As I said in the previous chapter, I've been updating this story. This chapter needed the most work. It was rushed to have a happy ending, people acted out-of-character, and it had weird, unexplained, local terminology that didn't fit in the story. It still has the same ending sentence, but it's not as happily-ever-after as before, in order to save room for chapter six.
Jamie was surprised that her mom now knew her secret. She never would have said it if she hadn't thought she might make it through the blackness back to the land of the living. However, it was out now. There was no turning back.
What surprised Jamie the most though, was her mom's reaction. She couldn't remember the last time she kissed her on the forehead like that. She's sure her mom probably did it when she was little, but her mom didn't show affection like that to avoid embarrassing her "son".
Her mom choked back her tears. "I need to ask you a question sweetie. Do you want to live like a girl? I mean, all the time?" Jamie couldn't believe her ears. Despite her pain and grogginess, Jamie got a huge smile on her face. Her mom smiled at this and then frowned a bit. "I can talk with your principal and teachers, and try to keep you from getting hurt again. But I can't promise anything. And, you know we live in a neighborhood with a lot of religious people. The neighbors might give you a hard time. Sorry to say it like that, but that's the world we live in. If you choose this, I feel really bad about what you have ahead of you. Your life isn't going to be easy."
Jamie looked at her mom. "My life has never been easy. But it will be a lot easier if I can be who I really am." Her mom smiled. "I'll get everything worked out for you. You just get your rest now."
Back in the waiting room, Jamie's mom saw that her daughter Amy was here, talking with Jamie's friends. Amy looked at her mom. "Is Jamie alright? Can I see him?" "Jamie's fine, but he needs his rest." He then addressed Jamie's friends, "Did you tell her?" Amy spoke up, "Yes, they told me. To tell you the truth, I always suspected it. Is he going to have a sex change?" Both Amy and Jamie's friends looked at Mrs. Jameson, as they all wondered what she would say. "It's too early to say. Jamie's going to have to see someone so they can figure out together what's best for him."
She looked over at Jamie's friends and added "What he needs now is support. It's not going to be easy for him. I'll call my friend at family services and try to get everything set up for Jamie once he's up to it." She then got a stern look in her eyes. "But first, I'm going to call Jamie's dad and get him to talk to the father of that punk that put him in here."
Back home, Mr. Jameson was waiting for his wife. "I talked to Larry Cleary. It turns out the manager at Denny's called the cops, and they pressed charges against him for disorderly conduct and assault. He tried to talk me into dropping the assault charges, but I couldn't. Especially after I saw Jamie in that hospital bed. His son has a date at the juvenile court in a month."
Mrs. Jameson looked at her husband with a worried look on her face. "What about Jamie. I mean, what do we do from here?" Mr. Jameson looked flustered. "This is way too much to me. I love Jamie, but I really don't understand at all. He's a big strong boy, so why would he want to be a man in a dress? I'm going to stay at my mom's for a few days, and talk this over with her. I know she loves Jamie more than anything, so maybe she'll have some kind of idea how to talk him out of it."
Mrs. Jameson frowned at her husband as she watched him go outside and get into his car. She then decided to stop getting worked up over her husband and decided that she'd like to take some time to bond with her oldest daughter instead.
Mrs. Jameson smiled at that thought. "I can't wait to meet her."
Comments
A sectional?
Err...what's a sectional? I haven't encountered that term before...
-oOo-
Meanwhile - home schooling. That will ease the burdens and pressures on Jamie for a while (well, at least until the meeting with Family Services - but that will probably be several chapters away, so Katie's got plenty of time to decide whether she wants to portray them as OK, bigots, or somewhere in between!). And while he's recovering at home, his new friends will undoubtedly visit and help educate him on "Life as a teenage girl".
Which presumably also means that within the next couple of episodes, we can start switching gender pronouns and start using the feminine for Jamie (she, her, etc.)
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Sectional home
Oops. I meant sectional home. I caught that as I was writing. I updated the paragraph on top, but didn't do the same with the one on the bottom.
A sectional home
is also called a pre-fab. You've seen them build them on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. You pour your foundation or dig your basement.. Then they drop the rooms in and hook them together, all the wiring, insulation EVERYTHING ready to tie together. It cuts construction time by weeks or even months depending on what you buy.
I wonder if Jamie's sister Amy is going to fess up now to being the bad one and taking advantage of the situation with Jamie and Dad.
Juvenile prosecution
I have to confess, I have not read all the chapters of this story, so I don't know how old the Cleary boy is, but many states have a process for prosecuting minors as adults for certain crimes, repeat offenders (especially violent ones) or the like. Depending on the state*, this can be done by the DA, the juvenile courts, legislative guidelines or some combination of the three. Given the nature of the incident (assault & battery) and the extent of the injuries, I suspect it wouldn't be hard do do in this case. It also sounds as if the parents at least tacitly condone their son's behavior, so a lawsuit against them would possibly be successful.
Some people are like the Missouri Mule, you gotta get their attention. ;-)
Karen J.
*Summaries of each state's juvenile laws, including the process of transferring a juvenile to the adult criminal justice system, may be found here: http://70.89.227.250:8080/stateprofiles/
"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way." College Girl - poetheather
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Finally Finding Myself Part 5
The way that Jamie's family is suporting him/her is fantastic, but the dad's sudden change has me wondering why he stopped encouraging Jamie to be macho to seeing him/her as a girl?
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
There is also that
The entire tone of the family made a sharp turn right after the revelation. Just reread the first chapter to get a feel... It' completely different.
As for your question - I think it may be a variation on 'be the best you can be' mantra. Father encouraged Jamie to be the best boy Jamie could be - unfortunately, Jamie made a poor boy. Now, after the revelation, he probably thought something like: "Well, a girl's a girl. Fine by me, she'll still be the best she could be!"
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Quick wrap-up
I’m glad someone remarked on this out-of-character quick turnaround. Five years on, it seems this was meant to be the last chapter in the story, and that the author sacrificed plausibility to wrap things up. Certainly the story would be stronger and more credible if Jamie’s father and sister came round more slowly, but that would require many more chapters. It would’ve been lovely to see Jamie’s life getting better after all the suffering and abuse, but…oh well…
Question
what is it with the american psyche,if its not an oversexed white meathead,kick seven bells of shit out of it?