The Xmas lunch...

The young women stands quietly as she looks over to the others going into the restaurant/bar - she's not really sure why she came as its the type of thing that she more tends to run /stay away from then some thing she would go out of her way to go to... But she did tell her friend she would go...

As the people go inside each with a bit of paper in they hands - she knows none of the people - there's a lady at the door saying hi to each person as they go in...

The young woman has no real idea of how things should go as a friend had set it up - all the young woman had was a message to be at the place at a time - that and a name of some one - she had no real idea who that person was/what they looked like and what they connected with the place is? Was it one of the owners of the place, some one in charge of the lunch or just one of the people going to the lunch?

There's a sign out side saying private group so it must be a pre arranged meal so at least some one should be able to help the young woman find out more - as she looks over to the lady at the door the young woman is trying to decide if to do a bit of a runner and leave or to go up to the lady at the door - this is one of the things the young lady doesn't do well/hates trying to do- going up to a group of people that she has no idea who they are and more to the point would the unknown people accept the young woman as part of they group at the meal...

In the end the young woman decideds to take a chance with the unknown group of people - as she slowly heads towards the door she keeps a eye out - both on the people and they reaction to her being there.. But all so looking at possible ways out just in case things turn bad (as they have from time to time to the young transgender woman in the past - part of why she doesn't like groups of unknown people around her...)

The young woman slowly tells the friendly looking lady by the door why shes there.. The young woman then stands there holding her breath as she hopes that the lady has some idea who she is and is some what worried as she don't know what the people at the lunch know about her...

The ladys response puts the young woman fears some what at rest as she says yes she knows who the young woman is (and even asks her how to say her name - the young woman ends up giving the lady a nickname as her name can be hard for some to say) and knows what is happening at the restaurant/bar

As the young woman is showing inside the place and has a number of people come up (each saying who they are - the names going right over the young womans head (she's useless at remembering peoples names) as she is looking around the restaurant/bar at the tables of unknown people she gets asked if she wants to sit on her own or with others... She thinks for a min or so before deciding to sit with others though she tends to sit by her self when eating especially when she is around unknown people like now... Part of why she decided to sit with others was to try and find out just what was going on with the meal - she is seated at a table with 2 other women - they appear to know each other...

The young woman trys to join in with what the two women are talking about and trys to make small talk... As what tends to happen there is few subjects to talk about as the young womans life is very different to that of the other two women so there is little in common between then...

The food comes out with people appearing to all have the same meal then a bit of a speech by one of the people in charge of the meal there? (who turns out to be the person who name was the one the young woman was given by her friend in the message) The young woman is some what uncomfortable with the talk of God in the speech /grace for the meal and hopes no one asks her about God /Church /religion - it's not that she has any thing against any of that but to her it's up to each individual person to decide for they selfs what the beliefs/none beliefs are and is very sick of /over others trying to force they beliefs on her especially the hate /nasty stuff because she is transgender or even just because she doesn't have the same thoughts on god as they do... The young woman tends to keep her thought on the subject to her self (like many of the things she thinks about)

The meal is chicken roast? What turns out to be some thing of a bad joke for the young woman as out of all the different things that could of been the meal it had to be chicken - one of the few foods the young women can't really eat... (Seems more offen then not when someone makes the young woman a meal it has chicken in it in some way as part of the meal...)

One of the things that comes up with the small talk as what the other two women do for a job - one of the woman works with a animal rescue place so there is a bit of talking about dogs as the young woman is thinking /looking into the possibly of getting a dog (to travel with her on the road)

After the meal there's a bit more talking before people start leaving - the two women leave - leaving the young woman to think about a few things as she getting chatting to a few people about her travels and why she's there...

One of the questions that come up is where she lives.. After explaining that she lives on the road by bike and sleeps in a tent - the young woman points out that many places ask for photo ID to stay including many backpackers and even some camping ground.. What then leads in to a chat about id and paper work including that the young womans paper work is in a mess because different places have different rules with changing the name /gender marker on paper work (including different government departments having different rules from each other causing all sorts of fun-not! )

that then leads on to the young woman doing a bit of a transgender 101 lesson to help explain the issues she faces - she's carefully how she says things as she has had um issues in the past with the group (the group as a rule tends not to be um supported of people who are lbgt) that at least some of the people at the lunch are part of - so its a bit like being on thing ice and hoping you don't break though... As the young woman (in a nice dress and not looking any thing like a "him") is taking at least one of the people there keeps calling her "him" (sign- there had to be at least one person there who just didn't get it/didn't want to/had to be a pain didn't there : ( such is life when you are transgender...)

As the young woman is leaving one of the people there keeps offering her candy canes - what she (nicely) keeps turning down as she's trying to keep away from such things as she's trying to eat more healthy so cutting way back on sweets- the person seems um offend that the young woman won't take any - maybe just another thing the young woman will perhaps never understand like much of the things that happen at a Xmas lunch...

To the young woman Xmas is less about God /religion /church /shopping /big sales and more about being with friends and family (not that much of the young womans family has any thing to do with her any more...) at that time of year...

After saying goodbye to the rest of the people the young woman then gets on her bike and rides off into the distance...