First of a four-part series

Lacey Baker looked herself over in the mirror - first anxiously, and then with a satisfied smile. She brushed out her hair again, feeling even more confident in her appearance.

She was interrupted, however, by her sister Kelly. “Seriously, Lace? It’s a car ride, not a princess ball?”

“Geez!” Lacey exclaimed. “Let a girl try on her dress, will ya?”

“Well, you’d better hurry up. Mom says we’re leaving right when Lily gets home.”

Lacey started to change out of the dress and heels she planned to wear for Thanksgiving dinner. This was going to be a Thanksgiving dinner unlike any other - one she would remember for the rest of her life. Why?

The answer, she smiled thinking of as she wiped lint off of her leggings, lied in the fact that this Thanksgiving was girls’ only. It would be just the following “terrific folks” as Lacey jokingly referred to them: Mrs. Baker, Lacey (16), her older sister just returned from college Lily (20), her little sister Kelly (12), and Mrs. Baker’s sister Ida and her two daughters, Rhonda (20) and Maddie (16).

Three very notable people would be absent from the festivities this year, all for the best. First, the good-for-nothing Uncle Rick and Aunt Ida were no longer married, which, to Lacey’s delighted, subtracted the last vestige of masculinity from the celebration. Secondly, Logan and Matt Baker would not be participating, because, well, Logan and Matt were now Lily and Maddie.

“Alright! I’m ready!” Lacey put on her pink puffy coat and loaded her two suitcases of clothes into the car. She just had to show Maddie her cute new top - the black one, cut off at the bottom, that made Tevin Brantley drool whenever the cheerleaders and basketball players shared the gym.

A car rolled into the driveway and out stepped Lily - Lacey’s role model throughout her turbulent past year of change. She waved, and Lacey screamed and hugged her, with Kelly joining in.

“You look hot, princess,” Lily cooed good-naturedly. “The boys must be tripping over each other to get to you.”

“You know it!” Lacey rolled her eyes, as Lily talked to Kelly next.

Finally, the car was loaded, and the four women of the Baker household began their eight-hour trek east, from Ohio to Pennsylvania. The excitement in the car was palpable.

“So what’s the plan?” Lacey chirped to her mother, her pink fingernails moving across her phone screen all the while.

“The plan,” Mrs. Baker said, “is get there late tonight, hang out tomorrow, meal Thursday, shopping Friday.”

“What stores are we hitting?” Kelly was bug-eyed. This was to be her first Black Friday shopping trip.

“Well I thought we’d go to the usuals - Macy’s, Penny’s, your sister wants to hit Victoria’s Secret” - here Lacey beamed - “and then I want to check out this local boutique that Aunt Ida says has dresses we can get for the Watsons’ Christmas party.” The Watson, close family friends of the Bakers, threw a massive Christmas party every year, and Lacey would be going for the first time as a girl. Every year, the girls wore extravagant dresses, and Lacey couldn’t wait to at long last partake in a tradition she had so long admired.

The car wound along the Ohio backroads, as the girls reminisced about Lacey and Maddie coming out.

“Props to you two for doing it the same night,” Mrs. Baker laughed. “I called your aunt to confide to her, and she was telling me the same thing.”

“I remember, I thought it was weird seeing my brother in a dress at first. But now it’s cool with me,” Kelly shrugged.

“When was the moment you first realized, ‘Wow, Logan’s a real girl?’” Lacey asked her family.

Kelly went first. “When my brother showed up at my ballet studio,” she laughed. “When Lacey started having to help me with my bun. That’s when it really hit me, when I was sharing tights with my mean older brother.”

“Thank God we’re the same size!” Lacey giggled.

Next was Lily. “Seeing you in my cheer uniform, definitely.”

Finally, it was Mrs. Baker’s turn. “You guys are so broad. Moms see the little things,” she said. “The little twirl of the hair, the sashaying hips, the way you brush your skirt when you sit down. That’s what I really notice.”

The girls continued to chatter, about anything and everything, when suddenly the car’s speed dropped sharply.

“I gotta pull off the highway,” Mrs. Baker said, and exited to a little town off the route they were taking. Lacey fidgeted nervously. She was just so excited to see Maddie. Maddie said she’d bought a beautiful tutu for a ballet recital she had coming up, and Lacey just had to try it on. It was supposedly blue, with light pink sequining - when she wore it, Maddie said, she felt like a princess...

When Lacey awoke from her daydream, the car had stopped completely, and Mrs. Baker was on the phone. “Mom’s calling a tow truck,” Lily said. Lacey was frustrated. The happy vibe in the car had been killed altogether.

“We’re going to be here awhile,” Mrs. Baker told the family when she got off the phone.

“How long is a while?” Lily asked.

She gulped. “Three hours,” Mrs. Baker said.

Lacey felt like yelling in frustration. Here she’d been, so excited for something, and now... well, everything was just falling apart.

She resorted to all her usual time-killers. She tried texting Tevin Brantley, but he didn’t respond, and Maddie was unconversational beyond an “Ok” when informed of the Bakers’ new ETA. The lack of a signal made online shopping impossible, so all Lacey could do was sit and wait.

Lacey dozed off for a while, at 4:13 pm. She woke up to the clock reading 7:14 pm, and just blew up.

“Where’s the tow truck?” she shrieked to her mother.

“Lacey Allison Baker, it is on its way, will you just calm down?”

“No, I won’t!” Lacey vented. “I should be in Pennsylvania right now, instead I’m sitting here freezing in God-knows-where, not moving...”

“Come on, Lace,” Lily chided her. “Think about it: when we’re shopping on Friday for a dress for you to wear to the Watsons’ party, it’ll all be worth it.”

“Will it? Will it?” Lacey began to sob, and she buried her head into the side of her seat. Kelly put her arm around her, but it was useless.

Finally the tow truck arrived. Lacey got out of the car, and the family piled into the back of the truck, which was to tow the car the remaining three hours to Aunt Ida’s, where she would send for a repairman.

“It stinks in here.” Lacey was brutally honest.

“Lacey!” Mrs. Baker exclaimed.

“What, it does!”

“Try going to sleep.”

When she was sure no one was listening, Lacey began crying again. She’d managed to alienate her entire family, and she was in a stinky car, and the best Thanksgiving ever had been ruined before it had even begun.

She tried to console herself with happy memories. Going to the mall for the first time with Lily and getting her ears pierced; comparing her breasts to Kelly’s as they just started to grow; making girlfriends in cheer and ballet. All were highlights of the year that was.

But she was just so excited to see Maddie, and get away from boys - who, despite being hot, were quite frankly annoying - the emotion had become too much.

Gradually, Lacey turned her outlook around. Her journey to girlhood had not been easy. It was only fitting that this journey wouldn’t be, either.

She remembered, as recently as five weeks ago, Kelly slipping up in a conversation she’d overheard.

“Mom, I need some new training bras!”

“I thought I just bought you some?”

“Yeah, but Logan keeps stealing them for cheer...” Kelly immediately corrected her mistake, but it stuck with Lacey. It proved to her that everyone was still learning. This Thanksgiving was a good measuring stick of how far the family had come.

As the car neared Aunt Ida’s house, Lacey recalled the day back in July, when Lacey had sat at a doctor’s desk to sign paperwork approving of her undergoing hormone therapy.

“Logan,” her mother had said, calling her by her boy name for the last time, “are you sure you want to do this?”

Lacey, who’d just come from ballet practice, looked down at her white tights, which smoothly encased her delicate legs. “100%.”

The Bakers arrived at the house, unloaded their bags, and immediately made for bed - except for Lacey. The only one in the house awake, she - just for fun - stayed up a little while longer and tried on her dinner outfit one last time for good measure. Had she known the holiday she had in store, she may have reconsidered.

Second of a four-part series

The first one up was Lacey - or so she thought. “LACEY!” was the exuberant yell from Rhonda, who bearhugged her cousin. Both fell to the ground in fits of laughter.

“How you been, cuz?”

“Good, good! You?”

“I’m living the dream, and oh my God.” Rhonda stopped and looked over her cousin. “You look absolutely incredible!”

“Stop.” Lacey was modest but secretly relished Rhonda’s compliment.

“Maddie must still be asleep, I had to come down early to help Mom with dinner.” Rhonda scratched her head and set about working in the kitchen. “Maddie was really excited yesterday. She just got a new tutu, and she wants to try on about five billion other outfits with you.”

“I’m so stoked,” Lacey grinned. Aunt Ida appeared. “How’s my little Lace?” she exclaimed, hugging her niece. “This is for you.”

Lacey inspected what she had been given, a black box tied together with ribbons. She opened it and found a cute pair of Converse shoes. She slipped them on with her cupcake pajama bottoms.

“Aw, these are so cute! Thanks Aunt Ida!”

“Just a little preview of Friday morning,” she winked. “Now can you help Rhonda and I with dinner?”

“Absolutely!” Lacey set to work. Gradually the family rose, first Kelly, then Mrs. Baker, Lily, and finally Maddie.

The minute Maddie and Lacey laid eyes on each other, they screamed.

“You look so hot!”

“You do too!”

They embraced, all while in their PJs. Both had been short when they were boys, but as girls, they fit right in.

“I have the cutest top I wanna show you!” Lacey shrieked.

“I wanna show you my tutu first!”

The two girls scampered upstairs to Maddie’s room. It looked 180 degrees different from the last time Lacey had seen it. A room that was once a shrine to football now was painted bright pink, with a giant teddy bear in the corner. Bras were draped haphazardly over several chairs, and a makeup station dominated what was once an empty desk.

Maddie opened her closet, which was riddled with blouses, skirts, dresses, leggings, and dance outfits. Her hand migrated to a leotard, which was revealed to be attached to a frilly tutu. It was pink and looked a little like a pageant dress. Sequins dotted the ends of the tulle.

“This,” Maddie said as she admired the outfit, “is why I became a girl.” Lacey was out of her PJs in ten seconds and soon was twirling around the room, curtsying and pirouetting all the while.

“Oh my God, Lacey, I almost forgot!” Maddie said as she tried on Lacey’s top with a pair of leggings. “My teacher says I’ve really progressed quickly, and I might be in the running to be Clara in the Nutcracker next year!”

“Wow!” Lacey was ecstatic for her cousin. “I wish I were as advanced as you at ballet.”

“Well, it’s cool, because I wish I had your cheer and majorette skills.” Maddie smiled, and the girls decided to put on a fashion show later on that day.

Lunch rolled around, and Aunt Ida asked Maddie if she wanted to go get the family some takeout from the local diner.

“Maddie, you can drive now?” Lacey was incredulous.

“Yeah, I’m old enough now! I got my license! Come on, I’ll drive, you and Kelly can come.”

Mrs. Baker nodded her approval. The girls, dressed in overcoats, leggings and Uggs and looking ready for winter, were in the car at the drop of a hat. Soon, they were singing along to the radio, when Kelly began laughing uncontrollably.

“What is it, Kel?” Maddie asked.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Lacy was curious.

“It’s just so weird, I’m not gonna lie. Seeing my two boy cousins as girls! It still gets me.”

“It still gets me too,” Maddie said after a brief silence. “But I’m used to it. This is the way that I was meant to be. Just like you, Kelly.”

“Do you have lipstick?” Lacey asked at a red light. Kelly laughed some more as Maddie produced a half-dozen shades, and soon they were all giggling and having a great time.

“I can’t wait for our fashion show,” Lacey told Maddie as the family sat down to their brief lunch before the preparations for Thanksgiving continued.

“What’s this about a fashion show?” Aunt Ida inquired.

“Lacey and I thought we’d try on a few dresses, you know, have a little modeling session, practice makeup, that kind of thing,” Maddie said.

“Well, we need a little help first, so your little fashion show can wait,” Aunt Ida said, a wry smile on her face. “Now can you put some dishes away...” and with that, at least in their teenage minds, Lacey and Maddie went from princesses to maids.

“A little help” quickly morphed into an hour, and it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon before Lacey and Maddie were able to flop down onto Maddie’s bed, exhausted.

“Who knew Thanksgiving could be so much work?” Maddie asked.

“You and me both, girl.” Lacey felt like going to sleep, but quickly changed her mind when she saw the pretty dresses peering out of Maddie’s open closet.

“Ready for the show?” Maddie asked her cousin.

“Let me get out of these leggings first. I’m so hot.” Lacey peeled the leggings off her legs, and replaced them with a comfy pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Maddie did likewise.

“I haven’t brushed my hair at all today, I look like a mess.” Maddie vocalized what both girls were thinking. They were soon perched in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing their hair out and soon giggling as only girlfriends can.

“So Mads,” Lacey said as she brushed, “how are things with you and boys?”

Maddie beamed. “Lacey, you wouldn’t believe all the hot guys at my school!” Maddie had transferred to a private school over the summer, while Lacey went to the same school as before.

“You’re so lucky you get to go to a private school.” Lacey’s face reddened a combination of makeup and envy. “All the guys at my school are about average for the most part.”

“For the most part?” Maddie saw right through Lacey’s ruse. “I may only have been a girl for ten months, but I know a girl in love with one guy when I hear one.”

Lacey relented, spilling her guts about how she kind of liked (read: was head over heels in love with) this cute (read: dreamy) guy, Tevin Brantley, and she kind of hoped he would ask her out sometime (read: already had picked out the outfit she would wear for their first date).

“See, this is what I was looking forward to,” Lacey told her cousin when the girls were finished. “Just the girls, hanging out! This is so awesome. I love you, Maddie.”

“I love you too, Lacey!” The girls hugged, and skipped into Maddie’s room to survey her closet.

Lacey was just about to try on Maddie’s school uniform when the doorbell rang. Lily ran to open it, as Aunt Ida and Mrs. Baker were occupied. Maddie and Lacey peered over the loft to the front door, and neither were pleased with what they saw.

Grandpa had arrived. Maddie and Lacey were suddenly thrown into panic.

“Why is he here?”

“I don’t know!”

“This was supposed to be girls’ weekend.”

“I know! Remember, he lives just a few cities away...”

“This is great, now we won’t be able to have our fashion show!”

“Of all days...”

Grandpa was alright in the girls’ book - he’d accepted their transitions unflinchingly, for one thing, although he did still enjoy cracking wise when given the chance - but he was also an extreme nuisance. Both Lacey and Maddie knew that their plan for a pink, frilly weekend had just been blown to smithereens.

“Lacey! Maddie!” Mrs. Baker called to the girls. “Come say hello to your grandfather!”

Heads hanging, the two girls marched down the stairs, putting on smiles as they enveloped their Grandpa in hugs.

“Aren’t you the prettiest young ladies? You look exactly like your mothers!” Grandpa gushed. Both Lacey and Maddie blushed.

But, Grandpa quipped, “You’re still Logan and Matt, ex-football players, and you still have the muscles to help carry my bags in, is that right?”

“Your bags?” Aunt Ida was taken aback.

“I thought I’d drop by for Thanksgiving, if it’s not too much of a problem...”

“No, no, that it’s not,” Mrs. Baker cut her father off, with the same faux smile her daughter wore. “And I’m sure Lacey and Maddie would love to carry your bags in.”

“Alright, come on, muscles!” Neither Lacey nor Maddie had the heart to lecture their grandfather on the pitfalls of hormone therapy, and thus they obliged, panting and wheezing while moving Grandpa’s suitcases into the kitchen.

Moving Grandpa’s belongings around the Baker household became a full-family affair, and before the family knew it, it was 6 o’clock and time to eat. Lacey’s plans for a fashion show had evaporated. She was crestfallen.

“After dinner we can still try on some stuff,” Lacey elbowed Maddie just before they sat down for dinner.

“You bet,” Maddie nodded.

Oh, how naive they turned out to be. “I brought Monopoly,” Grandpa announced. “Who wants to play with me?”

It was unavoidable. Grandpa made a beeline straight for Lacey and Maddie. Thinking quickly, Maddie tried to stop him.

“Grandpa, we’d love to play, but we’re gonna help my mom clean up.” Lacey nodded along. Grandpa’s face fell.

“We got it, guys, go play with your grandfather.” Aunt Ida destroyed the girls’ hopes and dreams with one statement.

And that’s how, at 9 pm, instead of shaking her bubble butt in Maddie’s dreamy strapless blue dress, Lacey was still sitting in her gym shorts, rolling the dice and trying to get out of jail for what seemed to be the umpteenth time while Grandpa talked about his billiards league ad nauseam.

“And then I stared down the nine-ball, and I whispered into Larry’s ear...” Grandpa trailed off when he saw Maddie nearly asleep.

“You know, I feel like I’ve been hogging the conversation this entire time,” he said as he tried to jostle Maddie awake. “Why don’t you two tell me about what you’ve been up to? Maddie, I hear you’re a ballerina now?”

“I am!” Maddie blushed, thrilled Grandpa was keeping up with Aunt Ida’s news.

“I bet you look tutu cute on stage!” Grandpa roared at his own pun, and then turned serious. “Why don’t you show me some of your moves?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, why not? We’re at a lull in the game, show me something.”

“Okay.” Maddie stood up and immediately went into first position when Grandpa stopped her.

“Why don’t you put on your tutu? I’ve never seen you perform before. Give me a recital!”

Maddie, elated, disappeared and emerged ten minutes later with her hair in a bun, dressed in tights, a leotard, and a pink tutu Lacey had seen strewn over a chair. She put on a CD, danced a selection Lacey recognized as Swan Lake, and curtsied. The whole family stopped to watch, and applauded.

“You’ll be Clara for sure!” Lacey yelled as her cousin waltzed gracefully upstairs to change.

Now, Grandpa turned to Lacey. “And I hear you’re going to be a cheerleader! Good for you!”

“Thanks!” Lacey swelled with pride. “Do you want me to show you some of my routine?”

Grandpa, who’d seem energized to see Maddie dance ballet, now looked tired. “Maybe tomorrow, little Lacey?” He smiled. “I’m gonna get to bed. These old bones need some rest. Good night.” Grandpa pecked his granddaughter on the cheek, and she feigned a smile.

Inside, Lacey’s rage grew to a breaking point.

“Can you help me clean this up?” The leotard-clad Maddie gestured toward the Monopoly game. Lacey glowered.

“I’m going to bed.” She skulked off to her room, and buried her head in her pillow, taking stock of the past two days. The car had broken down, Grandpa had shown up, and now Maddie and her’s dream weekend seemed more a pipe dream than anything. Still, she held onto hope things could turn around.

Chances seemed slim, though, and Lacey fell asleep, wanting to text Tevin or dress-shop online but being too worn out to reach for her phone.

First things first: Lacey owed Maddie an apology. When she arose on the chilly morning of Thanksgiving, she immediately sought out her cousin. Not finding her downstairs, she instead opened her bedroom door. Maddie was doing squats.

“So this is the secret behind the cutest butt in Pennsylvania?” Lacey quipped. Maddie chuckled, and the girls hugged.

“Sorry I made you clean up last night,” Lacey said. “Lily’s right - I really am turning into a bitch.”

“That’s the cheerleader in you,” Maddie joked. “Now let’s go watch the parade!”

They streaked downstairs and found seats on the couch to partake in the annual parade-watching tradition. Kelly occupied a chair, while the college girls helped Aunt Ida and Mrs. Baker with more dinner preparations. Grandpa was still asleep.

“Look at the ballerinas!” Kelly exclaimed as a dance-themed float appeared on screen. “That could be us someday!”

“God, I’d sure love to have a tutu like that,” Lacey said, marvelling at a ballerina’s beautiful blue pancake-style skirt.

“When would you ever wear that?” Maddie laughed.

“I don’t know! It’s just so pretty!” Lacey was drooling.

“As pretty as Tevin?” Kelly needled, and soon all three were giggling.

“Hey, Lacey,” Maddie said, thinking out loud. “Would you mind loaning me your foundation when we do makeup later? I think I’m out.”

“Absolutely!” Lacey said. “Here, I’ll trade you. I’ll loan you my foundation if you let me wear your bracelet, the one with the blue gem.”

“You’ve got a deal.”

And Kelly was laughing yet again. “What is so funny?” Maddie demanded.

“Are your two girl cousins not allowed to talk about makeup and jewelry?”

“Nothing, nothing, nothing!” Kelly shook her head, still smiling. “It’s still strange.”

“You know what’s also strange? You have no problem wearing my bras whenever you feel like it, and unlike me with Lily’s bras, you don’t have the excuse of being in emotional turmoil. So shut it.”

All three girls were roaring now. This is it, Lacey thought. This is what I wanted. Last year at Thanksgiving, Lacey was at an all-time low. The highlight of her weekend was when her mother and Kelly had gone Black Friday shopping, and Lacey got to try on her mom’s old prom dress. It was an ugly dress, but it made Logan feel like a real girl and set him on a course to loaning foundation to her cousin a year later.

Today is already 100 times better than the last two days, Lacey thought to herself. Even Grandpa was in an amiable mood, declaring he definitely wanted to see her do some cheers after dinner. The girls ate a light lunch and then set off to get dressed, which would be a multi-hour affair.

“Who’s showering first?”

“Here, try on these panties?”

“I brought nail polish remover, just in case.”

The sweet language of teenage girls getting dressed up filled the air. Both girls had picked out what they saw as their prettiest possible outfits for dinner. Lacey had selected a light blue dress with a flared skirt with heels and a bra to match. Maddie opted for a light blue dress shirt with a floral miniskirt.

“I need to do a quick shave.” Lacey rolled a few stray hairs off of her legs and Maddie did likewise. The two girls then changed into their fancy underwear.

For a brief moment, both girls stood before the mirror topless. “Geez, Mads!” Lacey laughed. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were moving fast.” Maddie’s breasts nipped Lacey’s in size by about an inch.

“Yeah, it’s nice to be able to shop for bras with my girlfriends,” Maddie said. “But my butt’s kind of a dud. That’s why I was doing squats before. Yours has rounded out nicely.”

Lacey put on her falsies with her bra while Maddie added hip pads. Both then fled to the bathroom to do their hair and makeup. And then, the moment of truth.

“This is it!” Lacey said in euphoria. “Why I became a girl.” She held her dress out in front of her, and ever so carefully threaded her thin, pale legs through the skirt. She fiddled with the zipper until it fit snugly. She played with the skirt a little bit and made sure her butt was out of the way. Finally, she added some jewelry.

“You look hot.” Lacey thought that Maddie, who dished out the compliment, didn’t look too shabby herself. She’d slipped herself into a beautiful miniskirt and wore black heels. She smiled as she adjusted her bra.

“Let’s head downstairs, I guess.”

Lacey and Maddie crept down the stairs, but drawing their family’s eyes was unavoidable in heels as they strutted into the dining room.

“Maddie...”

“Lacey...”

Rhonda and Lily were lost for words at their sisters’ beauty.

“So ladies, shall we eat?” Grandpa stood up from his perch in the chair and stopped suddenly.

“Maddie, Lacey, you look very, very beautiful,” he smiled, and soon he launched into a story about the girls’ grandmother as a teenager. The girls found it cute, and smiled.

Lacey pulled out her chair, smoothed over her skirt, fiddled a little with her bra, and played with her hair. Finally, this was it. The Thanksgiving she’d been dreaming of.

Then it all went to hell.

“Lacey Baker, you may be wearing a dress but you are not a princess! Get up and get your own food!”

I am a princess, Lacey thought to herself, but that was beside the point. She obliged, making sure to smooth her skirt as she stood up.

And suddenly she was on the ground, yelling in pain.

“What happened?” Mrs. Baker and Lily strutted over and found Lacey flat on her stomach on the floor.

“I... tripped.” Lacey rose and saw where her high-heel had caught a crick in Aunt Ida’s stain wooden floor. She held back tears and bit her lip. It had been a nasty fall, and the tight nature of Lacey’s dress had hindered her breaking it.

“Are you alright?” Lily asked her sister.

“Yeah, just a little scrape, I guess.” Lacey rolled her skirt up. A bright red spot graced her pale legs.

“You’d better go clean off,” Aunt Ida said. “I’ll warm your dinner for you when you come back.”

“Okay.” Lacey sighed and sauntered off to the bathroom. She messed with her dress a little bit, and dabbed a paper towel over the scrape, sighing all the while.

So this day isn’t going perfect, Lacey thought. Oh, well. I’ll just have to make the best of it. Besides, it’s dinnertime. Mom and Aunt Ida make the best turkey.

“Alright, I’m ready to eat.” Lacey reemerged with a crude bandage on her leg and a smile on her face. She took a seat at the table, and conversed with her family lightly while chowing down on her aunt’s delicious turkey.

At one point, Rhonda eyed her cousin curiously. “Lace, are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You look a little pale.”

“I feel fine.” Rhonda shrugged and both went back to eating.

The conversation ebbed and flowed. Girl stuff was mostly the topic of discussion, with Grandpa nodding along, pretending to understand. Lacey gradually dropped out of the conversation. Her stomach rocked and rolled. Rhonda had been a prophetess.

What happened next, like the fall earlier, happened in a flash. Lacey stood up, kicked off her heels, and sprinted upstairs to the guest bathroom. There, she threw up into the toilet - and all over her pretty dress. She threw up, and sobbed, and threw up and sobbed. It was a terrible thing.

This Thanksgiving was a terrible thing! Lacey cursed it. Everything had gone wrong for her, so it seemed, these last few days. The tears flowed. Her mascara ran. “Why?” She whispered to herself. “Why?”

Lacey had this vision of Thanksgiving all laid out. Nothing but girls. Pink and frills everywhere. Trying on clothes and talking boys with Maddie, and then shopping with the family. Nowhere in the plan was the car breaking down, or Grandpa visiting, or knee scrapes, or throwing up.

Lacey had removed her dress and was sitting, crying in her underwear when there was a soft knock at the door.

“Who is it?”

“Maddie.”

“Come on in.”

Maddie pried open the bathroom door and found her cousin in her underwear slumped against the bathtub.

“Oh, honey.” She enveloped Lacey in a big hug, and helped her wipe up her mascara. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I feel better now,” she sighed. “But this Thanksgiving has sucked. And I really wanted it to be perfect.”

“How do you mean?” Maddie had a confused look on her face.

“I don’t know,” Lacey thought out loud. “This was our first gathering with both of us out as girls, and I thought it would be something special, but it seems like everything has gone wrong.”

“Well, I have to agree with you that a lot of stuff has gone wrong,” Maddie said. “But you know, I think it is special, because we’re out as girls. We’re being our true selves. That in and of itself is special. I mean, look at this.”

Maddie stood upright. Lacey looked up and studied her cousin. She had a kind of glow to her - a halo of womanhood that went with her beautiful outfit and her lovely brown hair.

“You’re right.” Lacey stood up, too. “Can you bring me some clothes? I won’t be wearing this dress for a long time,” she chuckled.

“Anything you want.”

Lacey thought for a minute. “Just a big sweatshirt and some yoga pants would be good.”

Maddie complied and a few minutes later Lacey looked completely refreshed. She shaped her butt using the yoga pants, touched up her makeup, found some Converse, and headed back downstairs.

Grandpa dropped his newspaper as she appeared, his face wrought with concern. “You okay, Lacey?” he asked.

“I feel a lot better, Grandpa.”

“Well, that’s good,” he winked. “You still owe me that cheer routine!”

Lacey smiled. She sought out her mother, who was busy helping Aunt Ida clean up.

“I’m sorry this Thanksgiving hasn’t worked out, sweetheart.” Mrs. Baker was apologetic, but her daughter stopped her.

“Mom, look, I’m just glad we’re all together, and I can be who I am.”

Mrs. Baker beamed with pride in her daughter, but shook her head. “That’s a nice thought, Lace, but I still feel like I owe you something.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Mom. I’m a girl and I get to go shopping tomorrow. That’s enough for me.”

Lacey pecked her mother on the cheek. She and Aunt Ida smiled at each other, and, when Lacey and Maddie were out of earshot, agreed they’d been blessed with two beautiful daughters.

Kelly was sitting in a chair, reading. Lacey snuck up behind her, grabbed her shoulders, and kissed her on the cheek as well.

“We’re gonna have such a fun time tomorrow,” Kelly said, grinning.

“I know, right?” Lacey told her little sister. “I’ve got my eye on the cutest pair of boots at Penny’s, and you can never have enough PINK stuff... what about you, sis? What do you have your eye on?”

“I don’t know, really,” she said. “I’m too young for Victoria’s Secret... to tell the truth, I’m most looking forward to the dress boutique.”

That had slipped Lacey’s mind. “You’re right!” She daydreamed about putting on a frilly, petticoat filled princess dress. “It’s gonna be so awesome. I love being a girl.” She addressed this last statement to no one in particular, but Kelly smiled.

Rhonda and Lily were down in the basement, watching TV. Maddie was down with them, thumbing through her phone, when Lacey appeared.

“Feeling better?” Lily asked.

“Yeah.” Lacey skipped over and took a seat on the couch. “I owe Grandpa a cheer routine, though.”

“He’d probably understand if you don’t feel up to it,” Maddie said.

“No, I feel fine. And he seemed really excited about it. Said something about Grandma being a cheerleader too.”

“You’re welcome to borrow my old uniform and pom-poms,” Rhonda said.

“I’ll take you up on the pom-poms,” Lacey said excitedly. After finding the black-and-gold pom-poms, she ditched her yoga pants for a t-shirt and gym shorts. She finished off her makeshift uniform by adding a bow, borrowed from Maddie.

“Hey, Grandpa! You ready?” And Lacey launched into a fifteen minute routine, with Grandpa playing along. When she finished, she retreated to the basement, hung out with the older girls, and eventually made her way back upstairs. Eventually, it was just her and Grandpa, as everyone else had gone to bed early.

They watched football for a while, and made small talk while Lacey texted girlfriends and polished her nails, when Grandpa turned to Lacey and eyed her.

He smiled, and spoke.

“Lacey, I’m really proud of the woman you’ve become.”

Lacey looked at her grandfather, whose smile enveloped his face, practically. She couldn’t think of anything to say. She was overwhelmed with emotion. No more words needed to be said.

She got up, went over to Grandpa, kissed him on the cheek, and simply said, “Thanks, Grandpa. And goodnight.”

“Goodnight to you.” He resumed reading.

Lacey changed into her pajamas and went to brush her teeth and cream her skin. As she made her way to her bedroom, she saw a light emanating from Maddie’s room. She opened the door and found her cousin in yoga pants doing squats.

Maddie stopped, stood up, and gave a little pirouette.

“Cutest butt in Pennsylvania,” she winked. Lacey laughed, glancing at some of Maddie’s dresses as she did. Thinking ahead to tomorrow, her last thought of the night was that there was nowhere to go but up. She laid out a sweatshirt and jeans and fell excitedly asleep.