Most often people talk about being in the right place at the right time. Maybe they achieved a beautiful photo of a sunrise, or the antics of children or animals. Maybe they found something someone lost and received a big reward when it was returned. But how often do they talk about being in the wrong place at the right time? If they do, it’s often about the death of someone or maybe witnessing a crime. And if this is the case, they are sad or horrified. Walter Williams often is in the wrong place at the right time, though his reaction to the incidents he encounters is much different than anyone would expect. And, life changing.

For three months, Walter met with Dr. Taylor once a week. And for three months, Walter’s health was found to be good. During some of his checkups, Gale would also be there to give him a ‘female’ exam. Over the course of several weeks, Walter’s breasts had increased to where he needed an ‘A’ cup bra. And over the same course of weeks, his genitals became even smaller.

Walter had now started seeing Dr. Taylor, and on occasion Dr. Stomer, twice a month. It was the day he was to have his third twice a month checkup when it again hit the fan. He got up to get ready for school, as he always did, and made his way to the bathroom to pee. Terry was downstairs fixing breakfast when she heard him scream. The last time she heard that scream, he’d run into the door jamb and the discovery he was developing breasts. When she made it to the bathroom, Walter was standing in front of the toilet, totally naked, looking down at his groin. “Walter, what happened? Did you hurt yourself again?” Frantically, Terry went over to Walter, but all she heard him whispering was, “I can’t find it,” over and over again. When Terry looked down to his groin, she saw his right hand feeling around his groin region. Then it dawned on her what he meant, he couldn’t find his penis, it was gone. She bent down to have a closer look, and saw the same thing she’d see on a natural girl. She stood up, physically turned a shocked Walter around, pushed him until he was sitting down on the toilet, and told him how to pee. She actually had to shake him because he was so shocked, but once she had his attention, she again explained how to pee. She reached up and wiped tears off his cheeks, as Walter told her, “Mom, I can’t find my penis.” All Terry told him, as he peed, was, “I know, honey. I know.”

When Walter was finished peeing, as before, Terry took him, her, to her bedroom and helped her get dressed in some of the girl clothes he’d been wearing around the house. She then took her daughter downstairs, sat her in a kitchen chair, and called Marsha, telling her it had finally happened. Marsha understood what Terry meant, as they’d discussed this very thing some weeks ago. Marsha told Terry to bring Walter in and she’d have Gale standing by as well. Terry then called Peter, telling him she was taking Walter to the hospital, and why. Terry almost had to spoon feed Walter since he was still somewhat shocked by not finding his penis. She left the dishes on the table, grabbed her purse, and guided her daughter out to the car. Walter was still not responding normally when they reached the hospital, so she had to get her out of the car and again guide her where they needed to go in order to meet with Marsha and Gale.

The two doctors saw Walter and Terry walking down the hall towards them, and the dazed look in Walter’s eyes. They also realized that Walter wasn’t actually walking on his own, but guided by Terry as they walked. The two directed Terry into an exam room, and had her help Walter get up and sit on the exam table. Marsha walked over to a cabinet, took out a vial, walked back over where Walter was sitting, broke the vial, then waved it under Walter’s nose. The ammonia caused Walter to shake his head and try to back away from the pungent smell. But it did what Marsha wanted, it snapped Walter out of the daze she was in. Walter looked at the three women looking at her and said, “My penis is gone, and so are my balls. Does that mean I’m now a full girl?” Marsha stepped up and embraced the distraught girl, letting her cry on her shoulder. As Walter cried on Marsha’s shoulder, she told him, “We think so, Walter. That’s why Gale is here.” Marsha felt Walter nod his head, then asked in a muffled voice, “Pictures too?” Gale and Terry had gone on either side of Walter and put their arms around his back. As Marsha held Walter, Gale told him, “Yes, Walter, more pictures too. But after you get your ‘female’ exam.” Walter’s head was facing Gale, and she laughed at Walter when she stuck out her tongue at Gale.

When Walter had calmed down, and let go of Marsha, Marsha walked over and closed the exam room door, as Gale and Terry helped Walter off the examination table. The two women then helped Walter undress, completely, and put on his favorite ‘paper dress’ before helping her back onto the examination table. As Walter lay on the table, she saw Gale again attach the stirrups to the end of the table and said, “Oh, joy, I get to ride the horsey again.” Even though Walter had made a startling discovery that morning, her crack about riding the ‘horsey’ showed her old self seemed to have risen to the occasion.

As she’d done several times before, Gale instructed Walter where to put her feet, and to move closer. But this time, the ‘female’ exam was more thorough, with Gale using instruments she’d not used before. She took a deep breath, let it out before telling Walter, “Walter, examining the exterior of your groin region, I’d say you were a naturally born girl. Anatomically, you look no different than any other girl I’ve examined. And like any other girl I’ve examined, I have to look inside of you. Which might be a bit uncomfortable for you. But it has to be done, especially because of what you’ve gone through. I’ll try and be as gentle as I can, okay?” She quirked an eyebrow as she said the last part, actually waiting for Walter to respond. All three women saw the smirk at the same time, as Walter responded to Gale’s question, “Do I get a blindfold first?” All three women shook their heads because of what Walter asked.

Because of Walter’s size, Gale had decided to use the smaller speculum to inspect her vagina and cervix. But she failed to tell Walter that it might be cold as she inserted it into her vagina. As she started inserting the speculum, Walter let out an, “Whhoooaaa, there doc,” and raised her head to look at Gale. “Holy frozen popsicles, doc! What’d you stick into me? That thing’s cold.” Gale used all her willpower not to laugh, as Terry and Marsha were doing. She removed the speculum, showed it to Walter, and explained what it was used for. She also told her, “I’m so sorry, Walter. I forgot to tell you it might be a bit cold.” Walter looked at the speculum Gale was holding, then at Gale, then back at the speculum before she said, “Cold? That thing is cold enough to freeze a polar bear, doc.” This time Gale did laugh, but told Walter to hang on and she’d soon be through with her internal exam. Gale started inserting the speculum again, Walter let out a “Brrrrr,” and Gale did a thorough inspection of Walter’s internal female structures. She could even see Walter’s uterine walls. She gently removed the speculum, set it in a basin, had Walter take her legs down and sit up.

There was a knock on the exam room door, and when Marsha opened it, Walter’s ride to Imaging had arrived. When Walter saw it was the same orderly who had been her chauffeur, she said, “Ah, my ride’s here. And so is my favorite chauffeur.” The orderly smiled at Walter then asked, “Are you doing okay, Walter? You look real good.” Walter raised one hand, fluttered it in the air, shrugged her shoulders, and replied, “Given that I just found out I’m all girl now, eh, I’m okay.” Gale then told Walter to hop up on the gurney, but Walter had other ideas, first, as he told Gale, “Um, good idea. But I need to pee first.” Terry gave Walter a look, which asked ‘do you need help.’ Walter rolled her eyes, looked to the ceiling as she shook her head, and told her mom, “Ah, no, mom. I remember what you said about peeing as a girl. I don’t stand up.” The toilet was heard flushing, and so was the water from the faucet, before Walter came out of the restroom and hopped up onto the gurney. She laid down, then got that smirk, as she said, “Home James, and don’t spare the horsepower.” Terry took a deep breath, let it out, shook her head then said, “Waalltteerr.” Walter giggled, surprising herself, since she seldom giggled as a boy, before the gurney and Walter were taken to Imaging.

Marsha took Terry to the cafeteria to get something to eat and drink, getting the pictures of Walter’s interior would take time. As the two women sat and ate what they’d purchased, taking sips from their drinks now and then, their conversation went from Walter to Shelby and Peter and everything in between. When the topic was Walter, Terry asked Marsha if she thought it a good idea to have Walter attend counseling sessions in order to help her come to terms with her change. Marsha thought about that for a few moments, before she said, “Judging from the way Walter has been taking it all, I’d talk with her before you made any decisions. I think right now,” and she stopped talking to take a sip of her coffee, “she needs a lot of information about being a girl and how to take care of her body. If your mother was like mine, we had a girl’s day out, where she laid everything on the table. Told me everything about being a girl and how to take care of myself.” Terry nodded her head, because her mother had taken her aside and done pretty much the same. “One thing I’ve noticed about your family, Terry, is the closeness the three of you have. It’s obvious Shelby and Walter love you very much, so if you ask Walter what she would like, I think she’ll give you an honest answer.” Marsha took another bite of her sandwich, swallowed before adding, “Though, it wouldn’t hurt if she saw someone for a short period of time. Just to make sure she isn’t hiding anything because of the change. But I still would talk with her about it.” About that time Marsha’s phone pinged with a message, picture taking was done. “Well, it looks like our movie star has finished shooting a scene. Let’s go find out how the pictures turned out,” Marsha told Terry, then drained the rest of her coffee.

After the two women left the cafeteria, Marsha guided Terry to a small conference room a few doors down where Walter had her exam. When Marsha opened the door and they started to walk into the room, they saw Walter, already dressed, and Gale already seated around the small table in the room. Terry saw the smirk on Walter’s face but beat her to the punch by asking, “Well, daughter of mine, did you sign any autographs while having your pictures taken?” Terry’s question didn’t cause Walter to lose the smirk on her lips as she hoped; it was still there. Walter answered her mom’s question with, “No, mom, no one asked.” And then getting a dreamy look on her face, or as dreamy as Walter thought she was displaying, said, “But I did see this dreamy looking tech there.” And she fluttered her eyes at Terry, before all four women burst out laughing. Terry walked over to her daughter, put her arm around her, pulled her into her side and told her, “Don’t ever lose that sense of humor you have, Walter. It’s priceless.” She then kissed Walter on the top of her head before pulling out the chair next to Walter and sitting down.

Gale had a remote control in her hand, and pressed one of the buttons on it, causing a panel off to her side to light up and display an image. “Okay, everyone, this is our first slide of Walter’s insides, to use a simple term.” With a laser pointer she pointed it to Walter’s groin region in the image. “This is the picture we took of Walter’s groin region, as I believe the three of you can see. Walter, here and here are your ovaries. Here and here are your fallopian tubes. This structure here is your cervix, and here,” and Gale ran the laser light up and down then said, “is your vagina. Walter, from now on you have to be very careful or you will get pregnant. You will have to learn how to properly take care of this entire area,” and Gale used the laser pointer to indicate Wlater’s pelvic region. “Your penis and testicles are gone, reformed by your body. And Walter, you’re going to start having periods.”

Walter was just shaking her head at everything Gale was saying and showed her, trying to take it in stride as she’d done time and again before. All three women were looking at Walter, trying to judge her feelings for what Gale just told her. Terry saw the look on her daughter’s face, the one she got when she was trying to form a question. “Um...I’m kind of new at being a girl, ya know. So I’m going to need a lot more information than fireworks and ‘yea, you’re a girl now.’ How do I handle my period? How often will I have a period? How do I keep from getting pregnant before I want to? Ya know, little things like that.” Terry had seldom seen Walter as serious as she looked at this moment. She also looked scared, as tears threatened to leave her eyes. “I’m sort of scared right now, cause I don’t know how to be something I wasn’t born to be. I could sure use help from all three of you.” And tears did start rolling down her cheeks. Terry turned her chair to face Walter. She then turned Walter’s chair to face her before she pulled Walter to her and held her tight. Telling her, “Baby, all three of us are here for you. We’ll teach you what you’ve missed out on all these years.” As Walter held her mom, she said, “Thanks mom. I love you.”

Gale excused herself and left the conference room. She came back a little later with a hand full of material for Walter. For the rest of the time, the three women started explaining to Walter the mysteries that surrounded being a woman. They were blunt, leaving nothing out. They even explained what occurs between men and women ‘in the bedroom.’ Walter’s response to that was, “Ewww, oh yuck.” Her mom gave her the stink eye as she told her, “Yeah, how do you think all of us got here in the first place? By stork?” Terry then went on to explain to Walter that ‘ewww’ and ‘yuck’ go out the window when a woman finds her soulmate. “She’ll want him in her and as often as they can. Walter, it becomes a magical moment between two people who deeply love each other. And if they’re fortunate, they’ll produce wonderful kids like I did with you.” Gale sat a box of tissues on the table, because all four needed one. Their meeting finally came to an end. Walter and Terry left with an arm load of information for Walter to read through. Gale and Marsha sat and talked a bit more about Walter before both headed back to their own work.

Walter made it back to school towards the end of her third period class. But before she could go to her fourth period class, she and Terry had to go and break the news to Peter that he now had a full fledged niece. And all Walter’s records would have to be changed once Terry and Shelby applied for a name change. Until that took place, things were going to be a bit complicated with a name like Walter, and when she came to school the following day dressed as a girl. And how would the school board react to the news?

Once Terry and Walter were done in the school office, Terry went out to her car and after getting in, called Shelby. He had gone back to work with Tom Warmer after he found out Walter was going to be alright after Walter’s second check up. Terry dialed his number, and prayed. When Shelby answered his phone he asked, “How’s Walter,” before Terry had time to even say, “Hello.” “Um...weeelll…,” Terry said, drawing things out just a bit. “You are the proud father of a healthy bouncing new girl. In every way. Inside and out. One who can give us a grandchild some day.” Shelby didn’t say a word, and Terry thought they’d lost their connection, until she said, “Shelby? Are you still there? Say something, I could use some help here. For instance, Walter won’t do for her first name anymore. Shelby? Damnit, say something?”

Shelby suddenly realized that Terry had just cussed at him, which meant she was getting extremely mad because he’d remained silent. “Um, yeah, Terry, I’m here. Um, grandchildren, someday? Um, a new daughter? Ho boy… What about school? Are there any problems with, um, Walter, attending as a girl? What’d Peter say? Terry, I just don’t know what we need to do now. It’s not every day a son changes into a daughter. Um, call Marshall and Marshall and give them everything up to now, and find out what we need to do. I should come back and help you, but how? I’ve never talked to a daughter before, and she, um, actually needs to hear the facts of life from a woman’s perspective. And what about clothes, she’ll have to get a new wardrobe. And shoes, and…” “SHELBY,” Terry shouted, to get Shelby’s attention, because he was almost in hysterics. “Um, yeah, Terry?” Shelby replied before listening to Terry. “Shelby, calm down,” Terry told her husband. “Don’t you remember the day we went shopping at the mall, the day we brought home twelve bags of clothing and things for Walter? We have the clothing angle covered. What we need now is to find out what to do next. Walter the boy is now Walter the girl, and that needs to be changed on all of his, oh damn, her records. Will Marshall and Marshall be able to help us in that area? And what about his, aw crap, her birth certificate? And Shelby, stay there. There’s nothing you can do here now that I can’t do if it involves getting records, and names, changed. The sooner you finish Tom’s project, the sooner you’ll be home. And the sooner you can be in me...sweetheart.”

Terry giggled when she heard Shelby stutter in trying to talk to her after her last statement. “Ah...you…gads, this is embarrassing. I hope no one comes into this office right now. Or I’m called to go anywhere right now. You devil you.” Terry giggled then said, “Ooohhh, is little Johnny standing at attention? You know where he likes to hide, don’t you?” Terry giggled again when she heard Shelby softly curse to himself. “You just wait. You’ll pay for what you just caused.” Shelby heard Terry laughing so hard he had to wait to finish what he was going to tell her. When he heard Terry winding down, he said, “Yes, Marshall and Marshall can get the ball rolling, or knows who can. I’m sure they will check with the State about the birth certificate, hopefully they won’t get some lame brain fool who can’t understand the situation. As to a new name, I think we best talk to Walter first. She might have a few things to say about her new name. Are you sure I shouldn’t come back? Tom will have me flown back as before?” Shelby paused to hear Terry’s response. “Yes, stay, get finished so I can have more time letting you fill me like you do. I’ll go see Marshall and Marshall right now and see what they say.” This time Terry laughed as Shelby tells her, “Darn you, woman! It just relaxed and you just caused it to get hard again. You are going to pay for this when I get home.” And in a husky voice Terry tells her husband, “I certainly hope so.”

Walter had walked out of the school office and started heading to her fourth period class. As she was walking down the breezeway, a hand slipped into her right hand, startling her for a moment. She stopped walking and turned to see Marge standing there, holding her hand and smiling. “Um, so, another doctor’s visit this morning?” Walter was so taken in by Marge’s smile that she didn’t really hear what Marge asked. Marge thumped her on the chest before asking, again, “Hey. Did you have another doctor’s appointment this morning?” Shaking her head, Walter told her, “Um...not exactly.” Walter looked around them, at the number of students walking near them and told Marge, “Um, I do need to tell you something, but maybe now isn’t the best time. Too many ears, and all.” Marge’s smile never left her face as she said, “Okay, tell me at lunch. Oh, wait, too many ears again. How about after school, when we can be alone?” Walter nodded her head as she again started walking to her fourth period class. The same class Marge was in.

Terry’s impromptu visit to Marshall and Marshall caused her to wait until one of the partners was free. Twenty minutes later, Marshal Sr. came out of his office and greeted her, before showing her to his office. Terry started asking about getting records and names changed before she told Brett Marshall Sr. the whole story. He started getting puzzled when Terry asked about changing genders on a person’s birth certificate. Brett stopped Terry and asked, “Terry, what’s this all about?” And Terry explained everything, including the findings a short time ago. Brett was silent for a moment before he picked up his phone and dialed a two digit number. “Son, are you busy right now? I think I’m going to need your help on a matter that just landed in our laps.”

When Brett Jr. came into his dad’s office, dad had him sit down and asked Terry to tell his son her story again. When Terry finished the story, Junior whistled, ran his hand through his hair and said, “Wow, that is a wild story. You have proof of everything, right?” He asked Terry, and watched her pull a thick folder out of a satchel she had with her. “It’s all in here. The day the accident happened. The treatment given to Walter. The day it was discovered Walter was developing breasts, all of it, including the findings from today. And before you asked about a lawsuit, the school board has agreed to pay all medical bills and a generous out of court settlement. The final results of the investigation were sent to the school board, concluding the school was liable because the shelves involved had been severely overloaded sometime in the past. They were just waiting to fail. Walter, our son, is now Walter our daughter, in every sense of the word. In every way a girl can be a girl. Because of that, her name will have to be changed as will all her records. Including her birth certificate. Can you two do it or is that outside the scope your legal abilities?” Brett Sr. shook his head and told Terry, “No, Terry, this is something we can handle. I’m just concerned that some jackass is going to stick their nose in it when they hear what happened to your son, um, daughter. They’re going to claim you forced your son into becoming your daughter, even though you have proof to the contrary. Stupid beauracratic jackasses.” Then Brett Sr. got excited and said, “Son, take all those documents and make copies of them. Then get Pam to start looking into what all will have to be changed and who needs contacted. Terry, we’ll get to work on this and give you a call when we’ve learned more. And, um, has Walter decided what name she’s going to use? If not, we’ll need to know that before we can start changing anything.”

Brett’s son took the documents Terry had and was back in a few minutes with a complete set of copies. As both Marshalls were bidding Terry goodbye, Brett Sr. asked, “If we need to, can you contact your doctors and give them permission to speak to us on the record? I want to make sure we have authoritative confirmation about all this so if some yahoo comes after you, we have definitive proof.” Terry pulled out her cell phone, called Marsha and explained the situation. Telling Marsha she had permission to share Walter’s medical file with Marshall and Marshall. And to ask them if they have a dog named Bingo. And if they told her it was a ferret and not a dog, they were the people she could talk with. Both Marshalls caught on to what Terry was doing, and Junior wrote down the code phrase in the file he had for the Williams. Terry hung up and they again said their goodbyes before Terry left their offices. She had to relax, she was too wound up. So, she went shopping, and had lunch.

When fourth period class let out, Marge again took Walter’s hand, and this is how they walked to the cafeteria for lunch. Marge kept looking at Walter as they walked, and could see that something was playing on ‘his’ mind. She tried using the old phrase, “A penny for your thoughts,” but all Walter would say was, “Later. Not right now, too many in earshot.” And she saw him go back to ‘his’ own thoughts. Marge had watched Walter in a cafeteria ever since they’d been in grade school, and who she saw now was not the same person. He used to be boisterous, attentive to others, and always quick with a play on words he picked up from what someone else had said. ‘He’ even ate with gusto, enjoying even the most vile smelling food they were served.

But not today. Today he barely said a word to her or anyone else, even when someone talked to ‘him.’ ‘He’ was more robotic in ‘his’ actions, getting in line, taking what was given ‘him’ without comment, letting her lead them to a table, and barely acknowledging what they were eating. Marge put her fork down, reached across the table, put her hand on ‘his’ hand resting on the table and asked, “Walter, talk to me. Let me in, I won’t bite, much, unless it’s when we’re alone. I’ve cared about you ever since the first day in grade school, when I first saw you, and I’ve come to care for you more than just a friend. Walter...I’ve fallen in love with you, the you you’ve shown others you really are over the years.”

Walter just looked at Marge after she said she’d fallen in love with ‘him.’ She felt tears start forming in her eyes, things were blurry to look at. When the tears started sliding down her cheeks, Marge reached up and wiped them off. As the tears fell, Walter told Marge, “You may think differently of me when you hear what I have to tell you. You may not want to be with me any more.” Walter patted the back of Marge’s hand, before pulling her hand out from under Marge’s, got up from the chair and walked away, leaving a confused Marge sitting at the table.

Because of the call Peter received from Terry, and what he told her, and because of what those boys had done to Walter, Peter had been more attentive to watching out for his niece. He was in the cafeteria when Walter and Marge Stillman came into the cafeteria, holding hands, and had just watched an exchange between them that left a bewildered girl sitting at the lunch table. Peter made his excuses to the teachers he was sitting with and walked over to where Marge was sitting. “Mind if I sit down, Miss Stillman?” Peter asked the bewildered looking girl. Mechanically, Marge looked up to see Principal Stepel standing on the other side of the table, asking if he could sit down. Mechanically, she nodded her head and Peter sat in the very chair Walter had used. Peter could see Marge was not there, mentally, just by the look on her face. So he said in a low voice, “Marge, Walter is going through a lot at the moment. Don’t give up on Walter, keep loving Walter. Walter needs you more now than ever.”

Peter watched as Marge thought about what he just said. He could see several emotions cross her face, as the one which said she’d made a decision looked back at him before she said, “But it’s as though Walter is trying to push me away. Why, Principal Stepel? Why would ‘he’ want to push me away?” Even though Peter knew the truth, he felt it was Walter’s story and she should be the one to tell Marge the truth. “Marge, that’s a question you need to ask Walter about. It’s Walter’s story and best be told by Walter. All I can tell you, Marge, when the truth comes out Walter will need your support more than ever. All of Walter’s friends too.” Marge saw Principal Stepel nodding his head, and she quickly got up from her chair and followed Walter out of the cafeteria.

She spotted Walter walking to one of the outdoor benches, and ran to catch up. “Walter, wait up,” Marge called out, causing Walter to stop and turn around. When Marge caught up to Walter, she put her arms around his neck, pulled him close, and whispered, “I don’t care if you have changed, are developing breasts, I still love who you are inside. That’s the person I fell in love with. That’s the person I want to spend my life with.” Walter pushed Marge back so she could see her face. “But you don’t understand. I’ll not...it’s best you find someone who can.” Marge was puzzled by what Walter just said, and asked, “You’ll not what, Walter. What can’t you do? Please tell me? Don’t push me away, I love you.” Marge pleaded with her but she simply shook her head and said, “Later.” Marge felt Walter’s pain so strongly she did the only thing she thought of and she kissed her love, passionately. They then continued walking to the bench, sat down, and Walter tried to tell Marge as much as time would allow, Marge now and then wiping off the tears slowly sliding down Walter’s cheeks.

When Marge bolted out of her chair and out of the cafeteria, Peter stood up to follow her and make sure she’d be alright. He saw where she was heading and stepped to one of the windows in the cafeteria that afforded him a view of that direction. As he watched, Walter stopped, then turned around; Marge must have called to him. He then saw Marge put her arms around Walter’s neck and pull her to her. Marge must have told Walter something, because she pushed them apart, and was shaking her head. He was really surprised when Marge then gave Walter one whale of a kiss, on the lips. Peter had a feeling Walter still hadn’t told Marge the truth, just by how she looked. The two then continued walking to the bench, where they sat down and Marge continued asking questions, and Walter continued shaking her head. Peter hoped the two would be okay, when Marge finally learned the truth. First bell sounded, and the two got up and hand in hand, headed to their next class. Peter knew Terry and Shelby wouldn’t object to the relationship between Marge and Walter. But how would the Markman feel? Their daughter in love with another girl, who used to be the boy she loved? Peter made a mental note to bring that up with Terry next time he saw her, he didn’t want his niece getting hurt if Merge’s parents were intolerant about such relationships. Peter reminded himself he needed to have another staff meeting to tell them about Walter and her change. And that starting tomorrow, Walter would be coming to school dressed as a girl. And they were to crack down hard if/when they saw anyone giving her a hard time, especially considering what just occurred a few days ago. No one was going to hurt his niece while he was Principal of the school.

Terry was again waiting for Walter when school let out for the day. This time instead of seeing just Walter, she saw her walking towards the car with another girl. And they were holding hands. Terry mentally scolded herself not to snap to a judgement until she heard the facts, not that she or Shelby would have any objections if Walter’s soulmate was a girl. When Walter opened the front door on the passenger side, she poked her head in and said, “Hi mom. This is Marge Stillman. Marge, that’s my mom, Terry Williams. And um, mom, Marge is my girlfriend. Think we could go get some ice cream so we can continue talking? Oh, and um, mom?”

When Walter had started talking, Terry had brought her left hand up to her cheek, then tucked her right hand under her left elbow. Her head was tilted slightly towards the left and she stayed that way for some moments after Walter finished talking. It took Walter to say, “Mom? Are you alright? Did I talk too fast again? Marge knows about Uncle Peter and most of what’s happened to me?” Terry still didn’t respond, even when Walter waved her hand in front of Terry’s face. “Mom? Ice cream? Chocolate fudge ripple? Your favorite?” Walter saw her mom’s brow furrow before she shook herself, and told the two, “Yeah, sure, ice cream. Good, great idea. Let’s go get some. What do you say, Walter? Marge?” Walter and Marge looked at each other then laughed, Walter letting Marge get in first so she was sitting next to Terry. Terry did have the presence of mind to make sure her two passengers fastened their seatbelts, before numbly driving out of the school parking lot and to their favorite ice cream shop. Walter again looked at Marge and both looked at Terry, as they heard Terry softly mumble, “Walter has a girlfriend, but then they can’t...what about grandchildren...what will her parents say?” Walter reached across Marge and lightly shook her mom, telling her, “Mom, I think you need to pull over for a few minutes. You don’t sound too good right now.” Walter could see her mom was on autopilot at the moment, but she was able to pull into another parking lot and shut off the car safely.

Terry was staring straight ahead, both hands gripping the steering wheel and didn’t hear Walter ask her, “Mom? Are you alright? Have I done something wrong that’s made you mad at me?” Walter had to shake Terry’s shoulder before Terry finally snapped out of her trance. “Hmm, yes, I’m alright Walter. And no, you’d done nothing wrong to make me mad. And it’s nice to meet you Marge.” Then Terry looked seriously at the two before saying, “It’s just that some people aren’t going to like seeing two girls being girlfriends, like a boy and girl would be boyfriend/girlfriend. And please, I’m not trying to break up the two of you, I think it’s great that both of you have found someone you want to be with. I’m just worried one of those intolerant jackasses will try and physically hurt one or both of you. And I don’t want to be in prison if the two of you happen to get married sometime in the future.”

Both teens were confused when Terry mentioned her being in prison. A questioning look formed on Walter’s face before she asked, “Why would you be in prison, mom, if someone hurt either of us?” Marge didn’t know Terry at all, so couldn’t interpret the expression on Terry’s face. But Walter could, and had seen it several times in the past. “Because, my sweet daughter. I’d have killed the son of a bitch," Terry growled. “But hey, enough talk right now. Let’s go get some ice cream. Then we can talk some more.” Terry started the engine of her car, put it into gear and leaving the parking lot, drove them to an ice cream shop that made all of its ice creams by hand.