You Can Come Home Again, but…

by

Paula Dillon

Some people say you can't go home again. Stephanie Callaway was putting this axiom to the test. She was tired, she needed a place to live and she needed a home for her daughter Amy. Would there be a place for her at her parents home.

Stephanie Callaway was on a long drive home. She has spent twenty-two of the last ninety-six hours driving herself and her six-month old daughter in their 2001 Dodge Caravan, stopping often to take care of little Amy. Traveling with babies can be quite a harrowing experience. It was hard to get more than five hours driving, before the little one got irritated from being stuck in the carrier/car seat and breast feeding while parked on the highway wasn’t her favorite thing to do. Luckily the weather was nice, not hot or cold and she had no particular time schedule to arrive in Tacoma, Washington.

Stephanie had left home eight years ago. The arguing between her and her parents became too great. She had been eighteen at the time. She didn’t need curfews, rules about clothing and who she could date, she had jumped on the back of Timothy William’s Harley and they had hit the road, leaving Stella and Frank Callaway and her thirteen-year-old brother Cameron. Living on the road, had been mostly heaven for two years, that had slowly spun into a hell.

Timothy was a twenty-one-year-old motorcycle/diesel engine repairman and got jobs at random locations, on the road. Stephanie had her college tuition money and had taken random jobs as a waitress or a housekeeper along the way.

They had worked their way south along the Pacific coast and then turned east along Interstate 10. Never staying in one city more than four to six months, except for Winslow Arizona, where they stayed a little over a year and Van Horn Texas where they spent the last two years.

Surprisingly the money had been very good in Van Horn. Timothy got a job working at a big truck stop servicing big diesel rigs and repairing Harley Davidson motorcycles. Stephanie worked as a maid at one or another of the big motels cleaning rooms for half a day and as a waitress at one of the many diners in that city.

She often told herself that things were going fine between her and Timothy, but she knew that was a lie. She had seen the signs that Timothy was beginning to stray and they were arguing like husbands and wives do. It all came to a head when she announced to Timothy that she thought she was pregnant. Timothy stayed with her just two more months. When she woke up one morning, he and his things in their apartment were gone.

She worked through her pregnancy, right up until three weeks before Amy was born. She had actually been able to set aside a fair amount of money. After Amy was born though, it became harder to work, take care of her baby and to keep the apartment they lived in clean. Long hours of worry and strain were beginning to show in her face. She found a few gray hairs amongst her auburn mane and she was only twenty-six.

After much thought, consideration and soul searching, she felt she owed Amy a chance at life. She decided to go home with her tail dragging between her legs, to see if she could move back in with her parents, till she could get back on her feet. Her parents weren’t wealthy, but they made a very good living. It would be good to see them and Cameron. She would ask their forgiveness and beg them to let her come back home. So, when Amy was just six months old, they hit the road on the long drive to what she hoped was home.

Stephanie was about ten miles away from home, she was amazed at how different the area looked from when she had last been here. There were many places she recognized, but there were new businesses, streets, homes and amenities there than when she lived in the area. She wondered if she would be able to find the place she grew up in. Finally, she saw the road that led to their subdivision and took the left turn that would bring her home in the next ten minutes.

Their home sat on the edge of a cliff, the topology of the area meant that there weren’t cookie cutter homes set apart by eight to ten feet. Their neighbors on the same side of the street were no closer than seventy feet and across the street, a home was thirty feet north and ninety feet south. This area hadn’t changed much. This was a neighborhood of business professionals, who earned well in excess of a hundred grand a year.

She slowed almost to a crawl when she saw her home appear around a distant curve. She was almost home. She almost chickened out and drove by. She had sold everything she had and she could afford a cheap apartment on the other side of the track, so to speak, but she knew without help, Amy’s future would be bleak. Gutting it up, she turned into the driveway. She was ashamed of her well-worn, beaten up Caravan. If there was an old car in this neighborhood, it was restored or soon to be restored old car. She had passed a shiny-near showroom quality 64 mustang, just moments earlier.

She took time to take care of little Amy, changed her smelly diaper, took a wet wipe and gave her a daughter a quick cleanup before doing the same with her face.

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Cameron was sitting in the living room watching TV, when he saw the lights of a car and heard its engine. He was up on his feet and moving towards the door, when he heard the car door slam. There hadn’t been any visitors in a while other than his neighbor Nadia Green and he wondered who it could be. He turned on the porch light and opened the door just as Stephanie was approaching.

Stephanie’s heart dropped as she saw a girl she didn’t recognize and hoped that she was Cameron’s girlfriend.

“Hello, I am Stephanie Callaway, I use to live here. Do the Callaway’s still live here?”

Cameron’s jaw hung open. He hadn’t seen his sister in eight years, could this actually be his sister she looked so different.

“Steph is that really you?” the girl said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Cameron launched herself forward to hug Steph.

Stephanie had a look of confusion on her face, as she looked at this gorgeous girl, coming toward her. The girl was standing almost six feet tall because she wore stiletto sandals. She wore a white, off the shoulder blouse with bell sleeves which exposed a bit of cleavage and the top curves of some really nice breasts. Her swimsuit tan was clearly visible. She wore a maroon knee length skirt that spoke of quality. She wore hose of some kind and with her heels. The girl’s hair was luscious and longer than her own. Her makeup looked professional even down to the polish on her long nails.

Stephanie hugged the girl to keep from losing her balance, setting the baby carrier down. The girl’s voice rang in her ears with a familiarization, “Cameron is that you?” She asked, but already knew the answer. Her reality was rocked.

“Oh my God, Stephanie come on in, please come in. Oh my gosh let me help you.” Cameron said, her tears falling like rain. Cameron picked up the baby carrier and ushered Stephanie in to the living room. She set the baby carrier carefully on the coffee table and turned and hugged Stephanie again, bawling, “Oh Stephanie it is so good seeing you. I have been so alone for so long. I have missed you so much.”

“I have missed you too runt. Where are Mom and Dad? And why do you look like my sister, instead of my brother?” Stephanie said, while she rubbed Cameron’s back. She found he was wearing a corset.

They broke their hug, Cameron’s makeup was a mess and her eyes were red from crying, “I will tell you everything, but first I need to take care of the two of you. Is Timothy waiting in the car?”

“No it is just the two of us. Timothy left me last year.”

“Well you are welcome here. I hoped and prayed that you would come back, it’s why I kept this home, so you could find me. You must be hungry; I have some lasagna in the fridge let me nuke it for you.”

“I am hungry and that sounds so good. Just give me a coke and let me breast feed Amy.”

Cameron went and got Stephanie a coke as Stephanie was unbuttoning her blouse.

“Amy is just so adorable, how old is she?” Cameron asked, as she began working on getting her sister something to eat.

“She is six months old, she was born on the first of March. She was the only good thing Timothy did for me in the last year. Now tell me where are Mom and Dad.”

Cameron sighed as she set a nice plate of food in front of her sister, “Dad passed away a few months before I turned fifteen and it was just Mom and I. He worked himself to death, working ten to fifteen hours a day. Mom passed a couple of months after I graduated from high school.”

“So how did you end up like this Cameron? You were a cute boy, the last time I saw you,” Stephanie said, taking care to clean up little Amy and putting her on the couch beside her.

Tears began to fall from Cameron’s face as she told her story, “Well it is a long story. I guess it really started a few months after Dad died. Mom was still working as a graphic designer and I was home since school was out for the summer. There weren’t many kids my age in the neighborhood and it was miles away from anything I really wanted to do. I spent my time on the computer, surfing the internet and just moping around the house. I did keep the grass mowed, took the trash out and kept the place sort of clean. I owed Mom that much. I got bored one day and I wandered into your room. I missed you so much, Steph. I cried for months, blaming myself for you leaving. Maybe I had been too much of a pest to you.”

“It was never about you Cameron, I was just a rebellious teen who had just gotten her wings and I wanted to fly. All of Mom and Dad’s rules seemed Draconian to me. I couldn’t see that they only wanted the best for me. I do now. And even though I picked on you, I always liked having you around.”

“Well anyways, getting back to my story. I was lonely and missed you so much, I wandered into your room, so I could get closer to the you I remembered. I can’t describe what happened, I guess I was on autopilot or something. Do you remember that black lace baby doll negligee and peignoir you had?”

Stephany gave a soft giggle, thinking about her brother wearing that negligee, “I loved that thing, it made me feel sexy. Mom nearly hit the roof when I brought it home from the lingerie store. I think I bought it just to get a rise from her.”

“I remember looking at the negligee and peignoir on your bed. I don’t remember getting undressed, but I do remember looking in the mirror, at myself, wearing the negligee and peignoir. It felt good and I looked good wearing it. I had never thought of myself as being a girl, but looking at myself it felt right.”

Steph held her hand up to stop Cameron for a second and thought about what she remembered about her thirteen-year-old brother. How he looked, how he dressed and how he acted. She remembered how he loved to grow his hair long. His hair had probably been as long as her hair had been back then. She remembered how he had always paid attention to how she looked and dressed, he seemed to co-ordinate his clothing and dress more androgynously than guys she knew.

“Looking back Cameron I can see it in you. You always looked so cute, almost pretty. You never dressed up like a macho male.”

Cameron smiled thinking back to those times and knew what she was talking about. He never liked to look messy or unkempt. He spent a lot of time brushing his hair just so, before coming out of his room. He liked his hair free and loose flowing around his head.

“So, go on Cameron, tell me what happened.”

“Well Mom didn’t catch me that time. I started wearing a lot of your clothing. I knew you had a big bust, Stephanie, but I didn’t know you were a 34DD. I tried stuffing the cups of your bras, but that didn’t work out. The band was a little big on me back then, but I couldn’t get over just how big your breasts were. Shit, I need to go on with the story and not get locked in on breasts.”

Stephany looked down at his breasts when he said that. She thought he, no she could probably fill those cups now.

“Well, I started wearing your bikini bathing suits and sunning myself on the back porch, dreaming about being with you where-ever you were. I developed some very interesting tan lines. I shaved my pits, legs and arms, I didn’t have any facial hair. I practiced walking in your heels, they were still a little bit big on me back then. Tell me Steph, how did you ever walk in those five-inch heels?”

Stephany again giggled, “It wasn’t easy, it took a lot of practice and sore feet, but I did it to get at the ‘rents. Stripper heels Dad called them. They looked fantastic with my blue jersey micro-mini dress.”

“I can’t believe you went out with Timothy wearing that dress, you could hardly move in that dress without flashing your panties.”

“I was a little wanton back then. I got over it. Please skip those parts. I don’t want to remember what an ass I had been.”

“Sorry, well one day, I put on that black negligee and peignoir, tied my hair with one of your big ribbons, did my makeup and laid down on your bed. I fell asleep. Mom came home and began searching for me. She found me laying there. She stared at me long enough to tell I was breathing. She saw the makeup, hair and my epic tan lines. You know how fair I had been, well I was now a golden brown except for the bra and panty tan lines.”

Stephany just had to giggle as she could picture that happening in her mind, “What happened did she blow a fuse.”

“No while I was still asleep, she took off her heels, skirt, jacket and blouse and crawled on bed with me. She hugged me tightly and then fell asleep with me.”

“Oh my, I bet she didn’t know what to do and was afraid of losing you too.”

“That is almost exactly what she told me later. We both woke up, at about the same time. It was late, but the sun was still up. I was petrified, but mom got up and stared at me. “Well are you going to get up Cameron, by the way you look so good, dear. Get up, fix your face and put on a skirt and blouse. We will figure out what we want to do about dinner,” she calmly told me. She picked up her things and left heading to her room.

“Well, I stood there for more than a few minutes thinking about what had just happened and then I got to work. It took me almost an hour to get cleaned up, do my makeup and get dressed up, as requested. Mom was almost fidgeting with her hair or skirt when I came out of your room, Steph. She told me I looked nice. She tut tutted me when she didn’t see a bra. I told her to think about what you looked like. She sat there a few minutes and said, Oh right. She ordered a pizza, Italian sausage, bell peppers and mushrooms, my favorite. We had a long talk that night, before we went to bed. Short story, she took me to a psychiatrist and I started transitioning to being a girl.”

Stephany was exhausted, her eyelids were drooping, “Cameron, I need to ask if I can come home, not just for my benefit, but for Amy Calloway too. I don’t have anybody else to turn to.”

“Please, stay here with me Stephanie. Don’t go away again. I have been so alone since Mom passed. I stayed here hoping for this day.”

“Are you sure you want me to stay, Cameron? I abandoned you eight years ago, I am so sorry,” Stephanie said.

“Don’t even think about it Sis. The hope of seeing you again kept me alive.”

“Which room do you stay in?”

“Take any room you want, I am in your room right now, I can move. I cleared out all my boy things, you can take my room or our parents room. I don’t care, it’s just so good to have you back again.”

Stephanie thought for a minute, “Amy and I will take our parents old room then, since it is larger. Amy sleeps most nights now, but she may want to feed tonight.”

Cameron hugged Stacy again.

Stephanie kissed his forehead, “Do you still go by Cameron or do you have another girl name?”

“No Cameron can be a girl’s name too. I still go by Cameron.”

Cameron made a pillow wall around Amy on the king size bed, as Stephanie stripped down to her bra and panties. She was asleep soon after her head hit the pillow.

Cameron took Steph’s keys from her purse. She moved his mom’s SUV out of the garage and drove Steph’s van into the garage. She got to work washing their clothes and baby things and made a couple of bottles of formula. It was after midnight before Cameron laid happily down to sleep.

Stephanie slept through the night. It was her leaking breasts that woke her at nine. Her breasts were full and now her bra was soggy with milk. Amy wasn’t beside her, but she wasn’t worried. She got up and cleaned her chest with a wash cloth after taking care of her needs. She then went to find little Amy.

Stephanie was shocked when she saw him. Cameron was wearing a sheer baby doll and black lace pattern panties, playing with little Amy.

“Hand Amy to me, my breasts are leaking like a sieve.”

“I fed her half a bottle an hour ago, Steph.”

“She will still take my milk. Tell me Cameron is that all your breasts or are you wearing silicone?” Stephanie let out a sigh as Amy began to feed.

“Half and half, I got breast implants for a B cup at sixteen and after I started hormones at seventeen I quickly grew to a D cup. I am a full 38 D,”

“What surgery did you have? Your face looks different.”

“Starting at the top, I had hairline correction, forehead reconstruction, cheek implants, rhinoplasty, lip implants, Jaw reshaped, Adam’s apple shaved and of course breast implants.”

“You are gorgeous Cami,” Steph said as she switched which breast Amy fed from.

“You are pretty gorgeous too Stephany.”

“Now don’t lie to me Cameron, I am getting gray hair, I have crow’s feet and bags under my eyes. My breasts are beginning to sag and I am thirty pounds heavier than when I left home.”

“And you are still pretty in my eyes.”

That earned Cami a smile and a kiss to her cheek, “Can you give Amy a bath while I take one too?”

“Sure, I would love too.”

“You might want to get dressed. If she sees them jugs, she might latch on to your nipples.”

“Already happened sis, that is why I fed her the bottle.”

Stephanie went to her parent’s room and drew her bath adding some of her Mom’s bath salts. Her hands and toes were well pruned before she washed herself and shaved her legs and pits. She wrapped a towel around her and exited the bathroom to ask Cameron to get her, her bags. Instead she found all of her clothes all washed, neatly folded and placed neatly on the bed. All of her things had been dirty, she had just hoped to pick the cleanest of the dirty. She shed a tear of gratitude.

She dressed and came out of the bedroom to the smell of bacon and eggs. She cried again because it was such a heavenly aroma. Little Amy was on the carpeted floor playing with her toys and Cameron was just putting a couple of plates of food at the breakfast nook.

“You look wonderful Steph; did you have a good bath?”

Stephanie in answer just gave Cameron the most bone crushing hug she could, “Thank you baby sis, for all you have done, for me and Amy.”

“I won’t be crass and say think nothing about it sis, but you don’t know how much your coming home has done for me.”

Cameron made to lattes for them as Stephanie sat down to eat.

“Ooh lattes, when did you get so fancy?”

“I don’t have to work, but my therapist insisted. I manage a coffee shop in town. I called my district manager this morning and told her I had a family emergency. When I told her that you had returned for the first time in eight years, she put me on two weeks’ vacation.”

Stephanie sat and ate her breakfast. When she finished eating, she feed Amy who was happy to get her breast milk from the tap. Stephanie used a hand pump to express the rest of her breast milk.

“Don’t tell me you manage one of those coffee shops.”

“Yes, ma’am mom insisted that I start working, dressed as a girl, when I was sixteen and now I am the manager.”

“How did that go, sis?”

“It was rough at first, Gloria, my manager was a life saver. She fired three people, kids like me, that were ragging on me being a sissy freak. I hate that word, Sissy. I just wanted to be a girl. She read the whole shop the Sexual Harassment riot act. She stated that it applied to all LGBT people too. After the second month it became a non-issue there. We need to go shopping. Forgive my French, but your clothes and hairdo suck girl.”

Stephany laughed so hard tears began to fall, “Oh the irony, getting fashion and beauty corrections from my brother come sister. I have some money, but I need a job first.”

“Sis, Dad wrote you out of his will after you left. On the advice of her attorney, Mom didn’t list you in her will. The lawyer said it could complicate things if you didn’t come home in twenty or thirty years. I would have to have you declared dead to be able to sell the home and to get access to the funds that would be held in trust till you were declared dead. I have all their money and property. I will gladly share it with you.”

“How much do you have?” Stephanie asked.

“Mom got about three fourths of what was dad’s, the rest was in a trust for me. Mom still went to work and let dad’s investments grow. A couple of his stock picks really skyrocketed. When Mom passed away from liver issues, she really put down the wine, Steph, she always had a glass in her hand. Nothing I did could get her to stop drinking when she finally got home for the day. The money from life insurance, bank accounts, investments and real property was about thirty-three million dollars. If you want to, we will split that down the middle.”

Stephany was in shock, she didn’t know whether to believe Cameron or not, but why would she lie. There was no logical reason for her to not believe her.

“Just give me fifty thousand and let me see if I can handle that kind of money. I don’t want to go apeshit on you and blow it all.”

“Alright I can understand that. Let’s go shopping on me first,” Cameron got on her cell phone and placed a call, “Do you have room for a spa day… Good put down Stephany Calloway for the works, we will be there at ten-thirty.”

Turning to Stephany, Cameron said, “You can nurse Amy there at the salon, then she and I are going to have fun, while you go into the mechanic’s shop. I will try to get back before Amy gets too hungry, but I have two bottles of formula. If she can’t get to you, just express your milk. You won’t be the first nursing mother to go there.”

“But…”

“What was it Mom used to say, when she was getting her way. Steph there are no butts, just do as you are told.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Now get yourself purtied up. Check Mom’s clothes, I still have all her things in her closet. We have an hour to get to the salon. I will take you there in panties and a bra, if you are not ready.”

Stephany went to the bedroom and just like Cameron said, her mother’s things were all there. She tried on one of her skirted suits and a pretty blouse and found them to just be a smidgen large. She put on a garter belt, stockings, suit and heels. Stephany was amazed, she looked good and she had become her mom. At least figure wise.

Cameron wore a white silk poets blouse with lots of frills around the neck and down the front. Her skirt was just above the knee, black, white, yellow, pink and red floral printed, chiffon, pleated skirt. She wore some kind of hose and black pumps. She wore dangle earrings made of a dozen tiny sliver rods, three necklaces, that looked chic together, with a platinum Rolex on her left wrist and a silver cuff on her right and finally a large silver/amethyst ring on one hand and a silver London Blue topaz ring on the other hand. Her hair and makeup were exquisitely done in a daytime appropriate look.

Stephanie had a mile-wide smile on her face as she came out. Cameron hugged her before they headed out. Stephanie was surprised to see that Cameron had already moved Amy’s baby seat/carrier in a white Mercedes GLE. It looked almost new, even though she thought it was a couple of years old. Cameron carried Amy and got her all locked in place and they drove off.

. “Oh my god, Cameron. I can’t believe how girlie you are now. Also, be careful around Amy with those dangly earrings. She’ll pull on them.”

“I like the girly, but not an over the top drag queen look. Many ‘male to female’ transgender people go way too far to express their femininity.”

“I know what you mean. Who taught you?”

“The internet and Nadia Petrovka.”

“Was she still Mom’s hairdresser? You know she’s not really Russian.”

“No, she’s not Ukrainian. There are some Russian Petrovka’s, but it is mainly a Ukrainian Surname. I know, she chose the name when she became a hair dresser, she had the look, could fake the accent and the name sounded exotic. She did my hair and taught me how to do my makeup.”

“I wondered about that. The look suits you, more refined, lady-like and sophisticated. I feel absolutely drab next to you.”

Cameron dropped Stephany off with Nadia. She told her not to let her take any shortcuts in the process. Nadia let Stephanie nurse little Amy, then she and Aunt Cameron were off to see the wizard, while Stephanie was in Nadia’s capable hands.

She and Nadia talked about everything and nothing, except not a word was spoken about her Mom, Dad and Cameron’s transition.

Nadia did Steph’s hair and facial treatment. Stephanie got an updated hairdo that did wonders for her looks, a perm and a dye job to give her a rich auburn head of hair. The facial helped with her facial signs of aging. Amy came in at two-thirty to get a refill from the pump and then off again with her crazy Aunt Cameron.

Then came the spa treatments, a defoliation, mud bath, a hot stone treatment, massage and stunning makeup job. Steph was in hog heaven. She had never felt as pampered. Aunt Cameron and Amy showed up with a suit bag and a rolling suitcase. The suitcase had a complete set of new lingerie, jewelry from her mom’s collection and a new Dooney and Bourke hobo bag in a rich pebbled burgundy, an iPhone, and blue pumps, which she put on after feeding Amy again. Everything fit perfectly, even the heels. Inside the suit bag was a royal blue lace evening dress and matching blue lace shawl for nursing, that took Stephanie’s breath away. The dress was gorgeous.

Nadia touched up Stephanie’s make up a bit and had managed to take years off her looks. Stephany came in looking like she was in her late thirties and left out looking like her early twenties.

She felt an energy she hadn’t felt in over four years. It was like she was alive again.

It took Stephanie a half hour to set up her new purse and wallet. Inside the wallet was a new dollar bill sealed in plastic, so she would always have a dollar to her name. When she asked about it, Cameron told her that you don’t give a wallet as a present without putting some money in it. Nadia took her iPhone and took a bunch of photos of Stephanie, Amy and Cameron alone and together. Cameron showed Stephanie how to use her iPhone.

They left the salon at six thirty, and headed out to a nice seafood restaurant. Where they both had seafood salads. The salads were scrumptious, Stephanie slowly took each bite savoring the flavors.

“You know, you are being too nice to me, Cameron,” Stephanie said.

“Nonsense, haven’t you ever heard the story of the Prodigal son, well you are the Prodigal Sister. I need you as much or more than you needed me. I know we might not live together for the rest of our lives, but I need you to be family with me now. The sister that was gone, has now come home. Kill the fatted calve, put a ring on your finger and a robe on your shoulder. The whole nine yards and such. Although you didn’t take your inheritance with you, when you left.”

Suddenly Stephanie didn’t feel so bad about being away and she felt a great love for her sister, “You know from that story, I never understood what the fatted calve did, to deserve dying.”

Crazy Aunt Cameron began laughing, which caused Amy to laugh and wave her arms about, her face covered with crumbles of the Zwieback biscuits she had been gnawing on.

On the drive home they stopped by Cameron’s coffee shop. They arrived just as the shop was getting ready to close. The district manager, Helen Bark, was there talking with the assistant manager. All of the female employees there had a hug for Cameron and Stephanie and just had to make a fuss over little Amy.

Stephanie actually knew Kate Wambaugh, the assistant manager and one of the girls working there. They had a good chat after the assistant manager cleared all the registers and made her deposits up.

When they got home, there was a small mountain of things in the living room, baby things.

“I have to tell you something about little Amy. She nearly run me ragged shopping. That girl really has the shopping gene. Look at all the stuff she just had to have.”

“Oh, I am sure she just had to have all this stuff, but it’s more likely that her crazy Aunt Cameron, that tried to corrupt my poor little daughter. Play with her Cameron, I really want to give her, her bath today if you please. I had a fun day and I want Amy to have fun with me. I hate having to take this lovely dress off, but I don’t need Amy peeing on it.”

Stephanie went to her bedroom and saw the new baby bed. It was beautiful, she smiled and cried as she undressed and cleaned her face. In one of the drawers she found one of her mom’s lacy nightgowns and put that on, along with a satin robe and a pair of mules. When she came back to the living room, Cameron had undressed Amy down to her diaper and had put a baby tub in the sink. Stephanie ran the water till it got warm and then filled the tub. She undiapered a stinky diaper, cleaned Amy up and put her in the tub. Amy played in the water a little bit before Steph bathed her daughter.

Once she had Amy diapered, she nursed her and dressed her in a nightgown that Cameron had selected for her. She then put her to bed, and sat down to talk with Cameron.

“So how did you hook up with Nadia?”

Cameron was folding clothes as she answered, “You know Nadia was Mom’s hairdresser.”

“Yes, she did my hair a time or three too.”

“Well, Mom and Nadia would play golf twice a month on Sundays, they often came here after a round to gossip and drink a glass of wine. Sometimes I would be here too and I would act as their waitress. It was fun and I got a small glass of wine too. After Mom died she made it her mission to not let me waste away. She helped me polish my presentation as a real lady and was there when I went to the hospital for surgery.”

“Did you have surgery down there,” she said pointing to her crotch.

“Not yet, I didn’t want to be helpless alone. That surgery takes longer to heal from. I talked to Helen about it. She is training a new assistant manager, Kate will manage the present store and I will get a new store when I am back on my feet again. Helen has been totally supportive of me.”

Stephanie wrapped Cameron up in a hug and said, “I can’t promise that we will always be together, but I won’t abandon you Sis. I will try to always be in your life when you need me.”

“Anyways Nadia also got me out and working and volunteering too. I spend five hours a Saturday refereeing girls’ soccer in Olympia. Those girls can be vicious. I can’t believe they are referred too, as the weaker or gentler sex. One eight-year-old girl kicked me in the shins when I yellow carded her.”

Stephanie had to laugh, she knew exactly what Cameron was talking about, “I bet you red carded her.”

“Damn straight, she got suspended from the league. That was a real shame because she was such a talented soccer player.”

Cameron made Stephanie pump as much milk as she could. One of the new things Cameron had bought was an electric dual breast pump. Stephanie had used one of the manual pumps when she had worked and Amy was being baby sat.

Cameron locked up and they both went to bed at about ten, just before the news.

When they got up the next morning, they ate, Steph fed Amy and then pumped once more. The pump really emptied out her breasts better than they have ever been. Cameron told Stephany to dress in a loose skirt, blouse and flats, which she did. Cameron then gave Stephanie a prepaid debit card, that was attached to her personal checking account.

“Now this is a debit card, but if you need more I can authorize the bank to increase the deposit on the card.” Then she handed Stephanie a thick envelope. “The envelope has five thousand dollars in hundreds. Take some out and put it in your wallet. Then you are going shopping for yourself. I am executing my right as an aunt to babysit Amy. I have enough milk and stuff for her. Don’t come home without a complete wardrobe for yourself and don’t shop Walmart. We have a nice mall that has a Vicky’s, a Nordstrom and a Macy’s. You know where it is. Amy and I will be good till three or four. Here are the keys to the Mercedes.”

“Will that leave you without wheels?”

“No, while I didn’t go crazy after I got my inheritance. Santa brought me a new car, and I traded in my Mini-Cooper,” Cameron said taking Stephanie into the garage.

There next to her ratty old Dodge Caravan was a fairly new Porsche Panamera 4S.

“I see Santa was very nice to you. You must have been a very good girl.”

“Girls don’t kiss and tell.”

“Girl I have got a lot to teach you about girls.” Steph said kissing Cameron’s cheek.

“And I want to learn,”

They hugged and then Stephany got dressed. She put ten of the hundred-dollar bills in her wallet, with the debit card. The pin was her and Cameron birthdays rearranged of course.

She easily found the mall with Cameron’s directions, without using the GPS built in the car. It felt strange, good and frightening being out alone, shopping. She felt guilty about leaving little Amy, but she was certain Cameron would be good to her. The mall was huge, but nice. She took thirty minutes to walk around just the first floor and to read the mall map pillar.

First, she hit a lingerie shop, she got nursing bras, panties, garter belts, stockings and sleepwear. It was nice to have something that wasn’t about to fall apart from wear. She even got some sexier, prettier and softer things. It was also nice to have things that fit well. Pregnancy does a lot of things to your body that don’t disappear too fast afterwards. She changed into a clean set of lingerie and threw her old stuff away in the store.

She hit Nordstrom’s next. Stopping at the makeup counter first. She hit the Lancome and MAC counters. The techs treated her like a queen seeing just how much she was buying. She spent a cool thousand dollars getting everything she needed and got lots of freebies, along with a makeover. Her debit card worked perfectly. She felt good about herself when she left.

She went from the makeup counters into the depth of the lady’s department. Nordstrom was a mid to lower high end, fashion store. You could spend from fifty dollars to eight hundred or more on a blouse there.

She walked around to get a feel for the store and investigate the various departments within the ladies’ department. There was an area for business professionals, sportswear, sophisticated chic, evening wear, club wear, teens, women, lingerie, shoes, accessories, jewelry. She stopped to think about what she wanted. She wanted some everyday at home clothes, a suit or two, sportswear, she really needed to exercise so she could get her figure in shape. While she was considering things, a lady came up to her to ask if she needed any help.

The voice caught her attention sounding familiar. She looked at the lady and was deep in thought.

“I know who you are, do you know who I am?” Steph said smiling.

Linda Jenkins, the business professional manager looked at the lady till her eyes got really big, “Stephanie, Stephany Callaway, is that really you.”

“Yes, it is really me. Long time no see girl.”

“I heard you left town girl. Shame on you. How are you doing?”

“I lost my way for a while, been in Portland, Sacramento, Fresno, LA, Phoenix, Winslow, Las Cruces, San Antonio and Van Horn.”

“Are you still with that guy, what was his name… Timothy?”

“No, he left me like the scumbag he was when I got pregnant. I have a baby girl, now, Amy is her name.” Stephanie said, pulling out her iPhone.”

“Oh, my she is sooo cute and there is Cameron. How is she doing?”

“Cameron, what can I say about her. I think she saved me for one thing. I have had a lot of shocks to my system since I pulled into our driveway.”

“We can talk later girl, do you need any help?”

“Yes, I apparently need a new wardrobe from skin out, according to Cameron. I already hit lingerie and makeup. It’s just I need so much, I don’t know where to start.”

“How does one eat an elephant?” Linda asked, “One bite at a time,” she said, answering her own question.

Linda took her into the suit department, then into sophisticated chic, into sportswear etc. etc. etc. not buying the whole store but a nice selection of what she really needed. When the register stopped smoking she had fourteen large store bags and two suit bags. Linda took a break and helped her carry her things to her car.

“Stephanie, it is really good seeing you back. I am so sorry you had to learn about your mother and father this way, but it is good that Cameron got to see you and be a good sister to you.”

“I need her too right now. I took a big shot to my ego and I want to learn how to be a sister to Cameron.”

Linda took a card out of her purse and scribbled her phone number on it, “Call me tonight or tomorrow night. I get home at ten. Don’t make me come after you.”

“I promise to call, you tonight. I need to go home now, I am starting to leak.”

Linda hugged Stephanie and waved as she drove off.

When Stephanie got home, she parked in the drive and came in the front door. She could hear Cameron singing to Amy and accompanying herself on a guitar. She sang Shakira’s “Try Everything”. Cameron was sitting on the floor next to Amy’s playpen serenading her daughter. Amy was smiling, giggling and clapping, while she was playing with a toy. Stephanie was amazed at the pitch and range of Cameron’s voice. She had a good strong mezzo voice, she had a little trouble with some of the high soprano notes, but she carried the song quite well.

Cameron’s play was very good; Stephanie thought that Cameron could play professionally with a little work. Amy was loving it all and was beating out the percussion with a plastic ring. Cameron looked up and smiled at Stephanie who just stood there watching. When Cameron finished the song she was signing, she launched into another song, “Love is an Open Door”. Stephanie joined her singing Hans’s part. Little Amy joined in, adding percussion with her plastic ring.

When they finished, Stephanie hugged her sister, “You’re pretty good, Cameron. I like your voice.”

“Nadia told me to sing some female lead songs to help me develop a better female talking voice. She knew I played guitar so she had me play and sing. I can sing Adele’s songs pretty easily; she has a lower pitched voice. Christine Aguilera’s songs can give me fits. By the way, you look wonderful.”

Stephanie primped and posed a bit, “I need a forklift to unload the SUV. I think. Let me feed Amy and then can you help me sis.”

“We can sure do that.”

Cameron sat and watched Amy suck on her sister’s breast.

“I met Linda Jenkins at Nordstrom today.”

“Mom introduced her to me. She was in your class at school, wasn’t she?”

“No, she was in the next class above mine. She was a senior when I was a junior. She helped me to be a little more sensible at shopping. It can be a little daunting buying a complete wardrobe.”

Amy fell asleep while she was eating. Stephanie gave her a little encouragement to finish the second breast, before she put her down in her new bed.

It took the two girls four trips to get everything in from the SUV. First, they cleaned out closet space and drawer space for Stephanie’s new clothes. They put most of their parent’s old clothes into leaf bags, to donate to goodwill. Stephanie kept a few of her mother’s things that she could wear and they began to organize and put up her new things. Cameron worked on drawers while Stephanie hung clothes in her closets.

They stopped for a bite, before hitting their mother’s vanity. Cameron was quite a good cook.

“Mom taught me the basics of cooking and then began teaching me some advanced techniques. I am still not as good a cook as I want to be, but I can hold my own.”

“You are better than most of the hash slingers, I worked with in a couple of dozen diners.”

Stephanie began talking about the things that happened in her life, from the time she left Tacoma. She spoke of the jobs she had taken in dozens of cities, to buy beer and gasoline for their Harley, or rather Timothy’s Harley.

“Timothy was actually quite good on motorcycle repair and diesel engine mechanic. He could have made a good living if he had only settled down in one place or another, but after a few months he would be bitten by the wanderlust bug and we would be off. We actually settled down for a year in Winslow and two years in Van Horn, but he wasn’t ready to be a father and took off as soon as I got pregnant.”

It was a quarter of ten when they finished with the vanity, emptied a dresser in the guest room and put Amy’s new things away.

“I think I will move Amy into the guest room, in a couple of weeks. I want to make sure she gets settled in first. Moving is very hard on a baby. We need to find doctors.”

“I can help you there, Sis. I see too many. There is Lois my psychologist, James my GP, William my endocrinologist, Samantha was my facial surgeon and David was my boob man. James Daughtry can be your GP he is good. Mom and I both used him. You need what, a OB/GYN, and a Pediatrician also, right.”

“Oh my. You certainly see a lot of doctors, and yes I need an OB/GYN and a Pediatrician for Amy.”

“Part and parcel of being a transgender person, Stephanie. I will see maybe another two when I go in for bottom surgery. Another surgeon and maybe a urologist.”

“You must let me help you, Cameron. I missed so much of your life. I feel guilty that I wasn’t here for you. I need to make a call, Linda asked me to call her tonight.”

Stephanie took out her cell phone and called Linda. They chatted for the better part of an hour. Linda invited her, Cameron and Amy to go golfing Sunday after two.”

The next morning Cameron again woke first. She and Stephanie both slept late. Amy woke when Cameron came to check on her. She first took care of the diaper and took Amy to the lunch wagon. Stephanie was in that twilight place half-awake/half-asleep, when Cameron handed Amy to her. She then made them coffee and toast with jam. Stephanie came into the kitchen still feeding Amy for her coffee.

When everyone was fed and human they went to dress in shorts, polo shirts, socks and sport shoes. Cameron then drove them to a Driving Range/Golf Pro shop, taking their mom’s bag of clubs. They both bought new golf shoes and visors. The Pro helped Cameron select a new set of clubs, a set of Ping Pro series. Stephanie had to buy a new putter because Cameron was attached to the one in her bag. The Pro also re-shafted a couple of Stephanie’s clubs, after checking her stance and swing. He re-shafted her driver, fairway wood, her three and five irons. He then gave them both vouchers for a bucket of balls. They each bought three boxes of 15 new balls and a large bag of second chance balls (the balls that some skin diver retrieved from water hazards), golf gloves and some accessories they both needed.

They walked out to the range and cashed in their vouchers. They took turns hitting balls Cameron would drive a few balls and then trade out with Stephanie doing baby duty while Stephanie would drive some balls.

Cameron was first driving. She took her new clubs and set a ball on the tee. After waggling a bit, she swung and looked deep. Stephanie laughed which got Amy giggling. Cameron had intentionally missed the ball. She faked being startled when she saw her ball still on the tee. She swung again and nailed it about a hundred eighty-five yards in the air, the ball bounded and rolled another twenty-five yards, it faded to the right about ten yards off her line. Cameron hit about four more, her best shot about two hundred-forty yards mostly online.

Stephanie didn’t do quite as well; it had been about nine years since she had last golfed. Her first shot was a hook about a hundred yards down and almost as far left.

“Wow that was a great shot for a dogleg left, sis.”

Stephanie laughed, “Yeah right, I played it that way, sis.”

Her next few shots were better and after a few more rounds, she felt much more comfortable. She was hitting them closer to line and about one hundred seventy to one hundred eighty yards.

Cameron’s short iron shots were really good. With her wedges she got a lot of backspin when she wanted it. Stephanie was only fair with her irons. They both did well when they went to the putting green. Cameron could really read the greens well on her long puts and Stephanie could drill the cup from ten to fifteen feet.

They left when Amy started to get a little grumpy. They drove to a park and setup a pallet in the shade for her to lay on and play. Stephanie fed her a bottle that she had expressed that morning.

They sat down on a blanket.

“I am so sorry Cameron, if I had known, I would have been here for you. I almost came home about two and a half years ago. Tim and I had a big fight and he hit me hard a couple of times. I would have come home but I didn’t know if Mom and Dad would take me back in.”

“Mom would have, Steph. Don’t ever doubt that. She mourned your loss often. In a way I am glad that you didn’t come back then. We wouldn’t have Amy around. She is a joy to play with.”

“And I love the both of you. I have to get up at five-thirty tomorrow and be in Olympia by seven. I have three junior league soccer games to ref.”

“How did you get into that?”

“I went to Olympia to get around people, at Nadia’s insistence, dressed as a girl. I got drafted as a linesman, when they didn’t have enough. When one of the referee’s twisted a knee, I volunteered to finish the game. One of the organizers saw me and liked the way I handled the kids, she got me to take a course and I got US Soccer certified. I am being courted by a couple of other leagues around town also.”

“Well may Amy and I join you, tomorrow?”

“Amy can be ready by seven, can you?”

“I use to wait tables at six and had to take Amy to the sitter by five-thirty. The sitter was a nice old lady, she kept two or three kids at her place. Till she had a stroke about a month ago. I tried other sitters. That is when I decided to come home. So yes I can be ready.”

“Let’s head to a grocery now. We have a cooler in the garage, you can pack drinks and some nibbles for you and Amy.”

“We can have a picnic after the game.”

“Not immediately after. Although there are showers at the field, I can’t use them… yet. I will need to come home and shower first. I wind up running more than the kids do.”

They hit Costco and bought a ton of food. Stephanie intended to start Amy on solid foods. Her old pediatrician had wanted her to wait a while longer, but she was needing more and more breast milk now. It’s a good time for her to begin eating baby food now.

“I will introduce one new food at a time for and see how she takes take to it. I will feed her rice cereal in the morning, if she does well for the next week, we will add bananas.”

“I will get us a book on that tomorrow.” Cameron said.

“Check on Amazon and download it to my computer and iPad.”

“Good thinking, Sherlock.”

Cameron did find a baby book online. She setup an Amazon account and downloaded several books on babies.

Stephanie packed a cooler with drinks, that night. She would add some food and ice in the morning. They bathed Amy and put her down for the night, before showering and going to bed together themselves.

Cameron mused as she went to bed that night, emotionally she had been going nowhere. Yes, she was living her life and no, she wasn’t suicidal, but she had had a hole in her heart that was unfilled. She now felt better about life than she had been in years.

>>>>><<<<<

Stephanie was only a little grumpy in the morning. It was good to take care of her needs before Amy had to be taken care of. The extra sleep she was getting had been good for her, but it was also good to get back into a routine. She made a light breakfast for Cameron and herself and they got themselves ready before waking Amy. Stephanie breast fed Amy and then made a bowl of rice cereal for her using her breast milk. Amy ate it right up. She liked the new food she was getting.

Cameron wore her yellow shirt, black shorts, black socks and running shoes. Stephanie braided her hair, tying it off with a black satin ribbon. They were out the door five minutes early. At the soccer field Cameron had to run off for a meeting. Stephanie got the things she needed and wheeled Amy to the sideline near the field Cameron had pointed out to her. She set an umbrella up for them and set the baby carrier on a pallet.

Cameron got her linesmen and fourth official set up and called the two teams together. Under thirteen girls were playing first. After a few words with the players she started her first game.

Amy didn’t understand what was going on but she liked the people around her. She caught the attention of many a mother, “Hi, I am Wanda Mitchell, I am with the parent’s association. Your little one is so cute. Do you have a girl playing on the field?”

“No, but the referee is my little sister.”

“Oh she is a good one. I like it when she does our games. She talks better to my Belinda when she makes a foul,” one lady said. “She takes time to explain what she did wrong without making her feel terrible. We have good parents here for the most part. The league has really cracked down on soccer moms and dads that act up. They ban parents here from the field if they act up too bad. Your sister stared down a big father a couple of months ago and made him back off. He crawled away with his tail between his legs. He was all upset when his girl got tackled. Your sister said the girl took the ball cleanly and his daughter had run into her. He got so mad, he started to take a swing at her. She looked him in the eyes and said, “Don’t you dare do that, I will have you in jail. What will your daughter think of that?””

“It would almost be better if they put some parents in a cage and not let them out till after the game,” Stephanie said.

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Cameron was all over the field, putting herself in the best position to make the calls that were necessary. Stephanie was impressed by the skill these girls were displaying. The green and white team were quite good. They moved the ball left and right as well as forward and back. The blue teams goal keeper was kept busy, but she only let two goals past her. Unfortunately, two goals were enough to win the game. Green and white won 2-1.

The second game Cameron refed was an under seventeen game. Cameron had to work really hard. The girls on these two teams were playing for blood. Four girls had yellow cards by the break. Cameron came over to Stephany to get a drink. In the second half, a girl drew a red card on a vicious tackle. The player in blue had to leave the game limping and with a bleeding knee. The girl in red and black, clearly went after her instead of the ball. The blue team were awarded a penalty kick. The girl who took the kick was very good, she had the goal keeper going left while she dinked the ball slowly on the goal keeper’s right. Two more girls got red cards before the final whistle and a league official was seen talking to both coaches as the teams left the field.

Cameron had an hour to rest up for her last game.

“I can’t believe the bad blood those two teams had for each other. That was the roughest game I ever had to call.”

“I think you did a wonderful job Cameron.”

“There are going to be some suspensions for this game, the commissioner watched and recorded the whole game and apologized to me before he tore into the coaches.”

The last game was under ten girls. In many ways it was the most fun to watch. Both teams were playing for the fun of the game, they ran when they could. One girl tried a header, she was knocked farther than she had hit than the ball it seemed. She just got back up and went after the ball. Cameron stopped play for a few seconds to check on the girl, before the game resumed. No body scored during regulation and they had to have a shootout to determine the winner.

Cameron carried Amy on the way back to the car, “I don’t know what stinks the worst, me or your stinky diaper.” She sniffed Amy and then said, “Your stinky diaper wins.” Amy just clapped her hands and giggled.

They took a pit stop in the restroom to take care of her diaper.

Stephanie drove home and Cameron covered the passenger seat with a plastic sheet. At home she undressed down to her underwear, next to the washer and dryer before running in her sports bra and panties to the bathroom, while Stephanie started a load of clothes and began to fix a late lunch for them.

Cameron soaked for thirty minutes, before she bathed and came out to eat. She was famished but kept herself from scarfing down her food.

“We need to do our cleaning today before bedtime Steph. That way we will have Sunday just to golf and relax,” Cameron said between bites.

“Ok I will take the kitchen, living room and bathrooms, while you take the bedrooms. Amy will take the patio in her playpen.”

They worked for three hours doing house hold chores. They kept up with Amy using an electronic baby monitors, she did require some attention for ten or fifteen minutes a couple of time, while they worked. Cameron took care of her once and Stephanie took Amy the second time, as she was hungry or thirsty. It was fun breastfeeding Amy while looking out over the Bay.

Sunday, they got up at seven-thirty. They stretched and did light exercise till nine and relaxed till lunch which was light salads. They both got ready. Cameron wore white ankle socks, a white golf polo over a dark blue stretch golf skirt, a pink golf visor and pink lensed Oakley sunglasses. Stephanie wore a white short sleeved polo, a sleeveless yellow/black argyle sweater, green just above the knee shorts and ankle socks. Amy wore a diaper, pink shirt, Osh-Kosh overalls in blue, pink and blue socks and pink shoes.

Cameron drove the Mercedes to the golf course across the bay. Linda and another woman were waiting by their golf cart. Stephanie recognized her in an instant, she was Rebecca DeMere. Rebecca DeMere had been a girl at her high school who had been a year or two ahead of Stephanie. Cameron got their two bags and Stephanie took care of Amy.

“Rebecca DeMere… Oh my, it is so good seeing you,” Stephanie said.

“It’s Rebecca Whitson now. I married and got divorced last year. I see that you have an addition to your family, too.”

“Yes this little angel is named Amy. The scumbag who fathered her ran off on me, last year before she was born.”

“That scumbag would be Timothy Wheeler, right?”

“Yes it would.”

They went into the pro shop and paid their green fees and cart rental fee. Stephanie was surprised to see a golf cart set up to safely secure a baby carrier. The baby carrier locked in right in front of the passenger seat. Rebecca and Stephanie rode together while Cameron joined Linda in her cart. They had to wait fifteen minutes for their tee time, so they all chatted together.

Rebecca had graduated and followed her high school sweetheart, David Whitson, to Kansas State where he played football. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins after he graduated, where he had been nicknamed “The Crusher”. David had lasted three seasons till he suffered the Unhappy Triad, a complete rupture of the anterior collateral ligament, severe damage to the medial collateral ligament and severe damage to the medial meniscus in December. Their marriage had been alright until the injury. Facing two years of rehab broke her husband’s mind. He became violent to her in January. The second time he hit her, she reported him to the police and to the league. Her face looked atrocious, along with large bruises on her chest, sides and abdomen. She filled for and received a divorce and raked him over the coals.

“I received sixty-eight percent of the marital assets or about five point three million dollars, including his Lamborghini and the house on Key West, not to press charges. He has two more years of contract, I get half. I doubt he will ever play again.”

“No kids,” Stephanie asked.

“He was sterile as a screw fly. I don’t know how he passed all his piss tests, but he was juicing and he is now sterile. He would rage on the field, but after his injury, he took out his rage out on me.”

They had paid for eighteen holes, with the plan to play nine and see how Amy was doing. If she wasn’t too fussy, they would play the back nine too.

Stephanie was more than a little rough on the first three holes, shooting seven over par on the three holes. The second hole had four bunkers and she landed in three of them. The fourth hole was a par three and she landed on the green six feet from the hole, and birdied it. Amy liked all the attention she got when they stopped to make a shot. Someone was always there to play with her, it slowed play a bit, but they still made good time. Linda was beating them all, followed by Cameron, closely followed by Rebecca.

Stephanie finished the first nine shooting a 48. Amy was asleep at the wheel so they took on the back nine.

“Amy is such a good baby, I kind of wish that David and I would’ve had a baby. I know it wouldn’t have changed him, David wasn’t good father stock, but I miss not having children.”

Stephanie told Rebecca about her failed relationship and coming home.

“I imagine it was quite a shock seeing Cameron. We played golf four times before I realized who Cameron had been. Before you ask, I don’t have any problems with Cameron. She is a good person.”

“Amy and I both needed to come home. I am only sorry I wasn’t there for Cameron when our parents died and I should have been here to help him get his life back together.”

“You might not have had Amy then. You might have stayed here instead of getting pregnant.”

“I know, but at least I am home now. The three of us are a family now.”

“Cameron may seem weak and needy at times, but she had some real strength. Help her see how strong she is. So what are you going to do now?”

“I am going to get a job and go back to college.”

“What are you going to study? People used to say the first two years don’t matter, but they do. The sooner you know what you want to do, the quicker you can get there. Not all college degrees are worth the paper they are written on.”

“So, I should study what degrees can help me most?”

“Choose the field of study you can live with, towards a career you can grow with. You are starting college late; you need to fast track your education. I know people with JD’s that can’t stand being a lawyer. Law was easy for me, until I went to work as an intern for a law firm. I completed my internship, took my bar exams and quit after a year.”

“Should I start college this September?”

“Too soon, it would be hard to go through all the processes to start. December is doable, though. Call me when you two are ready to go through the process. I will help you.”

“How did you meet the new Cameron?”

“Nadia got me golfing with her. It was about four or five months ago. About a month after we started golfing together, I asked Cameron if she had a sister named Stephanie. She looked quite distressed. I told her not to worry, I wasn’t going to say anything. I don’t know how I would have reacted to Cameron, if she had come out to me on day one, but I have found out that she is all girl. I like her.”

“You’ve got that right. After shopping with her for Amy, I have no doubt that she is all girl.”

“One thing good about her is, she isn’t as “Catty” as many of the girls I hung around. She isn’t a social climber, stepping on one girl’s body to get up closer to the top of the ladder. I needed that, I fell a long way, socially that is, after my divorce.”

“I think Amy and I are going to enjoy golfing with you guys.”

Linda beat everyone on the back nine finishing with a seventy-nine. Cameron shot an eighty-three and Rebecca shot an eighty-seven. Stephanie finished last at ninety-two. The girls went home to clean up and met up again at a restaurant, a girl doesn’t go out in public stinking after all.

Stephanie dressed in one of her skirt suits with heels, while Cameron and Amy went totally girlie. Cameron wore her poet’s shirt and a flared knee length skirt, heels and a cardigan. Amy wore one of the dresses that Aunt Cameron had insisted she get.

Linda and Rebecca met up with them. Once they were seated and had ordered entrees and gotten their drinks, they began talking. Stephanie asked about the job market.

“I know I can wait tables, or work as a maid, but I want more for myself besides that. Cameron I know you want to support us but I need this.”

“Then I can babysit for you.”

“No, Cameron you need to get out yourself,” Linda said. “And you already have a job.”

Linda was deep in thought, “I think I know where you can get a job. I have a friend Alicia Cook. She runs a curio shop. She does good business, is good at the running of the store and such, but she can’t keep books worth shit. If Alicia doesn’t get help, she is on track to losing her business within a year.

“Yes,” Rebecca said, “She has been in business for two years, but her business is suffering. She is totally incompetent when it comes to paperwork. She would only need a part time bookkeeper, just one for ten or twenty hours a week to come in go through the mail, fill out reports, pay bills, make payroll and file taxes.”

“It sounds like data entry into Quickbooks and making reports to her accountant,” Cameron added.

“Yes, she is busy enough to sustain the business, but she faced fines and penalties for failing to report income on time and making quarterly payments to the IRS. She had been trying to do it herself, but she is just so forgetful. The accountant can give you the information needed, to keep you on schedule. Let me talk to her and come by my place tomorrow at noon. Bring Amy and Cameron with you, we’ll have lunch,” Rebecca said.

When they got home Stephanie fed and bathed Amy before putting her down for a nap. She and Cameron then got her laptop out and began working through Quickbooks. Stephanie wasn’t a bookkeeper, but she knew the basics of the program, the program was intuitive and she believed she could do the job. She and Cameron went through the basics and the tutorial built into the software. She also took a look at Word and Excel, she thought that she could use them to make her reports.

She sat down and made up the sample company and did the books for the company. The software would walk her through setting up all the asset and expense accounts and begin to post invoices, pay bills, print checks, keep up with employee payroll, print payroll checks, keep up with inventory and print out reports.

Stephanie fed Amy and watched as Cameron bathed her daughter, before dressing her and putting her to bed.

They watched TV for a bit before heading to bed themselves.

Tuesday they headed over to Rebecca’s home. Cameron dressed in an off the shoulder blouse, wide leg pants and heels. Stephanie chose to wear one of her suits and little Amy was dressed in her cutest little dresses.

Rebecca lived in a townhouse that had gone upscale co-op. Her Townhouse was a three story, three bed two and a half bath, home. The place had nice amenities, including world class kitchens, stairway lifts, dining room with a nice chandelier, spacious laundry room, excellent insulation for heat and noise and fiber optic to the house. The complex had twenty-four units with a heated swimming pool inside a solarium, controlled access entry, covered parking spaces and storage lockers to the rear of their Townhouse.

Cameron carried Amy and they headed to Rebecca’s place. A knock at the door was answered in ten seconds.

“Hello, it is good seeing all of you. Come on in,” Rebecca said. “Cameron, I see you brought a gift for the hostess,” she said, holding her arms out to take Amy.

Amy giggled as Rebecca smothered her in kisses.

Cameron and Stephanie greeted Rebecca and followed her into the living room. They sat and began chatting about their lives.

“After I left my husband I came back to the Seattle area. Miami is a nice place to visit, but not so nice to live there. It is so hot and humid all year around it seems.”

“I know hot, Tim and I spent a good bit of time in west Texas, from El Paso to Fort Stockton. He had some friends he mooched off of. We tried to settle down in San Antonio, then landed in Van Horn, Texas.”

“Cameron, I have never heard the story of how you became you.” Rebecca said. “If you don’t mind me asking, I would love to hear your story.”

Cameron hesitated a second or two, wondering just how much to say, “I don’t mind telling you sis. You had left town, Rebecca before Steph graduated. I was always a skinny as a kid. I stopped growing at five foot eight. When Stephanie left, it kind of hit Mom, Dad and I in the gut. Mom regretted the words she had spoken to Stephanie and Dad stood by what mom had said. Mom actually began drinking quite a bit. Dad worked himself to death. Mom became very protective of me, but she also got lost in a wine bottle. I was missing Stephanie really bad. I wandered into her room and started wearing some of her clothes while Mom was at work. I would clean the house wearing a panties, blouse, skirt and heels.”

“You didn’t wear her bras?”

“Are you kidding, Stephanie’s bra cups were huge. I had nothing that could fill them. I did wear some of her bikinis though, the ones that had the soft cups and no underwire. I had an epic set of tan lines after sunning myself for almost two months. Mom finally caught me sleeping, wearing one of Steph’s baby doll gowns. It was see through enough, I couldn’t claim dressing was just a passing thing. I was golden brown with pale breasts and bikini panty shape. Mom got sober enough to get me on the right track. I saw a psychologist and our Doctor. It wasn’t like I always knew I was a girl, but more like I discovered I was a girl.”

“I understand, Cameron,” Rebecca said. “I read about transgender on the internet.”

“In January after I graduated I saw a doctor and a surgeon about the way I looked. Mom was with me through my facial surgery and my implants. Then her drinking caught up with her.”

“Somewhere between Dad dying and my surgery, my mind began shifting. I began to be more feminine in the way I thought. Mom loved having a girly girl around the house. Steph had been feminine, but rarely girly. She liked the tough girl image. I would have been a Disney Princess, Barbie type girl if I had been born Double X, instead of XY. Before she passed, Mom told me that the reason she pushed me to learn who I was, was she would rather have a transgendered daughter than a dead son.”

“You then came around about four months ago Rebecca. You’ve also helped me. Especially when you didn’t recognize me for being born a male. You treated me like you treated Nadia and Linda.”

“I graduated before you graduated high school, so I didn’t know you. I guess that was a blessing, because I got to know you before I realized just who you were. I knew Stephanie had a brother, I just never made the connection till Nadia slipped up and asked you about Stephanie.”

“I think that is what she intended, Rebecca. She wanted to see how you would react to me.”

“I liked you Cameron. You’ve helped me too, as did Nadia. I holed up in this place, just like you. I didn’t trust anybody; I didn’t want to see anybody. After my bruises healed up I went to see Nadia to get my hair styled. I don’t know why. I just got tired of the tangled mess it had become. She took my long hair and gave me a pixie cut, to make it look decent. I have let it grow since. I think I will keep it like this for a while,” Indicating her medium/long bob she wore now. “She got me to start golfing with you, Linda and her. I liked that. I also golfed two or three times a week. I’m not great at it, but it gets me out.”

They went into the kitchen and began to prepare lunch, “After I graduated, I followed my sweetheart David Whitson to Kansas. While he played football, I took pre law. When he was drafted by the Dolphins I followed him and went to Law school at the University of Miami. David signed a big five-year contract with the Dolphins. Two years later he blew his knee out. All that aggression he showed on the football field had no outlet and he turned it on me. He has another two years on contract, I get half and then he gets an NFL pension, if he doesn’t play again. Last I heard he was drinking his money away and doing coke. He still does his rehab, that is part of his contract, but I doubt that he will ever play again. I miss him, but I will never be alone with him, if I see him at all.”

After a few moments of silence Stephanie began, “I guess it is my turn. Mom and I had a big blow out, just after I graduated. Anyway, Mom was trying to run my life. At least that is what I thought. We didn’t have a knock down drag out, but it was close. I wanted to go to Berkley and Mom wanted me to go to University of Washington. Turns out, I didn’t go to either universities.”

“Riding on the back of Timothy’s Harley was fun for the first year or so. Living under the stars was fun till it started to get cold. We went down the Pacific highway till we got to LA, stopping in several cities and then turned east. The mountains were beautiful. You have got to go see the Grand Canyon Cameron, it was awesome. We went to see the Caverns near Carlsbad. We tried to spend the night there, but they ran us off. We so wanted to make love down there. We spent some time in El Paso Texas, with some of his friends. I supported us working as a waitress or maid. Timothy did mechanic work. We moved to San Antonio and tried to settle down there. Again I waited tables and Timothy took about a dozen jobs, but he could never keep one. We almost made it in Van Horn, Timothy made good money as a diesel mechanic and rebuilding Harleys. A little over a year ago I got pregnant by Timothy. He was gone a couple of months after I told him. I haven’t seen him since.”

“I tried to make it as a single mom and I had a pretty good setup and a good job waiting tables at a nice restaurant and a maid at a motel. I made good tips, till I got to where I couldn’t work. I just love Amy, but we couldn’t make it with me working and paying a baby sitter too. The nice old lady that was keeping her had a stroke. I was the first mother to find her. They took her to the hospital and I stayed with the kids till they were picked up. I tried to find a new sitter I could trust, but gave up. Finally, I just sold everything I could and drove back to Tacoma to beg my parents to let me come back home.”

“I am glad you did sis. I needed you.”

“And we need you too.”

“What about you, Rebecca, what do you do?”

“Nadia got me volunteering with a couple of charities. I have passed the Washington bar. I may not open a law office and I won’t join a firm, but I may work pro-bono for the local women’s shelter.”

“I never realized just what Nadia means for the women she comes in contact with,” Stephanie said

“You’re telling me. We were all basket cases till she pulled us all together,” Cameron stated.

“Besides work, golfing and soccer, I am out of the house doing something, three or four times a week.”

“Have you had any problems with other people over the way you dress?” Rebecca asked.

“Some at the first, around Tacoma. High school was good and rough at the same time. The school protected me, but I still had a few incidents with other students. It took almost a semester to iron things out and over time I seemed to have been forgotten. It has been a non-issue the last few years. Of course, I can pass, without being read, now.”

Monday through Friday Cameron and Stephanie began to establish a routine around their home. Cameron saw her surgeon and scheduled time for her to have her bottom surgery, at Stephanie’s insistence.

“If you really want this surgery, there is no reason to put it off any longer. I will be with you to help you recover.” She told Cameron.

“Ok, I really do want to have this done. My psychologist already signed off on it. I just want to finish this soccer season; we have two more months.”

The next game was an under seventeen games and was one of the best played games of the season. The two teams were well matched. The ball was moved all over the field by both teams, with numerous shots on both goals. Cameron had yellow carded a couple of girls, the fouls hadn’t been vicious and the girls accepted the penalties and played on. The game had to go into a shootout and then into a penalty shootout. One team finally scored an unanswered goal and won the game.

The losing team was heart broken and their goal tender, who had tripped, laid down to cry. The winners, instead of celebrating their victory turned to hug and comfort the other girls. They even carried the losing goal tender up on their shoulders.

The commissioner met with both teams after the game, to congratulate both teams for their outstanding play. He told them that four cameras had recorded the whole game and that they were going to edit the tapes. The tapes would be available for sale in two weeks.

Cameron’s last game was with the under ten girls. It was a fun game for everyone there. The girls made so many errors it was funny. One girl got the ball at mid-field and without really thinking brought it back into her own defensive side. Somewhere along the way, she got crossed up and shot the ball on her defensive goal scoring on a great shot for the other team. She was heartbroken, but she got her head back into the game and scored the next goal for her team.

After the game the Commissioner introduced Cameron to the an official for the high school soccer officiating.

“Ms. Callaway, I am Stan Smith, I am in charge of the officials for high school soccer in the State of Washington. I like the way you call the games you officiate in. We want you to join our organization, to officiate at high school games this fall.”

“Oh my, would I have to drive all over the state?”

“We try to keep our officials as local as possible, you might have to drive to four or five counties. At least during the regular season. If you are selected to call playoff games, you could find yourself at the far distant counties in this state.”

“I am already certified through US Soccer, will there be any other testing or schools?”

“We have a two day school and soccer camp, to make sure all our officials are on the same page.”

“I may not be able to do it this year. I have some surgery coming up after this soccer season. Then it depends on how fast I can recover.”

“Major surgery?”

“Yes, it deals with my reproductive system. Poly-cystic ovaries with a complete hysterectomy would be the worst case.”

“Alright, here is my card. Call me when you get back in shape. You could probably attend the school and soccer camp this summer. I saw how well you worked the field, so you wouldn’t have to do all the running around. Then we will put you to work when you are medically cleared. We will work with you.”

Cameron did finish the season and have her surgery. Stephanie was there by her side all the way. She went to the school and soccer camp. She wasn’t cleared to take the field when the season started, but she did work in the league offices scheduling officials for the various high schools in the district.

Stephanie, Cameron and Amy became a family. They were there for each other and filled empty holes in each of their lives.

The end