Janet Ballion knew she was blessed and lucky. She was born upper-middle class, was surrounded by a great support system filled with friends and family who loved her. The college girl was also a highly intelligent extrovert. Her looks were alluring and the people who were drawn to her stayed because of her charisma. The list of why she was as lucky as someone who had a horseshoe and found a penny right before hanging upside down to kiss a stone in Ireland just kept going.

Even with Janet having such a charmed life so many of her friends who knew the real her felt different. They saw her being born as Henri Ballion as a huge problem. She knew better. Her being born a boy and assigned the wrong gender was just a minor inconvenience and was no longer an issue. Janet was a woman so what she had to go through to become one was not a negative. The journey from boyhood to womanhood was one of the defining aspects of what made her who she was today.

In fact, that hardship was what made her see how blessed and lucky she was. Everything in life was not just handed to her. Janet’s family would have never been able to show how supportive they were if she did not need them in a major way. People always say they would always be there for you. Sadly many of those people show those words were as meaningless as a baby’s babble when they had to back them with actions.

Janet being who she was, made going out for a solo outing to dine as easy for her as walking in high heels. The reason why it was easy was also the same, practice made perfect. Janet had gone out on her own many times when she took a fancy to do something at the last moment. Right then not having to cook the meal and eating outside was what she craved. Plus with the school year starting next week this would be the last time she had a free weekday afternoon all to herself.

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Lesley Gilbert was walking unevenly. The problematic gait came mostly from nerves. The slippery sidewalk did not help. The college freshman was on her way to interview for the Neil Simon Fellowship, a prestigious scholarship and independent studies program for promising playwrights. Lesley was also on her first solo public outing in business attire and wearing high heels. Practice made perfect and she was still learning to navigate the world with a different center of balance.

Lesley cursed to herself after her ankle buckled a little once again. She swore that wearing high heels was more dangerous to her feet than playing basketball wearing hightops. Those days of being on the boy’s basketball team seemed like a lifetime ago. In some ways it was. Back then her name was Gilligan Gilbert and she was the 6’3” small forward. Now she was a barefoot 6’3”, college freshman coed measuring 6’7” in her heels.

Those heels drew unnecessary attention to Lesley. A lady should be able to dress up and walk down the sidewalk with prolonged stares from passersby. There was some good that came from being highly observed by the public. Many of the people were smiling when they saw her face. A friendly look from a stranger can do wonders for a girl’s confidence. This was especially true when the lady was outing herself to the public on her own.

Of course in life, not everyone is supportive of people for just being who they are. Some people just had to put down others and especially anyone who is different. This verbally punching down had everything to do with the attacker’s insecurities. They needed to feel good about themselves and making someone smaller than them was a quick easy short-term fix.

As Lesley was walking past the patio at Cafe 210 West a fellow college student of hers was one of the losers. The stranger's manhood was threatened by Lesley’s legs. He found them sexy and did not like seeing they were on a transgender lady. That could mean he was gay. He needed to bring her down to feel better about himself and he yelled loud enough for her to hear. “I can’t believe some fucky trannie would actually show their ugly face in public.”

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Even with being comfortable eating by herself, Janet was happy to run into a small group of acquaintances as she was going into Cafe 210 West. Hunger might be the best spice but a good conversation over a meal added more to a meal. Janet was not only going to enjoy a nice bacon cheeseburger but also be able to catch up with some people she hung out with.

There was also the added bonus of Peter Sumner being part of that group. She fancied him more than she fancied someone else cooking for her at the moment. She was going to be able to talk with him in a more one-on-one setting. Before, the only time they saw each other was at house parties. They are too loud and have too many people for anyone to get to know one another.

On the surface, Peter Sumner was a charming man. His laid-back style of life gave him the airs of confidence. Him being always dapper gave him an appearance as cool and refreshing as an April breeze. In truth, Peter did not want to bother with pondering life's complexity, that took too much time away from thinking about himself. Thinking too much also took away from having a good time. The reason he was a well-dressed man was to build up his ego. He had to always be better than others.

Peter and his friends were more than happy to have Janet join them. She was a delight to talk with and also delightful to look at. Hunger might be the best spice, but to them sharing a table with a beautiful lady was the best way to enhance a meal.

Even though Peter was eating a grilled cajun chicken breast sandwich, he was a legs man. Walking past the patio he saw a great pair of legs. Those long slender legs were looking so smooth. Peter’s eyes worked their way up to the face. The square facial features were a dead giveaway that was not a woman. In shock, Peter realized that he was looking at what he would consider a man. Then the disgusting thoughts of how he would love to use that person for a cheap thrill made him disgusted with himself. To become more appealing to himself and cover up if anyone saw him leering at a crossdresser he said loudly “I can’t believe some fucky trannie would actually show their ugly face in public.”

As soon as those words left the boy’s mouth Janet thought check, please. She knew that she wanted nothing to do with Peter nor his friends. They all laughed at his comment.

Janet was also quickly pondering life's complexity. How she could help the stranger with whom she had a sisterhood with. Was she strong enough to do more than just quickly leave the presence of the churlish people in a sign of unity? Standing up for the lady was easy, standing up in unity was not. Janet having her Spartacus would be a solo outing. Her privacy would become common knowledge.

Janet was lucky and blessed. She had the support system to deal with the backlash of being publicly out as a transgender woman. She looked so much like a woman people will still be more accepting to her than girls who did not look traditionally feminine. It was easy for people to treat her as a woman for she looked the part.

Standing up Janet said, “Yes Peter some fucking ugly trannie like me is brave enough to go out and be seen in public.”

Lesley quickly went from feeling as weak as a badly brewed cup of tea to as strong as an Amazon from Janet’s admission. She looked to see the lady who was like her and the strength became stronger. To Janet that was a cis woman standing up for her. Her words might have not been true but they told the universal truth of those two being the same.

Lesley kept on walking towards her interview and her future. Her strides were becoming steadier with each step she took. That lady standing up for her helped Lesley remember she had the strength to be who she was.

After two blocks Lesley heard a newly familiar voice asking her to wait. Even with only hearing one sentence uttered from those lips, Lesley will never forget that voice. That voice was a sign that Janet would be able to find people who would support her.

Janet said, “I am sorry that you had to deal with that. Trust me, you are in a very welcoming community. I am Janet.”

The phrase welcoming community got to Lesley. That was what her mom and dad hoped the most she would find out in the world. They loved and supported their daughter, but knew their little town in the middle of nowhere would not be so. That town might have had open skies but it did not have open minds.

The loving and supporting parents did their best to let Lesley be herself at home. They also knew that their only daughter could not stay in that town. She would have to leave to be herself. They would take trips with Lesley to big cities to have her experience being in a diverse setting. They might be only for a day or a weekend but that time around different people with open hearts assured Lesley some people embraced those who were not the same as them.

“I know. My mom and dad told me that. I am Lesley.

“You know you did enough by just standing up for me. You did not have to chase me down. Thank you for doing so.”

“I wanted to. You need a friend and I am part of that welcoming community. I want you to meet the rest of us.”

“The rest of us?”

“Like I said, I am also a fucking trannie.”

Joking about Peter’s putdown made those words even more meaningless than before.

“No way!”

“Yes way, so how about you come to my apartment and we hang out.”

Sounding a little sad Lesley declined. She was scared that what Janet suggested was a one-time offer. “I can’t. I have an interview to make it to”

“Then how about this. Call me right now, my number is 555-5309 so I can get yours. Then I will text you my address so you can come to my place tonight at 7:00. You can have a nice home-cooked meal and meet a couple of the other guys and gals like us, if you like. If not it can just be me and you.”

Lesley quickly called Janet. 5 minutes later she got a text back from her new friend. At that moment, the girl on her first solo public outing never felt more confident in who she was and where she was going in life. Lesley knew she would find that somewhere where she belonged. Knowing this would put her mom and dad at ease also made her feel that she was lucky and blessed. That they were strong enough to support their daughter until she was in a place to succeed.