Chapter 5

“Are you all right, Mum?”

“More than all right, by precious daughter. When you were playing, it reminded me of my wedding day. Where did you learn to play one of those organs?”

“Right here, right now, Mum. Basically, it’s just a more complicated version of what I played last night, but the music is a lot simpler, which allowed me to learn what it does. There’s a lot of buttons and knobs that make changes to the sound, but I didn’t want to touch anything.”

The priest was talking to the other ladies. He turned and introduced them to the Roses. One was his wife, while the others were ladies who cleaned the church and arranged flowers and catered for special occasions. They all lived with walking distance of the church, with a couple of the younger ones close to the Rose residence. It only took a few minutes before the Roses were welcomed as part of the community. They sat in the pews and were told all the things about the Village that they had never been told by the real estate agent.

The priest was nudged by his wife.

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t introduced myself, mainly because my name is on the board at the entrance. I’m Reverend Robert Russell, vicar of this parish and sometimes I take the odd service at the Blue Coat. Miss Russell, Hilda, is my sister and I believe that you would have met her. It was that connection that saw us attend the show. It was by far the best show of that type that we’ve seen.”

Before they went home, Willow was asked to go to the church and look at the music for the service next Sunday. The priest was keen to celebrate the organ sounding over the congregation again. They arranged for her to be there on Monday afternoon, with Tuesday pencilled in as well.

They went home in a far different mood than when they left. They had lunch with her father, who had been working in the back garden. He was told that they were all going to church on Sunday mornings, with Willow being the organist and that they had met the women who maintained the church and organised all the celebrations. He wasn’t keen but went along with things, once it had been explained that the vicar was Miss Russell’s brother and that attending the church would be better for them all.

That afternoon, Willow was in her room, downloading some of the more popular church pieces from her laptop and feeding the recordings into her headphones as she tried to emulate the notes on her keyboard. She found a sound that was close to the pipe organ. Some of the pieces were able to be played on a single set of keys, while others used a second set or the bass pedals. Now, having played the pipe organ, she was able to remember where she could fit them in. The thought of playing such a magnificent instrument made her very excited.

Monday morning was the appointment at the clinic. Willow could hardly eat her breakfast for the butterflies in her tummy. She was in a skirt and top this time and looked every inch a girl. When they arrived at the clinic, they were surprised to find her father in the waiting room.

“The doctor left a message for me to come over. She said that whatever we would be discussing needed both parents on hand.”

When they were called in, the doctor stood and shook hands with the parents and then looked at Willow with a smile on her face.

“Well, young lady. When you decide to come out, you certainly do it in style!”

She picked up the latest issue of the Coventry Observer and showed them an article that took up half a page. There was a photo of the band on stage, Saturday night, with Willow prominent in her blue dress, hair flying, as she played the organ. The sub-headline was ‘Talented teen steals the show at the Blue Coat School concert.’ Willow looked at the doctor.

“Oops”

“Oops isn’t strong enough. Last time I saw you, you were William with a problem. I was weighing up which way I was going to break the news to you all, this morning, and then I saw this and it makes everything so much easier. Sit down, and I’ll tell you what is about to happen and why.”

They sat and waited as she went back behind her desk and switched on a screen behind her.

‘We did a lot of tests and took blood the last time you were here. The bloods showed that you are normal in every way – for a teenage girl. There was minimal testosterone and a high level of oestrogens, not quite the level that one normally finds in a girl your age, but at least ten times more than you find in a boy.”

She pressed a button on her computer and the screen lit up, showing a number of cross-sections of Willow’s groin.

“This is the best picture to illustrate the reason.”

She picked up a pointer and put it to the picture.

“Here are your testicles, and they are still fully inside your body. Here is the reason why. When you were kicked, it damaged both the canals that the testicles descend through. They have been stuck well beyond the normal deployment time. They are very small, and that dark patch shows that they are starting to rot. Where they would have settled, your scrotum, the skin has never created the usual sac, which is why you’re still quite smooth there.”

Her father looked at the picture.

“What do you suggest? It seems to me that the testicles have to be removed as soon as possible.”

“Exactly. My colleagues have had a conference, and we want you to sign the paperwork that will allow us to operate. The procedure, for now, is purely to save your daughter any problems should they turn cancerous. It will be keyhole surgery, where there will be two tiny incisions and the offending tissue removed. The holes will be glued closed so there will be no need to take any stitches out. Willow will be able to go home after a couple of days.”

“What about the penis?”

“She is far too young for corrective surgery of that complexity. What we can do is use the same surgical glue to attach the penis in the ‘tucked’ position. That will need to be renewed every three months. It will mean that she can wear normal panties and look like a girl without need of a gaff. She will have to sit to pee like any other girl and will have to wipe herself after.”

“What about the hormone balance?”

“She will not need blockers, and we can start her on a low dose to build the oestrogen levels, as long as the three of you agree.”

She looked at Willow.

“What do you think? You’re the one who can say yes or no.”

“When can we do this?”

“The team would like it done as soon as possible. If you come back Wednesday afternoon, we can admit you and do the operation then. You won’t be put under. It’s a happy jab and a local. You won’t feel a thing. We’ll keep you in until Friday, but you shouldn’t do anything strenuous for a week. I believe that you start school a week later.”

Willow looked at her parents, seeing the worry in their eyes.

“Can we do this? It will solve so many problems. It’s the answer to why I am the way I am, and I will be able to live a normal life.”

Her mother reached out and took her hand.

“Of course, we say yes, sweetheart. I have come to appreciate you as a clever daughter in this past week. It will give you time to recover for the church on Sunday.”

The doctor had the paperwork at hand, and they signed.

“If you bring Willow in at four, we’ll admit her under her new name and change our records. You will be able to pick her up on Friday, about eleven. She can wear the clothes that she arrived in and will just need nightwear and a gown. We provide the slippers and toiletries. She will have a large strip on her groin. I suggest that you leave this on for a week, then carefully peel it off. It will have a hole for the urine, and we will shave her there so there shouldn’t be any problem with it pulling out any hairs.”

They thanked the doctor and went out to the reception area. Before he went back to work, her father hugged her.

“I’ll come in to see you during my break Thursday, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

With her mother holding her hand, Willow was led back to the car. She was quiet on the way home, thinking about how she had arrived at this point. She felt no anger at the boy who had kicked her, and only a little towards Tony Horton. She realised that he was only acting on what he saw before him, and that he had been seeing a sissy. She started to think about what she would need for the next few days and decided that the main thing would be her MP3 player and headphones.

Her mother looked over to her.

“Do you still have that cheap phone we got you when you started high school?”

“No Mum. That went into the drain in the middle of the playground, along with my original maths book.”

“Oh! It was not expensive and a pay as you go plan. That’s why you’ve never brought it to me to be topped up. With all your new friends, I think it would be time for another one, with it added to our plan. I can’t see you being on it all day, seeing that it would take some time off of your music.”

They detoured into Warwick and found the telco that was the family provider. When they carried on for home, Willow was checking out her new phone. It wasn’t top of the range, but did allow her to send and receive texts, look on Google, take pictures, record sounds, and store her MP3 data. This one would not end up in a drain, she knew, because she hadn’t met anyone yet who hated her enough to do such a deed.

There was, she thought, grimly, still time for that, however remote it seemed now.

Her mother looked at her.

“Why the grim face?”

“Just wondering when the rainbow ends, and I come face to face with some bucket of excrement who doesn’t like me. I just remembered how I lost my other phone, and it wasn’t a good time.”

“You’re a different person now. You’ll see, there will be nothing but positive vibes for you.”

“I hope you’re right, Mum. That would be really good.”

“After today, honey, you will be a girl, and boys don’t bully girls. Only girls bully girls.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll be looking over my shoulder to see if I can spot any ‘mean girls’ in school. How do I identify them? Well; they will be popular, pretty, grade ‘A’ students, have lots of girlfriends, as well as boys lusting after them. That means that I may have to watch out for my reflection.”

They both laughed and Willow felt a lot better. In the afternoon, she wore a full skirt to allow her leg room and held her mother’s hand as they walked to the church. Reverend Russell was sweeping the porch as they arrived.

“A very good afternoon to you, ladies. Come on in and I’ll fire up old Betsy. I sorted out some sheet music for you to look at, Willow. I’ve also thought about Sunday’s service and have pulled out the sheet music for the four hymns. They will be the main content of the service, but you can choose the before and after pieces, quiet and thoughtful ones, please. When you’re settled, I need to go off and visit one of our parishioners. I should be an hour or so.”

He waited until she had seen where things were and then left. Her mother spent some time taking pictures in the church while Willow looked at the hymn sheets. There was the list with the order. She looked down and called to her mother.

“Mum!”

“Yes, dear.”

“Can you add these numbers to the board on the wall?”

Her mother found the box of numbers under the board. Willow called out the numbers in the order she had been given, and her mother set them up on the board. While she was doing that, the vicar’s wife came in and helped.

“Now. I’m going to play the music for those hymns. I doubt that I’ll be able to hear you, but I will see you with this mirror. If I’ve gone off course, just wave a lot and I’ll stop. I’ll doodle while you get yourself sorted, so wave when you’re ready to sing. This will help me get used to using the mirror.”

She lowered the stool until she was happy with the height and started playing the quiet piece that she had learned the evening before. She was getting used to looking in the mirror while playing when she saw the raised hand. She stopped and started playing the intro to the hymn that sets the cadence. She quietened her playing as they began singing and she realised, for the first time, what a lovely singing voice her mother had.

They worked through the four hymns, and she went back down to take a sip of water that they had brought. The vicar’s wife, that her mother was calling Edie, told her that she would be getting some of the helpers together on Tuesday, so they could rehearse the service. She explained that Willow would have to follow her husband’s movements as she played the opening music, and time it to stop when he had reached the altar and turned to face the congregation. At the end, she would start again as he made his first step towards the porch. On Sunday, the bells would be only ringing before the beginning of the service, and then after vicar was outside, with them ringing as she played the quiet piece for the congregation to leave. Willow realised that this was going to be far more complicated than she had first thought. Edie told her that the speakers were directed away from the tower, so they were a lot quieter inside the church.

Willow went back up, tidied the sheets and turned the fans off, coming back with Edie giving her a hug and telling her that she had made her husband very happy. So happy, that he had called his sister and invited her to attend the service on Sunday.

Walking home, Willow held her mother’s arm.

“You have a wonderful voice, Mum. You should sing more often.”

“Surely you jest!”

“No jest, Mum. I could hear you from where I sat, even above the organ. You do realise, don’t you, that you’ll need a church dress by Sunday, and I will need something with a full skirt, suitable for the lady organist.”

“You really are a daughter. Of course we’ll get something. I’ll ask Edie where the best places are, and we’ll get something Wednesday morning, we have to be at the clinic in the late afternoon.”

“Don’t remind me! Since we were there, I’ve been totally Willow and I love it. By the way, I remember you saying something about a tiger when you tucked me in on Saturday night.”

“I thought that you were asleep! You did say ‘Tiger’ in your sleep. Is it something special?”

“It’s just that I looked around my room and there was nothing in it that suggested ‘girl’. If I invited other girls around, it would look very bland. I’ll need your input of things to jazz it up a bit, but I had thought that a small plush tiger would be a good touch. We can get some Blue Tack and put up a couple of band pictures for a start.”

“Good thinking, Willow. Better to think of things like that than have to explain the austerity later. I should look out for girly sheets and pillowcases as well.”

That afternoon, the house phone rang while Willow was cleaning her room and checking for spaces on the walls for pictures. She heard her mother answer it.

“Yes, this is Mrs. Rose.”

“Yes, I did leave my details with you.”

“Hold on while I get a pencil. Got it. Can you repeat the address again?”

“Thank you for that. I’ll be at the Seven Stars Estate tomorrow afternoon at one.”

Willow went downstairs as her mother stood with a grin on her face.

“What’s up, Mum?”

“I have an interview tomorrow afternoon. It appears that a marketing company that has a graphic arts section wants to see me about a job. The good news is that it’s very close to the school. I wondered about the speed of the appointment, but the lady told me that the client had asked for me to go in before they set up anymore. I wonder why?”

“Did you have a reputation that precedes you? Perhaps the guy was one of your customers when you forged IDs?”

“Very funny, young lady. We’ll both find out because we need to shop after I’ve seen him. You’ll have to wait in reception while I’m interviewed.”

On Tuesday, they walked over to the church, finding a good dozen ladies and Reverend Russell waiting for them. He took Willow into the church.

“Listen carefully, Willow. You will be at the organ, playing as the church fills, and I come in through the door below you. I will have a couple of church wardens with me on Sunday. Keep playing as I walk along the aisle and get to the small table that we use as a normal altar. We only use the High Altar for weddings, funerals and special occasions. As I get close to it, you will bring the music to an end. Got it so far?”

“Yes, sir. Clear as a bell.”

“I will then lead the congregation in prayer. Today will be very short. Then I go up the stairs to the pulpit and give the reading. You will be able to hear me clearly when I say which hymn we will sing. That’s when you play the intro. If there is a disturbance, hold off on the main part until things are settled. As the service proceeds, I will call the number of the hymns. When they are singing the last hymn, I come back down and give the last prayer. When you hear amen, you wait a few seconds and then start the quiet piece as I leave the church to stand by the main door. The bells will also be ringing. When the church has emptied, you can close things down and come out as well. Today we will just do snippets of the prayers but will sing all the hymns. Now, up you go, and we’ll see if we can nail it first time.”

He went towards the door and Willow went up to the organ and turned on the fans. When everything was ready, she started playing. As she did so, the ladies slowly came into the church, picked up a hymn book and took their places in the pews. Willow saw that they all had a pew of their own, with her mother sitting with Edie. When she played, she wondered if that, and the doors to the pews, was something left over from earlier centuries, when families had their own pews. The ladies settled themselves and then rose as one.

In the mirror, she saw the vicar walk up the aisle, towards the table. She really had to concentrate as he drew close, and she allowed the music to taper off. He knelt at the cross, then stood and turned.

“Thank you for coming along today. We are here, this day, to thank the Lord for sending us an angel to play for us.”

He then turned and climbed the steps to the pulpit. In a strong voice, he announced the first hymn. Willow could see the books being opened and played the intro, waited a few seconds and started the hymn, hearing the congregation sing. It made her wonder what it would be like, leading the singing in a bigger hall.

When the last notes died away, the vicar smiled.

“For Willow’s benefit, this is where I try to send everyone to sleep. Our second hymn is…”

As the last hymn was being sung, he left the pulpit and returned to the altar. As the notes faded, he asked that the congregation spend a few moments in silent prayer. After that he turned and started walking towards the main door and Willow started the quiet piece that she liked. She carried on until the church was empty and then let the organ fade. She tidied up, turned off the fans and went down to leave the building, walking outside to be hugged by everyone, many with tears running down their cheeks.

Reverend Russell also hugged her.

“Nailed it in one. You truly are a gem, Willow. That was perfect. There are a few here that have never heard the organ, and, as you can see, it has a profound effect on people. Can I depend on you to be with us at just before eight-thirty on Sunday?”

“Yes, Reverend Russell, you can. I can’t wait to hear what it sounds like with more people in the church.”

“Bless you, child, it will be wonderful, I know it.”

It took half an hour before she and her mother could prise themselves away from the other ladies, all in praise of Willow for bringing the organ to life. She began to realise that it had been a very moving experience for most of them, something that had brightened their day.

Back at home, Willow changed into her denim skirt and hung the fuller one away. They had sandwiches and then got in the car, arriving at the address a quarter of an hour before the appointment. When they went into reception, her mother gave her name and the girl asked if it was Willow with her. Her mother said it was and the girl asked them to sit while she went to let her boss know that they were there. When she had gone and they had sat, Willow whispered.

“Mum, that girl was among the dancers on Saturday night. I thought her blond hair with the blue streaks was fantastic.”

The girl came back and asked them to follow her. They were both ushered into a large office where a man was standing to welcome them.

“Mrs. Rose, thank you for coming. And you brought your talented daughter. I’m Graham Martin and I was at the concert on Saturday night. I was dazzled, along with everyone else, with the talent and sheer exuberance that she gave out. When I saw the list of names of the few people that the agency had sent me, I wondered if the Mrs. Rose was her mother so just had to see you first. If you sit over there, Willow, I’ll talk to your mother about the job.”

Willow watched as they spoke about what the job entailed, and her mother showed him her certificates and a reference from the last place she had worked. He looked at that, carefully.

“This is dated some years ago. How are you with current techniques?”

“I subscribe to the trade magazine and have kept up with the new equipment. My husband is a design engineer with Aston Martin, and we have a near-new computer. I have downloaded some of the new programs and played around with them.”

“Excellent. Can you come back on Thursday and spend some time with our graphics team. If you can convince them that you know your stuff, we can start you on Monday. We’ll work out the contract details then.”

“Thank you, sir. What time do you open?”

“The warehouse is open around the clock during the week, but the graphics usually turn up at around nine.”

“I’ll be here at nine on Thursday.”

He showed them out and they got in the car.

“Willow, my sweet daughter, your talents have another notch on the handle. You’re now also an influencer. For that, we’re going to get a couple of good church outfits. Edie has given me the name of the best place and to drop her name when we’re there. I think that we are now finding out that it doesn’t matter what you know, it’s who you know that counts.”

They went into the Coventry city to an address that had been entered into the GPS. They went into the shop and dropped Edie’s name and why they were there. They were shown an array of outfits, with Willow walking out with two full skirts and a range of tops that would go with them, allowing her to look different within a budget. Her mother had chosen a dress and a skirt suit that would be good for working in as well as for church.

Marianne Gregory © 2025