Right, it’s now or never. Everything’s prepared. I have to tell my parents that I’m a girl. I can’t live like this any longer. The bag is packed and all my cash is in it in case things turn ugly.
The bottle of sleeping pills as well if things get really ugly.
You might think that I should know how my parents will react. The truth is that after 16 years I still don’t really know them. They are kind of ... distant. High powered, successful in every field. Mother is a CFO in an international company, father a leading scientist. Both very athletic, their latest triathlon was last week. I must be a terrible disappointment to them. Smallish, not good at sports at all, middling results in school.
OK, here we go. I go into their office. Their desks face each other and they are both engrossed in their work despite it being Sunday afternoon.
I explain, they listen without interrupting until I finish. Then Mother (it’s always Mother and Father never Mum and Dad) says to Father: “Activate plan A”
Father works his keyboard for a minute and with a dramatic gesture brings his index finger down.
“ Done”
“What?” I ask
Mother answers: “Oh, that was just a confirmation of your appointment with the gender specialist tomorrow at 4 pm. We have had a rolling agreement with her. We usually cancel it at 3pm on Sundays so it was good you didn’t come an hour later. Two emails were sent to your school. One to inform them that I will pick you up at three tomorrow and the other to schedule a meeting with your headmaster on Tuesday morning. Another email to your sister to come back next weekend to take you shopping. I assume you prefer her to help you rather than me. That reminds me; go down into the basement and get the green box labeled A. You will find some basic underwear, hosiery, sleepwear and a blouse and skirt. Even though you have grown a bit lately I think it will still fit you. Please throw away the totally inappropriate skirt you have stashed in your closet and put the rest of your stash in laundry. You can throw away the cheap cosmetics as well. The cosmetics in the box are of rather better quality.”
I just stand there not really understanding.
Mother adds: “Please shut the office door when leaving"
Comments
Ouch!
That was somewhat cold, wasn't it?
Suddenly, that bottle of pills begins to look interesting...
With parents like that it is no wonder he/she grew up confused, though it seems that they knew all along and never said anything... like I said, cold.
Good story, though.
Penny
You got what I wanted to say
I wanted to explore a rather uncommon reaction to the coming out. Bad or good? Supportive but without real support?
Bru
was and is still
That reminded me more then a little of my own coming out.
My mother was supportive in the words, but the there was a lack of emotional support. Not bad or good.
I was ready for acceptance (even if give grudgingly), or a ruined relationship and/or fights (non-acceptance).
But, I was truly not ready for a non-action, that is not in the fiction or the support group articles I had read to that time.
"Outlying coming out" is still not a common thing to be covered. And I never figured out my own to help thoughs that came after me. The extreme nature or tolerance (either for or against you), signals to me a more normal, 'coming out'.
My parent seems both emotional and indifferent. Not, we do not talk about it.
"Sometimes you need a little space to grow up or start over"- Me
I was amused
A very unusual reaction - great idea!
Good story, but...
...why didn't his parents speak as soon as they realised. 16 years of anguish!
The story is well written, encapsulating a beginning, a middle and an end in 400 words. Many authors can't do that in 50,000! You can really feel for the protagonist, but have to wonder about the parents. A bit of compassion for their child and things would have been quite different.
Thank you
wow!
she certainly had the wind blown out of her sails! very uber efficient of her mother and father, I agree a little cool but that seems to be their way with everything so lucky girl (I think!!!!)
I'd have alrrady bought...
... the long distance train ticket!
Gee, wouldn't it have been
Gee, wouldn't it have been nice if the parents had actually stopped working and simply TALKED to their new daughter? Maybe even actually stood up and took her into a group hug or two, followed by individual hugs? They may have had everything "under control" in their eyes, but I certainly do not believe they have true loving feels for the child in their presence.
The mother even told her she was foisting her off onto her sister for clothes shopping. Not even interested in going shopping for the first time with her new daughter? Cold? More like icy cold to me.
I gave the story a kudo
I gave the story a kudo because it *is* well written and hits you emotionally.
But that in no way means I *approve* of the actions of the parents.
Ick.
Ick on so *many* levels. Not only the "they've known, but haven't said anything" that others have mentioned, but the fact that they know about the stash, and in so much detail says that they have been violating their child's privacy in major ways for a *long* time.
In combination, ugh. I kinda hope she takes the clothes from the basement, washes the stuff she already has, then leaves.
Alternatively, since that gender specialist has to also be a more general shrink, I hope she unloads on the therapist and the therapist unloads on the parents.
Actually "parent" is not the proper name for them. They may have supplied the egg & sperm, and one of them provided a womb, but it doesn't look like they did much parenting.
I've had foster parents who cared more. Yeesh.
Brooke brooke at shadowgard dot com
http://brooke.shadowgard.com/
Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world
"Lola", the Kinks
Ease Back
What sixteen-year old doesn't think his parents are . . . distant?
She says, "I must be a terrible disappointment to them." Not "They've made it quite clear that I'm a disappointment." That is a huge difference.
One way of reading this suggests they've been going to meetings with a specialist to get their arms around the best course of action. They obviously were quite prepared. Also obvious, since the clothing was purchased when she was smaller, the parents have been aware of the issue for some time.
Are they the most loving parents in the world? The juries out on that, but they could be. All we have to go on is one sketchy scene from what might not be a reliable narrator.
And . . . maybe having been a parent for over forty years and having seen four children go through age sixteen, I tend to think these parents should be cut a great deal of slack.
I wonder what else they have in boxes in the basement? I also wonder what Plan B might have been? Plan C? Plan D? Plan E? Plan F? Plan G?
Her best reaction to them is to learn from their actions . . . and not repeat the bad parts. When she has children she can do the parenting much better!
This is terrific writing.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
WTF, I read it twice and
WTF, I read it twice and still find WTF
Short but was done nice
Great story!
I don't see the parents as unloving or uncaring. I see them as very focued on the 'success' parts of their lives, but lacking in the knowledge of how to express love.
The genius of this story is that Bru painted a clear picture of the parent in just a few sentences, then reinforced that picture with the parents' actions.
They are obviously very observant and capable of making and implementing plans. They also care enough about their children to take the time to do that. In other words, the children are not shuffled off as unimportnt and an impediment to their other projects.
The way that they see it is that they are taking care of the needs of their children.
And they are -- the only way that they know how.
Similar Opinion
Look at the positives. A result without any heartache and parents who anticipated the situation. I don't think the pills were needed and the parents aren't Mr & Mrs Average.
I could see this working out and school results improving and even some more feminine sporting interests being developed.
I think the apparent cold reaction might be because they know their child very well and have spent a lot of time considering options. How wise to bring the daughter home who may have been bridging the age gap and providing support.
Who knows they could all live happily ever after.
The story could be developed in so many ways. Well done.
Precise and very cold
“Please shut the office door when leaving"... an iceberg is warmer than this.
The parents...
I really don't know how to feel about the parents in this story.
They are what they are.
Such a lot in so few words! You encapsulate stunningly how wrong it feels that in real life the moments that mark the major milestones in our lives often do not change those around us at all.
I like that without effort you leave the reader wondering what are plans B, C, D, E……
Rhona McCloud
on belay!!!!
reading this kind of reminded me of when I went through Air Assault school. bear with me on this. The class I was in had a guy that had a fear of heights (not good if you're in the 101st) but he'd worked secretly to get up on the rappel tower and did ok. Our first rappel out of a helo didn't go so well. He and I were opposite each other on the skids. On 'GO' I went. He froze. As usual a surely placed boot to the kevlar helmet solved that problem but his panic caused another. He panicked and ended up swinging into me, we call it penduluming. Before I could react his boots slammed into my face and I went slack, down the rope I went out of control. at the bottom of the ropes are men that if such thing happens pull the lines taut arresting your fall. he did and mine was. I made it the rest of the way down and was escorted away by a medic and another instructor before I could express my displeasure in a fairly efficient military manner. My belay was on and I was caught in time. kind of like the protagonist in this story. They had her the whole time, waiting for her to go off the skids when she was ready.
quidquid sum ego, et omnia mea semper; Ego me.
alecia Snowfall
Thank you for your comments!
I've found it very interesting to look at the story through your eyes. For example I was surprised that I had added one "reinforcer" without consciously thinking about it.
Bru
Mixed messages...
Any chance of you taking this story forward. It would be interesting how she would proceed. Will her doctor and sister be any more supportive?
I hope she is strong enough and has enough support and encouragement to find herself that the pills are not a serious option. The fact she has them is scary enough.
Hugs, JessieC
Jessie C
Jessica E. Connors
Jessica Connors
Facing each other
One thing that nobody commented on is the fact that the parents have their desks facing each other.
Rather than focusing only on their separate caeers, they are working in view of each other. They could more easily focus on their tasks in separate rooms, or even separate corners. Instead, they keep each other in view.
Also, the fact that they train as triatheletes together shows that they are not corporate drones who just happen to live in the same house. They have lives outside of their careers, and share that life with each other. With their kids? Perhaps not so much, or perhaps their kids don't choose to share those things. They obviously know enough about thier kids' lives to have made 'Plan A.'
What is Plan B? Perhaps they were waiting for her to approach them, and had a set date after which they would have approached their child.
Wating till she said something?
How odd!.
Opens a million questions.
Vulcans Don't Hug
They seemed to be addressing the problem in a way that satisfied her needs as a transgender person while causing the minimum amount of disruption in their lives. Asperger's logic, they remind me of that Swedish detective lady in THE BRIDGE. But there are far worse things than efficient and distant, I'd take that any day over being punched in the face, exiled from the family (and home) or sent to a religious quack therapist. She just has to go elsewhere for emotional warmth. Hopefully the sister, who they alluded to as someone she would rather spend time with.
LOL and HUGS, Veronica
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
*snerks* Vulcan hugs
i swear I just had the visual of Kirk holding his arms out to Spock.
"SPOCK! This would be......better..... than the mind meld. Let me....hug you," Kirk
Spock keeps his distance, " Captain your reasoning is illogical. Memories and knowledge can not be obtained with a hug."
Bones, "DAMN IT JIM HE'S A VULCAN NOT A PLUSHIE! For God's sake Spock just give him a HUG!!"
quidquid sum ego, et omnia mea semper; Ego me.
alecia Snowfall
A very well
...written story. Talk about ice-cold parents - the poor girl could freeze to death and the parents wouldn't have noticed or seem to care.
Joanna
I didn't hear any love from
I didn't hear any love from the patents at ll.
Wow, such a story.
I've read a few stories, but none which were as powerfully told using so few words.
I am of several minds about this story, including the son's final solution should things really go south.
I knew two who took that final step, one I might have helped had I not been so self absorbed. That's something I'll have to live with.
As to the parents' lack of emotions, I don't feel there's enough information contained within the story to provide a valid answer. Perhaps another chapter or two could be used to explore the entire family history.
Still, this is a very powerfully told story. Done so using so few words.
Others have feelings too.
with that kind of emotion
with that kind of emotion they just as well be robots or cyborgs, basically it was, this event happened, activate plan A, follow to its conclusion, goodbye
Not Sure...
After reading these other comments about the parents, I'm not sure of anything. I can't say anything about a chief financial officer of a big international company, but a leading scientist is definitely more likely to be tolerant of his child's deviations. In fact, leading scientist and high-powered athlete don't often go together. Today's leading scientist was yesterday's nerd -- and is most likely too young to have a sixteen-year-old child. Okay, that last bit's too stereotypical.
They're both likely to be curt and practical, and very uncomfortable with lovey-dovey. That's probably why Mother summoned his sister to take him shopping -- they'll get along better, be more comfortable with each other, etc.
We're never told what Plans B, C, and D are, but we can use our imagination. They would be in response to different choices, some of which are pretty scary.
I had a rather curt father in one of my stories. He definitely wasn't bad.
-- Daphne Xu
As a matter of fact I'm rather ambivalent regarding the parents
As a matter of fact I'm rather ambivalent regarding the parents myself. However, the parents have NO problem with their child's gender identification.
As to stereotypes those are a dangerous thing to take too seriously since individuals differ so much. Though I have to admit that stereotypes are great fun to play around with, as you may have found reading my stories. However, in my experience you sometimes find nerds involved in individual sports such as running and many people become more physically active later in life (including this slightly nerdish "author").
No, you don't want to know the details of some of the other plans (especially not "Plan DD from Venus").
Bru
Plan DD?
A little arithmetic leads to the conclusion that there were at least 108 plans.
On the other hand, maybe he was using hexadecimal. That would lead to at least 221 (decimal) plans with Plan A being Plan 10 in decimal.
-- Daphne Xu
Huli inspired?
Maybe for some reason the parents were inspired by the Huli people and for that reason used a pentadecimal system?
No, in this case it was Plan D subset D. That included quite a big rack (for stretching).
Or...
The plans are based on bra sizes. Plan A is easy, but by the time they get to plan D, they need some seriuls support.
LOL
Actually I found this a very cleverly written story. I truly laughed out loud at reading the last line. As all the commenters stated, some 16 years of anguish is compressed in these 410 words. No need to tell us more about the parents. We know them and they obviously understood their teenagers better than most parents. And we lived through having six children turn 16; I'm not sure with all our nurturing and loving that we'd have understood them as well as these "cold" parents understood our young heroine.
The missing bit...
What I noticed in this is that,,, \
Just as the parents had done...
She had a :
Plan A: (Pills)
Plan B: (Pack and Leave)
Plan C: (Undisclosed but WORSE )
The apple didn't fall far from the tree....
Perceptive
I like your analysis :)
Bru