So You Want To Be A Girl, Do You? - Chapter 5
by Barbara Lynn Terry

After we had gotten home from church, we sat down to a light informal lunch. That is everybody pretty got what they wanted from the fridge themselves. Then we sat down and talked about Kathy's upcoming get together at her house. Mom was so impressed that Mr. Nesbitt had asked me to his house as one of Kathy's friends. I wonder just how many more of Kathy's friends will be there. Anyway, I wasn't sure I should go because I was never impressed by how much money a person has or how big their house is. People impressed me by the way they treated others.

"I didn't know Kathy Nesbitt went to public school."

"I didn't know she was that rich. I mean, maybe she wants to go to public school.

"Maybe, dear, but I was surprised that Mr. Nesbitt asked you to attend one of his parties."

"I know, mom. But you know though, Kathy Nesbitt has been very nice to me. I mean she knows of my wishes and that I am not physically a girl, but she accepts me as I am. She was the one who told the other girls in gym class that as long as I behaved like a girl, who cared what kind of a body I had. She said to just view me as a girl with a birth defect."

"How is it you kids today know all of that?"

"Mom, we know how to read, we know how to learn. That is what being a person is all about. We learn what we read, even if we have to read it more than once. I think that part you call studying." I giggled.

"Well, you certainly know a lot more about this than when I was eleven."

"Mom, when you were Eleven, you didn't have anybody like Christine Jorgensen to learn about. You didn't know about transgender then. If you saw a male who acted feminine, you ignored him and didn't talk about those things. Today, we are open about who we are, and we voice and show who we are everyday. What did they say in the papers last month? Oh yes, they said we are the enlightened generation. Maybe we are. But we don't hold our feelings in. If we have a question that needs to be asked, we ask it.

"Mom, our parents are still our advisors that we go to for advice. But you have to understand, that today is a different day. There is no depression, and we don't have criminals shooting people down in the streets for something to do. Al Capone, Pretty Boy Floyd, Legs Diamond, Machine Gun Kelly are all gone. They are a part of infamous history that was a part of the Great Depression. But right now, mom, there is no depression.

"We are the luckiest generation because we are free for the first time to voice our feelings. We don't have the stigmas attached to us that you had when you were eleven. So, even though Kathy Nesbitt is a cheer leader, and the most popular girl in school, she is still a friend, until she proves she isn't."

"Well, I am glad you have found a good friend anyway. You should go to her social. It will do you good to see how the rich and not so famous live." We both giggled, because even though Kathy's family was rich, they weren't part of the rich and famous. They were just local.

Anyway, mom made up my mind for me. I will go to Kathy's social and try to have a good time. But ... omg! I need a dress, and shoes, and lingerie, and my hair and nails done. That also means I have to cancel going to Michelle's sleepover too. Well, there wil always be sleepovers, but how many times does a girl like me get invited on the spur of the moment to a social thrown by a rich family? Not many I wager, and especially not me. But maybe if I play my cards right, there will be other invitations. Well, let's see how this one goes, first, then we can make up our mind about others.

"Mom, I will need a new dress, shoes, lingerie, and my hair and nails done. I can't go to Kathy Nesbitt's social looking like a tramp."

"No dear, you can't. Tomorrow we will go shopping for that special dress every girl looks for, for her special event. I know just the place to go, too."

"I need to call Michelle and tell her the gossip, I mean, the good news." We both giggled.

I called Michelle and told her what had happened after church, and about my being invited to Kathy Nesbitt's social at her house by her father. She screamed in my ear.

"You are so lucky, girlfriend. By all means, go to Kathy's social. Her father must be really impressed with what Kathy said about you to invite you on the spur of the moment."

"But that means I miss your sleepover."

"Sleepover, schmeepover. Go to Kathy's. Beisdes, then you will have enough gossip to tell us at the next sleepover."

"Well, alright, if you think I should. I was a little unsure of how you would take it, because of me being invited to snob hill to hob nob."

"Hob nob, girlfriend, hob nob. You can meet alot of influential people at those socials. Those are the people who count, girlfriend, because they are the ones with the money and the power to hire you for a job when you're old enough."

"You know something, Mish, I just might do that. The nighborhood gossip reporter at large in the Nesbitt mansion on snob hill." We both giggled. "I just wonder what the supermarket tabloid headlines would be."

"That is the sixty four thousand dollar question. But you will have fun, because Kathy's friends are not stuck up like you hear about the rich. In fact, they are so outgoing, they may just invite you to some of their sleepovers."

"But, what about your sleepovers? I mean, even though it may be exciting to hob nob with the rich and not so famous here, I don't want to lose my friends."

"Girlfriend, you could never lose us as your friends. But this is an exciting time for you. You know the saying about being in the right place at the right time? Well girlfriend, you were definitely in the right place at the right time. Remember that opportunity knocks only once. So take advantage of this and go to Kathy's social."

"Well, alright, I suppose. I mean, when Kathy's father asked me outside of the church, I was surprised. I mean, yes, I know Kathy, and she is nice, but I don't know anything about her other than her father is rich and even if Kathy quit school now, she would never hurt for money. But I guess her father wants her to take over someday."

"Kathy ... Let me give you the 411 on Kathy. She went to St. Anne's School For Girls. She was doing pretty good, until she got in to junior high school. That was when she started rebelling you could say. She started asking questions about boys, and the sisters there could only give her anatomy lessons. They had no clue what it was like to have a romantic affiar with a man. At least not that they will admit to.

"Kathy started wearing makeup too, and at first the sisters didn't say anything because it was only face powder and mascara. But then she started wearing bright red lipstick, bright red nail polish on her fingers and toes. She wore low cut tops, and in the winter time, wore capris under her uniform skirt. She even began wearing eye shadow and eye liner. Finally after so many warnings that she looked like a prostitute, they expelled her from the diocese schools. She had no other choice but to go to public school or be tutored.

"Her father thought she could learn a few lessons in humility from being in a public school, and she has been here since."

"Wow, you mean her father wanted her in public school instead of being tutored? That is something."

"Yes, it is. But Kathy doesn't act stuck up, like everyone thought she would be. For her to make friends with you and invite you to one of her parties, really shows she likes you. So, girlfriend, go to the party, have fun, hob nob with the the rich and not so famous. But above all, have fun."

"Thanks, Mish, I really needed to hear that from a friend."

"Kathy is one of your friends now too."

"I'm going to give her a call and tell her I'm coming to the party. I think this will be a whole new world that is opening up for me. With Roland Nesbitt's recommendation, I could get any job. But that being said, I don't want to start at the top, I want to work my way up."

"Well, you call her, and let me know what she said."

I called Kathy's house, and when a man answered, I said I wanted to speak with Kathy Nesbitt. I was told to wait a bit, and then I heard her voice.

"Hello? This is Kathy Nesbitt."

"Kathy, it's Stephanie. Tell your dad I will come to the social. I talked it over, and I will come."

I heard a shrill scream on the other end of the phone. "Thank you, Steph, thank you. Daddy isn't home right now, but I will add your name to the invitation list. We are going to have so much fun. By the way, girlfriend, have you given any thought about having a boyfriend?"

"Me? A boyfriend? What boy would have me for a girlfriend?"

"The kind of boys that come to my socials. This isn't a party party, it is called a social for a reason. There will be people of all ages there. Our group will be separated from the adults and little children. Then later on in the evening, we all get together and sing songs at the piano in the study. But before that, the different age groups get to have fun in their own age group."

"Alright, Kathy, I will be there. My mom said we are going shopping for a dress, shoes, and get my hair and nails done. I will be there, and the dress I am not telling you about until I get to the house."

"That sounds fair to me. Besides, I like surprises, anyway. Anyway, the social is this coming Saturday and it starts at eleven in the morning. It goes until ten at night. This way, we girls have our own little social. Then, at about dinner time, we girls are announed one by one as we enter the dining room. Our dining room is very spacious, and has a round dining table for the adults, a straight dining table with chairs on both sides, for the children and is the length of the wall between the two doors. One door leads to the kitchen and the other to the hallway we will be coming from. The girls will sit on the outside of the table, and the boys on the inner side. We are going to have so much fun, girlfriend."

"Thank your dad for asking me. This is the first time I will be at one of these ... socials."

"It's alright, Steph, it isn't like you see in the movies or on television. But we do dress nice, though."

""It will be fun, you'll see. My dad is telling me to finish my homework. I will talk to you at school, Steph. Good night and have sweet dreams about the social. Who knows, you might even meet a nice boy there."

I giggled. "Good night, Kathy, and you have sweet dreams about the fun we are going to have."

After we each had hung up, I sat there and thought about what she had said. Is it time I had my first boyfriend? Maybe. I went in the kitchen, poured myself an orange juice, and sat at the table.

"Mother, do you think I am too young to have a boyfriend?"

"Well, there are married couples that are like a few years apart. Why do you ask?"

"Because Kathy said I might meet a nice boy at her social and might get to have a boyfriend."

"I see. Well, you are going on twelve, and I had my first boyfriend when I was thirteen. No, I don't think you are too young, but at your age, there are certain rules you have to follow. I think it is time you and I had a mother/daughter talk."

While mother sat there and gave me "the talk", I listened intently. Even though some of the physical things won't ever apply to me, I still listened, because I may need this information when I am out with other girls. When mother was finished giving me "the talk", she asked if I understood what she had just told me.

"Yes, mother, I understand."

"What I just told you, is what every girl reaching puberty knows from their mothers. Even though some of this will never apply to you, you should know it anyway, because girls talk about their periods, the cramps, the mood swings and the bloating. This will come in handy, if you are ever with girls that are discussing this. Especially if a girl has her first period, and she tells her friends, and they ask you about your first period. I am going to give you three sanitary pads to carry in your purse. Every girl and woman that goes through a monthly cycle, carries pads with them in case they need to change them during the day. Also, carry an extra pair of panties or two in your purse, because sometimes, if a girl or a woman has a heavy blood flow, it can damage the panties. In that case, you just clean yourself up, and throw the panties away. So what I have told is necessary for every girl to know, and since you are a girl, you need to know this too."

"I understand, mother. So, when can we get my dress and shoes, and get my hair and nails done?"

"This coming Friday, I will make an appointment at my salon."

"Will you be there with me?"

"No, dear, I will stay at home. Kathy's mother is picking you up. You go and have fun with your friends. This will be your first solo as a girl. I know you will be alright because Roland Nesbitt keeps his house in order. There was an article about him in Cosmopolitan last month. They even had a family picture, and Kathy looks really pretty."

"She's a cheerleader, but isn't stuck up. I was surprised that first day in girls gym when she said as long as I behaved like a girl, there wouldn't be any problems. When Kathy Nesbitt says she is someone's friend, the other girls just follow along. She is like, every girl's fantasy of who they all either want to be, or be like."

"Well, I am glad that you found a good friend who has a following. By the way, did Kathy say if this was a formal or semi formal?"

"I think it is semi formal, because all she said is that they dress nice. She didn't say anything to me about wearing a gown. A semi formal dress will do."

"Alright, dear. Have you finished your homework?"

"Yes, mother."

"Then let's see what's on television."

Quarterback Princess was on so we watched that. The true story of Tami Maida who came from Canada with her father while he studied for his PhD. It is a funny story about a high school girl who becomes quarterback for an all boys football team.

When the movie was over, I kissed and hugged mom good night, and after saying I love you, I went to take a quick shower and head off to bed.
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Continued in Chapter 6.