Hawaiian Retreat: 12 Final

 

Mitch, Donnie and Mae become a family - for real, as we read the series conclusion!

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Author's Note: Please, leave me a comment. I would like to know how this story has touched you. ~Clara.
 
This version of Hawaiian Retreat: 12 Final 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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Chapter 12
 
 

 

Mitch gave me a kiss. "She loves, you, you know. Mae Mae, I mean. I can see it by the way she looks at you."

That made me smile. "I hope so. I certainly feel very close to her already."

He began kissing my neck. "You are going to be a great mom."

God, I hoped he was right.

For me, Sunday began with a nice, warm shower and some badly needed maintenance - mostly body hair maintenance. I still had some places that insisted that I was still a male. I spent a little more time on my hair than I had for a while, using the curling iron to put a bit of body into my long mane. Then, feeling distinctly motherly, I picked out a pretty, floppy bow to hold my hair in a high pony tail.

I put on a full slip and the same mid-length, A-line tartan plaid wool skirt that I wore on my first date with Mitch. To remind you of how pretty this skirt was, while the front of the skirt was a smooth, flat piece of material from the waist to the hem, the sides and the back of the skirt fell in loose folds of extra material. It had a sense of classic elegance that I loved.

I paired that with with a black, long sleeved, cashmere sweater and I went to get Mae ready for shopping.

She was still sleeping when I entered her room.

"Mae," I sang, softly. "Mae Mae, honey, it's time to wake up."

She blinked her long eye lashes at me. "What time is it?"

I smiled. "Nine thirty, honey. Come on. Nana's going to come over at eleven. We need to get you ready."

She smiled as she remembered that she was going shopping, again. She sat up on the edge of the bed and looked at me, a little confused. I saw her confusion and asked, "Is something wrong?"

She looked a little disappointed and shook her head.

"Well, something is obviously bothering you, honey. What is it?" I prodded.

She shrugged. "It's just... you're not wearing flowers."

I blinked and looked at my outfit. "Don't you like this?"

Another shrug. "It's pretty, but..."

She just stopped. "But... what?"

Yet another shrug. "But I don't have anything to match that."

It took me a second to process. "Oh... you want us to match?"

She nodded, a little sad.

I smiled. "Ok, baby, I'll tell you what. Let's get you dressed and ready to go, then we'll take a look in my closet and we'll find a dress that matches yours, ok?"

Mae smiled. "Ok." She jumped up and headed for the bathroom. "And I'm not a baby." She closed the door behind her as she entered the lavatory.

I started straightening out the sheets and blankets on Mae's bed. "I know, honey. I'm sorry. I just meant it as a term of endearment."

"A what?" She called back, obviously not understanding.

"Never mind!" I called back and laughed.

When Mae was dressed in a short sleeved, dark blue dress with a pretty, white flower print, as well as a pretty, white cardigan sweater to keep her arms warm, we went into my room and looked through the walk-in closet. Mae was fascinated with all of my very fancy clothes that Marie and I had bought for Hawaii.

"Wow," she gushed as she touched the soft materials, "these are so pretty."

I smiled at her. "They are, but those are for special occasions. My regular dresses are here. Do you see any that look like yours?"

She squinted and made a thoughtful movement with her jaw. "I guess this one is the closest."

I took the hanger holding the dress off of the closet pole and showed it to Mae. "I think you're right. Dark blue with white flowers." I took the dress off the hanger and suggested that Mae step back into the bedroom so that I could change. I closed the door behind her and hung up the clothes that I had been wearing and stepped into the newly chosen dress. Once I'd zipped it up, I took a moment to locate my plain, white cardigan and I slipped that on as well.

When I stepped out of the closet and asked Mae if I looked better. She smiled broadly and nodded. "A lot better."

We found Mitch downstairs, doing some work on the dining room table. "Well, look at you two!" He smiled as he stood and came around the table to hug both of us. First a kiss on my cheek and a nice hug, then he knelt and hugged Mae and kissed her forehead. "Like two peas in a pod, huh? You both look beautiful."

"We match," Mae smiled and bounced.

"You do!" Mitch laughed back. "And you're both beautiful." He kissed her on the cheek this time then stood, still smiling.

"Your working on a Sunday?" I asked, not too judgmentally, I hoped, but curious.

Mitch nodded. "I'm working on some paperwork for us. To finalize things." He smiled snd glanced at Mae to indicate to me that these papers were regarding our adoption of Mae.

I nodded and was about to go through our expected schedule for the day when our back doorbell rang. Both Mitch and I looked surprised. "I wonder who that could be?" I muttered.

Mitch headed in the direction of the back door, "I don't know. That's the first time since I bought this house anyone has ever rung that bell."

I don't know why, but I was actually a bit nervous about who it could be. Maybe it was the fact that there were adoption related paperwork on the table in front of me, or just the fact that someone at the back door was unusual, but I tensed right up and became immediately scared that someone was coming to take my daughter away from me.

"Hi!" I heard Mitch say, in a friendly voice. "Why on earth did you walk all the way around to the back door?"

I breathed more easily when I heard an Austrian accent reply, "I... I wasn't sure which you preferred. I've only been here the one time before."

I bent and said to Mae, "It's Tante Hilda. Go say 'hi.'"

"Ok," she smiled and ran, full throttle, out into the kitchen.

I was about to follow, but I heard a knock on the front door, which I recognized as Mom's knock. "Come on in, Mom!" I called to the door.

"Good morning," Mom looked lovely, as usual, as she came in. "I noticed a car in the driveway. I'm not interrupting, am I?"

I gave her a welcoming hug and explained that Hilda had just arrived and we both went into the kitchen.

Hilda saw me and smiled, but... how should I explain this... Hilda and I had always, kind of, met each other on Hilda's terms. Rie was comfortable coming into my house unannounced and I was comfortable going into their house unannounced. That morning, Hilda seemed... well... uncomfortable. As if she felt that her presence might be an inconvenience or something. She was still standing as straight and tall as always, but she was... as I said... uncomfortable.

"I brought..." she almost stuttered, "... I mean I made... this for the child... for little Marie... Mae." She held up a plate with a beautifully made chocolate cake on it. "It is a Sachertorte. Chocolate sponge cake with thin layers of apricot jam between the layers and chocolate frosting. It is a treat in my country. I... made it... for Mae."

She almost looked ready to cry. I think that showing us her vulnerability was very difficult for her.

"Oh, Hilda!" I crossed the kitchen and took the cake from her and placed it on the counter. "It's beautiful! Thank you, so much!" Then I turned to Mae and said, "Did you hear that, honey? Tante made this for you. What do you say?"

Mae was a little overwhelmed by the awkwardness of the situation, but she smiled broadly and hugged Hilda, jamming her head into Hilda's stomach. "Thank you, Tante Hilda."

"You are very welcome, schön kind," Hilda's face brightened as she returned Mae's hug.

I explained that Mom and I were about to take Mae shopping for a dress for the funeral and invited my sister-in-law to join us. She declined, saying that she had a lot to get ready for a job on Wednesday.

Mom then said something that none of us had really thought about. "What about tomorrow? Is Mae going to her old school?"

Mitch and I looked at each other. Wow! How could we have not thought about that, right!?

I looked at Mae, "Honey... do you want to go to your school one more time and say goodbye to your friends?"

Mae looked confused. "I thought I was going to go to your school."

Mitch said, "Well, yes, you are, Mae Mae, but... well... everything just happened a lot quicker than we expected. Donnie will have to enroll you tomorrow, then, well, the funeral is Tuesday, so, if you feel up to going to school on Wednesday, you could start at her school then. We just hadn't considered what we'd do tomorrow."

"Well," Mom said, "I'm sure that Donnie could take a personal day..."

"No," I interrupted, "I need to register Mae and get things ready for a sub on Tuesday. Maybe... maybe I can just bring Mae with me and she can just stay in my classroom all day."

"I..." Hilda said, suddenly. "...I could watch my niece tomorrow, if that would help."

I was shocked. I hope that I've given you a reasonable outline of Hilda's personality as I knew it before Mae arrived, but she was entirely different now. She was absolutely captivated with Mae, the same way that I was and that caused a display of emotion that she was not used to. While I found this new feeling of maternity warm and exciting, I think that Hilda found it a bit unsettling. A chink in her teutonic armor, in a way. I knew that these feelings made her feel self conscious, but to me, they made Hilda so much more wonderful - and she had always been wonderful.

I looked at Mitch, who also looked surprised. "Really?" I asked. "You just said that you had a lot to do for a job on Wednesday."

She looked at Mae and smiled, "And none of it is as important as my niece. I would be very happy to have her spend tomorrow with me."

"Well," Mitch smiled, "problem solved. Thank you, Hilda."

"Isn't that wonderful?" I asked Mae. "You get to spend the whole day with Tante."

Mae smiled, obviously happy that everyone seemed to enjoy having her spend time with them. I think that, even though Evelyn loved Mae with all her heart, she was a very old, very tired, very ill woman and, try as she might, she just couldn't give Mae the time and attention she needed. I was determined to change that - and, obviously, so were Mom and Hilda.

Mom and Mae and I left pretty soon after that. Mitch and Hilda had gotten into a very heated conversation about golf and hardly even noticed we left. We had a light breakfast at a coffee shop, then went to a small store a few towns away that specialized in girls' clothing.

Mae tried on several lovely dresses and I took a picture of each on my phone so we could make a decision later.

I thought the seventh dress she tried on was perfect and so did Mom. "Do you like it, Mae?" I asked.

She swayed in the mirror and thought. "It's pretty, but..."

"But what, dear?" Mom asked.

Mae looked at me. "What does your dress look like?"

I looked at Mom who was smiling at me. "Well," I smiled, "my dress is a simple, plain, black sheath with no sleeves and a 'V' neck line. Nothing special."

"Could I get something like that?" Mae asked.

I looked up at Mom and then at the saleswoman who was assisting us. The saleswoman said, "I may have something that is similar to what you've described."

She walked away and returned with a simple little, black dress with a round neckline. Like mine, it had a lovely sheen to the fabric, it was sleeveless and, unlike mine, had a lovely bow in the back.

"Oh, that's just perfect," Mom said. "Mae, you will be beautiful in that."

"Is it like yours?" Mae asked me.

I smiled. "Very similar." I explained the differences, always pointing out that these were just tiny differences. She smiled and agreed to try it on.

She looked beautiful in the dress and we found a pair of pretty black shoes with a very pretty bow on the toe area and a tiny bit of a heel. They were similar to my shoes as well - mine didn't have a bow and the heel was higher, but similar enough that Mae would be happy.

We also bought Mae a very simple, black sweater to wear if the church was chilly, which, of course, necessitated that we stop at a women's store near by to get one for me as well. Mom bought one, too.

We took a little ride around the city to show Mae her new school, Mitch's law firm's offices, Mom's school and a few other things that she'd never seen before - a peculiar statue on the city's common with a young boy 'riding' a turtle (although it had looked to me as if he was molesting the poor turtle), a lovely park with a famous bridge in it, a few other items, and finally ended up at our city's art museum - a place I'd spent a great deal of time growing up. We roamed through the galleries for a couple of hours, while I explained the differences in painters' styles and how they blended colors, etc. I'm not sure that Mae was all that interested, but she humored me.

We stopped in the museum's café and had a lovely lunch. They had very fancy, not too high calorie sandwiches for Mom and me, and chicken with rice soup and a small turkey sandwich for Mae.

When we'd finished, Mae asked if she could buy herself a cupcake. I was going to go up to the counter to buy it, but Mae wanted to do it herself. So I gave her a five dollar bill and she skipped over to get in the short line.

"So," Mom said, "tell me about this mother-daughter-dress fixation."

I smiled. "I don't know," I admitted, honestly. "It started with the flowered dresses, then, this morning, when I was wearing something different, she was upset. I felt that it was best to make her happy. Kind of - part of a team, I guess."

Mom smiled. "The girls' club, huh? That's sweet. I hope it stays like this forever."

"Me too," I sighed. "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? For her to fall apart and mourn and cry and who knows what else, but... she just gets sweeter and sweeter, every day."

Mom looked at me and nodded. "She needs family - you and Mitch."

I laughed, "And Auntie Rie and Tante Hilda and Nana and Doc."

Mom shook her head. "You know, I hated the idea of being called 'Nana,' but now.... Since I've heard my own granddaughter call me by that name... now... I love it and I can't imagine being called anything else."

I laughed. "I know."

Mom looked at me a little curious, a little sad, "Are you going to ask her to call you 'Mommy' at some point?"

I shrugged and looked at Mae as she picked out a cupcake. "I don't know. I mean... she's known Mitch as Mitch her whole life, so it seems weird to suddenly ask her to call him 'Daddy'... I just don't know."

Mae came walking carefully back to our table, a vanilla cupcake perched precariously on a small plate. When the plate was safely on the table, Mom and I both applauded her and she smiled as she handed me a few coins as change. When I told her she could keep it, you'd have thought I'd given her a pot of gold. She dropped the coins into her little purse and climbed into her chair.

"Vanilla!?" Mom asked her. "Is that your favorite?"

Mae shrugged. "I like chocolate, but Tante made me a whole chocolate cake, so I got vanilla."

The next morning, on the way to school, I dropped Mae off with Hilda, who was uncharacteristically dressed down in jeans and a sweat shirt when I arrived. I commented on her casual look, but she just smiled and said she had a messy project to do that day.

At school, I spoke to Alma about my day off for Evelyn's funeral, which I'd emailed her about on Saturday, and about Mae starting on Wednesday, or shortly there after.

Alma was officious and friendly enough, but she did inform me that my personal day to attend Evelyn's funeral would have to be without pay because I was not related to 'the deceased.' My first inclination was to fight her on this, maybe even call Bev to have her intervene, but I decided that this was not a battle I wanted to have at that moment, so I just accepted it and moved on. Mae's old school had forwarded her records already that morning, and Mitch had already sent Alma an email asking her how big a check to write, so Mae was all set to start when she was ready.

When I returned to Rie and Hilda's house that afternoon, I was shocked to find that the clean little girl wearing the cute little dress I had dropped off that morning was now a filthy, paint covered little girl in a paint covered grey sweat shirt and a pair of equally paint covered pink sweat pants.

I stared in shock at the messy urchin laughing at my dropped jaw. "Mae! You're a mess! What on earth have you been doing!?"

She giggled, grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the stairs. "Come see! Tante Hilda and I painted my room!"

If I thought that Mae was covered in paint, it was nothing compared to how my sister-in-law looked. Her short hair had more specks of paint covered areas than not.

The room, however, looked beautiful! Three walls were painted a very soft pink and the wall where a bed would be placed was painted what the paint can called 'Orchid Pink.' It was unquestionably feminine and little girlish without feeling as if you were standing inside a bottle of Pepto Bismol.

"We've been busy," Hilda said, proudly.

"I see that!" I laughed.

"What do you think?" Hilda put her arm around Mae's shoulder. "My assistant and I worked very hard all day."

I looked around, impressed. "It's beautiful!" I said, honestly.

"It's my room, now," Mae said with pride.

"It is," Hilda laughed as she rubbed Mae's back. "Whenever you need it, you may stay here."

I leaned forward and kissed Hilda's cheek. "Thank you, Hilda. It's lovely." I meant it sincerely, but a big part of me was wondering how much effort it was going to take to get my daughter clean in time for her great grandmother's funeral.

The funeral, on Tuesday, went very well. Mae and I, in our matching dresses, sat in the front row with Mitch and Pam. Our family, Mom, Dad, Rie and Hilda, sat behind us to offer Mae support. Behind them, The partners and their wives and then, behind them... very few people. Mostly representatives of charitable organizations Evelyn had supported or, like the partners, representatives of businesses who had interacted with her throughout the years.

I learned a lesson that day: Mom and Dad were right. Family is everything and, except for Mae, Evelyn had none left. It was heartbreaking, but a funeral is not for the departed - it's to give closure to those left behind. So, I just held Mae close and smiled, hoping that she may find some comfort in the proceedings.

There was no casket, Evelyn had been cremated already, so there was only a small, granite memorial containing her ashes that would be interred in the family mausoleum at a later date.

The service was lovely, though. The presiding minister obviously had known Evelyn well and told some lovely stories that seemed to brighten the mood. Mae was, of course, a bit confused by all of it, but she snuggled up next to me and let it all wash over her.

The receiving line following the service was even more confusing for Mae than the service. After a few moments, Rie and Hilda took Mae aside and brought her into the reception room and got her a drink and some cookies.

With the exception of Oscar and Bev, and Bob and Jodi, we didn't know anyone who passed through the receiving line. We accepted their condolences, though and smiled until the line ended and we joined Mae in the reception room. Our family, which included the partners and their wives, were there. No one else had stayed. There were two hundred seats set up around twenty large, round tables and enough food to feed that many people. It was one of the saddest things I'd ever seen.

I have to say, Mae's first eight days in my school went extremely well. She seemed to slide right in with her classmates. I kept checking in with all of her teachers and they all confirmed that she was doing very well. I was very grateful for that, of course, but because she'd seemed to be floundering so badly at old school, her success at my school was actually a bit surprising.

As we approached April vacation, Mitch let us know that we would be going to court on the Wednesday of vacation week to finalize our adoption of Mae. We explained that to her and she seemed to understand that after that court session, she would be ours forever.

My poor therapist seemed to have a hard time keeping up with my constantly changing life. She warned me about taking on too much too quickly, but she seemed please with how well things were going with Mae. One thing that she did encourage, though, was that I begin hormon therapy. I agreed with her and happily started a new road towards womanhood.

So, we made it to vacation week and on that first Saturday morning, we walked across the street for 'Doc's Saturday Morning Waffle Breakfast,' which had become a weekly tradition. Mae and Dad manned the waffle iron and we were all in the kitchen chatting and doing different chores - setting the table, making bacon, pouring juice and milk.

When we were all seated and enjoying our waffles, Mom asked, innocently, "So, you have the hearing on Wednesday. Do you have anything else planned for vacation?"

Mitch nodded. "Well, Monday, Donnie is having her surgery..."

"What!?" Mae shouted, uncharacteristically loudly.

We all looked at her, surprised by how upset she seemed. "It's just a little procedure, honey," I explained. "Nothing to worry about."

"But..." Mae's eyes narrowed, "... you're going to be in the hospital?"

I nodded. "Just for a few hours, honey."

Mae stared forward, not focusing on much of anything. "No." She said, almost emotionlessly.

Mitch let out a nervous laugh. "Mae, it's a simple procedure. Donnie will be in and out in..."

"No!" Mae yelled and slammed hand on the table. "No! No! No!" She stood and bolted for the door, surprising us all, but Dad, who was closest to the door caught her before she got the storm door open and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Ok, ok, honey," he said, calmly. "Calm down, baby. Calm down."

"I'm not a baby!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Let me go!"

By now, I was kneeling next to Dad and Mae. "Honey! What's wrong?"

"No!" She screamed, louder than I could have believed she could. "I don't want you to go into the hospital!"

"Why, Mae Mae?" Dad said in that rehearsed voice. "Why don't you want Donnie to go into the hospital?"

"Because she'll die!" She screamed, irrationally.

"No she won't," Dad said. "Donnie will be fine, Mae."

"No!" Mae screamed, again. "She'll die! She'll die! She'll die!" The poor thing was out of control, wild and fighting against Dad's hold.

Mom was standing to the side weeping and muttering, "Do something, please. Calm her down before she hurts herself."

Mitch knelt on the other side of Dad and spoke calmly, too. "Mae, she'll be fine, honey, I promise."

"Noooo!!!" She continued. "Uncle Will went to hospital and died! So did Grammy!!! She'll die!!! She'll die!!! Let me go!!!"

Dad stood, pulling Mae off of the ground with him, and he made shh-ing sounds while Mae continued to rail against him. He held her tightly and swayed from side to side until Mae's rage subsided into sobs, at which point, he handed her to me and guided us into the guest room where I laid on the bed, Mae beside me, and I continued to hold her and cooed calming sounds.

"Just be her mom," Dad whispered to me as he shut the door. I'm sure that the next order of business on the other side of the door was to calm Mom down, too.

It seemed like hours, but was probably only twenty minutes or so, until Mae's desperate sobs turned into shallow breaths. I kissed her forehead and petted her hair over and over until she could breath again.

"Are you ok, now?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No."

"Look, Mae," I tried to be calm and rational sounding, "I am having a very simple procedure done. I'm not even going to be unconscious. I'll go in in the morning and I'll be home by dinner. I promise."

Mae's sad, wet eyes looked at me. "I don't want you to do it."

I kissed her and hugged her, again. "Mae Mae... you trust Doc, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, Doc is going to be right there with me, honey, and Doc would never let anything happen to me. Ok?"

She looked towards the door and heaved a sigh. "Do you promise?"

I smiled. "I promise, my love. I just got you. I'm not leaving you any time soon."

She snuggled into my neck, her face wet with tears. "Ok. As long as you promise."

We laid there for a while longer before she was ready to rejoin everyone. When we opened the bedroom door, Dad was waiting, wearing his jacket and holding Mae's spring coat. He held it open for her and smiled so, so sweetly. "Come on, Mae. I think you and I both need to take a walk. What do you say?"

I don't know if Mae needed to take a walk, or if she was just too embarrassed to stay in the same room as all of us, or if she was just so enamored of her grandfather that she just wanted to be with him, but she had her coat on and went out the door with Dad. "We'll be back in an hour or so," he said as he shut the door.

I Mitch hugged me and asked if I was ok. I nodded and asked Mom if she was ok. She nodded as well.

I sat and held my head in my hands. "I guess that's what we've been waiting for, huh? Her reaction to the death of her great uncle and great grandmother. It feels like it all came out just now."

Mitch nodded.

"I'll make some tea," Mom said, not knowing what else to do, and she went out into the kitchen.

Mitch sat beside me, his arm around my shoulder.

"I've never seen anything like that," I said, shaking my head.

"I have," Mitch whispered. "One morning in Hawaii. She's just like her mother."

I knew he was teasing, but I couldn't help it. I burst into sobs and fell against Mitch's chest and cried myself out.

We spent the rest of the weekend avoiding any mention of my procedure on Monday. We brought Mae to a movie, went to look at alpacas at a local farm and even drove to the top of a local mountain. Anything to keep her worried mind occupied.

Monday morning, though, there was no avoiding the topic. Mom had volunteered to keep Mae with her, but Dad suggested that the only way to teach her that hospitals weren't places of death was to have her come and see me check in.

"I'll show her around," he smiled. "It'll show her the good side of medicine." I wasn't convinced, but Dad could be very reassuring, so... Mae got up early and we wore similar dresses to the hospital with Mitch driving and Mom in the car with us.

When we entered the lobby, Dad was waiting. Typically, Mae would bolt to him to get a hug, but this morning she just looked pale and scared. Dad knelt to whisper in her ear. "Come on, honey. Let me show you around. We'll see Donnie after she checks in."

Mae took his hand, almost robotically.

Dad started to walk away, but turned to Mom and said, "Come on, Nana. Walk with us."

Mom gave her husband her exasperated scowl, then looked at me. "Good luck, Donnie. I'm sure it will be fine."

I kissed her cheek and smiled. "It's pretty simple, mom. I'll be fine."

She smiled and turned to walk away with Dad and Mae.

Mitch put his arm around me. "You ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Let's get this over with. The faster I'm done, the better it will be for Mae."

Within an hour, I was in a hospital gown and on a movable bed in a prep room. At least a dozen people came in and asked my name, why I was there, what procedure I was having, blah, blah, blah, blah... it was exhausting in it redundancy. Mitch just telling me to calm down and relax.

Finally, Mom and Dad came into my room with Mae between them.

I smiled at my girl. "Hi, Mae. Come here. Give me a hug."

Dad lifted her onto my bed and she threw her arms around my neck. I hugged her tightly, too.

I smiled at her and said, "Mae Mae, I need you to be a big, strong girl for me, ok? Mitch... well, Mitch is kind of nervous and I need you to make sure he's ok while I have this done, ok?"

She looked me right in the eye, as serious as can be and she nodded. "Ok." Then she hugged me again and whispered. "Remember... you promised you'd be ok."

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'll be just fine, my love. Just fine."

"Well, there are a lot more people in here than I expected," the voice came from behind Mitch. It was my cosmetic surgeon. He had a smile on his face, but he did seem a bit flummoxed by the number of people in the preparation room.

"I guess it's time for you all to move to the waiting room," Dad said. Then he turned to my surgeon and shook his hand. "Good morning, Paul. Thank you for letting me be in the room this morning."

"Ok," I whispered to Mae, "you can come in and see me in my recovery room in a few hours. Sound good?"

Mae nodded and kissed my cheek. "I love you," she whispered. "Remember... you promised."

I gave her one more hug. "I remember. I'll be fine."

Once Mitch had kissed me and took Mom and Mae out of the room, my surgeon spoke to me about the procedure, then a nurse came in and injected the area around my breasts several times. Eventually, I was wheeled into an operating theater.

Dad stood beside me and held my hand the whole time. It was nice to feel his love and support. I was, after all, a bit nervous, as anyone would be, but the situation with Mae had me a bit more on edge.

I didn't feel any pain, but I did feel pulling and it was a bit uncomfortable. Dad smiled and said, "If you were able to handle standard anesthesia, this would be a bit easier, but just try to concentrate on something other than the pulling. Count the ceiling tiles. It'll be over before you know it."

He was right. Once my attention was on anything other than what the surgeon was doing, it was all over pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I had breasts installed in my chest.

My sutures were tiny and I can't say that I was really 'in pain' as the local numbing wore off, but there was some discomfort. Some aching.

I was given a godawful post-surgery bra to wear for the next week so that the breasts would heal in the correct shape and, within a half an hour of being in my recovery room, the parade of hospital employees asking me questions and having me sign things was in full swing, again. Every time the door opened, I expected it to be Mitch and Mae, but it never seemed to be. It was always some petty functionary asking another question about my name, my procedure, my insurance, my ride home, etc.

I was looking out the window when another person entered the room. "Good afternoon," the woman said. "My name is Claudia and I need you to fill out a few..."

I'm not sure what gave me away. Maybe it was the look of shock on my face when I swung around to look at her. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't wearing much makeup at that moment. Who knows.

What I do know is that when I heard her say, 'My name is Claudia...' I immediately recognized the name and the voice - it was my oldest sister whom I'd not seen since my mother's funeral.

"Donald?" She said in a confused voice. She looked at her chart. "Breast implants? What the hell is going on?"

I knew that there was no reason to lie, but still I was caught off guard. "Claudia... I've... it's... it's been a long time."

In typical Claudia fashion, she offered no conversation that deviated from her own agenda. "Explain this to me, Donald! What the hell is going on here. Last I knew, you were engaged to that girl, Nancy. Now I find you getting breast implants. It says here that you're on female hormones, too. Now, answer my question! What are you? A sissy? A fairy? Some kind of a pervert? Now, Donald! Answer me!"

I was about to answer in a less than lady-like manner, when the door swung open and Mae bounded past my sibling and climbed onto my bed. "Mommy!" Mae yelled. "You're ok."

I wrapped my arms around the little girl who'd just called me 'mommy' for the first time and I hugged her to my shoulder - avoiding my breasts. "I'm fine, my love, I'm fine. Just like I promised."

She smiled up at me. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you, too, my sweet girl."

Suddenly, Mae seemed to notice Claudia for the first time. "Who's that?" She asked.

"That," I said, "is your Aunt Claudia. Say hi to her."

Claudia stared in mute astonishment at my daughter and me.

"Hello, Aunt Claudia," Mae said politely. "How do you know my mommy?"

I figured that made the next step Claudia's responsibility. If she wanted to give me away, that was fine. I knew that I loved Mitch and Mae and they loved me. She had no power over me. If she decided to tell Mae that I was a man, then that was fine. Yes, it would create the need for a conversation that I'd rather not have while Mae was only eight years old, but I was willing to do that if Claudia decided to behave with her usual vehemence.

Claudia looked at me, then at Mae and smiled. "Your mommy is..." I held my breath, "... my... little sister."

Mae looked at me and I nodded. "Isn't Auntie Rie your sister?" She asked.

"Yes," I nodded, "but so is Auntie Claudia." I looked at my sister and smiled my thanks. "Maybe someday you will meet your Auntie Angela, too."

Mae looked astounded. "You're all sisters?"

Claudia nodded. "Yes. We're all sisters."

Mae nodded, and turned back to me. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Me too, my love," I whispered. "Me too."

So, what more is there to be said?

Mae is ours now, completely, legally and in all other ways. Every night, at bed time, we remind her that her great grandmother loved her very much and that part of Evelyn lives on in Mae. Mae smiles every time we say that, too. She knows that being Evelyn's great granddaughter means that she has a lot to live up to, but with the love and support of Mitch and Mommy, she knows she can do it.

Nancy and I planned the most successful spring festival fundraiser in the history of the firm's charity trust. Nancy, of course, fell head over heels for Mae, too. Her first reaction upon seeing my baby was, of course, shock, but ten minutes after meeting my little girl, Nancy was infatuated.

I have truly learned to love teaching in a way I never expected. I mean, I always took it seriously, but by the end of that first school year, I was really hitting my stride. I'm sure that I'll be doing this job for the rest of my life - maybe at the school where I started, maybe not, but definitely for the rest of my life.

I even had a surprise visit from my older sisters, one Sunday afternoon. It was an awkward meeting, but it was a start. They happened to show up while Rie and Hilda were visiting, which didn't help a lot - I mean, you know Rie. If she has something to say, she's going to say it - but the fact is, Claudia made an effort. Maybe for the first time in my entire life, she tried to be my sister.

Well, that was all a few months ago and now, here I am again. Back in Renee's salon, only this time I'm here with my incredible daughter as we prepare my friend Nancy's wedding later today. I will be Nancy's maid of honor and my little girl will be her flower girl. You should see our dresses! I'm wearing what I've learned is called a 'trumpet' gown. Tiny spaghetti straps that lead to a very tantalizing sweetheart neckline, a cowl back that sits low, revealing a bare back, with no coverage for a bra strap, so no bra. The dress hugs my rear and hips, which I now have, thanks to the hormones I've been taking, then relaxes into a comfortable flare that flows in yards of extra fabric to the floor. It's all made from a soft mauve chiffon that moves around me like a cloud when I move. It's gorgeous.

Mae Mae's flower girl dress is the most precious thing I have ever seen in my life! The top is white satin with lace, half sleeves that fits snugly around her torso, but the a high waisted skirt with layers and layers of tulle petticoats blossoms out around her. The bell shaped skirt is a soft aqua color that has these delicate, almost translucent, lace flowers scattered around it. There is also a nearly transparent cape attached to the dress' shoulders that forms a long train behind her when she walks. Instead of the translucent lace flowers, though, the cape has elegant, lace butterflies and sparkles adorning it. This is one of the few times since she became my daughter that Mae has not wanted to wear a dress similar to mine. This dress of hers is any little girl's dream come true and she cannot wait to wear it this afternoon.

Of course, Auntie Bev and Auntie Jodi also dote on Mae with unbridled affection. You should have heard the oohs and ahhs last week when they all came over for our monthly dinner at our house. Mae paraded her flower girl dress through our great room as though she was an experienced runway model and Bev and Jodi responded with all the love and support that Mae has come to enjoy from her 'work aunties,' a term that Bev coined to describe how she and Jodi are related to my girl.

We've had a wonderful six months since that day in the recovery room. Six months of growing to love and trust each other more and more, and becoming a stronger, more intimate family. Even though my relationship with Angela and Claudia is still strained, we've made some progress. I'm happy that Mae at least knows them, and who knows, maybe someday Mom will get her wish and we'll all be one big, happy family. That would be nice.

For now, though - I have found more love than I ever expected I would find and that has led to more happiness than anyone deserves. Mom and Dad, Hilda and Marie, our tight-knit, immediate family, they all love Mitch and Mae and me with all their hearts and I love Mitch more and more every day. I never knew that I could love someone that much.

And then there's Mae.

My sweet Mae.

My little girl.

My baby. She doesn't even mind it when I call her 'my baby' anymore.

Mae is not just my child. She is my heart. She is my soul. She is my life.

And my life is... wonderful.
 
THE END