"Amber is a wonderful person. I've never seen her angry or mean or unkind.
I sometimes wonder whether she even has negative emotions."

On hearing that, my eyebrows went up as high as they could possibly go.

"I'm serious," Kitty said.

I thought to run the hairbrush quickly through my hair, but right away hit a tangle.
I tried a different spot, and hit another tangle. Oh well! Tangles later! Pool now!

Kitty gave a impatient little huff. "Look — it's not like I spy — that's not what it's like."

"So, what's it like, then?"

"Amber is concerned about Max. She really cares about him and wants to know what's going on in his life. She wants what's best for him."

I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud.

Sunday

Now we come to the reason Aida and I spent the night - attending church in the morning. My cynical self couldn't help but compare the Gabriel clan with those B movie mobsters that spend week raping, pillaging, boozing and blackmailing, then go to church on Sunday to thank the lord for their blessings. That has to rate right up there with getting fucked by some dude at your own anniversary party. I wondered if we should sit a few pews away in case there was an unseasonable lightning strike.

People Watching At The Party

With that he wandered to greet the guests as they arrived. We seated ourselves in the shade of the big tent and indulged in some people watching. Since most of the guests were of her parent's generation, we weren't disturbed for quite some time as guests greeted one another.

Friday

That was one of the longest weeks in my life. I strove mightily to get things in shape so I could take the next week off. With Aida pulling evening shift so she could get the weekend off to meet my parents our only direct contact was last night's comedy. It helps when you're the boss, playing with the schedule is a bit easier that way. Also, her people were excited that she would be meeting her fiancée's parents. They were in on the scam with her parents, but not with the scam with me.

Absurdly, ironically, I wanted someone else to validate my choice;
to tell me whether my desires and feelings were enough,
when it came to making a decision for myself.

Soon I was back to the old me, clothes and all.

"How do you feel?" Viv asked.

"Prosaic," I replied.

"Awww," she cooed with an encouraging smile. "That feeling will fade. Don't worry. Come, let me give you a hug."

A Slight Diversion

At this point I have to admit to a certain ambivalence. I had fantasized about making love to Aida more than once, but I chickened out long before she could say 'yes.' At that point the memories of my first - and only - experience with sexual intimacy messed things up. Now she had unmistakably said 'yes.'

“How the hell did you know I was here?” Joey practically screamed at her father.

Tinsley couldn’t believe how humid and hot it was outside today. All she wanted to do was go for a swim in the community swimming pool, but she has never been out in public in a swimsuit before. She was still transitioning, and she didn’t know how she would look in her swimsuit.

"But would you do that, if you could? If you were a girl?"

"What kind of question is that?" I asked, taken aback, and more than a little offended.

"It's a yes/no question," she replied. "Would you?"
 

Kitty's face went white. Pieces of memories, images, puzzle pieces shifted and moved and recombined in her head.
Things were falling into place; her picture of how things were, began to line up in a different way.
 

On the way to Max's house, Kitty said, "I heard you're living like Cinderella."

"Huh?"

"You're living in Max and Amber's garage, aren't you?"

Max's mom fell silent, and fixed her eyes on him for a bit.
He noticed her stare, and said, "What? Did I do something?"

"I don't know," she replied. "But if you did,
I don't know why you didn't tell your own mother."

Morgan and Mel make become intimate.

The Calm Before The Storm

Life was good. I appreciated having Lucy in bed with me every night, Mom seemed to be happy with Lucy living with us, even if she rather thought of it as one of the sleepovers we had when we were kids.

I'm Elliot Beekman, and I'm a guy. Or I was a guy.
It's something I'll have to figure out, and by the end of this story,
you'll understand my perplexity.

That Might Work

Sunday was quiet. I spent much of it dismantling my old twin bed and hiding it in the closet next to my useless Harry clothes. I got a piece of plywood to expand the surface of my old school desk, set up my computer stuff and went out to buy a decent chair. That old wooden thing I used as a kid just didn't cut it any more, even if I'd padded my bottom.