Stephanie’s Deal by Jennifer Brock Once upon a time, an eleven-year-old boy named Steven was in his church’s Christmas pageant playing an angel, since the boys and girls had switched roles. He was naughty and peeked at his presents, and for punishment his parents made him play a girl role for his entire winter break. Stephanie, as she was now called, bonded very closely with eight-year-old Bobby who would rather be a girl named Robin, and this week Stephanie will be turning twelve and she’s invited Bobby and his mother over to share their celebration. Bobby’s father has a problem with Robin, but will that spoil Stephanie’s birthday? But first, she’s got another dance class with that brat Christopher for a partner. Find out if 13 proves unlucky for our heroine.

Episode 13

On Monday, Stephanie woke up with an idea. After having her bath and rubbing lavender oil into her chest (when was this stuff supposed to start working?) she dressed up all in pink, since that seemed to be the color her mother preferred to see her in: her pink sleeveless dress over pink tights and topped with her pink cardigan sweater. She even wore her pink training bra and matching panties. Disappointingly, she had to go with a white slip, since she didn’t have a pink one. She did her hair with her pink plastic headband, and wore the pink jewelry set her aunt had made. She went a little further with her makeup than usual, and used some pink eye shadow as well as her brown mascara to make her eyes pretty and used a tiny bit of pink blush on her cheeks. Her look needed pink lip gloss of course, but she went with the glittery one she didn’t wear very much.

She grabbed a bowl of cereal in the kitchen, and then sought out her mother. She was at her desk working on someone’s taxes. When she looked up and noticed Stephanie watching, she told her she looked very pretty and asked how long she’d been standing there. Stephanie said it hadn’t been that long, but Mom was impressed anyway, since Steven had never been known for quiet patience. Stephanie said that she didn’t want to interrupt, and asked her mother to come and talk to her when she finished. There was something she wanted to talk about, but it wasn’t so important that it couldn’t wait.

An hour or so later, Stephanie’s mother found her up in her room changing her nail polish. She was having a little trouble working left-handed, so Mom pulled a chair over and said “Give me your hand and I’ll give you a hand.”

Stephanie giggled and thanked her mother for helping. Mom started by using a cotton swap and some remover to correct a few of Stephanie’s mistakes, and then held her hand and gave her nails a light coat. While that was drying, she asked what Stephanie wanted to talk about.

Stephanie got a serious look on her face. “I’ve been thinking about my birthday.”

“Have you? You know, your father and I have been toying with the idea of giving you a day of amnesty, letting you be Steven again on your birthday for twenty-four hours.”

“Um, thank you for thinking about that, but I don’t think it would be right.”

Mom sounded cautious. “Why not? Does it seem more right for you to be a girl now?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Stephanie wasn’t sure what the answer to that question was, and thinking about it scared her. “I mean it wouldn’t be right to change the terms of the deal after we already signed the contract. It said I had to be a girl every day, full time, until school started, and school hasn’t started yet. So it wouldn’t seem right to try to get out of that, even if you wanted to let me.”

“Wow. That’s a very mature way of looking at things. I guess you really are growing up.”

Stephanie had a moment of excitement mixed with panic and glanced down to see if maybe mom had noticed something or things growing, but she was still a pancake. “Anyway, I was thinking about my birthday. I know you got me a phone, and that’s a great present, and I love that I can talk to Michelle any time I want to, and I don’t want to give it back or anything, but I was wondering if you could buy another present besides that one.”

Her mother relaxed and smiled. Her child finally had a familiar issue. “Oh, okay. All this was just your way of asking for something. We may have been planning on getting you a present to give you on your actual birthday. Do you want to go look in my closet to see if I’m hiding any nicely wrapped presents in there?”

That was a low blow, but Stephanie deserved it. She shook her head and tried to keep her lip from quivering. She mumbled, “No, that would be wrong.”

“Well, in case we haven’t bought you anything yet, what was it you wanted?”

Stephanie took a deep breath to clear her head. “Well, you know how I wanted to invite Robin to dinner, but Bobby’s dad doesn’t like Bobby being Robin, so Robin can’t come over but Bobby can? Well, what if when Bobby got here we wanted to play dress-up, and we just happened to have some pretty things in the right size and maybe a even a wig since Bobby’s dad cut off all his hair, so Robin could be at my birthday anyway? She really likes being a girl, but doesn’t get to at home now, and I can’t even see her at church anymore to try and cheer her up by reminding her she’s still a girl inside!”

Mom was not expecting anything like that. “Um, that’s very generous of you, wanting to do something for someone else on your special day. Bobby did look very sweet at the Christmas pageant, and wearing his cute little dress afterwards, but I don’t know if we really ought to get between him and his father. Are you sure he feels like a girl inside?”

“That’s what she told me. You can call Michelle and ask her about the tea party at Robin’s we went to. Michelle talked about how doctors can turn boys into girls and she got all excited.”

“Do you feel like a girl inside, too? Is that why it matters so much to you?”

“I don’t think I feel any different inside than before. I know I wouldn’t want to get doctors and stuff involved. This is about Robin, really. She’s like a little sister to me, and the last time I saw her she looked so sad. I just wish there was something I could do to help my friend, and I thought maybe letting her be herself here might work.”

“Okay, honey. I can see that this really matters to you, so I’ll think about it. I’ll talk to your father, and if we both think it’s a good idea, I’ll call Bobby’s mother to make sure.”

“I guess that sounds fair.” Stephanie gave her mother a hug. “Thanks, Mom, for listening. And my nails are as good as when Michelle does them, too.”

Stephanie let her mother go back to work, and tried not to bug her about Robin. She spent the afternoon reading one of her sister’s Babysitters Club books until it was time to help mom with dinner. After dinner her parents talked in private for a while, and then Mom came to her and said she’d be calling Robin’s mother to see if she could agree with Stephanie’s plan. She thanked her Mom and went to bed that night feeling very happy for her friend.

Tuesday morning, Mom went on the phone and took a bunch of notes. When she hung up she told Stephanie, “I just called Mrs. Perrone. She likes your idea, and said it was very sweet of you to want to help Bobby. She thought about trying to sneak the trunk with Robin’s things in it over here, but her husband has the key so that wouldn’t do us much good. I told her not to worry; we could buy Robin some new things. She offered to pay for them, but I told her that wasn’t necessary. This is something you wanted to do, so you’d be using your grandmother’s birthday money. I wrote down all of Robin’s sizes, and we can hit the mall. Are you sure you still want to do this, knowing that it’s your money we’ll be spending?”

“That makes it even better. I can’t think of anything I’d rather spend my Grandma money on. Everything I’ve ever seen her in is really dressy, but if we shop for something casual but still very girlish, I might even be able to afford more than one outfit, and she can have fun picking things.”

Stephanie got dressed for action in her casual light purple two-piece dress, knee socks, and her pink sneakers. She had to go with her black patent handbag, even though it didn’t quite match her outfit; it was just the closest. They decided that getting Robin a wig was the most important, so Mom flipped through the phone book and called a few places to find one that sold child-size wigs and they wouldn’t need to wait five days to order one. She wrote down addresses of a couple of places that might work, and they drove off.

The first place they tried was a store just for wigs. They had some really pretty ones in small sizes for kids, but they were way too expensive. Fortunately, the children’s wigs they saw at the costume shop they went to next were priced within Stephanie’s budget. She picked out a pretty one that had long wavy hair held back with two built-in little pink bows. It came in a few different colors, and Stephanie thought that if she got one closer to Robin’s natural hair color, it might just make her sad about getting hers all cut off. So instead she went with one that was almost the same color as her own, and that might make Robin happy to match, more like real sisters.

Then they went to the mall, and Stephanie found a couple of nice dresses and a cute pink sweater that would work with either of them in an “End of Season” sale, and another store had some girls’ underwear on clearance, so she picked up a package of panties for Robin, as well as a little camisole undershirt (Mom explained that Robin was too young for even a training bra) and a slip. She had to pay full price for Robin’s tights, but she bought two different colors anyway.

In the bargain shoe store, she chose a pair of black shoes that would probably go with anything, and found a cute little handbag that seemed to match. She brought her things to the register, and the girl told her there was a sale where she could get a second item for half off, so she could get another pair of shoes and another bag cheaper. She a pair of black sandals for Robin that had a little more heel, and then decided she wanted another bag for herself; she was tired of not having one to match her outfits. Since two-thirds of what she owned was pink, she found a nice pink bag that would probably work with most of her wardrobe. At the very least it would always coordinate with her jacket.

They passed an accessories store and Stephanie saw a nice little necklace with a pendant on it in the shape of an angel that was perfect for Robin, so she bought it even though it used up most of the rest of her money. Mom’s notes didn’t say whether or not Robin still had pierced ears, so Stephanie wasn’t sure what to do about earrings. Her mother brilliantly suggested that they get a pair of little clip-ons, and if it turned out the holes in her ears hadn’t closed up she could borrow a pair of Stephanie’s earrings.

All that shopping left her feeling very worn out, but it was a satisfying kind of tired, knowing that her “little sister” would be so happy to be able to wear pretty things again. She thanked her parents again at dinner for letting her do it.

Wednesday she washed all of Robin’s clothes and made a little space for them in her closet. In a week she was supposed to go back to attending school as Steven and only becoming Stephanie part time, but she wasn’t sure how all those clothes would be able to share space. Stephanie had accumulated quite a lot during her fairly short time in existence. Maybe she could move some of her things into her sister’s closet, since Michelle took most of her stuff with her to college. She could even just move into Michelle’s room when she wanted to go to sleep as a girl, and let Steven have his room back completely for when he wanted to be a boy. It was getting too complicated to think about, so she decided to put it off as long as possible, and not worry about having to be Steven again until it actually happened.

Wednesday night was also the second session of her dance class. She wore her purple striped cotton dress with the buttons down the front, and spun around a few times to make sure it would move enough. She didn’t want the Maestro to get mad at her. She wore real pantyhose instead of tights, and put on her sparkly pink high-heel sandals. Her new pink pocketbook worked perfectly with her ensemble, as did the pink jewelry her aunt had made for her.

So that her stupid dance partner wouldn’t pick on her for being a little kid again, she put a little more effort into making her makeup look sophisticated. She had to use a book and a couple magazines from her sister’s room, but it was worth it. She started with foundation all over her face. The first time she tried it, she used too much and it made her look fake, so she had to wash it off and start over lighter. It took a while to get right, but she accented her eyes with black eyeliner and mascara, and then swept a little purple eye shadow across her lids. Her cheeks needed a hint of blusher, and she used some actual lipstick instead of just gloss. She looked in the mirror and thought she looked older, thirteen or fourteen, maybe even fifteen. Her boobs still hadn’t grown yet, but hopefully her padded bra provided enough bustline.

She dabbed a little lavender for perfume and confidently strode downstairs to wait for her ride. Unfortunately, Mom saw her and declared that she was “painted up like a trollop” and brought her upstairs to wash it all off. She protested that she needed to look like a real ballroom dancer, and her mother caved a little. She showed her the products she had used, and Mom showed her how to put them on much more subtly. When she got done, it might not have been the look of a sophisticated lady going dancing, but the girl in the mirror had to be at least sixteen. Stephanie thanked her for her work, and said that maybe some time she could teach her how to get that look by herself.

When her cousin Danny came to the door to fetch her, he was dressed up nice in a jacket and tie and dress shoes and looked pretty good. He let out a wolf whistle and told her if she was going to keep getting hotter every time he saw her, eventually he’d just have to forget they were related. This earned him a nasty look from his uncle, and he dropped the subject. They went out to his brother Matt’s car and drove to class. Everyone was early this time, and they were all dressed up nice.

Her dance partner even wasn’t a total tool, and told her she looked pretty. Okay, actually his sister said she looked pretty, but Christopher did say “yeah” in agreement. And the way he kept trying to look down her dress, he must have been convinced that there was something there to see. So it wasn’t all bad.

The Maestro came in and told them all that he appreciated that they’d all taken the effort to be properly dressed, but he still singled out Stephanie as looking the best and called her “My Dear Sweet Princessa” again. They began the class by reviewing what they’d done the last time, and she had to let Christopher touch her shoulder and hold her hand as they went over the steps of the foxtrot.

Once everyone was competently dancing in place in a square, using the correct foot on each beat in the music, they learned how to make the dancing less boring by moving around the ballroom in a big circle as they made their squares. The boys were the only ones who could see where they were going, so it only made sense for them to be in control of when to turn, but it was annoying that they also got to decide when to take big steps forward or to take little steps to the side, and the girls had to pay attention and follow their signals.

They danced for a while, and it got to where they could do it without looking at their feet. Maestro did pick on her a little for not smiling at her partner, but she learned that she could fake smiling at Christopher easily enough by imagining that he was her boyfriend Brian. She wondered if Brian would ever want to dance with her for real. Maybe if she promised him a kiss afterward. Brian seemed to like kissing her even more than she did.

She missed a beat and stepped on Christopher’s toe, and it pulled her out of her daydream. She blushed a little and tried paying better attention. By the time class was over, everyone was more or less looking like they knew what they were doing.

When their time was just about up, the Maestro gathered everyone into the middle of the room. “There is one more piece of business that needs to be taken care of before I can let you all go.” He used his little remote control to dim the lights. “It has come to my attention that tomorrow is a very important day for one of my favorite students. Isn’t that right, Princessa?” He took a slight bow toward Stephanie and hit another button on his remote. Music started, and his receptionist came into the room carrying a sheet cake glowing with lit candles.

Everyone started singing “Happy birthday Dear Princessa,” and Stephanie felt very embarrassed. But she blew out the candles when she was supposed to, and everyone applauded. They went out into the lobby where there were plates and forks and drinks, and the girl sliced up the cake. Maestro apologized that there were only twelve candles, and Stephanie couldn’t tell if he was being serious. She laughed and told him it was okay, and she would just pretend to be twelve.

Steven had never had a surprise birthday party, so this would have been Stephanie’s best birthday ever, even if she didn’t know there were two more parties in her future, one with her little sister and one with her boyfriend. Everyone must have been in on the surprise, because she even got birthday cards from all the other bridesmaids and some of the guys.

Grace said that they weren’t originally going to do anything, since she and Dan and Matt would be celebrating with Stephanie on Sunday at her grandmother’s, (That was a fourth party that Stephanie had completely forgotten about.) but when Shelby found out that it was going to be her birthday, she insisted on getting a cake and everything.

Stephanie thanked Shelby and gave her a little hug, and Shelby introduced her boyfriend Jeff and her daughter Tara, who’d come with the cake. Tara was a very pretty six-year-old who would probably grow up to be just as beautiful as her mother. She said that she picked out the cake, and Stephanie said the pink flowers in the frosting were a good choice. She said that pink was one of her favorite colors, and pointed to her earrings. Also, since Tara was going to be the flower girl, Stephanie trusted her opinion on flowers. Tara had a really big smile at that. She was a really sweet little kid.

Shelby was very impressed with how well she interacted with Tara, and asked if she’d ever be available for baby sitting. Stephanie didn’t know, since she’d never babysat before she’d have to ask her mom. But she exchanged phone numbers with Shelby anyway. When she got home that night her mother and father said they’d have to think about it. Dad in particular was concerned about what would happen if Shelby learned Stephanie’s secret and if it could be construed as criminal fraud if she tried to watch a child without telling her first.

Thursday, Stephanie was awakened by a bleeping noise coming from somewhere. She finally tracked it to her phone, which was sitting on the bureau recharging. It was Michelle calling to wish her a happy birthday at 7:00 in the morning. She told her big sister about her surprise cake at dance class, and how she’d invited Robin for dinner, and how fun shopping for her was.

She asked her sister how her boyfriend was, and Michelle actually passed the phone to Kurt so he could wish her a happy birthday, too. Kurt said he’d been confused and thought Michelle had told him she had a little brother, but he’d seen the pictures of Stephanie with her sister and realized he must have remembered wrong.

Michelle came back on and wished her a good day and said she had to get to breakfast if she was going to make her class on time, so she said goodbye and promised to call again in a few days. She couldn’t say outright since her boyfriend was there but she told Stephanie that she’d been talking to that person she’d told her about and was learning a few things. Stephanie told her sister that she loved her and wished her luck in class before saying goodbye.

Mom had made a really special breakfast with blueberry pancakes and sausages and hash browns. It was quite a feast. Dad had to go to work, but he promised it would be a light day and he should be home early enough to greet Stephanie’s guests. He gave her a little kiss on the top of the head on his way out.

Stephanie’s mother had a treat for her. It had been four weeks since her last visit to the beauty salon, so she was treating her to a special birthday makeover. Stephanie was not sure whether to be happy about that or not, remembering the pain and suffering of the first time.

This time Mom had an appointment of her own, too. So when Stephanie was taken away to get her hair done, Mom wasn’t there to tell the stylist what to do. Stephanie put herself at the mercy of a stranger and told her not to change it too much; she really liked the hairstyle they’d given her last time. The hairdresser calmed her down by saying that she was just in for a wash and a trim and a touch-up on her color. It wasn’t as horrible as she’d remembered it. It even felt really nice when the girl washed her hair. She checked the mirror after and recognized herself, she just was a little blonder and they’d cut back her bangs so the rest of her hair seemed longer.

She got passed off to the torture lady to get her legs waxed again. It still hurt like heck, but it did seem to leave her legs smoother than they’d been lately. The lady doing the wax thinned Stephanie’s eyebrows a little more, and then asked her if there were any other areas she wanted done. Stephanie stared kind of blankly at the question, so the lady had to get specific about what areas she might want done. Stephanie got really embarrassed and felt like a little kid when she had to say that there wasn’t any hair in those areas to remove.

The Asian woman who did Stephanie’s manicure had to start by removing her old acrylic extensions, and then they got cleaned up with some stuff, and then new extensions went on. She picked a bright pink nail polish when asked. The lady cleaned and scrubbed her feet and polished her toenails, too. That was kind of fun.

Then she got taken to a workstation they didn’t use on her the first time. A nice Spanish lady cleaned Stephanie’s face for her, and then wrapped it in a warm, wet towel for a few minutes. Then she cleaned her face again, but with some different stuff that made it feel almost sunburned. Finally, she put lotion on her skin that soothed the stinging.

From there, she got passed to a girl who was going to do Stephanie’s makeup. She told her that she wanted to look nice, but didn’t want her Mom to make her wash it off. The makeup artist, a cool redhead named Ivy who looked around Michelle’s age, said she had a mom herself and understood exactly what Stephanie wanted. When she’d finished, she kind of looked like a girl who was pretty without makeup, even though she was really wearing enough to make her eyes appear bigger, her lips fuller, and her complexion flawless. She thanked Ivy for getting it perfectly right.

She waited in the front of the shop for her mother to be finished. Mom came out looking very glamorous! She had a totally new hairdo, a little shorter but fuller, and a deeper color than it was. She had shiny pink nails with white tips, but hers weren’t as long as Stephanie’s. She wasn’t wearing pantyhose anymore, so she might have gotten painfully waxed just like her daughter. Her makeup was incredible, making her seem younger and prettier than somebody’s Mom was supposed to look.

When they got home, her mother got a little dressed up, but since Stephanie had gotten casual dresses for Robin, she didn’t want to be that fancy. She wore her soft, comfortable red jersey dress. When her legs stopped hurting, she added white tights and put on her black Mary Janes. They were her favorite every day kind of shoes, even if they weren’t as sexy as the ones with more heel. She put on her set of jewelry made of silver chains to jazz her look up a little, but that was it.

When Dad came home early as promised, Stephanie met him at the door with a hug and he told her she looked cute. But then he saw mom and they got all mushy-weird and she thought it best to leave them alone for a while. She went to check on the roast so Mom didn’t have to.

The doorbell rang not long after and Stephanie ran to get it. Bobby and his mother were there. He was holding a big box wrapped in pretty pink paper that had a huge bow on it. She showed them in and took their coats. Mom and Dad took Mrs. Perrone into the living room, and Bobby tried to give Stephanie her present, but she said to leave it with the grownups; there was something she had to show him upstairs first.

She could barely contain her excitement when she brought Bobby up to her room. “I’m glad you could join me for my celebration, but I’d much rather have my honorary little sister Robin.”

Bobby looked really sad. “Yeah, me too. But Daddy took Robin away.”

“I don’t think so. I think she’s still right here waiting to come to my party. Maybe you could help me find her.” Stephanie opened the door and gestured at all the Robin-sized clothes laid out on her bed.

Bobby blinked a couple of times before he understood what was happening. “Are those for me?”

“Sure, Robin. You’re welcome to play dress-up any time you come visit me. My parents and your mom know. It’s okay. Do you know which one you want to wear?”

Robin gave Stephanie a tremendous hug and thanked her a billion times, then started stripping off her boy clothes faster than she would have thought possible. Robin made Stephanie look away until she was a girl again. She could tell by the sound that Robin was using the roll of tape she’d left out, and a minute or so later she could turn around, and saw Robin standing there in her cami and panties. Stephanie showed Robin her options, and she picked white tights and shoes like Stephanie’s and the lighter pink dress. Robin pulled on her tights like she’d been doing it all her life, and only needed a little help adjusting the straps on her slip and getting her dress over her head.

Stephanie showed Robin the best part, and fitted the wig onto her head. Robin looked in Stephanie’s full-length mirror and cried a little. She was a girl again! She thanked Stephanie another billion times. She clipped the earrings onto Robin’s ears (Bobby’s dad hadn’t let her piercings stay open) and put the little angel necklace around her neck.

Robin took the lip gloss Stephanie handed her and applied it expertly, then put the tube in her bag. The girls were ready to show the parents. Robin practically bounced down the stairs. She was beaming widely and couldn’t wait to show her mommy her pretty new dress.

They went down to the living room, and everyone cooed over Robin for a while. She twirled and posed a little, but then settled next to her mother on the couch. Mrs. Perrone suggested that Stephanie open her present, so Robin brought it from the coffee table to Stephanie’s chair. There was a flowery-scented envelope on top of the box. It was a cute card that had Barbie dressed as a ballerina popping up in the middle when she opened it. It was signed “Robin and Kendra Perrone” and she could tell that Robin had written her own name.

The present itself turned out to be a very fancy collectible Barbie doll dressed as an Angel in a gown made by some real designer Stephanie had never heard of. It was really pretty and would look a lot nicer than the doll she currently had sitting on her dresser. She gave Robin a big hug. “Thank you very much. She’s beautiful, and the perfect present for an Angel Princess to give the Angel Queen.” She then had to explain to the grownups that she’d dubbed herself and Robin the queen and princess when she was the oldest angel in the Christmas play and Robin was the youngest.

Most of dinner went well. The food was delicious, and the company was wonderful. It was a really happy birthday for Stephanie.

But then there was some shouting and knocking at the front door. Robin said “Daddy,” and turned white as a sheet.

Stephanie’s father got up and went to the door. He opened the inside door but left the outside glass one locked. They peeked and could see that it was in fact Robin’s father at the door. “You got my wife and kid in there? Tell them they’re coming home.”

Dad held firm. “I’m not going to do that, Bob. They are guests in my home and we’re in the middle of dinner right now.”

“You stay out of this, Tom. I heard that they threw you out of the church for having a pervert kid, and I don’t want that pansy coming anywhere near my boy. So just send my family out before I have to call the cops.”

“Calling the police would not be a good idea for you, Bob. You’re pretty angry, I think you may have been drinking, and you’re trying to break into someone else’s home. That glass is bulletproof — knock on it all you want.”

Robin’s mom called out, “Maybe it would be better if we did leave. I don’t want to cause trouble.” She got up from the table and took Robin’s trembling hand to start to lead her out.

He must have caught a glimpse. “Kendra, what are you doing with that girl? Just get Bobby and get out here!” He figured out what he was seeing a moment later. “Holy shit! You’ve dressed him up again! Your pervy faggot kid is trying to make mine into one, too.”

Stephanie’s father was near his limit. “Bob, I’m going to have to ask you to watch your language. There are children here. Secondly, I’m not going to let your wife and daughter out until you either calm down or leave.”

“I don’t have a daughter and you know that, Tom. So cut the bullshit! You have no right to keep them here. That’s kidnapping.”

“Bob, I’m going to tell you a story. And you’re going to listen, because somewhere in the back of your head you’re going to remember what I do for a living. I have more than a right to keep your family away from you in the state you’re currently in; I have a duty to, as an officer of the court, the family court. Just think about that while you you’re opening your ears if not your mind. When your child arrived at my house this evening, I saw in that face an expression I have seen far more than I wish I had. This child was depressed and hopeless.

“The last time I saw that face was on a thirteen year-old-girl who was being placed into foster care because she’d been severely abused by her stepfather. And to see that face on an eight-year old was heartbreaking! But fortunately, my youngest, who seems to be undergoing a gender identity crisis of her own, had seen in your child a kindred spirit, and knew what would break that depressive funk. A sad little boy went up the stairs, but a delightful, cheerful, lovely young girl came down.

“Have you ever seen your child’s beautiful smile, Bob? I can’t imagine if you had, you’d want to put so much energy into destroying it. Robin is an engaging girl. You have a truly wonderful daughter. Now that beautiful child’s face underwent another change tonight.

“The instant she realized you were at my door, her smiles and laughter fled. Her new expression was unmistakably one of terror. That is also a face I have seen far too often on children in the court. When a child is that terrified of her parent, there is only one conclusion: that child has been abused, Bob.”

“Screw you, Tom. I’ve never done any perverted sex shit to my kid, and you can’t make some cop or judge believe I have.”

“Language, Bob. I wasn’t implying you had been sexually abusive. But you clearly have hurt your child deeply.”

“I have never hit my boy, and you can’t fake some proof. I watch Law & Order. I know how it works; you need medical records of broken bones or scars or something to show I did, and I didn’t, so there’s no evidence.”

“That’s not what I meant either, Bob. (That show has so much to answer for!) Your child has clearly been emotionally traumatized, and even a court-appointed psychologist could see that. I’m talking to you here now, because I don’t think it’s too late. Robin’s awakening was fairly recent, brought on by that messed-up play, and you don’t know how to deal with it.

“I’ve got some articles in my study I’ve printed out that may help you. Maybe she’s really transgendered, maybe he’s just gay, or maybe it’s just harmless experimentation, but how you’ve been handling it is the wrong way in any case.”

“I think your kid messed up my kid is what I think.”

“If you keep that attitude, you will lose your child, and probably her mother, too. If you don’t see any way to act except belligerently, I want you to go home and pack a suitcase, because I will have a restraining order kicking you out of your house in two hours. Judge Norton has a very low tolerance for abusers, and I have her home number.”

“If you do want to save your family, I want you to calm down, and I’ll let you in. If you can greet your daughter warmly, you’ll show me you’re willing to change, and you can stay for a piece of cake. But if you’re not being genuine and just want to play along until you get your family home, Kendra is going to have my number on her speed dial, and I’m prepared to handle any case she wants to file against you pro bono, because our girls are so close.”

Robin’s dad was getting shaky. “So you’re saying my boy is turning into a little sissy faggot and there’s nothing I can do to stop it, and if I try you’ll make me lose my kid anyway?”

“I’m saying your child may be developing an alternate sexuality or gender identity, and if so it’s not something you can beat out of her, and if you try you will no longer deserve to be her parent.”

He sat down on the front step and started weeping. “I just don’t know what to do, Tom. You said you had some articles?”

“Wait there. I’ll go get them.”

He shouted into the house, “Bobby, why don’t you want to be a boy anymore?”

Robin tried to find her voice, to speak up and answer him. “Daddy, it’s like I just didn’t know I was really a girl until I got a chance to try it. Please don’t make me stop.”

“From what he says, it sounds like I can’t stop you.” He started seriously crying.

Dad was carrying a three-ring binder when he went out to Mr. Perrone. “Here are those articles.” He reached down and helped him to his feet. “I really think they’ll help. I don’t think you’re a bad guy, Bob. You’re just experiencing something no one ever prepared you for.”

“Maybe you’re right, Tom.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket, and worked a small brass one off the ring. “Here. Give this to Bobby, I mean Robin. It’s the key to her trunk of dresses and stuff.”

“How about you come in for a piece of cake and a coffee, and you can give it to her yourself?”

It was a very intense, very emotional evening, and didn’t feel like a real birthday party anymore, but eventually Robin’s dad left to go home to get a few things and then spend the weekend at his sister’s, and a couple hours later Robin and her mom left.

Stephanie just cried about how scary the whole thing was, and told her father she hadn’t realized how cool he was. She thanked him for being way more understanding about everything, and thanked her mom for the fun part of her birthday, including getting to be pretty.

She couldn’t get to sleep, so she called her sister and told her the whole story about dinner with Robin and her mother and her scary father, and how their own father defused the situation like a cool action movie guy. He’d crushed an ogre down into a weak and frightened boy just by talking to him.