Twenty Weeks - 6 Final

 

Why is this a day late? I have no idea! I must have messed up the up-load some how. I am so sorry, but MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE everyone! Whether you observe or not, it's still Christmas Eve. So, to the synopsis: Now what? Deedee had found her true self and that had led to friends, love and happiness, but the pettiness of a rich rival had torn that all away. So what happens when her friends and classmates find out she's not 'really' a girl. What happens when Willie finds out? Will it matter if Dr Martin loses her position at Greenwood Academy? Let's find out!!!

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Author's Note: I do appreciate the comments, I really do. I am truly happy that so many people are enjoying the story. It's a pretty busy week, I know and I appreciate you giving me a little of your time. Happy Chanukah, Good Kwanza and Merry Christmas.

Happy Holidays to everyone! ~Clara.
 
This version of Twenty Weeks - 6 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Part 6 Final
 

"Thank you so much for seeing us," Amelia said as she and Dean entered the Trainer house. It was a very nice, fairly new home. Big, wide open design, very bright and airy. Much more similar to the houses in California than the house in which Amelia and Dean lived on campus.

"Don't be silly. Come on in," Willie's mother, Muriel smiled. Over the last few weeks, Muriel and Amelia had gotten together several times for coffee or wine. They had gotten to like each other a great deal. Amelia knew this would hurt her and she felt bad about that.

When they were all seated, Muriel said, "So, what's up? You sounded serious on the phone."

"Well, unfortunately..." Dean's mother began to speak, but Dean stood and stopped her.

"No, mom. I think I need to say this."

Dr Martin took his hand and nodded.

Dean looked at Willie and the tears welled up again. "I..." he breathed, desperate to keep control. "Willie, I... I really, really, really like you. I mean, like, I like you more than anyone I've ever known and more than anything, I want to be your girlfriend, but..."

Suddenly, Willie stood up. "Ok... Ummm..." he looked at the two mothers in the room, then back at Deedee. "Maybe we should discuss this alone."

Dean was so focused on getting everything out, though, that he never stopped. "... I'm not who you think I am and now... now... I have to tell you something, and I'm afraid it's going to make you hate me. I think it might make everybody hate me."

Willie was still trying to stop Dean's confession. "Yeah, ok, but can we do this alone?"

"Now, wait a minute," Muriel touched her son's arm. "I think I need to hear this, too." She looked at her new friend, Deedee's mother. "What's going on?"

Dr Martin jumped in to the ongoing cacophony and began speaking along with everyone else. "You see, Muriel, I really needed this job and the other private schools wouldn't allow mid-year transfers and..."

"Ok, everyone stop!" Muriel shouted, and the room got quiet immediately. She looked at Dean and saw how upset he was, but of course, she only saw an upset, little girl, and she felt a lot of empathy for the child.

"Now, Deedee," she said calmly, "obviously you have something very important to get off your chest. Now, no matter what it is, I promise, no one will hate you. I mean, how bad could it be? It's not like you're going to tell us that you're really a boy or something."

All the air seemed to leave the room at that moment and everyone looked down at the floor.

"Oh, my God," Willie's mother gasped as she looked at everyone in the room.

Willie just shook his head and stood still for a second. Finally, he looked at his astonished mother and said, "Mom... let's not go crazy, ok?"

"You KNEW about this!?" his mother nearly screamed.

"Mom... please. Calm down."

"How did you find out?" Dean asked, nearly as shocked as Muriel.

Willie looked a little embarrassed and shrugged. "Your father, remember? That night he barged in on us? It was obvious that he thought he'd caught his son doing something with a girl by the way he looked at me. And then he got all confused and he called you 'Dean,' and went ballistic. I kinda put it all together that night."

"Wait!" Dean said. "Then... if you knew... and we still went on that date... and all the other times you held my hand and you kissed me... and... then... you knew and it didn't matter..."

Dean took two hurried steps forward and wrapped his arms around Willie's midsection, his head pressed against the boy's chest. Willie responded by wrapping his arms protectively around Dean's small shoulders.

Muriel shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Wait a minute... If you knew that he was a boy, then... William! Are you... gay?"

"What? No. Of course not." William laughed. "Mom, I'm in love with Deedee."

"And Deedee's a boy," Muriel clarified.

"Oh, come on, mom," Willie laughed. "Look at her. Deedee's no more a boy than Robin is. She's just..."

She shook her head with even more force. "William, if she has male parts, than she's a boy."

"Says who?" He laughed. "Mom, Deedee is the prettiest, smartest girl I know and like I said... I love her. I don't care about what's down there, I love her."

Muriel looked at Dr Martin for confirmation that she wasn't dreaming. This whole conversation just seemed too surreal to be happening.

"If it helps," Dr Martin said, "Deedee is currently seeing several doctors in order to, eventually, rectify her physical issues surrounding her true sexual identity."

"You mean, reassignment surgery?"

Dr Martin nodded.

"You love me?" Dean whispered to Willie.

"Well, yeah, of course I love you, Deedee. I thought you knew that," he half-laughed as he spoke. "You love me too, don't you?"

Dean smiled, his face still wet with tears. "I do."

"See. I knew that, too," Willie laughed.

Muriel stood, put one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead, shook her head and said, "Well, if this doesn't beat all." Then she put a hand on each of Dean's shoulders and asked him to face her. "Honestly, I cannot see the tiniest trace of a boy in there." She shook her head some more. "William... I understand why you're so taken with her, but..." She looked at her son and saw that he was determined to take a stand if necessary. What was the point in arguing? If he was actually 'in love' with this girl, as he claimed, then arguing about it would just make matters worse.

"Alright," she finally conceded. "If you're ok with this, then I am too, but... for goodness sake, Amelia, you could have broken this news in a more subtle manner. Why did we have to do it like this? As if it's the last scene in an Agatha Christie book?"

The Chancellor sighed and told Muriel and Willie her story.

"Wait!" Willie said as she wrapped things up, "You're not going to fight this or anything? Your just leaving!?!?"

"There's not much else I can do," Dr Martin shrugged.

"You can fight them," Willie insisted.

"Willie," she said, exhausted already and it was only approaching noon, "I can't make a big stink about this. In educational circles, a scandal like the one this could create, could not only destroy my career, it could destroy Greenwood Academy. I came here to make that school a better place. I can't be responsible for closing it."

"This is all so odd," Muriel said. "I don't mean you, dear, I mean... Look at those two, Amelia. They don't care about any of this. They're in love and they're fine with all of it."

"It's a new, more tolerant generation," Dr Martin nodded.
"Unfortunately, it's their parents who will have to make the decisions and I'm sure I will be moving out of that house in the next day or two."

Muriel shook her head.

"Look, Muriel... William..." Dr Martin said, sounding tired, "I cannot thank you enough for being so supportive and understanding, but... Deedee really wants to talk to her friends before they hear the news from Donna Linkletter tomorrow."

Muriel nodded. "Understandable."

Dean's mother looked at him and said, "Text your friends, love, and we'll have to get going."

Dean nodded.

"Can we go with them, mom?" Willie asked.

"Oh, William, I don't know. This could get messy..."

"And that's why we need to go, mom. Please. We're not doing anything here anyway. We could all meet at Aunt Penny's house and talk to Robin and Jade. If we're cool with it, maybe Aunt Penny and Jade's mom can be, too."

Muriel pondered and then looked at her son's desperate expression. Finally she nodded. "Ok."
 

~^~
 

When Dr Martin and Dean arrived at Robin's house, Jade's mother's car was already in the driveway. Willie and his mother pulled in right behind them.

"You ready?" Amelia asked Dean as they approached the door.

Dean shook his head. "Not really."

"Well, Willie took it well," she said, by way of encouragement.

Before she could knock, Robin's mother, Penny, opened the door and smiled. "Hi. Tough day?"

Dr Martin and Dean looked at each other, not knowing what she meant. After all, they hadn't let on that there was a problem to discuss.

Within a second or two, Willie arrived and excused himself as he squeezed into the doorway. "The girls are in Robbie's room," Penny said as he passed. "Come on in," she said to her guests.

The dining room table was covered with a table cloth, coffee cups, a pitcher-shaped thermos of coffee and a tray of cookies.

"I'm sorry," Dr Martin said, "are we interrupting something? Are you having guests over?"

"Yes," Penny nodded. "Have a seat and help yourselves."

"Ummm, maybe I should go talk to the girls," Dean suggested.

"Nope," Penny said with a sly smile. "They're not ready for you yet, but they'll be down when they are."

"Ready for me?"

"Have a seat."

"Oh, hi," Jade's mother said as she entered the room with a handful of paper napkins. "Are you two ok?"

Dr Martin was completely flummoxed by the casual attitude of these women who seemed to be setting up the room for a get together.

"We're f..." the Chancellor began to say, but then opted to tell the truth. "No. In fact we are very far from ok. That's why we're here. Deedee and I need to speak to you and the girls about something very important."

"No, you don't," Muriel said, pulling out a chair and indicating that Dean should sit. "Everyone here knows, Amelia. Just sit."

"You know!?" Dr Martin asked, shocked.

"Willie called us and told us what was going on," Jade's mother said.

"Now, let's discuss Willie's solution," Penny said, as she sat.
 

~^~
 

"Yeah, 4187 Walnut Road," Jade said into her phone. "See you in an hour." She ended the call and looked at her friends. "That's everyone on my list. Everyone who answered their phones said they're coming."

"I called thirty four and only two didn't answer," Robin said. "They all said they'd be here, too."

"I called the people on my list, too," Willie said. "I only had ten. They said they're coming."

"Where are we going to put them all?" Jade asked.

"It's pretty warm out today," Willie suggested, "maybe we could do it outside."

"It's like sixty people," Robin said. "I bet we could get them all out in the back yard and use the deck as a kind of stage so we can talk to everyone."

"Good plan."
 

~^~
 

The Chancellor took a deep breath. "It's not that I don't appreciate all your work," she said, "but I'm not sure how good an idea it is to involve so many people. If this gets into the papers, it could ruin the school."

"It won't get into the papers," Jade's mother said. "The board doesn't want to have all of us pulling our girls out of the school. The Linkletters aren't THAT generous. Yes, they give the school a lot of money, but if we all walk away, the school can't rely on them to fund the whole place. Even though Jade is at Greenwood on a scholarship, we still pay several thousand dollars a year in tuition and fees. I bet we pay more per year than the Linkletters donate in that same space of time."

There was a knock on the door and Penny went to get it.

"Maybe it'll be ok," Dean whispered to his mother.

"I don't know, baby," she said, shaking her head. "This is risky."

"Hello, hello," someone said as she entered the dining room. "I guess someone is a much better actress than she let on." It was Ms Highland. She patted Dean's head. "It's going to be alright, Deedee." She looked at the Chancellor and winked. "It will."

"Hey, stud," Jade said as she came into the dining room and kissed Dean's cheek.

Dean couldn't help but smile at that. "Hi."

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Jade asked, playing with his hair and the ever present bow in it.

He shrugged. "I wanted to, but I couldn't. Besides, I wasn't sure how you'd react."

"Are you kidding? One of my best friends is a trans-girl. How much cooler can you get? It's so... twenty-first century." She smiled broadly as if to say that she understood everything that Dean was going through.

"So, do you know what's going on?" Robin asked.

"Kinda."

"How many people are coming?" Penny asked her daughter.

"About sixty, I think," Robin replied.

"Sixty!?" Penny said, shocked. "Who did you call?"

"Everybody in our grade and everyone in the show."

"Well, she's right. That's at least sixty or seventy people," Ms Highland said. "How many families said they'd be coming?"

"Like I said," Robin said, "about sixty."

"Robbie, if both parents come, or if they bring a student with them, that could be a lot more than sixty people."

"Oh, yeah," Robin said, not having considered that. "I guess."

"Where are we going to put them all?" Penny asked, a bit astounded by the size of the gathering.

"We figured we'd have to do it outside," Willie said.

"And use the deck as kind of a stage so we can talk to everyone," Jade offered.

It was just about an hour later that people began showing up. By then, they'd prepared things outside by the deck. Robin and Jade had run over to the house a neighbor who played a little guitar and had a small public address system. He was eager to help, so he brought a little portable PA system over and had set it up for them.

It was about two thirty that afternoon that Penny guided Dean and his mother out onto the deck off of their kitchen. The deck sat about three and a half feet above the ground, not real high, but it offered the opportunity to focus attention to the speakers without any obstructions. The view from the deck was truly shocking. There must have been three hundred people in the yard. All the people that Willie and the girls had called had called other people in turn and so most of the families from Greenwood Academy were represented at this gathering.

"Good afternoon," Penny said into the microphone. "We invited you all here today for two reasons. First, it has come to our attention that a member of the Greenwood Academy Board of Directors has taken it upon themselves to use their power as a board member to carry out a personal vendetta against the school's chancellor, and a student, who happens to be the daughter of the chancellor. Second..." she looked at Dean for a moment, knowing that the next few minutes were going to change this child's life. "... Well... the second issue involves a student. Deanne, come here, please."

Dean took a deep breath, felt his mother rub his back as a sign of encouragement, and he stepped forward.

"Now, I'm sure that all of the students know this young lady, but for those people who don't, I will introduce her," Penny continued. "This is Deanne Martin, daughter of Greenwood Academy Chancellor, Dr Amelia Martin. Deanne... or Deedee, as we all know her... arrived at Greenwood at the start of the third quarter when Dr Martin became our new, and very enlightened, leader, and the girls very quickly welcomed Deedee into their community. She is a bright, funny, intelligent and talented girl and a credit to the Greenwood Academy community."

She placed her hands on each of Dean's shoulders. "What many of us did not know until today is that Deanne was struggling in a way that none of us may have understood. See... Deanne... Deedee... was born a male and has made some very difficult and brave choices to become the girl she knew she needed to become."

There were murmurs in the crowd. All of the mumbling sounded confused, but some sounded surprised, while others, mostly the older ones, sounded concerned.

"Now, tomorrow morning, the school's Board of Directors is meeting to discuss Dr Martin's dismissal as Chancellor and the only charge they have against her is the fact that she enrolled her transgender daughter in our school and did not make a public proclamation to announce that her daughter was a trans-girl. I think that all of us can understand why a mother would want to protect her child's privacy as she deals with something so personal. As a matter of fact, neither Dr Martin nor Deedee was too happy about us organizing this meeting and letting you know about these things now. However, we felt that if this invasion of their privacy can keep Dr Martin, a very positive force in our school, and Deedee, a wonderful girl, from leaving Greenwood, it was worth doing."

There were a few moments of quiet before someone called out, "Who is leading the charge against the Martins?"

Penny sighed. "Mr and Mrs Linkletter."

"Does this have anything to do with the incident at rehearsal for the musical a few weeks ago?" Someone else shouted.

"Yes. We believe it does."

A man stepped forward and, in a very loud voice, asked, "Why wasn't the school notified that there was a transgender student in the building?"

"I CAN ANSWER THAT!" A woman called out from the crowd. It was Mrs Olsen, the Assistant Chancellor of Greenwood Academy. She climbed the stairs and stood on the deck so she could use the microphone.

When she was ready, she spoke. "The answer - we were notified. Or at least, I was. As you all know, we had a very lengthy search for a new Chancellor at Greenwood. When we found Dr Martin, it was like the angels sang! She was the perfect fit for our school. Decades of experience, more degrees than you could shake a stick at, five published books on educational pedagogy... the list goes on.'

"Dr Martin met with the Board of Directors, and as acting Chancellor, I was included in that meeting, and we all agreed, that included the Linkletters as board members, that we had found our new leader. After that meeting, I had a quiet dinner with Dr Martin and she told me her trans-daughter would be coming with her. I told her that all of us at Greenwood would welcome Deedee with open arms."

"Why weren't we notified?" The man called out. "We have a right to know that there was a boy in the school with our daughters."

"Well," Mrs Olsen smirked, "had then been a boy in the school with your daughters, you would have been told, but there wasn't. There was a trans-girl and you were not notified because, to be blunt, it was none of your business. Deedee's issues are being treated by licensed, reputable doctors, the same way a student with, for instance, a digestive issue would be treated by her doctor. That is private information and not something that we can discuss with our students or their parents, even if we are made aware."

"That's bull," the man spat. "This boy has been in locker rooms with our daughters and..."

"No sir, SHE has not. Deeded is excused from physical education due to a breathing disorder," Mrs Olsen held firmly. There were some grumbles, but people seemed to be relaxing.

"Well, I think it's pretty freaking cool that we have a trans-girl at our school!" A girl from Dean's class shouted out. "And I think you're the bravest kid I ever met, Dee. You rock, babe!"

That elicited some cheers from other students. Dean smiled at the support.

"I assure you all," Mrs Olsen finished, "we took all the necessary steps to ensure the wellbeing of every girl at Greenwood..." and the conversation continued with Dr Martin and Mrs Olsen answering many many questions.

"Thank you for that," Dr Martin whispered to Mrs Olsen when they had stepped away from the microphone.

"You should have told me the truth," Mrs Olsen replied. "That cock and bull story about twins... I don't know why I ever believed it." She shook her head and laughed at her own foolishness. She wasn't at all angry, just surprised at herself.

Dr Martin nodded. "I'm sorry." She didn't bother to explain that her son had never even considered being a female until after his arrival at Greenwood. "I owe you."

"No, you don't. I've been at Greenwood for eleven years, you're my fourth Chancellor and you're the only one who knew how to really do the job. So, let's see if there's any way that we can keep you HERE come tomorrow morning."
 

~^~
 

"On, shit," Dean whispered as he glanced out his bedroom window that Monday morning. "Mom!" He shouted down the hallway. "Have you looked out the window this morning?"

His mother ducked her head into his room. "No. Why?"

"Look." He pointed out the window.

"Oh, shit," she whispered. "I was afraid of something like this happening."

In front of the school building, several Boston area news trucks were parked. Each had a massive satellite dish on it and each had the name of the station emblazoned on it. There were also radio station vans and card with newspaper placards on them parked on the side of the road

"So much for a quiet meeting," Dr Martin said, shaking her head. She looked at her child and shook her head. "I told Penny this would happen. I'm sorry, baby. This is all my fault. This could go very badly, you know. Maybe it would be best if you stayed home today."

"Mom, if this goes badly, then it'll be my last chance to see my friends. I'm not staying home."

There was a knock on the door.

"Oh," Dean said, checking the time on his phone, "the girls are coming over early today. That must be them."

He hurried down the stairs and opened the door, but the girls weren't there. Instead, there was a mass of television cameras and very good looking men and women thrusting microphones at him and screaming questions over each other.

Dean slammed the door shut and stepped back, staring at the wooden barrier that separated him from the horde of reporters beyond.

"Where are the girls?" His mother asked coming down the stairs, but she could tell by the look on Dean's face that not all was right. "What's wrong? Who was it?"

"Reporters."

"Reporters?" She was about to call campus security when the sound of frantic banging came from the back door. "Now what?"

As the two of them hurried in that direction, they could hear voices shouting from that direction. "Dee! It's us! Open the door! It's us! Dee! Dee!"

Dr Martin opened the back door and hurried the girls in, then went to call campus security.

"Have you seen what's going on out there?" Jade asked, excited and a bit scared. "There's like five news trucks out there and there's radio and newspaper people here, too. It's freaking crazy!"

"Are you and your mom ok?" Robin asked.

Dean nodded. "I guess. I think she's as scared as I am and I'm so scared I can barely move."

Robin gave him a tight squeeze. "We're here for you, Dee. No matter what."

Dean shook his head. "I can't believe you guys. I lied to you, pretended to be something I'm not and you're still here for me. I don't deserve you guys."

"You know what?" Jade said. "I have problems with my period. Some months it's really late, and when it is, I'm in terrible pain for days. When it finally does start, it's really heavy for a few days, it smells really bad and I hate how I feel until it's over."

There was a moment of silence as Dean and Robin stared at her.

"Ok... gross," Robin finally said.

"My point is," Jade explained, "I never told you about that, but I didn't lie to you, either, did I?" She smiled. "See, I never asked you if you were a trans-girl, so you didn't lie to me."

"But I told you about my twin brother who doesn't exist," Dean said.

"And my mother told me about Santa Claus, but I still love her, and I love you, too. Understand?"

Dean smiled. "I do."

"Alright, girls," Dr Morse said. "Campus security is on its way. They're going to disperse all these people and while they're moving them off campus, we're going out the back door with a whole bunch of parents and students who are on their way over, now. That way they can't film us as we walk over to the school. Stay nice and tight and in the center of the group. Ok?"

All three nodded.

Just then, they heard the sounds of the people on the front porch being dispersed. Campus Security people were sounding bossy and reporters were sounding resentful. Amelia grabbed her coat and Dean's and they all headed to the back door. The arrived just as someone tapped on it. Jade opened it and they exited into a group of a dozen or so, fairly tall adults and students and they all walked over to the school without an interference.
 

~^~
 

The Linkletters had planned on a small meeting in the school's conference room, but unbeknownst to them, a large meeting had been set up in the school's largest theater, the same theater in which the musical 'Chicago' was set to be presented later that week.

"This is absurd," Mr Linkletter shouted, as he entered the building after pushing through the throng of media at the end of the driveway. "This is a matter that needs to be dealt with in a dignified, businesslike way and YOU have turned it into a circus. Well, if you think for one second that a few reporters will make me back down, then you have another thing coming, Dr Martin." He looked at Mrs Olsen and snapped, "Have the other members of the Board of Directors arrived?"

Mrs Olsen nodded. "Yes. The other board members are already in the theater."

Mr Linkletter took a step towards the conference room, but stopped and turned back to Mrs Olsen. "THE THEATER!?" he shouted. "The board meets in the conference room. Why the hell are they in the theater?"

"They're in the theater because the conference room could not accommodate the board members and the number of parents and guardians who showed up," Mrs Olsen explained.

His eyes narrowed. "Parents?" He looked at the Chancellor. "What do you think you're playing at, Dr Martin? I intended to handle this quietly to avoid any embarrassment for you or your son and you seem determined to make this difficult."

"Mr Linkletter," the Chancellor finally spoke, "I am fully aware of your intentions. Your child and mine had a spat. Your child behaved poorly and rather than discipline her, you've chosen to take away my income, leaving my child penniless."

"And I will be pleased to do so, Dr Martin. Maybe the next time you decide to challenge your social superiors, you'll think twice about it and stay in your own lane. Neither you nor your son have any business being here. Like it or not, this is how the world turns. I don't lose, Dr Martin, nor does my daughter. I'm a winner, Dr Martin - you are not."

"You are heartless and petty, Mr Linkletter, and I know that, having said that, there is an excellent chance that I may find myself homeless in the next few hours, but I will not allow you to use my daughter as a weapon against me or against this school."

"Well, you probably should have thought of that BEFORE you tried to pass your swishy little son off as your daughter. The very idea of bringing that little fairy into this academically renown institution so he can spread his perversion amongst our daughters and parade around like a little princess on that stage - a stage that MY FAMILY paid for..."

He had a lot more to say, but Dr Martin had heard enough. "Mr Linkletter, were you on the committee that, five years ago, voted to install surveillance cameras in this building?"

Caught off guard by the change in topic, he sputtered before answering. "What? Was I...? Well, of course I was. I led that drive to raise the money and..."

"And are you aware that the only cameras in this building that can record both video AND sound are the ones that monitor this front desk?" She interrupted again.

"Am I...? Well, yes, of course I am aware that..."

"Are you at all familiar with the rights of trans-people in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mr Linkletter. Are you aware that 'Hate Speech' on a school campus is a felony?"

He stared at her dumbly.

The Chancellor walked around the front counter, stepped into the hallway and motioned for someone. Seconds later, she was back behind the front counter and two police officers were standing in the outer office as well. "Mrs Olsen, would you please go and gather the other members of the Board of Directors into my office. Once you are in there, please show them video we just recorded here, and I believe that Sargent Hoffman will join you in there, am I correct, Sargent?"

The police officer nodded as he looked menacingly at Mr Linkletter.

"While you do that, I will go and explain to the assembled parents that we will be beginning as soon as we can."

"This is absurd," Mr Linkletter said, sounding disgusted. "When I tell them..."

"You'll be waiting right here with Officer Hayes," the Sargent said. Then he looked at his colleague. "He stays here until we find out whether or not the Board of Directors wants to press charges."

"Press charges?" Mr Linkletter look doubtful. "This would be hilarious if it weren't so insane."

"Just wait here, sir," the Sargent said, then left the office with Mrs Olsen and Dr Martin headed to the theater.

She passed the board members on her way and she nodded casually. They knew why they were there as several of them had been at the previous day's meeting, so she was reasonably sure that all of them had been updated about how the parents felt about the situation.
 

~^~
 

Dean was a wreck. He had no idea how things were going or if this was the last day he'd have with his friends. As first period ended, he walked out into the hallway and straight into Donna Linkletter and one of her friends. He knew immediately that she was there to cause problems. This hallway was exclusively for sophomore classes and Donna was a senior.

"Oooohhh," Donna cooed, "look. The little girl came in for one last day at the fancy school. Isn't that adorable?"

"Back off, Donna, or I'll go get Mrs Cohen," Jade warned.

Donna raised her eyebrows in a mocking way. "Oh, no! Don't do that!" She laughed. "Look, scholarship girl, if my father and I aren't afraid to get the Chancellor and her..." she made air quotes "... 'daughter' removed from this place, what makes you think you can challenge me?"

"You and your family don't run this school, Donna," Jade said, guiding Dean towards his next class.

"We shall see, welfare. We shall see."
 

~^~
 

"I apologize for the delay, ladies and gentlemen," Amelia said into a microphone on the stage. "I am sure that the board members will be in very shortly. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions that I did not answer yesterday, or if anyone wasn't able to come yesterday and you have questions.."
 

~^~
 

"Is it true?" A very pleasant girl named Mary asked Dean in a whisper from the back row of the history classroom. "Were you really a boy before?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah... I was."

"Wow," Mary said shaking her head. "That's amazing. I never would have guessed."

Dean shrugged, not sure how to take that.

"I didn't mean..." Mary looked upset, afraid that she's upset her classmate. "All I meant was... You seem so... natural... as a girl. I mean... obviously, this is the real you, right?"

Dean smiled. "Right." He almost felt like crying. "Thank you, Mary. I really needed to hear that today."
 

~^~
 

"What the fu.." Frank muttered, looking at his computer screen where he'd been watching the ABC morning news streaming live. The reporter was standing in front of a school. A school Frank recognized because he'd been there once before. Recently. Very recently.

"The situation began when a transgender student, who also happens to be the daughter of the school's recently hired Chancellor was outed by the parents of a school rival. Now, that parent has demanded that the Chancellor resign. There is a meeting going on right now between the Board of Directors and the parents to decide the fate of this career educator and her transgender child..."

"You all set Frank? We have to go," one of Frank's co-works asked.

"Wait a minute," Frank replied. "I need a minute to think."

"Think? Frank, There's fifteen people in the transport truck waiting on us. Come on, let's go. Time is money."

Frank stared at the computer.

"Frank?"

"Frank?"

Frank looked up at last. "Yeah... umm... look, Jim... just... umm... just go without me, ok. I have to get back to the states as fast as I can?"

"What!? The states!? Frank..." he laughed, "this is a multi billion dollar job, you can't..."

"Jesus, Jim, just fucking go without me, will you? My family..." he sighed. "...my kid... my daughter... she needs me. I'll probably be too late to help, but... fuck me... I gotta go."
 

~^~
 

Dr Martin had answered well over twenty questions. She had answered them honestly and when people had pushed back, she allowed them to express their fears and concerned, then she addressed each fear and concern as concisely and honestly as possible. It had been almost an hour, though and the majority of them had jobs to get to. So, 'antsy' would best describe the overall mood in the theater.

Just when it felt like people were going to start leaving, Mrs Olsen came onto the stage in a harried, but businesslike manner. "I apologize for the delay, ladies and gentlemen," she said, "but the board members are dealing with one last issue before they come in here to discuss the outcome of their conversation with you."

"Wait a minute," a well dressed man interrupted, standing from his seat about mid-way up the aisle from the stage, "we're all here to discuss things with the board. Not to just hear their decision."

"Yes, Mr Craymore, they will be hearing your opinions before making any decisions..." she heard something from the stage door. It was the board members arriving. "Oh... they're here. I will get off the stage and let them take over from here."

Just then, an announcement came through the loudspeakers. "Donna Linkletter, please report to the office for dismissal."
 

~^~
 

There was not a lot of teaching going on in the sophomore classes that morning. Even in the classes that Dean wasn't in. The girls were worried about their new friend. They were all too preoccupied, wondering what the heck was going on in the theater, to do any work and that announcement had made matters much worse.

"Dismissal? Do you think she's leaving for good?"

"Do they want her out of the building so we don't yell at her when Deedee and her mom get thrown out?"

"Maybe she's scared to be here."

"Alright, girls, come on. This is still a school day and there's work to be done. So... focus." The Algebra teacher was frustrated, both with the girls not doing what she asked and with not knowing what was happening in the meeting. Dr Martin had been a godsend to this school and Deedee was just the sweetest girl. She didn't want to lose either of them, but...

"Miss, aren't you even a little curious about what's going on in there?" A girl asked.

"Of course I am, Audrey, but we're not in there, are we? So we must focus on our lessons."

"In Civics, Miss, we were told that protests and peaceful civil disobedience can sometimes persuade the people who make the rules see what's really important," another girl said.

"Yeah!" Another girl chimed in, "like what Martin Luther King did. You know, just sitting at that lunch counter or marching to make sure that people couldn't forget them."

"All good points, girls, but we are staying right here and working."

Suddenly, Eleanor Barnard, probably the quietest girl in the school, stood from her seat at a desk by the windows and headed across the room towards the door.

"Eleanor, please take your seat," the teacher said, with a sense of authority that was typically met with 'yes, ma'am, especially from a girl like Eleanor.

"No, Miss, I can't," the girl replied, looking bravely defiant. "This is wrong and making us sit here while our friend's future is being decided by grownups who don't even know her is just wrong and stupid. I'm not calling you, stupid, Miss, I mean... this whole thing is stupid. So, I'm going to the theater and telling them that I really like Deedee and that I want her to stay." She opened the door and exited, leaving the room silent, dumbfounded.

The teacher cleared her throat, about to say something, although she had no idea what, when suddenly, as if as one, the entire rest of the class rose and hurried out the door.

"Girls! Girls! Please!" The teacher called out, but no one listened. As the last girl exited the room, the teacher mumbled a quiet cuss and hurried out to follow them. If they were going to fire her, at least they'd have to admit that she stayed with her girls.
 

~^~
 

"I need to charter a flight," Frank said into his phone as he drove toward the nearest airport.

"Yes, sir. Where to?"

"Boston, Massachusetts, or better still, Worcester, Massachusetts."

"Massachusetts?" The person on the other end of the call sounded a bit surprised. "Well, the only way I can get you that far south without changing flights is on one of our four seater jets. It is more costly, but if you split the cost with your fellow passengers..."

"I'm traveling alone. The cost is not important, I have a Black Card you can charge it to. I will be there in about two hours. Can you be gassed up, have clearance and be ready to go when I get there?"

"Of course, sir. See you in two hours."
 

~^~
 

As Eleanor ran down the sophomore hallway, class after class looked up to see who was running in the hall, something that was forbidden in large print in the student handbook.

When the herd of girls from her class ran past, each class leapt up to see where they were going.

As the Algebra teacher fan by last, bringing up the rear of the herd, every girl in each of the passing classrooms ran out the door and joined in the rush for the theater.

Finally, the teachers followed.

All but one teacher, that is, who still had three students who stayed in her classroom.

"I would have thought that three of you would be the most interested in what's happening in the theater," the teacher said.

"I'm only interested in my friend," Jade said, moving her chair close to Dean's.

"Mr Linkletter is just an asshole and so is Donna," Robin said, crossing her arms and slouching in her chair.

"Hey, hey, hey, now, missy," the teacher warned. "You know that foul language isn't allowed here and flinging insults at people just makes you look bad. So, never say that someone is... that word."

Robin shrugged. "He is, though, and so is she, but they're rich, so everyone in this whole town kisses their butts and lets them do whatever they want. It's just not fair."

Well, there was no point in arguing with that.

The teacher pulled a chair up to sit opposite Dean, leaned forward a bit and took Dean's hands in hers. "Deedee... I am not going to pretend to understand what you're going through, but... sweetheart... you are a smart and strong young woman. No matter what happens, you are going to be fine. The pain and the fear you're feeling now, that will pass. And if they decide in your favor, then you will be back here tomorrow and it'll be as if nothing happened. And if the decide against you... I know that will hurt and it'll be hard, but Deedee, I promise you... you will get through that too, and be a stronger woman because of it."

Dean sniffled a bit. "Miss... you don't understand...I can't be Deedee if I leave. It was too hard to become Deedee in the first place. I can't do it all over again, and..." he looked to each of his closest friends, "... I can't bear to leave Robin and Jade and..." he chose not to say Willie's name, "... I just can't."

"I know how big this all feels, Deedee, but... look... honey... I know how unfair it is to throw so much at someone as young as you, but I promise you... no matter what happens, you will be ok. Too many people love you to let anything really bad happen to you."
 

~^~
 

"Good morning," Mr Barnard, the chairman of Greenwood Academy's Board of Directors said into the microphone on the stage. "I do apologize for the delay and I thank you all for coming this morning. It has been a very... interesting morning and..."

He stopped speaking because a door in the back of the theater slammed shut. He glanced up to see who had made such an obnoxious entrance, half expecting Mr Linkletter to be returning in order to create a scene, but instead he saw his youngest daughter, Eleanor - quiet, polite Eleanor - standing at the end of the aisle, looking at him expectantly. He stared back at her and, even in the half-darkened theater, he knew that she was hoping that he would do the right thing - at least the right thing in her eyes. That he would let her classmate stay, not punish her just for being a little different.

"Umm..." he said, regaining his footing and getting back to the matter at hand, "as I was saying... it has been an interesting morning. Enlightening may well be a better word, but my fellow board members and I..."

He stopped again, this time because dozens of girls were flooding into the theater. A few teachers appeared as well and ushered the girls into seats in the rear of the hall, warning them to be quiet.

This was truly unexpected. The Board had specifically requested that the girls all remain in class that morning so that the meeting could remain as unemotional and businesslike as possible.

A teacher came up to the front of the auditorium and spoke loudly so all could hear. "I'm sorry, everyone. The sophomore girls just couldn't stay in their classrooms while this was going on. We have taught them to be powerful and to speak their minds, and, unfortunately - or fortunately, in my opinion - we are reaping what we have sown. They are here to speak their minds... if necessary."

She looked up at the stage and said, "I'm sorry, Mr Barnard. Please continue."

The chairman of the board drew a deep breath and started over.

"To the point of this meeting," he said, looking around the room. "This meeting was called to consider the removal of Dr Amelia Martin as Chancellor of Greenwood Academy and the expulsion of her child, Deanne Martin, from the school."

He had to raise his voice as he continued through that sentence because, from the back of the hall, a murmur began to grow amongst the sophomore girls followed by the sound of teachers hushing them.

Mr Barnard looked up to see what was happening. The room got darker as it stretched out before him, but he could still see Eleanor, his sweet, quiet little girl. Had she actually led the charge of girls into the theater? He could see her face imploring him to be merciful. He truly was not sure what he was going to do, but if he chose to persecute this woman just for being a good mother, or this child just for being different, how would his daughter look at him for the rest of her life.

"Although it is understandable that Dr Martin wanted to protect her child and not make their secrets public, the board does feel that her decision to not make the community aware of the presence of a transsexual child attending our school was a terrible breech of our trust and certainly something serious enough for us to terminate her contract."

Dr Matin felt the floor open up beneath her and her ears were ringing. Although she remained stoic and unflinching, she could feel her life unraveling. How could she ever recover from this? What about Dean? Well, Deedee. What about her? She had uprooted her child, forced her to take on an entirely new persona... but she'd found herself and found friends and found young love and found some measure of happiness, and now it would all be yanked away from her. How could things have gone this far wrong?

It was a few moments before she was conscious of her surroundings again and it was then that she heard an odd, rhythmic chanting. It sounded as if it was children's voices, but as she listened, more and more adult voices seemed to be joining.

"Let them stay!"

The chant went.

"Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!"

It got louder and louder and more forceful as it went.

"Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!"

She looked at the Chairman of the Board, standing by the podium looking confused.

"Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!
Let them stay!"

Suddenly, a woman from the audience climbed the stairs and walked to the podium, gently pushing the Chairman to the side. She held her hands up and the chanting began to subside. Finally, it grew quiet and the woman spoke.

"For those of you that don't know me, my name is Rosalee Jansen and I'm the president of the Greenwood Parent Association. The Board of Directors may not be aware of this, but last night, after many of heard about the Dr Martin and Deedee Martin situation, the Parent Association had a Board meeting of our own. At that meeting, we discussed this entire situation from the point of view of parents."

"Now, we understand that finding out that a boy was attending our all girls' school was shocking, but we also agreed that this mostly due to the fact that most of us had had very little experience with children - or adults, for that matter - dealing with sexual dysphoria; a recognized, medical condition. After a long conversation, we concluded that we, as parents, had nothing to fear from Deedee Martin and that, if we had a child dealing with a medical issue - say... Crohn's Disease, or depression, or even something as serious as a cancer of some type - then perhaps we might opt not to make our child's diagnosis known, either. Why put a child through unnecessary trauma by making all of their friends aware of something that will not impact the friends' health or well being? We believe that this is the conclusion that Dr Martin came to as well, and it is a conclusion that protected her child until a member of the Board of Directors hired a private detective to dig into her life in an intrusive and unnecessary manner."

"So, it is the opinion of the Greenwood Academy Parent Association that;
A) Dr Martin should not be punished for behaving the way any good parent should and would behave.
B) Deedee Martin should be allowed to remain at Greenwood Academy - and finally -
C) Mr and Mrs Linkletter should both be removed from the Board of Directors for inappropriate behavior

We further make it known to the Board of Directors that, should their decision differ from ours, that we will encourage our members, which includes every parent and guardian of every students at Greenwood Academy, to refrain from making monthly payments for the rest of this school year and look elsewhere for the education of our students in years to come."

She glared at Mr Barnard, then whispered, "Congratulations, Mr Barnard." She glanced at the other Board Member, "Other members of the Board of Directors. You are a few weeks away from being on the Board of Directors of a school with no students. I'm sure that the news trucks outside will report on that, too. That should only hasten the demise of this fine institution."

Mr Barnard returned to the microphone, quickly. "I want to stress that we have made no actual decision at this time. I was just stating that under the terms of Dr Martin's contract, that..."

"Let's hold a vote, now!" The man in the very expensive suit called out. "Let's poll the parents. We pay the bills here, after all. Let's find out what the parents want."

"Alright, alright," Mr Barnard said, looking to the other board members for support, but they all seemed to be preoccupied looking for the nearest exit. "Before we do this, I want to emphasize that this is strictly to find out what you all want. It is not a binding vote of any kind."

He expected a close vote that would allow him to dismiss the meeting so the board could discuss things in private.

"All in favor of dismissal of Dr Martin, please raise your hands."

There must have been close to eight hundred people in the theater and only about twenty raised their hands. Now it was Mr Bernard's turn to feel the ground opening beneath him.

"All in favor of allowing Dr Martin to stay?"

Nearly the entire theater rose to their feet, their hands in the air. The cheer that rose up was begun by the group of sophomore girls in the back, it was quickly amplified by the adults who saw their victory just seconds away.

Mr Barnard looked to the other members, all of whom gave him a resigned nod. He looked out at the audience and spoke clearly. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is the decision of the Board of Directors of Greenwood Academy that no action shall be taken at this time against either Dr Martin or her daughter, Deanne. This meeting is adjourned."

A huge round of applause erupted. He looked out at the crowd and saw his daughter giving him a big smile and a thumbs up. He felt relief at that. Then he turned and shook the hand of the school's Chancellor. "Congratulations, Dr Martin," he said. "Please never put us in a position like this again."

She nodded. "Thank you, Mr Barnard. You can count on it."

As he walked away, Mrs Olsen opened her arms and embraced the Chancellor. "Congratulations!" She said over the cacophony. Then she laughed. "I was just standing here trying to picture what Deedee must have looked like as Dean, when it occurred to me - You named your son Dean and your last name is Martin. You had the temerity to name your child Dean Martin. That's amazing!"

Amelia smiled. "My ex loves Dean Martin. He claimed that they were distant relatives. It wasn't my first choice, but he insisted. I guess it doesn't matter now."
 

~^~
 

There was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in," the teacher called from where she sat with the three students.

An out of breath Eleanor Barnard stepped into the room. She smiled and said, "Congratulations, Deedee. You won."
 

~^~
 

By lunch time, everyone knew that Donna Linkletter had left the school and would not be returning. This caused a great deal of concern among the cast of 'Chicago.' Donna was one of the two female leads in the show, after all. You couldn't do the show without a Velma."

As sixth period began, there was an announcement for all students involved in the musical cast and crew, to report to the theater immediately.

"Oh, well," Jade sighed, disappointed, as they walked down the hall. "So much for my first leading role."

"You think they'll cancel?" Robin asked, also disappointed.

"What else can they do?"

"Look, Jade, I'm really sorry about this. I never meant..." Dean began, Jade stopped him.

"No, it's got nothing to do with you, Dee. It was all Donna's fault. Well, Donna and her family. Let's just go get this over with."

When they were all seated, Mrs Highland stood in the orchestra put in front of them and spoke. "Alright, girls, as you all know, we've had a pretty tumultuous day and, sadly - and I mean that, girls. No one should be happy about this - SADLY - Donna Linkletter will not be able to perform in the show."

A couple of girls began to clap, but Mrs Highland gave them a look that silenced their applause.

"Now, what you probably don't know is that, earlier in the rehearsal cycle, I asked Jane Elliot to prepare as a 'swing' performer for the role of Velma, just in case things went sideways. So, Jane has been practicing with me and the other production staff members and is ready to take over the role for us."

There was a gasp of relief, followed by a big round of applause.

"Ok, so we have lots to do," Ms Highland said. "After school, get here asap and we'll start with a costume parade, then a run through. Now, back to class!"
 

~^~
 

"Can I ask you a question?" Robin asked as she, Dean and the rest of the girls stood waiting in their Cell Block Tango costumes, which consisted of a rather fancy, black leopard with a very shear, very lacy, very flouncy dance skirt that was longer in the back than the front, a pair of black tights and black character shoes with a chunky, two inch heel.

"Sure, I guess," Dean shrugged.

Robin's voice got quiet as she half giggled, "Where do you hide your junk in that?"

Dean's eyes opened widely and he looked about to be sure no one had heard that. "Where do I... why are you even looking there?"

"I'm just curious. I mean... I'm looking at everyone and, look... Margie has a camel toe... I'm pretty sure Jasmine is wearing a pad and Karen's underwear is showing through her leotard like it's got lights on it or something. But you look perfect. So, I'm just wondering... if you still have junk, where is it?"

Dean looked around again, the whispered, "I do still have my junk, and I've only been on medication for like a month or so, so it's still a reasonable size, ok? but I..." he dropped the volume of his whisper to a hiss. "I tuck it, ok?"

"Tuck it?" Robin asked, never having thought about this kind of thing before. "Where do you tuck it?"

"Between my legs," he hissed. "Now, can we stop talking about it?"

"Huh," Robin nodded, happy to have had her question answered.

"Cell Block girls!" Ms Highland called and they all took their positions so she could see the costumes. She liked everything that she saw, but she did call Margie, Jasmine and Karen over to the edge of the stage and she whispered something to each of them.

When the boys showed up, their costume parade took just a few minutes and then the run through, the first one with Jane as Velma, began. It went really, really well, too. Jane didn't sing quite as well as Donna, but she did sing well and her attitude towards her classmates was so positive that they all had a great time. Sometimes teamwork and cooperation is worth more than star power.

When the time came, Dean came out in his beautiful, cream colored, lace dress, the one that Willie had loved so much, did his little, balletic dance as he'd been taught and then he was 'hung' for the murder the Hunyak never committed.

He was back in his leotard costume for the finale and, since the rehearsal went a bit long, there was an audience of parents waiting to drive their children home in the last few rows of the theater by the time the last few scenes ran. They applauded as the cast practiced their bows.

"Excellent work, everyone!" Ms Highland said. "Let's give Jane a big hand. She did a great job!"

The cast and crew gave Jane a big round of applause.

"Ok," Ms Highland said, "go home, get some rest and come back ready to work this hard again tomorrow."

Willie took Dean's hand and they walked into the audience. They headed up the aisle to use the restrooms in the lobby to change. They were nearly all the way up the aisle when Dean noticed someone sitting alone a few seats in.

"Dad?" He asked, uncertainly.

Frank stood and walked to his child. "Hi, Deedee," he smiled. Then he looked at Willie. "It's William, right?"

"Willie, yeah," Willie smiled and extended his hand. "Nice to see you again, Mr Martin."

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Dean was confused. "I thought you were somewhere up in Canada."

"I was... nine hours ago, but I saw the news on my computer and they were right outside the school and talking about you and your mom and... here I am. I guess I'm not really needed, but..."

He stopped because Dean slammed into him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Dad. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

At first, Frank didn't know what to do, but eventually, he wrapped his arms around the little girl hugging him. It was awkward and odd, but it felt good, very good, to be this close to his own child. Suddenly, he regretted every second of the last thirteen years since his divorce. All those miles traveled and separating him from the only two people in the world who truly gave a damn about him... what was the point when this was the first time he felt loved since he'd destroyed his marriage.

"I'm glad things worked out well for you and your mom, Deedee," Frank smiled.

Dean let go and stepped back, wiping a few tears from his face. "Me too." He smiled. "I need to get changed, dad. You're coming to the house, right?"

"Oh... I don't know," he smiled and shrugged. "You may recall that the last time I was there, it didn't go that well."

"Yeah, but that was kind of our fault," Dean said, indicating himself and Willie. "I'll get changed and then we'll go to our house. Mom will be thrilled."

'Thrilled' seemed a bit strong, but he would like to see Amy. "Ok. Go get changed."

"Ok," Dean hurried up the aisle and Willie made to follow, but Frank grabbed the boy by the arm and stopped him.

"Hey... so... ummm..." Frank looked around to make sure no one was listening, "... you know everything, I assume... and... umm... you're still... with Deedee, huh?"

Willie grinned and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Frank shook his head. "That's pretty amazing, Willie. I'm impressed."

"It's nothing, Mr Martin," Willie smiled. "I like Deedee and that's all there is to it, I guess."

"None of the other stuff matters?"

"Not for now, sir, and by the time it does, I think she'll be... you know... all... better." He smiled at his own inability to form a better sentence.

Frank nodded. "I know, yeah. It's a new world, Willie. Thank you for being there for her. I plan to be around more frequently, too."

"That's good, sir. Deedee will really appreciate that."

"I hope so."

"Oh, she will. I will, too."
 

~^~
 

"I wish I'd known you were coming," Amelia said to her ex-husband, "I would have made something for dinner. It's been such a crazy day that I didn't even think about dinner. I hope you like Chinese take-out. The restaurant in town is surprising good for being so far off the beaten path."

Frank scooped some white rice from a carton onto his plate. "It'll be fine, Amy, thanks. And thanks for letting me stay the night. I appreciate it."

"It's the least I can do," she smiled as she sat at the kitchen table. "I can't believe you came running when you saw that news report."

He looked at her, then made sure that Dean was nowhere nearby. "Amy... when I left you... that was about the dumbest thing I ever did and I don't blame you for hating me, but as I get older... No... that's not true... it's not because I'm older, it's because of the last time I was here. When I realized that Dean was now Deanne and I had never even gotten to know Dean, well... that was the first time I truly realized that I was a pretty shitty excuse for a father. Since then, I have thought about you guys a lot. Now, I don't expect to just step in after all this time and suddenly be a good dad, but... if you'll allow it... I would like to be more involved. Not interfere, just... help... when and how I can."

Amelia smiled. "That would be great, Frank, and I know that Deedee would love it. She was thrilled that you came running to help today. Suddenly, you're her knight in shining armor."

Frank snickered. "The knight who arrived too late to help the damsel. The knight who saved the day was you, Amy."

"No, it was the whole community, Frank, and I think they rallied around Deedee more than they did me."

They heard footsteps on the stairs, so they stopped their conversation and were chatting about the weather when Dean entered the kitchen. They were all munching away on rice, chicken fingers, chicken wings, crab rangoon, sesame chicken and egg rolls for a few minutes before Dean asked his father, "So... when are you going back to Canada?"

"Now, that's an interesting question," Frank laughed.

"How so?" Amelia asked.

"Well, you see, my little stunt this morning sort of cost me my job. I was fired before I got onto the plane."

Amelia looked shocked. "Frank? How could they possibly have fired you? You've been working day and night for them for almost twenty years!"

He nodded and swallowed his food. "I have and I never once did anything to make them question my dedication to the job until today. This was the very first time that I ever put my own life ahead of the job. I was about a mile from the airport when I got a call from the home office. They said I needed to be back on the worksite within three hours or I was fired."

"Why didn't you just go back?" Dean asked.

Frank thought for a moment. "Deedee... do you know that I no longer have a house or an apartment?"

"No," Dean seemed surprised. "So... you're homeless?"

Frank laughed. "No. Not exactly. Homeless implies I'm I'm broke and I'm far from that. See, I sold my home years ago and rented an apartment because I was never at the house. Then I realized that I was never at the apartment either, so I got rid of that. For the past five years or so, I have lived out of a medium sized suitcase. I have five pairs of socks, five pairs of underpants, five tee shirts, seven polo shirts, three pairs of pants, a suit coat and a little case that has my toothbrush, razor and hairbrush in it. That is all. I'm not homeless, but I'm always sleeping in hotels, or bunkhouses or on airplanes. It wasn't until I thought about the world turning against you and your mother that I realized that I hadn't been living a life for the past twenty years. I'd been living job. The very first time I chose to live a real life and help my family, they threatened to fire me. So, I chose to let them do that so I can actually start living."

"What about money?" Amelia asked.

Frank shrugged. "I've saved up quite a lot. I had no place or time to spend any money, after all. It should last me until I find a job that doesn't make me travel so much. I'm a very good environmental engineer and I have a great resume... I'll find something."

"Around here?" Dean asked, hopefully. Having a father might be cool.

Frank smiled. "I don't know, honey. I haven't really had time to think about it. Although, there is a company in Springfield that I've worked with before. Is that far away?"

"Only about forty five minutes," Amelia said.

Frank shrugged and smiled at his ex-wife. "I guess your mom and I will need to talk about that, then."
 

~^~
 

"We are in the small town of Greenwood, Massachusetts where, earlier in the week, a controversy erupted when it was discovered that a student at an all girl's private prep school was, in fact, transgendered," the reporter said into the camera. "As we reported at that time, although some members of the of the Board of Directors wanted to expel the students and fire her mother, the school's Chancellor, the school's community rallied around the student. Tonight, that student and her school mates are presenting a production of the Broadway musical, 'Chicago,' to a sold out audience, many of whom have traveled quite a distance to show their support for this young actress."

The story cut away to a woman in a red dress and lovely makeup. "We've come from Hartford to show our support for the girl. I'm very proud of the way this school behaved."

"It's the twenty-first century, for crying out loud," an older man in a beige overcoat said. "This kind of thing shouldn't even be an issue anymore. I'm very happy that things worked out the way they did, though. It's nice when people act like people, you know?"

The reporter appeared again. "I guess it's a fairytale ending for this princess here at The Greenwood Academy," he said with a cheesy smile. "Back to you, Chet."
 

~^~
 

"And allllllllllllllll
Thaaaaaaaaaaat
Jaaaaaaaaaaaaazz
That jazz!"

The cast sang out as their bow-music ended and the audience stood and applauded, wildly. A lot of people had come just to support Deanne, but they all seemed to love the show, which was an undeniably good production of a very good show. Dr Martin was pretty sure that most people weren't even sure which of the girls on the stage was the girl that had been the one caught up in the controversy.

Out in the lobby, happy parents waited expectantly for the young actors to appear. When they did, their garish makeup that looked so professional and grown up on the stage, made them look comical and childish in the fluorescent glow of the hallway lamps.

Dr Martin waited with her ex-husband and Willie's mother until the happy couple, along with Robin and Jade appeared.

"There's my favorite actress!" Frank said, spreading his arms to embrace his daughter. "These are for you." He presented her with a bouquet of two dozen, pink roses.

"Really!? Wow, thanks, dad!" Deedee said, still excited by the crowd's reaction to the show.

"You were great, William," Muriel smiled and hugged her son. "I liked you better than Richard Gere in the movie."

Willie smiled and hugged his mother. "Thanks mom. I'm sure Richard Gere's mother preferred him, though."

That made Muriel laugh.

The praise of the young thespians continued with the arrival of each student, or as a parent saw a child they recognized. It was a happy and exciting event AND there were still two shows to go!

"Mom, can I go with the kids to the ice cream place in town?" Deedee asked her mother. "Robin's mom rented the whole place and everyone's going."

Her mother smiled. "You'll need to change and take off some of that makeup first."

Deedee smiled. "I know, but I can go?"

"Of course, love. Have fun. Call me when you need a ride home."

Deedee smiled and bounced up to kiss her mother's cheek. "Thanks mom."

Amelia looked at Willie and said, "You watch over her, Willie. There's still a lot of reporters nosing around here. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do, Doctor M," Willie said with a wink of his eye. Then he looked at his girlfriend. "We should get changed. My mom will drop us off."

The two kids disappeared.

Muriel looked at her friend, "They really are adorable, aren't they?"

"They are," Amelia smiled and shook her head. "I never thought that my baby would be like this. Happy and in love. It's wonderful."

"I guess things worked out better than expected then?" Frank asked.

"Certainly much better than I ever expected," Amelia said, a happy glow passing across her face. "Even her therapist is in awe of how excited she is to be entering this new life. I never expected her to be Deanne forever. Who could have guessed that this is where she'd find true happiness? This wasn't supposed to be for the rest of her life. It was only supposed to be for twenty weeks."

THE END