Jack’s a Normal Boy, Sort of

By Jamie Lee

Jack Winslow, for all intense and purposes, appeared to be a normal ten-year-old boy to all the adults who saw him outside his family. He didn’t mind playing sports, when the other boys let him. He even explored his neighborhood, the wooded areas around town, and even fished a bit, but mostly by himself. You see, it was the kids who saw Jack as something different, someone who while nice was a bit…off in some way. And because he seemed off they seldom went out of their way to do anything but say hi. But as they were about to find out, Jack Winslow was going to teach them lessons that would stick with them for the rest of their lives. Lessons only one kid could teach another kid, lessons which would apply to Jack himself.

~~~~Chapter 1~~~~

Jack Winslow, for all intense and purposes, appeared to be a normal ten-year-old boy to all the adults who saw him outside his family. But to those in his family, his twelve-year-old sister Marcy, his eight-year-old sister Tracy, his thirty-five-year-old mom Irene, and his just turned thirty-five-year-old dad William, he was anything but normal. In fact, they became worried at times because of Jack’s lack of concern about the opinions of others. Oh he got along very well with his sisters, better than the family heard about other brothers and sisters, and he never gave his parents a bit of bother, always obeying them and listening when they spoke to him. No, his problem dealt with not caring what others thought he should and should not do, and his innate ability to beguile the biggest bully into leaving him alone. As a child psychiatrist employed by the cities Children’s Hospital, Irene did her best to indirectly try and help Jack break out of his apparent shell, as did his dad, a psychologist in private practice with two others. Normal, Jack? Hardly! He was his own little man and politely knew it.

Outsiders comparing Jack to other boys his age would see a boy slightly shorter than boys his age, around 48-50 inches tall. They would also notice he was slimmer than other boys, weighing around 45-50 pounds, and would comment, to themselves and their friends of course, that Jack seemed a bit sickly. This same thing hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other boys, especially the larger boys. Nor did it go unnoticed when at recess he was always last to be picked when they chose up sides for various games. But still, even though outsiders questioned his stature they had to admire his manners and his spirit, for he was always polite and always put everything he had into whatever he was doing. He was also somewhat of a folk hero at school for the way he dealt with the “hippo” when the “hippo” decided Jack was going to be his next target.

Dylan Thomas Williamson was the new boy in school due to his father being transferred by the company he worked for to their plant in town, and the boy outweighed every boy at school by at least one hundred pounds; he was also taller by about twelve inches. And leave it to kids this age but it wasn’t long before Dylan became known as the “hippo.” This moniker must have been used before because the first boy to call him that got picked up and put into the nearest trash can. Of course no teacher saw it happen so, it didn’t happen. But the kids remembered what they saw, and they gave Dylan a wide berth anytime he was around, all except Jack.

One day on the playground Jack saw Dylan starting to push a boy around until the boy fell down. Every time the boy got up Dylan would push him down again. The boy kept telling Dylan to stop but Dylan only laughed and pushed the boy down again. As the kids watch, Jack walked in between Dylan and the boy lying on the ground and holding out his hand said, “Hi, I’m Jack Winslow. I bet you get real mad when people call you names instead of using your name.” No one could believe what Jack had just done. He had put himself right in the cross-hairs of the biggest boy in school, and he just stood in front of Dylan with his hand out waiting for a hand shake. If the other kids thought this was life ending, Dylan was totally confused. Never in his life had he had another kid act as Jack was doing right at this moment, offering Dylan kindness instead of the hate and teasing he always received because of his size, and he seemed to know the hurt Dylan always felt when he heard the word “hippo.”

“Ah…hi, I’m Dylan Thomas, it’s ah…nice to meet you.” Dylan told Jack as he shook Jack’s hand. A collective sigh went out of all the kids watching because Jack was still in one piece. “Ah, by your name, I’d guess your folks really like his poetry and music,” Jack said to Dylan in an attempt to calm him down and redirect his attention to himself; the boy on the ground wasted no time being somewhere else. Dylan just chuckled, a first for everyone listening, before telling Jack, “Oh yeah! They’re big fans. Maybe you can come over some time and listen to his music with me?” There must have been ten kids watching and waiting to see Dylan make paste of Jack, but they didn’t expect to see or hear what they just witnessed between Jack and Dylan. They also didn’t expect the next thing they heard when Jack replied, “Sure, sounds like fun.” They learned a few things that day thanks to Jack, even though they didn’t realize it at the time. Jack was not the brainy nerd everyone pegged him for, just because he always did better in class than everyone else. They also learned how to treat someone who was vastly different than they were, because they really were no different. Word got around about Jack and Dylan, and while there were some holdouts, most of the other kids saw those two in a very different light. So much so that “hippo” and “nerd” became a thing of the past, with Dylan and Jack becoming the present.

Two months later a new girl came to school and right away made it very clear to the other girls her age that SHE was the head queen bee. Sally Hanson was arrogant, self-centered, and a downright nasty piece of work; attributes which caused all of the girls to make sure they were nowhere near her, except in class, when they were in school. It took a few days before it occurred, but it was Jack who once again broke the ice because he had been watching Sally and understood what she was really doing.

One of the younger girls in school was trying to tie her shoe, and getting upset because she couldn’t get it done, when she asked Sally if she could help her tie her shoe as Sally walked by her. Having watched Sally the past few days Jack knew exactly how Sally was going to react and guessed what she was going to say, “What’s a baby like you doing in school if you can’t tie your own shoes,” Sally screamed at the younger girl before telling her, “I never help babies with anything,” which caused the girl to start crying. “That’s right baby, cry like all babies do,” she told the girl before turning and running smack into Jack. “Hi, I’m Jack Winslow, it must be hard to make friends when your dad gets transferred so much,” he told her as she starred down at his outstretched hand, expecting a handshake from her. “Guess it hurts losing the friends you do have only to be the new kid over again. Bet it gets real lonely too, huh?” Jack said while still extending his hand for a handshake. But she was really floored when Jack said, “I’d like to be your friend.”

Sally’s dad was in the military, and in the last nine years they had moved six times, sometimes moving again when they’d only spent a year in their new home. The first few years she had attended schools which had been on the post so kids coming and going was no big deal, but her last few years had been in public schools where she had been treated like the outsider to kids who had grown up together. Because of how they had treated Sally, and because of the very few friends she did make and lost, Sally developed an attitude to insulate her so she wouldn’t feel the hurt and loneliness she felt every time they moved. Unknown to her, Jack picked up on this and that was why he was now standing before her with his outstretched hand and a big smile on his face. She also didn’t know that Jack understood what it meant to be lonely and the outsider, though it was his preference in most cases. As Sally stood there ready to give the boy standing before her the what for, she saw something in his eyes she’d not seen from kids at the other public schools she attended, genuine concern for her, a genuine want to be her friend for as long as they could be friends here and now. As Jack had befuddled Dylan with his demeanor, so he befuddled Sally in the same way.

“H…h…hi, I’m Sally Hanson,” she told Jack and she shook his hand. Because of Sally’s attitude the other kids stay way clear of her, but because she screamed at the younger girl, it was very easy to hear what she said; and to watch as the younger burst into tears. They also watch from their distances as Jack did what he had done to Dylan by standing in front of the girl and extending his hand for a handshake; they guessed he said something to her as well because after they saw her shake Jack’s hand she burst out in tears and watched as Jack took her into a hug. As they watched, when Sally stopped crying she turned around, knelt down said something to the upset younger girl and helped her tie her shoe. She must have said something else because the younger girl pulled Sally into a hug as Jack had done. Over the next few days Sally went around and apologized to the other girls for how she acted, being open and telling them about her past. It came as a surprise to many that other girls knew exactly how she felt, and it wasn’t long before most of the girls had befriended Sally for as long as they could here and now. They noticed a big change in Sally, when she came to school one day, she had learned the night before that her dad was retiring and they were going to live right where they were. Sally wouldn’t have to go to another new school only to be treated like the outsider again. She could finish growing up where she was and make all the friends she wanted. She was also never going to forget the strange boy who helped her break out of her shell.

Jack’s parents and sisters knew Jack never became upset when something happened out of the ordinary. If he dropped something while helping with the dishes and it broke, he’d apologize then would get what was needed to clean it up. Instead of ranting when he couldn’t find something, he simply kept looking until he found it. He never bounced off the walls until his parents would have to put an end to it. He was the same way at school. His first few days seemed to be the worse, given his stature he became the butt of several, so called, jokes. But after his first few replies of, “Is that how you want others to treat you,” or “do you want someone to say that to you,” and other rebuttals, the kids left him alone; they got the point. In his own quiet way Jack taught without actually teaching. He shamed the kids into doing the right thing without actually shaming them outright. He also had more than one kid ask if he could help them with their school work; many a time he’d have two or three kids at his house helping them with their homework. Jack suddenly became the go to kid if you were having trouble with your school work. But Jack’s life was about to change and challenge every kid in school, including his friends Dylan and Sally.

~~~~Chapter 2~~~~

Because Jack often kept to himself his parents thought it might be good if Jack tried some activities outside his perceived comfort zone, which would challenge him in ways he’d not challenge himself. The Community Center had a kid’s art program which met every Saturday from eight in the morning until noon, and because they knew Jack would do anything they asked of him, they wanted him to decide to go each Saturday to the program. Irene and William sat him down and told him about the art program and why they thought it’d be good if he participated. They told him the whys, wherefores, and how it might help him later in life. As they watched, and as he always did, Jack mulled over everything his parents said before telling them, “Sure, it might be fun.” Neither realized they were crossing their fingers until they looked down at their hands.

Jack usually got up around 8 a.m. on Saturday, but today, the Saturday of the art program, his alarm went off at 7 a.m. He never lolled in bed once he awoke, but got up, made his bed then used the bathroom for everything he needed to do. Afterwards, he’d get dressed and go downstairs for breakfast where he usually helped his mother as she made breakfast; this also occurred on school days. When William and his sisters came down for breakfast they thought nothing of seeing Jack helping Irene get breakfast ready before taking Jack to the Community Center. Usually on Saturday, Jack and his sisters would clean up after breakfast, but since Jack was going to the Community Center his sisters were left to clean up—William did help a little, he wiped off the kitchen table.

During the fifteen minute drive to the Community Center Irene tried to get a feel for Jack’s real desire to try the art program by asking him, “Do you think you’re going to like creating art?” The Jack mull took over before he replied, “I don’t know, I’ve never taken an art program before.” Irene knew that was true, and also knew any further questions about his likes or dislikes would be met with the same response. So it was a quiet fifteen minute drive to the Community Center.

Once they arrived at the Community Center Irene did all the usual mother things when dropping off a child. “I’ll pick you up at noon, you have a good time, I love you sweetie,” followed by a kiss on the cheek before she and Jack parted. During the four hours the instructor, a Mrs. Mary Swan, had them try a few different Medias just to see what each might like to continue with, and to get a feel for the abilities of each child. It was eleven-thirty and they had been using paints when Mrs. Swan told them it was time to clean up and take their supplies to the supply closet. That’s the time Jack’s life took a different turn than anyone expected.

Timmy Brown was in the art class just to get away from his parents for part of the weekend. Even if Timmy had nothing to do with it, he was always blamed for whatever happened. Even if his older sister broke something, when everyone was watching, Timmy would get the blame; they’d make up some lame excuse why it was Timmy’s fault. Their verbal abuse had gotten so bad Timmy was actually glad when he could go to school; likewise, he hated when the weekend came. Because of their verbal abuse, Timmy had a very poor self-image, so when he reached the spot where Jack was sitting, he bumped into Jack when Jack pushed his chair back to get up. As Timmy came to a sudden stop the paints he was carrying didn’t and spilled all over Jack’s shirt and pants; the paints even soaked through into his underwear. “OH MY GAWD OH MY GAWD,” Timmy repeated several times before breaking down into sobs. “I’m so so so so so sorry,” he said between wracking sobs and just stood there crying. Mrs. Swan had seen it happen and knew it was an accident, knew it was no one’s fault, but Timmy was not reacting as though it was just an accident, something else was going on with him. She grabbed a roll of paper towels and walked over to where Jack still sat and had him wipe as much of the paint off him before telling her aid, Marsha, to take Jack down to the locker rooms and help him clean off better. By the time the two got near the locker rooms, the paint in Jack’s underwear had run down his pants leg and into his socks. “Whoa there kid,” Marsha told Jack as he was about to walk into the men’s locker room, “I am NOT going in there because there are men’s programs here today and the men will be going in and out. So come on,” she said as she led him into the lady’s locker room; Jack never said a word.

Marsha looked him over closer and saw the paint had soaked more places in the short time it took to walk to the locker rooms; he even had paint on the back of his pants. She had him take off one of his shoes only to see not only had it soaked his socks, but the inside of his shoes as well; she told him to put his foot back in the shoe. “Jack, I will have to go find you something to wear home, your clothes and the inside of your shoes are soaked with paint, and I don’t think your parents will want paint in the car. It looks like the outside of your shoes are clean, so take them off once you’re in one of the shower stalls and set them were they won’t get wet—maybe your parents can clean the insides. Then after you pull the curtain, undress and try to rinse as much paint out of you pants, shirt, and socks. Afterwards use the soap you’ll find in the shower stall and wash real well, okay? Then use one of the towels on the bench to dry off and wrap it around your waist. I’ll be back as soon as I find you something to wear.” Jack watched as Marsha walked off then did as she instructed.

Jack was sitting on a bench with the towel wrapped around him when Marsha returned. Besides the clothes she carried, she also had a plastic garbage bag. “All clean,” she asked as she walked up to Jack. Jack nodded his head as Marsha sat the clothes down on the bench then walked over to the shower stall Jack had used and put his clothes and shoes into the plastic garbage bag. She then came back to Jack and sat beside him put her arm around him before saying, “Um…Jack, we may have a bit of a problem. I couldn’t find any boy clothes in the lost and found only girl clothes.” As she spoke Marsha watched for any adverse reaction to what she just told Jack, but saw none and decided to continue. “I found a pack of panties, a skirt, a blouse, some knee high socks, and a pair of shoes that might fit.” Again she looked for any bad reactions but saw none. “So, you can try on what I found or keep that towel and wear it home, the choice is yours.” This time his reaction was one she recognized because she’d seen it before, he was thinking, and in no time he said, “I’ll wear the clothes.”

Marsha picked up the pack of panties then asked Jack, “Are you sure this is what you want to do? The other kids might laugh at you.” She watched as Jack thought again then simply nodded his head; Marsha then opened the pack of panties. “Okay, Jack, I’ll turn my back so you can remove the towel and put on one of the panties. Let me know when you’re done and I’ll help you with the rest of the clothes if you need it.” Marsha turned her back to Jack and heard the crinkle of the plastic pack and a moment later heard, “Okay,” form Jack. Jack had already taken the skirt off the bench and had pulled it up to his waist. As she watched he tried to fasten the button and pull up the zipper as he would a pair of pants. “Here, let me help you with that skirt, the button and zipper go in the back. Turn around for a minute.” Jack turned around as Marsha held the skirt then fastened the button and pulled up the zipper. “There you go,” she told Jack as she watched him picked up the blouse. It took him a moment to realize that the buttons were on the left instead of on the right on boy’s shirts, but once he figured that out he had no trouble buttoning the blouse; Marsha did button the cuffs on the long sleeves. Jack then picked up the socks and sat down on the bench, only to have Marsha tell him, “Whoa there kid, stand up a minute. When you’re wearing a skirt you have to straighten out the back of the skirt under you before sitting down—it keeps the skirt looking nice, and, um, helps keep others from seeing your panties.” As she watched, Jack straightened out the skirt then sat down, keeping his legs together, something she never told him; she thought to herself that this kid has done this before. “Um…Jack, have you worn girl’s clothes before,” she asked him and getting an immediate shake of his head. Looking into his eyes Marsha could tell he was telling her the truth. For a boy who had never worn girls’ clothes before he seemed every bit a girl with those clothes on. Marsha even noticed how Jack put on the knee high socks without exposing the panties he was wearing; maybe she should talk to Mary about what she’s seen, she told herself. Jack picked up the girls’ shoes, Mary Janes, placed them on the floor, put his feet in them and tried to buckle the strap. Marsha could see he was having trouble doing the buckles, so she knelt down before him and buckled them for Jack. Marsha also noticed how Jack watched intently as she did the buckles. “Well,” Marsha said, “Guess that will get you home. We better go and finish cleaning up your work space and pick up you other things to go home,” she told Jack as she picked up the plastic garbage containing Jack’s painted clothes and walked him back to the classroom.

When Marsha and Jack walked into the classroom there were a few snickers, but only a few before Jack told them, “There just clothes and my mom would not have been happy if I got paint all over her car. How would your mom feel if this had happened to you?” The mention of the other kid’s mom got them to thinking, and quieted them down. Jack saw Mrs. Swan sitting on the little couch holding Timmy, so he walked over and told Timmy while at the same time rubbing the boy’s shoulder, “Hey, it was only an accident, no one was at fault.” Timmy looked up at Jack with red eyes and tears smeared cheeks and said, “Thanks.” Mrs. Swan smiled at Jack for what he just did and watch as he walked over to his work area and cleaned up his materials. She thought it strange how much of a ten-year-old girl he looked in those clothes, and how much he walked like one.

While Marsha had taken Jack to get cleaned up, Mary Swan had picked up the crying Timmy and carried him over to the small couch in the room and sat down while holding him in her lap. Between sobs she heard Timmy say in an extremely agitated voice, “They all blame me for everything, everything that happens, and I’m not even there when it happens. Why are they blaming me,” before he would once again cry in earnest. Mary was torn between trying to help and not getting involved until Timmy reached up with his right hand to wipe tears out of his eyes and the sleeve of his long sleeve shirt fell back revealing several old scars and one still healing near Timmy’s wrist. Seeing those scars, and the one still healing, Mary suddenly realized what Timmy had been saying and worse yet, what he’d been trying to do. Mrs. Mary Swan was no longer undecided, seeing those scars had cemented her decision, as she reached into her skirt pocked, took out her cell phone and made a call.

“Hi, it’s me. I’m fine and so are Steve and the kids.”
“Listen, are you busy, good because I need you here yesterday.”
“Yeah, a ten-year-old boy with wrist scars.”
“No, no others that I saw, no bruises either.”
“Yeah, that was my guess.”
“Oh and I was able to learn he’s left on his own every Saturday from about eight in the morning until around six in the evening.”
“Now is that language a lady should use? Yeah, I know, I feel the same.”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll see you in a few. Bye”

As Timmy slowly calmed down while Mary held him, Marsha and Jack came into the room and Jack was wearing a skirt, blouse, knee socks, and Mary Jane shoes. It struck her as odd that Jack showed no outward signs of being destressed by what he was wearing, although she’d only met the boy today, not once did he show any outward signs of unease while being in the class—which some of the other kids had. She watched as Jack came over to her and Timmy, told Timmy “it was only an accident and no one’s fault,” before walking over to his work area where Marsha helped him pick up the paints and start heading to the supply closet, when a person coming into the class caught her attention, it was her sister Barbara. Barbara was at home when Mary called her, a twenty minute drive to the Community Center. But Mary had only called her ten minutes ago, so Barbara must have broken a few speeding laws. Barbara came over to her, gave her a kiss then said to Timmy, “Hi sweetheart, how are you doing,” in as soft a voice as she could. While Barbara had a Masters in both psychology and sociology, it didn’t take a lot of effort to see how upset the boy was.

Very softly Mary said, “Timmy, this is my sister Barbara. She works for the department which helps protect kids like you.” As Mary said that to Timmy, Barbara had pulled one of the nearby chairs in front of Mary and Barbara and sat down. “Hi Timmy, it’s nice to meet you.” In a weak, sad voice, they both heard, “Hi…” Mary asked Timmy, again in a very soft voice, “Do you think you could tell Barbara everything you told me?” As the two women waited, Timmy slowly nodded his head then started telling his story. When he finished Mary saw how red Barbara’s face had gotten and that her hand were balled into fists. Over the years, even while growing up, she and their parents knew when Barbara was this red in the face and her fists were balled she was boiling mad. As Mary watched, Barbara pulled out her cell phone and made a call.

“HI…! Sorry, I’m a bit in a snit right now after hearing a terrible story.”
“Yes I would, and could you call Sargent Miller and ask to have an office met us here?”
“Oh, and have a stenographer come as well so we can get the story on tape.”
“No, I think I’ll have Mrs. Swan take care of the boy until we find out more. Okay, bye.”

Barbara turned her attention back to Timmy then asked him in her soft voice, “Timmy, I’m going to let Mrs. Swan take care of you for a while, would you like that?” It took a moment before Timmy nodded his head, telling the two women “yes.” Barbara then explained to Mary what they would be doing once the officer and the stenographer arrived. And because Barbara had the authority within the CPS to make such decisions, Mary would take charge of Timmy until the parents could be contacted to gather more information and get to the bottom of all this.

It was seven-thirty in the evening before Mary heard from his sister again. The phone rang and before Mary could hold the receiver to her ear she heard her sister say things which years ago would have gotten her mouth washed out with soap. As she always did when Barbara was the bull over the phone, Mary let out a very shrill whistle which ended Barbara’s rant stone dead. “Now,” Mary told her sister, “Would you mind coming back down to earth and try to calmly tell me what you just shouted at me?” Even as a child Barbara had been like this when at a full boil and trying to talk over the phone. It didn’t take long before Mary heard, “Um…sorry, again.” Now it was Mary’s turn to come to a full boil from what Barbara told her.

Barbara and the officer had gone to Timmy’s home and knocked on the front door. Timmy’s dad had answered the door and the minute she mentioned Timmy’s name his dad was off and running with, “What’d the little bastard do this time? What the hell did he cause this time?” The other three in the family heard dad yelling and came to investigate. That’s when all four people of that house got involved; recounting all the things Timmy had caused to happen, even when he wasn’t there how things happened. They even had the gall to tell Barbara to her face, “Even when the little bastard isn’t here things happened.” Barbara told Mary she wanted to grab the officer’s firearm and blow every one of those ignorant SOBs away. But the only thing she gave them was a court order to appear in child court and the day—Barbara had taken the time before going to Timmy’s home to speak with a judge and let him hear Timmy’s story. She told Mary she couldn’t repeat what the judge said after listening to the tape or it might get back to their mom.

The attorney with the CPS had done her work, because when the court date came she had summoned as many family members as she could to give testimony as to what they witnessed when Timmy and his family were at family gatherings. Suffice to say that when she was finished, Timmy was made a ward to Mary and her husband. His family didn’t get off Scot free by any means. They all received community service for two years from 6 p.m. on Friday until 6 p.m. on Sunday, every weekend. They were also ordered to pay a substantial monthly amount for Timmy’s support. Plus, three time a week they were to attend an hour session with a psychologist. And, AND, if they refused to comply or tried to skip town a fugitive warrant would be issued and Timmy’s parents and older brother would end up in prison for a least five years while his sister would spend her time until she turned eighteen in juvie then the rest of her time in prison. They were also given a restraining order that forbid them from ever contacting Timmy or being near him without Mary or her husband being there. But the important thing was that Timmy now had a home with loving parents who would help him try and deal with what he suffered through and get him the help he needed. His next appointment was with a Dr. Irene something or other.

As Jack and Marsha walk out of the supply closet Jack turns and looks up at her before saying, “It was nice of you to help me, thank you.” Marsha smiles then bends down and hugs the boy while telling him, “You very welcome Jack.” Marsha watches as Jack walks away from her, still surprised how much Jack looks like a ten-year-old girl in the clothes he’s wearing. As she watches, Jack walks over to Mary where he stops in front of her and politely waits until Mary and the other woman have stopped talking.

Mary had seen Jack coming her way as she and Barbara continue to talk about Timmy’s future. Jack stopped before her and waited until she and Barbara had finished talking before he spoke up. “Mrs. Swan, I want to apologize for the mess and hope it didn’t cause any problems.” Mary had to smile at both the boy’s politeness and his willingness to step up to take responsibility for something that wasn’t anyone’s fault. She reached out and took Jack’s hand before telling him, “Jack there is no need to apologize because it was just an accident. And as to problem being created, no Jack, that accident helped solve a problem which had been occurring for several years. That accident helped give Timmy a chance at a new life. Jack, you helped Timmy have that chance just because you were here today.” Mary had observed Jack for only four hours but it was enough to understand the face he now wore was his thinking face. His only reply was, “Oh, okay.” Then to Timmy’s surprise Jack asked, “Are you going to be here next Saturday Timmy?” When Timmy heard his name he looked at Jack only to have Jack repeat the question. After Jack repeated the question Timmy looked up at Mary and saw she was nodding her head, with a pleading look in her eyes. Timmy turned back to Jack and told him, “Sure, see you next Saturday.”

Barbara had sat quietly watching the exchange between Jack, Timmy, and Mary before she looked at Mary with a question on her face. Mary held up her hand letting Barbara to wait and she’d explain. Both woman watched as Jack walked out of the class and into the hallway before Mary told the whole story which lead up to her being called. Barbara just shook her head before telling Mary how much he looks like a ten-year-old girl.

Irene had arrived at the Community Center at noon to pick up Jack from his art class. It was now ten after and she still didn’t see Jack. As she watched the doors, expecting Jack to walk out any minute, a young girl about Jack’s age walked out through the open door and headed towards she was waiting. As the girl got closer Irene could see she was carrying a plastic garbage bag which contained something inside. Irene’s mouth fell open when she heard, “Hi mom,” before the back door of the car opened and the little girl placed the plastic bag on the floor before closing the door and opening the front door and getting into the car. “Um…Jack?” Irene questioned as she saw it was her Jack dresses in girl clothes. “Yeah mom, it’s me. There was an accident with some paint and this is all they could find for me to wear. My clothes are in the trash bag.” Irene still couldn’t get over how much Jack look like a little girl dressed as he was, but was a bit concerned when she saw he was wearing panties. “Um, Jack, please get out of the car so you can sweep the back of that skirt under you as you sit down. And remember to keep your legs together as you get out and back in.” All Jack said as a reply was, “Okay.” Irene watched as Jack did as she had told him, keeping his legs together when he got out then sweeping the skirt and keeping his legs together as he got back into the car. It was strange watching her son do as she said because to her it seemed he had done this several times before; he even kept his legs together as he sat. She would need to speak with William about what she saw Jack do. “We were going to do a bit of shopping after your art class, but I guess you’d like to go straight home and change?” As Irene asked her question she watched as Jack mulled it over before he told her, “No, it would be a waste of time to take me home to change then go shopping. We should go shopping before going home.” Irene took several minutes to study Jack’s face, to see if there was any fear or distress or anything else which showed he was unwilling to be seen as he was dressed. Seeing none she asked him, “Are you sure? People will see you dressed in girl’s clothing and some might be kids from school.” Again Jack mulled over her question before telling her, “I’m sure, let’s go.” So with Jack dressed in girls’ clothing he and Irene went shopping, and Irene hoped Jacked could withstand what the kids were going to say if they saw how he was dressed.

~~~~Chapter 3~~~~

Their first stop was at the mall, and during the drive over Irene tried to access Jack’s overall stability dressed as he was. “How did you come to be dressed as you are, Jack?” Irene asked her son, amazed at his demeanor so far, his sitting with his hands folded in his lap, and his knees together with both feet on the floor, and listening intently as he related the entire story. Glancing occasionally as she drove while listening to Jack tell his story, Irene could not get over how much her son resembled a ten-year-old girl, even with his hair only down to the bottom of his ears. She could see that if his hair were down to his shoulders he would be mistaken for a girl because of how he was dressed; she would need to speak to William about her suspicions. “…and Marsha could only find girls’ clothes in the lost and found so I thought it was better to wear clothes than a towel.” Jack finished his tale and was once again silent. “Um…Jack…how do girls’ clothes compare to boys’ clothes,” Irene asked to see if Jack had processed the difference. Because the family was used to Jack mulling over questions he’d never been asked, Irene waited as Jack gathered the information he needed. It wasn’t long before Jack told her, “…well, they don’t fit as tight as boys’ clothes, and my legs feel freer than in my pants. I like how much better the panties fit, and the blouse feels real nice. It’s kind of different walking in these shoes but that’s okay too.” As Jack became silent once again, Irene knew he had finished answering her question, but she had one more question to ask. “Um, Jack, would you like to wear girls’ clothes more often, maybe we could buy you more today?” Irene glanced at Jack only to see that his face had his “I’m thinking” look to it so she would wait until Jack was ready to answer her last question. Her wait was extremely long, because Jack didn’t answer until they had entered the mall and Jack pulled her aside before telling her, “I wasn’t sure how to answer your question ‘cause I’d only walked in the clothes out to the car. But now that I walked in them from where you parked the car to the mall, I really like how they feel when I walk. I like how my legs feel without having pants on. And I think I might like wearing these more often, and maybe we could buy more while we’re here?” Irene was not upset by Jack’s answer; she kind of expected his answer. Irene needed to call William right now and talk with him about all of this, and had noticed Jack studiously examining an exhibit just inside the mall entrance. “Jack I need to call you father, why don’t you get a closer look at that exhibit that’s caught your attention?” William needed to know what Jack had just told her, and needed to know his decision to shop with her dressed as he was dressed. And she didn’t need him to hear her side of the conversation so she was relieved when Jack replied, “Okay.”

Irene dialed William’s cell phone number and when he answered, “Hi hon, it’s me, can you talk?” And for the next fifteen Irene explained what she observed when picking Jack up at the Community Center, how he was dress and why. Irene told William about Jack telling her they should “go shopping because it would take too long for them to go home so he could change.” She told him about the questions she asked Jack and his replies, all done in Jack’s usual manner. Then Irene dropped the “bomb” and told William what Jack told her when she asked if he’d like to wear girls’ clothing more often and we could buy him more today. Irene and William had discussed Jack demeanor so often in the past, not to mention his more feminine actions, actions which were hardly noticeable unless you knew what to look for.

William Winslow was almost like Jack when it came to mulling things over, but what Irene just told him was a topic he had been thinking about since the last time he and Irene discussed what to do for Jack. He was also like Irene in that he didn’t want to see Jack hurt if they steered him towards his feminine side, but felt he may be heading that direction anyway. Irene helped William make up his mind when she told him, “Hon, I really think we should let Jack do this and see where he goes with it and how he handles how people may react.” William told her, “I believe you are right, Jack should be allowed to do this since it is something he asked to do. But we need to make sure we monitor him and be there if and when he needs us. And we need to talk to the girls and ask them to help Jack in any way they can.” Irene told William those were her thoughts too before telling him “I love you, see you soon.”

Irene had just hung up after talking to William when she heard, “Hi Jack.” She looked up from where she sat and saw a girl, Kelly Miller from Jack’s class, walking over to her son. She knew this was the perfect time to see how Jack handled others while he was dressed in girl’s clothing. And as she listened she heard, “Hi Jack, why are you wearing girls’ clothing?” After Jack explained everything Kelly asked, “Doesn’t it bother you, aren’t you worried what others might say?” All Jack could answer was, “No it doesn’t bother me, they’re just clothes,” before an older, taller, boy walked up to Kelly and Jack. “Hi Michael, this is Jack Winslow, a boy in my class at school. Jack this is my brother Michael.” Michael was fourteen and a freshman at the high school. He was taller than Jack by about a foot and weighed a lot more than Jack. “That’s a boy?” Michael asked in a very snotty voice. “Michael!” Kelly almost yelled his name, “That is not nice! Jack is a very sweet boy.” Michael only laughed at his sister before telling her, “He’s a faggot, a sissy, a queer.” As Irene watched, Kelly stood right in front of her brother before kicking him hard in his shin. “OW, damn it Kelly.” While Michael was bent over holding his shin Kelly told him in a rather loud voice, “Mom warned you about calling people those names, and you know what she’s going to do if you were caught doing it again. Well, BROTHER, I caught you and now you’re going to get what mom promised.” Irene had to hold her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh because of not only how Kelly stood up to her older brother but because her brother was as white as a sheet; Irene could tell by the older boy’s face that he was not going to like what his mother was going to do.

But the older boy’s admonishment wasn’t over yet, as Jack took the two steps needed to stand right in front of the older boy. “Did you like it when your friends called you those names when you had to dress up as a girl for Halloween because you lost a bet—and your mom wouldn’t let you get out of it? Does it still bother you after all this time? Because if it still bothers you, why do you think it’s okay to call other people those names? Don’t you think it makes them feel as you still feel? I’m wearing these clothes because of an accident at the Community Center art program, and it would have taken too long to go home and change so my mom could go shopping. I didn’t want to ruin her shopping trip so I just wore these clothes. Now do you understand? Isn’t it better to think of my mom first before myself?” Irene pulled a tissue out of her purse and wiped her eyes after what Jack just said. Irene knew right then that she and William had made the right decision. Irene was about to get up when Michael said, “Um…yea, I’m sorry Jack; you’re right in everything you said. And Kelly, go ahead and tell mom what I said, I deserve it. Sorry, Jack, I was wrong.” Irene had seen Jack put his sisters in line when they went too far, but had never seen him doing it with a total stranger. Jack had shamed Michael without actually making it obvious. He had caused the older, bigger boy, to back down and realize how wrong he had been. And Michael realized he was wrong because he wasn’t trying to get Kelly not to tell their mom what he had said. That young man doesn’t realize it but he’s grown up a lot today. Seeing Michael extend his hand and the two boys shake hands, Irene knew the confrontation was over and time to collect Jack for his shopping spree.

[Side note: When Irene arrived at the Children’s Hospital Monday morning, Mrs. Miller was waiting to speak with her concerning the incident at the mall on Saturday. Carol wanted to apologize for the way Michael had treated Jack, only finding out that Carol had nothing to apologize for because Michael had been the guilty party, and that Jack took it upon himself to straighten Michael out. Irene also found out that Carol and her husband had sat Michael down and explained the consequences should he get caught calling someone those names and that for the rest of the semester at school it would be Michelle or no more sports while he attended high school; with the school’s blessings because of some past incidents involving Michael, Michelle would be attending high school for the rest of the semester; they were also going to make sure no one bullied Michael because of how he would be dressed. Carol then asked Irene if she could make an appointment for Michelle, to see if Irene couldn’t get to the bottom of Michael’s attitude. Irene told Carol she’d be happy too. It was during their first session, several days later, that Michelle admitted that she had told her mom what had been said instead of Kelly. She felt so bad after Jack confronted her that she couldn’t let Kelly be involved. At that moment, like at the mall, Irene saw a young man grow just a bit more that morning.]

~~~~Chapter 4~~~~

Irene watched as Kelly and Jack said their goodbyes before collecting Jack to have a talk with him. After leading Jack over to the ledge of a nearby fountain, and sitting down, she told Jack, “Jack, I spoke with your father and we agree if you want to wear girls’ clothing more often then we will allow it.” Irene watched Jack mull over what she just told him before saying, “Thank you, I would still like to do that.” Seeing that Jack had made up his mind Irene started her mental shopping list for more girls’ clothes for a girl Jack’s age. When she came to dresses and skirts, because Jack was wearing a skirt she felt it should be Jack decision as to which he wanted to wear. “I’m having a hard time deciding whether to buy you skirts, dresses or both. Can you tell me which ones we should buy, Jack?” Irene knew the way she phrased the question that it would cause Jack to ponder the question before answering, but she didn’t expect his immediate reply of, “Can we buy both, would that be okay?” Irene bent down and kissed Jack on the cheek then said, “Of course sweetie, since that’s what you want.”

After lunch at the food court, as Irene took Jack to the different stories which catered to young girls, she explained how to coordinate her clothes, what colors paired well with what colors, what styles looked good on Jack, and all the other things mothers explained to their daughters about clothing. She even had Jack measured at one store and noticed during his being measured something odd about his chest. As a medical doctor she knew boys Jack’s age seldom had much chest development unless it ran in a family or because of a medical condition. Irene knew the history of hers and William’s family and knew all the males on both sides started developing around fifteen-years of age. But Jack showed signs of chest development which only occurred in girls, and at very specific locations on their chests. What Irene thought she was looking at were breast buds, on her son’s chest! As the young woman continued measuring Jack Irene stepped outside the changing room and made a phone call to a colleague who specialized in cases such as she saw on Jack’s chest, making the appointment for Monday afternoon after Jack got out of school. She had to know if her suspicions were correct, and if they were, what they needed to do to help Jack in the coming months. Because if her suspicions were correct, Jack may actually be Jackie, her third daughter; Irene wondered how William was going to take the news when she told him.

They left the mall with so many bags they had to have help caring them to the car. Besides the items Irene came for, Jack now had several very pretty dresses, skirts and blouses, camisoles, panties, slips, socks, hosiery, and shoes. Maybe Irene shouldn’t have been shocked, but she was, when Jack asked about buying bras. When she questioned Jack about it, all he replied was, “Don’t girls wear bras too?” By the look on Jack’s face Irene knew she’d never be a poker player when Jack told her, “Mom, since I’m going to be wearing girls’ clothing then I want to dress correctly.” So, when they left the mall one of their bags contained several training bras, which Jack chose once the right style was selected. It was now about four-thirty in the afternoon as they drove out of the mall parking lot, and Irene wanted a rather quick supper so she could talk with William for as long as need be, so she drove to one of the family’s favorite Chinese take-out place and ordered their usual. Tonight was going to be interesting when Jack walked into the house and the girls and William had their first look at Jack dressed in girls’ clothing. It might get even more interesting when she tells William what she observed concerning Jack’s chest.

Irene and Jack walked into the house with the first load of bags, which they took to Jack’s room. Their arrival home, and the noise caring the bags to Jack’s room, prompted Tracy and Marcy come into the living room just as Irene and Jack walked out the door to bring in the rest of the bags. Irene caught a fleeting glimpse of the girls coming into the living room and let Jack walk into the house first on their final trip from the car. The girl’s squealing and loud, “WOW Jack, you look nice in that outfit,” brought William out of the office and added his own, “Jack, I have to agree with the girls, you look very nice.” Most boys Jack’s age would be looking for the closest place to crawl under had they been seen wearing girls’ clothing. Not Jack, not even after being seen by every member of his family or Kelly and Michael Miller or everyone at the mall. Nope, all Jack told the rest of his family, “Thank you, I was hoping I looked alright.”

Over supper of Chinese take-out, Jack once again told the story how he came to wearing girls’ clothing, and that he thought they both felt nice and made it easier to move; he also admitted he liked having nothing covering his legs. Jack had been a bit careless and Tracy and Marcy were able to see that he was wearing panties, and being the imps they were couldn’t resist asking him, “How do you like wearing panties?” William grabbed Irene’s hand under the table and squeezed it hard, signaling Irene not to say anything. As the four watched, Jack put on his “thinking” face before telling his sisters, “They’re a lot softer than the underwear I usually wear and they fit better. I like them.” Both parents knew that most boys would be stammering and red faced by the question Tracy and Marcy asked, but Jack just took their question in stride and gave them his answer without so much as a red face or stammer. It was then Irene and William caught the look Tracy and Marcy gave each other and knew Jack was going to have sister time after supper and they had done their homework. Because of the look the two girls gave each other, Irene and William knew the kids were going to keep each other company tonight, and maybe Sunday, so they could discuss what was occurring with Jack. The three kids also knew the penalty for causing any problems while mom and dad were together talking.

“Okay,” Irene began, “If everyone is finished then let’s get the table cleared and the dished taken care of, because you three girls have homework to do.” Tracy, Marcy, and William caught the reference to Jack being a girl but didn’t correct Irene. If Jack caught Irene’s reference he didn’t let on, but William did see a very slight smile on Jack’s face and would make sure he told Irene what he saw. Jack got the duty to take the Chinese take-away boxes out to the trash cans, no sense leaving them in the kitchen waste basket to smell up the kitchen. William wiped off the table while Irene and the girls rinsed off what plates and silverware were used and placed them in the dishwasher. When Jack came back into the house, Irene told the three, “Okay girls, homework, go.” This time when Tracy and Marcy heard Jack referred to as a girl they both giggled as they headed to their bedrooms to work on their homework. This time, though, Jack replied, “Okay mommy,” as he headed to his bedroom.

William took Irene’s hand and led her into the office, closing the door before asking her, “Did you realize you referred to Jack as a girl when you told the kids about needing to do their homework while we were at the kitchen table? You did it again just after we finished in the kitchen.” Irene blinked her eyes a few times before realization hit her that William was right, she had called Jack a girl. “Oh my, how did he take it?” Irene asked as she started pacing the small office, worried she might have hurt Jack in some way by her inadvertent choice of works. William stood in front of her on one of her paces, took her hands, kissed the back of each one then led her to the small couch and had her sit down. He kept hold of her hands as he sat down and looked straight into Irene’s eyes, telling her, “Irene, he’s okay, he didn’t bat an eye when you told the “girls” they had homework to do or when you sent them off to do their homework. Tracy and Marcy caught what you said, and I don’t think they would disagree with you if that look they gave each other is any indication.” Irene pulled herself close to William then asked him, “What are we going to do Bill?”

For an hour and a half William and Irene spoke about Jack and this latest development, until there was a knock on the door, and after William saying loud enough to be heard, “Come in,” Tracy, Marcy, and Jack came into the office carrying their homework for their parents to look over. After accepting their homework papers, William told the three, “Tracy and Marcy, why don’t you two go with Jack and let him show you what he and mom bought for him today. Maybe he can model the clothes for you?” Hearing what their dad had just said, Tracy and Marcy’s faces lit up as bright as the sun, and as William and Irene watched, even Jack’s face had an uncharacteristic happy look to it; even his fleeting smile was bigger. The real surprise, though, was how talkative Jack was as the three left the office for Jack’s bedroom. He was extremely animated as he told his sisters what stores they shopped at and all they purchased. Before checking the kid’s homework, Irene told William the one last thing she was holding back, about what she saw on Jack’s chest. William nodded his head at hearing this, and then told her after she told him about the appointment she had made, “I’m glad you went ahead and made that appointment, we need to find out what Jack is starting to go through.” And as they checked the kid’s homework, they weren’t surprised they didn’t need to call any of the three and help them correct some of their work.

As was customary, once the kid’s homework was checked William and Irene would take it back to the kids and sit and talk with each one for a while. This time, because all three kids were in Jack’s bedroom, they could give back homework and sit and talk with all three at one time. When they reached Jack’s bedroom they heard Marcy tell Jack, “Okay now watch me, you gather up on leg then pull it over your foot, pulling it up until it goes just over your knee. Then you do the same for the other leg, and then after you get that leg over your knee you stand up and pull it the rest of the way up until it is at your waist. That’s it Jack, now pull it up a bit further, there, you did it. Now put that dress back on.” Irene and William started to enter Jack’s bedroom until they heard Tracy tell Jack, “Sit down on your bed so I can help you put these shoes on. And hold still while Marcy brushes your hair.” Then they heard Marcy tell Jack, “Now, hold real still so I can put a bit of makeup on you—mom only lets me use a little tiny bit.” William and Irene looked at each other when William mouthed to Irene, “I think we have a new daughter.” As William saw Irene nod, he also saw a tears slip out of her eyes; he pulled her close and kissed her, and then whispered, “I love you.”

Like listening for popcorn to stop popping when it’s being made in the microwave, Irene and William listened until they heard no more conversations, backed up several steps then acted like they were just coming down the hall to Jack’s room. To say they were taken aback would be an understatement, because as they entered Jack’s room they saw a very pretty ten-year-old girl standing before them wearing one of the new dresses, hosiery and one of the new pair of Mary Jane shoes. And the one thing which really caught their attention was the big smile Jack was exhibiting—something they’d hadn’t seen in six years, since Jack was four. Tracy and Marcy were standing next to Jack with a mixture of fear, uncertainty, and excitement on their faces. Fear because they thought they might have gone too far in dressing Jack, uncertainty because they didn’t know how their parents would react, and excitement because they both knew, and had known for some time, they really had a sister and not a brother and were excited at the prospects of what all the three could do together.

Seeing the astonished looks on his parent’s faces Jack asked, “Do I look alright, Marcy and Tracy helped me put everything together, even all the underclothes.” William sat the homework papers down on the desk near the bedroom door before placing his hands on Irene’s shoulders, as he saw tears starting to slide down her cheeks. “Yes, baby, you look alright, beautiful even,” she told Jack before walking out from under William’s hands only to kneel down in front of a very happy Jack. “You look absolutely beautiful, and Marcy and Tracy did a good job helping you choose.” More tears slid down her cheeks as she pulled Jack into a hug and told her, “You’re absolutely beautiful sweetheart.” William had walked over where Marcy and Tracy were standing while watching their mother and new sister hug, put his arm around their shoulders, pulled them close and whispered, “You guys did good,” before giving each a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks daddy,” William heard before receiving two kisses himself. Irene was right in making that appointment, William thought to himself, as he watch his wife bond with their new daughter. As mother and new daughter pulled apart, Jack noticed his mother had been crying and wondered why. “Mommy, why are you crying?” Jack asked his mother as he reached up and wiped the tears away. Irene giggled before replying, “I’m just so very happy for you, honey, so very happy.” Jack’s smile got even bigger as he hugged his mother again before telling her, “I love you mommy.”

William guided Tracy and Marcy to Jack’s bed and sat them down on the bed. He then motioned to Irene to sit on the other side of Tracy before having Jack stand before the four. “Jack you are an unbelievably beautiful little girl, so we can’t keep calling you Jack, now can we?” Jack laughed at that before telling his father, “No, guess we can’t,” and laughed again—another something which Jack did so seldom. “So,” William began, “What name should we use?” The four watched as Jack put on his “thinking” face before asking them, “Would Joslyn be okay with everyone?” As Joslyn watched, first her mom nodded her head yes, then Tracy nodded her head yes, then Marcy nodded her head yes, and William told her, “Yes, that’s a wonderful name, Joslyn.” Four very happy people almost crushed Joslyn as they all pulled her into a family hug, and four very happy people had to wipe their eyes too.

Irene and William both knew there was more that had to be done before Joslyn could be legally recognized, so Irene told Joslyn, “Joslyn, we still have a lot to do before you can become Joslyn all the time. So until then Jack will have to attend school. Joslyn can be at home all she wants, and shopping too, but Jack will need to be at school. Okay?” Their new daughter, standing before them, seemed to have changed in the blink of an eye. Where Jack would have thought about a question put before him, Joslyn simply told his parents, “That’s okay, I do understand.” With that statement, Joslyn hugged and kissed his mother, sisters, and dad, getting the same in return, before William got up to get their homework and return it. Irene glanced at the clock on the wall in Joslyn’s room and proclaimed it was bed time, getting an “Awww…” from the three girls. But “the look” from William got the three moving and a “We’ll help you Joslyn,” from Tracy. Irene and William left the three to get ready for bed and went into the living room to talk, but wasn’t long before the three girls came in to say they were ready for bed. With the girls in the lead, and Irene and William trailing, as each girl went into their bedroom, Irene or William would go in and tuck them into bed, giving each a hug and kiss before the other parent came and did the same. As Irene and William walked back down the hall, they hear their three girls saying goodnight to each other. William heard Irene sniff and noticed she once again had tears running down her cheeks. Seeing William notice her tears she merely told him, “I’m just so happy for her, that’s all.” William knew that was what she wanted him to hear, but knew she held back that she’d miss having Jack around. And so would he. But as he thought about it, their son was now more happier than he had been in years, so maybe this was the best for all of them.

~~~~Chapter 5~~~~

Jack’s alarm started blaring at six-thirty, which meant it was Monday, a school day, the day Jack would be attending school. After shutting off the alarm, Jack got up, made his bed then headed to the bathroom. Once done in the bathroom he got dressed in his Jack clothes, already missing his Joslyn clothes, and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. As Jack entered the kitchen Irene could already see that the pre-accident, pre-weekend Jack had returned, the Jack who seldom, if ever, smiled or laughed, the Jack who never showed emotions or could be insulted because he gave better than he got. That Jack, they later found out, was suffering because he didn’t want to let anyone in the family down. The Jack Irene so wanted to help but could only help as a mother could, not a professional. “Hi sweetie, did you sleep okay?” Irene asked Jack as she had to stifle a catch in her throat as she spoke. She knew for sure Jack had returned when all he did was nod his head, and then sit down at the kitchen table. “Jack, I will come and pick you up right after school for your appointment, okay?” As Irene reminded Jack about his appointment, she saw the question wash over his face, but he only replied as he always did, “Okay.” Tracy and Marcy came into the kitchen a short time after Jack, but all three finished breakfast about the same time, so the three kissed their mom goodbye and headed out of the house to catch the bus for school. Irene watched the kids walk out of the front door and when the door closed, sat down at the kitchen table and nursed her cup of coffee. It wasn’t long before a pair of arms wrapped around her before she received a kiss and a “Morning, have I told you how much I love you?” William’s kiss on the cheek wasn’t enough for her right at that moment, so she reached up and pulled him down and gave him a very lustful kiss. William knew from past experience that Irene kissed him that way for one of two reasons. She either was hornier than a horny toad, or she was hurting and needed his comfort. By the way she pulled his arms tight around her he guessed she needed his comfort right now. William had bent down so his cheek was next to Irene’s before softly telling her, “Sweetheart, he’ll be okay. He’s a lot stronger than either of us knew. We just have to let him be Joslyn as much as we can until she can be Joslyn full time—if that’s what Jack wants.” William felt tears wet his cheek before Irene said in a choked voice, “Yes, I know that, but it still hurts not being able to help him any more than being there when he needs us.” “Irene,” William said as he let go of her then turned her chair around to face him before kneeling down in front of her, wiping the tears off her cheeks and telling her, “Being there when our children need us is what we do as parents. We support them in whatever they decide, but within limits. Finding out about Joslyn and having her with us this weekend, I think we helped Jack much more than any time since he was born. You saw that Joslyn is a completely different person, she’s more open, chatty, she smiles, and she laughs. Oh we’ve seen Jack smile, some, over the years, but nothing like Joslyn did the entire weekend. Sweetheart, we did better with our kids this weekend than we’ve done in the entire time they’ve been with us. Now can we do much more as parents?” Irene bent down and gave William another lustful kiss before telling him, “I hope the kids sleep soundly tonight, I’d hate to wake them at the wrong time.” Giving his wife his own lustful kiss, William knew it was going to be hard to concentrate on work today because of what he and Irene would be doing tonight after the kids were asleep.

Tracy and Marcy watched their brother as they rode the bus to school. Both could see their Jack had returned and they were worried he’d have trouble getting through the day at school, so they made sure to talk with Jack once they were off the bus at school. “Jack wait up,” Marcy called Jack. Walking up to Jack she asked, “Are you going to be okay today in school?” Jack was never one to waste words when an action would suffice, so as he always did, he simply nodded his head. “Are you sure,” asked Tracy, getting another nod from Jack. “If you need help or need to talk come find us at recess, okay?” And as their brother always said when asked this type of question, he simply replied, “Okay.” The two sisters watched as Jack walked off towards his classroom, with Tracy telling Marcy, “I sure hope he told us the truth and he will be okay today.” Marcy put her arm around his sister and told her, “So do I sis.”

The school bell rang a precisely 3 o’clock in the afternoon, signaling the end of the school day. Because of the location of the kid’s classrooms, Jack and Tracy caught up with Marcy as she was standing outside of her classroom waiting for them. Both girls knew Jack had an appointment right after school so they walked with him to where their mother would pick up Jack. Seeing their mother already waiting as they walked out of school, the girls walked with Jack to the car to say high to their mom before boarding the bus for home. What they didn’t expect was for their mother to tell them, “Girls, I’d really like it if you’d come with us.” Both girls could see their mom was worried, and scared, and wondered why, so they did the only thing they would do and that was to tell their mom, “Sure mom, we’d like that.” It was, after all, the truth. Irene had planned to not only have Jack examined but to have the girls talk to a colleague to glean their feelings at seeing Joslyn and to see how they feel about Jack. Irene was scared the girls would balk at the suggestion they talk with her friend and colleague, because she had never mentioned it to them. She hoped, hoped, after seeing how they responded to Joslyn they would be willing to talk for a few minutes. That’s why she had her fingers crossed as she drove them to the hospital.

As the four entered the hospital Irene led them to the elevator, where she pressed the button for the second floor when they were all in the elevator. Once they reached the second floor, and Irene had checked Jack in for his exam, Irene had the three sit before explaining what she’d like the girls to do. It was at this time the three kids saw a woman approach them and their mom and the woman hug before their mom told them, “Marcy, Tracy, this is Dr. Terry Lion. Girls and you can say no if you want, no one will get angry if you do, but I’d like you two to go with Dr. Terry and talk with her while I’m with Jack during his exam.” Terry and Irene watched the two girls as they seemed to have a silent conversation as they looked at each other, before Tracy asked, “What about?” With that question Irene felt certain the girls would talk with Terry so she told them, “About this past weekend and before the weekend.” They had another silent conversation before looking towards Jack, and then their mom and Terry. Both women saw the slight nods from both girls before Marcy told them, “Sure mom, we’ll do it.” It was at that point Dr. Michael Oslow, another one of Irene’s colleague, came to collect Irene and Jack for Jack’s exam. “Jack, this is Dr. Michael Oslow, he’ll be doing your exam today,” Irene told Jack before Dr. Michael said, “Hi Jack, you can call me Dr. Michael and it’s nice to meet you.”

Michael watched Jack as he processed what had just been said, and saw no outward show of emotions. Michael noticed too that Jack’s eyes seemed close to being dead, having no spark which could be used to tell how a person was really feeling. “How about we go back and get your exam started, what’d you say?” Michael wanted to get Jack talking, wanted to get more of a feeling where Jack was currently at in his mental development. Dr. Michael did get Jack talking but got a bit more than he expected. “Hi Dr. Michael, it’s nice to meet you too. Will you be doing a Sonogram, MRI, or CAT scan during my exam?” Jack asked Michael at which Michael raised an eyebrow while looking at Irene only to get a mouthed, “He reads a lot” from Irene. At Irene’s response to his silent question he turned to Jack and told him, “Well, I am going to do a Sonogram on you to see if anything might show up with requires the other to exams. I’m going to look at your body all over,” and here Michael got a bit conspiratory as he leaned in and lowered his voice before saying, “That means you’ll have to take all your clothes off.” Michael watched for a reaction from Jack because of he just told Jack, but saw none and continued telling Jack what he was going to do. “I’m going to check your reflexes, inside your mouth, ears, and nose. I’ll listen to your heart and lungs, and then I’m going to check your boy-parts,” Michael told Jack before Jack said, “You mean my penis?” Michael again gave Irene the raised eyebrow only to see her mouth, “He reads a lot,” again from Irene. In the past, when Michael examined other ten-year-olds, he explained what he was going to do in much the same way he just told Jack. But it seemed he was dealing with a ten-year-old who was more of a college graduate than a ten-year-old grade school boy. Michael chuckled before telling Jack, “Yes Jack, I mean your penis, your genitals. I will also be taking a blood sample, several in fact, so we can see if you have any deficiencies which need to be corrected. And besides your mom being in the room with us, I’ll also have a nurse there as well. How’s all that sound?” Michael had given Jack a lot of information in a short period of time, so when Jack didn’t respond right away Michael gave Irene another eyebrow which earned him a mouth, “He’s thinking.” What was a short time to Irene but an eternity to Michael, Jack finally told Michael, “Okay.”

While Jack, Irene, and Michael went to an exam room down one hall, Terry took the girls down another hall, around a corner and to her office two doors down that hall and on the right. Terry opened her office door and allowed the girls to enter first, before telling the girls sit in whatever chair they wanted. Terry had been evaluating both girls from the time she met the girls until they entered her office. She had to suppress a laugh when Tracy giggled as she sat down in one of the bigger, more comfortable, chairs and it almost swallowed her whole. “Girls, would you like something to drink; water, soda, ice tea, I don’t think your mom would like you having coffee.” Tracy told Terry, “water,” as did Marcy. As Terry gave both girls a medium sized bottle of water, she told them, “Tracy, Marcy, let me say first off neither of you are in any trouble, if that had crossed your minds. Your mom and dad have been worried about Jack for some time, and until the paint incident Friday, and the excellent job you two did helping Joslyn get dressed, they didn’t know how to help him or what to help him with. Your mom had told me that your parents have talked with the two of you about Jack and you did tell them some things, but they felt you were keeping something to yourselves, and thought you might be willing to tell someone else. Do you girls know more about Jack than you told your parents?” Because neither girl reacted with hostility to her question she believed they had withheld some information about Jack and were willing to divulge more. As she watched, they looked at each other until she saw Tracy nod her head slightly before Marcy started to speak. “Dr. Terry, it’s true, we didn’t tell mom and dad everything we thought or saw about Jack because we thought doing so would get him in trouble.” Marcy looked at Tracy again only to receive another head nod, so she continued. “You see, Dr. Terry, when Tracy was about five and I was nine, we started noticing something different about Jack. Not the fact that the other boys hardly ever let him play sports with them, or that Jack was reading most of the time, but just something the other boys didn’t have. And as Tracy and I got older and learned more about girl things, we talked one day and both realized that Jack had more girl mannerisms than boy mannerisms. I mean, you had to really look to see them, but they were there and Tracy and I did see them. And then when Jack came home Friday dressed in girl clothes, Tracy and I believed he had finally told mom about what we believed all along, that he actually wanted to be a girl. I can see by the look on your face that you find some of what I said hard to believe, but how many boys have you spoken too who would sit with their sisters as they looked at their moms’ fashion magazines or be around listening when their girl-friends came over to their house? No Dr. Terry, Tracy and I think we actually have a sister who was afraid to tell her parents for fear he would let everyone down.”

Terry was very impressed with the two girls sitting before her. Their ability to express themselves, given their ages, their deep concern for their brother and parents, and the insight they displayed made them truly remarkable young girls. “Marcy, Tracy, after Joslyn appeared Saturday night with your help, and you saw how your parents reacted, can you now see that had Jack told your parents he would not have been in any trouble? That all your parents wanted to do was help him the best way they could? Have you heard the saying, 20/20 is hindsight?” When both girls showed they didn’t know Terry explained it to them. “It means that we know now what we didn’t know in the past. Like you two believed Jack was actually Joslyn but weren’t one hundred percent sure until last Saturday evening when you two help her emerge. I know for a fact that your mom and dad are really proud of you two for what you did. When you saw Jack Friday you could have made fun of him and even ridiculed him, instead, you accepted him. And Saturday, you two helped him with what he wanted to do. I can tell you not many sisters would have done what your two did in order to help their brother.” As Terry was speaking, she saw a frown appear on Tracy’s face before she heard Tracy say, “But he’s our brother, why would we ever make fun of him?” After hearing what Tracy said, Terry wondered if Irene and William knew just how special these two girls were? Just then Terry’s phone rang. When she answered it, the girls heard her say to the caller, “Okay, we’re about done here. I’ll bring them down.” After Terry hung up the phone she told the girls, “That was your mom, Jack is going to have an MRI done today and I’m to take you girls down to that waiting room where your mom is waiting. So, do either of you have anything more you’d like to tell me? And do you girls mind if I share our conversation with your mom and dad?” Both girls shook their heads before Terry noticed a tear rolled down Tracy’s cheek before she asked, “Are you going to be able to help Jack?” Holding back her own tears, Terry walked over to the little girl, knelt before her, took her into a hug and told her, “We’re going to try sweetheart, we’re going to try our very best.”

Terry stood up, cleared her throat before telling the girls, “Come on, let’s go find your mom.” Terry took the girls to the elevator and down to the first floor, before leading them through several doors and hallways to the waiting room for the MRI and their waiting mom. As Irene noticed the three enter the waiting room, she got up and pulled the girls into a hug before asking, “How’d it go? Was it alright?” After both girls told her it was alright, she told them to go sit down she wanted to speak with Dr. Terry. Terry could see there was worry written all over Irene’s face, so now was not the time to tell her all the girls had said—she suspected Irene wanted to wait until the girls were not around because she may have something to tell her about Jack. Before Irene could speak, Terry told her, “Why don’t you and William come see me when you both have time and we can talk? I think you have other matters on your mind right now.” Terry reached up and wiped a tear off Irene’s cheek before Irene nodded at Terry’s suggestion. “I will tell you something though. Those two girls are something special, and worried about Jack.” She hugged Irene, kissed her cheek, said goodbye to the girls and went back to her office to transcribe her session with Tracy and Marcy—it was a good, and bad, thing she had an eidetic memory so she didn’t have to take the time to write notes during sessions.

The door to the MRI opened and Dr. Oslow came out, walking over to Irene and the two girls. “Irene, they’re going to be about another hour and a half. Why don’t you three go to the cafeteria and get something to eat or drink? I’ll come and get you when we’re done.” At the mention of food, Irene realized she was hungry, and the girls were probably too. “Thanks Michael, I think we’ll do that. How’s he doing?” Michael went on to tell her that Jack was a true trooper, and hasn’t given them any problems. Michael squeezed Irene’s shoulder before going back in the MRI room. Irene took out her cell phone and called William.

“Hi, we’re going to be at least an hour and a half longer.”
“Michael says he’s doing fine.”
“Not yet, we’re going to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Why don’t you pick up something for yourself on your way home, or there are some things in the fridge you can nuke.”
“There doing fine, they talked with Terry for a while.”
“Yeah, I will. I love you too.”
Irene knew Bill all too well. Knowing him he’d get a piece of ham or some left over chicken and eat that with crackers, and call it a meal.

Irene put her cell phone away then asked, “Are you girls hungry?” Getting a nod from both girls, she flicked her head towards the door to the waiting room before telling the girls, “Let’s go to the cafeteria and see what we can find.” Irene hated to leave with Jack going through the MRI procedure, but she had to think about the needs of Tracy and Marcy so she forced herself out of the chair and taking the girls’ hands, headed towards the cafeteria. As they walked down the halls and through several doors, Irene had two thoughts, well one thought and an argument, going on in her head at the same time. The thought was that the cafeteria was usually busy at noon and for the evening meals, so they’d have to wait in line for about ten minutes to reach the serving line—unless the cafeteria was serving something no one liked. The argument was with herself, over whether to tell Tracy and Marcy what Michael told her after doing the Sonogram and why Jack was undergoing an MRI. That argument joined another one that cropped up about asking the girls what they told Terry—she and William were going to meet with her after all.

When they reached the cafeteria there was a long line, so the cafeteria was serving something tasty. As they waited in line, Irene’s internal argument continued, not going unnoticed by both Tracy and Marcy; their moms’ struggle was written on her face. The girls looked at each other and it was decided they’d ask what was bothering their mom after they sat down at a table. As Irene predicted, they reached the serving line after about ten minutes, made their selections, paid for the meals and found a table out of the way of prying ears. Both girls could see that their mom was still struggling with something so Tracy asked, “Mommy, why are you upset?” Irene’s internal arguments with herself had come to a standstill. On the one hand they needed to know so they could help Jack if what Michael suspected was true. On the other hand would they understand what Michael suspected if it was true. Irene thoughts had come to a standstill until she heard Tracy ask her question, a question which gave her the opening she couldn’t find herself.

“Girls, I have something I need to tell you about Jack but I’m not sure you’ll understand. When Dr. Michael performed a Sonogram on Jack he thought he saw something which needed to be examined further. He thought it might be urgent and since there was an opening for the MRI machine, they took Jack in for an MRI. All Dr. Michael said was that it looked like some type of mass or structure, and that the MRI would give him a much clearer picture of what he was looking at.” Irene reached across the table and took Tracy’s hand when she saw tears forming in her little girls’ eyes. “Sweetheart, we don’t know if it’s bad or good so we just need to be brave and hope that it’s good, okay?” Tracy reached up and wiped tears off her cheeks before telling her mom, “Okay mommy.” Irene decided to go for broke by asking the two, “Would you girls be willing to tell me what you spoke to Dr. Terry about and what you told her?” Jack mulling a question over was not as strange as what the girls did. As Irene watched, Tracy looked at Marcy and Marcy looked at Tracy before Marcy nodded her head and Tracy proceeded to tell their mom about the talk with Dr. Terry.

“So you see mommy, we didn’t tell you everything because we thought we’d get Jack into trouble, or something.” Irene was dumbfounded. Here her daughters were only worried about their brother getting into trouble if he told everything that was bothering him. Irene mentally shook her head, because she could not figure what she and William had done to instill in them to think of others before themselves. But here they were doing it for Jack. “Have you girls heard of 20/20 hindsight?” And before she could explain what it meant, Marcy told her what Dr. Terry said it meant. “My dear sweet girls, Jack would not have been in trouble had he told me and his dad. It would have explained a lot and we could have gotten help sooner. Now, you have got to promise me that if either of you need to tell me or your dad anything you do it right away, don’t hide it. Okay?” As if both girls were tied together they synchronously said, “We promise mommy.” Irene reached across the table and took both girls’ hands and squeezed gently before telling them, “I love you two dearly,” and squeezed their hands again. “Oh and girls, what you said about your believing Jack was a girl, well it just might be true.”

A figure coming toward their table caught Irene’s eye and she looked up to see Michael heading to their table; she glanced at the clock on the wall and saw they’d been in the cafeteria a little over an hour. “Hi everyone,” Michael said as he came to a stop at their table, “We’re done and just helping Jack out of the MRI machine. We will be giving him something to drink and make sure he’s okay before we help him get dressed and let you take him home. If you’ll come with me we’ll go see how he’s doing.” Three trays are bussed before the three follow Michael back to the waiting room for the MRI, only to find a nurse sitting with Jack as he sips on a bottle of water. Tracy and Marcy may be future track stars because they reached Jack quicker than the eye can blink. Both hugged him before Marcy asked him, “Well, spill, how’d it go?” Irene, Tracy, and Marcy heard Jack do something he’d never done, he chuckled. In Jack’s short ten years on earth no one, not even William, heard him chuckle. “It was SOOO loud,” he told them before chuckling again. The way Jack told them it was loud got even Irene laughing, and strangely, Jack too.

Irene suddenly realized she wasn’t seeing Jack right now but Joslyn, Jack’s feminine self. She tugged on Michael’s arm and walked a few feet away so the kids couldn’t hear what she said to Michael. “Michael, I think who you’re seeing right now is Joslyn, Jack’s true identity. When the girls helped him dress Saturday he acted almost exactly like he’s doing now. See how he’s more open with the girls, and laughing with them? That’s Joslyn’s personality coming out.” Michael watched Jack for a few minutes before comparing him to the boy he saw before the exams started, and the differences were glaring. Where the boy he first saw was solemn but polite, the boy he saw now was more open and chatty. “Are you getting him counseling?” Michael asked Irene as he saw her nod her head as she watch the three interact. “I’ve asked Terry to become his, or I should say her, counselor. But a lot will depend on the results of the tests. Which will be done when?” Irene asked Michael, getting a, “About two weeks,” from him. “Um mommy, I’m kind of hungry. Can we get something to eat,” Jack asked his mom. “Oh you bet we can hon. Where would you like to go?” Irene hugged Jack and kissed him on the cheek before flicking her head towards the waiting room doors and saying, “Come on gang. Let’s go get something to eat.”

~~~~Chapter 6~~~~

“Would Chinese take-out be okay with everyone?” Jack asked as Irene drove towards many of their favorite eating places. After Tracy and Marcy said they were okay with Jack’s choice, Irene then said, “I’m fine with that choice, Jack, and I imagine your dad will be too, since you three have seen what your father sometimes calls a meal.” That statement caused all four to laugh, not in ridicule but in that one piece of meat and some crackers was considered a meal by their dad and husband. As Irene drove she kept glancing at Jack sitting in the front passenger seat, and saw a more lively, more animated boy than she’d seen that morning; and she suspected why, Joslyn would be with the family tonight.

Five bags of Chinese take-out were carried into the house, placed on the kitchen table before a rocket took off headed towards Jack’s bedroom. Slightly slower but not by much, Tracy and Marcy hurriedly followed in their brothers’ wake, they too heading to Jack’s bedroom to help Joslyn get dressed. The smell of the Chinese food brought William out of the office, where he saw Irene slowly shaking her head all the while having a big smile on her face. “Mmm, that smells good,” William said before hugging and kissing Irene. “Why the shaking head and smile? And where are the kids?” William asked these questions as he started removing the containers from the sacks. Irene said one name, “Joslyn,” before she started helping William then putting the sacks in the recycle bin. “How forgetful of me, after all we want him to be Joslyn as much as he wants at home.” Irene couldn’t let William throw out a statement like that without some comeback, so she told him, “And here you claim to have a perfect memory.”

At Irene’s dig William looked up and Irene saw the imp look in his eyes, and his imp smile on his face. William started to slowly walk toward Irene to which Irene told him, “Don’t you dare, William CHARLES Winslow,” but William kept walking slowly toward her, while she started slowly backing up. “So, I don’t have a perfect memory, huh? And you know I hate it when you say Charles like that. You are going to pay and pay dearly.” And with a squeal, Irene was off around the kitchen table with William hot on her heels. The kids had seen their parents do this before and thought it was funny, as they did now as they watched from the archway to the kitchen. Irene squealed again as William swatted her bottom, before finally grabbing her and pulling her into him only to give her a very deep and passionate kiss. As the kids did in the past, they clapped and cheered when their dad finally caught their mom and began kissing her. Those two adult kids never realized that their clowning around would help their kids see how to do something which kept a fire burning, which helped to keep a couple together. The clapping and cheering got the attention of their parents, and as they did in the past, they both bowed to the kids and simply told them, “Thank you, thank you,” before all five went into a family hug.

The family hug broke up when a stomach rumbled, and Joslyn said, “Can we eat now? I’m hungry.” Tracy and March had stepped back away from Joslyn so she was standing alone facing her parents. And as they watched, both parents kneeled down in front of Joslyn before almost saying together, “You are so beautiful tonight.” The two girls had moved so they could see both Joslyn’s face and their parents’ faces at the same time. The two girls were beaming as they saw the bright smile on Joslyn’s face, and heard an almost whispered, “Thank you,” from Joslyn before she put one arm around their moms’ neck and the other around their dads’ before hugging them both. Tracy went into the bathroom and brought back a box of tissues, they all were going to need them. Even though their parents thought their kids were asleep, the three heard almost everything their parents were doing in bed. They never let on that this wasn’t the first time they’d heard their parents making love, and their parents wouldn’t know for some time how much all their antics and their love making would help their kids cement relationships in their own kids’ marriages. They didn’t realize it, but they were teaching their kids how to love.

The days passed, with Jack going to school and Joslyn being present at home and when they went shopping they talked about Joslyn going to the Saturday art program but decided to wait until the test results came back. Irene was in her office at the Children’s Hospital when there was a knock on her door and Michael walked in; the knot in her stomach suddenly tightened. “Hi Michael,” Irene said with as much strength in her voice as she could manage. “What brings you here today?” Michael sat down in the chair in front of her desk before telling her, “The test results are back. Would you like to hear them now or when William can be with you?” Michael had worked with Irene long enough and could tell by the expression on her face how she was feeling at any given time, and right now she looked worried. “Before you answer, Irene, why not call William and find out when he is free and can be here with you?” Michael saw Irene visibly relax at his suggestion before she told him, “I’ll do that Michael, and get back with you to let you know.” When Michael saw her worried face return he stood up, walked around her desk, gave her a hug, and said, “Relax Irene, it’s all good news.” Michael found out just how wound up Irene had been over her son as she put her head on his shoulder and sobbed. Michael held her until she cried herself out, then told her again, “It’s all good news Irene, All. Good. News.” Irene tried to calm down before she told Michael, “Thank you for that news, Michael, and the shoulder.” As Irene pulled back from Michael, he kissed her cheek before saying, “That’s what friends are for.” He kissed her cheek again before waving bye and leaving her office. The knot that had been in Irene’s stomach was gone, hearing it was all good news had relieved the worries Irene had carried for the past two weeks. She picked up the phone on her desk, dialed an outside line before calling William and giving him the good news. She also told him she needed him again after the kids were asleep, only to squeal because of what William told her over the phone. To anyone who had seen this couple together, it wasn’t hard to tell how much they loved and supported each other.

That evening, while the kids were doing homework, William checked his upcoming schedule before calling the groups’ scheduler to have her contact his next days’ 5 p.m. appointment and reschedule it for the following day. He got a bit of static but reminded the man that he was still on probation and could be let go at any time and for any reason; William wasn’t about to tell the SOB anything about why he wanted the appointment rescheduled; he was also going to speak with Keith and Gerald about that butthead to see if they’d had any problems with him; he suspected they had. That man was starting to think of himself as the owner of their business and William felt it was time to find someone whom he, Keith and Gerald could better work with.

William wanted tonight to be very special for Irene, after all she’d bottled up for the past two weeks waiting for the test results. As they usually did, the couple saw each child to bed before returning to the living room where William sat on the couch first before pulling Irene into his lap. William then began a very soft, sinuous, kiss which Irene returned at first until a hunger overtook her which she allowed to guide her. Her hungry kiss threatened to swallow William down its groping maw, and showed William how hungry Irene was for him. “Let’s check on the kids,” William whispered while he produced a mark on Irene’s neck which would be hidden by her hair. “They’re asleep already, let’s go to bed,” Irene retorted as she felt wetness between her legs. “No, tonight we need to make sure they are asleep,” William told her as he produce another area which her hair would hide.

Irene needed William and she needed him deep within her, so she got up from William’s lap, pulling him up after her, and with her arm around his waist walked from one room to the other, making sure the kids were sound asleep. Seeing their charges dead to the world, William took Irene’s hand and led her to their bedroom and began slowly undressing her after he shut the bedroom door. As William slowly undid each button, unzipped each zipper, he could see a craving hunger in Irene’s eyes he’d not seen since their honeymoon—she really needed to unwind. Irene had started undressing William as he undressed her, but he stopped her and only said, “Wait.” Once his wife was standing before him in all her naked beauty, William then began undressing himself with the same slow steady manner as he had undressed Irene. As he took off each piece of clothing he could see her craving hunger grow in intensity, until he stood before her so she could see he too was ready for her. Irene lunged at him and again threatened to suck him into her hungry maw, with William reaching down between her legs only to find she was ready for him—so he entered her, eliciting a gasp from Irene as he did. As William entered Irene, her right leg went around the small of his back and pulled him tighter to her—William reached back and held onto her right foot. She then tightened her grip on his shoulders to steady herself. When William knew she was fully ready he slowly began sliding in and out of her, all while she ravaged his mouth. It wasn’t long as Irene had started mirroring his motion that William stopped, and let his wife continue to impale herself on his stiff member. Irene increased her pace and when it came it came in a rush, as Irene’s body stiffened and she bit down on his shoulder before letting out a throaty scream. When her body had stiffened Irene had reached under William’s arms and put her hands on his back before pulled him to her with such force William found it hard to breathe for a moment. William supported Irene as her right leg dropped back to the floor and she leaned against him to try and catch her breath. She dropped her hands to his butt and pulled him toward in an effort to push him as deep into her as she could. As Irene caught her breath William whispered to her, “Now, lie down in bed.”

William gently took Irene’s hand a led her to their bed, and gently help her to lie down before going between her legs. Irene had closed her eyes as she lay down only to open them suddenly, and gasped, as William again entered her and began what he told her over the phone. William’s movements were fluid, stead, and gently, and they soon caused Irene to wrap her legs around William’s back. As William increased his rhythm Irene started seeing colors she had never seen, felt such intense feels the likes she had never felt. As William again increased his motion he watched Irene’s face and saw she was on the verge, and with yet another increase in motion Irene sat up in bed and kissed him with such force that his bottom lip was pushed back into his teeth causing a small cut on the inside of his lower lip. She also let out a muffled scream and her body quivered then stiffened as an extremely strong orgasm took hold of her body. Three more times she would feel this before finally falling into an exhausted sleep. William knew Irene needed tonight, needed their closeness, and that she had needed to feel him with her after what they learned about Joslyn. Irene needed him as close as they could possible get and she needed help relaxing.

William had helped Irene relax so much the night before that she found it hard to get out of bed, but she and William had to go to work and the kids had to go to school. She looked at the clock and saw it was just five-thirty in the morning, time for something she’d just thought of to help wakeup William. Very carefully she pushed the bed covers down away from William and very carefully pulled the top of his shorts down before starting to caress him. It wasn’t long before he became hard and Irene took him into her mouth. She felt William’s hand clutch at her hair, as she slid him in and out of her mouth, all the while concentrating on the tip the head with her tongue. Irene could tell, from being with this man for years, that he was coming very close to release, so she increased her actions only to be rewarded with a warm stream hitting the back of her throat and a throaty growl from William as his body went rigid during his release. Irene swallowed him before cleaning him off with her tongue, all the while as William ran his fingers through her hair. With a twinkle in her eye she looked up at William and said, “Morning, it’s time to get up.” It took a moment before William had caught his breath before telling Irene, “That’s the nicest wakeup call I’ve ever had. Let’s throw out the clock, because your way is much more pleasing.” Irene giggled as she slid up and impaled herself on his still stiff member, riding him until they both came together. As Irene collapsed on top of William she heard his say, “Yeah, let’s throw out the clock, this is more my kind of wakeup call.”

Once they were showered and dressed, Irene went into the kitchen to get breakfast started while William went to either wake up a sleepy head or make sure they were getting ready for school. They had discussed the evening before whether to have the kids present when Michael explained the test results, and decided there was no need to keep them away because Jack was going to hear the results and later likely tell Tracy and Marcy. Besides, Michael could answer any questions the kids might have. When everyone was around the kitchen table William told them, “Guys, we’re going to meet Dr. Michael tonight at 5 p.m., and we want you three to be there with us. Your mom and I didn’t feel there’s anything to hide from you, Tracy and Marcy, and Jack was going to hear the results anyway. Plus, if you have any questions, Dr. Michael can try and answer them for you. So, we are going out to eat when you three get out of school. Does that sound like a plan with you guys?” Three nods said they were okay with the plan, and they ate their breakfast before heading out the door to catch the bus to school. William helped Irene clean up the dishes before kissing her, deeply, wishing her a nice day and leaving for his practice. Irene followed a short time later, only after saying a silent prayer that Michael was right and everything was alright with the test. She also said a silent prayer for help that Jack was going to need, that the whole family would need, in order to help Jack if her suspicions were correct.

~~~~Chapter 7~~~~

Irene had picked up the kids from school and William had taken off early so they could meet with Michael at 5 p.m.; the kids had tried to do some homework, but it was hard because they had been told they would be going to meet with Dr. Michael to find out about Jack’s test results. In fact, school had been hard today because of knowing they’d learn about Jack’s tests. At 4:30 p.m. the family loaded up in William’s car and drove the twenty minutes to the Children’s Hospital, where they met Dr. Michael in the lobby before being led to a conference large enough for all six but small enough not to be overwhelming. “If anyone would like something to drink there’s a wide selection on the table over there,” he told them while pointing in the direction of the table. He then turned on an overhead monitor and a laptop sitting on the meeting table.

Seeing that everyone had something to drink, Michael began going over Jack’s test results by starting off with, “First let me say that everything looks good, we didn’t find any malignant masses or anything which would indicate one is growing.” As he finished that sentence he could see Irene’s face visibly relax, as though all worries she had been carrying finally left her. “We did find some deficiencies because of the blood work that was done, but those can be corrected with supplements. That means you’ll have to take a few pills daily for a while, okay Jack?” When Jack just nodded, Michael inserted a thumb drive into one of the slots on the computer, taping a few keys before continuing. “What you see on the monitor is what we saw during the Sonogram.” Picking up a long pointer Michael then told them, “If you look here, here, and here,” Michael said before typing a few more keys then continued with, “And here, you see some things that even we weren’t quite sure of and felt it best to do an MRI on Jack.” Michael typed a few more keys and a much clearer pictured was displayed on the monitor. “The picture you are looking at is of Jack’s chest.” Irene was no stranger to reading MRI pictures and let out a gasp before she said, “OH MY GAWD!” As she stared at Michael he just nodded his head before saying, “That’s breast tissue development.” While William was not a medical doctor, the meaning of that one picture was not lost on him, Jack was developing breasts. The three adults were redirected to the kids when both Tracy and Marcy let out a squeal and began hugging Jack; this action of the two girls caused the adults to smile not only because of the girls’ excitement, but showing their concern for Jack by their hugs.

“Easy there girls, you two don’t want to squeeze the life out of Jack,” Michael told them with a chuckle. “I saved this next picture for last because it’s the most extraordinary,” he told them and tapped more keys on the computer. Irene let out another “OH MY GAWD,” the two girls, even for their age, let out another squeal before again crushing Jack in a hug, and William looked at Michael before asking, “You mean to tell us,” but he never finished before Michael said, “Jack is a real girl, with all the normal female parts. If you look here,” and he used the pointer to point at a specific area on the picture, “You can see a vaginal canal, though with a physical exam the opening is closed. And see these here, here, here, and here, fallopian tubes and ovaries.” This time the squeal emitted by Tracy and Marcy was deafening, causing the adults to cover their ears; though each had a smile on their face. “Girls, please, quiet down, at least a little,” Irene told the girls but with a smile on her face. Irene never stopped looking at the kids after telling Tracy and Marcy to quiet down, though her focus was on Jack. In fact Michael and William were now looking at Jack and waiting to see how he, she, reacted.

It was an excited Marcy who nudged Jack before asking him, “Well, what do you think? You’re a real girl, we’re sisters!” How Marcy said the last part while squealing was one of those mysteries best not explored, but after she said it she and Tracy once again crushed Jack between them. “Well, sister?” Tracy asked as she too nudged Jack. As the five watched, Jack’s face went into his ‘mulling it over’ look and he was quiet for several minutes as he walked up towards the monitor to study the picture close up. He turned to look at the others and saw that each one was nodding their heads. He did this four more times before the realization came to his forefront, and she rushed around the table to hug her sisters. Irene had seen the change in his demeanor and facial expressions that Saturday night when Joslyn first appeared, and she saw it now but oh some much more. Jack, Joslyn, had suddenly come alive, with more light in her eyes than Jack had ever had. There was a glow coming from her whole body and she was no longer confined to being what others thought she had been at birth. Seeing all this in Joslyn prompted Irene to ask, “What about her vaginal opening, and her clitoris; that is what looks like a penis, right? How do you explain that?” Michael sat down next to Irene before explaining, “Irene, those are anomalies, abnormal development while in the womb. But they are correctable and once corrected no one would ever know any different. And her breast development will proceed normally, going by what we saw from her blood work. With corrective surgery, um…” Michael suddenly stopped because he didn’t know what name Jack would now go by. All heads turned when former Jack said loud and clear, “My name is Joslyn, and I’m a girl.” The squeals returned as the three girls went into a jumping hug, before William stepped in and calmed them down, a bit. Now knowing former Jack’s new name Michael continued with what he had been saying. “Thank you Joslyn for telling me your new name. Yes with corrective surgery Joslyn will be fine.” Michael got a real serious look on his face before getting Joslyn’s attention to tell her, “Joslyn, I’m going to recommend to your parents that you meet with Dr. Terry several times a week for an extended period since you’ve been considered a boy for so long. I think she can help you adjust to now being told you are actually a girl, with a few bits we can fix. Then she will decide if you two should continue meeting and when, okay? Now girls, I need to tell your parents some important things they need to do, so can you go sit, quietly, out in the hallway while I talk to your parents?” Irene and William gave their three daughters ‘the look’ before the girls stood up and walked out into the hallway. They knew by the look their parents gave them they better behave or else.

Once the girls had left, Michael explained that it would take a bit more time before the DNA results returned, but in the mean time they would be given copies of Joslyn’s test results, medical recommendations, and explanations of the needed corrective surgeries so they could meet with their lawyer to start the paperwork that would be needed to change the gender on all her records. William and Irene noticed that Michael got an extremely serious look on his face as he told them, “William, Irene, you and your lawyer must do everything you can to make sure the surgeries are allowed. The plastic surgery that will be done to rework her clitoris isn’t as necessary to her physical wellbeing as is opening her vaginal canal. She will start puberty, and she will have periods, and when her period starts if the material can’t be expelled by her body it can become toxic and kill her if not treated immediately. And should you or your lawyer meet someone who says she doesn’t need any surgery then have your lawyer prepare papers to file charges against that person for attempted murder, because that is what they will be guilty if they prevent her vaginal canal from being opened.” When Michael finished his speech he saw something on William’s and Irene’s faces that he would hate to meet in alley on a dark moonless night. Michael’s urgent plea to make sure Joslyn’s vaginal canal is opened turned these two lovely people into two people who wouldn’t let anything stand in their way to get the proper treatment for their daughter. And heaven help the moron who decided it was their duty to stop something being done to a child Joslyn’s age when they felt it really wasn’t necessary; and Michael knew a few who would try, and had tried in the past, but failed. They had been told in very plain, clear, language that their jobs were on the line should they decide to try and take matters into their own hands again. Michael actually felt sorry for these fools should they try it with William and Irene, because a janitor would need to be called to clean up the mess the couple would leave behind. Sitting before Michael were two Kodiak bears who would think nothing of ripping the head off anyone who got in the way of their child’s health and safety, and Michael didn’t blame them one bit.

“Now, I’ve made an appointment with Dr. Keller, the plastic surgeon for the hospital, for 4 p.m. day after tomorrow,” Michael told the couple. “The kids don’t have to be there but it wouldn’t hurt for them to know what he will be doing to help Joslyn. It will then be up to her to schedule the surgery and then you can pre-register Joslyn with the hospital.” After telling them this he again got very serious, “Dr. Keller will have to go through our Chief Surgeon, Dr. Mayson, in order to schedule an operating room, so call your lawyer after you get home and explain the situation to him or her and have him or her prepare all the papers I previously advised you to have made. Dr. Mayson is the person I told you about who takes it upon himself to decide which surgeries are necessary or unnecessary despite all the medical evidence presented to him. I know for a fact Dr. Bowman, the head of Imaging, sent the pictures taken of Joslyn to two other Imaging specialists and they concur with Dr. Bowman’s readings of the pictures, that your once believed son is in fact a girl who has abnormal development which can be corrected with surgery. Don’t be surprised if you’re requested at a meeting with Dr. Mayson, it likely means he’s denied the surgery. If you are called to a meeting, make sure your lawyer is with you and has all the papers necessary to prevent Dr. Mayson from denying the surgery. And don’t be surprised if during that meeting Dr. Bigalow, the hospital administrator, comes into the meeting with me and Dr. Bowman; Dr. Bowman and I have already discussed Joslyn’s case with Dr. Bigalow—Dr. Mayson was out of the loop because it was not surgery related, at the time. I also know that Dr. Bigalow has contacted the two specialists who concurred with Dr. Bowman, so Dr. Bigalow is up to speed with Joslyn needing the surgeries.” Michael stopped and took a deep breath, waiting to see if William and Irene had any reactions to what he just told them.

William took one look to Irene, who nodded her head, before telling Michael in a voice which actually frightened him, “Maybe it would be a good idea for those you just mentioned to all be in that meeting with Dr. Mayson to schedule Joslyn’s surgery. And maybe all of you can make the man see reason, because if we get called into a meeting with him only to find out he’s denied the surgeries, Irene and I will own not only that man’s ass through his malpractice insurance, but this hospital as well. No one at this hospital is going to refuse anything which threatens the wellbeing of our child.” Michael felt a chill course through his body when William stopped speaking; this man was deadly serious and willing to prove it.

“William, that idea was presented to Dr. Bigalow when we presented Joslyn’s case to him. He gave Dr. Keller the okay to call him should Dr. Mayson reject the surgeries. Should it be necessary, Dr. Bigalow, Dr. Bowman, the hospital’s attorney, and the two specialists who will be on a speaker phone, and I, will all be called in to help Dr. Mayson make the right decision. I will make sure I speak with the hospital’s attorney tomorrow and tell her exactly what you just told me. And trust me, she will not let one trumped up pipsqueak ruin this hospital’s reputation because of some egotistical belief of being morally superior.” Michael saw William relax somewhat upon hearing the plans that have been made should Dr. Keller make his call. Michael had another quick thought and told William, “Maybe it would be a good idea if your attorney called the hospital’s attorney so they could coordinate having your attorney present should Dr. Keller make his call. That way Dr. Mayson could see firsthand the trouble he’ll be in by not allowing the surgeries. Should he reject all pleas then your attorney can then present all the paperwork to him at that time—and trust me, whether or not he changes his mind, this case will determine whether or not he’s called before the Board of Healing Arts for a hearing. And with the evidence that has accumulated against him since he’s been here, he’ll lose his license for sure.”

Michael again watched William and saw him nodding his head at the reassurance he heard Michael just give him. (Irene had been silent all through Michael’s talk and her husband’s anger, and Michael knew why. Irene already knew the score with Dr. Mayson, and that he was skating on thin ice after a case that caused a family to take their son a State away to another Children’s Hospital in order to have surgery that Dr. Mayson deemed unnecessary; the doctors at that hospital filed complaints against Dr. Mayson because of his refusal to allow the surgery; she knew a few of those doctors and knew some of the words they used which didn’t make it into their complaints. She also knew of the ass chewing Dr. Mayson received from Dr. Bigalow and his promise of termination should Dr. Mayson pull another stunt like he had done.) Michael saw that William was a lot calmer now and believed it was time to say their goodbyes. “Do either of you have any more questions? I’ll have Dr. Keller contact you to let you know the time of your meeting with him.” And when neither Irene nor William indicated they had more questions, Michael stood up, as did Irene and William, then shook William’s hand and hugged Irene before wishing them a goodnight.

After the family got home, William went into the office to make a phone call, while Irene went into the kitchen to fix them something to eat. Their three girls shot off like rockets to Jack’s old room before coming into the kitchen with Joslyn in tow, catching Irene’s attention as they entered. Irene just looked at Joslyn and still couldn’t believe how beautiful she happened to be. “Okay girls, get aprons on, we don’t want to eat off your clothing.” Irene’s comment had all four laughing as the girls set the table then helped their mother get things ready. Meanwhile, William had called their attorney to see if she could see William at eight in the morning—it was very important; William’s first client wasn’t schedule until ten in the morning. After supper the kids did their homework before starting Joslyn’s training in all things ‘girl’. Soon it was their bed time and after all the necessary preparations each girl was tucked snuggly into her bed. Irene and William checked on them forty-five minutes later, and then went to bed before closing the door to their bedroom and rerunning last nights’ adventures. Little did they know, until many years later, that their three little angels heard that nights adventures and were very happy for their parents.

~~~~Chapter 8~~~~

Two days later the Winslow family met with Dr. Keller and with great patience and care, she outlined and showed exactly what Joslyn’s surgery would entail. What surprised her was the behavior of the three girls, who showed more interest than revulsion at what would be done to Joslyn to correct her deviations. Surprising everyone was the question asked not by William or Irene, but by Tracy, “How long does the surgery take, and how long will Joslyn’s recovery take?” When the three adults gave Tracy questioning looks, she simply shrugged her shoulders and replied, “A friend at school had surgery that lasted four hours and took several months for her to completely heal and recover all her strength.” Dr. Keller looked at William and Irene and told them the surgery would take as long as it would take for her and her team to do the best job they could to ensure Joslyn’s safety and her appearing as a normal girl when they had completed their work. She then looked Joslyn straight in the eye and told her, “Joslyn, you will be laid up in bed, here at the hospital, for several days until we are sure everything we did doesn’t cause any unexpected problems and until you’re healed enough to leave the hospital. You will then be restricted to little or no activities other than walking, sitting, and lying down until you are completely healed. And depending what we find as we operate you may or may not have another activity which you will have to perform every day for several days, but we’ll wait and cross that bridge until after the surgery. Now, does anyone have any more questions?” Dr. Keller asked the five, and seeing five head shakes told the group, “Then after I meet with Dr. Mayson I’ll call you, William and Irene, to let you know when the surgery is scheduled. I realize this will cause Joslyn to miss school but after consulting with others in this area, it was felt waiting was not an option in case Joslyn starts puberty early.” Before the Winslows left the room, Joslyn walked up to Dr. Keller, hugged her then said, “Thank you,” a tear rolling down her cheek as well.

Michael had met with Shelly Keller and had gone over everything he told the Winslow family, so Shelly didn’t go into anything related to the suspected problem with getting Mayson to sign off on the operation and schedule an operating room; William had called Michael the day after they had their family meeting to let Michael know paperwork was being drawn up and would be ready when needed. Dr. Shelly Keller knew something was up when she tried to see Dr. Mayson that day, only to be told he didn’t have any time until two weeks later. She also found out, through the grape vine, that Dr. Mayson knew about the pending surgery and had been heard saying, “It will be a cold day in hell before I sign off on that type of surgery at this hospital.” From Dr. Mayson’s office, Shelly went straight to Dr. Bigalow’s office and gave him the news, only to watch as he called HR and gave them instructions he wanted completed by the following day. She then watched as he made several other calls before asking her, “How would you like to become Chief Surgeon at Children’s Hospital? I ask because this hospital is about to be short one Chief Surgeon tomorrow.” Dr. Bigalow’s question took Shelly by surprise, and she asked him if he’d give her time to think about it. Steve Bigalow told her that would be fine with him, before telling her which conference room and the time a meeting would take place with Dr. Mark Mayson. Steve also asked her to keep everything she just heard and his question to herself for now. Shelly had opened the door to Steve’s office to leave, only to turn and tell Steve, “I’ll accept the Chief Surgeon position when it comes open.” Steve smiled upon hearing the news then commented, “What took you so long to decide?” Shelly blew the man a raspberry before walking out of his office and back to her office to pull everything together that would be needed in the confrontational meeting they were going to have with Dr. Mark Mayson, soon to be ex-Chief Surgeon, and likely ex-doctor if the rumors she heard were true. She knew about the family he refused to let have their son’s surgery here, and about several other complaints that had been filed against him, and the payout the hospital had been forced to make because of Mayson’s decisions. As Shelly’s thoughts were in the clouds, she wondered if she could do the job of Chief Surgeon and plastic surgeon without many conflicts. At least one person believed she could, or he wouldn’t have asked her to take the job.

The next morning Dr. Steven Bigalow called Dr. Mark Mayson and told him to come to his office, now. Dr. Mayson tried his usual “I’m too busy” ploy but Steven reminded him of the thin ice he was skating on and he wanted to see him right now. Fifteen minutes later the door to Steven’s office flew open, banging against the wall and a very angry Dr. Mayson rudely entered Steven’s office and demanded, “What the hell is so damn important I had to come to see you?” Underneath his skin, where Mark couldn’t see, were skin cells which had turned a very deep red due to the insolence shown by Mark Mayson as he came into Steven’s office. Steven got up from his chair, walked around his desk and told the soon to be ex-Dr. Mark Mayson, ex-Chief Surgeon at Children’s hospital, “Come with me,” and led to his guillotine in conference 108.

Mark was now in a rage and as they reached the foyer-lobby of the hospital Mark said in an extremely angry voice, “Just where in the hell are we going? I’m too damn busy for all the bullshit.” Steven stopped, pulled Mark to him by his shirt collar and told him in a vicious whisper, “Any more foul language out of you and I WILL lay you out cold—got it?” Steven angrily released Mark’s shirt collar and continued towards the conference room. When they finally reached the room, Steven pulled the door open and stepped just beyond the door before stopping and waiting for Mark to enter the room. When Mark entered the room he stopped stone cold dead upon seeing all the people sitting at the conference table. “Take a seat, Mark,” Steven commanded, waiting to see which of the two vacant places Mark would take; those in the room, including Steven knew which chair Mark would take because his ego always made him think he was always in charge of any meeting. So it was no surprise when Mark walked arrogantly to the chair at the head of the table; Steven sat down in the chair next to Dr. Shelly Keller. “Dr. Keller I believe you are to start this meeting?” Shelly opened a folder before standing and opened with, “Dr. Mayson, I tried to speak with you the other day in order to schedule an OR for a necessary operation on Joslyn W…” “Yeah, yeah, I know all about that case, it’s another case I determined was another unnecessary operation,” Mark spit out, interrupting Shelly before she even present a fraction of the case. “As I was saying, Mark, given this girls’ family history it’s likely she WILL start puberty much sooner than what the average predicts. And when she starts pub...” “His family history has no bearing on this case. He doesn’t need any surgery and he isn’t going to have an early puberty—I’ve checked all the journals pertaining to this case.” Mark sat back and arrogantly crossed his arms daring Shelly to try and cross him to get what she wanted.

“Hey Markie, is that you, old boy?” a voice on the speaker phone asked. “You get your tit in a wringer again—you were always putting your foot in it, never knew when to keep your damn mouth shut.” Mark’s brows furrowed a bit before saying, “Ah it’s you Sabastian, still the lowly image tech that you were always destined to be?” “Oh no Markie, I’m head of Imaging at the hospital I’m at and three surrounding ones. Oh and Markie, let me guess. You tried to read the MRI pictures and made up your own damn conclusion based on your gross inexperience at reading MRI pictures, right?” Sabastian had been in medical school with Mark Mayson, and knew he hated being called Markie. Mark was an ass in medical school and he’s being an ass now so Sabastian baits him by calling him Markie. “Listen you bassackward fool, you couldn’t read MRIs in school and you still can’t. Joslyn Winslow has two ovaries, two fallopian tubes, a uterus, a cervix, a vaginal canal, no vaginal opening, and a malformed clitoris. I’ve seen first years who could read those pictures better in their sleep than you can awake.”

“Thank you Dr. Cruz, that was very informative,” Steven told Sabastian in order to keep Sabastian from really getting wound up after he heard about Mark. “Mr. Mayson…” Steven started before being interrupted with, “That’s DR. Mayson,” a ruby faced Mark blared out. “As said, Mr. Mayson—if you speak again while I’m speaking you will need medical attention after I kick your ass—got it?” Steven was barely holding his temper in check, just barely, as he continued, “Mr. Mayson this meeting is to inform you that the surgery for Joslyn Winslow will be scheduled and will be done by Dr. Keller and her team. I believe Mr. Morgan has something he wishes to say—Mr. Morgan.”

“Mr. Mayson,” Gerald Morgan started but was interrupted by a very angry Mark Mayson who yelled out, “What in the hell! When any of you address me you will address me as Dr. Mayson, not Mr. Got it??” Everyone in this meeting had purposefully goaded Mark into this exact position, and everyone watch and Gerald Morgan stood up, picked up a brown folder, walked over to Mark and handed his a white envelope, telling him, “This is a letter stating your license to practice medicine has been suspended by the State Board of Healing Arts. And before you say something stupid, this suspension was also sent to the Federal Board of Healing Arts and becomes effective Nationwide.” Gerald Morgan removes another white envelope from the folder and as he hands it to Mark he explains, “In that envelope is a subpoena which requires you to appear before the State Board of Healing Arts for a hearing into your removal from medical practice. And before you tell me we don’t have a case,” Gerald pointed to the man who sat beside him who was not holding up a folder that was about three inches thick. “Martin is holding up a folder we’ve had to make because of all the complaints from doctors, patients and hospital staff concerning your behavior. That folder represents about a year and a half of complaints. But after we reviewed this case, and heard what you said about it, we felt it was time to burn your shingle, Mr. Mayson.”

Mark looked like a rabid dog because of the foam that had formed at his mouth, and the snarl that he emitted when he spoke. “YOU son of bitches can’t keep me from practicing medicine, or kick me out of this hospital—I know too many important people. When I’m done with the lot of you I WILL own this hospital and every one of your bank accounts.” “Aww Markie, is da wittle boy throwing a temper tantrum,” Sabastian sing-songed to him; Sabastian was playing his part beautifully and coming in right on cue. As everyone in the room watched, Mark arrogantly tore up the two envelopes and told Gerald Morgan, “Fuck you prick.” The room heard a throat clear and Anthony Arnold, the hospital’s attorney, stood and faced Mark before telling the angry man, “I’m afraid you’ve got it wrong, Mr. Mayson. Now why don’t you be a good little boy and sit down and keep your DAMN mouth shut until you are given permission to speak? Or like Steven told you, you will need medical attention after I kick your ass up between your shoulders—read me asshole??” The look in Anthony’s eyes told Mark he best do as the man said, at least for now. “Thank you, Mr. Mayson, and as I was saying you have it wrong, and you should have read your contract closer for you would have seen that you can be fired if your actions, or inactions, endanger the health and welfare of any patient coming to or in this hospital.” As Anthony finished talking, he took an envelope from his briefcase, walked over to Mark and told him, “This envelope contains your immediate termination notice, your salary up to the end of business today, and two week severance pay. This envelope…” and he hands Mark another one, “…is a restraining order barring you from being on Children’s Hospital property without obtaining permission and a security escort. In other works Mr. Mayson—you’re fired!”

“Mrs. Shylow I believe you have something you’d like to say?” Mark didn’t know that Sabastian wasn’t the only person on that conference call, but so was the DA for the city, who had been listening in the next room. As Steven mentioned Carol’s name, Will Talbert and two uniformed police officers entered the conference room. “Thank you Steven, I do have a few things to say to Mr. Mayson. Mr. Mayson, I’m Carol Shylow attorney for the Winslow family.” Carol slowly walked over to Mark as she introduced herself, carrying a folder in her hands. “Mr. Mayson this is a paper giving you notice of a lawsuit being filed against you for willful neglect of your duties as a doctor, the attempted murder of Joslyn Winslow by willful inaction, and a restraining order barring you from interfering with the operation to be performed on Joslyn Winslow.” “Excuse me Carol, may I cut in here?” District Attorney Will Talbert asked. Carol nodded her head as she walked back to her seat and sat down before Will began, “Mr. Mayson, I’m District Attorney Will Talbert and I’m here for you.” He lifted three envelopes out of his inside suit coat pocket, and as he now stood next to Mark handed them to him one by one and explained, “This is a Court order barring you from practicing medicine at this hospital until it can be determined your fitness to practice medicine. This one is a restraining order telling you to have no contact whatsoever with the Winslow outside a court room. And this one,” and Will motioned to the officers, “Is a warrant for your arrest for attempted murder of a child, one Joslyn Winslow.” The officers motioned Mark to stand up and then handcuffed his hands behind his back, before leading him out of the room. Never one to admit defeat, Mark screamed as he was led out of the room, “ALL OF YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET THIS, MARK MY WORDS!!”

After Mark had been taken out of the room there was an appreciated silence, before Sabastian was heard to say, “Aww, man, did we do good or did we do good? Bye you all,” Sabastian told the group before hanging up his phone. “If I might have your attention, please,” Steven asked of the group. “I have an announcement which I think you all will enjoy. Dr. Shelly Keller has agreed to become the new Chief Surgeon of Children’s Hospital, as well as our Chief Plastic Surgeon. I know where her concerns lie and those who’ve worked with her do too. There will be an announcement tomorrow so be my guest and spread the word, I’m sure it will be gladly accepted.” There was a round of applause before Steven asked, “Is there anything else we need to discuss about this meeting?” When the three attorneys and the two from the Healing Board shook their heads no, as did everyone else, Steven told the group, “Then I guess this successful meeting is adjourned.” The first thing Shelly did was to check the surgical calendar and reserve the first open OR for Joslyn’s surgery. The second thing she did was to call the Winslow’s to give them the good news. Two weeks from today Jack Winslow would become, fully, Joslyn Winslow, a ten-year-old girl. While she talked to the Winslows she discovered they had a fax machine so she faxed everything they would need for Joslyn’s school and their attorney so she could file name change and gender papers with the Court. She also asked about counseling, to which William told her that Michael had spoken with Terry Lion and she agreed to meet with Joslyn several days a week until she felt they could cut back on their meetings. Goodnights were said, Shelly left for home, and William and Irene made sure the kids were asleep before closing their bedroom door. That was another time their sharp eared kids would talk about with their parents sometime in the distance future.

~~~~Chapter 9~~~~

Irene was waiting for the kids when they arrived home after walking from their bus stop and announced, “Let’s go shopping,” the minute the girls entered the house. Law enforcement used devices to confuse and confound suspects they want to arrest when they have to enter a dwelling, but nothing they had could measure up to the screams and squeals all three girls emitted when they heard that one word, “shopping.” The reason for all the excitement was simple. Tracy and Marcy would be shopping with their new sister, Joslyn. “Joslyn go get dressed,” Irene said to the back of her already rushing daughter as she rocketed to her room to get out of the boy clothes she had to wear to school. Tracy and Marcy followed their sister to her room in order to help her get dressed, and to continue teaching her about coordinating her outfits—she sometimes paired the wrong color with another wrong color and ended up looking like a participate of a clown parade, though she was getting better at putting on what little makeup Irene and William allowed her to wear. Irene could only laugh when all three girls came zooming out of Joslyn’s bedroom, past her and telling her, “Well come on, mom. Let’s go shopping.” Seeing her recently discovered daughter happier than she’d been in her short ten years, and how Marcy and Tracy had taken to her brought tears to Irene’s eyes, and laughter again as Joslyn had come back, grabbed Irene’s hand and said, “Mom, come on let’s go,” before dragging Irene out of the house.

That night, after Joslyn had modeled what purchases she could model in front of her father—fathers are not supposed to see the unmentionables--the family talked about who would be attending the Community Center art program in the morning, Jack or Joslyn. When it was suggested Jack may have to attend until all the paperwork had been submitted and people contacted, Joslyn became very pensive, sucking in her bottom lip and she went into her thinking mode. The other family members noticed her doing this and knew this was Joslyn’s way of doing Jack’s “mulling it over” pose so they waited. Irene and William had explained some of the pros and cons of Joslyn attending, along with a few thoughts from Tracy and Marcy; Tracy was really concerned about someone hurting Joslyn when they thought it was Jack trying to be a girl for the day or because he liked wearing girl clothes like they saw him do that one Saturday. “Honey,” Irene began as she took Tracy’s hands, “I will go in with Joslyn and explain everything to Mary and Marsha. I’ve known Mary for a long time, and she would never allow any child in one of her classes hurt another child. And knowing Mary as I do,” Irene dropped Tracy’s hands before pulling Joslyn into a hug, “She will be very happy for Joslyn—Mary’s brother had similar problems when he was younger, only it almost killed him before Mary’s family discovered the truth. That’s why your dad and I will move Heaven and Earth to make sure Joslyn gets whatever treatment she has to have.” As Irene sat hugging Joslyn she heard a tearful, “I love you mommy,” from Joslyn.

Saturday did go better than Irene and William had hoped, with Mary and Marsha totally understanding what Irene told them, and Joslyn simply explaining to those kids who asked the whole unvarnished truth; a truth which was told to each child’s parents; a truth which some parents had a hard time believing; a truth which was about to set off ignorant anger before it culminated in a parent meeting at the kids’ school; a truth which was scheduled to be discussed with the Principal at Joslyn’s school on Monday morning.

Monday morning Irene drove the girls to school because of the meeting she had scheduled with Principal Gail Monrow. She carried a case which contained all the medical information Shelly had faxed and Shelly’s explanation of the need for surgery. Jack was sitting in the front passenger seat and his once again silent, wistful look almost broke Irene’s heart, knowing how much he wanted to be his real self. Reaching the school, and after parking the car, the girls walked to the doors of the school before Irene knelt down and told Jack, “Sweetie, I know you hate having to be Jack at school but it won’t be much longer. Can you try and be patient for a little longer?” Jack nodded his head as Irene hugged him, kissed his cheek and watched as Jack, Marcy, and Tracy walked off to the classrooms. When she lost sight of the girls, she turned and headed to the administration office and her meeting with Gail Monrow.

“Irene, it’s good to see you again,” Gail Monrow told Irene as Gail’s secretary showed Irene into Gail’s office. Gail was in her early forties, married with a son and daughter in high school, and her husband the head of a leading corporation which manufactured all manner of plumbing parts. After a hug and the usual pleasantries Gail asked, “Would you like something to drink, coffee maybe? Please, sit down.” “Gail I’ve come to talk to you about Jack and something that was discovered about his medical condition,” Irene started before watching Gail walk to her office door and tell her secretary to have Bill Tolman, the school’s Vice Principal, and the school nurse, Kerrie Thompson, come to her office—and once they were here they were not to be disturbed unless it was an emergency. Irene knew of Bill Tolman and actually like the man, and knew Kerrie because of her volunteer work at the hospital; she had done wonders for those kids who had to have severe treatments to help save their lives, and felt so dejected. Pleasantries were once again exchanged before Irene again explained the reason for the meeting.

“Bill, Kerrie, as I explained to Gail I’m here today to tell the school about a medical condition we recently learned about with Jack.” Seeing real concern on the three faces Irene quickly told them, “No, he, or I should say, she isn’t dying or about to die.” The concerned expressions changed to puzzled ones before Irene continued, by starting at the beginning of why Jack was taken in for an exam. While Irene had related the story from the beginning, all three were intent listeners all the way through when Irene started showing them all the medical evidence and recommendations from the doctors involved; she did leave out the little dusk up getting past a problem that had occurred. “And that’s it--turns out because of a malformed clitoris we thought we had a son named Jack. Maybe we should be grateful the paint incident occurred or we may have been rushing to the hospital for emergency surgery at some point in time.” Irene saw realization occur on Gail’s face and watched as she opened her desk drawer and remove a folder. “These makes sense, now,” Gail said as she opened the folder and took out about twenty pieces of paper. Holding the papers up where everyone could see them she continued with, “These are complaints about Jack because of the clothing he wore after his clothes were ruined. Why in the world didn’t they contact Mary and get the whole story? Why do people insist on being so stupid? That problem for those parents won’t hold a candle to the problem they’ll have when they find out Jack will soon be coming to school as a girl named Joslyn; some of them will go ballistic when they hear the news from their kids. Irene, would you be willing to present Jack’s medical information at a parents’ meeting held here at the school in a couple of days? You being a doctor can present the facts and answer any questions better than the three of us could.” Irene looked at the three for a minute before replying to Gail’s question.

“Gail, it wouldn’t be problematic presenting information like that as a medical doctor to a group of medical professionals as a means to acquire suggestions how to handle this type of case, but to parents? These parents you talk about would guard their child’s medical information as vigorously as the three of you would. Do you mind if I make a phone call?” When all three told Irene they didn’t mind, she knew she had to make the call in front of them so they didn’t feel she was trying to hide something.

“Hi lover boy, got a minute?”
“Don’t you wish, you scoundrel!”
“Listen, if you can put your motor in neutral for a minute…”
“Yes, that’s what they asked but I’m just not sure.”
“Ah, no I hadn’t considered that. It is, after all, about her.”
“Oh really, so you’ve been reading again. Uh huh, well maybe later tonight you can show me.”
“I love you too sweetheart, bye.”

After Irene hung up she looked up and saw the smiling faces on the three in the office with her. “Irene, it never ceases to amaze me that after all these years you and William are still deeply in love,” Gail told Irene, a woman who saw their love well before the two wed. “Gail we’ve been very fortunate in that we’ve let love rule our lives. Even when Bill makes me angry or me him, it’s our love for each other that brings us back together. And if any of you repeat what else you heard me say I’ll deny ever saying it.” This brought a laugh from all four of the people in that office before Irene told them, “Bill knew you’d ask for Jack’s medical information to be presented to the parents of this school, and he’s of the opinion who we should really be asking—Jack.” Eyebrows went up on the three school employees as the thought of asking Jack had never crossed their minds. Gail turned to her desk computer and pulled up the schedule for Jack’s class. “Well, they’re at recess right now so he, or should I say she, won’t miss any class time if we have her come to my office,” Gail told the group and she picked up the phone and dialed the cell phone number for the teacher of Jack’s class. When the teacher answered Gail asked to have Jack brought to her office, and make sure Jack knows he is NOT in any kind of trouble. Five minutes later there was a knocked on Gail’s office door, and after Gail saying, “Come in,” the door opened and Jack was escorted into the room. Gail thanked the woman who had escorted Jack to the office before speaking to Jack. “Hi Jack, or maybe it should be Joslyn?” The solemn face Jack had as he stood in the office cracked just a bit as a small smile crossed his lips. “Yes ma’am, but it’s just Jack until mommy and daddy get all the paperwork taken care of and I have my surgery.” The three in the office had interacted with Jack in the past and were always amazed at the maturity he showed in both his manners and speech, and they were no less impressed right at this moment. “Joslyn,” Irene said using her daughters’ chosen new name, “I’ve explained everything to Mrs. Monrow, Mr. Tolman, and Mrs. Thompson and a problem has occurred because of what happened that Saturday when the paint was spilled, and we need your help.”

All four watched Jack/Joslyn and saw his/her characteristic puzzled expression before Irene continued, “It seems some of the kids in that art program told their parents about you wearing the girls’ clothing after getting cleaned up that Saturday. They were so upset that they sent Mrs. Monrow nasty letters demanding you be kicked out of school—don’t worry, that will not happen. Maybe it would be better if Mrs. Monrow explains the rest to you.” Gail studied Jack/Joslyn for any signs of stress or of being upset before she started speaking. “Joslyn, we need you help in deciding to tell the parents of kids of this school about your medical condition. Your mom is not sure it’s the right thing to do because medical information is always considered private. But when you have your surgery Joslyn will then be attending school and the kids will tell their parents that Jack is now a girl named Joslyn. That is going to make a lot of parents very angry because they will think you are nothing more than a perverted boy trying to be a girl.” All four watched Jack/Joslyn for any reaction and when Gail particularly saw none she continued. “Joslyn what we would like to do is have your mom explain your medical condition and the surgery you need to a parent meeting held here at the school in two days. And we would like your permission to let others know about all of it.”

As the four watched, Jack/Joslyn developed his/her thinking face as s/he pondered what Gail asked of him/her. ‘The kids in the art program were satisfied when it was explained why Jack was wearing girls’ clothing and those kids attended school here and no other kids had bothered her since. And Mrs. Monrow was right, she would be attending after her surgery, so the kids would know and say something to their parents. Wouldn’t their parents need to know the truth, isn’t that best?’ “I think,” Jack slowly spoke, choosing his words carefully, “The problem from the art program wouldn’t have happened if those parents had talked to Mrs. Swan before getting angry. I also think that unless they know the whole truth about me they may take their anger out on their children and this school, and that would be wrong. I think I understand that no matter what’s done, there will be parents who will never accept the truth—even when it stares them in the eye.” Irene felt tears in her eyes, ready to fall because of how proud she was at this very moment. As she did for many years, Joslyn was once again thinking of others before herself. Over the years Gail, Bill, and Kerrie had seen the same thing from Jack, thinking of others before himself no matter what. “So,” Jack continued, “I think it best, mommy, that we tell the parents about my medical condition.”

Irene pulled Joslyn into a tight hug before telling her, “I love you so much and am very proud of you.” “I love you too, mommy,” Joslyn told Irene before kissing her on the cheek. “Joslyn thank you very much for being brave enough to let us do this. You can return to your class now.” As Gail said that, she pressed the intercom button and told her secretary that Jack could return to his class now. Just before the same woman took Jack back to class, Gail had a thought. “Jack, what will you tell the other students when they ask you why you had to come to the Principals’ office?” Jack looked puzzled for a moment because for Jack there was only one way to answer those type questions, with the truth. “Mrs. Monrow, I’ll just tell them the truth.” As the four amazed people watched, Jack left the office and the door closed behind him. Now they had a meeting to plan.

~~~~Chapter 10~~~~

Gail buzzed her secretary again and asked her to come into her office. Once her secretary was in the office Gail told her, “Cindy I need you to make up a notice to all the parents involved with the school. Tell them there will be a parent meeting two days from now at seven in the evening in the auditorium concerning Jack Winslow. Tell them it also concerns the future of Jack Winslow at this school. Tell them it concerns a medical condition Jack has and that it will be explained in full detail, so their kids need to be left at home. And make it up today and get it to every class before the end of school, this meeting is very important.” As Gail watched Cindy formed a question on her face before asking, “Jack had a medical condition, Gail?” “Cindy,” Irene began as she intercepted Cindy’s question. “Jack underwent an MRI and it was discovered Jack was actually Joslyn since the day she was born. But because of an abnormal clitoris everyone believed she was a boy, including my husband and me. I’m telling you this because you looked very concerned when Gail mentioned medical condition, and I wanted to put your mind at rest that it wasn’t anything fatal. And if you would, please don’t say anything to anyone yet—maybe except to your husband—but to no one else in school; they’ll find out soon enough.” “Certainly Irene, and Gail those letters will go out before school lets out today.” And with that Cindy left Gail’s office, as did Irene after everyone thanked her for coming in and for trusting them with such sensitive information.

Gail asked Bill and Kerrie to stay for a few more minutes because she wanted to get their thoughts on what is about to happen at the school. “So, tell me the truth, are we in for a rough ride because of some bigoted parents?” Bill had dealt with some very angry parents in the past that had done nothing but nitpicked about something which didn’t fit their beliefs. “Gail I don’t think anything we do will ever satisfy a very few of the parents with kids in this school.” Bill told Gail before continuing, “You could push their faces into the truth and they still would deny it and call it perverted. You remember the flap we took because of the cheerleading uniforms? Charlie over at the high school experienced the same thing, and like he told them, get over it, their bitching wasn’t going to get something nationally recognized changed just because it tweaked their noses—and yes he actually said that to one couple who tried going to court to get the uniforms changed; they never found an attorney willing to take a case they didn’t have.”

“But I’ve watched Jack since he began attending this school, and he’s always acted differently than the other students, always standing up for someone else, always thinking of others before himself and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by every teacher in this school. Because of what everyone has seen, there isn’t a staff member who would gladly take any offending parent out back of the gym and explain how it’s going to be, whether they like it or not.” Gail and Kerrie chuckled at Bill’s candor, and knew he was right on every point he brought up. Because Kerrie concurred with Bill, she told Gail, “I agree with everything that Bill said, and I think we’re doing the right thing providing correct information before a bunch of rumors get started—not that it will stop them anyway, many parents won’t attend the meeting.” Gail thanked both before letting them get back to their work; she had a lot of planning to do.

Gail had called a staff meeting that day immediately after school let out for the day, and explained everything to everyone so they’d have all the facts. She asked if anyone had heard any rumors about Jack and heard everything from, “My parents think he’s just a pervert,” to “My mommy said he was really brave wearing those clothes,” before telling the assembled group about her plans for the parent meeting which will be held day after tomorrow in the auditorium at seven in the evening. While she didn’t make it mandatory, she did ask that they attend if they were able, as she knew this was a very short notice. One teacher told her they might not be able to make it unless they could find someone to watch her children since her husband was working a late shift that night. No sooner had she said that then Sally Marshal, one of the third grade teachers, was on her phone and started talking to someone while everyone listened.

“Hi sweetheart, how would you like to earn some money day after tomorrow?”
“Babysitting for Kelly Maxwell, well, kid sitting, they are hardly babies anymore.”
“Probably two or two and a half hour, maybe longer, it all depends on how long a meeting lasts.”
“You will, great. And you can work on your homework too. Yeah, I know, but it’s got to be done. And maybe you can help them with theirs if they have any problems.”
“I love you. Bye”

“Kelly, my daughter Gina has agreed to babysit for you so you’re free to come to the meeting if you still want to,” Sally told a very grateful Kelly as she hugged Sally for what she did. Ever since Gail took over as Principal the entire atmosphere has changed, more are willing to help the other person than fight someone as was the case when she took over as Principal five years ago. It was a struggle at first, some even quit because of what she instituted, but her work paid off as was evident by what Sally just did for Kelly.

“Ladies and gentleman, I do expect there will be a few parents, the usual parents, who will be very vocal about their distaste for what is going to happen. I’d like all of you to try and remain calm and do nothing unless someone tries to get physical. There will be police officers there, along with school security, but the officers will let the school security handle things first before stepping in to assist. Dr. Irene Winslow is not going to sugar coat anything during her presentation, and will describe Joslyn’s condition in great detail. Which means she will be talking about the female anatomy in detail, so be prepared gentleman—if any of you are uncomfortable listening to this type of discussion. All of this is for Jack Winslow, soon to be known as Joslyn Winslow as soon as all the paperwork is completed and presented to the Courts, and she undergoes surgery.” Gail had purposely made the last statements to illicit the questions that were now being asked, and she dutifully answered each one without going into great detail; she actually wanted to see how many were truly concerned about Jack’s welfare, and from what she saw they all were.

William and Irene drove into the school parking lot and were amazed by the number of cars already there. There were so many that they had to park almost at the very back of the lot. William had seen how nervous Irene had been that morning and before they left the house, and tired his best to calm her by letting her know that no parent was going to stand in the way of their daughter getting the treatment she needed. When he again told her that, before they got out of their car, Irene pulled him close and gave him a very lascivious kiss, which William knew would be continued later that night. They walked hand in hand to the rear door of the auditorium where they were met by Gail and Bill as they walked inside. Both could see the worry on Irene’s face, but reassured her that the school was behind her all the way. She gave William another kiss before he went to sit down out front and she walked the stairs which led to the stage.

A few people were still coming in when Gail said, “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?” And before she could say anymore, Sly Jordan stood and shouted, “HAS THAT PERVERTED KID BEEN KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL YET!? WELL, GAIL HAS HE? ARE YOU JUST GOIN’ TO STAND THERE LIKE SOME STATUE IN A PARK WAITING FOR BIRDS TO CRAP ON YOU BEFORE YOU ANSWER MY DAMN QUESTION?” Sly’s shouted question had the desired effect of bringing all conversation in the audience to a sudden halt, and he stood there waiting for an answer. Sly’s wife, Tamra, had seen this exchange between her Sly and Gail several times before, and as she put her head into her hands and shook her head, she knew Gail was about to spank her husband in front of all these people. Gail and Sly had history, not bad history, just history. There had been more than one time Sly had come storming into her office demanding to know, “Just what the hell…” before she was able to calm him down so he could explain what he was so mad about; and she never lied to him when she answered his questions.

After the first time Sly had bulled his way into her office, and bulled fit because he was a big man, she had taken the time to look into his past. Sly was one of six children whose parents were farmers. They hadn’t been poor but they had been close enough to it that they might as well have been. All six kids helped with the farm, from the time they were about six until each one married and moved away; their parents grew too old to continue farming so they leased out their land and now live much better than they had. School was an afterthought when it came to work needing done on the farm, so it wasn’t unusual for the kids to stop going to school when they reach sixteen-years-old. And that had happened to Sly, his public schooling stopped at sixteen years of age. Gail also learned that while he never attended school again he never stopped learning. From those she talked to she found out he was a voracious reader and a lot smarter than he let on. But he was also quick to anger before knowing all the facts, and that’s what he was showing right now.

“Sly Albert Jordan,” Gail said in order to get his full attention, “How many time have you and I talked and how many times have I told you not to go shooting off your mouth before you have all the facts? How many times Sly?” Tamra had covered her mouth with a hand to stifle the chuckle which threatened to escape, before her sweet husband replied, “A lot, ma’am.” “I’m sorry I didn’t catch that Sly, what did you say?” Gail had heard what Sly had said but knew if she caught him being dumb she could get him to listen. In a booming voice he hollered, “A LOT, MA’AM.” “Sly, sweetheart, sit down and listen to what’s going to be said,” Tamra told her husband as she gently pulled his arm until he sat back down. When Sly had replied the last time, Gail knew she had his attention and his anger would abate, for now. No sooner had Sly sat back down but Mr. Cyres Barlow stood up and told Gail, “I think you need to answer Sly’s question, Mrs. Monrow. Has that perverted boy been removed from this school; I don’t want him around my kids.” Had Cyres looked down he would have seen the angry look on his wife’s face—Martha Barlow was giving her husband a look that said they’d speak later.

Gail had had run ins with Cyres in the past and his Holier Than Thou attitude got thin real quick, and tonight she was going to stomp on it real hard. “Mr. Barlow, if you will please sit down, and listen, you will hear that there is no perverted boy in this school. In fact, the material presented here tonight will dispel whatever rumor you heard.” Gail watched as Martha pulled on her husband’s arm only to be shook off before he asked, “Why are you side stepping the question that’s been asked? Is this school trying to hide something about this perverted boy?” As Cyres stood, Gail quickly scanned the crowd and saw that almost everyone had understood what Irene said about the material to be presented. Gail now knew this was the time to get under the man’s skin because he hated being addressed as Cyres by anyone he wasn’t friendly with, especially a woman. “Um Cyres, you have two choices tonight. First choice is to sit your ass back in that seat and listen to what’s about to be presented, or I’ll have those gentleman at the back of the auditorium escort you to the lobby where two police officers will issue you a ticket for disturbing the peace and escort you off school property. So which will it be?” Gail watched as Cyres was about to say something when Martha said, “Cyres Noah Barlow, you open your mouth again and you can find someplace else to sleep for the rest of your life. Now SIT down and SHUT UP.” Gail really had to rein in her emotions right now because she was about to laugh at what the mild mannered Martha had just told her husband; and it worked because Cyres sat down and remained silent for the rest of the night.

“Ladies and gentleman this parents meeting was called because rumors have started which are as far from the truth as the Earth is from the Sun, and you will hear the unblemished truth about the child at the center of all the rumors. Dr. Irene Winslow is a medical doctor, and psychiatrist, at the Children’s Hospital; she is also the mother of the child in question. Gentleman, the material she will present is very clinical concerning a woman’s anatomy. If you are embarrassed by the material presented, then I am sorry but the rumors need to be squashed and, with the family’s permission, the truth is going to be told. Dr. Winslow.”

For the next thirty minutes, Irene stood before the audience and explained how she and her husband discover a mistake which happened ten years ago; she started with the accident during the art program right on up to the MRI pictures. “…and because the Sonogram was inconclusive Dr. Oslow felt an MRI was needed. When “Jack” was examined “his” chest look much different than others his age, and if you look here and here,” Irene pointed to two places on the MRI of “Jack’s” chest, “You’ll see development which is the same development a girl this age would start realizing.” Irene tapped a few keys on her laptop and the MRI picture of “Jack’s” abdomen was put up on the huge monitor above her head. “The image you now see is the lower abdominal region, where here and here are the ovaries, and here and here are the fallopian tubes; this region here is the uterus, and this is the cervix, and this the vaginal canal. These images were sent to experts in the imaging field for their opinions, and to a person, what you are seeing is the internal anatomy of a female, a female who just happens to be my child—who was misdiagnosed ten years ago and thought to be a boy until a few days ago. Ladies and gentleman, Joslyn, the name our daughter has chosen, is going to have reconstructive surgery to correct the abnormalities which occurred while in my womb. For you gentleman who don’t know, it is vital her vaginal canal be opened or when she starts puberty and starts her menstrual cycle if the body can’t expel the fluids, which developed in preparation for pregnancy, then she could develop an infection which could in all likelihood prove fatal.” Irene watched as almost every woman in that audience nodded their heads in understanding exactly what Irene was telling them. Irene knew some of the men who also nodded had medical training in other fields but also understood what she was telling them.

“Ladies and gentleman…let me be very clear here tonight. Our daughter IS going to have the required surgery, and heaven help anyone who tries to get it stopped. This is all I have to present, so please, if there are any questions I’d be happy to answer them.” As Irene watched, a rather slim man stood and asked, “Doctor, are you saying your child is going to be having sex and get pregnant at her age?” Irene could not believe that ignorance was as thick as this man just proved. “Ah, Mister….” Irene prodded, “Adams, ma’am, Horace Adams.” “Mr. Adams, each month a woman’s body goes through a cycle that prepares it for pregnancy, and it happens to girls who start puberty—this occurs whether the woman wants it or not. An egg is released from the Ovaries, travels down the fallopian tubes and if it isn’t fertilized then her body sloughs off the now unwanted material and the woman/girl experience her period. In my daughter’s case, Mr. Adams, without a vaginal opening—and please sir if you have children you know what that is--her body won’t be able to expel the unwanted material and she could develop sepsis and would then require emergency surgery to open her vaginal canal, and medication to fight the sepsis and whatever other infection that occurs. So to answer your question Mr. Adams, no my daughter is NOT going to have sex and get pregnant because of the surgery or at her age. Are there any other questions?” Irene asked as she scanned the audience. Seeing none she stepped back and Gail took over and thanked everyone for coming and hopefully what was presented tonight dispelled any rumors anyone had heard. “And if anyone has a question Dr. Winslow will be available in front of the stage.”

Irene and Gail walked down the stairs for the stage and stood in front of it so anyone with additional questions could come up and ask them. Irene did field a few questions but more than a few told her they’d support her and her family. One woman and her husband asked if they could make an appointment to speak to Irene professionally about their son. Irene could read the worry, concern, and fear in their faces and asked when they could come and see her. The woman told Irene they were free in the morning, with Irene asking if 9 o’clock in morning was alright with them. They said 9 o’clock would be fine and they would see her then. After the couple left Martha Jordan walked up and told Gail, “Gail I want to apologize for my outburst tonight, that old fool just doesn’t know when to use his ears and when to use his mouth. Plus, years ago I know a family who had a boy like yours Dr. Winslow,” “Please, Martha, Irene,” Irene told the woman before she continued. “When he was born everyone thought he was a boy because he had a penis and at that time a penis meant a boy, so he was raised as a boy until one day at school he collapsed at school with terrible stomach pains and a real high fever. He was rushed to the emergency room where they performed every test they could think of but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It got worse before a doctor who happened to be visiting was asked to look at the boy and she immediately ordered a Sonogram. After she watched the Sonogram she ordered a rush MRI and as it turned out, the boy was actually a girl who had been having her period and all the fluid was trapped inside her body. She underwent emergency surgery and with the help of medication, she finally recovered. The doctors were worried she might never have children, if she wanted, but a few years later she and her husband now have three beautiful children. You see, Gail and Irene, that family is my sister’s family and it was her daughter, so every time I hear talk of another boy having this problem I think back to her family and how they almost lost a child because someone decided the baby must be a boy because it has a penis. Very few in the family were ever told because of attitudes like Cyres’, but tonight he’s going to hear the story which has been keep secret too long. Maybe then his attitude will thin out a bit, or maybe it’s time he live someplace else if he doesn’t.”

As Gail and Irene listened to Martha’s story, they saw tears roll down her cheeks as she explained the reason behind her outburst. And when she finished, both Gail and Irene had to wipe their eyes as well. The three women hugged before biding Martha a goodnight, and so did Gail and Irene. That night when she and William got home, and the kids were in bed, the kids would have yet another story to tell their parents sometime in the future after their parents closed their bedroom door.

~~~~Chapter 11~~~~

The next day at school, based on the discussions they heard, it was evident to the teachers that many parents had talked with their kids about the presentation at the parents meeting the night before. By the same token, it was evident some had not and this was causing a lot of friction between the two groups. It was at recess that as Jack sat and watched all the arguing taking place on the playground that he decided he needed to do something to help to put an end to all of it. He walked up to his teacher, Miss Patty Dority, and asked if he could talk with Mrs. Monrow. When Patty asked him why, he explained, “I want to ask Mrs. Monrow if she’d let me talk to everyone in school so they’d stop arguing with each other.” This was not the first time Jack had thought of others and tried to help when he could, and seeing how important this was to him agreed to take him to the office. After having another teacher on the playground cover her class while she took Jack to the office, as they walked down the hallway Patty told Jack, “You are a very brave and caring person, Jack, to let all the parents know about your medical condition. And if I’m right, you want to do that now, right?” Jack was silent for a moment, forming his answer Patty thought, before telling her, “It’s the right thing to do if it helps others understand and maybe help someone else like me.” All of the teachers talk about the students they have when they get together, and those who’ve had Jack as a student say he acts more like a mature high school student than a ten-year-old elementary student; and that has been the case ever since Jack came into Patty’s classroom.

After Jack talked with Principal Monrow, Gail asked Jack to wait outside her office because she wanted to talk with Miss. Dority. “Well, what do you think Patty, is it the right thing to do based on the meeting last night?” Patty had to think a moment about Gail’s question before telling her, “I watched the usual parents we have trouble with during the meeting last night, and they were upset when they sat down, but showed they understood that this thing with Jack was an medical emergency and that alone won them over. They also must have spoken with their kids because they were the kids that were defending Jack on the playground. I think Jack is right, it’s the right thing to do.” “Thanks Patty, guess you and Jack better get back to class,” Gail told Patty as she checked the schedule to make sure no classes were at recess. She then went to the school intercom and told the entire school there will be an assembly at two-thirty in the auditorium, and it was very important that everyone attend.

When she had made the announcement she turned to Cindy and asked, “Have I done the right thing Cindy, by letting Jack tell the entire school about what he’s going through?” Cindy pulled up a chair, patted the seat and waited until Gail sat down. “Gail, whether he said anything today or tomorrow, when she came to school after she’s healed enough there would be talk about how she dressed. Like the others here at school, I’ve watched that boy, um, girl since she started here, and there’s never been a student before or since that cares more for others then themselves. Jack needs to face things on his own terms, and his telling IS facing this on his own terms. So yeah, you’ve done the right thing; let’s just hope those kids who weren’t told take the news well, and this doesn’t get a mob carrying torches and pitch forks bang down our doors.” Gail chuckled at Cindy’s last comment before hugging the woman and telling her, “Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

At a little before two-thirty, the auditorium started filling up with students as the classes filed in and sat down. Gail intercepted Jack as he came in and walked with him to the stage, and asked him again if he was sure he wanted to do this. His response was short and to the point, “Yes ma’am, I want to do this.” Before she stepped up to the mike she asked Jack not to use a lot of medical terms but terms his classmates would understand. His response was even shorter by his saying, “Okay.” When she received the signal that all classes were in attendance, she opened the mike and called everyone to quiet down and listen to what’s about to be said. “Judging by what many have been saying on the playground, your parents spoke with you last night about the parents meeting they attended. By the reaction from some of you it’s obvious your parents didn’t speak with you after last nights’ parents meeting or your parents did attend. Because of what those of you who weren’t told have been saying, Jack Winslow has asked to speak with you and tell you what he’s been going through and what he is about to go through. This is very serious, life threatening even, so if anyone makes fun of what he tells you or laughs because of what he says, you are going to wish you didn’t attend this school. Jack.”

“Last night our parents had a meeting so my mom, Dr. Irene Winslow, could tell your parents about something that was discovered about me.” As Jack started speaking had someone dropped a pin the whole auditorium could have heard it hit the ground, it was that quiet. “I was taken to Children’s Hospital and had an exam including a Sonogram—that’s a machine which can look inside you without being operated on. Dr. Michael saw something that had him worried so he had an MRI done on me—that’s a real big machine that takes real good pictures of your body, and it’s REALLY noisy.” A few kids laughed at the way Jack described how noisy the MRI was before continuing. “When I was still in my mom, I didn’t develop right and when I was born because I had a thing that looked like a boys’ thing the doctors believed I was a boy; and that’s how I was treated for ten years. But when they looked at the MRI pictures they saw I had girl parts inside and then knew I was really a girl with some outside girl parts which didn’t form right when I was still inside my mom. In a couple of days I’m going into the hospital and have surgery to fix the outside girl parts so I’ll look like other girls, so I won’t be in school for a while. But when I return I will be dressed as other girls do in girl clothes and will go by the name of Joslyn.” While Jack was talking Gail had watched the kids in the audience to see if any were upset by what Jack was telling them. Some made faces when he mentioned boy and girl parts, but otherwise they were taking the information quite well. The real test would be when they got home and told their parents about this assembly, and whether or not their parents flipped their lids because their child was told something they didn’t want them to hear. She had already formed a response should any parent show up at her office tomorrow, she’d simply tell them that when Joslyn starts attending school their child was going to start asking questions and it was better for them to know the truth now, then cause a problem later. She was also going to make sure Gordan, one of the security guards, was somewhere nearby if/when a parent came in firing both barrels.

Gail stepped up to the mike after Jack had finished speaking and told the kids, “Thank you for being very polite while Jack was speaking, you all may return to your classrooms.” It was two-fifty so each class had ten minutes before the bell rang to dismiss school. She had instructed each teacher to answer any question the kids might have to the best of their ability, and not to sugar coat anything. These kids may be young, but they were not stupid.

Shelly had Jack scheduled to enter the hospital Wednesday after school, with the operation taking place the following day at 9 a.m. She and her team had met every day to map out what each would be doing and when, so that they didn’t get in each other’s way and to insure the operation went smoothly. Judging by the MRI and still pictures she had taken, opening the vaginal canal would be the less time consuming of the two operations they were going to perform; the clitoris would be more problematic. She also wanted to have the time to explain to the Winslows what they were going to do so they’d have some idea why the operations were taking so long. She also wanted to alleviate their fears and let them know that they’d asked another plastic surgeon whose team had done several of these operations to assist in Jack’s operations. Shelly knew what needed to be done, but knowing and doing are miles apart when it came to surgery. She had seen one done, and now it was her turn, under supervision, to do one herself. That was the adage, “See one, do one, teach one,” it was one way every surgeon learned their trade. She also hoped the family could sleep well the next two nights because their stress levels were going to be off the charts come Thursday morning; Jack would be given something to help him sleep better Wednesday night.

Tuesday night four people had a hard time sleeping because of the impending operation. The fourth person, the one surgery would be performed on, slept like a log. Wednesday morning was even worse for four of the Winslow family, everyone but Jack were nervous, antsy, almost short tempered, and rushing around like they were late for something. In short, they were all worried about Jack, about what he was about to undergo in 24 hours. They feared something would go wrong and he’d be gone from their lives forever. When everyone was sitting around the kitchen table for breakfast, only Jack ate his breakfast, or at least didn’t push his food around his plate. “Jack,” said Tracy, “How can you be so calm when you’re going to have surgery tomorrow?” As the family watched, Jack mulled over her question before telling her, “It’s something that has to be done to make me better, and getting upset over it won’t make it go away on its own.” This was not the first time four members of the Winslow family had been in a tizzy, and it had not been the first time Jack’s demeanor had made them realize that reality sometimes couldn’t be changed. Of the four, Irene was the one who was trying to be stoic, until the kids walked out the front door to catch the school bus. William held her tight as wracking sobs escaped from her because of her fear for Jack, and what would happen to their family if Jack never came home from the hospital.

Irene had taken the kids to school Wednesday morning, and after kisses the kids went to their classrooms while Irene went to the office. There she filled out all the paperwork which explained why Jack would be out of school for an extended period of time; providing medical documentation to help explain the absences. She also filled out the paperwork explaining why Tracy and Marcy would be missing school on Thursday, as they asked her to let them be at the hospital with her and their dad. Gail and Irene talked for a while about the surgery and everything they were going to do, and how long it would be before Joslyn would be back in school. Gail also gave Irene her shoulder when Gail saw how scared Irene was, which was totally understandable. When Irene had cried herself out, and after repairing her face, the two said their goodbyes with Irene going to the hospital to work--hopefully. Gail somehow knew Irene would get very little work done today, and would make it a point to have Bill watch over things so she could be there for the family at the hospital. She also said a prayer for that family, they were very special.

~~~~Chapter 12~~~~

William and Irene were overly surprised as they pulled into the school parking lot to pick up the kids, only to see that the entire school had turned out to see Jack off, hearing a lot of “Good luck” as they were pulling up where their kids stood waiting. It also looked as though the teachers had formed a hugging line because as they watched, teacher after teacher hugged Jack before letting the next one in line have their turn. William saw tears in Irene’s eyes because of all the concern displayed by the school. He also knew he’d better not try and talk right then until the lump in his throat went away. After the kids were in the car and the family started driving away, there were shouts of “Good luck,” and “God speed,” and “Hurry back,” and a few other well wishes that couldn’t be heard as their car traveled further and further from the school, coming that much closer to the hospital and everyone’s fears, except Jacks.

Drs. Keller and Oslow met the family as they walked into the Children’s Hospital and walked them to the Check-in desk to get Jack started on his way to becoming an outwardly appearing girl, to match the physical girl he actually was on the inside. They then escorted the family to the floor and ward where Jack would be staying that night and several nights after surgery, and let the charge nurse show Jack and the family to Jack’s room before she shooed everyone but Jack out of the room so they could get him settled. When they were allowed to reenter Jack’s room, they saw he’d been attached to an IV and monitoring machine, and wearing PJs provided by the hospital. He was lying placid under the light sheet and blanket which covered him, nothing unexpected from Jack, or when he asked, “I’m hungry, do I get something soon?” All of the family face-palmed and shook their heads before laughing and heard Marcy say to Jack, “Look where you are, in a hospital. You’re going to have surgery and all you can think of is your stomach.” Jack had a puzzled look on his face because of what Marcy said; it was the one he gave anyone he thought made a strange statement. “Just because I’m going to have surgery doesn’t mean I have to starve, doesn’t it?” That question got his hair ruffled by Marcy before she told him, “No, I guess it doesn’t,” then she kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “I love you.” The nurse still in the room had laughed along with the family before telling Jack he would get a meal before too long and a snack before nine that evening, but wouldn’t be allowed to eat or drink anything after nine. Hearing what the nurse just said caused Jack to make his “I don’t like the idea” face which his family also knew meant he’d go along with it anyway.

When Jack’s evening meal finally came the family went down to the cafeteria to have their meal, before returning to Jack’s room and giving him heartfelt goodbyes around seven. There wasn’t a dry eye in that room as one by one his family hugged and kissed him before finally leaving to return home. This was going to be the first time Jack had been away from his family during the night, and even he shed a few tears at the prospect. “We will be here at seven in the morning, okay,” Irene told him as she held him close, while tears ran down her cheeks. “You make sure you don’t give these nurses any trouble, alright?” She felt Jack nod his head, before a final kiss and Jack watched his family walk out of his room.

That night at the Winslow house everyone was very somber. The girls were told to work on their homework, to give them something to do and take their minds off their soon to be sister; the girls worked in Marcy’s room but took longer than normal because they held each other and talked most of the time. Irene and William weren’t much better, just sitting on the couch holding each other. Because they’d need to get up early to be at the hospital by seven, the girls went to bed around ten that night, only to knock on Irene and William’s bedroom door and complain they couldn’t sleep. That night the four slept in the same bed where they all talked for some time before Tracy finally asked, “He’s going to be alright isn’t he?” before sleep finally took them all.

The next morning was a rushed, frenzied, tizzy, worried morning for the Winslows as they all hurried to bath, dress, and get breakfast before heading to the hospital to be with Jack before he was taken into surgery. William had to rein in his emotions as he drove the family toward the hospital, as he was so wound up on the inside he had trouble keeping to the posted speed limit. The usual fifteen ride to the hospital from their home seemed to take forever before they pulled into the hospital parking lot, parked the car and almost ran into the hospital and to Jack’s room. As they quietly entered Jack’s room they found him wide awake and sitting up in bed, wearing a hospital gown instead of the PJs he had on the night before. In their excitement to see Jack they soon found out that a family hug was a bit awkward due to the IV, the bed, and the other equipment used to monitor Jack. So one by one he received big hugs and kisses on the cheek before being asked, “Did you sleep alright?” Irene asked Jack as she hugged him. “I guess so,” Jack replied, “They gave me a pill and I don’t remember anything after a few minutes.” The nurse in the room told them, “He slept real well, his vitals were good all night, and when we came in this morning he was complaining about being hungry.” Because Irene was hugging Jack all she could do was laugh, but the other three face-palmed, shook their heads and laughed. “I’ll leave all of you alone right now, and we’ll be back at around eight-thirty to take Jack to surgery,” the nurse said before leaving the room. For the next hour they made small talk, talking about anything and everything, except Jack’s surgery. Jack could see how worried his sisters and mom and dad were so he finally told them, “I can see all of you are worried, but Dr. Shelly said everything will be fine. I trust her so can’t you trust her too? I also know things could go wrong—and no, no one told me it’s something I realized a few days ago—and it’s possible I might die, but that’s part of life too isn’t it? I don’t get the feeling it’s my time to go, so maybe you all could relax and think about everything we’ll be able to do when I become a real physical girl?”

At Jack’s declaration there were tears and surprise because of his self-realization about the risks of the surgery. “And just think, daddy, four girls will soon be vying for two bathrooms and three may someday be bringing home three boyfriends.” Those cheerful words from Jack not only brought William to tears but caused him to need Irene for a few moments, as he cried thinking about the possibility of losing this precious child. When William was finally able to talk he said, “Um…well…maybe we’ll just have to add another bathroom so I can have one for myself.” That caused everyone, including Jack, to laugh and helped break the tension they all felt. It wasn’t far from the truth because he and Irene had discussed adding to the house and when they learned about Jack’s condition, realizing another bathroom would be needed—they had wanted a large family room ever since they purchased the house several years ago but couldn’t justify the expenses. Now they had a real reason to add to the house as they’d always wanted.

A few minutes before eight-thirty, two nurses and two orderlies, all wearing scrubs, came into Jack’s room. One nurse injected a medication into Jack’s IV while the other disconnected the monitoring machine. The first nurse explained, “This is something to help you sleep, Jack, so don’t be worried if you start feeling sleepy.” The other nurse told the family they were going to take Jack up to surgery now and they could wait in the lounge on that floor. She was unable to give them an exact time Jack would be in surgery but said it would be good for them to take breaks now and then, even getting lunch, and they’d be notified when Jack was out of surgery. Tracy and Marcy were first to hug and kiss their new sister, telling him they loved him before William then Irene. Seeing his moms’ face Jack told her, “Mom, it’s going to be alright, I’m going to be alright, and you can start calling me Joslyn after they straighten out my plumbing.” That last part brought a laugh to Irene, as her precious daughter was doing her best to cheer her up before doctors were going to cut into her. A tearful Irene hugged and kissed her daughter before standing back and watching as Jack was wheeled out of the room and up to surgery. A laugh could be heard by anyone in the hallway after Tracy asked, “Can we get something to eat, because I’m hungry.” William, Irene, and Marcy suddenly felt the pains of hunger after Tracy’s question, so because they had plenty of time, and because they all needed the distraction, they headed to the cafeteria and food.

They had taken the nurse’s advice and did leave the surgical waiting room often, even going for lunch. William was very grateful to see Gail arrive and included her in their breaks. It was just after one of their breaks early in the afternoon when Shelly came into the waiting room. By the concerned looks on all their faces she knew to get right to the point, “Joslyn is out of surgery, and the surgery went well. Your daughter now physically looks like any other ten-year-old girl. Now, you can’t see her right now because we have her in intensive care until we’re sure there aren’t any unexpected complications; and she’s going to be asleep until later this afternoon; and she’s going to be in pain, which we’ll give her something to help manage. GO HOME, REST, and then come back tonight for a short visit. We don’t want to tax her too much today after surgery, so—GO HOME AND GET SOME REST!” Shelly said the last with a smile on her face, receiving hugs from everyone before saying goodbye and returning to Joslyn. Before Gail left she told Irene and William, “I’ll make the announcement at school to let everyone know Joslyn is doing okay. I’m going to encourage get well cards be dropped off here for her and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if her room becomes a zoo of stuffed animals.” Both William and Irene hugged her, kissed her cheek before thanking her and watching as she left.

“Well,” William started saying, “It looks like our daughter, your new sister,” he pointed at Tracy and Marcy, “Is doing well and I think we all need something to eat and rest before we come back here tonight.” Three heads nodded in agreement before hand in hand the four took the elevator to the ground floor, walked out of the hospital in search of something to eat before they would be sound asleep shortly after returning home. Their baby was safe, their sister was safe, and she would now be the real girl on the outside she had been on the inside for the past ten years. William realized there’d be no one to carry on the family name, but the trade-off was all the grandchildren he and Irene might one day have so they could spoil them rotten. And teach them how to love each other.

~~~~Chapter 13~~~~

They arrived at the hospital shortly after seven that evening, after a very good nap and supper at the family’s favorite Chinese take-out restaurant. As they reached Joslyn’s floor, Irene told the rest to go on and she’d be with them in a moment. Irene then went to the nurses’ station and asked to see Jack Winslow’s chart, being a member of the staff her request was not given a second thought. As she scanned her chart, she was very pleased to see Joslyn was receiving meds to help ward off any infections and meds to help manage her pain. Thanking the nurse at the desk, she picked up the phone and dialed Shelly’s office number, receiving a “Hello, Dr. Keller,” after the second ring. “Hi Shelly, it’s Irene, do you have time to visit for a bit.” “Oh hi Irene, did the family get that rest I ordered?” Irene laughed before telling her, “Yes we did. If you have a few minutes I’d like to hear how the surgery went and what all was done.” “Tell you what, Irene, give me about fifteen minutes to finish up here and I’ll be up there and we can talk. How’s that sound?” Shelly asked Irene before hearing, “That’d be fine, I’ll see you shortly.” Irene hung up the phone then walked the short distance down the hallway and into Joslyn’s room, rather surprised at what she saw the minute she entered the room. It had only been a few hours but Joslyn’s room was starting to look like a stuffed animal zoo. There had to be at least twenty stuffed animals lying around the room, ranging from palm sized stuffed animals to those about two feet tall. And when Irene looked at her baby she saw her sitting up and chatting with Tracy and Marcy in a very animated way—not unlike the time the four had gone shopping for more clothes at Jack’s request. Jack, Irene reflected, a son they never really had; a son so serious and devoid of emotion, so logical, so down to earth, a son she would miss was so opposite to the very happier daughter she saw sitting in that hospital bed laughing at something one of the girls had said. Her new beautiful daughter had come alive after ten years.

Irene put her wool gathering aside and almost rushed up to Joslyn before hugging and asking her, “How are you doing? Are you in much pain?” Joslyn fiercely hugged her mom, kissed her cheek before telling her, “It hurts a bit, but I was told they put medication in the IV to help with the pain. They didn’t want to put in too much or it might make me wonkers.” Joslyn giggled after saying “wonkers” which was something Jack would never have done. Irene pushed back from her daughter and gazed at her beauty, her now very bright eyes and her extremely happy expression. This was a completely different child than she had a few hours ago, but only time would let them know how different she happened to be. A light knocked on the door caused everyone to turn and see Dr. Sherry come into the room. “My Joslyn, don’t you look pretty tonight. How are you feeling—is there much pain?” When Joslyn told Dr. Shelly about the same as she told her mom, Dr. Shelly told Joslyn she wanted to check her dressings. She walked on the opposite side of the bed away from the family, to give Joslyn a bit of privacy, before lifting the bedding and checking to make sure the dressings were still holding, and to see if there was any bleeding. “Well, everything still looks good,” Shelly told the family before replacing the bedding and walking back around to stand with the family.

“Now, Joslyn is going to be with us a few days until her dressings can be removed, and we’re sure there is no infections and she’s healing properly. I hope you don’t feel embarrassed William, but once Joslyn is all healed you will never know she had surgery. She will appear as though this is how she was born. And you can credit such fine work to Dr. Paul Morton, a great plastic surgeon and teacher. Don’t be surprised if he comes to visit you, Joslyn, he too wants to make sure you’re healing properly. Besides, he didn’t get to meet you before the surgery and wants to see the awake you.” This caused Joslyn to giggle and give Shelly a very bright smile and a, “I’d like to meet him too, and thank him for what he did for me.” Shelly patted Joslyn’s hand before she and Irene left the room. Fifteen minutes later Irene returned to Joslyn’s room after getting details about the surgery; she’d talk to William later, even though everything did go well. In short order it was finally time to leave, with each giving Joslyn a hug, a kiss, and a “I love you” before the family left for the evening. On the drive home, Tracy and Marcy almost fell asleep due to exhaustion. This would be one night after William closed their bedroom door the girls would not have anything to tell their parents in the future, except how happy they were that their sister WOULD be coming home.

Everyone felt so much better the next morning, more so Irene and William, since the surgery had been successful. Tracy and Marcy had tried to beg off going to school but Irene put her foot down and two rather disappointed girls left the house to catch the school bus. After the girls had left, Irene grabbed William into a hug and told him, “I’m so thankful Joslyn is alright. I was so worried we’d lose her and I feared what it’d do to our family had that happened.” William held Irene tightly and told her, “I felt that way too, I couldn’t imagine this family without her. And I’d miss her dearly.” They stayed in each other’s arms for a while before William pulled back, and kissed Irene with as much passion as time permitted, and then told her he needed to get going. As he turned to leave, Irene, with a twinkle in her eye, grabbed his butt as tightly as she could. William reached and grabbed her hand before pulling her into another passionate kiss and stroked her at the same time. “Um…see here big fella. We have to get to work, and we don’t have time to finish what’s being started. Think you can contain yourself until later tonight,” Irene asked William as he continued doing marvelous things with his hand. “I’ve been doing more reading,” was all that William told her before giving her another deep kiss and going off to his practice. Irene had to use a cold washcloth to help cool her face off after William had left; later tonight was going to be very pleasurable.

Irene had an unfair advantage over the rest of her family since she worked at the hospital. Her first stop was to check on her daughter, and see how she was doing a day after her surgery. When she walked into Joslyn’s room she was just finishing her breakfast, and gave Irene a sun bright smile upon seeing her. “Hi sweetie, doing better today,” Irene asked as she gave Joslyn a hug. Joslyn made a face after taking a spoon full of oatmeal and asked her mom, “Do you think they’d let you bring me breakfast, this stuff tastes like glue on paper.” That caused Irene to let out a deep laugh before she told her daughter, “Hospital food for patients can’t be spliced up like the food sold in the cafeteria, it might affect the medication they are taking. And no, they won’t let me bring you breakfast so suck up and eat what they bring you.” It was hard for Irene not to laugh as she told Joslyn this, because Joslyn had made another face after taking another spoon full of oatmeal. “Hang in their sweetheart. You’ll be home in a few more days. I spoke with Dr. Shelly and it’s only been one day but you’re healing nicely—she checked when they changed the dressings.”

“Ugh…” Joslyn grunted as she took yet another spoon full of oatmeal, “If they keep giving me this food you’ll be able to tie a string to my leg and use me for a kite, I’ll have lost that much weight. Maybe you can sneak something in at lunch, or this evening?” Joslyn asked her mom as she did something Irene had never seen her do, she tried to give Irene puppy-dog eyes, and it caused Irene to lose it big time, which caused Joslyn to start laughing until she laughed a bit too hard and felt pain in her lower abdomen. “You alright hon, do I need to call someone?” Irene asked Joslyn as she saw the pain in her face. “Yes I’m alright mom I just laughed too hard. And no you don’t need to call anyone.” Joslyn made another face as she pulled the spoon out of her mouth yet again, causing Irene to start laughing again, before Irene told Joslyn she had to go but would check on her later. As Irene kissed her daughter’s cheek she told her, “I love you sweetie,” before leaving the room and heading to her office to start her day. “Blah…” Irene heard as she started down the hall to the elevators, and chuckled all the way.

Irene did check on Joslyn a couple of time before lunch, only to find Joslyn asleep. She brought her lunch tray up to Joslyn’s room so the two could have lunch together—and let Joslyn sneak something off the try while Irene wasn’t looking, of course. Between afternoon clients Irene would look in on Joslyn and started noticing the zoo was increasing in inhabitants; and there were also more get well cards. Irene checked on Joslyn before she left for the day and found her daughter sound asleep while holding a cute little hippo. She kissed her daughter on the cheek before whispering, “We’ll see you tonight,” and received a very sleepy, “…okay, bye mom.”

For the next week, this became the family’s routine, with Irene keeping watch during the day and William and the girls coming in the evening. One morning as Irene came into Joslyn’s room, Shelly was examining Joslyn. The heavy dressings had been replaced with lighter ones a few days ago and Shelly was just changing the one when she told Irene, “Hey girl, I think we’re going to let you take your girl go home with you this afternoon. She’s doing great and there’s no reason why she can’t give this bed to someone who needs it more.” Joslyn really liked Dr. Shelly, because she had treated Joslyn well and always tried to boost her spirits when it got a bit rough the past few days. The two woman laughed when they heard, “Alright, I finally get to eat real food for a change.” Shelly got serious and looked pointedly at Joslyn, “Listen very closely to me Joslyn, this is really important. I’m going to give your mom a list of foods I want you to eat so you can get your body built back up. And while it can have some seasonings, you can’t have much. Another thing, do not pick up anything heavier than a school book—not even a book bag or you might rip the stitches. Walk, don’t run or jump, and if you have to go up and down stairs, go slow, very slowly. In fact it won’t hurt you to walk for ten to fifteen minutes a day until I clear you to return to school. After you get much better I’m going to have you take physical therapy to help build up and stretch your groin muscles. Also, I understand you’ll be meeting with Dr. Terry? Be upfront and honest with her, she so wants to help you learn many things a real girl would know at your age that you missed out on; and help you adjust to being a girl. I’m going to miss seeing you every day but I know it’s important for you to be with your family. Do you think you could do something else for me?” Shelly asked Joslyn. “What’s that Dr. Shelly?” Joslyn asked as Shelly took the girls’ hand in hers. “Continue being the sweet girl I’ve come to know. Continue being concerned for others as you’ve done while here in the hospital. The little bit you’ve done for others while you’ve been here really helped them get through some rough patches, and helped them get better. You’re a very special girl Joslyn Winslow, don’t you ever change.” Shelly hugged Joslyn, kissed her cheek then wiped a tear that had rolled down her own cheek. Joslyn hugged Shelly before telling her, “I’m going to miss you too, Dr. Shelly, and thank you for what you did for me.” All three had to wipe their eyes before Shelly was able to tell Irene that she’d get the paperwork ready to discharge Joslyn when Irene left for the day. She also suggested Irene hire a moving van to more the zoo to their house; there was now over fifty stuffed animals of various sizes sitting in the room, even though some had already gone to other children in the hospital.

That afternoon, Joslyn was surprised when Mrs. Monrow and Mr. Tolman walked into her room, followed by her mom and dad and Tracy and Marcy. “Hi Mrs. Monrow, Mr. Tolman, what are you two doing here?” Joslyn asked the pair, hearing Gail say, “We’re here to help move you and your zoo home; how about that?” Gail and Bill had brought one of the school vans to help carry all the items Joslyn had received over the past few days of her stay in the hospital. Irene had already told them that she and Joslyn had talked and Joslyn wanted to send many of the stuffed animals to kids staying in other hospitals nearby, some were marked to go home with her and the larger animals would be given to organizations in the city which provided toys for Christmas. Gail and Bill started placing those animals marked for Joslyn’s home in a bright colored garbage bag and those that would be going to other hospitals into different colored garbage bags they brought with them; the rest of the stuffed animals, the larger ones, would be stored at the hospital until they could be picked up by the organizations that had be contacted. While Gail and Bill were sorting and packing the stuffed animals, Irene helped Joslyn get dressed. Because of her surgery Joslyn would be wearing only dresses and skits until Shelly gave the all clear to start wearing pants. It wasn’t long before Gail and Bill had taken the zoo to the school van and Joslyn was dressed before a nurse came in carrying the discharge papers Irene or William had to sign. She was followed by an orderly pushing a wheelchair which would be used to cart Joslyn out of the hospital and to the waiting family car. “Food, I’m finally going to eat REAL food,” Joslyn chanted as the group started for the elevator only to stop now and then when a nurse wanted to say “goodbye and good luck.” Joslyn took a deep breath as she was wheeled out of the hospital, it seemed a long time since she smelled the outside air. The orderly helped Joslyn into the family’s car before hugging her and telling her to behave herself. That caused Joslyn to giggle before giving the big man and hug and kiss on the cheek. “I will, and thank you,” Joslyn whispered to the big man just before he closed the car door and headed back to the hospital.

Shelly and Irene had spoken several days before the surgery about how long Joslyn would be staying in the hospital after surgery, how long her physical therapy might need to be, and Joslyn’s approximate total recovering time—provided everything went well. Because Joslyn would be at home for at least two weeks before the thought of her returning to school could be discussed, Irene had cleared her calendar and told the hospital administrator she would be taking at least two weeks off once Joslyn was discharged from the hospital; and more if needed. When Shelly had told Irene Joslyn could go home that afternoon, Irene took the time to go over the cases her colleagues would be handling during her absence, and called William to let him know also; he’d pick up the girls after school and together they’d take Joslyn home. Joslyn did discover a downside to her recovery as Gail told her before she and her family left the hospital for home. “Joslyn, I’ll make sure the classwork you missed is sent to your home, and make sure each day’s classwork is delivered so you don’t get behind.” Gail and Joslyn’s family members only laughed when Joslyn made her “this stinks” face after what Gail told her. “Sweetheart,” William began, “I can see you think this all stinks, but you can’t let yourself get behind at school. For a while you won’t be able to do much of anything and catching up on your school work, and doing your daily school work, will keep you busy until you can start doing more. Hang in there, okay, at least for a little while longer.” The old Jack would have kept the family waiting for his answer, but this new person they now have was more assured and answered much quicker with, “Okay daddy, I may not like it but I can see it needs to be done so, okay.” Gail and Bill followed the Winslow’s home in order to drop off the stuffed animals Joslyn wanted to keep before saying their goodbyes and telling Joslyn they can’t wait until she can come back to school. Joslyn hugged both and told them, “Thank you very much for what you’ve done.” As Joslyn slowly made her way into her house, the others heard her chant, “Food, I’m finally going to eat real food.”

Shelly had given Irene instructions about checking Joslyn’s dressings and how often to change them. She also wanted to see Joslyn every three days to see how she was healing. At the end of the first week out of the hospital Shelly changed Joslyn’s dressings to something much lighter and smaller, and by the end of the second week the stitches had been removed. When Shelly asked, Joslyn said yes, she and her mom had been walking as she had been told, and they were walking longer distances each time. Shelly asked how she was doing with Dr. Terry and was told, “There’s a lot to being a girl, nothing like when everyone thought I was a boy. But it’s sooo cool.” A beaming smile appeared after Joslyn’s last statement, which caused Shelly and Irene to laugh. “Yes, sweetheart, being a girl can be really cool,” Shelly told the girl before hugging her and telling her and Irene to get out, go home, scoot she had other patients to see. Joslyn and Irene only laughed at Shelly’s playful goodbye, but both were very thankful for the work she had done.

It was now four weeks after Joslyn’s surgery, one week in the hospital and three into her recovery. At Shelly’s last visit she felt Joslyn was doing so well that she could start a gently physical therapy to help strengthen her groan muscles and get her hips loosened up after so little activity. She also told Joslyn that if she was very careful, no running or jumping or picking up object heavier than a school book, she saw no reason she couldn’t return to school. This news was a two edged sword to Joslyn. She had enjoyed the freedom from having to be at school but she missed being at school, she actually like to learn and being home as she had, she had time to read what she wanted when she wanted; plus get her class work done. Shelly told Irene she wanted to see Joslyn in another week and at that time, after she talked with Terry and Joslyn’s physical therapist, they would decide if she could increase her activity. But until then, and she pressed Joslyn’s nose, “Stay with the program.” Joslyn giggled before telling Shelly, “I will.”

~~~~Chapter 14~~~~

Shelly had seen Joslyn the Friday before and saw Joslyn still healing nicely. She told Joslyn, again, about being careful so no running or jumping or no stretching other than what her physical therapist had her do. She also said no pants yet, so it would continue to be dresses and skirts, and this morning, her first day back to school, she would be wearing not only a dress but all the necessary undergarments. Joslyn was like Jack in that when he made up his mind it was made up—although it sometimes took him a while to make up his mind. Joslyn, on the other hand, made decisions light years faster than Jack and already had all of her clothes picked out, made the bathroom route, and was almost dressed when Irene came into her room to see if she needed any help. What Irene saw when she came into Joslyn’s room was an almost comical contortionist trying their darndest to zip up the zipper on the dress they were wearing. Irene had to cover her mouth to keep from outright laughing, so instead said, “Here sweetheart, let me help you with that zipper.” Joslyn gave Irene an exasperated look of “thank you” as she turned around and felt the zipper close. “Give it time,” Irene hugged her daughter and finished with, “It takes practice and patience.” Irene kissed Joslyn on the cheek then told her to finish dressing then come down to breakfast.

Because it was Jack’s first day back as Joslyn, and because no one had seen Joslyn yet, no one knew how others would react, and because of the jolting the bus ride would cause, Irene told the girls she would be taking them to school until Joslyn was healed enough in Dr. Shelly’s opinion to take bumps and jolts and climbing stairs normally. So it was when they reached the school, Tracy and Marcy went to their classrooms and Irene and Joslyn went to the office, to see if there were any problems that had cropped up during Jack’s absence. Gail and Bill were very happy to see Joslyn and how much she had changed. Comparing Joslyn to Jack would be to compare a dark room with all the curtains drawn to one with all the curtains opened and windows open, or the difference between night and day. Both administrators could see how happy Joslyn was compared to Jack; she had a twinkle in her eyes Jack lacked. She also had an aura that seemed to touch any and everything as she walked by. And she was so much more open as she told them when they saw each other, “Good morning Mrs. Monrow, Mr. Tolman, it’s great to be back in school.” The three adults eyed each other upon hearing this declaration and nodded in agreement that this was a totally different child than the previous child.

“Good morning to you too, Joslyn, we’re very happy you’re back with us,” Gail and Bill almost said together. Gail then had Irene and Joslyn come into her office before Joslyn was taken to her class. When Irene asked about any problems, Gail told her, “Well…there haven’t been any problems per say, but the school jungle drums say there are still a few parents who think Jack is trying to pass himself off as a girl, even after your presentation. And, don’t worry about anyone bothering her, I’ve sent out notices about Jack returning to school as Joslyn and should any child cause her any harm said child would be out of school for two weeks.” Gail also asked Joslyn, “If anyone bothers you because you are now who you should have been years ago, even if no teachers’ around, you tell either Ms. Dority or you come see me or Mr. Tolman—got it?” Irene then went over the restrictions Dr. Keller had placed on Joslyn, and Joslyn knew it was going to set her back if she went against Dr. Keller’s orders. Hearing that from her mom, Joslyn giggled before telling her mom, “Mom, I promised Dr. Shelly I’d stick to her program and that’s what I’ve been doing.” Gail then asked Irene if she’d like to walk Joslyn to her classroom, and maybe talk with Ms. Dority a bit before leaving. Mother and daughter liked that idea and bid Gail goodbye as they headed to Joslyn’s classroom.

Patty Dority lit up like a Christmas tree when Joslyn and Irene walked into the classroom, telling Joslyn, “Hey there good looking, good to see you back with us. How are you feeling today?” Patty gave Joslyn a hug before stepping off to the side to speak with Irene. After Irene told Patty about Joslyn’s physical restrictions Patty told Irene, “We had a meeting a few days ago when we heard Joslyn was coming back. We also heard there are a few students who’ve heard their parents talk too much and will likely try and bother Joslyn somehow. Gail said she tell you about the two week vacation any child who bothers Joslyn will get, so I’m presuming she has. Your daughter has won over the hearts of the teachers at this school because of how Jack treated others and stood up for them when she and they got bullied. So I just want you to rest assured we WILL bounce the butt of the first student who bothers your daughter. And we won’t care who their parents are or who they know. Once the other students see how serious we are about leaving Joslyn alone by booting a student out of school for two weeks, they will get the message.” Irene hugged Patty and told her how much what she and Gail told her helped relieve some uncertainty she had about Joslyn coming to school today. Irene parted with Patty, waved to Joslyn and told her she’d see her after school and left for the hospital.

Joslyn’s walking, and working with her physical therapist after her surgery, helped her a lot when it was time for recess. While she didn’t make any sudden moves while she walked, had the school not know she was going to have surgery no one would know it by how normal her walk appeared; so she was able to walk with the rest of the class out to the playground. And it was during this first recess that mommy and daddy’s too often spoken out of turn raised its head, as three boys and two girls approached Joslyn as she sat in the shade and watched the other kids at play. “So Jack, my dad says you’re nothing but a queer faggot, who is only pretending to be a girl. We’ve come over to see for ourselves—we want to have a good look. No teachers are looking, so pull up your dress so we can see for ourselves.” The bigger boy standing in front of Joslyn, and at the head of the small group, had a leer in his eyes which told Joslyn he was going to get a look whether Joslyn wanted to show him or not. What that little group didn’t know was that cameras and microphones had been installed on the building to monitor the playground not only for Joslyn’s safety but the others too, and their little group and what was just said had been spotted and heard and phone calls were now going out to the teachers on the playground.

“Tell me something, Toby, why do your parents have such a hard time believing what my mom said at the parents meeting? Weren’t they there, was the material to detailed, because if it was I can explain everything to you and your friends. But as to your seeing for yourself, you made a big mistake wanting that to happen. And think about this while you and your friends are on a two week vacation, how would you feel if you were in my place for the past ten years, only to find out someone, when you were born, mistaken you for a boy because you had what looked like a boys plumbing? And how would you feel if suddenly everyone started in on you after you had surgery to correct a birth defect? I think all of you need to look behind you right now, ‘cause you’re in a boat load of trouble.” Toby wasn’t sure what Joslyn was talking about but turned around and saw three teachers standing right behind the four, and they didn’t look happy. “Alright you five, let’s go up and see Mrs. Monrow, and give your parents a call to come and pick you up.” Third grade teacher Kathy Parks told the five, before asking Joslyn if she was alright. “Um…Mrs. Parks, by the way Toby was talking I don’t think his parents told him about the letter that was sent out about me. Maybe it might be best to find out before they’re giving vacations? They can’t be blamed for their parents’ stupidity if they weren’t told.”

Kathy had seen Jack do this very thing a few times in the past, when he’d been confronted and that person had been caught. “If they didn’t know, Joslyn, what would you suggest be their punishment?” Kathy asked Joslyn, as the other two teachers had already started leading the four to the office. “Well, Mrs. Parks, if you call their parents and the parents didn’t tell them about the letter they received, the parents are going to be mad and take it out on their children, and the kids won’t know why they’re in trouble with their parents. If they have to stay after school their parents will be mad and even madder when they find out why—again because they didn’t tell their kids about the letter. Maybe the best is to have them do extra work on a subject which deals with people who aren’t born looking ‘normal’ or people who have birth defects. That way just because their parents didn’t want to tell their kids about leaving me alone, those five won’t suffer for something their parents didn’t do. And you could have them do the work during as many recesses as it takes to complete the work.” Kathy just looked at Joslyn for a moment, thinking how far this girl was going to go in this world. “Joslyn, that’s a very unselfish and caring idea, and I’ll pass it on to Mrs. Monrow,” Kathy told Joslyn before turning and following the small group heading to the office. Joslyn later found out from Patty that the five had never been told about the letter which had been sent to their parents, and Joslyn’s idea of not punishing them because of their parents’ stupidity was a very good idea; they were going to miss a lot of recess until their assigned extra work was complete.

The rest of Joslyn’s day passed uneventfully, after word spread about what happened to the other five students. In fact, during the next recess, Joslyn held her own court as many kids wanted to know how she was feeling and what they had to do to fix her; and she was blatantly honest with whoever ask a question. She did have one little bit of a surprise when she sat down too fast at her desk and was shocked by the amount of pain she experienced, but explained to Patty, who saw her pain, that she just forgot to take things slower for right now. As the day passed Patty started noticing something that hadn’t happened when Jack was in the class, Joslyn was participating more often, which led to other students participating more. It was as though Joslyn was a catalyst that made other students become more involved. She thought this a good thing, for several days later, after grading a test she saw that everyone’s test scores had markedly improved. This one change had done wonders for everyone in that class, and as it would be seen, for the whole school. In fact, at the next teachers’ meeting more than one teacher commented about how the students in their class had improved, and what a change had taken place since Joslyn had returned to school. They also noticed how Joslyn seemed to be the “go to girl” if someone was having a hard time with a subject—she had a way of explaining something so that person understood what they were doing.

Joslyn’s life had started taking on a normal routine as the days and weeks passed, with regular visits to Shelly, Terry, and the physical therapist. As each visit was made Joslyn was given permission to increase her activity by a little more, including light jogging, until six months Shelly gave Joslyn the go ahead to wear pants if she wanted; she also told Joslyn she could increase her jogging to slow running to make sure she felt no pain before running faster. This news might have just saved Joslyn when during the seventh month after her surgery, that two brothers started attending her school.

Ten-year-old Thad Johnson and his twelve-year-old brother Charles became the newest students at Joslyn’s school when their mom and dad were transferred to the city in order to head up the new manufacturing plant that was being built. Frank and Caroline Johnson was a husband and wife team the company found worked so well together that everywhere they had worked that plant increased its profits significantly. One of the reasons they were so successful was due to how they treated the employees who actually did the work. Where those employees were used to getting threatened and yelled at when production in their department fell, Frank and Caroline actually took the time to ask why. They also included those same employees in bull sessions to try and find a way to increase production without any adverse effects on the employees. These two simple actions spread through each and every plant the couple touched and soon they became the “go to people” when a new plant was being brought online or needed help. And their attitude wasn’t left at the plant, as it traveled with them wherever they went, with whoever they met. However, it was not shared by Charles, who had been forced to move several times, leaving good friends behind, and he harbored smoldering anger.

It was about two weeks after Thad and Charles had started attending their new school, and had heard talk about Joslyn having been Jack some months ago, that when none of the teachers were looking, or so they thought, that the two boys, led by Charles, grabbed Joslyn and dragged her into one of the boys’ restrooms. While Thad pinned Joslyn’s right hand against the wall and Charles her left, each boy stood on a foot so she couldn’t kick either of them. “I hear tell you used to be a boy, who now says he’s a girl,” Charles told Joslyn in a very angry voice. “We heard you had an operation to make you a girl, and I want to see if that’s true,” Charles said to Joslyn as Joslyn struggled against the holds the two boys had on her. Before Charles could do more Joslyn asked him, “Charles, how would you like it if the bigger boys pinned you against the wall in order to pull down you jeans so they could see between your legs? How would you like it when they spread it around what they did and how you looked down there? Now put yourself in my shoes right now and tell me how you’d feel being like this?” Charles had a feral grin on his face as he told Joslyn, “I don’t care about what ifs just right now I want to see.” As he told Joslyn this his left hand started down between Joslyn’s legs, only to be pulled up short as both boys were lifted off their feet by a pair of strong hands gripping the base of each boys’ neck. Mitchel Thorton, the schools’ maintenance man, and actually a Giant Red Wood on two legs, had just happened to be passing that boys’ restroom, heading to the office, when he heard Joslyn’s voice coming from inside; he also heard what Charles had told her. As the boys’ kicked their feet in an attempt to get free, Mitchel asked, “Are you alright Joslyn, did these boys hurt you?” When Joslyn indicated she was alright Mitchel placed the boys back down but never released his grip. “Well boys, this might just be your last day at this school,” Mitchel told them as he asked Joslyn to open the restroom door and following him to the office.

When the four reached the office Mitchel once again asked Joslyn to open a door and walked into the office still holding the two boys. Cindy saw them coming, got up from her desk and knocked on Gail’s door before opening it and telling Gail, “You’ve got company coming, Mitchel is bring those two new boys to see you; and Joslyn’s right behind him.” Cindy pushed the door the rest of the way open before stepping out of Mitchel’s way as he pushed Thad and Charles into Gail’s office, followed by Joslyn. As Cindy closed the door she heard Mitchel tell the boys in an angry voice, “Sit down and don’t you move a muscle, or it will get very nasty in here. Sweetheart…” he said as he turned to Joslyn, “…please tell Mrs. Monrow what happened.” Joslyn related how she just came out of the girls’ restroom and was on her way back to class when Thad and Charles grabbed her and forced her into the boys’ restroom in Hall C. She then told how they pinned her to the wall and Charles told her he wanted to look at what the doctors did to her; and after trying to talk them out of it, Mr. Thorton came along and her we are.

Gail turned to the computer, typed a few keys then picked up the phone and made a call.

“Hello, Mr. Johnson? This is Mrs. Monrow at the Digger elementary school. Yes that’s right, I’m the Principal. Mr. Johnson I need you and your wife to come to the school because there has been an incident involving Thad and Charles. Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, in that case I’ll contact the police. What’s that; fifteen minutes; very good Mr. Johnson I’ll see you and your wife then.”

Her next call she really hated to make, after everything Jack had been through, but it had to be done.

“Hi Irene, I need you and William to come up to the school. I’d rather not say over the phone, except to say that Joslyn is okay. Okay, that’s fine; I’ll see you both in ten minutes.”

She then dialed Patty’s number and explained the situation and asked not to say anything if anyone asked about Joslyn. “Just tell if someone asks that she had more paperwork to fill out for me. They know her story so whoever asks will believe it.” She then dialed another number and asked one of the school security officers to come to her office; Mitchel was a witness and shouldn’t be keeping watch over the two boys.

Peter Jinkins was as big as Mitchel, they were cousins after all, and once he arrived, she explained the situation to him then turned to Thad and Charles, “Sit right where you are, you will not get past this man so don’t even try.” She then motioned to Mitchel and Joslyn to follow her out of her office, closing the door behind her she told Cindy, “Cindy, get Bev and then the two of you go into one of the evaluation rooms and take Mitchel’s statement. Note the date and time, and who is writing down the statement and who is witness to the statement. Once you have Mitchel’s statement, Mitchel I need you to stay here in the office while Joslyn gives her statement. Joslyn once you give your statement I need you to stay here in the office, I’m sure the Johnson’s will want to hear what happened from the two of you. Cindy, once you have both statements, you and Bev sign the draft copies you make then type up both and sign those too.” As Mitchel followed Cindy, Gail mumbled under her breath, “Damn, what a mess.”

Irene arrived first, with William hot on her heels, five minutes after Gail placed the call. They saw Joslyn sitting with one of the secretaries and after seeing she was okay turned to ask Gail, who had come out of her office to meet them, what happened. When William heard what Gail had to say it took both women to keep him out of Gail’s office, but he did say some things he rarely said in public. Gail asked they not speak to Joslyn until she had given her statement because she didn’t want anyone to think anyone told her what to say. She also said she wanted a meeting with both parents after the Johnsons had been apprised of the situation. Irene had to hit William as hard as she could to get his attention because he was beyond mad, and knew she had to calm him down quick. Irene took Gail’s suggestion that they use one of the empty evaluation rooms to talk and let William calm down.

Fifteen minutes later Frank and Caroline Johnson arrived at the school office, just about the time Joslyn was finishing giving her statement. One of the other secretaries helped the Johnsons and led them into Gail’s office, only to find Thad and Charles sitting opposite Gail’s desk. This was not the first time the couple had been called to one of the schools their sons had attended, but what they were about to hear was going to be shocking. “Mrs. Monrow, I gather Thad and Charles are in trouble for something,” Frank said to Gail, as he turned to Thad and Charles and asked, “You obviously did something or you wouldn’t be here now. So what did you do?” Thad squirmed in his seat but didn’t say a word. Charles, on the other hand, glared at his parents before forcefully telling them, “…we didn’t do nothin’!” There was a knock on the door and Cindy entered before giving Gale typed copies of the statements. “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, please be seated, this is going to take some time.” Gail told the couple as she watched them take the two remaining seats in her office.

“Thad, Charles, I’m giving you this one chance to tell your parents what you did. If you don’t tell them then Joslyn and Mr. Thorton will,” Gail said to the two boys, as she saw Thad getting more nervous by the minute. “Mrs. Monrow, Charles threatened to beat me up if I didn’t help him get Joslyn into the boys’ restroom, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.” As Thad spoke he had tears running down his cheeks, and Charles’ face burned red with anger. Before anyone could react, Charles was out of his seat and fiercely beating the frightened Thad. Peter grabbed Charles by the back of the neck and once again Charles found himself flying off the floor. Hopefully the rest of the school didn’t hear what Charles said because it wasn’t pretty. Frank immediately went to Thad, whose face was beginning to turn red and blue in places; his right eye was starting to close. Frank turned to Caroline, gave her their look, and she came over to look after Thad while Frank turned to Peter still holding Charles off the floor, grabbed Charles shirt and ripped the boy out of Peter’s grip before slamming him back into his chair.

Staring an extremely angry Charles in the eye, an even angrier father asked through gritted teeth, “What did he do Gail?” Gail could see without much difficulty that this was not the first time Charles had done something like this to get himself in trouble. While she wasn’t sure Frank was handling the situation with Charles correctly, she was sure someone had crossed that imaginary line, and that someone was Charles. Gail then read, verbatim, both statements, and asked if the Johnsons would like to hear from the other two involved. Caroline then said she’d like to meet them, while only getting a nod from her husband, while he continued to stare at his son. Gail buzzed Cindy and asked her to bring Mitchel and Joslyn into her office, and then called the nurses’ office and asked her to bring her kit to the office. Peter had to grab Frank when Joslyn walked into the room, because he was just about to hit Charles with his fist. It was about that time the nurse came into Gail’s office and Gail issued orders to those in the room. “Pamela, take Thad and his mom to your office and see what you can do for Thad. If it’s more than you can handle ask Mrs. Johnson what she wants to do, and then notify me. Peter, take Charles to evaluation room three, bar the door from the inside and I’ll have someone come and get you when I’ve had a word with Mr. Johnson. Mitchel would you and Joslyn have a seat in the reception area, you may be needed again. CINDY…” Gail hollered, and when Cindy appeared, Gail asked her to bring some bottle water.

Once Cindy had brought the water and everyone had left the room, except Frank and her, Gail told him to, “Please, have a seat Frank, and have some water.” She came around from behind her desk and sat next to him as he almost drained the bottle before she asked, “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, is it?” Frank just shook his head before Gail asked him, “Would you please tell me about it, we’ve had an assault here and I need to know his past before determining his future. You know of course, if the police get involved your son will likely end up in juvenile hall until he’s eighteen, right? By all rights I should have called them right after notifying you and your wife. But juvenile hall isn’t the answer, not for all the bottled anger Charles is showing. Please, tell me about his past.”

Both were quiet as Gail let Frank organize his thoughts. As Frank started to speak there was a knock on Gail’s office door, and when she opened it Caroline was standing in front of William and Irene. “Pamela said Thad will be alright, he’ll have bruising, his eyelid will be swollen for a time, but otherwise he’s okay.” Caroline had held herself together just long enough to relay Pamela’s message, before breaking down in wracking sobs; Frank took her in her arms and held her tight. Gail motioned for William and Irene to come in and take seats, while the Johnsons showed how upset they were by everything that happened as they both fell to pieces. William and Irene were not unsympathetic to what Frank and Caroline were going through, their business was sympathy after all, so while the Johnsons were still upset Irene asked if Gail would mind if she spoke to Charles. Gail knew Irene’s profession and felt if anyone could help Charles it might be her. “Go ahead, Irene, that’s one angry boy who needs help the school can’t give him. Maybe you can uncover the real problem and recommend a solution; he’s in evaluation room three.” Irene left the office after Gail’s blessings, walked to evaluation room three, knocked on the door and told Peter Gail said she could talk with Charles. Peter let her into the room and watched as she stood on the opposite side of the table from Charles. “What do you want, bitch?” Peter almost came off the door to get Charles to be more respectful, but Irene held up her hand to let Peter know to stay where he was. “Hello, Charles, I’m Dr. Winslow, Joslyn’s mom.” As Peter and Irene watched Charles went from an angry red face boy to one who looked like he would pass out at any minute—he was whiter than a ghost. Still using a calm voice Irene told him, “I’d like to speak with you for a little while, ask you some questions,” before pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Irene left the room fifteen minutes later, and walked back to Gail’s office. Frank and Caroline were now sitting on the small couch in the office, and just holding each other. Irene knocked before entering and took a chair almost directly across where the Johnsons were sitting. “Frank, Caroline, I think I can help Charles, but I’ll need to hear the whole store from the time Charles started doing things which got him into trouble.” Irene sat back in the chair and waited for one or the other to become the story teller. As William, Irene, and Gail listened, Caroline started the story, with Frank adding his part as well.

“Frank and I had been married for three years—we met in college--before Charles came into our lives. He was a very happy baby that grew into a happy toddler, and into a happy little boy. Frank and I worked as engineering designers for a large firm after we graduated college. After a while, after we started spotting errors in a lot of designs, we were approached to become a husband and wife team who would be sent to whatever plant that was showing problems in the products. We thought it was great, it meant an increase in our salary and we'd be around the city so we’d be home every night. It must have been when Charles was six that we were again approached and asked to take on the job of starting up a new plant in a neighboring state, again an increase in our salaries and more benefits. Frank and I talked it over and saw more pros than cons so we accepted but told the firm we’d go after Charles was out of school.” Caroline stopped and drank from the bottle water she was holding before continuing.

“That night we told both boys we were going to move to another state so ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ could open a new plant for the firm. Thad, who was four at the time, thought that would be fun since he’d get to see other places. Charles, on the other hand, went ballistic, telling us he didn’t want to move; telling us he didn’t want to leave his friends; telling us he wasn’t going to go. When we told him he couldn’t stay by himself he threw a full blown fit, with screaming and crying, he even threw one of Thad’s toys across the room. Frank had to pick him up off the floor, because he’d lain down and was kicking his feet against the floor, and took him up to his room and told him to stay there until he calmed down. We heard a lot of crying coming from his room at first, then things breaking. When we got to his room he’d smashed all of his toys against the wall. Frank spanked him then made him clean up the mess he had created. I had to give him his bath that night in order to make sure he didn’t break anything in the bathroom and hurt himself in the process. We then put him to bed and heard nothing more the rest of the night. Maybe we should have taken him to see someone because he was still very angry the next morning.” Frank reached up and wiped the tears off Caroline’s cheeks, before picking up where Caroline left off.

“Both Caroline and I thought once we moved, once Charles was in a new school he’d see how good it was to see new places and get to know new people, but it didn’t turn out that way, even before school was out and we moved. I got a call from the school saying Charles had hit another boy and slapped a girl, and they needed us to come up to the school. When we got to the school we found Charles sitting in the office, angrier than ever, he even tried to walk away before I grabbed his arm and made his sit back down. We found out the two kids were only trying to say goodbye to Charles when he struck out and hit them both. When we questioned Charles about why he hit the kids he told us it was because we were moving away and he didn’t want to go. Mrs. Gordon, the schools’ Principal, told us that Charles was suspended until Monday—it was Thursday. I took Caroline and Charles home where Caroline stayed with Charles and I went back to the plant. We knew we weren’t involved in anything major so no one would be upset that Caroline had to stay home with Charles for two days. That night when I got home Caroline told me she spoke with Charles and tried to make him see that it was not possible for us to stay and that he’d make new friends like he did there. She told me he just repeated what he told us the first time, he didn’t want to move, he didn’t want to leave his friends, and he wasn’t going.” Frank got a catch in his throat during his last telling and drank more of the bottle water he had as Caroline continued.

Just before Caroline started telling about the next leg of their journey which led to today, there was a knock on Gail’s office door. When Gail opened the door everyone saw Joslyn standing there and heard her say, “I’d like to speak with Charles.” Gail frowned upon hearing Joslyn’s request and immediately replied, “Joslyn, I don’t think that’s a very good idea at the moment. Maybe you can speak to him a bit later.” William and Irene knew she would never have made this request unless she was going to try and help him with his problem. “Gail…” Irene said to get Gail’s attention, “…I think this would be something that might help Charles come to terms with his anger. Joslyn, honey, are you angry with Charles?” All five adults watched and waited as Joslyn face showed she was thinking about her moms’ question before telling them, “No, I’m not mad at him but he’s very angry and I thought if I told him I’m not mad at him then maybe he’d let that anger go. And maybe he’d tell me why he’s so angry.” Gail received a nod from William and Irene, then looked at the Johnsons and received the same indication. She then stepped out of her office and asked Cindy, “Cindy, would you take Joslyn to evaluation room three so she can speak with Charles? Stay in the room with her, Peter is still there so he can handle any outbreak that might happen, and bring Joslyn back when she is done.” Cindy smiled at Joslyn, got up from her desk and told Joslyn, “Come on sweetie, let’s go and let you do your thing.” Joslyn had always like Cindy because she had a crazy way of saying something, and it almost always made her giggle as it did now. Gail watched the two walk down the hall to evaluation room three before going back into her office and closing the door.

Cindy knocked on the door and when Peter opened it, told him Joslyn wanted to talk with Charles. The two entered the room and from the look on Charles face it was clear he had been crying. Peter closed the door and while Cindy stood next to Peter, Joslyn walked over to the opposite of the table across from Charles. “What do you want?” Charles snarled at Joslyn, as he wiped his eyes. “You come to tell me how happy you are that I’m going to be kicked out of school?” More tears slid down his cheeks as he waited for Joslyn to answer his question. Joslyn stood stark still as she watched Charles, realizing he wasn’t really a bad boy just an extremely unhappy one. She could also see that he didn’t want to get kicked out of school but knew he had really messed up this time. “I came to tell you I’m not mad at you for what you did, and that I think you need a friend to help you get over all the anger you’re carrying around. I think you want to stay in school, that you actually like school, and want to be friends with the other kids, but your anger has made the other kids keep away from you. I’d like to be your friend and help you get over your anger so you can stay in school and make new friends.” As Peter and Cindy watched, Joslyn told Charles the same thing her mom told the parents who attended the parent meeting.

“I used to be alone like you; only I was depressed and didn’t know why. I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t want to disappoint them or my sisters. I used to be a boy, or everyone thought I was a boy since I had a boys’ ‘thing’. It took a spilled paint accident at the Community Center art program and my ending up wearing a skirt, blouse, knee socks, and Mary Jane shoes because my boy clothes were soaked with paint, before my mom took me to be examined by a doctor. Dr. Michael did a Sonogram which led to an MRI and they found out I was actually a girl whose gender was misjudged at birth because I had what looked like a boys’ peeing part. What they thought was a boys’ part was actually a girls’ part which didn’t form right when I was still inside my mom. And my girl opening didn’t form right so they not only had to fix my long girl part but open my girl opening or I might have been in worse trouble when I started having periods. That’s the surgery you heard about, that’s the surgery which helped save me a lot of trouble in a few months or a little longer. That surgery helped keep me from being rushed to the hospital because my period couldn’t get out of my body and was causing me big problems.” Peter, Cindy, and Joslyn watched as Charles became very quiet, and appeared to be thinking about what Joslyn had just told him. As what Joslyn had just told him, asked him, became clear, tears started to once again roll down his cheeks. Peter tensed as he watched Charles get up from his chair and walked about to stand in front of Joslyn; Joslyn just stood still and waited. In a horse whisper they heard Charles tell Joslyn, “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” before he hugged Joslyn and cried on her shoulder. When Charles had calmed down a bit, Joslyn told him, “I know you are, I saw it on your face the moment I came into the room. I said I’m not mad at you and I mean it, I want to be your friend.” Peter had been with Charles the longest and could see an immediate change in the boy. Cindy simply smiled, knowing Jack had done this several times in the past, but this was the first for Joslyn. Both Peter and Cindy could tell that it would be okay to let Joslyn stay with Charles, and Cindy felt she needed to tell Gail what just happened. She whispered to Peter and he just nodded before Cindy left the room.

Caroline was just finishing her telling of some problems Charles had at his last school, and how one boy he hung around with had been arrested outside of school for burglary and drug possession, and about the school before that where Charles had received a suspension for his attitude toward a teacher, and his continued anger, when there was a knock on Gail’s door. After Gail opened the door she became a bit anxious when she only saw Cindy standing before her. “Where’s Joslyn?” She asked Cindy as she glanced at Irene and William, and then back to Cindy. Cindy had a big smile on her face as she told Gail, “She’s with Charles, pulling a Jack.” William and Irene face palmed and chuckled as Gail laughed before beaconing Cindy into the office. Frank and Caroline were confused and puzzled by how the others were reacting because of what Cindy told Gail. When Gail stopped laughing she saw the expressions on the Johnsons face and asked Irene explain about Joslyn’s condition, after which she explained that when Joslyn was thought to be Jack he would stand up to those bullying others and shame them without actually making it sound like shaming. And that with each and every encounter he would always tell that kid he wanted to be their friend; even if that kid had done something to Jack. “Frank, Caroline, if Joslyn has pulled a Jack and got Charles to apologize then cry on her shoulder then he’s going to be fine, with more help if someone sitting here is willing to take on a new patient. Because as part of his condition on returning to school I will demand he be seen by a counselor as often as that counselor deems necessary, and you two see one as well, if for no other reason than to help deal with Charles’ past and your lives; if another person in this room will agree to take on another client.” William and Irene never mentioned their professions when they met Frank and Caroline, but went on to tell the couple what they did and where they worked and would be more than happy to help out the family. While Irene excused herself and headed to the evaluation room, William asked Frank and Caroline when they could meet with him today at his practice, getting a reluctant they weren’t sure, it depended on work. William then told the couple, “I think, if Irene is correct, your work is a big part of the problem with Charles. His acting out is a cry for your attention because work has always taken priority in your lives. So, I will see you at the address on the card I gave you at two this afternoon—no excuses, this is your family we’re talking about. And bring the boys, unless Irene has an opening this afternoon then they can talk with her while you’re with me.” William was not going to let the nice couple use their work anymore to get out of taking care of their family. Frank and Caroline could numbly only nod at Williams apparent brazen attitude towards their attending a session with him today.

Irene knocked on the evaluation room three’s door and asked Peter to let her speak with Charles again. As she walked in Charles was still hugging Joslyn and she him, before clearing her throat and asking if she could talk to the two of them. She walked over to the two kids, stood between them, and put her arm around both before speaking. “I see you’ve made a new friend, Joslyn,” she told Joslyn before hearing, “He just needed to know he was wanted and that someone cared about him, mom.” “And Charles, it looks like you’ve got a new friend whether you want one or not.” Irene heard a sniffle before, “Yes ma’am, looks like I do. And Mrs. Winslow, I’m really sorry for what I did and I’ll do whatever to make it right.” Irene let go of the two kids before pulling three chairs out from the table and arranging two so they faced the one, and asked the kids to sit down as she sat down in the one chair. “Charles,” she said with her kind and soft voice, which she always used when dealing with children, “You’re probably thinking I’m mad at you for what you did,” and saw Charles nod his head before continuing, “But I’m not, but I do want to help you. You and I and Thad are going to meet this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon and each afternoon after school and talk, just talk. And you can tell me anything you want and I’m not going to be mad or anything else. And I won’t tell anyone else what you say unless you let me because that’s how my job works. Now you have to do this because that’s part of Mrs. Monrow’s requirement for you to come back to school on Monday.” Irene watched as Charles processed what she had just told him before asking, “You aren’t going to yell at me or anything, right?” “No Charles, I’m not going to yell at you or anything, we’re just going to talk.” From experience Irene knew she had to present the facts but it was up to the child to make the final decision, and it was a decision she now heard from Charles. “Okay, I’ll come.” Irene could already see Charles was making progress because this was a different boy from the one she first met, and it was all because of Jack. “Peter I think we all need to go back to Mrs. Monrow’s office now,” she told Peter as she stood up and pushed the chair back under the table, followed by the two kids. With her arms around Charles and Joslyn’s shoulders, and Peter bring up the rear, they returned to Gail’s office to finalize everything so Charles could return to school on Monday.

Peter went ahead of the three and knocked on Gail’s office door before opening it after hearing, “Come in,” from Gail, then stood back and let the three fill the doorway. “I think it’s time we came to this meeting, Charles has some things he’d like to say, right?” With his feeling still in turmoil all Charles could do was nod his head in agreement. “You did okay, Charles,” Irene told him and hugged him close. She let the two kids walk in first, with Charles going over to his parents. “Um…I told Joslyn I was really sorry and I need to tell you that also,” Charles told his parents before being pulled into a hug and told, “No Charles, we should be apologizing to you for not being there for you, for spending more time at work then we should have. We forgot about you and Thad, but your mom and I are going to get some help to try and make us a family again,” Frank told Charles as he hugged his son tightly. “In fact your mother and I have been talking, and when everything is finalized we will tell you and Thad about it,” Frank said to Charles after he pushed Charles back so he could look into Charles eyes. “And something else, Charles, I need to ask you to forgive me for how mad I got at you because of the things you had done. I wasn’t thinking about you needing us, me, at that time, only how what you did was going to look for us as parents in the eyes of the firm. That was very selfish and wrong on my part, and I hope one day you can truly forgive me.” Charles reached up and wiped the tears off his fathers’ cheek before telling him, “Joslyn forgave me so I can forgive you and only want you as my mom and dad.” Everyone laughed when while the Johnsons were hugging their son they heard, “air air, I can’t breathe.”

While they were still holding their son Gail got serious when she spoke to Charles, “Charles I’m glad you see that what you did was wrong, but you are still suspended until Monday, and you must meet with Mrs. Winslow each day starting today while your parents meet with Mr. Winslow. Mrs. Winslow will also meet with Thad, because if none of you noticed, he was left out just like Charles, and needs help to deal with his feeling about everything he saw and heard. And Charles, you need to apologize to him as well for beating him earlier, and mean what you say because I have a feeling he’s able to tell when someone lies to him. Now it will be up to Mrs. Winslow how long you two meet each day and how often after these first few days, but if you want to come back to school you must meet with her, understand?” Gail waited a few moments before Charles replied with, “Yes ma’am, Mrs. Winslow explained that to me and I agreed to go.” Irene excused herself and when she returned to the office she had a very frightened Thad with her. As with Charles, Thad went over to his parents before breaking down and sobbing, “I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry,” as Caroline just held him in her arms. After Thad had calmed down a bit, it was Irene who spoke to him first. “Thad, sweetie, Joslyn knows you’re sorry and she isn’t mad at you,” she started before a confused Thad said as he looked at Joslyn, “She isn’t, why?” Joslyn smiled at Thad before telling him, “Because there’s more going on inside of you that you’ve kept stuck down deep, and it needs to come out. And it would only make things worse if I were to be mad at you.” As Charles did after Joslyn spoke with him, Thad came over to Joslyn and hugged her while tearfully telling her, “I’m so very sorry.” If was now Gail’s turn and she told Thad the same as she told Charles, getting the same response from Thad as she received from Charles. Gail was glad she hadn’t called the police when all this started, because then the family would never have been helped the way they are about to be helped. And they needed this kind of help a lot more.

The meeting broke up with Irene telling the Johnsons that she’d see Charles and Thad at one-thirty this afternoon and William reminded them he’d see them at two. Irene and William stayed behind after the Johnsons left, and Joslyn returned to class, because they wanted to speak to Gail alone. “Gads, that’s was intense,” Gail said as she took a real long drink from the bottle water. “I feel I made the right decision by not calling the police but I’d like to hear what you two think.” Just by looking at Irene, William could tell what her thoughts were so he told Gail, “That family is hurting and having the police involved wouldn’t have helped get them the help they really needed. In fact, it’s highly likely it would have broken up that family and both boys would have been worse off. Charles would have likely been sent to Juvenile Hall and would have been chewed up and spit out. That would have decimated the parents and Thad would still be left out of their lives. Gail, you made the right decision and I know after a while you will see a big difference in that family. And if I were a betting man I’d say Frank and Caroline are thinking about opening their own consulting business right here in town, and Charles and Thad won’t have to worry about another move.” Gail saw that Irene was nodding her head at everything William was saying, showing she totally agreed with her husband. Gail just chuckled before asking the couple, “Have you two every given any thought of opening your own practice together? I’ve never seen a couple so in tune with each other as you two are.” William and Irene only laughed, and told her they loved where they were, each giving her a hug before they left to have lunch and get ready for their meetings with the Johnson family.

Monday morning Gail realized that William’s prediction was true, she did she a markedly change in the whole Johnson family, as she wanted to see them before Charles and Thad were allowed to return to class. Charles didn’t look angry anymore, and Thad wasn’t as gun-shy as he had been last Thursday. And Frank and Caroline had a glow she hadn’t seen coming from them since they came to town. “Mrs. Monrow,” Charles addressed Gail, “I want to apologize for causing all the trouble the other day, Dr. Irene helped me understand why it happened.” For the first time since Charles started school here, Gail saw a sincerity which had been lacking from his first day. She could tell by looking at him that he meant every word he was saying, and felt he would never do such a thing again. “Charles, I accept your apologize, and I’m so glad Dr. Irene is able to help you with what was bothering you. But you must understand, this can never happen again or I’ll have no choice but to expel you from school.” “I understand Mrs. Monrow, and it WON’T happen again, you have my word.” As Charles told Gail this, she knew in her heart that he was telling her the truth and it would never happen again. When Charles had said his peace Thad told her the same thing, and again she could tell he was telling her the truth. “Mrs. Monrow,” Caroline said while holding Frank’s hand, “While this has been a mess for you, and we are sorry for the problem it caused, it was a blessing in disguise for us in that we got the help we never realized we actually needed. And it helped Frank and I make a decision to open our own engineering consulting firm right here in town so the boys don’t have to worry about us moving again—we were not too happy with the firm after some things we learned.” Gail tried to keep her mouth from hanging open after she remember what William told her last Thursday, about the Johnsons settling down in this town. “Mrs. Johnson, Caroline, I so glad to hear all of you are doing better and welcome to our town, I know you’ll like it.” She buzzed Cindy and asked her to have someone escort Charles and Thad to their classes and explain that their suspension had been lifted. After the boys left Gail asked the Johnsons if they could stay for a few minutes so she could get to know them better, and to find out how they’re doing since last Thursday. Thirty minutes passed quickly but Frank and Caroline promised they’d be at more school functions so they would see Gail more often. After the Johnsons left Gail sat back in her chair and felt a great deal of satisfaction knowing that the family was on the mend arising from one bad mistake. She only wished she could help others who she’s seen that need this kind of help. But as an old friend told her, ‘take your victories where you can find them’.

~~~~Chapter 15~~~~

Charles and Thad did improve as the days and weeks passed by, but it was Jack who popped up more and more with each passing day. One day, when the teachers weren’t looking, a bigger boy, by the name of Stephen, pushed a smaller boy down, and dared him to get back up. Kids have eyes teachers lack and Paul Harper stepped immediately in front of Stephen and began his version of a Jack. Paul is about four feet tall, plus change, he might weight fifty pounds, with weights tied to his legs, yet he stood up to Stephen, who towered over Paul, and as Jack did with Dylan, held out his hand and told Stephen, “I want to be your friend.” Paul’s last words, and whatever he said to Stephen before, brought out of him what he’d been stoically holding in and Stephen cried out, “My mom is dying of cancer,” and promptly dropped to the ground crying loudly. First Paul then other kids knelt down and hugged Stephen as he cried, which finally got the attention of the teachers. When a teacher finally came to see what was happening, Paul told her what Stephen said and asked if they could take him to see Mrs. Monrow so she could get him some help. That teacher had been there when Jack had helped Dylan, and saw how Dylan had changed because of Jack’s gesture, and couldn’t refuse letting these kids help Stephen. As the kids were hugging Stephen, Patricia Holding told him, “I know how you feel, my mom died of cancer a year ago. Let us take you to Mrs. Monrow so she can get you some help; she helped me when my mom died.” Patricia wiped tears out of her eyes, as the kids helped Stephen stand after nodding his head after what Patricia told him. Gail was surprised to see six kids helping a larger kid standing at her office door, but soon found out why when Patricia and Paul explained the situation. Gail asked Paul and Patricia to sit with Stephen as she made a phone call to the one person she knew had done wonders for those in school who needed her help, Irene.

And this is how the rest of the school year progressed; the kids taking more interest in helping those who needed help and trying to Jack those who refused to accept they needed help. Not all of those who refused to admit they needed help could be helped, they simply refused help and had to be suspended or expelled because of their continued abusing of others. It was during this period of time the teachers noticed something that made them exceedingly happy, something that changed dramatically from last year. Because the kids were taking more of an interest in each other they were taking more of an interest in helping each other do better school work, which translated into better grades. Those on the border line were now several points about that line, and so on to those who the teachers knew could do better but weren’t motivated enough to do so. This increase didn’t go unnoticed by the school district, and they wanted to know what was done to cause such an increase in overall grade average. When Gail was called into a meeting with the Superintendent of Schools, Mrs. Morgan Sharp, she said one word, Jack, and ended up explaining the meaning for the next two hours. “To put it simply, it was kindness shown to those in need of kindness, and getting help for those who needed help. This didn’t work with some but it did with a vast number of our students and thus the increase in grades and test scores. And it all started with a ten-year-old girl who was thought to be a boy at birth.” After hearing Gail’s story Morgan asked if she could speak with Joslyn one day at school, to which Gail told her she would ask Joslyn and get back to her. Two days later Mrs. Morgan Sharp met with Joslyn at school, during recess, in evaluation room three—a rather popular room of late.

Joslyn met Mrs. Sharp in front of Gail’s office before the two walked to evaluation room three for their talk. “Joslyn I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, and heard you had a rather rough ten years before everyone learned the truth.” Morgan watched Joslyn after what she said, wanting to know what type of temperament she had. But Joslyn could see what was being done and knew how to respond. “I didn’t really do anything good Mrs. Sharp, it was Jack who did what was the right thing to do. A lot of the kids needed help, and some were scared since it was their first day at school. And some had problems at home which carried over at school; my mom, Dr. Irene Winslow, MD/Child Psychiatrist, and dad William Winslow, PsyD, were able to help both the kids and the parents, and with that the kids did much better in school once their home life improved; ask Charles and Thad Johnson.” Morgan picked up on Joslyn’s use of her former name, Jack, and wanted to know more. “So most of your helping the other kids was done when you were known as Jack?” Morgan saw Joslyn had a mixture of confusion and puzzlement on her face before she was told, “Yes and no Mrs. Sharp. It was the first few weeks of school that Jack helped several kids and the rest of the time it was me or one of the other kids.” “Other kids, what other kids Joslyn?” Now Morgan saw a puzzled look on Joslyn’s face, as though Joslyn couldn’t believe she was asking such a question. “Well…I didn’t make any other kids play Jack but they started on their own to do what I did on the first day of school. When they saw a kid picking on another kid they stepped between the two and tried to make the aggressor see how it would feel if he or she was the one being attacked. Most of the time it worked, but sometimes Mrs. Monrow had to suspend or expel the kid. The one time it happened we found out a boy thought his mom was dying of cancer, but it turned out he only heard part of what the doctor told his dad and it turned out they’d found a medication that would help fight her cancer, but he was really a mess until he learned the truth; his dad had been so worried about his wife that he forgot his son needed to know what was being done for his mom.”

Morgan had never heard such an articulate child before this child, or one who refused to take credit for the things done at this school which turned the school around as it has. Morgan asked Joslyn how she felt during the years she was thought to be a boy and learned how depressed and sullen she had been during those years. She also learned that even though she was depressed and sullen she always thought of others before herself, not something considered normal in that type of condition. Morgan asked if Joslyn was aware how much the school has changed since Jack helped his first boy, getting a “not really” from Joslyn. Morgan felt this child was wise enough and intelligent enough to understand the charts she carried with her so she took them out of her case and proceeded to show Joslyn how things were last year and how they are now. And it seemed to be because of what Jack and she had done for other students. Joslyn just chuckled upon hearing Morgan’s last statement before telling her, “We were just doing what was right.” Morgan thanked Joslyn for talking with her and walked with her back to Gail’s office where Gail told Joslyn she should get back to class. As the two women watched Joslyn walk out of the office Morgan told Gail, “That girl is going to be quite the earthquake as an adult, if what’s been done at this school is any indication.” Morgan nodded her head when Gail said, “…and I hope I’m alive to watch it.”

As one elementary class graduates to the next grade, and one middle school class graduates to the next grade, and one high school class is kicked out into the real world, Jack went with those who learned how to be more than just a student. Like the front of a glacier, the old was pushed out while the new came in behind. After several years the schools in that town could boast of being the best anywhere in the country, simply because Jack followed along with each student. He didn’t die out once one elementary class moved forward but taught those coming in behind them by their examples. Of course there were bumps, and they were dealt with, but that didn’t deter Jack from moving forward.

Marcy was the first of the Winslow family to be kicked out into the real world, and the first of the three girls to enter University in the fall in pursuit of her medical degree and following in her moms’ footsteps. Joslyn was next, and gained not only her medical degree with training in psychiatry but a degree in psychology as well. Tracy was the third to get the boot and her path led to not only a medical degree specializing in pediatrics, but psychiatry, psychology, and sociology. With Tracy’s licensing the Winslow family basically became a medical family, and it wasn’t long before they opened their own practice. Gail Monrow had kept track of those students who were there the day Jack stood up to Dylan and told him, “I want to be your friend,” and saw many go into fields which helped those who needed help the most. And when Gail’s time finally came, there was standing room only at one of the biggest churches in town, because her old students had come to pay homage to a woman who had the courage to be Jack when he was needed. And Jack, why he still lives in the lives of those who first saw him, and learned about him, spreading far and wide to further influence the lives of others. And the original Jack, the girl who was thought to be a boy for the first ten years of her life? Not long after the family practice started, her husband joined the rest of the family in general practice, and relished in his wife becoming just like her mother, willing to help anyone needing help, including their four children. William and Irene were in their eighties when they finally turned the practice over to their girls, and the husbands who joined over the years. William and Irene were both over a hundred when they were able to see Gail again, and reminisced how a ten year mistake helped the lives of hundreds of people over the years. All because of a boy named Jack.