In which we go shopping...

Mom, How realistic do you think it will be to primarily wear skirts to school?” I asked. Mom and I were looking at clothes for school.

“It’s pretty realistic,” Mom said. “But, do you want to actually wear nothing but skirts? I thought you liked the shorts that we got for you.”

“I do, but I almost want to start off wearing nothing but skirts, or at least more skirts than shorts or pants.” I said. Mom nodded. I pulled a teal short sleeved dress off the rack and held it up to me. It stopped just above the knee, which made it ok by the school’s dress code. I had been slowly pushing the edge when it came to my skirt length. I had amassed a small collection of skirts that hit right around mid thigh and I knew that mom wouldn’t let me wear them to school, even if I were allowed.

“That’s cute,” Mom said, with a smile. She had been browsing some skirts and held up a pink and black plaid skirt. I nodded and then went back to browsing the dresses on the rack in front of me. The cart soon contained several new items to start the school year.

After we had checked out and loaded the car, Mom looked around the parking lot. “You want to go get lunch?” she asked, squinting in the sunlight. It was warm out and there was a slight breeze. The breeze caused the hem of my ankle length turquoise gauze skirt to flutter and subsequently tickle my legs.

“Sure, what did you have in mind?” I asked, opening the door to the car and sliding in, feeling my shoulders hit the hot leather of the seat.

“Well, Daniel said that he won’t be done with Rachel and Nicole’s softball practice until sometime around four, so I was thinking about that new burger place over by the house.” Mom said, sliding into the car her self. While it was warm out, we had experienced a mild summer with the warmest it had gotten up to being around eighty-five. Mom started the car and put the windows down and opened the sunroof.

“Sounds good to me,” I replied, buckling my seat belt and feeling the ribbons on my pigtails tickle me shoulders. Mom started the car and put it in reverse, backing out of the spot. “We have a meeting next week with the principal at Ridgedale Middle, there shouldn’t be any problems because Abby started there last year so they should be decent at dealing with transgender students by now…”

“Probably…” I said, “What about gym class?”

“Doctor Williams is probably going to excuse you on medical grounds. I would; the locker rooms wouldn’t be a safe place for you.” Mom said, slowing to stop at a red light. “You’ll probably have to do something to make up for the credit, probably some sport. Anything pique your interest?” The light changed and mom eased the gas and we continued on our journey to lunch.

“Yeah…” I replied, not sure how mom would take the two sports that I had in mind. “Soccer and tennis.”

“I never took you much for a soccer player…” Mom said, trying to hide a chuckle and failing. “Why tennis though?”

“‘Cause tennis dresses are cute, duh.” I replied, and then burst into a fit of giggles. “Abby and I have been spending some time over at Redwood Park playing and I’m getting quite good at it. She said she might try out for the tennis team this year. I figured I might as well try as I’m getting better at playing…”

“Makes sense.” Mom said, slowing to turn into the parking lot of the burger place. “I wish you luck in what ever you decide to do; you’ll always have my support.” After she had parked the car she pulled her phone out of her purse and made a note. “We will need to find out if there is anything special we need to do because of your medical situation though.” Mom shut the engine off and got out of the car. As I got out and got hit with the heat of the day again I briefly wished that I was wearing a shorter skirt, although the problem was the humidity more so than the heat. After we were seated, Mom looked at me. “What have you been playing tennis in?”

“Mostly loose fitting skirts and tank tops. Kinda like a tennis dress, but not really.” I replied as the waitress walked up to the table.

“Good afternoon, I’m Sophia and I’ll be your server,” The blonde haired, blue eyed girl said. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Water, please,” I replied. It was really too hot for much anything else.

“Water as well, please,” Mom replied.

“Alright, two waters, I’ll be right back to get your order.” Sophia said, and then turned and walked away.

“What do you say we get you some actual clothes to go play tennis in?” Mom asked.

Discussions of music...

Mom backed the car in the garage and shut off the engine. I got out and walked around to the trunk to grab the five bags that were in there. I carried them up to to my room before heading back downstairs.

“What’s your plan if the school says you can’t play because of your medical issue?” Mom asked as I entered the kitchen. I opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water and looked at her.

“What would be their reasoning?” I asked, not sure where she was going with this…

“Well,” She started as I sat down at the table. “They might see you being transgender as having an unfair advantage over biological girls.” I looked at my arms, they were thinner than Rachel’s. There was little to no muscle on my arms.

“Have you seen my arms?” I asked. “I’m lucky I can pick up this bottle of water…”

Mom laughed so hard that she snorted. “I know that, but it may happen. I do like the idea of you playing a sport of some sort, but I want you to have a backup, just in case.” I thought for a second.

“I seem to have an ear for music…” I said. “Maybe try taking up playing an instrument… Clarinet or something…” Now mom looked thoughtful.

“Why not strings?” she asked.

“I think I’d do better at a clarinet than a string, but I’m willing to give it a shot…” I knew that Mom had played the violin when she was younger.

“That’s my girl,” Mom said with a smile. “I doubt your sister would take up an instrument, she’s not patient enough, besides, if you go with a stringed instrument, I can help you.”

“Hmm….” I thought for a few moments. “True. How hard would it be to get me a violin so that I can start to learn how to play.”

“Well, first off,” Mom started. “You need a slight introduction to how to read music, and probably a music teacher. Has Abby said anything about learning an instrument?”

I thought for a few moments. There was a piano in their living room, but that didn’t mean that she played. “Not that I can recall, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“I’ll have Daniel talk to her about it.” Mom said. Inwardly I wondered how long it would be before we moved into the five bedroom home that Daniel, Abby and Nicole lived in. “Also, Daniel said something about wanting to take you girls to the zoo tomorrow. Maybe you can wear that teal dress that we got you today.”

The dress was a teal skater style dress that had metallic dragonflies on the fabric and a tie to adjust the fit. I had tried it on in the store and had fallen in love with it and had found three more dresses in a similar style, one white, one pink and a purple striped long sleeve variant of the short sleeved dress. “I wonder what Abby’s going to wear…” I let the thought trail off. Something about dressing like sisters seemed right.

“I don’t know,” Mom said. “We’re going over for dinner tonight, why don’t you ask her?”

“Good idea.” I replied. “Can I use the iPad to get on the internet and learn about various instruments and to start trying to learn how to read music?”

Mom laughed again. “Yeah. I think you’d do good on a stringed instrument. You seem to have the grace that a feminine violin player would have. I can see you playing one with ease…”

“Can I at least try the clarinet?” I asked, standing up to go get the iPad.

“You can,” Mom said with a chuckle. “Woodwinds are hard to pick up though.” I wandered into the den where the iPad was charging.

#

Abby opened the door after I had knocked, and let us into the house. Mom and I walked in and met Daniel, Nicole and Rachel in the kitchen. I glanced around the kitchen which led into the family room. The far wall had a fireplace that looked like it had seen some use. There was some soft classical music that I had heard previously heard but couldn't place. The smell of roast cooking filled the air.

“Hi Mr. Jenkins,” I said seeing him standing in the spacious kitchen.

“Emma, you can call me Daniel, it’s ok…” he said, letting the thought trail off.

Abby walked back into the kitchen after shutting the door and grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the kitchen and up to her room. “Dad said he wants to take us to the zoo tomorrow…”

“I know, mom told me earlier.” I replied, plopping down on the four poster canopy bed adorned with a pink and white checked comforter. ”I got a new dress that I think I’m going to wear tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Abby said, her eyes lighting up. “Do tell.”

“It’s a teal color with metallic dragon flies on it, hits just above the knee.” I replied, falling backwards on the bed. “Mom and I were talking about me playing soccer or tennis earlier and she suggested that I have a have a backup plan in case they don’t allow me to play on account of my ‘medical condition’”

Abby snorted as she burst out laughing. “I like the phrasing of that…” She said between giggles. “So, what is your backup plan?”

“Playing an instrument…” I replied. “I don’t know between a clarinet or something like a violin.”

“Hmm…” Abby said, raising her right hand to her chin. “I can play the piano a little bit, it’s been a while since I’ve really practiced, but I could probably pick it up again easily,\; I can also play the clarinet. I played last year in orchestra.” She looked at me for a second and then opened her closet. It was full of dresses, but on the shelf was a small black box with silver trim and latches. She pulled it out and sat it on the dresser, opening it, and starting to assemble the various pieces of the clarinet. She finished by sliding a piece of wood in the mouthpiece and then put the instrument up to her lips. She took a deep breath from her nose and went through the scale of notes from low to high. Smiling, she handed me the instrument. “You try.”

I took a deep breath and held the clarinet to my lips. Abby came over and helped me hold my hands in the correct position. I gave a blow of air through the mouthpiece and had the reed tickle my lips ever so slightly. The sensation distracted me and the only sound that came out of the clarinet was something that sounded between a duck quacking and a goose honking. Abby and I looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles. “I’m not sure that a clarinet is the right instrument for me…”

“If you guys could put the goose outside and come down to dinner, your sisters would appreciate it!” Abby’s dad shouted up the stairs. The two of us burst out in giggles again as Abby disassembled the clarinet and placed it back in it’s case. The two of us left Abby’s room and headed down stairs to eat.

Zoo Trip and a prelude to a surprise...

“Emma,” I heard mom’s voice come through the door. “It's time to get up, Daniel wants us over at their place by 9:30. I think he wants a full day at the zoo. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes.” The mention of comfortable shoes made me sit up and grab my phone. I fired a text off to Abby. I told her I was changing up what I was wearing and was planning on now wearing my khaki shortalls and a lilac colored shirt. I figured that would be more comfortable than my legs rubbing together under my dress… I could hear Mom telling Rachel to get up as well, and from the sounds of it, Rachel didn’t want to get up. I quickly changed from the shorts and tank top that I had slept in into my clothes for the day. Slipping my feet into my white canvas sneakers, I opened the door and went down to see what mom had in mind for breakfast.

I walked into the kitchen and opened the pantry looking for something to eat for breakfast. I didn’t hear Mom come into the kitchen. “Daniel sent me a text, he wants to take us out to breakfast…” She said, reaching up to run my hair through her fingers. “Should do something with your hair…” She let the thought trail off and left the kitchen. I shrugged and closed to door; Mom reappeared with a brush and some lilac colored ribbon. She laid it on the shirt to check the color. “Sit on one of the stools…” I sat, my back to her so that she could brush my hair. She brushed and I relaxed not paying attention to what she was doing. When she was done I sported a pair of pigtails, very much like the first time that mom had done my hair. I looked the part of the older sister. Speaking of sisters, mine came down the stairs, sounding like her usual herd of elephants. She appeared at the at the entrance to the kitchen.

“Pigtails?” Rachel asked. “Too girly for me…” Her own hair was in a single pony tail hanging down her back. She wore a pair of shorts and a tank top. The girliest thing she had on was the blue canvas sneakers with white laces.

“I like pigtails,” I replied. “I can’t help it that you don’t like girlish things…”

Mom backed her car into the driveway at the home that Daniel, Abby and Nicole lived in. Abby met us at the door, she had opted for shorts and a tee shirt. Our shirts were a similar color and Abby’s hair was braided down her back.

“Come in!” She said, obviously ready to get this show on the road and get to the zoo. We walked into the house and stopped in the kitchen.

“Sharon, I was thinking we could take the Tahoe,” he said. “It would save you from paying to park and us wasting gas on running two vehicles…”

“Ok with me,” Mom said, shrugging. “I get shotgun!” she said, failing to suppress a giggle. Daniel gave a good hearty laugh.

“Nope,” he replied. “Abby rides shotgun and you can ride in the back with Nicole.” Abby and I shared a glance.

“What are you two talking about?” Abby asked, confused.

“When I was in college,” Mom started. “When you went on a road trip, the person that called shotgun rode in the passenger seat. They got to pick the music, but they also had to be able to navigate.”

“Ok…” Abby and I said at roughly the same time. We obviously didn’t understand the significance of the calling shotgun. Nicole came down the steps wearing a pair of denim shortalls and a baby pink tee shirt; her hair hung in a loose ponytail.

“Let's go…” Daniel said, rubbing his stomach. “I'm wasting away over here.”

Daniel parked the Tahoe and we all piled out. The sun was warm and it was already obvious that it was going to be a warm day. The six of us walked toward the gates that would permit us entry to the treasures of the zoo. I didn’t know what Abby’s thoughts were, but I wanted to see the aquarium. After we were inside the gates, Daniel and mom walked toward the large lake that was at the center of the zoo. Naturally, we followed them.

“Abby,” Daniel said, turning slightly to look at Abby. “You and Emma have your phones, right?”

“Yep,” we replied simultaneously while patting pockets. My phone was in the front left pocket of my shortalls, and Abby's was in her right rear pocket.

“Ok,” he said glancing around. “Take your sisters and go wander around. Abby, I gave you some cash in case you needed some. Let's meet back here at noon so we can get lunch.”

“Ok,” Abby said, pulling her phone out and setting an alarm. “We'll meet back here at noon.”

“You four run along and have fun,” Mom said. I had the feeling that there was going to be discussions about Abby and I. Abby and I shared a glance. I think she was thinking the same thing I was: our parents were trying to get rid of us for a bit.

## 4 ##

Abby, Nicole, Rachel and I were in the aquarium watching the fish in the large tank. Nicole and Rachel were near the front watching the fish swim to and fro, getting excited when they saw one they'd not seen yet.

"What do you think our parents are talking about?" I asked Abby, who turned to look at me.

"Probably what to do with all of the stuff..." Abby replied.

I glanced down at our sisters as I saw movement near the large glass wall that separated us from the fishes. "What stuff?"

"Well, we're not going to need three couches, two dining room tables, two washers and dryers, etc..." Abby smiled at me. It suddenly clicked in my head what she was talking about.

"Wait," I said, my eyes getting wide. "Are you saying what I think your saying?"

"Well," Abby giggled. "That depends on what you think I'm saying..." She gave a shy smile and then brushed a few strands of her hair back behind her ear.

"Do our sisters know?" I asked.

"I don't think so..." Abby said, glancing at Rachel and Nicole. "Pretty sure Rachel doesn't know; Nicole might depending on how much she listens to Dad's ramblings..." She stood, gave a little stretch, and then looked at me. "What do you say we go see if those two," She tipped her head toward our sisters. "Want to go see the penguins or the otters or something other than here in the dark... I'm about to fall asleep..." I stood and followed her to where our sisters sat. When we got there, Abby tapped both the younger girls on the shoulder. They both turned to look at the two of us.

* * * * *

After watching the kids walk away, Daniel and Sharon had walked around the pond to the other side, it was a slightly different view, but with less people. Daniel wanted some people around but not the amount of people that were milling around the front gate to the zoo.

"Ya know," He said, smiling at Sharon. "What are we going to do with two houses and the contents thereof?"

"Are you trying to lead the witness, councilor?" Sharon said, laughter escaping her lips.

"No, but," He dropped to one knee and reached into his pocket, Sharon's hand floated up to her mouth. "Council would like to ask the witness if she would be his wife..." He opened the box he had pulled from his pocket, exposing a ring. It wasn't a diamond set in the ring, but an opal, Sharon's favorite stone.

"Yes," Sharon said, starting to tear up. The small group of people around them all clapped. "I'll be your wife." Daniel slid the ring on Sharon's finger.

* * * * *

At eleven forty five, the alarm on Abby's phone went off. The four of them had made it through the manatee exhibit, down through the otters and penguins and finally up to the African continent and were presently looking at the large, majestic giraffes that the zoo had.

"Let's go meet our parents back at the entrance..." Abby said. "I set the alarm to give us 15 minutes to get up there. That should be enough time." And so the four of them headed toward the entrance to the zoo. When they got there they found Sharon gazing at her finger, taking in the sight of the ring on her finger. She glanced up as the four girls approached, smiling at them.

"Hi girls!" Sharon said enthusiastically. She was still excited and it showed.

Abby noticed the ring first; she shared a glance at Emma, and grinned. "Pretty ring."

Sharon beamed. "Thanks, your dad got it for me."

"Abby doesn't miss a beat, does she?" Daniel said, appearing behind Abby. "So, we have some news... Emma and Nicole, Today I asked your mom to marry me. She said..."

"Yes." Sharon said, still beaming.

Rachel and I looked at each other and grinned. Somehow I had known that this day was coming and Abby and Nicole were about to become my stepsisters... There was going to be much to do in the coming days.

We were sitting around the table that night, eating a casserole that Abby had cooked. She actually had a lot of culinary experience for someone her age, having had to look after Nicole when Daniel had to work late. She had been working on it when we arrived and it had now been brought to a point where we could eat it. I had set the table and we were all waiting on Abby to move the dish containing the casserole over to the table. Abby placed the casserole dish in the middle of the table.

"Emma, can you serve us?" Abby asked.

"Sure." I said, holding my hand out to take Nicole's plate as she was to my right. She handed me the plate and I scooped some of the casserole on it. I repeated the process with all of the plates, finally filling my plate up with foot. Abby had let me taste some of it before she had put it in the oven. Rachel poked at it with a fork; expecting it to move or something. "Try it. It's good." I said before taking a bite of mine. Rachel took a bite of the casserole and her face lit up. "I told you it was good."

"So something we are going to need to discuss is where to put things. Obviously," Daniel took a bite of his casserole, chewed and swallowed it. "I don't know what we're going to do with a second washer and dryer; but we can turn the finished basement into a media room with the second couch and the TV from your guys' living room. The basement has been unused since it was finished and it would be a nice place for us to be able to hang out... Or the girls can watch things downstairs and we can watch things upstairs."

"That sounds like a good idea." Mom said. "I still don't know what we're going to do with a second washer and dryer though..."

"There is enough space in the laundry room for both sets. We might be able to get them hooked up so we can use both..." Daniel smiled. "I'd have to call a plumber and see what it would take to get it hooked up."

"Sounds good." Mom said. "What have you thought about the bedroom situation?"

"Well, we have 4 bedrooms plus the master," Daniel said, taking a sip of his wine. "Each girl can have thier own room, Abby and Nicole are already in thier rooms, so the other two are up for grabs. I'll take the dining room as my home office.

"Is there enough room in there for both of our offices?" Mom asked, peering through the opening to the dining room.

"Depends on how elaborate your setup is, I think we can make it work." Daniel said, reaching for more casserole. "I'm pretty sure that the girls don't have anything that would require a lot of space."

"The main things that they have are thier beds, dressers and clothes." Mom said. "Although it might be time to add a computer into Emma's collection of things." She looked at me; I was sitting there with my mouth open, thankfully there was no food in it. I'd been wanting a computer for a while and here was mom, talking about getting me one now. "Might start needing one for stuff in the near future." Mom looked at the casserole dish. "Anyone want any more?" She asked; no one responded that they did and mom shrugged andput the last little bit on her plate.

"May Emma and I be excused?" Abby asked. Daniel and Mom looked at each other. "Who's gonna clean the table?"

"We will," Nicole and Rachel said.

"You may, Daniel said.

"Thank you," Abby said, standing. Once I was on my feet, Abby practically drug me up to where the bedrooms were. She opened the door next to her room. The walls were a light grey and this room had Daniel's office in it. "This is going to be your room when you guys move in. There is a connecting door behind that book shelf," She pointed at a book shelf on the wall that the two rooms shared. "I can't believe this is happening. I had a feeling that it would." I looked at the space, picturing what it would look like when I had made it mine. I'd like pink walls though...

****

When we were back at our house, I looked around my room. I really wanted a canopy bed. I loved the way the one in Abby's room looked. Mom walked by and saw me just staring off into space.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, leaning against the door frame.

"I was thinking that I would like a canopy bed." I replied, snapping out of my daydream. "It just seems like it would fitting."

"Well," Mom said, taking a step into the room. "I want to go out tomorrow and look for a computer for you, maybe we can look at beds too. Besides, you will also need a vanity and a dresser."

"Abby showed me the room that will be mine once we move everything in. the walls are grey like these, but I want pink... Wonder if we can repaint it..." I turned to look at her. She was smiling.

"Daniel had already mentioned that possibility..." Mom said, chuckling. "So, while we are out tomorrow we are going to look at paint as well. I also want you to think of other beds that you might like, such as a day bed, that can give you storage and expand to make a bigger bed if you wanted it to. It would also give you a place to curl up and read or work on homework." Mom smiled at me.

"I don't think I'vee seen a daybed before." I said, feeling confused.

"Run down and get the iPad," Mom said, "And I'll show you what they look like." I nodded and ran down to the family room where the iPad was plugged in. I unplugged it and headed back to my room. Mom was sitting on the edge of the bed. I handed her hte iPad and sat next to her. She tapped a few times and eventually pulled up an image of a white bed, that had three sides, and three drawers in the front of it. It was situated in a little girls bedroom, she was sitting on the floor playing with a toy that we couldn't really see. The bed had pink sheets on it and it looked cute enough. Mom swiped through the images and there was one of the little girl relaxing on the bed reading a book. The bed looked like it was something that I might be able to live with.

"I like that." I said, after mom had swiped through the photos. It looked more versatile than a canopy bed would be.