Byline chapter 11

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Copyright © 2021 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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“You spoke with mom but you haven’t told her yet? How could you not tell her?” Abbey asked.

We were in her car driving the forty-five minutes to Mom’s house. She still lived in the house Abbey and I grew up in. I was telling Abs about my call to mom.

“I’ve talked with her a couple of times. I told her I like my job at the magazine and I’m now a full-time hire. I didn’t tell her about my assignment. I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. What could I say? Something like, Hi mom, my jobs going good. I got my first assignment. It’s a year-long assignment. It’s going to be a feature story and oh, I have to be a girl for the year. See you on your birthday. It just didn’t seem right.”

Abbey burst out laughing.

“That would have been so funny. So you decided to show up at the house in a dress without telling her. By the way, can I borrow it? It looks great on you.”

“Thus you know it will look great on you. Sure.”

We both had dressed up for mom’s birthday. We were taking her to her favorite restaurant. It was a wear your best type of establishment. It was expensive, but it was mom’s birthday and it was worth it.

I was wearing a knit half sleeve fit and flare mini dress in burgundy and 3-inch black pumps. Abbey had on a three-quarter sleeve gold mini dress with a lace overlay paired with 3-inch open-toed black sandals. We both looked great. I was thinking I might borrow her dress sometime during the year. I was nervous about springing my new look on mom. What if she had a problem with me wearing a dress? What if she had a problem with me presenting as a woman? I didn’t want to spoil her birthday. Abbey noticed I was nervous.

“Casey, why the nerves?”

“I’m not nervous.”

“You’re not huh? Let see, biting your lower lip, twirling your hair, shuffling your feet, sure, you’re not nervous. Hey, do you remember when mom use to dress us alike?”

“What…? No, when was that?”

“I was about five and you were three. She would dress us in the same outfits and let us play in the house. She didn’t do it often. Dad didn’t like it much but he didn’t see any harm in it. She probably won’t have a problem with you wearing a dress.”

“How do you remember something that happened when you were five? I can barely remember last week.”

“I’ve always been better at remembering things than you, sis.”

We arrived at mom’s house, my nervousness had not worn off. Abbey parked the car down the street from the house.

“Why did you park here?”

“Let’s see if mom can tell us apart. You go to the door first and I’ll hang back out of sight.”

“Really? We’re going to try to trick mom?”

“Twins try to do that all the time.”

“We’re not twins, Abs.”

“We are today. Go ring the bell.”

I got out of the car and walked to the front door. The sound of my heels on the sidewalk did not help to calm me down. I rang the bell. I stopped twirling my hair as the door opened.

“Hi Mom,” I said. I unconsciously bit my lip. We hugged.

“You’re early. I haven’t seen you for a couple of months.” She held me at arm's length. She looked at me from head to toe. “You’re looking good. I love the dress. It shows off your hair.”

“Thanks. It’s good to see you also. How are you doing, Mom?”

“I’m fine. But I do need to ask you a question?”

“Ask away.”

“Why are you wearing makeup and a dress, Casey?”

Before I could answer, Abbey came up the walk laughing.

“I knew it. I knew she would know it was you. Hi Mom.” She hugged Mom.

“Abigail, You look nice as usual. Did you help Casey with his...um... new look?”

“I didn’t have to. I’ll let him explain.”

“Get inside, both of you. I want to know why your brother is looking like your twin sister.”

We went inside and sat in the living room.

“I have to know, how did you know it was me?” I asked.

“The way you bite your lower left side of your lip. You always did that when you were scared or nervous about something. Abbey bites the right side. Plus your eyes. You both have the same color eyes but they sparkle differently. You can’t fool your mother. I will say, you did a good job. It would be hard-pressed for anyone to think you two were not twins. Now tell me what’s going on.”

I told her about the article I was writing including how it had evolved. I explained how I had been asked to become a woman for the year. I told her about the apartment, the benefits and the training. I mentioned how Abbey had given me breasts. Abbey rolled her eyes.

“Abbey gave you breasts?” Mom turned her head towards Abbey.

“She did,” I said.

“I didn’t give you breasts,” Abbey said.

“You suggested them.”

“So your breasts are real?” Mom asked. “You are still... you down there, right?” She motioned to my groin area.

“Yes, Mom. My crotch remains unchanged. I use special underwear to hide it.”

“I see. With everything you’ve told me it sounds like they sent you to Charm School,” Mom said.

Abbey’s eyes lit up. “Oh my God, your right. Casey, you’ve been to Charm School.”

“Charm School?” I said.

“Yes. You send your daughter to Charm School to learn to become a lady. From what you told me about your training, you’ve essentially been to Charm School.”

“I guess your right. They did tell me it was training to learn to act like a woman.”

“From what I have seen so far, they did a good job. You learned well.”

“Are you upset?”

“Upset? I’m surprised, not upset. How could I be? I have my two daughters taking me out for my birthday today.”

“We better get going. We’ve just enough time to make our reservation,” Abbey said.

The three of us collected our bags and left to get to the car.

“I can’t wait to tell you about the guy Casey met.”

“Casey met a guy?” Mom asked. As she turned her head to look at me, I could feel her eyes on me. “And you went out with him?”

“It wasn’t a date. They helped us when we went skating and we went to dinner with them. We found out they were going to the same concert. It was Abbey’s fault. I was doing her a favor.”

“But you had a great time,” Abbey said.

“I never said great.”

“You know you did.”

“Did not.”

“Girls, stop bickering.” I looked at our mother. Did she really use the term girls when referring to us? “We are out to have a pleasant evening. Let’s get to the restaurant and have a nice dinner. I want you two to act civil to one another while we are out. I am definitely having at least one drink with dinner.” Mom looked at me in the back seat. “Maybe more. I can’t believe how much you two are acting like sisters.”

“Abbey likes his brother,” I said.

“You met someone also?” Mom asked Abbey. “Wait, I don’t want to hear anything more about this now. Casey, I want you to tell me about your guy when we get home.”

I looked at my mother, then at Abbey.

“He’s not my guy.” I folded my arms and sat back.

“He even pouts like a girl,” Abbey said to Mom.

“After Casey,” Mom said to my sister, ”you’re telling me about your young man, Abbey.”

Abbey became quiet and concentrated on the road. I saw mom smile.

~~0~~

We got home from a very nice dinner and were relaxing in the living room. Abbey made coffee and brought both Mom and me a cup. When Abbey sat down Mom turned to me.

"So Casey, you said they taught you how to present yourself as a woman. Tell me about it."

"There was the obvious stuff like how to walk, how to walk in heels, how to talk, how to move. I learned about makeup and fashion. What goes together, what goes with my hair, eyes and skin. Then there were the subtle things like what to do when standing, gestures like twirling my hair. I learned proper greetings and how to handle myself as a woman in a social gathering."

Mom had been sipping her coffee as I was talking. "Sounds like the Charm School my parents sent me to."

"You never told me you went to Charm School,” Abbey said. “You threatened me with it at times."

"Yes I did," she said as she put her cup down. "Some times I think I should have sent you. When my mother sent me there, I hated it. I am a woman. Why did I need to go to school to learn to be a woman? Years later, I saw the wisdom in it. I know I mentioned it from time to time to you Abbey. But I feel I taught you what you needed to know to be a lady." Mom patted Abbey on her knee. "I never thought I should have been teaching my son how to be a lady."

She shook her head. I blushed.

"Tell me your impressions so far,” she said.

“My impressions?” I said.

“Your impression of being a woman.”

"It's only been a little more than a month. I'm still getting acclimated to things. One thing I have noticed right off the bat is society seems to put more pressure on women than men yet treats them worse than men. I’ve had to take a waitress job for the article. The woman's dress code is more stringent than the men's dress code. It seems to me society expects women to be perfect at all times. Men only have to be perfect at select times. Other times, they can be slobs. That's what I expect to emphasize in the articles." I realized I had used the word they when referring to men. I have to keep focus and remember I'm still a man even though I am presenting as a woman.

"You've learned a lot in a month sis."

"That he has," mom said. "Okay, both of you. Tell me about the young men you've met."

"It was Abbey's fault."

"What do you mean my fault?"

"If you hadn't let go, I wouldn't have fallen."

"I fell because you grabbed me."

"Girls!" We both turned toward Mom. "I am so glad I was spared years of this bickering. I guess I'll have to put up with it for the year. Now tell me, did you enjoy their company?”

"Yes," both Abbey and I blurted out at the same time. We looked at each other and started laughing.

"Tell me how you met them. You first Casey."

"Well, it started when we went rollerblading."

Abbey and I both told mom our story of the twins.

"So you and Gil hit it off. Are you going to see him again Abbey?"

"Yes. He stayed in town and we’ve gone out."

"And you Casey?"

"He’s been back in California I haven't heard from him."

"If you do, are you intending to go out with him?"

"I promised Abbey I would double with her when they are both in town."

"I see." Mom looked at the time. "Since I have you both here for the night, how about we have a movie night? Let's go get ready for bed. I'll make some popcorn. Abbey, you pick the movie."

We all got up. Abbey and I put the coffee cups in the kitchen then we went to go change.

Abbey and I came down, wearing our nighties, to the smell of popcorn. I was wearing the blue one. Abbey wore the pink one. After seeing it on Abbey, I realized how good it must have looked on me. Mom came out of the kitchen with the bowl of popcorn wearing her nightgown. She stopped in the doorway when she saw us.

"I don't know how I'm going to get used to seeing you two like this." She brought the bowl to the couch. I brought out drinks for us. We all sat on the couch. Mom was in the middle with me and Abbey on either side. Abbey started the movie. Mom put her arms around us as the movie began. The three of us snuggled together as the movie played.

~~0~~

In the morning, Abbey and I came down, still in our nighties, to find Mom making a pancake breakfast. Mom told us to get our coffee and sit as she had everything covered. We got our coffee and sat down. I thought breakfast was great. I've always loved Mom's pancake breakfast. Abbey and I cleaned up and got ready to go. We brought our suitcases down. We both dressed in jeans and flats for the ride home. My top was sea-green. Abbey's was lime green. We stayed with Mom and talked until just after Noon.

"You sure you two don't want lunch?"

“After that big breakfast, I won't be hungry till dinner," Abbey said.

"I'm good too, Mom," I said.

We started to leave. Mom walked us to the door.

"You two have a safe trip home," Mom said. "And you, young lady," Mom turned to me and held onto my shoulders, "You watch your step. Society doesn't look kindly on someone pretending to be a woman. You've been brought up male. There is no way one month's training to become female will erase 20 plus years of being male. If you need someone to talk to, you call me." I started to say I had Abbey to talk to. Mom seemed to know what I was going to say. "I mean other than Abbey. Just remember I'm here."

She hugged us and kissed me and Abbey on the cheek. "This has been quite a birthday. I had a wonderful dinner, an overnight visit and a new daughter.” She smiled. “It couldn't have been better." We all hugged again. Abbey and I walked to the car. As we pulled away, Mom closed the door.

"I think Mom really enjoyed our visit. I told you she wouldn't be upset with you being a girl for the year. I had a great time. How about you?"

I thought about what we had done. Mom and I were close, but never as close as she and Abbey. This weekend, I felt that same closeness. "I did too." This weekend I had been one of the girls. I enjoyed it.

"Don't hate me for saying this again,” Abbey said. “I kind of wish we had always been sisters."

"So you've told me. We probably would have fought a lot. I would have been stealing your boyfriends. I am the pretty one."

“You are not,” Abbey said. We both started laughing.

Still thinking of the weekend, I wondered what would it have been like if I had been Abbeys sister? Did I share Abbey’s wish? What’s happening to me?

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Thanks for reading. Comments welcome.

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Cover picture Credits
Photo by Daria Sannikova from Pexels
Photo by Valeriia Miller from Pexels
Photo Composite by Peregrine

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