The Vacation

Printer-friendly version

The Vacation

Eric thought he was alone in his grandmother's house.

His mother, older brother and grandmother went to the store to buy food for the Thanksgiving feast.

His father took his younger half-sister and his stepmother to the movies.

He really didn't know why he had the urges he did. And seeing his mother's dress on the floor in the laundry room was a temptation. He planned it out right, just like he had dozens of times before.

He snuck back in the bedroom where his mother was staying. He put on the dress. He also put on a little makeup, although not very well. He had plenty of time to take the dress off, and get the makeup off before anyone returned.

He made two mistakes in his calculation. No. 1: He forgot to lock the door. No. 2: He forgot to really make sure he was alone.

The 11-year-old boy was in shock when the bedroom door opened. He wasn't the only one shocked.

"Oh my!" his stepmother, Claire, said. "Sorry!"

She quietly closed the door. He didn't count on the fact that she wasn't feeling well and stayed at the house to take a nap. She was just going to slip back into the back bathroom when she discovered her stepson.

"Of all people," Eric thought.

Like most kids in a broken family, he was taught all stepmothers were evil. His mother certainly ran his younger stepmother down a lot, although Eric didn't know why. She seemed nice enough when his older brother Andrew and he had to go for weekends with their dad.

He worried about when the shoe was going to drop.

He thought it would that night when his dad, his mother and grandmother discussed how "unmanly" Eric seemed to be in comparison to his all-world athletic brother. He kept waiting for Claire to spill the beans at yet another "family" discussion about him whenever his parents called their usual truce during an unusual holiday gathering at his grandmother's.

"Sure, you always blame me!" his mother always seemed to say before pointing out that his brother Andrew also lived with her and was "all boy."

Claire kept quiet for a couple of reasons. During one such argument, she was told by his mother and his father that "it was none of her business." His father later regretted saying it. But she never felt comfortable butting in again. The other reason? She really felt for Eric. She really didn't know how to process what she saw.

No one saw Eric slip out of the room disgusted. No one except Claire. And no one saw her slip out of the room after him.

She found him alone on the swing.

"Is this swing taken?" she asked him.

"No," he said before she took a seat in the swing right next to him.

"Pretty rough in there," she said, noticing he was in tears.

"Why can't they accept me for who I am," He asked her.

"I don't know," she replied. "I guess that's the way parents are. I know they want the best for you. But if it's any consolation, I love who you are."

It made him feel better. She hugged and told him it was best they went inside before anyone noticed they were gone.

*****
Eric often wondered why his stepmother never told his parents. She never brought it up on the weekends he and Andrew spent with their dad. But he did notice that she began to take more of an interest him. They had a few hobbies in common. He liked to paint like she did. They both liked to read.

They both liked edgy female singers.

"No, I don't think it's odd that your favorite singer is Pink," she said before giving him a Pink CD and gave him an Alanis Morrisette CD for his birthday.

He was surprised when she called his mother at the beginning of summer vacation. His dad was going to be gone for a month working on a project in Japan. He was equally surprised when his mother gave in to her request to have Eric come stay with her and his 8-year-old sister Katie, especially sans Andrew.

"You be good for Claire," his mother said as he got into Claire's SUV.

"Oh, he'll be fine, Anne!" Claire said before they pulled out of the driveway.

His father lived a half-hour away. The guest room where he and his brother stayed during their weekends was to be his room for the month. She hung up a few of his artworks she'd kept. There was a poster of Pink.

And a CD with a bow on the dresser.

"It's Joan Jett and the Blackhearts," she said. "Loved her when I was little. Drove my parents crazy. I think you'll love her."

She helped him put a couple of things away.

"Don't get too used to the room," Claire said. "We're going to the beach in the morning."

She enjoyed watching Eric and Katie play together while she made dinner. He didn't seem to mind watching endless Disney Princess movies with her, and even played dolls and house with her.

"You realize you're going to spoil her, don't you?" She asked him at one point.

As Claire said, they piled into the SUV bright and early. She wanted to get to Destin with enough time to unpack at the beach house and hit the beach.

"I don't have a swimsuit," he told his stepmother on the way down.

"Katie and I were going to pick up some new ones at a beach shop once we got there," she said. "Won't be a problem. We'll pick you up one, too."

The incident at his grandmother's house popped into her head while they shopped for suits. He seemed to take more interest than your average boy when they were looking for suits for Katie. Claire also helped him pick out a couple of suits in the boys section. She took particular interest when he looked over at a girl his age picking out a suit, but she didn't say a word.

"What do you say you two help me pick out some suits?" she said.

"I like this one, Mom!" Katie said, pointing to a turquois-trimmed suit.

"I like to mix and match," Claire said as she asked Eric to hold a couple of hangers with a black bikini bottom and a pink top. "Katie and I are bikini girls."

Unpacking at the beach house was a little bit of a chore. They had a lot of groceries to put away for a week's stay.

"We usually eat breakfast and lunch here, then we hit the beach," she said. "We go some place nice after we eat."

"This is Eric's and Katie's room!" she said after they were done unpacking. "I hope you don't mind sharing a room with your sister. That's all she's talked about when she found out we were coming. I've got the master bedroom."

"It'll do," Eric said. "I'm sure it will be better than sharing a room with Andrew."

"I don't snore like Andrew!" Katie laughed. "He can really snore!"

"What do you say we put on our suits and head to the beach?" Claire said.

"Yay!" Katie shouted.

Eric helped Claire carry her beach chair and umbrella to a nice spot on the beach. Claire dove into book as Eric and Katie built sand castles, and then went to play in the waves. Claire enjoyed listening to the laughter.

"Come up you two and get juice boxes!" she said when she felt like they needed a drink out in the hot sun.

"Thanks Claire," Eric said when he ran up and grabbed his drink.

Katie followed him.

"Mom, guess what?" she whispered to her mother.

"What?" Claire asked.

"Eric told me he wished he could wear a bikini like us," Katie said. "He told me to keep it a secret."

"Well then, you should have kept it a secret," Claire said.

"But I told him you'd buy him a bikini if he wanted one," she said.

"You silly goose," Claire said. "Go back and play. And remember, you're supposed to keep a secret."

She let the two play for a couple of more hours.

"Time to the showers, then go get something to eat," Claire shouted.

She told Katie to hit the shower first. She picked out a white pair of capris pants and a pink tank-top for Katie to wear.

"It'll go good with your new sandals," she said.

Claire thought about what Katie told her as she picked something out. It was a tradition that she and Katie wore outfits that complemented each other when they went to dinner at the beach. She picked out a white pair of capris pants and a white, sleeveless button-down shirt.

She then spotted an almost identical pair of capris. Eric was only a couple of inches smaller than she was.

"They might just fit him, Katie, what do you think?" she said after her daughter got out of the shower.

"Cool Mom, he can dress just like us!" Katie said.

Claire then pulled out three tank tops, and asked Katie what she thought her brother should wear.

"I think he'd look pretty in this one!" Katie said, picking out a white tank-top with teal trim.

"Wise choice," Claire said.

Claire called for Eric as soon as he emerged from the bathroom.

"Try these on," Claire said as she handed the hangers to them. "Might be a little big, but I think they'll fit."

Eric had a stunned look on his face, but took them back to his room and put them on.

He came back in to show Claire how they looked.

"They're a little baggy around the hips," Claire said. "I guess it's because your wearing boxers. Do you have any briefs?"

He shook his head no.

Claire thought for a minute.

"Katie, reach into my drawer and grab a pair of my panties," Claire said.

Katie reached in and grabbed a pair.

"Eric gets to wear granny panties!" Katie shouted.

"Don't feel bad," Claire said, pulling up the waist band from the pair she was wearing. "It's the only kind I wear. It came from a new pack, so I've never worn them."

Eric went into his room and changed.

"That's more like it," Claire said. "The pants are a little loose, but I think they look cute."

She handed him a necklace with a shell on it. It matched the ones she and Katie were wearing.

She also reached into the closet to pull out a pair of sandals.

"I think they'll look better on you than your sneakers," Claire said.

"Mom says we wear sandals so we can show off our pretty toes!" Katie said.

"Pretty toes?" Eric asked.

Claire pulled the nail polish off the dresser.

"About to do Katies toes," Claire said. "And then mine."

"I think Eric needs pretty toes!" Katie shouted.

"I think so, too!" Claire said.

Eric didn't protest. Claire showed him how to do nails as she painted his the same pink that she painted Katie's. Claire painted her own red.

Claire then took a brush to Eric's hair and tried to fluff it a little bit.

"OK ladies, I think it's time to go!" Claire said.

As they were driving to the restaurant, Claire asked Eric if he minded if she called him Erin at the restaurant.

"They might look at us strange if I called you Eric," she said. "And you seem like more of an Erin than an Erica."

"Erin's cool, I like Erin," Eric said as they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant that stood on a pair overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

"It's a really cool place with a great view," Claire said. "When the sun goes down, it looks like its going into the ocean."

Eric liked it when the waitress told Claire she had beautiful daughters.

"Thank you," Claire said. "Erin's actually my stepdaughter, but you're right. They are beautiful."

They went for ice cream, mini-golf and then hunting for sand crabs with flashlights, nets and buckets. It wore Katie out.

"She always sleeps sounder here than anywhere else," Claire told Eric when they both went out to the deck and sat in chairs. "This has always been my quiet time. I love to hear the waves roll in at night."

"I do, too," Eric said.

"Claire, can I ask you a question?" Eric asked.

"Sure, what is it, sweetie?" Claire said.

"How come you didn't tell anybody when you caught me in grandma's room?" Eric said.

"Your dad and mom would have been furious at you," Claire said. "I was afraid of what they might do to you. But I was more concerned about what was going on in your head."

"Now may I ask you a question?" she said. "How do you feel about today? I don't want to force anything on you."

He smiled.

"One time, Mom and I watched a show about a man who had a sex-change and became a woman," Eric said. "I thought, I want a sex-change. I want to be a girl. But I was scared to tell mom."

"I can understand," Claire said. "But do you still feel that way?"

"I do," Eric said. "But I know Mom and Dad would both be mad at me for feeling this way."

"Yeah, they probably will," Claire said. "Don't ever tell them about this. They might not understand. But remember, you're young. You don't have to rush into decisions about your life. And remember, I'm always on your side. I love you for who you are."

*****

Eric woke to the smell of bacon. Claire got up early and went all out for breakfast. Eggs, bacon, biscuits.

"Thought we'd get an early start," Claire said. "Got some things to do before we hit the beach. Did you sleep well?"

Eric shook his head yes.

"I didn't snore like Andrew does!" Katie said.

"No, she didn't," Eric said.

"Well, my night shirt looks really good on you, was it comfortable?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, wished I could wear it at home," Eric said.

Both of you get ready quick. There's a cute little dress shop I want to stop at. And we need to make a little stop at the beach shop.

"What for, Mom?" Katie asked.

"Don't chew with your mouth full," Claire said. "I think I can find us three nice dresses to wear to dinner tonight. And we forgot to buy one of the bikini girls any bikinis yesterday."

"Oh my God! See I told you!" Katie said. "I told you Mom would buy you a bikini!"

They found three very nice dresses. Claire made sure they tried them on.

"You look very nice, Erin," she said when Eric came out of the dressing room.

Just before they left the store, Claire spied a rack of training bras.

"You're 12," Claire said. "I was about your age when my mom made me pick out my first."

She handed Eric four.

"Go try them on," she said. "Whichever one feels most comfortable to you, we'll get."

Eric hoped no one recognized him the day before when they went into the beach shop. Even if anyone did, it didn't seem to show.

He was a little nervous when Claire led him to the section with suits for girls around his age.

"How about these, I think you'd look nice in them," Claire said, handing him a couple of suits she saw him looking at when the girl his age was looking at them the day before.

He finally got more comfortable. He picked out a bikini almost identical to one that Katie picked out. And one that Claire picked out.

Claire picked out a couple of wrap around skirts, and shorts to help cover the "thing you wish you didn't have."

She saw an amazing transformation that day. She saw two girls having the time of their lives on the beach that day.

She saw two young women with dreams that night at dinner and during their walk on the beach.

****

Ten years later ...

"I figured you would be out here," Claire heard a voice say.

"Erin, sweetie, you and Katie back so soon?" she asked.

"Blake and Jeff just dropped us off," Erin replied. "They're heading to their condo."

"Hope you girls understand that I have my rules," Claire said, kissing Erin on the cheek as she took a set in the chair beside her on the deck. "I don't care if you are 22 and Katie's 18. I don't allow young ladies to sleep under the same roof with their boyfriends when we're on vacation."

"It wasn't a big deal, Mom," Katie replied as she joined her sister and her mother.

"Hope you girls had a good time tonight with your boyfriends," Claire said. "Did you have a good time at the Pink concert?"

"We did," Erin said. "My little sister, the high school graduate, made us proud on the dance floor."

"My big sis didn't do a bad job, either," Katie said.

"So did you do your usual tonight, Mom?" Erin asked.

"I did some thinking, especially about all that we've been through these past few years," Claire said. "I was going to ask, have you heard from your mother recently?"

"It's been a couple of months, but I'm OK with that," Erin said.

"I was a bit surprised when she called you after you had your surgery," Claire said. "Maybe that's progress."

"I'm still hacked with the way that Dad treated you at graduation," Katie said. "Hardly spoke two words to you. You'd think he'd be proud to have a daughter who is an honor student in pre-med at Duke. Look at Andrew! He's still buddy-buddy with Andy even after Andy got busted with drugs and was kicked out of Auburn."

"At least he was civil," Erin said. "That's better than how he used to be."

"Don't feel bad, sweetie," Claire said. "He hasn't spoken that much to me since the divorce."

"Well, he's going to have to treat Erin better, especially after he finds out we're going to be rooming together at Duke in the fall," Katie said.

"My baby sister, the defiant one!" Erin said.

"I am a little shocked that the defiant one skipped her graduation trip with her classmates to be here with us," Claire said.

"Well, you did let us bring our boyfriends, even if they have to stay at a condo," Katie said. "But there is another reason I didn't want to go on the school trip."

"Why is that?" Erin asked.

"I wanted to spend my graduation trip with the two most important women in my life," Katie said. "And this is a very special place."

"I won't argue with that," Erin said, fighting back the tears. "This was the first place I got to really be myself."

Claire and Katie both put their arms around her.

"That was a very special vacation wasn't it?" Claire said.

"That was also the vacation I saw my Christmas wish come true," Katie said.

"Really, what was that?" Erin asked.

"I asked Santa the Christmas before if I could have a big sister," Katie said. "And I got one!"

"You two are really trying to make me bawl, aren't you?" Claire said.

"Oh Mom, we've almost forgot," Erin said. "We made one stop at the beach shop before the concert."

"Oh really?" Claire asked.

"Show her what we got!" Erin said as Katie went back inside the beach house.

She emerged with a bag.

"We bikini girls picked out some bikinis," Katie said as she pulled out a bikini.

"You girls are not wearing bikinis with leopard spots on the beach tomorrow?" Claire asked.

"What do you mean you girls?" Erin asked. "Last count I had, there are three bikini girls in this family."

"All of us are going to be showing our spots tomorrow!" Katie giggled.

up
197 users have voted.
If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos! Click the "Thumbs Up!" button above to leave a Kudos

Comments

Nice one, Torey

Angharad's picture

A seasonal story.

Angharad

Angharad

The Vacation

Very sweet. I liked it.

Lisa

Oh to have such sweet memories as a child....

Andrea Lena's picture

...this doesn't take me back to my own youth; it takes me back to one oh so much better. My melancholy becomes sweet by reading this today. Thank you.


Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Sweet

joannebarbarella's picture

Oh, to have such an understanding mother,

Joanne

Wonderful!

Extravagance's picture

I think that about sums it up.
*Raises a glass of her whiskey to your muse*
^_^

Catfolk Pride.PNG

Sometimes it just takes somerone

Who will love us for ourselves, rather than how we can meet up to their image of what they want.

Well done!

Wren

Hmmm homophobic parents and one open minded

stepmom. It is a very sad thing when parents don't love their children unconditionally. My birth mother was such a homophobe, but the lady I call my mother, was my mother's suppopsed best friend, and I spent many years with that "mother" than my own birth one. We have a God given right to be who we are openly, and if we were allowed to grow up being who we are, then this would be a better world.

This story was one of open acceptance by the stepmother and her daughter towards Eric who was allowed to be Erin. I think that is so special. The light touch on of the events Erin took part in was so special, being at the beach. But we missed the most important part of the story when ERin had her sugeries cementing her journey in to womanhood forever. We also missed out on Eric/Erin in school too. These are key elements that were only sped by and touched on when it was mentioned that Erin would be taking pre-med and then on to medical school. We really should have been able to see Erin graduate high school and the attitude of ERin's parents at that high school graduation. But as far as the story went, it was good. Thank you for sharing.

"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."

Love & hugs,
Barbara

"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."

"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."

Love & hugs,
Barbara

"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."

The Vacation

A very good read.

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

Compassion

Why is compassion so rare? How different the story would have been had the stepmother freaked when she discovered Eric was "different".

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

*sniff*

*sniff*

Yay stepmoms!

With the bad press stepmothers have gotten since the story of Cinderella, it's nice to see one who's as loving and compassionate as Erin's turned out to be. :)