Chapter 9 - Meeting The Family

I was going to Ursuline!

Done deal, right?

Oh for the simple outlook of a eleven-year-old.

It didn't really occur to me that, even with a substantial scholarship, the tuition in the place cost big bucks. Then, Annie was going to need more than a couple of changes of clothes besides the uniforms. Oh yeah, Danny's bedroom hardly looked like a girl's bedroom. I suppose that the famous Chip and Joanna might have helped me there, but we didn't know about them back then. Besides, more big bucks for an interior decorator?

Right!

Then there was the whole transgender thing with the school. Fortunately, I wasn't involved in that, I just got some rules I had to follow and we talked about how I should handle myself as a girl at a girl's school. I was lucky that Ursuline was a progressive institution, they decided that since I was a girl I should use the girl's bathrooms. I would have to change in a separate room for gym and sports, but I wouldn't be the only student who did that. I would be out of the ordinary, but not some freak.

I hoped.

All of this preparation happened while I was still going to school as Danny. I can only be thankful that I was young enough not to have to worry about final exams at school - with all the changes happening so fast that would have really been tough. As it was, I was starting to let Annie creep into my life as Danny as I eagerly anticipated living as a girl. Some of my friends were noticing, but I just told them I was just fine and don't worry.

It was starting to dawn on me that even if I was changing schools to be Annie full time I still had friends and relatives who were going to be part of my life. I guess I could have used the famous Chip and Joanna's advice on how to handle the Big Reveal. Just how did we tell the other people in our lives?

Another question for Doctor Phil.

I ended up shopping with Mom and Kate a lot. Kate appointed herself my fashion consultant so I wouldn't 'look like a dork' at my new school. Since I would be wearing a uniform at school I didn't see how that mattered, but Kate was going to make sure I was fashionable. I wasn't so sure about that after all the differences of opinion between her and our parents about what is appropriate for a teenage girl to wear. Me? I hardly had a clue, although I had learned something from the last few months.

This time we started at the secondhand places - Goodwill and the Salvation Army. If you shop the ones in the more well-to-do side of town you can find some good stuff, so I did the fashion show thing and by the time we were done I had a casual wardrobe.

This time I got my wish - Kate and I both browbeat Mom into eating at McDonalds. One of life's small victories.

I was getting tired - I had yet to develop feminine shopping stamina - but I was soon outfitted with underwear and shoes, not to mention a nice winter coat. At that time I didn't know how lucky I was to live in one of the warmer parts of the country. We got snow maybe once or twice in five years, but it did get cold enough for a winter coat. Some years later I spent a winter in Minnesota - no woman in her right mind wears a skirt in a Minnesota winter, believe me!

My fashion advisors made me buy several pairs of pants. I was firmly in the 'I want to wear a skirt if I'm a girl' mindset, but Mom and Kate made me look around and tell them how many women were wearing skirts.

I was the only one!

So Mom and Kate pointed out that I really wanted to blend in with the other girls. Being too girly would be just as obvious as not being girly enough! I had to laugh, thinking about the silly song Dad played for me the other day. A Boy Named Sue by some famous country singer guy. He was just about the opposite of me, but it was a funny song.

Thanksgiving came and went, but we weren't really ready to tell the world about Annie. Mom and Dad did tell the grandparents that there were some really big changes coming at Christmas. Dad tried to leave it at that, I think he likes being mysterious with his parents, but somehow it didn't work. Talk about waving a red flag in front of a bull! Dad held firm with the mystery for Grandpa, but Grandma managed to worm the secret out of him.

I still suspect he had it all planned that way, but he insists on remaining mysterious about the whole thing to this day. Of course the entire family was listening to the phone call - the new cordless phone had a speaker function - but we managed to keep our giggling quiet as he played the game. When it was all over, Grandma ended up being the one to pass the word around that Annie was here to stay. Since I really didn't want a football or something like that as a Christmas present, I was glad that the family now knew what was happening.

I got my ears pierced the week before Christmas - a red ball in the left ear and a green ball in the right. Very festive. Somehow I knew what many of my Christmas presents would be after it was done.

I was nervous as a cat going to Grandma and Grandpa's place for Christmas Dinner. I got a lot of nice stuff for the new me from Santa - and yes, I knew that Santa was a legend but kept on believing for Sam. We pretty much figured out this would be the last time he really thought Santa came down the chimney. Mom, Kate and I all had coordinated outfits and Sam was sternly warned to keep his comments to himself.

Mom and Dad went in first and formally introduced them to their new granddaughter. Since they'd been to see Annie twice, me wearing a dress didn't shock them, but by the time we had explained to all the uncles, aunts and cousins conversation was rather stilted.

Due to some advance planning on the part of Mom and Dad, we arrived just before dinner was served. This gave the gaping mouths something to do besides catch flies and utter disbelieving comments. I'm afraid I attracted more attention than the baked ham, but you know what they say about ham actors.

They did keep glancing at me all through dinner, which made me nervous. Everyone but Aunt Glory had seen the musical, so I made a special effort to sit near her after dinner. It took a while, but she finally asked me what was going on, so I got a chance to explain, although everyone stopped talking and listened.

I can't say that the new me was welcomed with open arms, but at least no one started cursing or screaming about the devil or anything. Some of the family is a lot more religious than we are.

I did get to spend time with the girl cousins, who wanted to know everything! Of course I didn't tell them everything, but it didn't go as I hoped it would. I had forgotten about Cousin Ladonna. Ladonna can be a pain in the - uh - neck. Nah, I'll be honest. Ladonna was a pain in the ass. At fourteen years old she positively knew everything about everything. When God handed out brains she was first in line but when She was distributing tact and empathy Ladonna was still going gaga over her brains.

"Awright Danny," Ladonna started as soon as the door was closed, "what are you trying to pull this time?"

"My sister's name is Annie, Ladonna," corrected Kate. "Try to use it, OK?"

"Bullshit! If his name is Annie then I'm Darth Vader."

"I guess that's why it sounds like you need your asthma inhaler."

"Jeez Ladonna," her sister Debra exclaimed. Debra was sixteen and I figured she was a grownup. "Did you sleep through diversity class or what? You pull that discrimination crap at school and you'd have detention until you graduated. Annie is transgendered and she deserves to be called by her proper name."

"Screw you, big sister. You might notice we are not in school and I don't have to put up with that crap!"

You might say I was surprised at Ladonna. Up until then most people had been at least polite. In fact, most people had been supportive. Ladonna was only the first of many people who would make an issue of who I was.

"Maybe we should ask Mom to come in and give us her opinion of what you have to put up with."

"It's OK, Debra." I said before a real fight started. "Everybody knows Ladonna has a big mouth that starts working before her brain does."

You might be able to tell I didn't really like cousin Ladonna much.

"I'm not the one whose brain can't figure out he's a boy. Give me a break!"

"Arm or leg?" asked Cousin Linda.

"You probably think that's funny." snorted Ladonna.

"Not funny, appropriate. Although a couple of stitches on your lips would work wonders for everybody else's peace of mind."

"What? You think people like Danny are normal!"

"At least she's polite and pleasant." Debra put in. "Hey Kate! I'll trade you even - Ladonna for Annie."

"Now whose brain is out of whack. I already have the good sister, why would I want to change?"

"I'll throw in my current boyfriend. I'm almost done with him."

"Oh great! As sister who's a user for a used boyfriend. What a deal!"

"How about if I throw in my stamp collection?"

"A gag and a pair of handcuffs would be better."

"Ooooh! Kinky! Going to try them out on the boyfriend?"

"Would I need the handcuffs to keep him with me?"

"Screw the both of you!" Ladonna burst out. "No way would I live with a bunch of losers like you guys. Fag actors the bunch of ya."

"That's enough, Ladonna!" came the command from the doorway. I guess we had gotten loud enough to attract he attention from the adults. "I've warned you before about such behavior. You're grounded for two weeks."

"No!"

"Yes. We'll discuss this at home, you've been warned before. Right now you will go out to the car and wait for the rest of us to enjoy our time with the family. You will not leave the car or do anything but sit there quietly."

Ladonna must have figured out that she should keep her mouth shut because she didn't say anything else, just flounced out of the den.

"I'm sorry for Ladonna's behaviour, we raised her better than that. I don't understand your choice, but I'm sure you and your family have good reasons. I'd like to stop by sometime and learn about why you have become Annie. If that's OK with you."

"Sure it is, Aunt Clair. Call Mom and Dad sometime."

"Thanks. Now you girls try to keep it down to a dull roar, OK?"

We agreed. In fact, there was silence for some time after she left.

"Y'know? Sometimes I really do wish I could trade her in," said Debra.

"I'll keep the sister I have, thank you," answered Kate.

"OK Annie," continued Debra, "now that that's over I gotta ask: what's going on?"

"Maybe you ought to ask my shrink."

"You got a shrink?"

"Yeah. My new school wanted me to have one."

"New school?"

"Ursuline Academy."

"You have got to be kidding!" cried Linda.

"Why? It's a great school. They asked me to go there."

"They did?"

"Yeah. Mr Pennington saw me in Annie and thought I was the kind of girl they wanted at the school. He's on the board."

"And they just, like, let you in?"

"I had to take a whole bunch of tests first.

"You sure do. You know why Ladonna is such a bitch about you? Said Debra. "She wanted to go to Ursuline and flunked the tests. They didn't want her."

"Ouch! I didn't know."

"Well, it's not like she's going to be bragging about getting rejected."

"I wasn't trying to brag!"

"You weren't, Annie, but all the adults know. Getting into Ursuline is pretty special."

"Is that why you want to be a girl?" asked Linda.

"Not really. Ever since I got the part as Annie I just seem to think more like a girl and it feels right. I've been dancing with girls at my lessons and everyone thought I was a girl before I had time to say different."

"Dance lessons?

"I had to learn to dance for the show. Now I'm hooked on Irish step dancing."

"You going to be on Riverdance?" asked Linda.

"Not likely. Wrong kind of dancing."

Fortunately, that got the discussion off of me and on to other topics. I was disappointed when it was time to go, I was having a good time with my cousins. My girl cousins. We swooned over a heartthrob or two and described all our new clothes and jewelry. Girl talk can be fun.

Oh yeah, we did assassinate a character or two. We girls are not all sweetness and light.

 

I don't know about your town, but in the place where I grew up we always had fireworks on New Year's Eve. Dad tells me there was a controversy when it first started because the powers-that-be wanted to do it at midnight, but families with children wanted it early enough so the kids could see the show.

They eventually settled on ten PM, but I was eight before I was able to stay awake long enough to see the fireworks. I really tried hard to stay awake long enough, but I always woke up riding back to the car in the wagon with Sam after the show was over.

This year I was especially determined to stay awake and see the fireworks from start to finish. I was a big girl now; I was sure that with all that happened I should be treated as an adult. No way was I going to ride in that wagon with Sam!

Since we lived in a warm part of the country, the weather on New Year's eve was usually nice. This year it was spectacular! The forecast low was 65° - almost like the 4th of July for fireworks. Kate and I decided we should wear something fancy to the show, finally settling on sort-of Mexican skirts and those frilly, embroidered blouses you can find in the tourist traps for big bucks or in small markets for much more reasonable prices. There's a lot of Mexican influence in the area where I grew up. Believe me, we looked good!

Part of the fun of New Years was all the street vendors. Mom and dad abandoned the 'healthy food' bit for the evening and we each got twenty bucks to spend as we wished. You can get a lot of junk food for twenty bucks, even at the prices they charge at these affairs. If you're careful about what you eat you can even have a little available to get some of the trinkets and jewelry. Probably all made in Asia by slave labor or something, but they were gaudy enough to attract my eleven-year-old eye.

That's where I got into trouble. I was so excited to have money in my purse and places to spend it, I kind of lost touch with the family. It was getting dark, which happened by seven in the evening, when I realized I was all alone. It was about then that my certainty that I was grown up managed to desert me; I was surrounded by strangers who weren't paying me any attention. Looking back, that was probably a good thing. The last thing a transgendered girl in a crowd needed was too much attention, but at the time it was downright scary. I was so short I couldn't see over the crowd and there wasn't anyplace I could get high enough to try to find the family.

Eventually I stopped panicking and remembered that if we got lost we were supposed to meet on the steps of the City Hall. Good plan, but I had no idea where I was or where the City Hall was! I finally stopped a woman who looked like she was friendly and asked her. She smiled and pointed me in the right direction, telling me it was only two blocks away.

I started walking that way and who should I run into than several kids from my old school. I hadn't really told anyone about me deciding I was Annie when I left, just said I was going to a different school after the Christmas break. Even without the red dress, enough of them had seen me as Annie on stage that they clocked me at once.

"Danny?" asked Jake.

"Uh, it's Annie these days."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Uh, I figured out I'm happier as a girl than a boy?"

"Jeez Danny. That's weird!" I let the 'Danny' go, no sense starting an argument. "I mean, it was strange enough you playing a girl in that play, but what the…"

He never got to finish that sentence because Charlie gave him a shot in the shoulder and told him to shut him up.

"Jake? You might want to think a bit before you shoot your mouth off."

"What the…"

Another shot to the other shoulder.

"Jake, believe me. Your foot is going to taste just awful if you keep it up."

"Charlie, boys don't turn into girls just like…"

"Hey Jake!" Will said. "Remember what happened when Tyrone Jenkins started giving Ben grief because he's gay? You want to go through that?"

I was happy to have a couple of friends on my side.

"It's OK, Jake. I know I'm a little different." That got a big laugh. "I'm going to Ursuline next semester. It's a girl's school so I gotta be a girl to go there, right?"

That one threw them for a loop.

"You're going to be one of those rich bitches?" Really?"

"I don't know about rich and I don't want to be a bitch. Mom would wash my mouth out with soap if I said the word 'bitch,' anyway."

"I always knew you were queer with all this acting stuff."

"Hey Jake - you trying out for asshole of the year?" asked Will.

"Yeah, he's only got a couple of more hours to get ahead on points. Anybody else you want to insult before it's too late?"

"What's with you guys?" pleaded Jake. "He wants to be a freakin' girl."

"You gonna ask her for a date, Jake?"

"You take that back!"

"Hey guys! Calm down!" Bobby hadn't said anything so for, but since he was six inches taller than any of us; people listened when he said something. "We're supposed to be having fun, not starting fights. Let's leave Annie to do her thing and get on with it."

I silently thanked Bobby, Jake was starting to get to me. The guys did some grousing but finally moved on and I continued to the City Hall. Nothing else exciting happened for the rest of the night, but it was Annie who greeted the New Year and it was Annie who I was for the rest of my life.