Chapter 8

The following morning, Willow told her father about Brent going to buy the drums and that the account will be emailed.

“You can pay for them out of my account, Dad, and transfer a thousand to the debit card account I use. When Maisie takes Gina and me into Coventry, I’d like to take them to a decent lunch. The way that Maisie has pitched in with everything is amazing.”

“That’s all right. I’ll do that tonight. Just make sure that you’re not Miss Moneybags. You may need that nest egg later on.”

With his sandwich in his briefcase, he drove Willow to the clinic at Gaydon, then went on to work. Willow presented herself at the reception and was sent to a waiting room. She had enough time to look through a couple of old magazines before she was called in. She was instructed to strip completely and put on the paper gown. Over the course of an hour, she was prodded and probed, had the solvent treatment on the glues and was in her original state, minus some fluids, to be looked over by the doctor.

“How are you doing, Willow?”

“Really good, Doctor. School is good and I’m making music. Me and my bestie share the organ duties at the church now, and we’re now doing regular sing-alongs and dances in the club. Our last show, on Saturday night, had us as a quartet for the first time.”

“What about yesterday, I thought that I saw you in some event that the news had filmed.”

“Yes. I was at the church when a cheque was handed over for the Roof Fund. The Bishop was there as well.”

“From what the reporter said, the cheque was all down to a teenage organ player who overdubbed the church organ onto a global hit.”

“Well, that too.”

“How many videos are you in, now?”

“Two on the school website, plus another currently in production. Then there’s a BBC DVD coming out with the concert in the Cathedral. We go into a studio on Thursday, to record an album of Carpenters songs.”

“I liked them. They were non-confrontational. It’s good to see that those scars are fading, a bit of foundation should allow you to wear a backless dress in a year or so. Now tell me, are you having any pain passing water?”

“Actually, except for feeling pressure in the bladder, I feel very little. It’s a good job I sit to pee.”

The doctor pulled up a couple of the scans from the previous time.

“There was a very slight shadow around the base of the penis, last time. I’m sending you up for another scan. When are you being picked up?”

“Dad will be here at his lunch period. He has time to take me home and come back to work.”

She was taken to radiology on a trolley and was carefully scanned and the put in the MRI machine again. Redressed and back down with the doctor, an hour later, she was allowed to sit on a chair while the doctor looked at the computer. She had ordered urgent processing, and her fears were proved right.

“Willow. How soon do you want sexual reassignment?”

“As soon as possible, doctor. As part of my involvement with that hit single, I’ve earned enough to pay extra for private, if needed.”

“I should wait for your father, but I’ll tell you what I think has happened. When you were kicked, it did more than close off the tubes to your testicles. Over the years, the area around the base of the penis has started to discolour. If we do nothing, it will turn gangrenous and that’s not good at all. We need to operate within a couple of months. It will be as close to a sexual reassignment operation as we can make it, taking out the bad cells and rerouting the urinary tract. Is there a time within that limit that’s good for you?”

“The term ends at the end of March, and I have two weeks holiday. I have an appointment to play at a wedding on the weekend before Easter. How long will it take to heal?”

“You should be up and around inside a week, considering that the testicles no longer exist. Stiches will come out around ten days later. I think that you would be all right to play the organ, but no dancing. I’ll book you in for the Monday morning of the holiday. I’ll run it by your father, and we can work out any extra costs, but, being needed to save you from the chance of life-threatening problem, it will be on the National Health.”

“I think that there is only a week that we’re back at school, and then we have the Easter break, so there will only be four days at school. I can manage that, and Gina can take my place at the organ if it’s needed.”

“Head down to the café for a while. I’ll leave a message with reception to send your father here. When I see him, I’ll phone the café to send you up. If it takes too long, I can authorise a taxi to take you home. The thing is; if you have any unusual pain or notice anything in your urine, call me immediately.”

Willow thanked her and went down to the café, where she had an early lunch of pasta and salad, followed by cake and ice cream. She was drinking a cup of coffee when the girl who tidied the tables came over and told her to go up to her doctor’s office.

When she arrived, the assistant told her to go straight in. Her father stood and hugged her closely, tears in his eyes.

“Don’t cry, Dad, this only brings everything forward a few years. It will make it harder for anyone to out me.”

“It’s just a shock, honey. You’ve been so alive in the last six months. I had this sudden fear that if we didn’t do anything, we might lose you.”

The doctor had some pictures on her screen now.

“This is the picture that shows the problem best, Willow. You can see the darker parts, which were just a shadow six months ago. I’ve spoken to the office, and we can fit you in on that first Monday of your holidays. Now, we didn’t reglue you, so will just put a plaster over your groin with a gap to pee through. It’s the same as you had after the first operation. What I can’t guarantee, at this point, is whether you’ll be able to feel any sensations in what we create. You will have to dilate regularly, and when you do that, you’ll be able to report what you feel. We won’t reattach the breasts either. You have enough growth to buy bras with an uplift and look close to what they were.”

“Thank you, doctor. I’ll see you in a month.”

“You look after yourself, Willow, and slow down. If you go next door, the nurse will apply the cover, while I talk to your father a bit more. If he wants to go back to work, I’ll order the taxi.”

Ashley and Willow were in the café when a taxi driver came in and called out ‘Taxi for Rose’. She hugged her father and followed the driver to the foyer. The trip home was interesting, with the taxi being an electric one. When she got home, she went in and played her organ with the volume up, playing along to Deep Purple, her old go-to soundtrack when she was feeling vulnerable and scared.

When she had settled down again, she started writing a new song, one of looking into the unknown and with the concept that the unknown could be fatal. When she had recorded the vocal and an organ track, she saved it for later, when she was convalescing.

By the time her parents arrived home, she was in a better frame of mind than they were, once Wendy had been told the outcome of the visit to the clinic. It was an evening of discussion, and plans. There were many hugging sessions before she went to bed.

Tuesday morning, after her parents went to work, she waited for Maisie to pick her up. She was looking forward to the day and was prepared to make sure they enjoyed themselves after seeing the bishop. The trip in was a welcome return to normality. Willow told the others that she wanted to go shopping for new bras, and the others wanted to look for material for an order for wedding dresses.

At the Cathedral, they had to wait a while to see the Bishop. Willow looked at the big artwork behind the altar and wondered if life was ordained to be a series of problems to be endured. When they went to see the Bishop, he was very cheery.

“Good morning, ladies. I suppose that you’re wondering why I needed to see you here, rather than talk to you on the weekend. The thing is, I have a problem. My organist has a family problem with his son in Germany. The lad went over there to learn new building techniques. He fell off a scaffold and is in hospital. Can you girls help out?”

Willow looked at Gina, who asked the question.

“What days, and how long, sir?”

“It will be this Sunday, both the morning service and Evensong, which Willow has already had experience with. Then Sundays next month. He has told me that he should be back for the Easter services. You girls will probably have a lot to do at St. Marys during that weekend. If he goes back to Germany after Easter, we may need you for a few more weeks.”

Willow could see Gina smiling.

“If Gina’s mother doesn’t mind bringing her in, mine will be able to bring me, sir. You were at the meeting on Sunday; is there any payment with this, seeing that the organist is a salaried employee of the Cathedral?”

The Bishop smiled.

“Can’t get anything over you, young lady. You’re right. What I’m asking is beyond what I would ask of a volunteer. There will be a payment, so I’ll have to sort that out with your manager. I have his number. Now, do you think that you can do it?”

“I can do it this Sunday, sir. Gina is at Stoneleigh this week. If we can have a little while with the organ, today, I’m sure I can give her enough information to be good for the week after, when I’m at Stoneleigh.”

“What about you, Gina?”

“If I can get some time on the organ, sir, I think that there won’t be a lot of difference that would be heard by your congregation. I’ve learned a lot from watching Willow play, and my time at St. Marys has given me an appreciation of how church music should be played.”

“Excellent. Are you in agreement, Mrs. Summer?”

“If I can sit in the Cathedral and hear my daughter on the organ, Bishop, I would carry her over hot coals.”

“I don’t think that would be necessary, Mrs Summer. See my Dean and he’ll give you the times and the hymn numbers for this week. The Evensong hasn’t been finalised yet so give him your emails and he will keep you both up to date in the days before the services. Thank you for helping me out. There are several other organists that I could have called on, but there are none who carry the same reputation as you two among the church community.”

The Dean was waiting for them when they left the office, and he took down all the details to contact them. Willow had Peter’s card in her bag, and he took those details to organise the payments. Then Maisie sat in the pews as Willow took Gina up to the organ, showed her how to turn it on and off, and pointed out the stops that were different to the one in the church. There were some sheets on the music holder, one a normal hymn, and another one that was an Evensong tune.

“Look, Gina. I’m not here to tell you how to suck eggs. Play some Bach to get warmed up and then have a go at these pieces. I’m going to go and sit with your mother.”

Gina stood and hugged Willow.

“Thank you, friend. This is such a privilege and an honour. I’ll turn it off when I’ve finished.”

“Then I’m taking you two for lunch before we go shopping.”

Willow went down to sit next to Maisie while Gina played the usual welcoming music. She saw that Maisie had tears in her eyes.

“Something wrong, Maisie?”

“Nothing wrong, Willow. Just that I’m sitting here, in Coventry Cathedral, listening to my daughter on the organ. I have to thank you for being the pathway that brings us here. I don’t have any idea what Gina would have done without you to give her a lift up.”

“It’s me that has to thank you for allowing me into your lives. I’ve told Gina that I’m taking you for lunch after this. Is there anywhere that you would like to go to? My treat, from the payment I’ve received from the Hikers album sales. After that, we go shopping. Excuse me for a moment, I need to let my mother know about the arrangements.”

She went outside and rang her mother at work.

“Hi Mum, I’m calling to let you know about something we’ve just discussed with the Bishop. He wants the two of us to alternate at the Cathedral on Sundays for a while. His usual organist has a problem in his family.”

“All right, dear. What’s the plan?”

“Gina is in the church this Sunday, and I’ll be needed here for the service and Evensong, like we did last time. I expect that there’ll be no lunch thrown in, so we can go into the city for a couple of hours. We then alternate until the organist comes back. He has promised to be back for Easter, anyway. After that, we just have to see.”

“What about you and your operation?”

“If I’m not available, then Gina will have to sit in, and the Reverend can lead the singing without an organ. He did it for five years, so it may be a shock, but nothing new. The fact that both of us will be here, in the Cathedral, for a few weeks, will make him feel good, anyway.”

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m taking the other two to lunch, and then I need to shop for new bras to suit my budding boobs. I’ll arrange to meet up with them after they’ve been to the haberdashers.”

“Tell Maisie to drop you off at my work. I’ll take you home. If you get any more posters, I’ll get my friends to laminate them for you. I think that my boss wants to talk to you about the show on Friday. I saw him there, but we didn’t have a chance to speak.”

“All right. I’ll see you later.”

She went back to sit by Maisie as Gina let loose with the Evensong piece. Willow could hear a new Gina, a girl who had climbed the mountain of organ works and was now sitting at the summit, looking at the view and singing. She leaned towards Maisie.

“Your daughter has just discovered how good she really is.”

“I know. It gladdens my heart to hear her now. She is really telling that organ what she wants, and it’s following her orders. There’s no way that she will be consigned to be a seamstress now. That money I spent on that Yamaha has been repaid several times over.”

They sat, with Willow looping her arm through Maisie’s, until Gina decided that she had done enough. When she came down, her mother held her for a while, and then let Willow give her friend a hug. Maisie drove them to a nice restaurant, and they had a good meal, with Gina almost hyper, only calming down by the time they got to the ice cream.

“Welcome back to Planet Earth, friend.”

“Have I been that bad? It was such an uplifting experience. It was if there was someone beside me telling me that I could do it, and I did!”

“We heard it, friend. That was a great performance. There’s no problems for you when you come in. The only thing that the two of you need to think about is what you’re going to do between the service and Evensong. I rang my mother, and she wants you to drop me off at her work on the way home.”

They arranged to meet at the café in the shopping centre, and Willow was dropped off there. She went to one of the better lingerie shops and walked in. When a girl asked her if she could help, Willow was happy to tell her that she’d been using enhancers but had now developed enough to go for new bra and panty sets to suit her new breasts. She was in the shop for a good two hours, being measured and trying on different styles.

When she left the shop, she had bags with her new sets, her old set and the enhancers. She was wearing a new set of uplift bra and padded pants. The assistant had seen her groin covering and was told that there were stitches that needed to come out later. This was a new Willow, one who was embracing life, having realised that life can be fleeting. She had also spent some money on slips and nighties, more expensive than anything she had in her drawers.

She went to the shop where she had bought posters and got a lovely one of Karen Carpenter looking happy. It was, to Willow, yet another reminder that life is only as long as it lasted, and to make the most of it. She sat in the café, having a cake and coffee, to wait for the others. She had her notebook, and some lyrics came into her mind about shopping for the good things in life. When the others joined her, they had drinks of their own, and then they went down to the car.

When Willow went into the factory reception, the girl had a brilliant smile on her face when she saw who had come in.

“Willow Rose, you are my absolute hero! We went to that school show on Friday, and it was a blast! My parents were on top of the world, excuse the pun, and I was able to dance with my boyfriend holding me close. It was lovely. I’ve also downloaded that album that you played on. Go on through, your mother’s expecting you. Leave your bags with me if you want.”

Willow went through to where her mother worked, to be hugged.

“Well, my darling. You’ve helped Gina up another rung. How did she go?”

“She reached the top, Mum, and then took off into the sky. It was amazing. I sat with Maisie and we both had tears in our eyes to listen to how she played. The spots will be paid, and I left them the details to talk to Peter.”

“Even better. How are you after yesterday?”

“Really good. I bought a poster of Karen Carpenter looking good. It will remind me to enjoy life and stop trying to help others so much. It’s in my bag in reception.”

“Run back and get it. I’ll get the laminator warmed up.”

Willow went and got the poster, and Wendy laminated it for her. The guys were talking to them when the boss came in. He took the two of them into his office.

“Willow. I was at the show on Friday evening. I had expected to be listening to the normal school event. I didn’t expect the show that we saw. My daughter had only come along to hear you sing but spent the night dancing. Now, as you know, we produce brochures for various companies, as well as stocking some of the imported lines for them. I have a customer who puts out a brochure with fashion, and I mentioned that I knew you. She’s keen to have you model for her, with teen outfits. My daughter has done it for her and will be now in the younger woman pages. Do you think that you could see her?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t harm, sir. I won’t be able to be in the Spring pages but should be ready for the Summer brochure. We’re recording the Carpenters set on Thursday, to be put out as an album, and will be pretty busy for a few months. This morning, Gina and I were asked to alternate at the Cathedral on Sundays for a few weeks, and we do have a big performance there in May with the orchestra.”

“My, you are one busy teenager! I’ll give you her card, and you can make your own mind up. She does pay well.”

“That will make my manager happy.”

He grinned.

“I had to expect that; you Rose women are level-headed and prepare for things. You’re just like your mother, who I am very happy to have employed.”

They took the card, left his office, and Willow sat, watching her mother working on the computer.

“Mum, do you have that program at home?”

“I do, love. It’s knowing my way round it that got me the job.”

“It wouldn’t be a big call for you to design our album cover, would it?”

“Do you want something around pictures of the band, or something more creative?”

“The pictures can go inside; perhaps something based on the first song, which will be ‘Close to You.’ I can see cartoonish depictions of the band members as two couples with birds above them on tree limbs. Perhaps with the girls holding bunches of roses.”

“Now, that’s really good. I can see it already. You must have some of my genes in you.”

They left the warehouse when Wendy knocked off, and drove home, with Wendy thinking about the album cover.

“Are there any other covers that you’re thinking of?”

“It depends on whether we bring in the rest of the band. Not the dance band, but the guys that I did the Moody Blues set with. We could do a cover version with that set, but I’m thinking of the set we rehearsed but didn’t play at the school, with the urgency of putting on the two Blue groups show. We covered a complete album from a band called Kansas. Gina joked that we could have a picture of me in red shoes and call it, ‘This Ain’t Kansas’.”

“But you have another idea?”

“Just an extension of the original. If we have the drawn picture of the two of us, on the yellow brick road, looking around, we could call it, ‘This can’t be Kansas’. It sounds better as far as literacy goes. Because we haven’t done it for the school, it could be an out of hours project for the other band members to give them some income.”

“How many are there?”

“Well, there’s Herb, Victor, and Roy. They’re all guitarists. Brent was the drummer and he’s already signed on. Then there was me and Gina on keyboards. If we add Jacob to the line-up, there’s a killer track called ‘Dust in the Wind’ which will sound good with his Fender. Alec was the singer, but I doubt that he would be allowed to be part of it. Jacob can do most of the singing. So that will be seven of us.”

“I remember that song. It was in the charts when I was younger. Isn’t it a bit dark?”

“Not in context with the rest of the album, which ends with everyone on earth dead and an alien visitor singing that ‘nobody’s home’. It would be an interesting flip side to the smooth Carpenters. If Peter is able to get the masters of the Moodie’s and Purple concerts, it would show a huge range of material. Perhaps Peter will be able to sign the G-Force up and get them out there, digitally.”

“Wouldn’t that go against the Head?”

“She doesn’t want them touring, so a digital footprint will give them some exposure, maybe a bit of money, and a foundation to go on stage later. From what I’ve seen, the local pop shows are a thing of the past, with venue hire and insurance cutting into the profits.”

When they arrived home, Willow took the enhancers out of the bag.

“Here Mum, do you want to hide these away?”

“Did you get new ones when you were shopping.”

“No, Mum. The clinic didn’t put them back, and I wore them loose today. What you see is all me with a push-up bra. I bought several sets today.”

Wendy hugged her daughter.

“My, my. Whatever happened to my child who didn’t want to even go into a dress shop when they were young?”

“She grew up to be a teenager, Mum. The girl in the shop was very helpful and told me that she had served a lot of girls like me. You know, flat chested until puberty but ashamed of it.”

She went to her room and put everything away after snipping the tags. Her previous bras were put aside for when she had boobs big enough to fill them naturally. She spent the evening, after dinner, writing lyrics about a girl shopping for bras without her mother pointing to the wrong things.

Marianne Gregory © 2025