Grant drove.

He spent Christmas with his folks in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, but now he had to get back to his job in St. Louis, Missouri. He had plenty of time, as it was Friday, and he didn’t start work until Monday. He figured he could just enjoy the drive. He would go to Omaha, then drop down through Council Bluffs to Kansas City, then cross Missouri to St. Louis.

Most of the trip would be on interstates, but for now, he was on US Hwy 26, a small, two-lane highway that went through some of the backwoods, or rather, prairies of Nebraska.

As he traveled, he thought about his situation. His parents understood, and surprisingly, didn’t mind the fact that he was transgender. In fact, they had suggested her name. Garnet. Grant could be used as a girls name but hadn’t been at all popular for many years.

When Grant had graduated from high school, he went to Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, receiving his doctorate by the time he was twenty-nine. From there, he had moved on to St. Louis and practiced medicine in a large hospital.

He had hoped that he could eventually come out as trans and live and practice as Garnet, but the hospital administrator was not at all sympathetic to trans people. Grant had watched as a friend, Jill, came out and was dismissed just six weeks later.

Jill was a very competent PA, but that didn’t matter to the administration. They looked for any mistake she made and then used that as a reason to dismiss her. They made sure there was a prominent black mark in her records as well, and as a result, she couldn’t find work anywhere. She had even tried to set up a private practice in a small town in Oklahoma, to no avail.

Because of that, Grant had decided not to make Garnet’s existence known to the hospital. He kept in touch with Jill and found that she worked as a checker in a pharmacy in Joplin. He wished he could help her, but he had no pull, and any fight he started with the hospital would simply end in his own professional demise.

His father was a doctor, and his partner had just quit, so the partnership was offered to Grant. Or rather, to Garnet.

“This is a rural area, Dad. They wouldn’t accept Garnet as a doctor.”

“I think you’re wrong, Grant. Times are changing. They might not be happy initially, but they’ll come to know you.”

“Yeah, and the guys will all think I’m gay, and just looking for a date, and if I specialize in women’s care, they’ll think I’m some kind of pervert and just wanting to see their intimates.”

“Grant. Are you going to tell them who you are? I’m not. Do you want to spend the rest of your life as Grant?”

“You think they won’t realize who I am? A lot of people will remember me.”

“Look. Garnet. Maybe they will, but it will take a while. By that time, you’ll have established yourself as a competent doctor.”

“Uh, huh. I’m not buying it, Dad.”

“I’ve got a lot of resume’s here already, Sweetheart. Yours is on the top.”

“I’ve never given you one, Daddy.”

“I don’t need one from you.”

The young man – No, woman, left the next day with a heavy heart. She knew her parents would do anything they could to help her, but it was such a scary proposition. She wished she could take the position.

She continued to drive, thinking about her situation all day Saturday as well. She decided to stay off the main roads, and on Sunday morning, she was near Ottumwa, Iowa, the hometown of the fictional Radar O’Reilly, from M*A*S*H. She saw a small church and stopped. Several cars were surrounding it, so she knew that the service was on. She parked and looked in the rear-view mirror at her face. The face of Grant looked back at her. She felt the tears starting and dried her eyes roughly.

She got out of the car, slammed the door, and went in. Sitting beside the door was an usher, who shook her hand and gave her a bulletin. The congregation was quite small, and she sat down in a vacant back pew. There were only about twenty people there in total. It was indeed a rural church.

She hardly heard the service, but when it was over, several people introduced themselves to him and thanked him for stopping by.

The minister finally stopped by the pew where she was sitting. Garnet had barely acknowledged the people who came by, but no one pushed it. It was apparent that the young man was hurting.

The minister sat down in the pew in front of Garnet and held out a hand. “I’m Gordon Fuller. I’m the pastor here, as you probably saw.” He seemed to be a nice man, and his eyes twinkled at his little joke.

Garnet didn’t say anything.

“And you are?” Pastor Fuller asked, still holding out his hand.

“Grant. Grant Hohlmann,” he said uncertainly.

“You seem to be troubled, Grant. May I call you Grant?”

“I s’pose. I...” Grant’s voice trailed off.

“Is there something you’d rather I call you?”

Garnet thought for awhile. She was very unlikely ever to see this man again, and as long as she didn’t say where she worked, it should be okay. “G...” She tried again. “Garnet.”

“I see,” said the minister. “You’re trans-gendered?”

“Yes.”

“Care to tell me what’s got you troubled?”

She started slowly and cautiously, but as she continued, the story began to spill out, as if a dam had broken. She cried, long and hard, and the Fuller moved to beside her. A moment later, a woman was seated on the other side, and between the two, they let Garnet cry until she couldn’t shed another tear.

“Garnet,” said the woman. “I’m Gord’s wife, Jen. Would you like to have dinner with us?”

“I don’t want to be an imposition,” Garnet replied. “Besides, I should get back on the road. I have to be at work tomorrow morning.”

“It’s not an imposition, Dear. In fact, I’d love to talk to you more. I understand you’re hurting, and it pains me to see the depth of that.”

“You probably both see me as some terrible sinner,” the young doctor said.

“You’re no more or less a sinner than either of us. We all sin, but I don’t think wanting to be yourself is a sin.”

“Just becoming myself is.”

The minister laughed. “I don’t see that either. You’re a doctor. You know that there are medical reasons for this. Is God so unloving that he would make you a certain way, then when you wanted to be that way, tell you no? That’s like taunting someone. God doesn’t do that to anyone.”

“But my boss does. I just wish I knew what to do.”

“It looks to me, young lady, that God has provided that answer. You just have to accept it.”

Garnet smiled at the minister and his wife. “Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome. Now, why don’t you come to our place for dinner? Jen makes a great pot roast, and I can guarantee her cornbread will melt in your mouth. Not to mention apple pie.”

Garnet smiled again. “Can I change first?”