Caitlyn, meet Lucy

"Hi Caitlyn. You wanted to meet Lucy."

Her eyes got wide, then she smiled.

"Hello Lucy. You're not what I expected."

"Should I go up and change back?"

"No! I just… Damn, you look cute!"

"That's what Mom said. I didn't know if I believed her."

"She's right and I'm jealous."

"Jealous? Take it from me - you're beautiful. I'll settle for being cute. I'm the one who should be jealous. You're not mad or grossed out or anything?"

"No. A little confused, maybe. I mean - I've seen those shows about transgender - is that the right word? - and sort of wondered why anyone would want to do that. I never expected…"

"You'd have a boyfriend that has a lot of girl in him?"

"Yeah."

"I'll let you know if I figure it out. After all, this is the first time I have worn a dress."

"Jeez!"

"We should start getting supper ready. It has to simmer for an hour or so once we finish making it."

"OK. My grandmother used to make them, but Dad doesn't like peppers so we never do."

"Do you like bell peppers?"

"They're OK. I guess. Like I said, we don't eat them at our house."

"Grab an apron and I'll get the stuff out. You can make the stuffing while I start the peppers. The recipe is on the card on the counter."

"Let me see… Half a pound of ground beef, half a pound of ground pork… Why use both?"

"Mom says the flavor is better. She's the expert."

"You got a bowl?"

"I'll get it."

"Uh Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"When you're wearing a short dress you should squat down and not bend over. You have blue panties."

"Oh!"

"Didn't you mother teach you about modesty?"

"Smartass. She taught Lucas about the kind of modesty he needed. Lucy hasn't had any lessons."

"Well, you just had one."

"I guess I need some help if I'm going to do this right."

"Funny - it's usually the guy who wants to see my panties."

"Did I say I didn't? I'm too much of a… Is there a word for the feminine of 'gentleman'?"

"Lady, I suppose. Nah, that doesn't quite cut it."

"This isn't getting dinner ready."

"Right. One onion, finely chopped. Cutting board?"

"In the cupboard right in front of you."

"Does it matter which one I use?"

"We use the wooden ones for veggies and the plastic ones for meat. Don't want cross contamination."

"As opposed to cross dressing? Keep that knife away from me."

"I'm only slicing peppers.

"Yeah, sure. Meat and onion are in the bowl. One third cup of rice. Where… Oh, right there in the canister that says 'rice.' "

"Very observant."

"Panties aren't the only thing I look at. Salt to taste. I always hate that when it's in a recipe. Everybody has different tastes. My brother practically pours salt on everything but Mom hardly uses any."

"Try half a teaspoon. Measuring spoons are hanging over the sink. To taste for the Italian seasoning is about a teaspoon."

"Right. How many peppers are you going to use?"

"Four big ones is just about right for this recipe, one of each color."

"They come in colors?"

"Green, yellow, orange and red like my face when I flash my panties."

"Get over it. It happens. Besides, flashing your panties can be a potent weapon in our feminine arsenal."

"One you've used?"

"As if! No way Dad would let me out of the house in a dress short enough to flash my panties."

"Darn!"

"Too bad I'm wearing jeans. Your time may come."

"Uh…"

"Boyfriends get special privileges. Wait and see. Those peppers look like Christmas tree ornaments."

"I don't think they'd last very long hanging on a tree."

"Now two eggs. In the fridge, I assume?"

"Yup."

"It says combine and mix well. How do you mix this stuff."

"Stick your hand in and start squeezing."

"Yucch!"

"Just like a girl!"

"You want to be a girl, then you do it."

"Does that mean if we get married I have to make my own stuffed peppers?"

"Slow down, tiger," Caitlyn laughed. "We aren't even going steady yet."

"Do you want to?"

"With Lucas or Lucy?"

"It's a two-for-one package, although I don't know how often Lucy will be around."

"I do if you do."

"I thought you were not into saying 'I do'." I said.

"You're getting to be a pain. Yes, we're going steady."

"Then here, hold out your hand."

I took off the ring I got at Claire's and put it on her right hand. A cheap ring, but it's the thought that counts. Neither of us had class rings to exchange."

"Wow! It fits!"

"We wear the same bra size, why not the same ring size."

"That doesn't make any sense. Your turn."

She took off one of her rings and put it on my right hand. It also fit.

"I guess I should use my left hand to squeeze the gooey filling."

"You're so romantic, girlfriend."

So I mixed up the filling and filled the peppers. I put them in the pan and poured tomato juice all over them, then put them on low heat. With that done, we made good use of the love seat for the next half an hour.

Wearing a dress is a distinct advantage when it comes to cuddling with your girlfriend.

"So did you learn to cook because its something girls do?" Caitlyn asked.

"No way. Mom thinks that any kid, son or daughter, needs to be able to cook, sew, do laundry, mow the lawn and change the oil in the car."

"You can change the oil in the car?"

"Easy! We get in the car, drive to the five minute oil change place, roll down the window and tell them to have at it."

"You!"

"Can you really see my mother crawling under the car and letting dirty oil drip all over her?"

"Not your mother, but my Aunt Sophie changes her own oil and even replaces brakes."

"Not one of my talents."

"No urge to race fast cars or drive monster trucks over school buses? Bungee jumping over the Grand Canyon? Blowing thing up in giant fireballs?"

"I can't even drive yet. How could I be doing the Monster Truck thing?"

"Good, you're still on my list as boyfriend material. Now about the girlfriend part…"

"Is this a test?"

"Yup. You get several free passes for doing laundry and cooking. Did you pick out that dress you're wearing all by yourself?"

"I found it but I did ask Mom if it looked good on me."

"Definite girlfriend material. No guy would ask his mother if a dress looked good on him."

"Most guys wouldn't be wearing dresses."

"Which means you’re not most guys. Have you ever thought about how you move when you're running the bases?"

"No, I just run and hope they can't get the ball to the bag before I get there."

"Next game I'm going to shoot some video of you and some of the other guys. They pump their arms and bend forward. You're graceful when you run. You're faster than most of them, too."

"That's not the first time I've been told I run like a girl, but it never bothered me. I got where I was going so who cares?"

"Again, not your typical guy. How did you learn to sit like that?"

"Like what?"

"With your legs crossed and knees together. Most guys just sprawl."

"I never thought about it. Maybe it's because I watched how my mother sits and do it that way."

"You use conditioner in your hair?"

"Of course."

"Also not a guy thing. My brother Zane is the original frizzhead; just won't take care of his hair properly."

"Jeez, with fine red hair using conditioner is not a choice."

"Only if you want to look good. Don't get me wrong, but you were more than halfway to cute girl before you started wearing a bra."

"I suppose so. Sometimes I daydreamed I was a girl."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But if Mom hadn't brought the subject up I would have just kept dreaming.

We cuddled a little bit more but, strangely enough, we started to get bored. Both of us were the type of people who don't like to do nothing for very long.

Now don't laugh, but I suggested a chess game and Caitlyn readily agreed. We set up on the dining room table and were deep into the game when the back door opened.

"Hello, I'm home," Called my mother. "Smells good in here. Hi Caitlyn. I see you've met my daughter."

"You could say that. I was just telling her how cute she is."

"Don't give her a swelled head. She'll never get that dress off tonight if you do."

"Mooooom!"

We adjourned to the kitchen, where us three woman chopped salad and put biscuits in the oven. (We cheated and used those biscuits in a can that go POP when you peel back the label.

Mom drove Caitlyn home later, young girls shouldn't be walking alone at night. I suppose that includes me these days.

I really enjoyed the day, and having Caitlyn be cool with me as Lucy made it even better.

The Next Day: The Protest

I woke up to the wonderful feeling of being in a nightgown. I often woke up with my pajama tops pushed up almost to my chin and my belly uncovered. I guess I'm a restless sleeper. With the nightgown I didn't have that problem. An unexpected side benefit from my girlie tryout.

I heard Mom moving in the kitchen, so I put on a robe and joined her before she left for work.

"Good morning, sunshine," she greeted me.

"Good morning to you, too." I answered.

"Any plans for today? She asked.

"Just getting dressed up, maybe calling Caitlyn."

"My, my! What a surprise."

"Mooooom!"

I dithered a minute selecting what cereal I wanted, then sat at the table and started eating."

"I think I'm jealous," Mom said.

"Jealous. Of who?"

"You, princess. I have to go off and toil in the vineyards while you lounge around in your nightgown and eat. To quote one of your favorite lines: 'It ain't fair!' "

"So I should quit school and get a job?"

"Not where I was going with that. Wait until you're old enough to support your aging mother before you do anything like that."

I was going to make a smart remark but my phone started singing She's My Kind of Girl'. That was Caitlyn's ringtone. I put it on speaker so I could continue eating my cereal.

"Good morning, may I speak to Lucy?"

Mom stuck her tongue out at me.

"She's not awake yet," I answered.

"Then get her lazy ass out of bed. There's something she needs to see."

"Her - uh my - ass is not lazy."

"Of course it is. I grabbed it enough yesterday."

"Caitlyn, my mother is listening."

"Hi Mrs Bailey."

The girl had no shame!

"Hello Caitlyn. Should I be concerned that you two are playing grab-ass?"

"Just making sure Lucy had her panties on straight."

"So you were performing a public service, then."

"I can say that it was a private service, not public."

"We can skip the details. Just remember I trust you."

"You can trust us. Really. Anyway, have you seen the news today?"

"The paper is still on the porch."

"Then google 'State Leg' on your phone, Lucy."

"Politics? At this hour of the morning."

"You need to see the story."

"All right, let me look… s-t-a-t-e l-e-g… Why those…"

"Your mother is listening!"

"...sanctamonious, hypocritical, transphobic…"

"I told you that Lucy needed to see the news. They vote on an anti-trans bill Friday. We can't let them get away with it!"

"Caitlyn, we're too young to vote."

"But we're old enough to go down to the capitol and wave protest signs and let them know they are just plain wrong!"

"But the capitol is more than a hundred miles away."

"Mom said she'll take us and anyone else who can come. Lucy, you need to be there."

"Lucy!?"

"Who else. You're the prime target of those bast… Well, you know what word I didn't say."

"You didn't tell your mother about Lucy, did you?"

"No, but I'm sure she isn't going to freak out or anything. Mom and Dad are both Liberals with a capital 'L'."

"But… I just started…"

"You looked good to me yesterday. You were out all day Sunday with your mother. Besides, if you get clocked it's a freakin' trans rally, there will be plenty of people who don't look as good as you do."

"Somehow that isn't quite as reassuring as you think it is."

"Caitlyn," my mother cut in, "This may be a little much. Lucy was planning to spend a few days getting used to her new self. It's a fine cause and we both can support it, but I'm concerned for Lucas' safety if word gets out at school or around town. These bills are only one aspect of the hate-mongering that is sweeping the country."

"I guess I never thought of that."

"That's a parent's job. Your job is to whip up the enthusiasm, my job is to temper it with reality."

"Blecch!"

"Look, I have to go to work. Let's think of this a while and then we can discuss it later."

"You can talk to my Mom when you get a chance. I'll give you her cell phone."

Mom put it in her phone and left for work.

"Can you come over to our place, Lucy? You should meet my Mother if we're going to do this."

Oh joy!

"Didn't we just say that I don't want friends and neighbors to know about Lucy?"

"Yeah, you did." She sounded disappointed. "Then come over and you can change when you get here."

"I don't know…"

"You can do it, Lucy."

"But I don't have a thing to wear!"

"Wow! You really have the girl thing down pat."

"I mean it. I have that dress and Mom's old gray sweater with my jeans. That's it."

"You poor thing!"

"Pfffftt."

That's as close as I can come to spelling the raspberry I gave her.

"Seriously. We can go shopping for you."

"I don't know. That can get expensive."

"We can go to the second-hand stores. You can get some good stuff if you have patience. You said your Mom gives you a clothing allowance."

She gives Lucas a clothing allowance."

"So how much do you have?"

"I have a couple of hundred bucks left."

"Girl, we can get you looking good for less than fifty."

"You can?"

"Not that you didn't look pretty good yesterday, but a girl needs choices!"

"What if we meet someone who knows me? I don't look all that different when I'm trying to look like a girl."

"We do what your Mom did, we go far enough away that that won't happen."

"And how do we get there? It would be a pretty long ride on our bikes."

"You are badly in need of sneaky little sister lessons. My big brother - the one with the car - owes me. He'll be home this afternoon and we'll live in luxury with a chauffeur."

"Right. You're nuts, you know."

"But you love me anyway."

"I think that may be true…"

"Cool! Get your cute little ass over here."