NotExpected 23

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn Thinking of Kelley and Jenny and their upcoming weddings, I was starting to wonder if finding a life companion was next on my list of accomplishments. I found myself wanting to be part of a loving married relationship again. While reading to the kids that night, I had felt a feeling that I had been repressing whenever I am around them. I realized that I wanted a family of my own. I wanted what Tom and Sandra have. I wanted a husband and children to love. I just didn't know how to go about it given my odd circumstances. I knew that I would have to trust fate to provide a way to add that missing link in my life. After all, Grandma had continued to tell me that she saw love in my future. I had smiled to myself as I realized, even without a husband and family of my own, I was content and happy.

Chapter 23

Pete and I enjoyed a delightful dinner sharing stories about our high school experiences and bringing each other up to speed on some of what we’d been doing for the three and a half years since graduation. I can’t remember enjoying anyone’s company so much in a very long time.

I learned a lot more about him that I had ever known and I am sure that he now knows more about me than he ever knew.

Dessert is long since consumed and we are still talking and laughing together when my cell phone goes off with Sandra’s ringtone.

"Oh no!" I exclaim looking at the time display on my phone. It is almost 9 PM. I don’t know where the time went.

"Hello Mom," I answer the phone with an apologetic look to Pete.

"Where are you, Andi?" She sounds worried. "We expected you hours ago. Are you in trouble?"

"No Mom," I reassure her, "I’m waiting out the traffic with a friend."

"I am sure that rush hour has been over for some time now," she points out. "Where are you?"

"I want you to think about this," I tell her while looking across the table at Pete, feeling a little giddy. "Where were you twenty years ago tonight and what happened?"

"No!" she exclaimed with understanding after the briefest of hesitations.

"Yes," I replied with a smile.

Pete is looking at me with confusion. He is obviously not understanding my side of this conversation and he could not hear Sandra’s.

"Do I need to make arrangements to reserve a certain park in June?" she asked.

I looked at Pete. The idea has merit.

"We’ll talk about it when I get home," I tell her, not dismissing the possibility. In fact the idea makes my heart soar. Over the last decade I have become a believer in fate and tonight is filled with consequences too close to be random.

"Do I know him?" she asks.

"I don’t think so," I reply, "His name is Pete Campbell. We were in high school together."

"A young man about your age doing an internship in our legal department over the holiday break?" Sandra asks me. "He finished a Political Science degree in three years, passed the LSAT exam in the top five percent, and his law professors in Madison were so impressed with him by the middle of his first semester that they approached us to give him experience over the break. They even asked us to proctor his final exams this week so that he can get an extra week in with us. That Pete Campbell?"

"Mom!" I am shocked. Pete hadn’t mentioned most of these accomplishments over dinner.

"I met him in a meeting today," she said. "He seemed to be on the ball, so I talked with the head of the legal department about him. I think that I remember meeting his mother at some function at the high school when you were students there. I remember her as being a very remarkable woman. If I remember right, his father is a local heart surgeon."

"We’ll talk more later," I tell her.

"I will be waiting up, Andi," she assures me.

It is going to be a late night.

Putting my phone back in my purse, I apologize, "Sorry, Pete. That was my mother."

He sighed, "I gathered that. I guess that I am going to have to learn The Facts of Life first hand if I want to ask you out again."

"How do you know about The Facts of Life?" I asked mildly surprised.

"Every male in our class knew about The Facts of Life," he explains, "Why do you think I avoided you in high school? The Facts of Life lecture is legendary."

"Does this mean that you are going to ask me out?" I ask him with a flutter of anticipation in my stomach.

"I would like to," he says with a hopeful expression. "I’ve had a great time tonight. I would like to do it again. How about you?"

"I would love to," I assured him with a big smile.

As Sandra had pointed out, the traffic is long gone by the time Pete walks me to my car and helps me dig it out. His car is parked nearby so I help dig out his while mine is warming up.

As we say goodbye, I go up on my toes and kiss him on the cheek, just as Sandra had done to me twenty years earlier. "Thanks for dinner. I will be waiting to hear from you, Pete Campbell."

A huge grin breaks out on his face, "How about doing something Saturday?"

The déjà' vu hits again. Parts of tonight's script are almost word for word the same as my date twenty years ago. I had asked Sandra out for a Saturday ski date at the time. We went out for pizza after a couple of hours on skis together.

"Are you ready for that?" I smile at him. "You will have to face my parents when you come to pick me up."

"You could meet me somewhere," He suggests.

"I tried that once," I told him. "It did not go well. I promised that I wouldn’t do it again."

"I better face the music while I’m still feeling careless," he sighed. "I promised to do something with the family in the morning. How about I pick you up at 2 PM and we go cross-country skiing then we can go out for pizza afterwards."

"Sounds like a date," I smile at him as a chill runs up my spine. "I will be ready."

I give him another kiss on the cheek, then we go our separate ways. I find myself reliving the evening in my mind as I make my way back to the mansion where Sandra is waiting for me. I am almost giddy in anticipation of Saturday’s date. I feel like a boy crazy thirteen-year-old girl again. I am just hoping that I can get my parents to tone down The Facts of Life lecture for Pete. It has been a while since they have given the lecture and I have grown up quite a bit since then, so I can only hope that they don’t scare this man off. I would like a chance to see where this relationship could go.

Twenty years ago, the events unfolded in an eerily similar way. Only then, I was not in fear of Sandra’s parents like Pete is of mine.

As I walk in the door from the garage, Sandra is waiting for me and envelops me in a big hug. She has tears in her eyes as I hug her back.

We just held on to each other for a minute, neither speaking.

She finally whispers in my ear, "This is too much of a coincidence."

"I know," I whisper back.

Ten minutes later, we are sitting cross legged on my bed facing each other after I changed into a warm flannel nightgown, my go-to sleepwear for cold snowy nights.

Sandra reaches out and takes my hands in hers. A feeling of warmth envelops both of us.

"I've been thinking ever since you called," she said. "I felt a shiver up my spine when you asked me if I knew where I was twenty years ago tonight. That was one of the most significant and exciting evenings of my life and I can't believe that I hadn't remembered it at all today. We've come a long way in the last twenty years, you and I."

"I know what you mean," I respond. "I hadn't thought about it either until we walked into the hotel restaurant. A feeling of overwhelming déjà vu hit me and I almost fainted. Poor Pete looked like he was going to try to catch me if I collapsed. Sandra, we had a most wonderful evening. I felt like I was in a time warp, only I was sitting, literally, in your seat this time. We even sat at the same table and same chairs. I am pretty sure that the same Christmas music was playing."

"Do you think that he is the One?" Sandra asks.

"I don't know," I respond with a longing sigh. I surprise myself by saying, "I hope so. He makes me feel different than I have ever felt around a man. It seems like a female version of the feelings I had for you on our first date twenty years ago."

"Do you think that he will ask you out again?" Sandra asks.

I grinned at her, "Ready for another coincidence?"

"He asked you to go cross-country skiing on Saturday at 2 PM followed by pizza," she stared wide-eyed at me.

"Yes," I told her with a silly grin.

"This is just too freaky," she says with a shiver. "It is the same, down to the hour. If he takes you to Sammy's and sits in the same booth, then you will know that fate is hitting you over the head with a 2x4."

"Tell me about it," I sigh, "He knows that you and Tom are going to want to talk to him and he's very nervous about that. He has heard horror stories about the Facts of Life talk since our high school years. The fact that you two own the company he is working for right now just compounds the problem. I am glad that your parents did not do that to me. I am not a teenager anymore, do you think that you can tone it down some this time?"

Sandra smiles gently at me, "I think that this is one time that we can edit the presentation. I don't believe in coincidences so we shouldn't try to scare him away like those other testosterone laden jerks that used to ask you out in high school."

"Jimmy wasn't one of those testosterone laden jerks," I pointed out.

Sandra sighed, "You are right. I do feel sort of bad about that one. You asked him out, not the other around. He was dating you for the money and wasn't interested in pursuing the relationship for other reasons common to testosterone laden teenage boys and we could have gone easier on him."

"What, exactly, is in the Facts of Life lecture anyway?" I asked. "It certainly strikes fear in the heart of the boldest of boys."

Sandra just gives a satisfied smile, "You will figure it out when you have a teenage girl of your own."

Well, I can tell that I'm not going to find out today.

"So," she gets back on topic, "tell me all about it."

We spent about over an hour dissecting everything that was said on that evening's date. I also admitted that I hadn't felt anything close to this since I was a boy crazy thirteen-year-old girl. My heart was a flutter and I REALLY hoped that he liked me as much as I was starting to like him. I spend a good amount of time waffling over what to wear on our ski date. I really want everything to be perfect. Sandra laughed, reminding me I was acting a lot like she did when she was engaged to Tom. She told me that she had been the same way when she first met me as Andy.

When I, as a teen girl, had gone off like this about some boy Sandra would try to bring me back down to earth. Not tonight. She seemed to encourage my ramblings.

"You really have it bad," Sandra points out.

"I know," I sigh, "You know what's really strange?"

"That you see yourself changing your name to Campbell?" She grins.

"Yeah," I dreamily reply, "I have never really seen myself in the role of a wife before. I've tried, but it has never felt right. Right now all I want to do is to march down the aisle in the most beautiful dress that Susie can make to meet him before the altar. I want to make love to him and have his babies. I want to face life by his side. I want to bring happiness to him. I want to discover every beautiful detail of the man and create a relationship like you have with Tom."

"We better get you on the pill ASAP," Sandra grinned. "In the meantime, I will give you a couple of Tom's condoms to carry in your purse. You don't really want to get pregnant before the wedding."

"Mom!" I exclaim, blushing mightily.

"A girl can't be too safe," she smiles knowingly at me.

"As much as I would like to," I tell her, "I don't think that I will be jumping into his bed anytime soon. I want to be sure that he is the One first."

Tom sticks his head in the room to see if Sandra was coming to bed. She tells him to not wait up for her, that she and I are having a serious girl talk. I know that he will get the executive summary in the morning. They share everything with each other.

"I have a good feeling about this," Sandra says as the conversation winds down. "I think that I should see about reserving the park for June."

"Mom!", I laugh, "We've only had one date! But right now, I hope that you are right. We just can't conflict with Kelley's wedding. Or Jenny's, if they ever decide on a date."

"Sweetie," she patiently observes, "you have all the signs. I think that the seeds of love were planted in your heart tonight and are already growing like weeds. I also don't believe in coincidences of this magnitude. I really do believe that fate is playing its hand. I also don't think that you will be able to wait too long for the wedding."

"Well, let's just let the seeds germinate for a while," I tell her. "Who knows if he even feels the same way. Anyway, he has another two and a half years of Law school in Madison and I have maybe another year left in Cambridge. Anything can happen in that time. We should probably wait until at least one of us is done with school before we start tying knots. Not only that, I am worried about the repetition in history being too close to the past. I don't want to have a 'warm up' marriage like ours was."

"Oh honey," Sandra tried to comfort me. "Who knows what fate holds? You know that I don't regret a day of our marriage. While I love Tom more than life itself, I would do it all over again to have you in my life. I really value the time we spent together as wife and husband. You have been my husband, BFF, and daughter and our love has grown with each step along the way. I think that you should go where your heart leads you with Pete and trust fate that all will work out as it should."

"Maybe," I sigh, "But then again, he might run screaming when I tell him my true history."

She laughs at that, "He just might, but I am sure that he has heard the rumors. Just the same, I would wait until things get serious before telling him the details."

"Maybe we should consult Grandma on this," she added.

"No way!" I say in horror. Grandma Broussard is now in her 90s but still living independently. Over the past decade, she and I have been fairly close. I spend time with her whenever we are visiting the Louisiana family. She still is not prone to giving me details when she looks into my future. She just tells me that the magic is pleased with what I have done with the opportunity that it gave me and that she still sees accomplishment and love in my future. "There is no way that I am involving her in this."

Even though I believe her magic to be benevolent, I shudder to think what the magic might do.

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't met Grandma?" Sandra asks speculatively. "I do."

"Me too," I admit after a moment's contemplation.

"Do you regret it?" she asked.

As I contemplate her question, I think about the consequences of that fateful day. There is no doubt that the two of us are in a much better place now than we were when we first went to Louisiana. Sure, I am no longer the man I expected to be for my whole life. But I can't even remember when the last time was that I thought about what it was like to be a man. I am completely comfortable being who I am now. I like myself. I like the love that surrounds our family. I like the love of friends that helped me learn to be a real girl. I like the opportunities that lie before me.

"No," I am pleased to say, "I don't regret it at all. I am glad that we went to see her. It is the best thing that we ever did. Things have turned out beautifully, even though it is not what we expected."

She hugs me tightly, "I agree."'

Just then my phone rings. Speaking of the devil, the caller ID shows it to be Grandma Broussard.

"Hello Grandma," somewhat surprised, I answer the phone on speaker. "We were just talking about you."

"I know, dear," she replies. I long ago quit wondering how she knows what she knows.

"Hi Grandma," Sandra greets her. "How are you?"

"I am doing fine for an old woman, dear. Thank you for asking Sandra. So, Andi," Grandma continues getting right to the point, "How do you feel about your date tonight?"

Of course, she knows about the date even if nobody told her.

"Like there are too many coincidences," I reply.

"Your date tonight was no coincidence," she informs me. "But, how do you feel about it?"

"I feel like an infatuated thirteen-year-old school girl," I tell her. "I feel like I am floating on a cloud, and worry that I will scare him away somehow. I want him to like me and afraid that he won't. I feel so confused. I feel like I did when I first met Sandra, in a female sort of way."

"Should we reserve a venue for the wedding?" Sandra asks Grandma.

"That depends on Andi," Grandma replies, "What you do with the opportunities placed before you, Andi, is up to you. You have done extraordinarily well up to now."

"By the way, Andi," she segues, "you will be done with your degree sooner than you think. A wedding this summer would be very doable."

"So," I ask her a bit in shock from her revelation, mentally filing away the comment about my degree for future consideration and getting straight to the most important question, "is Pete the One?"

"You will need to figure that one out on your own, sweetheart," a very typical Grandma response. "If I were you, I'd explore that possibility. Remember that he has a say in this too."

"Do you think that he will freak out when he finds out that I am really forty-one and used to be male?" I asked her.

"What does your heart tell you?" Grandma asks.

"It tells me that I am a confused, love-struck, puppy," I sigh. "It tells me that it wants this to work out."

"Well then, dear," I can feel her smiling over the phone, "make it happen, just like you have with everything other opportunity that you have been given. You heart will tell you what to do and when to do it. It may not be easy but it will all work out the way that it should. In fact, I think that telling him the truth about your past will be the litmus test of how strong your relationship will be. Don't be surprised if he needs some time to absorb the truth. Give him the space to do so. If he can't take the truth, then he is not likely to be the One."

"Grandma," I point out, "I don't want something to happen to Pete like it did to me."

"That was a unique situation," Grandma tells us, "I really doubt that it will happen again. But, how do you feel now about what happened to you? You weren't happy about it at first."

"I am glad it happened," I admit, "Sandra and I were just talking about that. I think that we agree that meeting with you turned out to be the best thing that we have ever done."

"Well," she suggests, "trust in the magic. Things may not turn out how you expect, but have faith that it will all work out for the best. Know this, Andi: the magic has taken a very special interest in you. You are destined to do great things. You will find a man equal to your potential, just as Sandra has."

"But," I ask, "is Pete that man? Right now, I really hope so!"

"You will know when it is right," she gently said. "In the meantime, follow your heart."

"In spite of your indirect answers," I tell her, "I love you Grandma. Thank you for all that you have done."

"And I love you too," Sandra chimes in.

"And I love you two as well," she replies, "I thank that day that you two came into my life."

"By the way," Grandma continues, "I wouldn't worry too much about scaring the boy off with the truth. He has heard the rumors of your true age and former gender but has still been in love with you since high school. The fact that he has asked you out is a sign that he has overcome his fear and can handle the truth. Sandra, I would go easy on him when he comes to pick Andi up for their next date."

"We will," Sandra promised.

"And Andi," Grandma advises me, "Remember what I told you at the wedding about being careful what you do with the boys. You are not infertile."

Sandra grins at me as she informs Grandma, "We've talked about that. Andi is going on the pill ASAP and she will be carrying a couple of condoms in her purse."

"Both are wise precautions," Grandma agrees. "Use both."

"I am not jumping in his bed right away," I inform them as I blush fire engine red. "I want to make sure that he is the One first."

"Very noble of you dear," Grandma says, "and I recommend waiting for the wedding. Don't take sex casually if you want a relationship that lasts, but I understand that couples these days don't wait for the wedding. Look how many of those don't work out. Just make sure that there is true commitment from both of you before you give yourself to him. You will be glad that you did."

"I agree," Sandra says.

"It has been wonderful talking to you girls," Grandma wraps up the conversation, "But now it is time for an old woman to get her beauty rest. Call me if I can be of assistance. Good night, girls. I love you both. I look forward to your next visit."

"Good night, Grandma, We love you too." we say in unison before disconnecting the call.

"Well," Sandra points out once we are disconnected from Grandma, "at least she didn't invite you down for a ceremony."

"There is that," I admit.

"I think that Grandma was trying to tell you that Pete is the One," Sandra said. "You just need to take your time."

Just then my phone chimes to let me know that a text has arrived.

It is from Pete. "Thanks for a great evening. I am looking forward to Saturday."

I quickly text back, "Ditto, and I am too." I am tempted to add some X's and O's but figure that it is too early in the relationship for that.

Sandra grins. "Guess who else is having trouble sleeping tonight. I am sure that he likes you too. Grandma seems to think that he has been in love with you since high school."

"Oh I hope so," I sigh. "I couldn't sleep the night I met you twenty years ago. Maybe it is the same for him."

"I didn't get much sleep that night either," Sandra tells me with a smile. "But you should try to get some sleep tonight sweetheart. I know that you have a couple of important meetings tomorrow."

After sharing a hug, Sandra heads off to bed and I finish my nighttime preparations while humming the wedding march.

On my way back to my princess bed from the bathroom I break into a cheer dance reminiscent of our seventh grade cheer lessons, ending with a punch, "Yeah!" I give in to an uncontrollable urge to twirl. It feels so good. I feel the urge to burst into song, but resist it.

I must be in love.

I love the confusion of new love. It makes my heart sing. I want to shout it from the rooftops for all the world to hear. At the same time, I am fearful that it isn't shared.

I take a moment to pick up and study the crystal that Grandma gave me over ten years ago. It has maintained a place of honor in my room all these years, almost like a shrine. Beside it hang my friendship and wedding band necklaces. It is also surrounded by my Prom Queen crown and various awards and mementos from my middle and high school years. Since the crystal completed its transition to pink years ago, the translucent crystal seems to have slowly become clearer and the pink within has developed a soft soothing glow. You can just notice it across the room in the dark. The crystal seems somehow to be more pure tonight. It may be my imagination, but it would seem that the glow is a little more intense than it has been.

I sit cross legged on my bed, brushing out my long mid-back length hair with a smile on my face, humming love songs, as I contemplate the meaning of all that has occurred this evening.

I can't wait for Saturday to come.

I wish that I was with him now.

Maybe I'll run into him again tomorrow? I certainly hope so. I am going to need to find an excuse to stop by the legal department. What should I wear to impress him if I do? I mentally go through my wardrobe looking for the sexiest dress that is still appropriate for work. I think that I need to go shopping.

Tomorrow will definitely be a sexy lingerie day. Sadly, I don't have much to choose from. It looks like another thing to shop for, I smile to myself.

On a whim I jump up and change into a sexy black see-through baby doll nightie with matching thong that I have buried in the back of my drawers. Once, when feeling silly, each member of the Posse had bought similar ones for a sleepover at the condo during our senior year of high school. It had been a fun party being silly and watching teen chick flicks. We turned off the webcams that weekend and I don't think that they've been on again since. The nightie hasn't been worn since that weekend. Striking poses in front of the mirror I am sure that Pete will drool over this outfit. With my hair down, I look like the definition of a boy's wet dream straight out of a girly magazine. I smile when I think of the next sleepover where this lingerie will make an appearance. Just the thought of what Pete will do to me when he sees me like this gets me all hot.

If things get as serious as I hope they do, I'll have to invite him to a sleepover at the condo. Just the two of us. Things will have to get very serious before that happens. I won't give up my virginity on a whim. Maybe I will open the condo up this weekend and freshen it up a bit. Those old webcams can go. The condo hasn't seen much use in recent years but I still hang on to it. The Posse gathers there each Holiday break for at least one evening. They all still have keys to the place and I know that more than one of them have broken the sacred rule of no boys in recent years. I noticed a large half empty box of condoms in a drawer in the bathroom last time that I was there. I keep thinking that I will move back into the condo when I finish my degree, which Grandma thinks will be soon, but I like being home with the family too. I idly think about making it our first home together before realizing that Pete will be in Madison for a couple of more years. If we marry this summer, I will be moving to Madison too.

I hum to myself as my mind relives tonight's date for the umpteenth time.

I should have kissed him on the lips, not the cheek. I will correct that oversight on Saturday, just as Sandra did twenty years ago.

My mind replays all the events and experiences of the past twenty years that have contributed to who I am now and which have brought me to this point.

Sleep is going to be slow in coming, if it comes at all, but I don't care.

I am such a mess.

While the hopes and dreams of twenty years ago did not turn out the way we expected, I have to admit that I love who I am tonight.

I just hope I can be the woman that Pete wants and that he can love me as much as I am starting to love him! I am looking forward to the adventure of exploring life by his side.

I wonder where we will be twenty years from now.

I can't wait to tell the Posse so, in the middle of the night, I send out a group text:

"I AM IN LOVE!!!!! Details when we get together Sunday."

Not long after, my phone rings. It is Susie. We are quickly joined by Kelley and Jenny in a four way conference call.

I should have known that they would want to know the details. We all did the same with Kelley and again with Jenny when each announced that they had fallen in love. We did it again when they announced their engagements. Even in the middle of the night, news like this can't wait.

It really is going to be a long night.

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The End

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Author's Note: Thank you for following this story to the end. This story was meant to be different than many others. There was no attempt at angst or evil intent. There are plenty of stories that have both.

I started this story when a couple that is close to me split up when the husband decided to quit fertility treatments after years of trying to have a baby. The pressure was too great for the couple and they went their separate ways. It was, and still is, heart breaking to watch a great love affair end this way. Within months, she remarried and hopes that this will bring her the child that she so desperately wants. This sad story led me to explore another alternative to handling a strained relationship that might have a happier ending.

This story is intended to end in an upbeat and positive way. This story is intended to be about the power of love and friendship, dealing positively with what is handed to you by a higher power or with things outside your control, and an attempt to explore how a person with a large store of life experience and maturity might handle the opportunity of going through puberty again as another gender. It might not fit your ideal of what would happen if someone was subject to the changes that Andi did, but this is my fantasy fairytale and I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I have while accepting it for what it is - a fictional fantasy.

In chapter one, we learned that Pete's and Andi's first date was on 19 December 2019. The same date on which this chapter takes place, and the date that this last chapter is released. Who knows what the future holds for Andi? Pete and Andi will have their ski date in two days time - real time. Their relationship will be unfolding over the next months and years. Should she be encouraged to keep us posted on her adventures? Maybe an annual or semi-annual update? Maybe she will let us eavesdrop on the Posse's Sunday night gabfests from time to time.

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