All of the issues with Karen were forgotten as we immersed into preparations for the wedding. We went to the airport to pick up Mum and Dad, taking them home to get them settled into their old room.When they first saw us together in the arrivals hall their eyes were darting between us as if trying to work out which of us was which, but gave us both massive hugs anyway.

After settling down all the rest of the conversation was about the plans for the wedding, who was coming and who they needed to know about. Because of the problems with Jack’s Mum, her and his father were to be the only family members from his side, and my Auntie Jane and cousin Lizzie the only near relative we had from our side. The rest of the guests were friends of Josie and Jack, with Darren as my plus-one.

We left Dad to settle in and Lizzie, Mum, and I went to the salon for Susie and her team to work their magic on us with facials and hairdos, although Susie was going to come to the house tomorrow to tidy us up again and do our make-up. A while later we went home and got dressed to go out with the family.

To allow them meet each other before the ceremony and reception we had arranged for a dinner the night before for both sets of parents to get to know each other, but Jack’s mum didn’t want to know, she was still smarting from being told that if Jack had to choose between her and Josie there was only ever going to be one winner. We were joined by Auntie Jane and Lizzie for a quiet family dinner. They had been told all about me, and Lizzie had been catching up with my vlogs, so they seemed to accept me without too much bother once they got over the initial surprise at how I now looked and acted. Most of the chatter was obviously about the wedding, but in a quiet moment when we both went to the loo, Lizzie wanted to know all about my life as Jo, how I felt as a girl, and whether I had any regrets.

“I know it must seem strange Lizzie, but my life as Joey was drifting without going anywhere. As Jo I have a wonderful job, a successful career on TV, a lot of good friends and, if I wanted it, a potential boyfriend, although I am playing that quite cool at the moment, my life is a lot happier.”

“Good luck to you is all I can say, Mum and I were shocked when we first heard, but having seen your vlogs and how successfully you come across, we’re pleased that you are making a success of your life and accept you as you now are.”

The morning of the wedding, Susie came over early, starting with Mum and refreshing her hair and makeup, before attending to me.

My hair had been streaked and tinted the day before, so she just worked away with her curling brush to form ringlets which were then pulled into a sophisticated up-do, woven with a band of artificial primroses as a garland. After she had finished with me, she left me to get myself dressed and for her to spend a lot more time with Josie.

Not long before we were due to leave, I took my dress off the hanger and held it up to have a good look, I had never imagined this moment would come when I would be escorting Josie down the aisle as her sister and Chief Bridesmaid and pondered on how my life was now totally changed. I called in Mum to lace me into my tight body shaper and help me into my dress, a pale cerise, almost pink, full-length satin grecian-style gown gathered under the bust, with a fine lace bodice infill, stepped into the matching satin covered 4” heels and stared at myself in the mirror.

“Oh you look absolutely beautiful darling, but remember you are not the star attraction today, just keep in the background and let Josie have her moments of glory in the limelight.”

There was no chance of that, when I went in to see if Josie needed any last minute help, I saw that Susie had done an amazing job, and along with her gorgeous silk off-the-shoulder full-skirted dress and train, she was like a fairy-tail princess. I was on the point of bursting into tears, when Josie took my hand.

“Come on Jo it’s showtime, let’s collect my bouquet and your posy, get in the cars, me with Dad and you with the flower girls and make our way to the church. We’re already a bit late, Jack will be getting nervous.”

We stood at the entrance to the church while I fussed around Josie’s dress and train, tidying it up after the trip in the car, until I gave the nod to the usher and the background organist stopped what he was playing and burst into Wagner’s Wedding March (Here comes the bride) and we processed down to the altar, where I collected Josie’s bouquet and went back to my seat with the young flower girls.

When the vicar asked ‘Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace’, I was half-expecting Jack’s Mum to make a scene. I glanced across at her but, although looks from her to the couple could kill, thankfully she bit her tongue and remained silent.

Josie, Jack, Bob his best man, and I went into the vestry to sign the wedding register, before re-emerging and processing through the congregation with me on Bob’s arm, followed by the flower girls, the parents and family, then the rest of the guests, to the other traditional wedding march by Mendelssohn. Although they had not had formal invitations I was pleased to see Jacqui, Emma and Jane from the Museum alongside Jen and Karen in the rear pews near the entrance with Darren. I quickly broke off while the photographer and the guests were taking photos of the happy couple together, to invite them back to the reception and to be part of the group photos, before spending a lot of time in front of the camera.

Fortunately there were no formal roles for Jack’s Mum and Dad at the reception, and no opportunity for them to make a fuss, although the atmosphere around them could be cut with a knife, despite Mum and dad trying without success to engage them in conversation.As soon as the meal and formalities were over they made an early departure, saying goodbye to their son, but pointedly ignoring Josie. I just hoped that it would not spoil the day for them.

I was having a wonderful time, dancing mainly with Darren, but had the first dance with Bob before he went of to his friends. I was getting a bit tired and footsore after spending the day in 4” heels, left Darren to talk to Mum and Dad and went over to chat for a while with the girls from work.

“You’re looking gorgeous today Jo, you should dump all those frumpy clothes you wear for site and glam up a bit more often.” Emma was the first to welcome me.

“I couldn’t agree more,” added Jacqui, “but I don’t think those shoes would last very long on site.”

I chatted them for a while before getting back to my duties looking after Josie, but as I left I took Jacqui aside for a few minutes.

“Jacqui, are you in the office on Monday, there is something I need to talk to you about, but this is not the time nor the place.”

“No business today Jo, just you enjoy yourself, I’m in all day Monday and will keep my diary free for as long as you need.”

The celebrations went on until the early hours after Josie and Jack went up to their room for their private celebrations.

Later back at home with Mum and Dad, I changed into a casual skirt and top, glad to get out of the dress, the tight body-shaper and especially the shoes.

“You did well today Jo, I had so many compliments on what beautiful and well-brought-up girls Josie and you are, I am so proud of what you are doing.”

“No embarrassing questions about where your niece Jo suddenly appeared from came up then?”

“Not at all, nobody would have believed me anyway if I had told them the truth.”

Josie and Jack left early the following morning for their honeymoon in the Seychelles and later I dropped Mum and Dad back at the airport for their return to Vayrac, suddenly all alone with my private thoughts.

Rather than sitting moping all day, I gave Karen a call to see if was ok to pop round to finish telling her my story. It was a sunny and warm afternoon so we decided to walk down by the river, giving Marianne an outing in her pushchair, finding a bench in the sun to sit for a chat.

“Sorry about springing that on you the other day, I felt that you deserved to know the truth when you pushed me into a corner asking questions.”

“I still find it hard to believe, I mean just look at you, but it’s your business not mine.”

“Are we still ok as friends, the times with you and Jen have helped me a lot to settle in?”

“Don’t be daft of course we are ok, but it’s only fair that if you are to spend time with Jen and me that she knows too. Think about it and now give me the full story about how it all started and how you feel about it.”

I went through the full story again, including my doubts and confusion. “I don’t really know how I feel about it Karen, to be honest it is at the back of my mind, most of the time I just get on with life at work and home doing what every other girl does, Joey rarely comes into my thoughts.”

“I asked the other day if you were transgender, there seems to be a lot of reports in the papers magazines and TV recently and except for a few fanatics, it seems to be tolerated, even if not fully understood by most people.”

“A lot of transgender people, cross-dressers and transexuals, say that they have felt that they were really a girl in a boy’s body for as long as they could remember. I have never felt like that, and apart from a few dress-up games with Josie and at Halloween I never felt that way, but since I started work as Jo, I feel more and more like this is how I am meant to be.”

“Do they know about you at work?”

“Not yet, but I have arranged to see the Museum director tomorrow and unless I get cold feet, I intend to be honest with her too. I don’t know what will happen after that. There are two problems, how they will react to me living as a woman, and also the fact that I got the job under false pretences with false credentials.”

“I’m no expert, but from what I’ve read, most big companies and councils nowadays have equality and diversity policies, and will probably find a way around it. In my opinion you are the image of the Ostia project and the spin-offs on Anglia East, you are too high-profile for them to make a big fuss about it. There may need to be a lot of bureaucratic jiggery-pokery but they’d be daft to get rid of you.”

“Thanks so much for that, you have given me a lot more confidence to face Jacqui tomorrow.”

“Good luck with that and the sooner you get together with Jen and me and let her into your secret the better. She’ll be ok with it, I’m sure, she thinks what you are doing at Ostia and on TV is amazing and really likes your company. Anyway, now let’s talk about something more interesting, have you got any photos of the wedding, I would love to see again how Josie and you turned out?”

Having had the discussion with Karen gave me a lot more confidence for when I went in to see Jacqui the next day.

“Good morning Jo, I know that you want to discuss something with me, but a couple of things from me before you start.”

“Ok, go ahead.”

“Firstly I want to say thank you for inviting us back to the wedding reception, to be honest we planned on just going to the church to see how you and Josie looked. You were both gorgeous, and it all went off ever so well.

Secondly, down to business. Your vlogs and TV appearances have really sparked an interest locally, most of the county museums are reporting large increases in visitor numbers, and many of the hotels and guest houses are much fuller than they normally would be at this time of the year. Not only are you generating interest in Ostia, but the local economy is benefitting too. The senior management are really pleased with what you are doing, and I have had a pat on the back for realising and developing your potential. So it’s feathers in both of our caps, so keep it up. Now what can I do for you?”

“This is difficult so please let me explain.”

“After what I have just said, you are not thinking of quitting are you?”

"Far from it I am really happy with what I am doing, but there is a problem we need to talk about. As I said, this is difficult so please let me ramble on without stopping me with questions.”

“Go on, you have got me intrigued.”

“The problem, in a nutshell, is that I am not who you think I am. When you invited the real Josie for interview she was injured and couldn’t make it back in time. She asked if I could do the interview for her as we look a lot alike, and you offered me, pretending to be Josie, the position. She then found out that she was pregnant and was no longer able to take up your offer. It was too good an opportunity to pass by, so we agreed that I would take the job instead, as I am equally qualified. I am sorry if this causes too many problems, I will understand if you feel let down and cheated, and if you need to sack me I’ll have to live with that.”

“I wasn’t expecting that, I thought that you were going to quit. I need to have a talk with HR, but if there is a way to get round this and keep you here that is what I would prefer to do. I must say though that I am dismayed that it has got this far without you being able to be honest with me. What about the real Josie, has she been working officially anywhere?”

”No, just the volunteer role on site up at Ostia, but nothing official with tax or National Insurance (Social Security) records, The details you have for me are hers, so officially she has been employed here. I told you that she was my cousin, but she is actually my twin sister, that is why we look so alike.”

"As I said, I am sure that we can sort this out, give me your real details and NI number and leave it with me “

This was the moment of truth, burning what bridges I had left. “That is another problem, I am not really Jo either, I am not Josie’s sister, actually I’m her brother Joey. I applied for the position too but was not invited to interview as you were looking for a female. Josie got a friend to coach me into looking and acting as a girl for the interview and helped make me presentable as female. Since starting here I have been living full-time as a girl, quite successfully, as you have seen on TV and at the wedding. ”

Jacqui went quiet and stared at me looking me up and down, deep in thought, before eventually collecting her thoughts together.

“I am absolutely staggered, I find hard to believe, I take it that this is the whole truth now and that you are not playing some sort of game with me.”

“I am not playing games, why should I, you know everything that you need to know that affects my job here.”

“You say that you are living 24/7 as Jo, does that mean that you are transgender?”

“Before I prepared for the interview here, the thought of living or even just dressing as a girl had never entered my head, but over the last few months I have settled into life as Jo, and most people accept me as Jo including friends and neighbours. In many ways I have now become accustomed to being Jo, and it would seem strange to go back to being Joey. Whether that makes me transgender I’m not sure, all I know is that I would like to continue working here and at Ostia, and if that means I have to officially become Jo, then so be it. I hope that I have not shocked or embarrassed you.”

“Staggered confused and amazed, yes, shocked and embarrassed, no. You are not the first gay or trans person that I have known, so any feelings like that are behind me. To be honest, I think this may be more of a problem to resolve than you falsifying employment records. Officially the council has a quite flexible anti-discrimination policy and it would not normally be a problem. I have recently been to an HR seminar on transgender laws and policy and know that it is not an issue in principle. However, I believe that you would have to declare yourself to be transgender and change your official NI records, tax, and other legal documents. You can’t be totally officially listed as female and get a Gender-Recognition certificate until you have lived as a female for two years, but there is nothing to stop you changing your name to Jo, or whatever you prefer, and getting most of your documents listing you as female.”

“ What happens now?”

“Get on with your job as normal, one way or another we should be able to sort this out, I and my bosses are very pleased with what you have done and would hate to see you go. For the moment this is confidential between me and you, and obviously the director of HR, who I will discuss this with. I will get back to you as soon as I can, but meanwhile do not worry too much about it.”

I immediately left to go to site, I wanted to be somewhere that I could clear my head and be distracted by something more interesting.

When I arrived back at Ostia, there was no opportunity to think things through, there was so much bustle and excitement. I went looking for Jake, Emma, or Jane, to find out what was going on , and found the girls at the top of the site looking into an excavation pit

“Hi Jo, you have picked the right time to turn up again. We had thought that we had found the extent of the first building exposed at the top of the hill, but when they were levelling the ground around it there were signs of another building adjacent to it not far away. It didn’t show up on the aerial survey for some reason, but using ground level scanners now show it to be much larger than its neighbour. They have dug down at one corner and from the odds and ends that they have already recovered and the quality of a small area of the mosaic floor it looks like a much more important building. At the moment the suggestion is that this is the base commander’s villa and the building next door is the servants’ quarters. Let’s have a look and see if there is anything that you could show and talk about on your vlog.” Emma eagerly led me over to the top of the site

There was definitely a buzz about the site, Professor Carter and Jake were in deep discussion as they walked up towards us and they waved us over to join them.

“This could be a big story for your vlog and website. Obviously you need to use all the usual caveats, ‘still under investigation’, ‘it is believed that’, ‘still to be confirmed’, and all sorts of phrases like that, but we believe that this is going to turn out to be the major draw for the public when the dig is completed and the site opens to the public. However this looks like a substantial quality building, the home of the base commander or some sort of regional governor. Have you ever been to Chedworth Roman villa in Gloucestershire? This place could be a lot more significant than that, both from an academic historic and cultural point of view but also as a public attraction.”

“ I have been to Chedworth once on a field trip from university. It is amazing how they have enclosed it to allow the public in via raised platforms to look down on the extensive decorative mosaic floor, do you really think that something like that could be done here?”

“That’s not down to me, my job is the academic research, recording, and interpretation of what we find here, what happens afterwards is a decision for your museum authorities to make, but I think it would be foolish if, even in these frugal times, they didn’t start to plan a budget for this, That’s your job, to generate so much interest and enthusiasm that the accountants don’t waste an opportunity to really put this place on the map.”

“I know that you are not over-keen on appearing in front of the cameras, but if I put a short review on my vlog and arrange to get the Anglia East camera team here in a week or so, will you do an interview with me to tell of the significance of this find and the site in general?”

“You’re right it is not really my thing, but this could be so major, and even I am excited about it, that I will agree this time, but don’t make a habit of asking me?”

As Josie was away on honeymoon, with the help of Jane and Emma, I filmed a short intro piece for the vlog and for a brief discussion with Professor Carter. I then took over behind the camera to let Emma, Jane, and a couple of the volunteer diggers who first scraped away the earth to see the red and green tiles of the mosaic, describe how they all felt when the section of mosaic was first uncovered. Their enthusiasm and delight would go down well when the vlog was uploaded.

I wandered around the rest of the site taking in the work in other areas, particularly the remains of the jetty, when my reverie was disturbed by a call from Jacqui.

“Jo, I need to have a talk with you following our discussion this morning about your personal situation, can you come into the office when you leave site.”

“There is not a major problem is there.”

“Well, yes and no, but I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. But we should be able to sort something out.”

“Ok, we’l leave that until later, but to put you in the picture there has been a major discovery on site but again we can leave that until I get back.” I thought that if she wanted to play cliffhanger games with me, that I would give her back some of her own medicine.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/gloucestershire-cotsw...

To be continued.