Byline chapter 12

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Copyright © 2021 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Working as a waitress wasn’t much different than working as a waiter. You greet the people, take their order, bring the food, check up on them, ask about dessert and give them the check. I could do it in my sleep.

About 4 weeks in, Emma stopped me as I was getting ready to start my shift. You could say Emma was kind of the captain of the wait staff. She was not one of my favorite people. I didn’t work the same shift as she did which was fine with me.

“Casey, I need to talk to you.”

“What’s up, Emma?”

“I know you’re still new here but I have to say something. You’re not pulling your weight getting tips. You need to start bringing in more. You’re bringing down everyone’s tip total.”

“But how do I get someone to tip me more? I take care of my tables as well as anyone.”

“How you do it is your problem. Have a good night.” She walked out the door leaving me speechless. As I was standing there, Gwen came over to me.

“I see Emma gave you the talk,” Gwen said.

“The talk?” I was slightly confused.

“The talk about getting more tips. She gives it to most of the new girls.”

It was strange. Emma had made me feel I was letting everyone down. The staff shared tips. If I was not bringing in enough, I was letting people down. “What do I do? How do I get more tips?”

“I’ll tell you what worked for me. You have to make people feel good,” Gwen said.

"Make them feel good? How do I do that?”

"You're being a good waitress. You’re taking orders, getting them right. You’re checking up on your tables. Just what you’re supposed to do. Now you have to be a cheerleader."

"A cheerleader?" Now I was confused.

"Well, that’s what I call it. A cheerleader’s job is to boost the spirit of the crowd, to get them to feel good about the team and themselves. Here, we're the cheerleaders. The diner is the team. When you greet a table, give a smile, ask how everyone is doing. Make them feel like they are your only customers. A bit more makeup wouldn’t hurt. Customers like to see a pretty face." She smiled and went to get the order for one of her tables.

I thought about what she said. I hadn't been thrilled when I was told to interview for a waitress position. Maybe that was affecting my performance. I do like most of the people working here. They've accepted me as part of the diner family. I do want to help them in the tip department. I'm sure I could smile more and be more interested in my customers. But there was the makeup comment. Could looking better get me more tips? I decided to talk to Abbey about this. I'm sure she'll have some ideas.

~~0~~

"So you're not bringing in the tips. You know, what she told you will probably work."

"The makeup too? Why is it women have to wear makeup to help them get things?"

"You still have a lot to learn. If a pretty face can start wars, it should help bring in the tips," she said. "I do have an idea. I've been thinking about doing something for a while but I haven't had the nerve. Maybe now is the time. You're spending the day with me after yoga class Saturday."

~~0~~

Saturday Abbey and I had a quick breakfast after yoga class.

"Have you seen Gil?"

"He called. We’re going out this weekend. Dave might be back in a couple of weeks."

"That’s okay. I’m not anxious to go out with him again."

"Casey, why are you having trouble with going out with Dave? I mean, you've gone out with a guy before. I know you weren't pretending to be a woman then. It’s not like your trying to get him interested in you. Why the cold feet?"

"That's just it. When I went out with Matt, we both knew we were guys. There was no pretending. Would anyone think I was a guy now? Would a straight guy want to go out with me knowing I'm a guy? Would a gay man go out with me looking as I do now? I feel like I'm in a sort of limbo. I'm only good if a gay guy is not out of the closet.

"I never thought how hard this assignment has been on you. It's only been, what, two months?"

"Give or take. This must be why the magazine thought I needed someone to support me. I can't thank you enough for helping me with this."

"That’s what sisters are for." She smiled. I returned the smile. “I’ve been meaning to ask. How well are you handling this? Being female I mean.”

“It’s been crazy. I feel like I’ve been transported to another planet. Being a woman is much different than I expected. You know I've never fit in. I’ve always looked more feminine than masculine. God knows I’ll never be a poster boy for masculinity. Everyone looking at me tries to put me in the male or female category. I usually end up on the female side. It's not intentional. It's human nature. People like things to fit into normal categories. I'm like a square peg on a board filled with round holes. I just don't fit. But look how easy it was to make me look like a woman. Even with the little bit of makeup you used the first time after you gave me boobs, no one would even think I was male. That's why I've always been somewhat of a loner. It wasn't until I met Amy, Matt and Jo that I felt that I somewhat fit in. After the implant surgery, it was a different feeling when we went out that night and the next day. People saw me and quickly put me in the female category. No strange looks. I can't tell you the number of times I've been called miss in the past.”

“Since this started, I've been presenting as female and have been recognized as female. I'm having trouble with fooling people. I don't mean the people walking down the street. I mean people I’m with all day. At the diner, I've been accepted as one of the girls, which feels good. I sometimes feel like I’m deceiving them. At the diner, when guys try to flirt with me, I always feel like I’m a phony. I tell them I have a boyfriend. That usually works.”

“The thing is, I like not getting the questioning stares. I like people accepting me for what I appear to be. I have to figure out which one is me. Is that so wrong? Liking all this, I mean? I’m a guy under this makeup."

"Not at all. I've never realized how hard life must have been for you in that way. You have always been my little brother. Until now, I've never looked at you as anything other than male. Now, I see a sister. I say, if you feel good this way, stay this way."

"You mean consider presenting as a woman even after the year is up? No way."

"Casey, I know it hasn’t been that long but, you seem happier since this began. I think you just explained why. I know you’ve complained about everything you’ve gone through. All I’m saying is keep your options open. I'm not telling you to have surgery. At the end of the year, it's your decision. Do you let me keep my sister or give me back my brother? No matter what you choose, I love you and support you. You know Mom does too."

“Thanks, Abbey. Did I tell you Matt kinda asked to date me?"

"Matt from college? I didn't know you had seen him since your, um, assignment started."

"The gang got together last month."

"All of them? Did they know? I mean had you told them?"

“No. I shocked them pretty good. Amy seemed to take it in stride, as usual. Matt was uncomfortable all night. Jo kept looking at me a bit strange."

"Matt does know you haven't changed where it counts, right?"

"Yeah, I made sure they all knew. I’m not going to go out with him. He was pretty drunk when he asked me."

“Well what I have planned for us won’t help you with him. Although it might.” She giggled before continuing. I rolled my eyes at her. “It may help you with getting tips.

“Okay, what's this idea of yours?" I asked.

“We’re going to the hair salon.”

~~0~~

Soft wisps of my copper-colored hair curled around my face. Waves of curls danced around my head when I moved. I reached up and jostled just to see them move. I laughed. I could hear Abbey laughing a chair away from me.

“You two look beautiful,” said my stylist.

“We were having a competition to see which of you would turn out best,” said the stylist next to Abby.

“It’s a tie. What else could you expect with twins,” my stylist said.

Abbey and I looked at each other, jostled our hair and laughed. Our stylists brushed our hair back into place. After a little hair spray, we were paying our bill.

I looked over at my stylist. I started thinking of how she had greeted me, how she had made me feel while I was there. I didn’t know her but yet I liked her. The tip I was going to leave her would show it. I was beginning to believe the information Gwen gave me was spot on.

We had only just gotten outside when Abbey turned to me.

“So what do you think?”

“It looks great on you so it must look even better on me,” I teased. Abbey gave me an elbow. “I can’t believe how good I feel.”

“When you look good you feel good. That’s something I don’t think guys understand. Wanna go try our new look out on some guys tonight?” She stopped and brought her hand to her face. “Casey, I sorry. I keep forgetting you’re not really my sister.”

“No problem sister dear. The way I feel right now, I am your sister. Let’s go get changed and get dinner and a movie. If we meet someone tonight, I’ll be okay with it. Even if we don’t, I’m going to count the looks we get.” The way I looked and felt, I almost forgot I was male.

“God, I love having a sister,” Abbey said.

~~0~~

“Come here. Sit down. Now that we have our hair done, I’ll show you what to do with your makeup,” Abbey said.

We had gone back to my apartment after the hair salon. We had talked about what else I could do to get more tips. I sat down at my makeup table looking at myself in the mirror. The hairstyle Abbey had suggested for both of us was terrific. My face in the mirror was the same face as this morning but the new hairstyle somehow made it seem new.

“Abs, I know how to put on makeup. I went to charm school, remember?”

She laughed. “It’s funny hearing you say that. Okay, miss makeup expert, show me what you intend to do to get more tips.”

I put the knowledge my makeup coach had taught me to work. I explained to Abbey what I was doing and why I was doing it. She agreed with most of it and added some hints here and there. I finished up and looked at my reflection. I was happy with what I saw. I turned to Abbey.

“Well? What do you think? Will this increase the tips I get?”

Abbey smiled. “Definitely sis, Definitely. It’s more than you normally do but it doesn’t look over the top and it seems so natural. You have to show me what you did. I look gorgeous! I mean you look gorgeous.” We laughed.

“Here, change places. I’ll show you what I did.”

When I was finished Abbey loved the look. “Who would have thought I would be getting great makeup advice from my little brother,” she said. I laughed. Who would have thought her little brother would become her twin sister.

We finished getting dressed and spent the night out.

~~0~~

It was my first day back to work after getting the new hairstyle and creating my new look. I finished my makeup and put what I would need to keep myself looking good all shift into my purse. I looked at myself in the mirror and I realized I had been pressured to look more attractive. I asked myself, why? Why did I have to get my hair styled and wear more makeup to increase my tips? What did makeup and looking attractive have to do with providing service to our customers? How about the guys? What did they do to increase their tips? They don’t wear makeup. Do they make less in tips than the girls did? Is that okay with Emma? This is definitely going into my article.

At work I got lots of compliments about my new look. Even Emma made a comment. I think she was actually jealous. All Gwen’s suggestions worked. Along with me smiling more and making my table feel special, plus a touch more makeup, my tips began to come on par with everyone's. I found getting more tips made me feel better about myself. I felt like I was contributing my share. I still found it annoying I had to look pretty and wear more makeup. Before talking with Gwen, my hair was plain and straight. My makeup was okay, nothing flashy. Now I had these gorgeous curls surrounding my face. My makeup had more eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick and blush. I had to do all this to get my tips to improve. No matter. I can put up with using more makeup if it helps with tips.

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Thanks for reading. Comments welcome.

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Cover picture Credits
Photo by Daria Sannikova from Pexels
Photo by Valeriia Miller from Pexels
Photo Composite by Peregrine