a real girl - which you are - she won’t bat an eye.”

Kayleigh clutched the dress nervously, and sauntered over to the cashier. Eavesdropping intently, Grace heard nothing but silence. When she came back, she was crying.

“What is it, Kayleigh?”

“She didn’t say a word!” Kayleigh was sobbing. “I am a girl, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are,” Grace said. And as her pretty twin sister zipped herself into the dress, she couldn’t help but think that with a new hairdo and some curves - real or fake - Kayleigh might be the most popular girl in school.

But she remained silent.