This is Rated R.
Age College Twenties.

The Good Son: 2

 

Sometimes you're living a lie and you don't know it.
As Jack tells his story, you'll see what I mean.

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Author's Note: I love to read comments, pro and con, but I'd also just love for you to check in and let me know that you're doing ok. ~Clara.
 
This version of The Good Son: 2 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 2
 

I had never spoken to anyone, let alone my mother or my aunts that way before and the look on their faces indicated that they could not believe that I had spoken to them that way then. The last thing I heard as my door closed was my mother's voice saying, "Well, that's all well and good, but rest assured, young man, that this WILL BE DISCUSSED!"

When I emerged from the shower in my tee shirt and gym shorts, my sister and cousins were waiting to talk to me, but I just asked them to please give me the rest of the night off and I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over my head where I remained until morning, even though I didn't sleep a wink.

I got up early and decided to go to church, something I used to do regularly, but had strayed from doing regularly in recent years. Not for any particular reason, I just had drifted off. I still went now and then, though. I found that the ritual of a Catholic Mass could be very cathartic and I do have a certain level of belief. So, I still go to Mass every now and then.

It's a short walk to my church, two blocks over, one block down. I got there early for the eight o'clock Mass, knelt down, said a couple of prayers and sat back to listen to organist playing some quiet music. I was just meditating like that for a few minutes when someone stepped into the pew behind me and knelt down. Their hands extended into my pew, of course, but I paid no real attention until, after a minute or so, I heard my Aunt Mary whisper, "I'm sure if you'd asked nicely, Avery would have loaned you something nice to wear to church."

I didn't say anything, I just sighed to indicate my displeasure.

"Move over, I'm going to sit with you," she whispered as she stood up.

"I'd rather you didn't," I whispered back.

"I really don't care," she whispered again as she moved in beside me, forcing me to slide down to make room.

We sat in silence for just a few moments before Aunt Mary whispered. "I sincerely hope that you are not here to confess sins that you committed while you were out with the girls last night."

"Come on, auntie, lay off, please," I whispered back.

She was only quiet for a few moments before, "You know, your mother was more surprised than angry last night."

"That's not how she sounded. You all sounded pretty mad."

She chuckled a bit. "Actually, I think I was probably more impressed than anything else. I really did think you were my own daughter until Avery came out of the bedroom. Of course I had had a few glasses of wine, and I was looking more at the dress than your face, but you actually looked just like Avery. After you went to bed, even your mother admitted as much. Of course, she'd had a few glasses of wine, too."

"How about Aunt Ann?" I asked.

She shrugged and whispered. "Ann's a mean drunk, Jacky, and she'd had a few BOTTLES of wine, so... she didn't have anything nice to say for a couple of hours before you got home. There's a lot going on between your mom and Aunt Ann, Jacky. You don't need to get involved there."

I nodded. That wasn't surprising, but it did concern me. After all, at some point, my Aunt Ann and Ronny would need to come to terms with things and I was pretty sure that Aunt Ann wasn't going to make it easy for Ronny.

Father Sullivan gave a nice sermon and Mass was over at eight fifty five. Aunt Mary and I walked out of the church together and we both said good morning to the priest before I turned to my aunt and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you at home. I'd rather walk."

"What a coincidence," she smiled. "So would I."

"You didn't drive here?" I asked.

She shook her head.

I was hoping that she might let me have a little time to myself. "I wasn't planning on going straight home, actually. I was thinking of going to Dunkin's and getting a 'Box o' Joe' and a dozen donuts and bringing them back for everyone."

She smirked. "Kind of oiling the gears, huh?"

I shrugged.

"In that case, I'd suggest going the extra block and getting the donuts at Kruger's Bakery. They're much better there."

"Ok," I agreed, "but I can't get the box of coffee there."

"You can make two stops. Come on, Jack. Let's get going."

"You're coming with me?"

She linked her arm through mine. "John, my boy, I am. There are three old ladies living in that house and of those three, I am the only friend you have. So, let's walk and let's talk."

We headed down the street towards Dunkin's and after about a half block, Aunt Mary asked, "So, is this a life style change, or sex choice, or what?"

"It was a night of fun, Auntie. That's all it was."

"I've never heard of a boy having that kind of fun before, Jack."

I shook my head. "Things are different today, Auntie."

"This wasn't your idea, was it, Jacky. The girls put you up to it, didn't they?"

I sighed. "It was their idea, yeah, but I went along with it."

"Of course you did, Jacky. You always went along with anything they wanted you to do."

"Ok, that's true, but... I had a good time, too, Auntie. It was fun to get dressed up and be someone else for the night."

"To be a girl."

I shrugged. "I guess."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't think so. Not full time, anyway, but," I stopped, because I thought about Ronny, "if I did, would that be so bad?"

She stopped walking and looked at me. "Jack... just remember that I love you and so does your sister and your cousin. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing."

"And my mother?"

"Your mother will always love you, Jacky, but... she's not big on the idea of her son becoming her daughter. 'What would the neighbors say?' and all that, you know. We 'lace curtains Irish' ladies, we have to keep up appearances, you know."

"You're not serious, are you?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"And Aunt Ann?"

She shrugged. "I can't speak for my sister Ann. She's a creature unto herself. Annie's husband put her through hell, Jacky and that left some scars. A lot of that bled over onto Ronny, too. Don't worry about Ann, though. Just be who you need to be."

"Ok, auntie," I chuckled. "Thanks."

We got home with the donuts and coffee just as the house was coming to life. My cousins and Julia seemed grateful. Aunt Ann poured a cup of coffee and complained that I had gotten no crullers. I'd never seen my aunt eat a cruller, but apparently, that morning, she craved a cruller.

My mother was the last to rise. She was surprised to hear that I'd gone to church.

"You went to church with your aunt?" She asked me, after speaking to her sister, briefly.

"No," I corrected her, "I was at church and she came and sat next to me."

"The truth is, I followed him," my aunt admitted what I had suspected. "Come on, Deidra. You were pretty hard on him last night. I was afraid he might hurt himself. I just followed him to make sure he wasn't going to do anything foolish."

"Like put on another dress," Aunt Ann sniped.

"Annie," Aunt Mary said in a firm, but hushed voice, "you and I both know how foolish a boy can get when he's upset. That's what I meant."

"We're not going to have any more of that nonsense in this house, are we, Jack?" My mother said, matter of factly, as if we'd already had our discussion. "I don't want the neighbors wondering what kinds of things are going on in this house."

'Mom, it's not a crime for a boy to go out in a dress," Julia jumped in.

"Yeah, auntie," Avery laughed, "it's the twenty first century. It's really not all that unusual."

When my sister and cousins leapt to my defense, my mother asked if she and I could have a few minutes alone. When they'd gone she she said, "I was pretty surprised to see you dressed like that last night."

'I know. I guess I should apologize, but I don't really feel like I did anything wrong, mom. It was just some harmless fun."

"And yet you felt the need to go to church this morning?"

I sipped my coffee. "I go to church a lot without you knowing, mom. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, either."

"No, I suppose not." She stirred her coffee and looked at the table for a long time. "Are you gay, Jack?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, mom, are you?"

"I'm serious. You never date. I only ever see you with your sister and your cousins. It's a fair question. Are you gay?"

"I'm serious, too, mom. You never date. I only ever see you..."

"Alright, that's enough," she snapped at me. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you."

"I'm trying to give you a serious answer, mom. I don't know. I like girls. I like them a lot. Why don't I date them? I really don't know. I don't like guys much. I don't enjoy their company and I don't like the way they treat each other as a rule, but every now and then one of them catches my eye and I wonder if I am attracted to them or not. So, maybe I was being a little flippant before, but I am being very serious now. I don't really know what I am - sexually, I mean."

She nodded. "Ok. Thank you, Jack. I appreciate your honesty."

She sipped her coffee a bit, then said, "May I ask a favor?"

"I guess."

"I know that this thing last night wasn't your idea, but... just don't go out in drag again."

"Mom, I wasn't in drag. Drag is a whole different thing."

She held up her hands to stop me. "Just don't go out as a girl again, John, alright?" She was getting angry. "God almighty, don't you realize that something could happen to you?"

"Mom, nothing's going to happen..."

"Ok, nothing's going to happen, but... please... just don't do it. Ok? I know Halloween is like a big night for this kind of thing so I'll look the other way for Halloween, but other than that... just don't. Not while you're living here. Ok?"

I nodded, frustrated, but not seeing anything to be gained by arguing. "Ok."

"Alright." She stood and kissed the top of my head. "I guess we've said enough about that, then. Thank you for the donuts. They're very good. Kruger's?"

"Yeah."

"Good choice." My mother took a nibble, the kissed the side of my head. "You're a good kid, Jack, but you're giving me gray hair."

"That's ok," I called after her as she walked out the door, "I know the name of your hair color"

The last thing I said to her before she disappeared down the hall was to remind her that it wasn't very nice to flip off your child.

Ria arrived around one that afternoon. Julia and I had our work spread out on the kitchen table and were well into our routine when she arrived. My sister made a show of introducing me to her friend as if we'd never met.

"Wow, you look a lot like two of your cousins," Ria said, inspecting my face.

"Do I?" I asked as innocently as I could manage.

"Yeah, I ran into Julia and some of your cousins at McGill's last night. One looked just like Julia. The other two looked just like you. There are some pretty strong genes in your family."

"I guess," I laughed.

"So, who's older? You or Julia?" Kia asked as she pulled out her books.

"I'm older buy twenty six minutes," Julia said. "Jack is the baby of the family."

"Oh, my God, you're twins? But you don't look a like. You both look like you're twins with your cousins. That's so weird."

"And it is the topic of constant conversation in this house," Julia laughed.

Finally settled, Ria thanked me for making time in my Sunday afternoon to help her. "Ok, let me start by saying that I just don't get this Faulkner guy," Ria began. "I find him just as boring and pointless as Tennessee Williams."

I stared at her for a moment and then let out a long breath. "Alright well, let's start with the concept of 'the great lost cause.' Are you familiar with that?"

"No," Ria said.

Julia laughed. "This is going to be a long afternoon."

"I'll be brief." I assured her. "So, after the Civil War, a whole philosophy of writing arose that put aside the fact that the Civil War was to defend the benefits of slavery, but instead was to defend a mythical way of life in which the kind white plantation owners took care of their grateful slaves - like in 'Gone With The Wind,' or 'Song Of The South.' Probably the most egregious example of this was a novel called 'The Clansman' that eventually became a film called 'Birth Of A Nation.' A lot of people saw that film as the thing that responsible for the resurgence of the Klu Klux Klan at the beginning of the twentieth century."

Kia looked at me confused. "What does all of that have to do with writers like Williams and Faulkner?"

"Well, see, Williams and Faulkner could see that this 'Glorious Lost Cause' movement was about a veneer and that there was a subculture beneath that in which people like Emily in this story behaved as if they were better than everyone else because their family had once been land owners. See in 'A Rose For Emily' the town is the narrator, but the town is reflecting the attitudes of the people in the town and..."

I probably didn't stop talking for an hour or so, but when I finally had, Ria understood the story and I think she had at least an slight appreciation for Faulkner and his contemporaries.

"I guess it's my turn to buy supper," Avery said, bursting into the kitchen. "I'm getting pizza. Oh, hi." She added the last part when she saw Ria sitting at the table.

"Hi," Ria smiled. "I'm Ria. We met last night. I'm sorry - Are you Avery or Jakki?"

Yeah - she'll never remember the names - Right.

"Oh, I'm Avery," my cousin smiled. "Jakki went back home."

"To Utah?"

"Utah?" Avery was confused for a moment. "Oh, yeah. To Utah. Hey - are you staying for supper? What kind of pizza do you like?"

"Actually," Ria looked at me and smiled, "I was going to offer to take Jack out for supper for helping me out with my literature class."

I looked up from my work and saw her smiling at me. So, I smiled back. "Oh, hey, that's very nice of you, but you don't need to do that. I'm happy to help you anytime at all. Really."

"Seriously," Ria insisted, "I'd really like to take you out. You know... just to say thank you."

I was still focusing on my work, though. "That's ok, Ria. You don't have to spend your money. We can just have some pizza."

"Oh... ok," Ria said, sounding deflated.

"Umm..." Julia stood and headed to the living room, "Jack, could you give me a hand for a second?"

"Ok, sure," I said.

I got up and followed her into the front room where she walloped me on the back of the head. "Ouch!" I let put. "What was that for?"

"Because you're a moron, moron. Ria's asking you out, you idiot."

"No she isn't," I laughed. "I mean a girl that pretty never would have asked me out." Then I thought for a moment. "She isn't, is she?"

"Yes, she is." Julia shook her head. "When you didn't catch on at first, she actually said, 'I'd like to take you out.' She's not even hinting, Jack. She's telling you that she wants to take you out."

"Yeah, but doesn't the guy usually take the girl out?" I asked.

"Only if the GUY is smart enough to ASK, and in this case he isn't, so Ria took the lead. Do you want to go out with her?"

"Well.. yeah, who wouldn't? She's beautiful."

"Then get back in there and tell her you'll go out with her before she leaves, you skinny dummy!"

I stood still for a second, then ran back in, to find Avery chatting with Ria.

"Oh, hey, Ria," I sputtered, "umm... if the offer is still open... then... I guess I'd love to get something to eat with you."

Her face brightened up. "Oh, yeah? That sounds great!" She shoved her laptop into her bag and grabbed her pocketbook. "Is 'The Flying Rhino' ok?"

"Sure," I shrugged. "I've never been there. Am I dressed ok?"

She smiled. "Yeah. It's like an old diner with a restaurant attached. You'll love it. Great burgers. Killer soups. Julia, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for inviting me over. Bye."

And out the door we went.

You know, it was kind of my first real date! Ria drove and we ended up at this old renovated train-car diner with a small building attached to it. It was down in the trendy Canal District, not too far from 'The Right Place.'

The burgers were really, really good, a bit pricier than McGills, but a lot better, too, so I guess that balances things out.

We really kind of hit it off. Ria was bright and really funny. She wanted to be a teacher, too. Her mom and dad had been born in Nepal, but moved here to pursue some impressive careers. She'd been to Nepal several times to visit family. She showed me pictures on her phone. I'd never talked to anyone who'd traveled that far, before. I was captivated by her stories - ok, maybe I was captivated by her.

Regardless, I knew I wanted to see her again and I wasn't going to look like a cheapskate, so I had decided that when the bill arrived I was going to grab it and hand it right back to the waitress along with my debit card.

The problem was, no bill ever arrived.

Instead, the waitress asked if we were all done and when we said we were, she informed us that, "Your meal has been paid by that lady, over there."

I looked across the room and saw a woman wave back at me. It took me a moment to recognize her. She was Ronny.

"Do, you know that lady?" Ria asked me.

"Umm... excuse me, just a moment." I said. "I think I do."

I stood and walked over to the table where he... well, there was no denying that Ronny had improved the feminine look since we'd last been together, so 'he' no longer seemed appropriate - she sat.

"Hey, Ronny, I smiled. You look good. Really good."

She surprised me by standing and kissing my cheek very sweetly. "Hi, Jack. Who's the girl?" Her voice was passably female, too.

"Oh, umm... Ria... that's Ria."

"Ria, huh? Is she your girlfriend?" She nudged me in my ribs, a shockingly nice and un-Ronny-ish thing to do.

I must have blushed because I felt my face heat up. "No. We just met. I helped her with her literature homework. It's our first date. Oh, by the way, thanks for paying for our meal. You didn't need to do that."

"My pleasure, Jack. I owe you more than that."

"You don't owe me anything. Would you like to meet Ria?"

Ronny looked surprised. "Really? You'd like her to meet me?"

"Of course. Come on."

We walked back to the table and I did the honors. "Ria, this is my cousin, Ronnie. Ronnie, this is my friend Ria."

"Wow! More cousins!" Ria smiled and laughed.

"Oh, you've met the battalion of cousins already?" Ronny joked.

"I did," Ria smiled.

"Here," I said and pulled out a chair for Ronny. "Sit for a minute."

Again, Ronny looked surprised. "Oh, no. Thank you, though. I need to get back to my party." She looked at Ria and smiled. "You are a lovely girl, Ria. That shade of red goes so beautifully with your skin tone."

Ria glanced at her blouse, then back up at Ronny and smiled. "Why, thank you so much. That's very kind of you. I was just admiring your necklace."

That seemed to please Ronny. "I won't interfere with your evening any more than I already have. You two have a nice night. It was lovely to meet you, Ria. I hope to see you, again."

"I hope so, too, Ronny," Ria said.

"Jack, may I just speak to you for one second?"

"Oh, sure." I looked at Ria. "I'll be right back."

We just stepped a aside a few steps and Ronny spoke quietly. "Thank you, Jack. That was nice of you."

"For what."

"For treating me like regular person."

"What are talking about, Ronny?" I asked, confused. Ronny was acting nicer than he'd ever acted. Heck, I'd rather have him involved in my life now than ever before.

"Jack... not everyone is going to be so welcoming towards a trans-woman. I just... I just want you to know how much it means to me. That's all."

I took a second to process that. "So... so this is forever, Ron?"

She nodded.

"What about the family? When are you going to tell them?"

She kissed my cheek. "I don't know, Jacky. I just don't know. You understand, don't you?"

I nodded. "I guess. Whatever you want, Ronny. Call me if you need me, ok."

"Thanks, Jacky. Go back to your date. Bye bye."

"Bye, Ronny."

I watched her walk back across the room before I sat back down with Ria.

"Is everything ok?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Is she ok? You look concerned."

I shook off my concerned face and smiled. "Actually, she's better than she's been in years."

"Good," Ria glanced towards her. "She doesn't look like any of you, does she?"

"Umm, no... no, I guess she doesn't." I considered how upset any of the girls might be if someone were to say that Ronny looked like them at the moment.

"How many cousins do you have?"

'Actually, I think you've met them all." I laughed, "But... could you maybe do me a favor?"

"Sure."

I thought for a moment. I didn't want to sound creepy or anything, but I needed to be sure that I kept Ronny's secret. "See... Ronny grew up in our house too and... well... she's kind of fallen out with everyone lately..."

As I struggled for words, Ria spoke up, "Oh, is it because of her transition?"

I was surprised she could spot it. I thought that Ronny looked pretty good. "You could tell?"

Ria shrugged. "Well, yeah, I mean she looks good, but she has really big hands and her shoulder are pretty broad. She is pretty, though. I can tell she's working hard at it."

I sighed and nodded. "Harder than anything else she's ever done, I think. Here's the thing, though - Ronny as a guy was a jerk. A real jerk. Like the kind of jerk that you probably wouldn't care if something really bad happened to him, you know? None of us knew he was struggling with his sexual identity or anything like that until I went looking for him a few weeks ago and found out he was transitioning by accident. So... see... no one else knows about it and he doesn't want them to know, so... can I ask you to maybe... not say anything to Jules or any of the other girls?"

Ria laughed. "Of course, Jack. It's none my business."

I relaxed. "Thank you, Ria. I really appreciate it."

"No problem." She smiled broadly, then took my hand in hers, "Now... since we're on a similar topic, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you really have a cousin Jakki who 'lives in Utah with the Mormons and goes to Brigham Young University' or was that you I saw at McGill's last night in that brown dress with the white polka dots, with your hair up in a bun?"

I must have looked like an idiot. My jaw dropped and I couldn't get my tongue to work. "M...mmm...mmm.... Me? At McGill's?"

She seemed to get very flirty as she smiled. "Yeah, you."

"W...W... Why would you ask that?"

She giggled as she spoke, "Well, maybe because Julia introduced the girl as her brother, or maybe because Avery's lies were so painfully horrible, or maybe because your eyelashes still have mascara in them."

I reached up and touched my eyes, trying to rub the makeup out of them, completely giving myself away.

"Oh, stop," she laughed. "You looked adorable. I liked it. Do you cross dress a lot?"

"NO!" I said, far to emphatically. "Just at Halloween. We were working on my Halloween costume and the girls convinced me to go out like that last night. I'm going to kill them."

"No you're not," Ria laughed, "because I am asking you to go out with me again on Tuesday night - BUT - only if you don't make a big deal out of last night."

"Really?" I asked, confused. "Why?"

"Because I liked it and I thought you looked as cute as hell. And if you ever feel like dressing up again, I will support it wholeheartedly." She smiled and that smile contained so much sweet mischief I couldn't believe it. "Is it a deal?"

"Ok," I smiled back. "It's a deal."

So, Tuesday was cheap movie night at the local movie theater, so we went to see a really good movie and had a great time. After, we went to nearby ice cream place and had ice cream sodas and chatted some more.

"Are you going to the Halloween party at the Student Union this weekend," I asked.

She shrugged. "I might, if someone asked me."

"Why don't you come with us?" I offered.

Ria put down her long spoon and smiled as she looked at me and shook her head. "God, can anyone really be that thick?"

I blinked. "What did I do?"

"I just asked YOU to ask ME to the party and you just invited me to come along with you and your sister and your cousins. Have you really never dated anyone before?"

I shook my head. "No, I never have. Sorry. So... should I invite you to go with just me?"

She folded her arms and her grin was the same kind of grin you might give a child who couldn't quite figure out how to pile his blocks. "Yes, Jack, I would like that, very much."

"Oh. Ok." I put down my spoon and cleared my throat, trying to sound serious. Then I took Ria's hand in mine. "My dear Ria... If I may be so bold... would you please do me the honor of allowing me to escorting you to the gala at the Student Union Building being thrown this Saturday evening to celebrate the eve of the All Saints Day?"

Ria shook her shoulders in the manner of a southern belle and smiled, "Well, I would be honored, sir."

"Cool," I said with a smile. "I do have a problem, though. I share the car with the girls, so... I can't really pick you up to take you without them coming, too."

She just laughed. "Don't worry. I'll pick you up. What are you wearing for a costume?"

I sighed and I know I blushed a deep red. "Have you ever seen the movie 'Black Swan?'"

She threw her head back, laughed and clapped her hands. "Oh, YES! That's awesome!"

I laughed a little, too. "How about you?"

"I don't know. I was going as Hermione from Harry Potter, but now I'm going to have to up my game a bit. I'll have to think of something awesome.

"Hermione is awesome."

'Yeah, but if you're going all girly, then I better come up with something pretty manly."

"Oh, Geez," I laughed. "What are you thinking? Thor? Hulk?"

"Both good suggestions," she giggled. "I shall take them both under advisement."

The rest of the week went really well. I spent a lot of time with Ria at school. I'd never had a real friend another than Julia, Avery or Chelsea, and none of them ever held my hand or kissed me. So, being with Ria was a lot cooler.

When the night of the party arrived, I reminded my mother that I was going to be dressing up as a girl that night to avoid a reenactment of the dramatics of the previous weekend.

"I know, Jacky," she smirked. "Thank you, though." She kissed my forehead. "So, this thing with Ria? Is it serious?"

I shrugged. "I hope so. I really like her."

"And do you think she'll be ok with you wearing a ballet tutu and makeup to the party?"

"She's more than ok with it, mom. She thinks it's pretty cool."

My mother's eyebrows raised in surprised. "Really. Well, I guess that times have really changed since I was young."

"There you are," Avery said, as she came into the kitchen. "Excuse me, Auntie, but I need Jacky to get his scrawny butt in gear. Come on, Jack. You need to get in the shower and get those legs shaved."

My mother laughed. "My son the He-Man. Oh, well. It's Halloween, after all. Go get ready and have a good time."

Just before seven, Ria showed up to pick me up. She was wearing a jet black wig with a ponytail, a red, short sleeved tunic with a yellow collar, a wide belt with a big buckle in top of it, black leggings and knee high riding boots.

"Oh, my goodness, she's Gaston!" Avery laughed.

"You look awesome!" Chelsea said. "You look really strong."

"I'm wearing a muscle suit under this," Ria laughed. "I feel really buff."

Then she looked at me in my tutu and smiled. Then she spoke in the lowest voice she could muster. "Well, there she is. The most beautiful girl in town and that makes her the best! and don't I deserve the best?"

Now, Ria was about an inch and a half taller than me, but with me in ballet slippers and Ria in riding boots, she had more than three inches on me. So, she grabbed me in a dramatic move, bent me backwards and kissed me deeply and remarkably passionately, especially considering we were not alone.

We she finally let me stand, I was not just breathless, I was stunned and left wanting more. But Ria just turned and started talking to the girls. "So, are we all set to go?"

"I think so," Julia said. "We'll follow you guys there."

"Ok," Ria said. She turned to me. "All set, my beauty?"

I caught my breath and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'm ready."

Now, I'm not sure if you've ever tried to sit in a car in a tutu, but it's not possible, and since this tutu laced up, Ria had to untie it in the back and let me get into the cat in just the very elaborate leotard.

When she was in the car and we were on the way, she smirked and said, "So... I noticed that your leotard fits you very well."

I looked at my meager cleavage. "Yeah. That involves some strategically placed duct tape, a push-up bra and some makeup for shading."

Suddenly, Ria's hand was rubbing the top of my leg. "I was actually referring to the space between your thighs."

I laughed. "You should talk. I noticed a bulge in your crotch."

"Mine is a stuffed sock. Yours looks like a pretty real gap down there. Is there something you're not telling me?"

I shook my head and sighed. "It's a maxi-pad, ok?"

"What!?" Ria screamed in laugher. "Why on earth are you wearing a maxi-pad ? It's not your time of the month is it? And even if it is, didn't your mom ever teach you about tampons?"

"Ok, just stop. Chelsea saw something online that said that the easiest way to keep everything tucked was to use a maxi-pad. I didn't think she was right, but it was three against one - So... I'm using a maxi-pad. End of story."

She laughed even harder. "Oh, you poor baby. Did the big, mean girls bully you into wearing a feminine napkin on your panties? Awwww. Do you want me to beat them up for you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact they did, and, if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate it if you would." I joked.

When we arrived at the Student Union Building, Ria had to lace me back into my tutu and then we went into the party, which was, in a word, a 'blast.'

There was a great DJ. The lights were awesome. The food was good. Julia, Avery and Chelsea all danced with each other and were invited to dance with guys. I was even asked to dance a couple of times, but I declined politely and asked Ria not to leave me alone after the second time.

At the end of the evening there were prizes for the best costumes. When they called up all the male guests who wanted to be judged, I went up and I heard a murmur of confusion from the other guys. There were few grunts of disappointment when I won the prize, too, but I didn't think anyone was going to get too upset over a twenty five dollar gift certificate to the college's cafeteria.

The party was over way too quickly. I danced with Ria a lot and I really enjoyed it. I'd never really danced with anyone before. I mean, I'd danced a little at senior prom, but it didn't mean much. It was just for fun. This was more... romantic.

On the way home, Ria said, "I really wish we could make this last longer, but we're both wearing too much paraphernalia to have any fun, so I guess I'll just have to drive you home and call it a night."

I was disappointed, but she was right. I was tucked down below and I was uncomfortably taped up above, while she was probably restricted in someway up above and then wearing some kind of foam rubber muscle suit on top of that... the logistics of the whole thing was too much to consider.

"Ok," I said, probably sounding sad.

"Oh, don't pout," Ria teased. "You girls always get so moody when you're on your period."

"Alright - enough," I laughed. "How about tomorrow? Want to do something?"

"Sure, but let's not do anything too involved. We'll be tired after tonight. Maybe just hang out or something, ok?"

"Sounds great! Your place or mine?"

She chuckled. "I think it's going to rain, so I don't want you riding your bike over to my parents' house and getting sick. I'll come over to your place after lunch, ok?"

"Sure."

"Let's be relaxed, alright? Pjs and sweats. Things like that."

"A perfect weekend day," I agreed.

"Of course, you could wear a cute nightie for me, if you wanted," she teased.

I just shook my head.

Ria and I started dating regularly from then on.

November, of course, meant preparing for finals for all of us, and for Julia, Ria and me, being freshmen, it was almost overwhelmingly stressful. We were being told by our professors that failure on these exams would mean failure for the semester, no matter how well we'd done so far. Chelsea and Avery told us otherwise, be we were sure that we were facing our doom, so we were constantly huddled around the kitchen table with books and computers open. Some nights, Ria even stayed in my bed and I slept on the couch so we could study late into the night - or early morning, to be more precise.

Of course, we all aced every class and as Thanksgiving came around and our grades were being posted, we breathed easier and faced our break with a feeling of true thanksgiving.

Ria's family didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, so she came to our house to celebrate, which was great.

A shadow did fall on our celebration, though.

Ronny didn't come.

For my mom, Aunt Mary, Chelsea, Avery and Julia, that was welcome news, but for Aunt Ann, it was heartbreaking. To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed in Ronny. She was so up beat and seemed so happy when last I'd seen her, but I guess it tough for her to face the family after having been tough 'Ronny The Asshole' for so long. Showing up as 'Ronny the Trans-Woman' was going to be a big change when it happened.

Aunt Ann sulked a bit throughout the day, but everyone ignored her except for me. I tried to offer some comfort by way of extra attention, but that just seemed to irritate her more, so eventually I just gave up and let her wallow, since that seemed to be what she wanted to do.

Christmas was always a big deal at our house. Yes, there were presents, but there were also a lot of homemade things, too. Lots of cookies were baked by all of us. Fudge was made. Avery knitted mittens. Chelsea painted decorations. The whole house was busy in the last two weeks before Christmas.

I went shopping to buy my girlfriend - that still felt great to say - My Girlfriend - a present.

I got her a few small things - body spray, earrings, headbands - things like that, but a nice present alluded me until I finally figured it out. Ria had mentioned that she loved this one Broadway show and there was a national touring company production of it coming to Boston in March. I went on line and found out that the tickets for the show were available, but pretty pricey. I thought about it for a few hours and finally decided that it was worth it to make her happy. So, I bit the bullet, pulled out my debit card and bought the tickets.

I felt pretty good about the purchase, too, so I went out to the kitchen to have a glass of orange juice.

Unfortunately, when I got there, my joy disappeared because I found Auntie Ann sitting at the kitchen table crying. I sat down next to her, knowing full well why she was upset, but having to pretend that I had no idea what was going on.

"Are you ok, auntie?" I asked, touching her shoulder.

She wiped her eyes and tried to smiled. "Oh, don't mind me, Jacky. I'm just being foolish. It's your cousin Ronny getting to me again. He's too busy with this new job to come to Christmas with the family. It's just been a long time since I've even spoken to him and I'm feeling a little.. lonely."

I tried to lighten her mood. "Lonely? How could you ever feel lonely in this house, auntie?"

She smiled and tried to stop her tears. "Maybe lonely isn't the right word, Jacky." She sniffled a bit, then she sighed. "You know I love all of you Jack. I mean..." another sigh, "I know that I'm a mean old buzzard, but... in my own mean way... I do love all of you."

I nodded. "I know, auntie. We all know that."

She took a deep breath and tried, but failed, to hold back the tears. "Then why doesn't my own son know that, John? Ronald's father was... not a good man. He hit us, Jack. A lot. He drank and he stayed out all night with God knows who... I'm afraid that Ronny is going to end up just like him.

"Oh, don't think so, auntie," I said, with a surprising amount of confidence. "I think Ronny may have turned a corner. Maybe we just need to give him a little time."

She shook her head. "I don't think so, Jacky. I just don't think so."

Later that night, I sent Ronny a text asking him if he might consider coming to Christmas Eve for an hour or so.

"CAN'T DO IT, JACK. SORRY.' Was his reply.

That was a little too much like the old Ronny for me.

By the twenty third of December, everyone was in the spirit of the holiday, except Aunt Ann, and I was feeling pretty terrible about it.

"Stay out of it," Ria advised. "You told me yourself that your cousin wanted to stay away from the family for awhile. That's his choice, Jack. It might not be the choice that you'd make, but you have to abide by it."

I should have listened, but I didn't. I took my phone and I went out to the driveway and called Ronny. It rang four times before Ronny picked up. "I really hope this is just to wish me a Merry Christmas, Jack." He sounded much more like a woman than he had even the last time I'd seen him.

"Merry Christmas, Ronny," I said as cheerfully as I could. "Are you ok?"

Suddenly he sounded much more friendly, now. "Actually... I'm really, good, Jack. Better than ever. Thank you for asking. How are you? Are you still seeing that pretty girl?"

I laughed a little. "Yeah, Ria. Her name is Ria. We're dating pretty regularly now. Ummm... I did call for a reason, though."

"Jack, I need to warn you," Ronny sounded serious, but not mean, "I'm going through a lot right now and if I can't trust you, I will have to separate myself from you, too."

"No, you can trust me, Ronny, but... it's your mom... I've just never seen her..."

"Jack..."

"... no, Ronny, she's so sad about everything..."

"Jack..."

"... seriously, Ronny, just for one night..."

"I'm sorry Jack, I love you and I appreciate all the help you gave me when I needed it, but I'm hanging up and I'm blocking your number for now. I'll call you when I'm ready to reconnect."

"NO, RONNY, PLEASE!"

"Merry Christmas, Jack. I love you."

He hung up.

"Oh shit," I muttered and I redialed the number.

Immediately, I heard a robotic voice say, "We're sorry, but the party you are calling is not accepting calls from your account at this time."

"Damnit, Damnit, Damnit, Damnit!" I said over and over before going back into the house.

I borrowed Julia's phone and tried calling Ronny's number, but the result was the same. He'd blocked all of us.

This was not the result I wanted.

Ria's family didn't celebrate Christmas, either, so she stayed with us on Christmas Eve. Rather magnanimously, Aunt Ann offered me Ronny's bed, but I felt bad about Ronny's absence, so I chose to sleep on the couch, anyway.

I invited anyone who might feel up to it to join me for midnight Mass. Ria said that she'd like to go. She'd grown up in a Hindu household and was curious about what a Catholic Mass might be like. Aunt Mary also chose to go and so did, surprisingly, Avery.

It was actually a beautiful Mass. The choir sounded great, the church was decorated beautifully, the homily was positive and uplifting, everything you'd want from a midnight Mass. We even had a pleasant walk home with a cold, star lite sky, but almost no wind to cut through our bundled clothing.

"Did you enjoy the Mass?" My Aunt asked Ria, who was cuddling me beside her as we walked back home.

"I did," she admitted. "I enjoyed the music and the incense had an ancient quality to it that reminded me of some of the ceremonies I've attended in Nepal. Everyone seemed happy to be there, too. That was the nicest part."

"Well, a lot of them had a little too much eggnog before coming," Avery laughed.

"That is true," Aunt Mary chuckled, "but they were still there."

We were up around eight on Christmas morning - even though none us were children, there was still a lot of Christmas morning excitement in the air.

We had strict buying rules - just a few presents a per person, but the pile under the tree was always vast. Mostly clothes and other necessities, but it was exciting, nonetheless.

We all exchanged a couple of presents, of course, and everyone thanked everyone. Ria, having never experienced a present onslaught like this, was a bit overwhelmed and kept saying, "Honestly, this is enough! No, it's TOO MUCH! Thank you, all, but, it's too much!"

She was very happy with my presents to her, especially the tickets to the show in Boston, as well as the little gift certificates I'd made on the computer for a dinner at the restaurant of her choice for that evening.

Ria gave me a very nice onyx ring - kind of small for a man's ring, but not overly feminine - and two video games, then she put two shirt boxes and a slightly larger box on my lap. The thing about living in a house with so many women is that, since they all shared clothes, they tended to forget that you needed clothes of your own. So, I was excited to get some stuff from Ria.

She smiled as I opened the first box to reveal a red and black, buffalo plaid shirt, flannel shirt. "Oh, cool," I exclaimed, raising the shirt by the shoulders to get a better look at it. That was when I noticed there was no collar on the shirt, then that long sleeves ended in small bell shaped cuffs and that there was far more material to this 'shirt' than I'd expected.

I quickly folded it back into the box and casually put the cover back on it. I looked at Ria who was smiling sheepishly at me.

"Was that...?" I asked, quietly.

She giggled. "A snuggly night gown. It's nice and warm to sleep in in the winter."

I smiled, but shook my head. "You don't really expect me to wear that, do you?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Have you met my family?"

She shrugged. "I think they'd get used to it."

"You're nuts," I said.

"You're no fun," she pouted. "Open the next one."

I did, and it was a very nice, tan turtle neck sweater. "That's very nice. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "There's another part to it under the sweater."

I lifted the sweater up, and immediately put it back down. Beneath the sweater was a dark brown, corduroy, bib-overall dress. "What is wrong with you?" I whispered while also laughing.

"Oh, come on. You like dressing up and I want you to dress up every now and then. What's the harm in getting you what we both want for Christmas?" I shook my head, just a little so as not to attract any attention, and moved on to the last, and larger box.

"Dare I even open this here?"

"If you don't, I'll open it and show everyone." She teased.

"I thought you liked me," I said, although I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Oh, I like you a lot," she smiled, then gave me a peck on my lips. "Go ahead and open the last box."

Cautiously, I tore the paper off the last box and then raised the top and peeked in, revealing a classic looking, royal blue, chiffon dress with white detailing. I closed the box quickly.

"You don't like it?" She smiled.

"It looks beautiful, but I can't look at it right now. I'll look at it later. Thank you."

It's really beautiful," she whispered, almost sexually. "I got it at a retro clothing shop. It's from 1962. It's soft and elegant, and..."

"I'll look at it later."

"It comes with a petticoat."

"I can't look at it right now."

"It has big, puffy sleeves that look like they belong on a little girl's dress."

"Just stop, alright."

"I got you the pumps to match."

"Thank you, but I'd like to make it through this evening without my mother going nuts, ok?"

"You're going to look amazing in it."

"We'll see."

"When we go see that play in Boston."

My head snapped around to look at her and I felt the blood drain from my face. "You're not serious, are you?"

She smiled and shrugged. "It's just a thought that occurred to me when you gave me the tickets. Think about it. It might be fun. It'll be up to you, of course, but it's a golden opportunity to wear a beautiful dress to a wonderful event."

I looked around at everyone and thought about my family's reaction to me doing something like that and I felt my stomach tumble. "Oh, I don't know, Ria. I'll have to think about that."

She kissed my cheek. "Ok. I won't force you. It'd just be fun. That's all." She smiled some more.

"Here, Ria," my mother interrupted us, "this is for you."

"Another present!?!?" Ria made a big show of receiving the gift.

As she opened it, I got up and scurried down the hall and stowed my three boxes from Ria in my closet for the time being, knowing I'd need to come up with a better hiding place at some point.

We had a great holiday break. The girls and Ria and I hung out together a lot. We saw some movies, went bowling, streamed some stuff on TV and we all got into cooking together. My sister and cousins all really seemed to love Ria, which was great and made things much easier.

We spent New Years Eve at a big event on the common of our city. Lots of food trucks and live bands. It was cold, but a pretty great time. There were several local micro breweries there, too, so Avery and Chelsea took advantage of tasting lots of different beers. They didn't get drunk, mind you, they just enjoyed themselves.

In mid-January, we were headed back to classes and enjoying campus things, again.

That is, until one day in late January.

We left for school a little after eight thirty that morning and everything was fine. It was cold, but the sun was shining and the forecast was for a some flurries that afternoon. We met Ria in the parking lot and we all headed into the school, then to our individual classrooms. For me, that meant leaving the science building and crossing to the fine arts building for a Music History class.

Around one o'clock, I was headed back to meet everyone for lunch and, instead of flurries, a pretty steady misty rain had started, which, in turn, had created a pretty thick glaze of ice on the ground. It was a challenge to cross the eighty or so feet of asphalt between the two buildings.

"It's pretty bad out there," I said to everyone when I got to the cafeteria.

"Yeah, my dad said to come home, if I could," Ria said. "I'm only about a mile away, but you guys are clear across town."

Chelsea was already watching the most recent weather forecast on her iPad and things didn't look good. "I guess we have two choices," she said. "We can leave now, before it gets any worse, or we can hang out here a while longer and hope that they sand the roads."

Avery was looking out the window. "You know, the main roads don't look too bad right now. If we leave now and stick to the main roads, we only have to deal with our street and it's not much of hill. I vote to email our professors and just leave now. I think it's the safest thing to do."

We all agreed and headed out to the parking lot.

After a lot of scraping to clear the windows on our car and Ria's, I kissed Ria goodbye, and I climbed into the backseat of our car. Chelsea was the most experienced driver and did a great job getting us home, but it was a long slow commute. Eventually, we were pulling into our driveway, but as we were passing our front porch, I shouted, 'Shit! Stop the car!"

When it stopped, I jumped out and ran across the grass so as not to slip on the pavement to where I saw my Aunt Ann laying unconscious at the foot of the front steps.

"Auntie! Auntie!" I called to her as I touched her face, but she didn't respond at all - and her face was very cold. I was scared out of my mind and I'd left my phone in the car.

I looked back at the car to where the girls were all standing and not sure what had happened. See, the way our house was situated on the lot, the front steps were angled away from the driveway. If I hadn't caught the glimpse of Aunt Ann that I had, it's possible that no one else would have. She might have laid there unconscious for hours if I hadn't just happened to look that way at just the right moment.

"Call nine one one!" I shouted.

"What happed?" Chelsea shouted back.

"It's Auntie Ann! I think she fell! She's unconscious!"

I heard all three of them all yell, "Oh, shit!" Just as I had. Then Avery made the call while Chelsea ran to me, while Julia grabbed a blanket from the car and then followed behind Chelsea.

By the time the ambulance, a fire truck and the police showed up, we were all sure that our aunt was dead, but the EMTs assured us that she was, at least for the moment, alive.

"Can I go with her?" I asked the EMTs, as they loaded her into the ambulance, astounding myself.

"Are you her son?" One of them asked as the doors were closing.

"Yes," I said without hesitation.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"Nineteen."

"Ok. Jump in."

As I climbed in, Chelsea grabbed my hand and said, "Jack." I stopped and looked at her, but she just put my cell phone in my hand, then squeezed my hand in hers. She looked like she was going to cry. I knew how she felt.
 
 
To Be Continued...