Synchronicity

Synchronicity: “The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection”

Author’s note: This one is a little different. Rather than being inspired by one song, I got inspired by several at once ... if you cant tell, its my submission for the "music" part of the double dip contest.

Scene 1: Walking in your footsteps

Amy: Whenever my friend Amber gets too stressed, we go to a local museum. I know, it’s not a typical hangout for a couple of teens, but Amber just loves it, so we go.

This time, they had a new exhibit on dinosaurs, so we wandered around, looking at bones and models and footprints. At first, things seem to be going okay, but then I noticed a sad look on Amber’s face, and so I asked, “What’s wrong?”

She said, “Just thinking about the dinosaurs. I wonder if we’re gonna end up like them. Things changed, and they couldnt change, and so they all died. Will we be like that?”

I replied, “I hope not. Besides, I thought they evolved into birds or something. But that’s not what’s bugging you, surely.”

She said, “Lots of things bug me, but dont call me Shirley”

We both giggled at that, and then she added, “I’m ... I’m gonna tell my folks I’m trans.”

I hugged her, and said, “It’s about time. Besides, it won’t be much of a shock to them, if they’ve paid as close attention as I have.”

She looked sad, but said, “ I hope you’re right. I dont want to end up extinct.”

“No going extinct for you. You’ll just evolve into a stronger form, like Pokemon.”

She giggled, and looked up at the T-Rex display and mimed holding a pokeball, and said, “T-Rex I choose you to tell my parents for me!”

I hugged her again and we both giggled.

“Come on,” I said. “T-Rex cant help you, but I will.”

And so we left ...

Scene two: King of Pain

Jack felt his stomach twinge, sighed, went to the bathroom, and checked his tampon.

“Few women enjoy their periods, commercials notwithstanding, but it’s even harder when you dont feel like a woman at all.” He muttered to himself.
Then he returned to his bedroom where the symbol of his other major problem with being a woman sat on his dresser - an engagement ring.

“Oh Mathew. How did I ever let things go so far?” he sighed.

But he remembered how his relationship with Mathew had started. How the young man seemed very different from the usual macho types who had tried to date him, that in fact he often wondered if Mathew was hiding a feminine side just as Jack was forced to hide his masculine nature because of the religious objections of his family.

And yesterday, he had proposed, giving Jack the ring in his hand.

But the ring wasnt the only symbol of Jack’s upcoming wedding. Beside the ring on the dresser was a hairband designed to hold his hair extensions in place.

Jack had been given it by his mother, a symbol of a reconciliation between them. His mother had not approved of Mathew mostly for the same qualities that had attracted Jack, his gentle, quiet nature. But when Mathew had proposed, that had changed, and Jack’s mother had wanted to buy the wedding dress, and had given her this headband.

To Jack, however, the headband resembled a crown, an impression that had been emphasized when he had tried it on at the store, because of the old song that was playing on the store’s speakers.

Indeed, Jack had felt like he’d been crowned, just like the song went.

Crowned the King of Pain ...

Scene three: Many miles away:

“Okay Alice, why don’t you tell me what’s happened this week?”

“Well, it started with Mom waking us all up yelling again.”

“She has dementia, doesn’t she? I thought you were looking into some long term care for her.”

“We are, but its been hard. We thought we had a place, then found out they had been sued for mistreating their residents. Now, it’s back to square one, and until we can find somewhere, we have to deal with stuff like this.”

“How is your wife Sherry taking that?”

“Not well. She’d been looking forward to going back to work full time, now that the kids are old enough, and instead she’s stuck looking after my mother.”

“Have you tried to approach her about your gender issues?”

“No, her plate is so full, I just havent wanted to add to her stress. She married a man named Al, how do I tell her I’m really a woman named Alice?”

“Perhaps we can talk about some ideas. Anything else going on?”

“The usual crap at work. Al is the only ‘man’ on the whole floor, and some of the women seem to like to try and tease me, or something. I had one practically shove her lips in my face while asking me what I thought of her lipstick. I came very close to asking her if I could borrow some. Then there’s my boss, who would love to replace Al with a pretty girl, and so is constantly demeaning me and finding petty stuff to complain about. I keep wondering how long I’m gonna be able to hold on the job. But the weirdest thing was the dream I had the other day.”

“Tell me about the dream, then.”

“I dreamed that as I was laying in my bed, this ... black inky looking stuff came out of me. Somehow, in the dream, i knew it was all the crap and stress I’ve been under. It went out, and my dream self followed it, until it went into this lake, dived in and formed itself into this monster. Then the monster started to rise to the surface, and was headed straight for this little cabin on the shore of the lake, and that’s when I woke up.”

“And what do you think that dream is trying to tell you?”

“I ... I think it was trying to tell me I cant hold things in much longer. Somewhere, somehow, something has to break.”

“I agree. So I have a suggestion for you. Bring your wife in for a couples counseling session with one of my colleges. I can’t do it myself, because I’m your therapist, and you’ll need someone who can be seen by her as a neutral party. It may take a few sessions to get things ready for you to come out to her, but I believe it’s an important step, for both of you. I’ve always believed that secrets will rot even the best relationship, so it’s time for that secret to come out.”

“I ... I think you’re right. Holding in Alice on top of all my other stress is killing me. I ... just hope Shelly can take the news ...”

Scene four: Wrapped around your finger:

My best friend Nate stood up, and made the toast. “To Lori and Nichole, on their 10th anniversary, and may they have many more years together!”

Everyone at the table began to chant “Speech! Speech!”

So I stood up, and said, “Thank you all very much. I hope you dont mind if I indulge in a little nostalgia, and talk about how I met Nichole. I was a simple college student, trying to survive classes while also enjoying adult freedoms for the first time. And it was at such a ‘adult’ activity - okay, it was a sorority/fraternity party - that I met Nichole for the first time.

There may have been a half a dozen pledges to the frat who were wearing skirts, but only one of them looked good - no, great in one - Nichole.

Which made me wish I wasnt in stealth mode myself at the time - trying to pretend I was straight so I could get through college without being hassled.

I also didn’t know at the time that apparently I had made just as big an impression on her.

Eventually, we did start dating, and then there was a tricky time when we both had to come clean with each other, but by the time we were seniors, we were ready to make our partnership permanent, and went looking for engagement rings.

Finding a matching pair of hers and hers wasnt easy, but we did it, and then when we came back to the car we were sharing, we turned on the radio and just by coincidence heard the old song “wrapped around my finger.”

I know that’s not what the song is about, but still, it seemed perfect for us as we sat in the car and admired our engagement rings.

And as far as I’m concerned she still has me wrapped around her finger, all these years later.”

“Right back atcha love” Nichole replied, and the whole room cheered ...

End.