Some gifts can't be returned...

DECEMBER - "Don We Now Our Gay Apparel"

 

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Part Three
 
DECEMBER
"Don We Now Our Gay Apparel"
 
April spritzed herself with perfume and looked at herself in the mirror. It was still hard for her to believe that the glamorous blue-eyed blonde reflection staring back at her was that of a man just two months ago, but she was slowly becoming more accustomed to her new life. She looked around her new apartment for her purse and transferred the essentials she would need into her evening bag.

The doorbell rang. She looked out through the peephole and made sure it wasn 't a stranger before opening the door to let Summer in. Now that she was a woman and living alone she was much more security conscious.

"April! You look gorgeous!" complimented Summer, drinking in the vision that April presented. April was dressed in a beaded gown of ivory with subtle gold threading.

April beamed and flashed a beautiful smile. She was hoping for that result. She took in Summer's seasonal red ensemble in return and replied, "Thank you! And you look ravishing tonight too!"

"Shall we go?"

"Let's," replied April smugly.
 

 
May fastened her remaining earring and checked herself one last time in the mirror. A vivacious green eyed woman with long dark auburn hair arranged in an upsweep looked back at her. For a moment she paused, taken aback by the image she presented because it was so different from what she had been before, even on the occasions she crossdressed. She was categorically feminine now. Like April, she was becoming more accustomed to her new body and appearance, but occasionally it caught her off guard. The feeling quickly passed and she went downstairs.

She walked into the den and found her son Derek watching TV. "Do you know where your mother is?"

"She's was in the kitchen," Derek answered, engrossed in his show. Then a whiff of her perfume touched his nostrils and he turned. She was in a stunning green gown that brought out the color of her eyes and acutely accentuated her new feminine form. "Wow! May, you look hot!"

Derek was a typical teenage boy that could really appreciate an attractive woman, but he suddenly became uncomfortable when he remembered that this was his father.

"Uh, thanks Son," May replied, not quite sure what else to say. She had always had a good relationship with her son and had always taught him to be accepting of diversity. Derek hadn't necessarily liked the fact that his father was a crossdresser, but was tolerant of it, taking his cue from his mother. However, when things changed and his father had been transformed into a woman, it had become much more complex. Although he was trying to be supportive of May, the whole dynamic of their relationship had changed.

May went into the kitchen and told Emma that she was leaving for the Christmas Dinner. Emma looked up and said seriously, "We need to talk."
 

 
April felt warmly delicious riding along in the dark next to Summer. April found Summer to be very desirable as a man and, although Summer didn't pass well dressed as a woman, April still found Summer to be attractive. She admired Summer for her many good qualities and came to the realization recently that the outside packaging was not as important as what was on the inside. Still, she felt strange being attracted to someone who was a man underneath, since she herself had been a man so long until just recently. Yet she couldn't deny that she now had feelings for men, Summer in particular, now that she was female.
 

 
Derek climbed into Mike's car. Mike had already picked up Josh and Brad to go cruising, and so all three of Derek's closest friends were present when May walked out of the house and toward her car.

"Wowie! Hey Derek, who's the fox?"

"Yeah, what a nice babe! She a friend of yours?"

"She's hot for it! I can tell."

"Shut up!" Derek retorted angrily. "Just knock it off. That just happens to be my father!"
 

 
The Gender Identity Recognition Lobby's most elegant evening of the year was their Christmas Dinner. Held in the banquet room of one of the cities finest hotels, it was the gala event for crossdressers from around the area. G.I.R.L. members came from as far away as two hundred miles to stay in the hotel, dress up in all their finery, and attend the fancy dinner.

April and Summer arrived for cocktails. Each of them ordered wine. They mingled a bit and then sat at the same table with Sunny, Elly, and Lori. Conversation was fun and animated. April received a lot of compliments on her ensemble. Sunny told them about her work on the hotline and that they were about to sign up a new member.

Not too long after that May arrived. There was one seat left at their table and April offered it to her. May accepted cheerfully. April began to pick up vibes that all was not right, however. While the others had their attention on Octavia's gown, April leaned over and asked May if there was anything wrong.

May got the funniest look on her face and almost began to sob. All at the table stopped and focused their attention on May, which was exactly what April was trying to avoid.

"Oh April!" she moaned. "I don't know what to do. Before I came here tonight Emma told me that she didn't think things would work out between us. Why did this have to happen to us? I just can't go on living as a woman!"

"Oh, May! I'm so sorry," said April. The others looked sympathetic.

"April, would you please take May to the ladies' lounge?" asked Lori. "I think it would be good for us to talk about this, but it's a little too public out here. I'll go find Renee. Excuse us, ladies."

April led May out of the banquet room and through the lobby area to the ladies' lounge. April sat May down on the divan and sat down beside her and held her friend. Before too long Renee and Lori came in, pulled up some plush chairs, and they all sat together and had a good talk. It was as much for April as it was for May. Renee and Lori had both been concerned about the new women and how things had been going for them. Without betraying Emma 's confidence, Renee explained a lot of things to them about what being a woman was about, and why things had changed in April and May's relationships with their wives. Renee explained that they were going through a whole new experience, and were bound to have feelings of loneliness, conflicting emotions, pain, and even depression over it. They also told them that they were women now, and as frustrating as that change was for them at times, there was apparently no way to undo what had happened. They needed to find their inner courage in order to deal with it. She and Lori gave them some very candid advice, but also did a lot of compassionate listening.

April and May both got pretty emotional and Renee and Lori both expected that. These women had been through a lot. They needed to cry and would continue to need to cry as they dealt with their feelings. After a while they felt much better. They all fixed their makeup, including Renee and Lori, who had gotten teary eyed as well, and returned to their table.

Soon it was time for dinner to be served and the waiters brought a fine selection of holiday treats for them to enjoy. Afterward, there was Christmas music played and an award given out to Sunny for her work on the hotline. Then small gifts were exchanged. At the end they all sang Christmas Carols. It turned out to be a wonderful evening.
 

 
"Would you like some more eggnog?" Summer asked April.

"Yes, but it's so fattening! Save it for Santa. I just want to sit here and keep cuddling to you." she answered nuzzling into Summer's sweater.

It was Christmas Eve and they were cuddled together on the couch in Summer's living room. April had no family left to spend the holidays with and Summer' s older sister Ruth had flown cross country to spend Christmas with their mother.

So rather than be lonely, they decided to spend the holiday together. A fire burning in the fireplace, a holiday candle, and the Christmas tree were their only source of light that evening. Christmas music played on the stereo.

Summer was in boy mode, dressed in jeans and a sweater. April too was in jeans and a sweater, but her look was undeniably feminine.

They held each other for a long time, listening to the music, occasionally humming along. To Summer, it no longer mattered that April used to be a man, a fellow crossdresser from the group. For April, it was a matter of letting go of her past; of her love for women, and of her conditioning against loving men. April was beginning to realize that it was easier to go with her feelings than to fight against them. Summer was so strong, kind, and gentle. She felt warm and safe in his arms, like she did on the rare occasions when her father held her when she was just a little boy. But her longing was for more than just a father's love, and she knew that Summer would satisfy that longing some night, not tonight, but some night soon; of that she was sure. She decided to take things slowly and see where they led. Until then she was satisfied with just loving Summer and having Summer love her.

Slowly, with trepidation, she turned her mouth up to meet his, and they kissed. It was cautious at first; then, as they relaxed, the passion of the evening flooded through them.
 
 

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End Part 3