Mirror Mirror - Chapter 6

Norman opened the door and saw his brother Patrick pacing outside. Patrick offered to take Norman’s bag, but Norman refused, and took the bag to Patrick’s car.

Once the bag was loaded and they were both in the car, Patrick began the drive to the small town they had come from. For the first while, they made the drive in silence, but once they had reached the city limits, Patrick turned to Norman and said, “So ... how’s college?”

“Okay, so far. How’s the programing gig going?”

“Good.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes

Finally, Norman said, “Listen, Patrick ... I’m ... going through something right now. I ... think I need to have a conversation with mom and you at some point this weekend. But I’ll wait until after her birthday tomorrow.”

“Okay ... Norma. You know we love you, and we’ll be here for you, no matter what, right?”

“Thanks, Patrick.”

The rest of the drive was silent.

When they finally arrived at their mother’s place, Norman got out and grabbed his bag as his brother Patrick did the same with his own bag. They went toward the door, but before they got there the door opened, and their mother came out and gave both of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Norman was directed to his old room, which looked remarkably like what he remembered from his (male) childhood. Looking at it now through the eyes of a supposed girl, he couldn’t really see any obvious signs of femininity. Even though the closet had some dresses in it, they were stuffed in the far back, and looked like they had never been worn. Knowing how girly his mom was, he could easily see her buying dresses for her daughter, but apparently “Norma” wasn’t interested, which explained why his mom hadn’t been surprised by his outfit.

Norman stripped, and put on a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in, then crawled into his bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, Norman woke, and put on the best pants and shirt he had. He sighed when he looked in the mirror above his dresser, seeing the image of a rather pretty girl imitate his actions. On her, the clothes looked like she had raided her twin brother’s wardrobe, and he hoped he wouldn’t offend his mother too much on what was supposed to be a special day.

For a moment, he considered changing and at least trying a dress for his mom, but he rejected the notion. It would constitute a surrender, which he simply wasn’t prepared to do. Norman glumly went down the stairs to face the music.

As it happened, his mother raised an eyebrow but otherwise made no comment, which led Norman to believe his current outfit was pretty standard. He took a deep breath in relief, and went into the living room to join the family.

The party took all day, and despite his current circumstances, Norman enjoyed it immensely. When the party finally ended, Norman went back upstairs, but before he could get undressed he was startled by a knock on the door. He opened it, and saw his mother standing there looking rather tentative.

“Mom? What is it?”

“I ... just wanted to thank you for coming, Norma. I know you’re busy at University and everything.”

“Of course I was gonna come, mom. Not every day my mom turns 65.”

Norman’s mother smiled, and said, “Patrick mentioned you might want to have a family meeting?”

Norman nodded. “Yeah, I .. have some things I need to say, but we can do it after a nice breakfast.”

“Okay, Norma. I ... just wanted to tell you I’m proud of you and I love you, no matter what you have to tell us tomorrow.”

Norman gave his mother a hug, and then said, “Thanks, Mom. Good night.”

“Goodnight.” His mother said, and then closed the door on her way out of Norman’s bedroom.

Norman got changed and went to bed and eventually, fell asleep.

The next morning, Patrick, Norman, and their mother had a nice breakfast, and when it was over and the dishes put in the dishwasher, Patrick said, “Norma, you said you had something you needed to share with us?”

Norman nodded, and led the two of them into the living room and had them sit down. Then he stood in front of them, and said, “Mom, Patrick, something happened to me at University, and it ... I guess you could say it opened my eyes to something. I ... I really don’t know how to say this, but ... I’m not a girl. I was never a girl. I ... I’m transgender. In my heart and mind, I’m a guy, no matter what my mirror says.”

There was silence in the room for several minutes, and finally Norman said, “Say something?”

Patrick sighed, and said, “When we were kids, you always wanted to do what I did. I thought it was just part of you being younger, but I guess I always knew it was something deeper than that. You were looking to me to teach you how to be a guy, weren’t you?”

Norman nodded, and said “Yes. I was.”

Norman’s mother then said, “You hated dresses and anything girly as a child. I thought it was a tomboy phase, and someday you’d get interested in boys, and want to be more feminine. You had boys you hung around, but you never once said you thought of them as boyfriends. In fact you were repulsed by the idea. Is this because you ... you’re gay?”

“No mom. I ... I like girls, yes. But that’s not what this is about. I feel ... wrong as girl. I can hardly stand to look at myself in the mirror, seeing a girl in the reflection. I ... I feel like I’ll come apart if I have to try and pretend to be a girl.”

Norman’s mother stood, and gave Norman a large hug. “When you were born, I almost lost you. I was just grateful to keep you at all, I didn’t care whether you were a boy or a girl. Son or daughter, you’re mine, and I ... don’t want to lose you.”

Patrick stood, and joined the hug. “Hey, I always wanted a younger brother. Guess I had one all along.”

“Thanks. Thank you both. Having this conversation ... I was so scared.” Norman said.

“We could never reject you, hon. You’re family.” Patrick said, “But what are you gonna do about it?”

“I ... I don’t know. I’m going to make an appointment to see a gender specialist, and see what they say. I honestly don’t know about transitioning physically, but one step at a time.”

“Sounds smart.” Norman’s mother said with a smile. “I always knew both my ... boys were very smart.”

There was more hugging, and some crying, and eventually everyone decided that they needed to do something , so they decided to go to a small fair to look around. One happy, laughing, and smiling visit later, the three of them went home to have supper.

After supper, Norman went to his old room for one last night’s sleep before he was to go back to University tomorrow. After he got ready for bed, he looked in the mirror and then said to the girl he saw there, “I’m sorry I have to make you go away. If you were anybody but me, I’d like to have gotten to know you better. But I can’t be you. I hope you understand that.”

He sighed, and crawled into the bed. He knew that in a way, his adventure was just beginning, but it felt like the steps he had taken and the response he had received showed him it was possible to go back to being a guy.

“One step at a time., one day at a time” He thought, and went to sleep.

End.