Chapter 35 - Going Home, Part 3

Forgive me if I touch lightly on the year and a half we spent in grad school. It was a whole lot of work. Interesting, important, but it really doesn't touch much on my life as a transgendered woman. Nothing changed much on that front.

Where things did change was that Conrad was no longer around visit his parents on the holidays. The time had come to reveal Connie to my small town friends. In the nine years since I had first tried on a bra, the town had changed quite a bit. The transition to being a bedroom community for the larger town nearby was going on apace. Improved roads had cut travel times significantly and the Interstate highway system was being built.

While Mom's Woolworth store was prospering, the first signs of doom were on the horizon. In the sixties, Woolworth had spun off Woolco, Kresge opened K-mart and Sam Walton started Wal-Mart. The big box stores were starting to cannibalize the small town five-and-dime operations because those new roads let people shop there and live here.

There were new families in town, many of my generation had moved away. Hippies and free love were not just in California any more. And Connie came out of the closet.

Since we had spent my first Christmas as Connie with Julie's parents and we were living with them, it was only fair to spend this Christmas with my parents. We were all a bit nervous, but Connie was here to stay and there was no more hiding who I was. It was a very long drive despite the improved highways, and we arrived dead tired. We crashed early that night, but woke up refreshed the next morning. As planned, we dressed and went to meet Grandma Gladys and Grandpa Dave at Sharon's Diner for breakfast. If you want to send a message to the entire town, then stop for coffee at Sharon's and the jungle drums will start beating before you finish your first cup.

We didn’t have long to wait, my old buddy
Alvin stopped over to ask my parents if Con would be coming home for Christmas.

"I'm already here, Alvin." I said.

How's that for a conversation stopper?

"Close your mouth, Alvin. You'll catch flies."

Grandma Gladys smiled because I stole that line from her. It's one of her favorites.

"Alvin, this is my partner Julie. Julie, this is my best friend from high school Alvin. He's married to that blonde over there and I have to assume that's their kid beating his high chair tray with a rattle."

"You're kidding me?" asked Alvin tentatively.

" 'Fraid not, old buddy. I've changed a little bit since high school."

"What? Why?"

"Remember ogling those Playboy centerfolds in the garage? Bet you thought I was wanting to get them in my bed. I was really wanting to be them. It took a little work but I'm almost there and I don't have to worry about a staple in my navel."

"Geez! I feel like I've been smoking something really good and I haven't touched a pipe since the kid was born."

"Good for you! Come over to the house sometime and we can talk. Kinda crowded in here for catching up. And bring the family, please."

"Whoa. I got to think about this."

"Take your time, Alvin. We'll be here until the day after Christmas. Then we got to head back to Julie's place and do New Years with her folks."

"Right."

Alvin wandered off in a daze. I won't reproduce any more of the conversations I had that morning, they all pretty much went the same way, although some were not nearly as pleasant. Only got accused of being an abomination once, though.
 

All this was just a preliminary round, the main bout was going to church on Sunday morning. I know, I know, I haven't said much about church so far because the only time I went to church since I left for college was when I was home with the folks. Then I reverted to being a good boy and went with them, since they expected it of me. Funny how you revert to a child when an adult goes back home to visit Mom and Dad.

Likewise, church played little role in my new family's life. Doug was a lapsed Catholic, Sandra gave up on god after her husband was killed and Julie had only gone to a church as part of the Scouts or the occasional weekend visit with a family that believed. Bunch of heathens we were, it didn't bother any of us.

However, in any marriage - or almost marriage since we couldn't get married without losing our aid until our final financial aid check had cleared - you make compromises. So we went to church as a family, three generations dressed in their Sunday best. Remember the outfit that I wore to get inducted into the army? Yup, that's what I wore. Of course I buttoned the blouse just a tad bit higher - this was church, after all. If you're going to shock the congregation, just hit 'em with both barrels and let god clean up the mess.

The usher, Mr Petrie, offered us a wan and tentative smile as Julie and I led the family into the sanctuary. Of course every soul in the place knew that Conrad was going to be wearing a dress and they just had to be there to see for themselves. I felt like the Queen, doing the smile and finger wave bit as we walked down the aisle to the front of the church. No hiding in the back pews for us, up front and proud before god and everything.

No lightning bolts, no floods, locusts or rains of toads or frogs or whatever those plagues were in ancient Egypt. Must have had a new organist, the playing sounded better than I remembered.

I sang along with the hymns, my voice doesn't scare small animals or create panic. I smiled at those who looked in my direction while I was singing. Julie, having never sung in church, just smiled and moved her lips a bit. She has a good voice, but is more at home with belting out 50s rock & roll. She can do a mean duck walk, too.

At that point in my life I had yet to encounter the verses from the bible that transpeople were routinely flogged with and, it seemed, neither had reverend Carter. The sermon was straight Christmas story and not very inspired.

After the service we had Christmas cookies and the usual refreshments. I did my well behaved young lady act, introduced Julie as a friend from school (No, I was not going to explain we intended to get married - get real!) and tried to soothe frazzled nerves. I'm sure Mom & Dad and the grandparents would be talking to a lot of people they hadn't seen in some time over the next week.

We both ate too many cookies - nothing soothes a nervous tranny and his fiancee like some really good Christmas cookies.