“For all his flaws – and for all of mine – I’d just like to have my father back. Maybe now, after all these years, we can do better.”

It was a strange time to be a peacekeeper of any kind, because it was a shameful kind of peace to preserve. Multiculturalism had failed; polite society had ceased and democracy had mutated into the exercise of force through strength in numbers.

“Ah- shit, sorry…” Luke mumbled as he entered the college’s toilet block to find his twin standing at a urinal fastening his zipper.

“S’okay,” Lucas mumbled, not looking at Luke as the young trans man limped toward one of the cubicles. Both twins grimaced as the encounter ended, not least because it was the most words they’d exchanged with each other for weeks.

I wished with all my heart that I had been able to help him more, when he was younger. When it might have made a difference. But the past, as I knew only too well, could not be repaired.

It could only be transcended.

Alco’s Self Storage:
“Man, I am so sore from moving all those heavy boxes and that piano.” Rustie looks at Ivy as he sweeps up the last of the trash in the second locker.

Rustie didn’t know that when someone bought a storage locker, they had to throw away all the trash in the locker as well. It was a good thing the storage unit manager had a wheel barrel they could use to haul all the trash to the dumpster.

Halloween was fast approaching and we still did not have suitable costumes for the three parties we had been invited to. Ginger had tried all the costume rental places in town, several costumes that might work for her but absolutely nothing that would fit me and go along with her costume.

I offered to stay at home this year, Halloween not my favorite holiday, the parties so lame and boring. Unfortunately Ginger did not see it that way.

Chapter Twenty-five.

Today was to be a special day for me, a day I have been looking forward to for weeks. At work I was scheduled to work on my presentation for the monthly board meeting, so I would be in my office all day alone except for my secretary. Jennifer, my secretary, was super efficient, handling most things that required my input without having to consult me.

Bigger Than I Expected

I could barely catch my breath as I stood before the mirror, my heart racing in my chest—not from physical pain, though there was certainly plenty of that—but from sheer, overwhelming disbelief at my reflection.

Let me take a step back for a moment.

Being Samantha Masters

an homage-sequel to Being Christina Chase

Distractions

Sammy, you have to text me when you get home from a date!  Rowan’s message was waiting on his phone when Sammy woke up the next morning.

How do you know if it was really a date?  he texted back, bleary-eyed.  I never told you how that shook out.

I earned my living as a consultant, advising people in how to invest their money and hold on to what they had in today’s economy. I purposefully selected only female clients, most males think they know better and do not listen to the advice I offer them. Then, when they lose a chunk, they blame me for steering them wrong. I avoid all of that drama by not taking them as clients in the first place. I have been very fortunate, managing over the years to amass quite a few clients, mostly in the upper echelon of business, across a large spectrum of business types.

“Avoid playing games of chance for money, young lady.” His eyes twinkled. “Yes. You have a question. So, ask it.”

This is a paraquel to “Pawn …” as told by Dawn (Bill). (Since it isn’t prequel or a sequel it must be a paraquel)

At the beginning of my sophomore year I finally was ready to act. Perphaps not really ready but I had to do it this year. I had carefully researched the possibilities. This was the year to come out. Next year the conditions would be much worse.

It was a tennis match I was supposed to win easily, against an up and coming female tennis player from a rival high school. Since she is a junior and I am a sophomore we had never played each other before.

Due to a lack of tennis players in the state, there was no separate male and female teams. Just one team open to either a male or a female. This also applied to several other sports, golf also being one of the sports. In the sport of tennis, some of the best players were female, their agility overcoming any male advantage due to their strength.

I was in trouble big time. A first year college student that got arrested when trying to break in to a girlfriend’s house over the holidays. I was promptly bailed out, but my parents who lived in Las Vegas were flying in for the arraignment.

I spoke to Mom over the phone offering no reason for my arrest after repeated attempts for her to understand what in the hell was I thinking. Since I was not forthcoming with any information she hung up on me, although I did find out she had an attorney post my bail.

From the San Gabriels to the Mexican Border, Southern California is people. Anglos and Chicanos, Asians, Blacks, Slavs, Armenians – heaps of Armenians! – you name it. They come from everywhere, and they bring their languages, their foods, their feuds and their passions with them. It’s wild and dynamic and scary, and I love it.

It’s home.

Precious Time - Part 3

“Girl, if you go shooting all the cochinos, we’ll run outta dudes.”