Brandon lay on his bed, contemplating his life. It had not been going well for some time. Almost every day at school he got hassled for being too girly. Names were called, he was tripped. There wasn’t anything he felt he was doing on purpose to bring about these consequences.

He got grief from his older sister too. Marilyn had always treated him with contempt. She’d even said, “Things were better around here before you came along.” Which hurt. When he was little he always wanted to hang around with her, and she was just as insistent that he get lost, and not in a nice way. At sixteen he was smaller than she was, petite, even, and she’d tease him about it. Sometimes, when the parents weren’t nearby, she’d use her strength against him. However, in spite of his sister’s poor example, he had always felt a longing to be a girl. It was one of the reasons he was drawn to her.

The family had a relatively new tradition, just for the past year, where each would chip in a dollar and the dad, Andy, would buy a lottery ticket for them once a week. It was just harmless fun, but as impossible as it seems, they actually hit, in a modest way. Together they won $200,000. After taxes it was around $140,000. Connie and Andy took the lion’s share (also known as The Parents’ Share) of $90,000, and he and Marilyn were each given $25,000. They were allowed to spend no more than a thousand at a time without their parents’ consent.

So now, lying on the bed, Brandon was seriously thinking of purchasing a female wardrobe. He knew $1000 wasn’t very much for that purpose, but he wanted to get started and at least see what he could look like. The entire idea was very scary, but sometimes he felt like if he didn’t try it, he would just burst.

At sixteen he was allowed occasional use of his mother’s car, and one day just after school was over for the summer, he dressed in his most androgynous clothes and drove to the mall, Once there he went straight to Sephora and got a makeover and a makeup lesson. Then he went to town and bought dresses, skirts, underwear and shoes, went into the Ladies restroom and put on one of his new outfits, a yellow sundress with strappy sandals. She emerged looking like Brandy, not Brandon, and was very pleased with the result. Looking in the mirror she felt joy bubbling up from her heart, creating such a huge smile it felt as if her face might split. She looked so much better than she could have imagined. She was pretty sure that if she had announced to her parents what she was going to do they would have put a stop to it right then and there.

-o0o-

When Brandy returned home and entered the house, with all her shopping bags, and looking like a cute young teenage girl, her mother, Connie, almost had a heart attack.

“Hi Mom.”

Connie’s mouth opened and closed, but she had no idea at all what to say.

“In case you were wondering, this is the real me,” said Brandy. She seemed calm, but her heart was pounding, craving acceptance, worried about being rejected.

“Wh, wha, WHAT???”

“It’s simple, I’ve always felt like I was a girl inside, and today I decided to see the reality of that on the outside.”

“But, Brandon…”

“Please, call me Brandy,” she said.

“Okay—um, Brandy. Isn’t this a little sudden?”

“Maybe it is for you, but I knew I needed to go ahead before I lost my nerve. You and Dad would have probably said no, or tried to talk me out of it, and I really needed to try this. I love the way I look and I feel happy for once!”

“You do look very pretty, but you’re a boy.”

“Only physically is that true. Do you have any idea at all of the grief I get every day at school? Not a day passes that some guy doesn’t call me a faggot, or girly or worse. I get tripped, pushed into walls. It’s like going to school in Hell.”

She looked aghast.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know. Do you report them?”

“Why bother? When I used to try to do that I just got doubled up on for revenge. It’s always their word against mine, and they’re usually on a sports team, so they can ‘do no wrong.’”

“Oh, Brandon! Um, I mean Brandy. It sounds awful. You could have told your father and me. And what will they do now, if you show up looking like that?”

“You know what? I don’t care! I’ll probably get beaten; I’m used to it. But now I’ll get beaten as myself.”

At this point Marilyn walked in.

“Who’s this? Oh my god! Brandon? What the hell is the matter with you, you pervert?”

Brandy turned to her mother, gesturing to Marilyn. “See? This is a typical day for me.”

“You are so disgusting. Are you going to go out and look for some cock to suck?”

“Marilyn! That’s enough of that!”

“Fine, but don’t expect me to acknowledge that we’re related!”

“You don’t do that now, so nothing is changed,” retorted Brandy.

Marilyn turned and stalked back out.

“Why does she hate me, mom? She’s always treated me like that.”

“Oh, son, I—sorry, this is going to take some getting used to—Brandy, I always felt she thought you stole the attention when you were born, and maybe you did get attention, but it wasn’t as if we started to ignore her. Some people just find having a younger sibling difficult. They feel like you took away their star status.”

Brandy certainly knew it was difficult for her, but it did hurt to be treated like a leper by her own sister.

“Mom, I know this isn’t easy for you, but it’s something I have to at least try. I hate feeling like I’m in the wrong body.”

“Well, I will support you, um, Brandy, but I want to make an appointment for you with a gender therapist.”

“That’s fine, probably a very good idea. Maybe I can finally get some official recognition for what I have always felt.”

“I’m not sure what to hope for. You’ve chosen a hard road.”

“Mom! This is not something I chose! Who in the world would choose to feel this way? This is how I was born. I’ve known there was a girl inside me since I was four years old! I’ve just tried to fit in since then, but it was obvious to almost everyone that that hasn’t been working.”

Connie was shocked into silence. That her child had felt like this for so long was heartbreaking. How could this have happened right under her nose?

Brandy went to her room, bringing most of her new purchases.

-o0o-

Connie was wondering how she was going to explain this to Andy, her husband. And she really wished there was something they could do to curtail Marilyn’s obnoxious behavior, but she seldom paid attention to their rules.

When Andy walked through the door, she greeted him and let him settle down a bit before bringing up the news.

Putting her hand on his shoulder, she said, “Andy, at least for now we have a new daughter.”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

“I mean our son, Brandon, has turned into our daughter, Brandy, and I would like for us to give her the support she needs.”

Andy goggled at her. “Our son has turned into our daughter?”

“Yes, she went to the mall and bought a bunch of clothes and got a makeover. She said she’s felt like a girl since she was four years old! I can’t believe my child was suffering right in front of me and I was unable to recognize it!”

“Whoa. I had no idea.”

“She says she’s been bullied for a long time, and I’m sorry to say that some of that bullying is from Marilyn.”

“Well, I knew they weren’t very close, but…”

“You should have heard how nasty she was to him—um, her today.”

“Well, so what does he or she want to do about this? Wouldn’t he get killed if he went to school as a girl?”

“Andy, he said he didn’t care, that he was used to it.”

Andy bent his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I told him—her, that she had to see a gender therapist.”

“That’s a very good idea. And maybe we could get…her some self-defense lessons. She is kind of a little thing.”

“I like that idea.”

At that moment Brandy walked into the room.

“Hi Dad,” she said, smiling.

“Oh, uh, hello…Brandy. You look very pretty.”

“Thanks,” she said, beaming. “I guess mom must have told you my news.”

“Excellent guess, Brandy,” he said dryly. “Your mother and I were just discussing you taking some self-defense classes. You may need them now more than ever.”

She looked thoughtful. “Well, I guess that couldn’t hurt. The bullies are so much larger than I am that I don’t know how much good it would do, but I’m willing.”

Andy was still staring at her, finding it hard to believe that this cute young girl was his son. But then, maybe he had never really been a son. He sure never had the typical interests a boy usually has. And…this girl looked so happy. Also, Andy worked with a trans woman, and made a mental note to ask her some questions.

-o0o-

Marilyn was called and the family sat down to dinner. She spent the whole meal making nasty comments to Brandy and about her. Brandy said nothing in reply. Connie and Andy told her to cut it out, but she ignored them.

“How can you just put up with this little pervert? Doesn’t he embarrass you?”

“That is ENOUGH, Marilyn!!” yelled Andy. “It’s actually your behavior tonight that’s embarrassing us! I can’t believe we raised such a bigoted daughter.”

Brandy felt tears start to run down her cheeks. She was so grateful for her parents not wigging out on her, and for their support, and so sad to be the cause of such a scene.

“Oh look, the little sissy is crying. Boo hoo.”

“Marilyn,” said Andy in a very quiet yet deadly serious way. “You will leave the table now, or I will remove you. You’d better learn to control your nasty mouth.”

“Fine! I’ll leave, but you’re making a big mistake with this sicko.”

She got up and made a big production of throwing down her napkin and stomping off. Minutes later they heard her leaving the house.

Connie handed Brandy a tissue. “Just blot the corners of your eyes, honey. You don’t want to ruin that beautiful makeup job.”

“I just don’t understand what I did to make her hate me so much,” sniffled Brandy. “I actually looked up to her when I was little, and even then she wouldn’t give me the time of day. How is what I’m doing now hurting her?”

They had no answer for that.

-o0o-

Marilyn went off to meet her friends at the nearby community center, which had an ad hoc youth area. She was one of a group of five girls and four boys that just liked to hang around together. She wasted no time in complaining about Brandon.

“You should see him! He had a makeover and was in a new dress. He is such a pervert! It’s so embarrassing that he’s my brother!”

“What’s the matter with him?”

“I have no idea. He just showed up at home like that, and my parents think it’s just fine! I cannot believe it!”

The girls sympathized with her and her embarrassing problem. The guys kind of shuddered at the thought of what a boy could be capable of.

Talk about Brandon was boring, so they were soon on to other more worthwhile subjects.

-o0o-

It was only two days later that Brandy decided to test her courage and walk to the park. The plan was she would just walk there and back. Their neighborhood had alleys where the garages let out, and the trash was kept, and this was the usual way to get to the park.

Marilyn’s three guy friends were also using the alley, and they recognized Brandy. She recognized them, too, and was hoping she could get by them.

“Hey, isn’t that Marilyn’s sister?”

“No. She only has a tranny brother.”

“But he wants to be a girl. Maybe we should help.”

So saying, two of them were able to grab Brandy without too much trouble, and each held an arm. The third guy began to punch her, first breaking her nose, as Marilyn was just coming out of the house. By the time she walked the forty feet to the alley, Brandy had been knocked out and was lying on the ground. Marilyn was in time to see her prone figure kicked, and to see one of her friends pull out a knife, flick it open and say, “Now maybe we can help him on his journey to girlhood.”

Marilyn yelled at them. “What the hell are you doing to that girl?”

“This is no girl; it’s your little tranny brother.”

She looked down at the bloody and battered figure and anger quickly built up and something just exploded inside her.

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!” she screamed, so forcefully that the boys backed up.

“What are you getting so bent out of shape for? You said he was a pervert and an embarrassment!”

“Just get out of here! NOW!!”

She pulled out her phone as they were walking away and dialed 911 to request an ambulance.”

Squatting down next to Brandy she pushed some of the hair out of her bloody face.

“I’m sorry, Brandon. I never meant for them to do this.”

It was a pity Brandy was out cold, because ‘I’m sorry’ were words she had never heard come out of Marilyn’s mouth.

Seeing her little brother, or sister, or whatever, lying there looking like a bloody rag doll really got to her in a way nothing else had been able to, and she started to feel a leaden hand of guilt wrap itself around her heart for the way she had treated him. How she had always treated him.

Soon the ambulance arrived and Brandy was bundled off to the hospital. Marilyn rode with them and called her mother, who was still at work, to tell her Brandon had been beaten up.

Connie’s heart fell. She knew things were going to be tough for Brandy, but she had hoped something like this could have waited, at least until she had some fighting skills. She called Andy to let him know and then left for the hospital.

Marilyn had to sit for a police interview, and though she didn’t want to rat out her friends, she did; this was just too much. They could have killed him. However much she made a joke of him and to him, she didn’t wish him dead.

She still didn’t like what he was doing, although she wasn’t exactly sure why. Was it simply because she found it embarrassing?

-o0o-

After Brandy was home and recuperating, and once she’d been told that the attack had been as a result of Marilyn’s actions, she wouldn’t talk to Marilyn at all, or acknowledge her existence. Before, she had put up with years of Marilyn’s abuse, but now she decided Marilyn would not be a part of her life anymore.

Marilyn found herself very surprised to learn that this treatment hurt. Like, she saved his butt! Doesn’t that count for anything?

Connie and Andy spent some time talking to Brandy about forgiveness.

“I do forgive her, but I—I just can’t allow that kind of hate in my life anymore,” she tearfully said in explanation. “She spent years treating me like crap. I just really don’t want to hear any of it anymore.”

“We understand, Brandy, but I think you might find it difficult to avoid her while you’re living here together,” said Andy.

Ironically Marilyn didn’t hate her anymore, and was finding it very hard to live in the same house with someone who pretended she wasn’t there. It might actually be nice to have a little sister, but Brandy wouldn’t say a word to her, and Marilyn tried begging and pleading—something she had never done before—but to no avail. She may as well have been in a different country for all the attention she got from Brandy.

-o0o-

“Marilyn, we’ve made an appointment for you with a social worker, Carolyn Jennings.”

“What? Why?”

“We think you really need to examine why you have shown such contempt for your own sibling. Contempt that could have resulted in Brandy being killed. And we know it isn’t easy for you to live with her while she ignores you. Maybe Carolyn can help.”

“But…okay, fine.”

-o0o-

At the social worker’s office Marilyn felt forced to give the history of her relationship with Brandon, how she mistreated him, then made fun of him and worse when he/she started her transition, and finally, how her careless talk almost caused her death.

“Marilyn, why do you really think you treated Brandon so poorly?”

“I always told him things were better before he showed up.”

“In other words, you had all your parents’ attention prior to that time?”

“Yeah. It just felt like I was less important after he was born.”

“From your perspective now, do you still think that?”

“No, I admit they did the best they could, and I understand babies take a lot of attention and time.”

“So you understand this now, but you were still mistreating him?”

“I just guess I was in the habit,” she said, realizing that was a very lame excuse.

“And what disturbs you the most about Brandon becoming Brandy?”

“I don’t know – it just seems wrong.”

“Have you ever taken the time to talk to her and find out what led her to take this drastic step?”

“Well, no. I hardly ever talk to him—her, and I can’t do it now, because she won’t speak to me at all.”

“And this was because she found out that what you told your friends is what led to her being beaten, correct?”

“Yeah. I didn’t tell those idiots to beat her up; I was just complaining.”

“Marilyn, a person really needs to be aware of what they say. Maybe you didn’t intend that to happen, but it did, and that was as a result of what you said. Those boys thought they’d help you out and take care of your embarrassing problem.”

“I know, I know. I still feel guilty about it.”

“We need to get her to talk to you to tell you her story. I’m guessing you will find it enlightening, if you keep an open mind.”

“Yeah, well, good luck with that. She acts as if I’m not even there.”

“How does that make you feel?”

Marilyn twisted her mouth. She didn’t want to tell the truth, but did.

“It hurts. It’s really hard living in the same house with someone who acts like you’re invisible. Now that I had a change of heart about her, she’s shutting me out. My parents told me she forgave me, but it doesn’t mean she will talk to me.”

“Would you like me to see if I can do anything to help?”

“Yes. Thanks. I would appreciate it.”

-o0o-

The social worker got in touch with Connie to see if she could get Brandy to come in.

“Do you think she would be willing to come and talk to me? I understand she’s seeing a gender therapist, but this is a bit different.”

“It can’t hurt to ask, but if this is all for Marilyn’s sake, maybe you should be the one to do the asking. I don’t know that I can put it in a way where it won’t look like she’ll have to face the issue of Marilyn.”

“That’s fine. I will be happy to ask her. But really, it’s for her as well as for Marilyn. It’s not that healthy to shut someone out, and I’d be surprised if it isn’t putting a strain on her as well as on Marilyn.”

“Well, let me give you Brandy’s phone number, and, should I tell her you’re going to call?”

“You may as well. Otherwise she won’t know the name or number and may not answer.”

-o0o-

“Hello?”

“Hi Brandy, this is Carolyn Jennings. I’m a social worker and I’ve been seeing your sister. May I ask you to come in and see me?”

“Um, well…”

“I know you’ve been shutting her out, and I’d like to get some resolution to this, because it’s kind of a lose-lose situation on both sides. Please do come in. I want to help both of you.”

“Oh, okay, but I don’t really want to.”

“Thank you, Brandy. I know you don’t, but you may be surprised at what results this could have.”

-o0o-

When Brandy came in for her session, Carolyn was very impressed with the poise of the petite girl, and tried to get to the bottom of her treatment of Marilyn.

“Ms. Jennings…”

“Please, Brandy, call me Carolyn.”

“Okay, Carolyn. I didn’t want to be here today because my whole life Marilyn treated me like crap. Teasing me, hitting me, telling me to get lost. When I came home in a dress for the very first time she called me a pervert and suggested I wanted to go suck someone’s dick. The abuse continued through dinner that day until my dad told her to leave. She’s always been like that! I looked up to her as a little kid, and she always told me to get lost!” Brandy said, starting to get very upset reliving these events. “She always made fun of me at school, and in front of her friends. I never did anything mean to her! And then she told her friends I was a pervert and an embarrassment, and they were going to do her a favor and kill me!” She was crying now.

“I just can’t allow that hateful attitude in my life anymore, at least not at home. I put up with it for sixteen years, and enough is enough!”

Carolyn handed over the tissue box.

“Thank you for telling me, Brandy. It sounds like a very sad way to grow up.” She looked out the window, gathering her thoughts, as Brandy wiped her face.

“Everyone’s mind works in a different way, and different things trigger different emotions. When Marilyn saw you on the ground after those thugs beat you it changed something inside her. She was incredibly angry with them for what they did. She didn’t understand that people listen to what you say, and that those boys had chosen to ‘help her out.’ That one moment, of seeing you on the ground, changed your sister, and she lost the anger she’d been carrying around ever since you were born. She stopped them from doing any more damage to you. She never ever wanted you dead.”

Brandy looked thoughtful at this.

“I asked her what it was about your transition that bothers her the most, and… she couldn’t answer. She had no empathy because she never realized what you were going through. Yes, some will have a natural empathy without being told the story, but some of us humans have a harder time with it. If you can bring yourself to do it, I would like it if you could tell your sister what led you to the path you’re on.”

Brandy hadn’t considered things from this perspective before. But it would mean acknowledging Marilyn’s existence again, and she had all her walls carefully built up to keep Marilyn out.

“Yes, you would have to actually talk to her. I’m offering to let you do it here if you would feel more comfortable. But I think you will find that when it’s done, you’re going to feel a lot freer. Shutting someone out puts a burden on you as well as the other person.”

“I’m not a vindictive person,” said Brandy slowly. “I was just trying to put a stop to the abuse from her. I have enough going on now without someone in my own family treating me like garbage.”

“Well I find you to be a remarkable young woman. It takes a lot of strength of character to do what you’re doing.”

Brandy smiled at her. “Thank you.”

They both stood up.

“Please let me know if I can be of any help if you decide to talk to her.”

“I will. Thank you, Carolyn.”

-o0o-

Should she do it at home or with the social worker? The question was in her head all the way back home. She knew Carolyn was right about it causing a strain on her. Of course the abuse was a strain too. Marilyn would really have to prove she had changed in some way.

Brandy was on blockers now, and her parents were very supportive, for which she was so grateful. Her nose had been repaired after the beat-down, and was now more cute and feminine. She was happy with it. The rest of the damage was mainly very deep bruising.

She entered the house through the back door, looking for her mother. Marilyn was standing there, in the kitchen. They stood looking at each other silently for quite some time. Marilyn quickly realized she was actually being seen by her sister, which gave her hope. She didn’t want to say anything and spoil the moment.

After an eternity, Brandy softly said, “Hey,” and moved past her on her way to her room.

Marilyn could hardly believe she’d talked to her. She felt like cheering!

Brandy sat on her bed and started thinking about this thing between her and Marilyn. It seemed like a pretty big deal to let her back in to her life, but it was hard work ignoring someone full time. She would love to have had a big sister growing up, but all she ever had was an abuser. Why would she suddenly change? Carolyn had said she had had a change of heart, and even stopped the boys from hurting her more. Could she trust her to continue to have a changed attitude? She really didn’t want to have to put up with the nasty comments anymore.

Maybe doing the confrontation?, meeting? at the social worker’s office would be the safer bet. She’d have to find a way to get there so they wouldn’t have to ride together. Maybe an Uber.

Suddenly she realized that even without thinking about it, she had decided to go ahead with the meeting. She pulled out her phone and left a message for Carolyn that she would like to have the meeting there at the office, but that she would try and find a ride so they wouldn’t have to go in the same car.

-o0o-

Brandy Uber’d there and Marilyn drove. The two sat across from each other and Carolyn was there to moderate. She said, “Brandy, would you please explain to Marilyn how you ended up on the path you’re on?”

She couldn’t look at Marilyn while she talked, so she looked down at her hands. “Since I was four years old I knew I was a girl inside. But I was quickly shown that boys weren’t allowed to act like girls. They certainly can’t dress like girls or their life would be over. That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to you, because you were a girl and could teach me, or at least I could learn by example. But you always told me to get lost and ended up being an example of what I didn’t want to be.

“There are plenty of consequences for acting girly, but some of what I was feeling I couldn’t hide. The few friends I had started pulling away from me. Then other people started to pick on me at school. And of course you were always picking on me at home, as well as at school, when you deigned to show me any attention.

“Meanwhile, with every passing year I was starting to understand I was in the wrong body, except everyone else only saw what I was physically. That was the only thing that mattered to them, was what I looked like. It was…soul-crushing is the term that comes to mind.”

She shifted uncomfortably, getting upset.

“When we got that lottery money I knew it was my opportunity to finally see what would happen if my outside matched how I felt inside. It felt SO incredible to finally get dressed up that day and feel Normal – it made me so happy. I felt, just, wonderful for a change. Then I got home and Mom didn’t explode on me. She wasn’t ecstatic, but she didn’t yell or tell me to change. And that was amazing too.

“And then the first thing that happened is that you came in and heaped abuse on me! It was like… throwing dog shit on my birthday cake! And then how you treated me at dinner that night…”

Her emotions were skyrocketing and she screamed, “I’ve never done ANYTHING nasty to you! EVER! Why were you so terrible to me?” Tears were pouring down her cheeks.

With her change of attitude Marilyn had listened closely to the story Brandy told. It was heartbreaking. She could only see a very distressed young girl in front of her, and she felt for her. She wasn’t seeing her brother dressed like a girl; she was seeing a girl, a girl who was really hurting as she told this story. The emotions were getting to Marilyn, and some tears started down her own face, as she thought about the difficulties her sister had gone through, of which she had been totally clueless, and which she made even harder for her, practically from Day One. To feel so bad in your own skin sounded horrible.

She hesitantly cleared her throat and started to speak.

“Brandy, I can’t explain my actions. I just always resented you and treated you poorly. When you were born I felt like mom and dad liked you better. You were new and exciting and it made me feel abandoned. So I am apologizing now, the most sincere apology I have ever made. I would like it if we could really be sisters, and I promise to try and make it up to you.”

“Do you really mean that?” Brandy asked, tears still streaming. “Because I don’t think I could take it if you started to treat me bad again,” she said, her voice breaking.

“I do really mean it. I give you my solemn oath that I will do my best to treat you well, and like my valued sister.”

Carolyn was interested to see how Brandy would respond. So far the session was going better than she could have hoped.

This was very cathartic for Brandy—the end of a lifetime of abuse seemed within reach—and she continued sobbing. Marilyn hesitantly came over to her, sat down and put an arm around her. Brandy didn’t try and move away. She put her head on Marilyn’s shoulder as her sobs slowly died down.

Marilyn suddenly found herself feeling protective of her little sister, which was a very novel experience for her. It felt good. She leaned her head against Brandy’s.

“How are you feeling, Brandy?” asked Carolyn, after a few minutes had gone by.

“Tired, good,” she replied.

“I hope you’ll find as you recover from this that you feel lighter and like you have less of a burden.”

“Thank you. I already do feel a little better,” she said, and snuggled a little into Marilyn.

This little physical act brought out feelings in Marilyn she didn’t even know she was capable of. Not only did her sister acknowledge her, she looked to her for comfort. That felt wonderful!

“Could I ride home with you?” she asked.

Marilyn smiled. “Of course.”

Carolyn was well satisfied with how the session had turned out. She felt very pleased about helping the sisters come to terms with each other.

-o0o-

The girls rode home mostly in silence, but it was a companionable silence. When they got home, Marilyn turned the car off and looked at Brandy.

“Thank you for letting me back in; I know that couldn’t have been easy for you. I won’t let you down,” she said softly.

Brandy just smiled at her, reached over and squeezed her hand.

They walked inside together. It was about 4:30 p.m.

“Do you want to make dinner with me?” asked Marilyn.

Brandy, who had never learned to make anything other than an omelet, lit up. “Sure! You’ll have to tell me what to do.”

And Marilyn gave her patient instructions on what to do and how to do it. She was really enjoying this time together, and doing something they had never done together. Of course, they had never really done anything together, so Marilyn was very pleased that they seemed to get along quite well working side by side.

By the time the parents arrived, one after another, the meal was almost ready to serve.

When Connie entered she smelled a delicious aroma, and she almost cried when she came into the kitchen and saw her two daughters working together. She came and gave each of them a big hug.

“Fifteen minutes, Mom. Hope Dad’s home by then,” said Marilyn. “Brandy, we’ll need a dish for the spinach.”

-o0o-

The dinner had a peaceful, happy aura that very few dinners at their house had ever had.

“I just want to say that I am so thankful that you two are speaking to each other and getting along,” said Connie.

“I second that,” said Andy.

“I, um, third that,” said Brandy, causing a chuckle around the table.

“Well, now I suppose I have to Fourth it,” said Marilyn. Brandy smiled at her.

-o0o-

That emotional scene at Carolyn’s office had really taken it out of Brandy, and she headed for her bedroom. She sat on the bed and regarded her room, trying to assess how she might want to change it so it was feminine enough for her tastes now.

There was a knock on the doorframe. Marilyn stood there. “Can I come in?”

Brandy smiled and patted the bed next to her. Marilyn sat down and looked around the room with her.

“I was just trying to figure out if I wanted to change my room to better reflect who I really am.”

“It’s not really that masculine now. In fact, there’s not a whole lot of personality at all,” she said, then added, “No offense.”

Brandy acknowledged her. “Probably I didn’t want to, because I would have liked to put up, I dunno, stuffed animals and other girly stuff. Since I didn’t think I could let that part of me out, I just did without personalizing it.”

Marilyn put her arm around Brandy. “I can’t even imagine how hard it was for you to live this long thinking you were in the wrong body.”

Brandy’s shoulders slumped a bit. “It was awful, but I’m so thankful I don’t have to do it anymore.”

“What’s going to happen when school starts?”

“Marilyn, I really don’t know. If it’s just too much to handle, I’ll ask mom and dad if I can go to school online.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”

She looked up at her. “Thanks,” she said simply, and yawned.

‘How could I have treated this sweet little thing so badly?’ Marilyn thought. ‘And how did I ever think she was a boy? I really was not paying attention. With her makeup, hair and clothes, she looks nothing like the awkward boy she was. She just looks…Right.’

“Hon, why don’t you go to bed. You look worn out.”

Brandy smiled to herself at her sister’s affectionate term.

“Yeah, I think I will.” She turned to Marilyn and gave her a big hug, again surprising her at how affectionate and forgiving she could be so soon after the resolution of their problems. She squeezed back, and let her go.

Epilog
Marilyn kept her word and was a model sister to Brandy. She helped her through some aspects of girlhood she needed coaching on, helped her learn about fashion and hair, and protected her as well as she could from people who were unable to accept the new girl.

For her part, Brandy was so grateful to finally be treated like a real person by Marilyn that she easily slipped into the role of little sister.

The two kept in close touch while Marilyn was away at college.

When Marilyn met Geoff and fell in love, her choice for maid of honor was her sister.

Brandy made it through high school and used her lottery money, most of which she had saved, for her GRS.

The End.

Author’s Note: This story was partially inspired by Maeryn Lamont’s “Little Pink Mini,” and she gave her blessings for me to go ahead with it. The usual disclaimer about not knowing anything about counseling sessions applies here! And I try not to do epilogs, but I, um, had to make an exception in this case.