"Joannie!" called Caleb. "Are you getting up?"

There was a high-pitched groan from the little girl's bedroom, and Caleb limped to the door. He knocked on it and called again. "Joannie!"

“Sleep!” came the voice from inside the room.

“It’s time to go to the factory, Sweetie!”

“Wanna sleep!”

“Don’t you want to make your bed?”

There was a thump, then the sound of running feet. The door burst open; Joannie pushed past her daddy and ran down the hall to the bathroom. The door slammed shut, and Caleb grinned. He knew his daughter was looking forward to this day, but she had forgotten what they were doing.

The factory was down the road a mile or so. Caleb had built it three years earlier. It was for sale now, but not because he wanted to move. His small family had to.

The bathroom door opened, and the small child ran back to her room, pushed past her daddy again, and slammed the door shut.

As soon as he regained his balance, he listened for a moment. He heard drawers moving and the closet door opening and closing. There was a scuffling sound, and he supposed that Joannie was sliding out of her pajamas and into her clothes.

Yes, he heard the sounds from inside the bedroom, becoming quieter. A moment later, he heard the crinkling of what sounded like a garbage bag, then the patter of feet on the floor. The door flew open, and Johnny stood there, a flat expression on his face.

“Whatcha got in the bag?”

“Clothes.”

“Clothes?”

"It's Saturday, Daddy. Nobody will be at the factory, so can't I be me while we're there?"

Caleb sighed. He was afraid, but he didn't want to refuse his daughter. He thought it over. As long as nobody came into the factory, it would be alright.

Caleb and Diane had no problem with Joannie, but they lived in Pennsylvania, right in the middle of Amish territory. Caleb was a product of it but had broken away a few years ago. He met Diane while he was away one summer in New Mexico, and they fell in love.

They married, and Caleb got a job apprenticing for a woodworker. He was a quick study and soon was making things beyond his teacher's ability.

Caleb needed to figure out what to do then. His teacher wasn't thrilled that the trainee could now easily become the trainer.

Then, he got a call from his mother. His father was sick and dying.

Caleb was surprised to hear about it, but he knew his mother and father followed the faith loosely. They had a phone, albeit a very old one. They used a gas crane to pick metal items from the trailers of trucks that delivered them, so it was expected that he'd get a call. But his parents weren't happy when he turned his back on their way of life.

Caleb decided that he would move back to the farm and help out.

The family moved northeast, back to Caleb’s home.

"Let's go, Daddy!" Joannie's voice broke into his reverie, and he limped to the garage and out to the car. Joannie came running along and out to the pickup. It was a hard thing for him to get into the cab, but he managed.

Little Johnny was born six months after his father died, and all seemed terrific. Until Johnny was a bit older and expressed some problems. He didn't play well with other kids in the area. He wanted to play with the girls, not the boys. It wasn't a good thing where they lived.

The worries that caused were rough, but Caleb also found it tough to open his factory. He bought the land from his mother after his father died. It was a parcel of land that contained twenty-five acres. About five acres butted up against the road. His house was at one end, and the factory at the other.

Johnny jumped out of the truck when they got to the factory. Caleb got out much slower and limped to the walk-through gate. He noticed that Johnny had the bag of clothes too. He just hoped that his daughter hadn't brought a dress. She was supposed to help with the coming build.

A buggy was approaching them, and Caleb thought he knew the driver.

Around the building was a chain link fence. Caleb had hated to erect it in this area. There shouldn’t be any need, but he wasn't sure if people would retaliate because of Joannie. The little girl was inter-sexed, but that didn't seem to matter.

When he explained the problem to his mother, she told him to not speak of it. "Nobody will accept it."

“I’m not Amish!” Caleb exclaimed.

“Do you want your factory patronized?”

“Not by people who would shun my daughter!”

His mother nodded. "I understand your feelings, Caleb. I love my granddaughter. But I think you might not have much of a business here."

Caleb thought about what his mother was saying. He didn't respond to her then, but he and Diane discussed the problem later that night.

King was barking furiously from inside the fence, his tail wagging like crazy! He wanted to see his people, particularly Joannie.

“Come on, Daddy!” called the little girl.

“You know, a boy that age shouldn’t be calling his father ‘Daddy’,” said a voice behind Caleb.

He turned, and it was Josiah, a man Caleb had grown up with. Caleb fought down the fury, especially any aimed at Josiah. He could blow up or try to understand his friend's side.

"That's only between Johnny, my wife, and me, Josiah."

"Look, Caleb. I know you aren't Amish. But you live in the middle of Amish country. Having a daughter that used to be a boy isn't very popular."

“I’ve never been a boy!” Joannie exploded.

Josiah didn't acknowledge the child but said, "I know she was inter-sexed, but people around here aren't going to believe that."

“Is intersexed, Josiah.”

“Right.”

“And how do you feel about it?” Caleb asked his old friend.

"I agree, Caleb. It's up to you."

“So I can change?” Joannie asked.

“Joannie!” Caleb said sharply.

Josiah didn't comment on Caleb's use of the feminine name, but he turned to the child this time. "It's not up to me what you wear, Joannie. I understand what happened to you, and don't hold it against you."

Turning to Caleb, Josiah said, "We've always been friends, Caleb. It pains me to say it, but you should sell and move away from here. For her sake." He pointed at the girl as she ran into the building.

Caleb nodded his understanding.

“And now, my friend, you made a couple of wheels for my buggy.”

Caleb smiled and led his friend into the shop.

-=#=-

“Okay, Princess, bring me a 4x4.”

“What’s a 4x4?”

"They're the big, long pieces of wood over there," he pointed.

Joannie picked up a three-foot-long piece of wood. It was all she could do to carry it to her dad, who clamped it into the lathe. He put on a face-shield and told her to sit down some ways off. Once she moved off, he started to trim the wood with his chisels. Every few minutes, he would hold a piece of cardboard up to the piece to check if the design was perfect. Then he sanded and polished the wood.

Once satisfied, he had her bring him another one, and he did the same, carefully matching the measurements on the other piece. Then, he took them over to the table saw and cut each 4x4 into four long pieces.

The design on each board was different, and Joannie wasn't sure what he would do. Taking them to the workbench, he put glue on each end of the pieces, where he had yet to turn any designs.

Then, he placed the pieces together to alternate which board they were from. He turned them where the turned parts were inside, however. This left the design inside viewable but not quite recognizable.

He worked on the other six 4x4s and did something similar, but each design was done differently.

When he finished the last two boards, he returned the original two to the lathe and began turning again. This time, he turned the ends and drilled a hole into one end.

Carefully, he sanded and polished it, then told his daughter to come and see what he'd done. In the lathe was the silhouette of Snow White. The inside-out lathing Caleb had done had been to turn one board as her front side and the other as her back. When they were placed in the configuration he had done, they made a perfect silhouette.

The other 4x4s became Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Alice in Wonderland silhouettes. He used a dowel to glue the pieces into a six-foot post, then put them in the back of his truck.

He made a decision that was perhaps reckless. Under cover of carrying some things, he allowed Joannie to accompany him to the truck and get in. He shut the door before moving away from the opening. Then He put the remaining pieces of wood they'd used into the bed.

Finally, he drove home.

They exited the truck in the garage, and the little girl hurried into the house.

Once Diane saw how she was dressed, she questioned Caleb why he had allowed their daughter to ride home with him instead of their son.

"Johnny's not real," Caleb said. "I'm tired of hiding Joannie. We'll probably have to move away from here anyway, so I refuse to hide her anymore."

Diane hugged him tight and then gave him a wonderful kiss.

Caleb went into Joannie's room and began to assemble the bed. Some boards were the frame, but the beautifully turned 4x4s were uprights at each corner.

At the top of the posts, joining them together, were dowels that he had turned, then he sanded the top of them so the curtains on the canopy bed could slide open and closed. The result was a rod with a design cut into the bottom edge. The remainder was smooth for the curtain rings.

The rings were also made in his shop, each one a beautiful wooden circle that the curtains were attached to.

When he was done assembling it, he called Diane in. She stopped at the door; her mouth hung open just as much as her daughter's.

“It’s beautiful!” she told Caleb.

"It's just what I wanted, Mommy!" Joannie said exuberantly. "Exactly what I wanted!"

Don't forget to comment and leave kudos! Groans are welcome too!

If you've never seen nor heard of inside out wood turning, you might check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RA4cg6SbZk