The Good Son: 3

 

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: 3 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 3
 

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.

I never felt so useless in my life, just sitting there, holding my aunt's cold, lifeless hand as the EMTs worked on her.

"We're incoming with a woman," the older of the EMT's spoke into a radio, then he looked at me. "How old is your mother, son?"

I thought for a second. "Ummm... fifty six."

"A fifty six year old woman," he returned to the radio, "unconscious, cuts and contusions on her head, possible concussion, by the position of her legs, I think we may have several broken bones, possibly a broken hip. I will forward pictures."

Then they went to work and didn't say anything and ignored me.

Finally I asked, "Is she going to be ok?"

The older EMT looked at me and said, "We're going to do everything we can to help her."

That scared me more than anything else he could have said.

"But... she's not going to... die... is she?"

He touched my knee and looked me in the eye. "We're going to do everything we can to help her."

That's when I started shaking and I felt the tears in my eyes. My aunt and I had a strained relationship - hell my aunt had a strained relationship with the world - but I couldn't let her die. I just couldn't. I didn't want her to think she was alone, so I bent down and I whispered in her ear. "It's Jack, auntie. Please don't die, auntie. Please. I love you, auntie. Please don't die." Then I kissed her hand and held it to my cheek until we pulled into the emergency room entrance at the hospital.

I felt empty and so alone as they took my aunt into a room, leaving me alone in a waiting room. I was there about twenty minutes when my phone rang and I saw that it was my mother.

"Hi, mom."

"Christ Almighty, Jacky, are you ok?" My mother sounded panicked.

"Me? Yeah, mom, I'm ok. It's Aunt Ann that's hurt."

"I know, honey, but what the hell were you thinking going with her?"

She sounded angry with me and I didn't know why. "Are you mad at me, mom?"

She let out a long and frustrated breath. "No, Jack, I'm not mad, I'm just... honey you shouldn't be there by yourself and I can't get there in this ice storm. Your Aunt Mary and I should be there, not you. You're too young."

"What choice was there, mom? Aunt Ann was hurt. You weren't there. I was. That's all there was to it."

My mom made some frustrated noises on the other end of the phone. "How is Ann?"

"I don't know," I said. "She didn't look good, mom. I told her to be strong that we loved her and didn't want her to die."

"You told her we loved her?" I heard a crack in my mother's voice. "That was kind of you, Jacky."

"It's the truth, mom."

I heard her sniffle. "I'm glad to hear it, honey."

"Are you the young man who came in with the lady in the ambulance?" a woman interrupted.

"Hold on," I said into the phone. "Yes," I said to the woman.

"Is she your mother?"

"Yes," I lied.

"They're taking your mother into surgery, now. I'm afraid you're in for a long afternoon."

"What's happening?" my real mother asked.

I said to the woman who'd spoken to me, "This is my mother's sister. Could you tell her what's happening?"

The woman took the phone. "Hi. From what I understand, it appears that your sister took a pretty bad fall on the ice and she sustained multiple broken bones, an injury to her head and both of her hips are going to need to be replaced over the next few months. She's got a long road ahead of her."

I heard my mother ask a few questions, then the woman handed phone back to me. "I'll give you periodic updates," she said to me. "What's a good number to reach you?"

I wrote down my number and she left.

"Are you still there?" I said into the phone.

"I'm here, Jacky. I'm going to try to get there."

"No, mom!" I insisted. "It's too icy for anyone to be on the road until the storm is over. I'll just hang out here and wait. I'll call if I hear anything."

I sat and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

And I tried to figure out how to reach Ronny to let him know about his mom, but my number was still blocked and I had no idea where he lived or worked. I just knew that he hung out at 'The Right Place,' and that I saw him eat at 'The Flying Rhino' one time.

Goddamnit, why did he have to block me? I was just trying to help. What if Aunt Ann died? How was I going to let him know about it? Geez, Ronny, I know you can be a jerk, but this isn't really what you want, is it?

The hours just crawled by and eventually I fell asleep in the waiting room. I woke up around midnight when someone kissed my forehead. I woke up half expecting to see my mother, but instead I saw Ria's beautiful, dark face smiling down at me. I blinked and focused. "Ria? What are you doing here?"

"I came to keep you company. My dad had to go into work regardless of the weather and I convinced him to drop me off."

I sat up taller and hugged her as she sat next to me. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. It's still pretty bad out there. The weather report says it'll be better in the morning. Have you heard anything about your aunt?"

I checked my phone. There were no messages except texts and voicemail's from my family. "Not since like six. She was still in surgery then. Shoot, my battery is really low."

Ria dug into her pocketbook. "Here. I have a charger."

We moved closer to an outlet. "Thanks for coming," I said. "You didn't need to."

"I didn't want you here all night by yourself."

"That's really nice." I smiled at her.

She smiled and shrugged. "That's what people do when they love each other."

We just stared at each other for a couple of seconds before I asked, "Are you saying that you love me?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That's what I'm saying. You don't have to say it back, but... that's what I'm saying."

I think I must have smiled a bit too goofily before I kissed her because she giggled at me. After I kissed her I said. "I love you, too, Ria. I really do."

"I'm glad, Jack."

My phone buzzed with a text from Chelsea. 'ANY NEWS?'

I text back. 'NO. NOTHING'

'ARE YOU OK?'

'YES. RIA IS HERE WITH ME, NOW.'

'HOW?'

'HER DAD DROPPED HER ON HIS WAY TO WORK.'

'GOOD. GLAD YOU'RE NOT ALONE. I'LL TELL YOUR MOM. EVERYONE'S WORRIED ABOUT YOU HERE.'

'WHY?'

'BECAUSE YOU'RE THERE, YOU IDIOT.'

"Nice to know you're loved, I guess," I laughed, showing Ria the text.

She laughed, too. "I talked to Chelsea. She said that your mom was really upset with all of them for letting you get into the ambulance with your aunt."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "It all happened pretty fast. I'm not sure that they had a lot of say in the matter. I'm not sure that I did either. I just didn't want her to be alone. She probably didn't even know I was there."

"I'm sure she did," Ria said as she kissed my cheek and petted my hair.

"Since l've gotten here, I've just been trying to figure out how to get in touch with Ronny. He needs to be told about this."

"Ok, I agree with you about that. We'll figure out something."

Around one o'clock, a doctor came out and told me that my aunt, well, he said 'my mother,' was going to be ok, but she wasn't going to be awake for a couple of days. He also said she'd need at least two more surgeries in the next few months, so the family should prepare for her to be in a wheel chair for a while and then on a walker for a couple of weeks as she recovered from her hip replacement surgeries, when those occurred.

I didn't want to wake everyone at home, but I wanted my mother and aunt to hear this, so I called and they answered on the second ring. They talked to the doctor and seemed relieved by what he told them, then they told me to get some rest if I could and we said good night.

Sometime around mid-morning, Aunt Ann was moved into a bed in a recovery area and I was allowed in to see her. Only me, though, not Ria.

I was relieved that I she was going to be ok - that is, until I saw her. She didn't even look like my aunt. There were so many tubes and wires attached to her, I could hardly see her small body underneath all the mass of it all.

"I know it's a lot to take in," the nurse said to me in a kind voice, "but honestly, your mom is doing very well, under the circumstances. Talk to her, if you can. It helps."

I nodded, trying hard to take in the whole situation. She led me to a chair next to Aunt Ann's bed and she walked away.

I took my aunt's hand in mine, careful of the port for her medications, and I leaned close to her and I whispered, "They say you're going to be ok, auntie, but you've got some hard weeks ahead of you. Don't worry, though. We'll all be there to help you. All of us."

I know you won't believe it, but I swear, I heard her let out a little sigh, almost like she was thanking me.

"And auntie," I continued, "I promise, I will find Ronnie and let him know that you need him."

Ok, I knew that Ronny should now be referred to as 'she' but Aunt Ann didn't, so I wasn't going to tell her the truth right now, and the important part about this story is that when I said this, I swear to God, my aunt squeezed my hand. She really did. She squeezed my hand and she broke my heart all at the same time.

Mid afternoon, my mother and Aunt Mary arrived at the hospital and met us in the waiting room. My mom greeted me with her arms outstretched and saying, "Oh, my baby," which surprised me quite a bit, but not nearly as much as my Aunt Mary greeting Ria with her arms also outstretched and saying, "You poor child. You shouldn't have to go through this."

Once we got past the shock, my mother gave us strict orders to go home, get some rest, take a showers and not to come back to the hospital. I assured her that I would go home, I would take a shower, but I was going to be at the hospital when Aunt Ann woke up. The doctors said that was probably going to be on Saturday afternoon, and I was going to be there.

My mom had driven her car and Aunt Mary had driven hers, so I drove my mom's back to our house. Ria told her parents where she'd be and they were ok with it, but gave the usual parental warnings about 'no horseplay,' or whatever the Nepalese equivalent of that was.

Because if the treacherous conditions due to the ice storm earlier, the girls were all at home. They knew we'd be coming, so they had French toast and bacon waiting for us - even though it was nearly dinner time. It was delicious. After that, Ria showered and borrowed some PJs from Julia. Then I showered and pulled on some sweats and joined everyone in the living room for a few minutes. It wasn't long, though, before Ria and I retired to my bedroom I took my bed and Ria took Julia's and Julia graciously agreed to sleep on the couch. It was only about six in the evening, but we were both exhausted.

I could have easily drifted off to sleep had my mind not been plagued by the problem of finding my cousin Ronny. She'd really put me in an untenable position and I was feeling pretty upset about it. Finally, I came up with a way to contact her. It was a pretty stupid idea, but it was an idea, nonetheless. So, with that in mind, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I slept straight through the night and only woke up because I heard Julia rummaging through her bureau looking for clothes. She heard me stir in my bed and looked over at me. "Oh, Jacky, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"No problem," I assured her. "I need to pee, anyway. Is there school?"

She shook her head. "No. I guess the power is still out on campus. I just wanted to get dressed. It's a little chilly in the living room."

That was something I knew from recent experience. "Are you still tired?"

"A little," she admitted.

"Is Avery up?"

"Umm... yeah. Why?"

I swung my legs out from under the covers. "Here. You get into bed. I need to talk to Avery."

Julia looked at me, confused. "Why do you need to talk to Avery?"

I kissed her cheek and led her to the bed. "Get into bed and sleep a while longer." I slipped my feet into my lined Crocs.

"Why do you need to talk to Avery?"

"Shh, you'll wake Ria," I said as I turned and left the room.

I found Avery in the kitchen drinking coffee.

"Hey," I said, "how are you?"

"Oh, hi," she smiled. "I didn't think you'd be up for a while, yet. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, I guess," I said, "but I need to ask you a couple of big favors."

"Oh yeah?" she smiled. "What kind of big favors?" she pulled her robe a little tighter around her. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. You want to hide a Valentine's Day present for Ria in my room, right?"

"Umm... no," I shook my head. "It's a lot bigger than that."

The playful look on her face faded a bit. "Oh... what's up?"

I took a big breath and looked at her before I spoke. "Ok, first I have to ask you not to ask me why I'm asking these favors and second I have to ask you not to tell our mothers about them."

She folded her arms and waited.

"The first thing I need is for you to make me look just like you, again."

She bobbed her head from side to side. "Ok... I can do that, I guess."

I nodded. "Then I need to borrow a dress - a kind of nice one that you'd wear out to a nice restaurant."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I told you, I can't tell you."

She stared at me for a moment. "Does Ria know about this?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, but she will and she will understand my reasons. She's already aware of the situation."

She considered that. "But you can't tell me?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I can't."

She thought for a moment. "Well... if Ria is ok with it, I will make you look like me and loan you a dress."

"And shoes." I added.

"And shoes," she agreed. "Is that it?"

I shook my head. "I have one more favor and... it's the big one."

She chuckled. "Oh, IT'S the big one. What, what, pray tell, is THE BIG ONE?"

I stared at the table for a good long time before finally saying, "I need to borrow your license."

"What? Why? You have a license."

I sighed. "I need to get into a bar."

"NO!" she said, emphatically. "Absolutely not. You are not getting drunk using my ID. Absolutely not!"

"I am not going to get drunk."

"Yeah sure. You just want my ID to go to a bar and drink water, right? Look, Jack, you know that I don't think of you like my cousin. As far as I'm concerned, you're my little brother. Honest, Jacky, I really do love you like my brother, but NO. I can't make you look like me, then send you out and let you - LOOKING LIKE ME - go get shit faced. What if someone I know sees you? What if you get pulled over and I end up with a DUI? Again, I love you to death, but I can't do that."

"Avery..." I tried to say, but she interrupted.

"NO!"

"Can you please hear me out?"

She took a deep breath and calmed down. "Ok. Explain."

"Ok. I can't explain entirely, but..." I thought for a moment. "... I need to speak to someone who I can't call or text. I don't know where they live or work, but I know that they go to this particular bar almost every night - and since tonight is Friday, they'll definitely be there. So, I'll go there, get a soft drink if I have to, wait until I see this person, talk to them and come home. That's all."

She chewed that over for a bit. "Who's the person?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why is this important?"

"I can't tell you."

She thought a while longer, then shook her head. "Nope. I'm sorry. If you can't trust me, then I can't trust you."

"Avery..."

"Honestly, Jack, I don't want to say 'no,' but I have no choice. If you can't tell me the truth, then I..."

"It's to help Aunt Ann," I blurted out.

"What?" She looked at me and thought for a moment. "Aunt Ann?"

I nodded.

"You're going to see Ronnie?"

I nodded.

"At Monaghan's"

"No, no, no," I half laughed. "Ronnie's got a new job and isn't hanging out at Monaghan's anymore."

"Where is he hanging out?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why don't I just go?"

I sighed. "Avery... it's really complicated. I promised Ronny that I wouldn't tell anyone about it, though. Please, Ronny will only talk to me... and maybe not even to me."

She thought for a long few minutes. "I'm not sure what to think about this, Jack. Ronny's always been a problem. Maybe he isn't what Aunt Ann needs right now."

I looked at Avery. "She's Ronny's mother, Avery. Ronny needs to know that she's been hurt. Whether or not Ronny comes home to help Aunt Ann with her recovery isn't our decision, is it? It's Ronny's."

She grimaced and shook her head. "I don't know, Jack. Can we put this off for a few days?"

I just looked at her and shook my head.

"I need to talk to Chelsea about this."

I stood up. "Ok. Forget it, then. I'm sorry I asked. Just... please... don't talk to Chelsea or Julia about this, ok? I promised Ronny I'd be discreet, and I've already violated that promise by telling you."

"Jack, I don't understand. You promised Ronny you'd be discreet about WHAT? This makes no sense!"

"Can I say something?" We both turned to see Ria standing in the doorway. She walked into the kitchen and sat beside Avery, laying her hand on her's. "I'm not going to pretend to understand all of the dynamics of your family after only a few months, but I can tell that you all love each other and on our first date together, Jack and I ran into your cousin Ronny, so I know a little about the confidence that Jack is keeping. Having said all that - I think what Jack is proposing is actually a pretty brave thing. Avery, I understand all of your reservations, but I don't think that Jack is going to abuse your ID. I think he'll go in and be right back out again as soon as possible." she looked at me. "Right, Jack?"

I nodded.

Avery shook her head and looked at each of us. "Alright, listen - I'll get you ready and dress you up. You can use my ID as long as you SWEAR that you won't drink BUT there are other stipulations, too. YOU are not driving. Ria is driving and I'm going along, too. We won't go in, we'll just wait in the car, but we'll be nearby, just in case, and this way, just in case a cop pulls the car over, the person driving the car has a legal license that was actually issued to her. That's the deal and there is no more negotiation. Ok?"

I looked at Ria who said, "I think that's reasonable."

"Alright," I nodded. "Thanks, Avery."

"Don't thank me yet. Do you remember how to shave your legs?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

"Well, go shower, wash and condition your hair..."

"I just showered last night..."

"... wash and condition your hair," she repeated, "because you aren't going to be wearing it up in a bun to go out clubbing. Then get ready for some prodding and plucking. Go on."

I showered and shaved and returned to the kitchen wearing my robe, but beneath it I had on the panties I'd worn to the Halloween party and I had myself tucked back securely. Avery started by putting my hair into curlers and treating them with some sort of setting lotion before putting a bonnet-dryer onto my head.

"I've only ever seen you guys use this a few times," I said.

"Because we all have our hair treated and cut and I have mine permed every six weeks to give it some body. Yours is as straight as mine would be without the perm, so if you want to look like me for this evening, you need to do it the old fashioned way."

She positioned the plastic bonnet so that my ears were sticking out, but all of my hair was covered so that she could still talk to me. Then she turned on the hair dryer and my scalp began to bake.

Ria appeared, leaned my head back onto the counter top and began icing my left eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Numbing your eyebrow a bit. It'll make plucking it less painful."

My stomach turned a bit. "Oh. I hadn't thought of that. Will it be noticeable on Monday?"

"I don't know," she laughed. "Look at Avery. See how arched her brows are? Yours need to look the same. Do you think those will be noticeable on you on Monday?"

I looked at my cousin. Julia and Chelsea were damned near close to classically beautiful in the way that their faces and bodies had developed. Avery, though... Avery was that classic girl next door kind of girl. Apple faced, small chested, slight build - the perky tomboy who climbed trees until she was eighteen and then discovered that she could be a beautiful woman, you know? And I looked almost just like a male version of her.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Then, yeah." Ria smiled. "But maybe this will be a good opportunity for you to try out some of those pretty Christmas presents I bought you."

"Shh," I whispered.

"Yeah," Avery smiled, as she smeared something onto my lips. "Ria tells me that she gave you some very lovely clothes for Christmas and you not only haven't worn them, but you haven't shared them with me. We are the same size, Jack. Maybe I would like to wear them."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll show you later. What did you put on my lips? It feels funny."

"It's a lip filler. It plumps them a little to smooth out the rough parts. I use it every morning and night. I'm putting it on now and then again in a few hours. It'll help a little, but I'll still need to put a few coats of lipstick on to smooth everything out when the time comes. Of course, we're not doing lipstick for hours, yet."

"HEY! THAT HURTS!" I shouted louder than I'd intended when Ria began plucking.

"Oh, my goodness, what a baby," she laughed. "I first had my brows plucked when I was eight. Nepalese women have very hairy brows."

Avery began icing the other brow and was also laughing at me when we heard Julia enter the room. "Should I even ask what is going on in here?"

Avery shook her head. "Not if you want an honest answer. Suffice it to say that I'm making your brother look like me for the evening."

"Well, yeah. Of course. That makes perfect sense," Julia said, as she poured a glass of Orange juice. "Just a normal Friday morning. Might I ask why?"

"Ahh." Avery shook her head. "See, there's the problem. He's being pretty quiet about that."

"Is he, now?" Julia looked around the kitchen. "Where's Chelsea?"

"She went to her friend Fran's house to work on project. Probably won't be home till midnight or so," Avery explained.

"So, she doesn't know anything about this?" my sister asked, a little surprised.

"No." Avery sounded a little concerned.

Julia looked down at me. "What's going on, Jack?"

"I'm sorry, Jules, but I can't tell you?" I said.

"What do you mean 'you can't tell me?' What's so bad that you can't tell me? Since when do we keep secrets from each other?"

"I'm really sorry, Jules. I really am."

She looked at Avery. "Do you know what's going on?"

Avery sighed. "I'll tell you what I know, which isn't much. So - you know that Ronny has dropped off the the face of the earth, right?"

"Yes, thank God," Julia said.

"Well, Jacky doesn't feel the same way we do. He wants to make sure that Ronny knows that Aunt Ann is in the hospital."

Julia slapped my leg really hard. "Geez, Jacky, why can't you just leave well enough alone? Why do you always have to do the right thing?"

"Yeah," I said, "sorry about that. From now on, I'll try to be a jerk like everyone else."

"That would be helpful," Julia said. "So... what does any of that have to do with looking like Avery?"

"Well, apparently," Avery went on, "Ronny has moved, changed jobs and no longer spends his nights at Monaghan's, but, somehow, Jack knows where he does hang out, but for some reason won't tell us. So, tonight, he's going there dressed as Avery, with Avery's ID and talking to cousin Ronny." Speaking about herself using her name that way seemed to make the whole thing seem weirder than it actually was.

"And why doesn't Avery just go talk to him?" Julia asked, continuing to use Avery's name in that odd way.

"Because Jack won't let her," both Avery and Ria said.

"And Avery is ok with this?" Julia asked, more than a little shocked.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, Avery is most assuredly NOT ok with this," Avery said. "That is why Avery will be outside said bar in the car."

"But..." The wheels were turning in my sister's head. "... how can you drive if Jack has your license?"

"I'm driving," Ria, said, then added, "This eyebrow is done."

"So, you're both going?" Julia asked.

"Yes," they both said, as they exchanged sides.

"Well, then I'm going, too," Julia announced.

"No, you aren't," I insisted.

"Shut up," she snapped at me. "I am. I don't know what the heck you are up to, but I am not going to be the only one left out of it."

"Guys," I said, pleading, "Ronny has really made some big changes and I promised to keep those changes a secret. If we all show up there and Ronny sees that..."

"Oh, look," Julia said, interrupting me, "there are some stray hairs on his nipples."

"I didn't shave my..." I started to say, but my sister grabbed a hold of my left nipple and twisted it with all her might so that all I could manage to say was, "OUCH!"

"I'm sorry," she said as she released me, "you were saying?"

"Alright, all three of you can come, but for crying out loud, don't park right in front of the club. Alright?"

"Alright," Avery smiled.

"I like that technique," Ria laughed. "I'll have to remember that in case we ever have an argument in the future."

"That really hurt, you know," I said to my sister.

"It worked, though didn't it?" she laughed.

"You wouldn't like it if I did it to you, would you?" I asked, trying to point out that she had been pretty violent in her method.

"No, Jack I would not, and I apologize for using such extreme methods - HOWEVER - I would like to point out that inside of those lacy, nylon panties that you're wearing, you do have an appendage that is probably much more sensitive than my nipple. So, should you ever decide to twist my nipple..."

The girls were all laughing at her threat.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said as I let the whole thing drop.

"Come here," Avery instructed Julia. "Hold this ice on his ear lobe while I go get a needle"

"GET A WHAT!?" I screamed as Julia moved into position.

"She's going to get a piercing needle. Relax. We bought a kit years ago. We've all done each other's ears. It doesn't hurt... much. The ice will numb you earlobes." she pulled her hair back to expose her ears. "Look. Mom took me to have my ears pierced when I was like ten years old. I got one hole put in at the mall. Now, I've got three in my lobe and a few around the top and side. Avery and Chelsea did those and I did theirs. It's no big deal. Honest."

"But... then they'll be a hole in my ears."

"Yeah, but it'll heal if you take the ring out. Of course, if you decide to keep it, then you can keep it."

"I think you should keep it," Ria said. "I like earrings. I think they'd look nice on you."

Now, why would that make my heart do flip flops in my chest? I don't know, but it did.

Avery came back with the piercing kit which, besides the needles, some alcohol pads and some corks to place behind the ear, came with a selection of studs.

"What do you think? Which studs should we use?" Avery asked.

For some bizarre reason, I could not see the selection, but the three girls all gathered around the box.

Ria looked at me and smiled. "Well, if it were up to me, I'd go with the little daisies, but since he's going to a club, maybe these would be best."

My sister and cousin agreed, and the holes were made, quite painlessly, actually, and the earrings were installed. I was forbidden from seeing them until my hair was done drying, though.

Soon, my eyebrows were done and I was allowed to sit upright. At that point, what little extra flab I had on my chest was gathered up and duct tape was applied beneath it to give me just a little bit of a hint of natural cleavage. Then the push-up bra I'd worn on Halloween was added and the girls went to work on my nails.

Luckily - and I'm using that word sarcastically - there were some at home -acrylic-nails in the house and those were attached to me, then filed and colored. You know, for The Black Swan, none of that was necessary, so my nails were just painted black and a clear polish was put on top of that.

When, at last, my nails were done, Avery checked my hair and pronounced it dry, too, but also made it clear that it was not coming out of the curlers, just yet.

"I'm taking it out of the bonnet and I'm going to give it a good spraying, alright. Then, we're going to have some lunch and relax for a bit before I do your makeup. After that, I'll brush it out and get you ready to go out. Are we clear?"

"Yes," I said.

Grateful to finally be able to stand again, I got up and flexed a little. "Is there a mirror?" I asked.

"There is," Ria laughed, "but trust me, baby, you do not want to see yourself right now. Curlers and red skin around your eyebrows is not an attractive look."

"That bathrobe doesn't help either," Julia laughed as she gave my butt a playful slap.

"Ohh, ohh, ohh," Ria suddenly thought of something. "This is the perfect time to wear the nightgown I gave you for Christmas!"

Avery laughed and Julia's jaw dropped.

"You gave him a nightgown for Christmas?" my sister asked.

"Yeah," Avery said through guffaws, "and apparently two dresses."

"Where is it?" Ria asked excitedly.

There was no point in being coy about it, now. "In white boxes at the bottom of my closet."

She practically sprinted down the hallway and was back seconds later with all three boxes. She pulled the Buffalo plaid granny gown out of the box to the laughter and applause of the others.

"Oh, that's just adorable!" Avery laughed.

"Jacky, why haven't you been wearing that?" Julia laughed. "It looks so warm!"

"Yeah, very funny!" I said. "Imagine the ribbing that all of you would give me if I walked out of the bed room in that."

"Oh, don't be a baby," Avery teased, still laughing. "Put it on. It'll be more comfortable."

I did and to tell you the truth, it was.

It was just like a really, really, really soft flannel shirt that went all the way to my knees. And it was so nice and warm! I've heard girls refer to their clothes as 'snuggly' and always thought it was such a silly thing to say, but this was snuggly - honest to goodness, that's the first thing that came to mind.

"Do you like it?" Ria asked me once I was wearing it.

"It's really comfortable, Ria. Thank you, but you do understand why I can't wear it around the house, don't you?"

"I do, but I think it's silly." She shook her head.

"Oh, this is cute!" I heard Avery say. I turned and I saw her looking at the sweater/overall-dress combination. "Jacky this is adorable!"

"Isn't it?" Ria agreed. "I'm dying to take him out in that."

"You're crazy, Jack," Julia shook her head, as she moved towards the last box. "You enjoy cross dressing and you have a girlfriend who wants to dress you up and you are too much of a coward to... oh my God, look at this dress."

"Holy Moses!" Avery gasped looking at the navy blue, 1961 classic dress that Ria had purchased for me from a retro fashion shop in the city. "Jack, if you're not going to wear this, please, please, please let me. This is just beautiful."

"He's wearing it when we go to Boston to see the show." Ria smiled.

"You are?" Both Julia and Avery asked simultaneously.

"Maybe," I said.

"Oh, you are," Ria said, with a whisked smile. "If you're willing to do all of this for your cousin, you can wear that beautiful dress that I gave you for me. End of story." she looked at Avery. "After that, I'll be happy if he shares his pretty dress with you."

Suddenly, Avery was pulling my nightgown over my head. "Come on, Jack. Try it on. I have to know what it looks like on me."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously! Jack, I have been a bridesmaid in two weddings and gone to three proms and I've never worn a dress this beautiful. I want to see what it looks like on me. Now, I've worked hard on you today, PUT THAT GODDAMNED DRESS ON!"

She was only teasing, of course, but she was excited, in truth, I wanted to try it on, too.

"There are pumps in there, too," Ria said. "He'll need stockings."

"Oh, Avery, look at theses!" Julia held up a pair of navy blue pumps with three inch, very narrow, but not quite spike, heels, shallow sides then the part that covered the toes, the part that I NOW know is called the toe box, was swallow, so that it would barely cover the wearer's toes, and they came to a drastic point.

Avery gasped at the classic beauty of the shoes, ran to Ria, grabbed her, kissed her full on the mouth and said, "Break up with him and marry me!" Then ran down the corridor to her room.

Ria looked at me and laughed, then Avery appeared moments later with a pair of pantyhose that had a dark black tint to them. "Here. You can wear these with your outfit tonight, too."

I bunched the first leg as I'd been taught and started it, then the second and eased the pantyhose up my legs.

The dress came with a petticoat. It was a slightly less dark shade of blue. It wasn't insanely wide, like the petticoats of the nineteen fifties, but it had a flare to it. I put that on, then Avery and Ria lowered the dress over my curler-covered head.

It really was a work of art. A kind of under dress with thin layers of chiffon over it and these lovely silvery decorations embroidered here and there on the shoulders. It was high waisted and, due to the petticoat, flared dramatically.

The neckline was very modest, as was the style of the time, and the sleeves puffed high before floating loosely down to very delicate, long cuffs that had six little, fussy, silver buttons.

"The shoes," Avery said, excited. "Put the shoes on."

Julia held my arms to steady me while Ria put the shoes on my feet.

When they were done, I looked at Avery who was standing with her hand over her mouth and shaking her head.

"What do you think?" Ria asked.

"I think lunch is going to have to wait," Avery said. "We're going to have to do his hair and makeup, now. I want pictures of me in my new dress."

"Oh, come on," I whined, "I haven't even had breakfast."

"Too bad, tough guy," my cousin said. "You're the one who wanted to get all prettied up. The ball's in motion, now. Go sit down, and be careful not to wrinkle my dress, young lady!"

Then she turned to Ria and said, "I'm dead serious about what I said before. If you ever want to break up with him, I'm available. I mean, I'm not usually into girls, but I'm definitely into dresses like that."

Ria laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

The makeup went quickly, although I'm not a big fan of fake eyelashes. You do get used to them, but they just are just a bit bothersome to me.

The hair was a lot of hard work for me, though.

You may recall that Avery said she was going to spray it. Well, she must have used a half a can of spray on it before she started on my makeup. So when she pulled out the curlers and started running a brush through it, it felt as if she was trying to run the brush through a solid block of glue. And of course, when I complained, I was ridiculed for being a baby.

Eventually, the hairspray did relinquish its hold, yet maintain its body, which was Avery's goal, and after about forty five minutes of fussing, cussing, swearing and some touch up with a curling iron, she was satisfied with the results. She did, however, change the studs that were in my ears before allowing me to stand up.

Before allowing me to see myself in a mirror, she ran down to her room and did a quick makeup job on herself, putting on the dress and shoes that I'd be wearing that evening.

When she returned to the kitchen, she dragged me into the living room and had me stand in front of the TV, where every Easter, Christmas and prom picture had been taken since we were babies and she had Julia take a picture of the two of us side by side.

She took the phone from Julia and showed me the picture. "Look, Jacky. We're the twins now."

It was the truth, too. Julia and I were biological twins, and we looked as if we were related, but Avery had made us look absolutely identical - except her dress looked lovely and my dress looked extraordinary.

"Don't we look nice?"

We certainly did. My hair and makeup was done with a bit more care, and of course... my dress was much nicer. My mother and her sisters loved old movies and TV shows and since we'd only had one TV until a few years ago, I had seen lots of period shows and movies growing up. No one was ever going to mistake me for Marilyn Monroe or Mary Tyler Moore, but my slight build lent me towards the Audrey Hepburn style of the early sixties and that's exactly what this dress had been styled for.

"Come on, Jack, say something," Avery laughed.

"Oh... ahh, yes, we look pretty," I said. "Very pretty."

"Do you like the dress?" Ria asked.

"I think he's a little overwhelmed by the dress, actually." Julia smiled. "Aren't you, Jacky?"

"Umm... yeah..." I sputtered. "I guess that's a good way to put it. I'm kind of... overwhelmed. It is very beautiful."

"And you look beautiful in it, Jack," Ria said, kissing my cheek. "So do you, Avery," she said with a smile.

"And look,"Avery said, making the picture larger near my face, "you're wearing my amethyst studs. Don't they looks great with that dress? You can wear them to Boston."

"If I wear the dress to Boston," I insisted.

"You'll be wearing the dress to Boston," Avery said with authority.

"You do look awfully nice in it," Julia said, quietly. "Does it feel nice to wear?"

"It feels amazing," I answered, just as quietly.

She smiled, then said quietly, so only I could hear. "So, you like it, you look great in it, it makes Ria happy and no one will know you there. What's the problem?"

I shrugged. "Well, there's mom, of course, and... I need to think about it. I guess I'm just not ready to say yes just yet."

She laughed. "I get it. Manly pride and all that."

Then I laughed. "Do I look like I have any manly pride?"

"Ok, I need a picture of me in my dress all by myself," Avery said. "Jack, move over by the curtains. That's it. Perfect. Smile. Great."

"You're not going to post that anywhere, are you?" I asked.

She snickered. "Where could I post it? If my mother saw it, I'd have to explain where the dress came from. What would I say? 'Oh, that's actually Jack's dress.' We'd both have a lot to answer for, then. I just want to have a picture so I can remember how beautiful it is. I'll figure out an occasion I can wear it to later. But, believe me, I will figure out an occasion."

"Ok, well, since the ball isn't tonight, maybe we should get Cinderella out of her gown," Ria suggested.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Besides, I'm really hungry."

"Ok," Julia said, "you two get him undressed and I'll make some chicken and rice soup."

About ten minutes later, I was back in my Buffalo plaid nightgown and happily slurping Campbell's chicken and rice soup with oyster crackers from a soup mug with my name on it and feeling much better.

At seven thirty, some repair work was done on my makeup, mostly my lipstick, and I put on the dress that Avery had worn earlier. It was a pretty, medium-gray and red, long sleeved sheath that fit loosely so as not to give away my feminine short comings. It was pretty, but certainly a bit disappointing after the dress I'd worn that afternoon.

Being January in Massachusetts, I needed a coat, so I borrowed one from Avery. It was nice, too. A loose fitting, wool coat that looked almost childish, but cute as heck, too.

Ria borrowed some clothes from Julia and out we all headed at eight o'clock.

When we reached, The Right Place, I was once again reminded that I was not to drink any alcohol and I was to return to the car as soon as possible.

"Can I ask a question?" Julia asked before I exited the car.

"What?" I asked.

"Well... I'm just wondering why we're at a gay bar to find Ronny?"

Avery looked at Julia, then at me. "Really? Is Ronny gay?"

I looked at Julia. "Who told you this is a gay bar?"

"Nobody, but... there's this guy I work with and he's gay and into cross dressing and when he dresses, this is where he goes. He always talks about how cool this place is. That's all."

"Maybe they're just open minded," I suggested with a shrug.

"Jacky," Avery looked at me, askance, "I don't think I'd ever describe Ronny as 'open minded.' Has he been staying away from us because he's afraid to come out to us?"

"Honestly, I don't know anything about that," I said, and I was telling the truth. I didn't have a clue about Ronny's sexuality. "I just know Ronny hangs out here. I'd better get in there."

"Be careful," Julia warned.

"No drinking!" Avery said once more.

"Call if you need us," Ria said as I closed the door and my heels clicked on the asphalt as I crossed the street.

"ID, please," the man at the door said when I got there.

I reached into Avery's purse and pulled out her wallet, then produced her license. The man looked at it and smiled. "Thanks, Miss. Have a good night." Then I entered a bar for the first time, ever.

It was a little early, but there were plenty of people in the bar. A little uncertain of the procedures, I found seat at the back of the horseshoe shaped bar that allowed me to see the majority of the establishment and I ordered a Sprite with a lime. I couldn't believe the five dollar cost for a few ounces of soda, but paid it and then waited and looked around.

It took a while, but as I ordered my third Sprite, I noticed that the woman ordering a drink across the bar from me was the woman who had accosted me outside the bar the night I'd given Ronny money. I sat and watched as she got her drink, then watched to see where she went to sit back down. Sure enough, Ronny was sitting at that table with her.

Ok, Ronny was there. What to do now?

I decided to take a cue from Ronny's play book. I called the bartender over. "Excuse me. See that woman over there in the corner with the green jacket on?"

The bartender scanned the crowd for a moment, then spotted who I meant. "Oh, Ronny?"

I laughed. "Yes, Ronny. Do you know what she's drinking?"

He shrugged. "Typically, Coors Light."

Well, not everything had changed. I opened Avery's purse and pulled out her wallet, which contained MY money, by the way. "Can I send a Coors Light over to Ronny?"

He smiled. "Sure. Do you want her to know it's from you?"

'Oh, absolutely." I smiled.

The bartender raised his eyebrows as he took the money. "No offense, honey, but I think you're a little younger, and a little girlier, than most of Ronny's hookups."

"We'll see," I said, with my biggest smile.

He pulled out a bottle of the beer and called over a waitress. He explained the situation, indicated me, then Ronny and put the bottle on the waitress' tray. The waitress smiled at me and headed towards Ronny.

Just then someone sat next to me. "Hi," he said to me.

I looked to my left and realized that the newcomer was talking to me. "Oh, hi," I smiled at him, a bit surprised by his friendliness.

"I'm Cameron," he said, extending a hand.

"Avery," I said, shaking his hand, but focusing on the waitress.

The waitress put the beer in front of Ronny and pointed at me. I saw Ronny smiling and looking in my direction, trying to see who had sent the beer. I waved, but she looked past me several times before spotting me, but when she did see me, her smile disappeared and her face grew just a little angry. I saw her say something to her friends then stand and head in my direction.

"Avery?" Cameron asked.

"Hmm? What?" I asked. I'd actually forgotten he was there.

"I asked you if you'd like to join me at my table."

"Oh, umm, no, thank you. You see, I'm actually here to meet..."

"Forget it, Cam," Ronny said as she arrived. "This is my cousin, Avery. She's a cis-woman. Nothing here of interest to you, I'm afraid."

"Oh, what a shame," Cameron said, standing up. "I thought we were in for a hell of a weekend together, Avery." He smiled and went his own way.

"Alright, Avery. Let's go." Ronny said, taking my arm rather roughly.

"No, I'm not leaving, Ronny..."

She got very close to my ear and spoke very tersely, "Avery, I'm not kidding. Look, you've seem 'Ronny The Freak Show,' it's time to go, alright? I'm going to kill that goddamned Jack. Get your coat."

"Ronny, I'm not..."

"NOW, AVERY," Ronny said, louder, I think, than she'd intended.

"Is there a problem here?" A bouncer, well, I assume he was a bouncer, he was more of a mountain of human flesh than any man I'd ever seen before, was suddenly right next to me. "Is this person bothering you, Ron?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, she is, Ken. This is my cousin, Avery. She is a straight woman. She's her to ridicule me and I'd like you to remove her."

"Alright, Miss, come with me," the mountain said, moving me towards the door.

"NO, WAIT!" I called, without trying to make a scene. "RONNY, IM NOT AVERY, IT'S ME - JACK. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT."

Ronny was turning to walk away, but stopped. "Jack? Really?"

"Yeah, Ronny. I'm Jack. I swear. We talked outside of this place a few months ago, remember?"

Ronny looked confused for a moment, then held up his hand for the mountain to stop moving me towards the door. "What's so important?"

I looked at the human mountain and hoped he'd leave, but he didn't. "It's your mom. She fell on the ice the other day. She got really badly hurt. She's in the hospital."

Ronny went pale and just stunned for a moment.

The mountain was growing impatient. "What do you want me to do, Ronny."

"Let her go, Ken. She's my cousin. She's with me."

Ken walked away and I could see that Ronny was pretty conflicted about what to do, so I put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey. You ok?"

"I don't know, Jack. This is... unexpected. Ummm... get your coat and purse and come with me. We'll find someplace to talk."

We stopped by Ronny's table where I was surprised to be introduced as her cousin. Then she led me to a booth where a couple was sitting. Ronny spoke to the two women, who seemed to know her, and explained the situation and asked if we could sit there for a few minutes to talk. The women were very gracious and actually joined Ronny's friends while we spoke.

Once we were seated, I explained the situation, what had happened, how we found his mother, what had already been done for her and what we expected to be done in the next few days and I waited for Ronny's response.

"So, you went with her to the hospital and stayed with her. You told them you were her son?"

"Yeah," I said.

Ronny sniffled a little. "Jack... that means a lot to me. I can't thank you enough for taking care of her like that."

"It's ok, Ronny. She's my aunt. Why wouldn't I?"

Ronny just seemed to be thinking for a long long time, so eventually I asked a question. "So... are you going to go to the hospital, then?"

When Ronny looked at me, I saw devastation on her face. "How can I, Jack? Look at me? I'm not her son. This would kill her."

"Ronny, come on, she needs you."

"I know, but..." She grabbed her breasts. "Jack... these aren't fake. These are real. I had these implanted. These are 'D' cup breasts. I can't hide them. I've had work done on my face, too. She'd see that. Christ Almighty, Jack, it'd be easier to tell her I'm dead than to tell her that I'm a trans-woman. She won't understand that! Neither will your mother or Aunt Mary."

I shrugged. "Maybe they will, Ron. I don't know. Maybe we should at least give them a chance to disappoint us before we write them off, don't you think?"

He shook his head. "What did the girls say when you told them?"

"I didn't."

She squinted at me, trying to figure that out. "Avery knows, though."

I shook my head.

"Then... how did you pull this off?"

"Ronny," I reached across and took her hand, "what you never seemed to understand is that we are a family. I love my sister, and I love my cousins like sisters, and that includes you. Now, granted, you make it a lot harder than Avery and Chelsea do, but I still love you. See, that's why I'm here. Now, I think that, deep down, the girls love you, too, but you've made it pretty tough on them to do that. Regardless, though, they do love me, and they love your mother. So, when I asked Avery to help me to help your mother, she said yes."

"She dressed you like her and she gave you her ID so you could get in here?"

"She did."

"No questions asked?"

"Lots of questions asked, but very few answered. Actually, she didn't entirely trust me with her ID. Julia and Avery and my girlfriend, Ria - you met her at The Flying Rhino that night - are outside in the car. But I swear, Ronny, they don't know any more about you than this is where you hang out, now."

She nodded. "So your mom and Aunt Mary are at the hospital?"

"Yep."

"All night?"

"Yep."

"And Chelsea?"

I looked at my watch. "She should be home in an hour or so."

Ronny took in a deep breath and then let it out in a long, slow exhale as if she had a straw in her mouth. "Alright, alright, alright," she muttered as if she was making up her own mind, more than speaking to me. Then she looked at me. "Jack... I gotta tell ya... I am really not ready for this, but I can't see any way out of it. I'm going to need your help to get through it, though."

"Why do you think I'm here, Ronny?" I stood up and opened my arms. Ronny stood and wrapped her arms around me, too. I could feel her shaking.

"I don't have a car. Can I ride home with you?" she asked

"Yeah, of course. What about clothes?"

"I'll deal with that in the morning. Right now I think I'd better talk to you and the girls before I chicken out." I let her go and she had tears in her eyes. "Jack... I don't know..."

I took her hand. "Let's just say goodbye to your friends and hello to your family for now, ok?"

"Ok."

While Ronny explained to her friends and made arrangements to come pick up clothes the next day, I sent a text to the car. 'RONNY'S COMING HOME WITH US. BE COOL ABOUT EVERYTHING'

Julia sent a text back. 'BE COOL ABOUT WHAT? IS HE DRUNK?'

I text back, 'NOT AT ALL. JUST BE COOL. I'M SERIOUS.'

One of Ronny's friends said to me, "Ronny says you don't dress a lot?"

"I haven't, no."

"You should, sweetie. You're hot. You could get a guy in a heartbeat."

I smiled and I pulled on Avery's wool coat. "Thanks. I have a girlfriend."

"No shit!?" she said in a cartoonishly shocked voice. "Does she like you like this."

I rolled my eyes. "As a matter of fact, for Christmas, she gave me two dresses. I never had the courage to wear them until today."

"Oh, she's a keeper, girl," she said, slapping my arm. "Did she give you this coat, cause I LOVE this?"

"No, this is my cousins."

"Your cousin loans you clothes, too? Oh, you live a charmed life, girl! A charmed life!" Then she shocked me by kissing my cheek. "Come back and see us, again."

When we got to the car, I opened the front, passenger door, where I had been sitting, and I let Ronny sit there. She sat in the seat and turned to everyone and said a very quiet 'hi' to everyone, but the only one who replied was Ria.

I sat behind her in the back seat, beside Julia, with Avery on the other side. "Avery. Julia. Say hello to Ronny."

They just stared for a moment before finally Avery said, "Hi, Ronny. So... What'cha been up to lately?"
 
 
To Be Continued...