The first two times that we'd met with Larry, it was as Tom and Amy. We'd told him our whole story, from the trip to the museum to the fake wedding. I even filled him in on what I'd found out about the Navajo half-woman half-man people. And he was very interested in that, so I gave him the information to read.

The last time we’d met with him, he’d asked if he could meet with Tammy and Amy the next time. I’d reluctantly agreed, and was still having second thoughts. But I had agreed so it will be Tammy tonight.

Amy and I had decided just to be comfortable. So, it was jeans, a sweater, a pair of flats, some light makeup, pink fingernail polish, and my hair in a ponytail. My engagement ring next to my wedding ring, a few other rings, a cute bracelet, and of course my glasses.

And being Friday night, it was usually a date night. And I was surprised that Larry didn't have a date tonight. He'd been dating the same girl since we started college and it had become a steady dating thing. My parents had gone out. And right at seven, the doorbell rang.

Amy yelled from the kitchen, “Honey. Will you get that? I'm putting together some snacks.”

“Sure thing.”, I yelled back.

I walked to the door, looked out, and it was Larry. I opened the door, and said, “Hi Larry. Come on in.”

He looked at me, shook his head, and said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were a ringer.”

“A ringer?”

“Sure. No guy can look this good as a girl.”

“Am I a guy?”, I asked in a surprised way, but with a big smile.

“I think so.”

He walked in, I closed the door, and we walked to the kitchen. Amy walked up to Larry and hugged him.

Larry looked at me, and said, “I didn’t get a warm welcome from Tammy like that.”

I looked at him, and, as I rubbed my jaw, I said, “I just remember what happened the last time I kissed you.”

“I wouldn’t hit a girl.”

I just looked at him.

Then Larry asked, “Ah. … Can I ask you guys a big favor?”

“That depends on what the favor is?”

“You know that I’m dating Kelly.”

“Well yeah.”

“She’s also a psychology major.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been telling her about my project. And she’s interested in meeting you.”

“Larry, I thought this was our secret?”

“It is. I’ve never mentioned names or anything.”

“I know you’re dating her, but how well do you know her?”

“You know that we’ve been dating since the first quarter of my freshman year. And she’s special. So, I think I know her.”

“Special?”

“Yeah.”

“In what way?”

“Kind of like you and Amy special.”

“Meaning that you're married.”

“You would know if we were. But, I’m planning on asking her.”

“Really. When?”

“Like, maybe later tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Like after we leave here.”

“So, you’re planning on bringing her here.”

“Ah. ... Already have.”

“Larry! She’s here!?”

“Ah. ... Yeah.”

“Larry! What the hell am I going to do with you? Now she’ll know that I’m the subject of your paper. And, she’ll figure that out as soon as she sees Amy.”

“I know. … Sorry.”

I looked at Amy, and she said, “What’s one more?”

“Okay. I guess.”, I said.

“If she’s here.”, Amy said. “Is she out in your car?”

“Yeah. She is.”, Larry replied.

“Larry! It’s cold outside. And you’ve left her sitting out in your cold car. Go get her before she freezes.”

Larry went back outside, and Amy went back to working on snacks. Larry was quickly back with his cute redheaded girlfriend.

I couldn’t see Amy’s face, but I just knew that she was standing there with her back to us, grinning, and just waiting for the proper time to make her entrance. It’ll be interesting to see how surprised Kelly will be when she figures everything out.

Kelly saw me, and there was no sign of recognition. Larry then said, “Honey. This is my subject, Tammy. Tammy this is Kelly.”

Kelly and I smiled at each other, and politely shook hands, as Kelly said, “Thanks for allowing me to come and do this with Larry. He said that he couldn’t believe how good you looked as a girl. And he’s right. If there is a boy under there, you can sure make yourself a very pretty girl.”

As she turned around, Amy said, “I don't know about some of these boys, leaving you out in the cold like that. Honey, can I get you something hot to drink?”

As Kelly turned towards Amy, she started to say, “That would be nice. Some tea ... Amy! What are you doing … ” Then she turned to me, her eyes were big, and her mouth was open, and she said, “No! Can’t be. No way. Tom?”

I grinned, and said, “No. It’s Tammy. At least right now.”

“Oh, my God! I don't believe this. As many times as I've seen Tom, there was never an indication that you did this.”

“That’s the idea Kelly. When I’m Tom, I’m Tom. When I’m Tammy, I’m Tammy. I don’t mix the two.”

Amy finished the tea and gave it to Kelly. Then she suggested that we go into the den. Amy took the snacks, I found everyone something to drink, and we went into the den. I'd started a fire a little while ago, and it was nice and warm.

Kelly stood in front of the fire for a few minutes before joining Larry on the love seat. And Amy and I sat on the couch. Amy had placed the snacks on the coffee table. We sat there talking for a while with Kelly getting to know Tammy better. It did appear that there was something between Larry and Kelly. We’d been talking for about an hour, when Kelly looked at me, and said, “Tammy. I can see why Larry wanted to use you for his project. You’re very interesting.”

“I am?”, I asked.

“Yes. The whole time we’ve been here, I haven’t seen anything that would cause me to say that you were a guy dressed as a girl. You seem very comfortable and confident as to who you are. I know that as a guy that you’re the same way.”

“Thank you. I think that it might be because right now I feel like I am that girl. When I become Tammy, I feel like she takes over and helps me be the best girl that I can be.”

“Larry showed me that wedding gown brochure. He said that the girl on the cover was the cross-dresser that he was using for his project. I was amazed as to how good he or she looked. And, now seeing you in person. I still can’t believe it.”

“I’ve become at ease being Tammy. And, it’s just become second nature being her.”

“So, it looks like you even go out?”

“Yes. I love to shop. I use to worry about being seen as a guy in a dress. But, in all the times I’ve gone out, there’s been no hint of anyone picking up that I’m a guy. So, I just go out and enjoy.”

Amy added, “It took us a while to get her to see that no one was going to catch on. Some of our friends that know Tom very well have even met and interacted with Tammy without figuring it out. So, she finally learned that it was fun. And, she started going out and having fun.”

We continued to talk for another hour. Then Amy went to take the dishes out to the kitchen and Kelly volunteer to help her. They were out there a little longer then they should have been. Probably girl talk. While they were gone, Larry asked me a somewhat personal question.

And I asked him, “Does Kelly know about you going out with me?”

“No, she doesn't.”, Larry replied. “I may tell her at some point. But, not right now.”

The girls came back. And a short time later, and with a wink to me, Larry said, “This has been a fascinating evening. I want to thank you for letting Kelly meet Tammy. But we have someplace to be.”

Kelly looked at him a little funny, and asked, “We do?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.”

Looking at us, Kelly said, “Well I guess we have some place to be that I don’t know about. It has been fun, and I hope that we can do this again.”

“That would be fun.”, I replied. “And we will. Soon.”

As Larry and Kelly were leaving, I gave them both a big hug. And as I hugged Kelly, I also gave her a cheek kiss, and whispered, “It has been fun. Even though we just sat and talked.”

Kelly whispered back, “Yes it has. Promise me that the guy you will be at our wedding.”

“Huh?”

“I think Larry is going to ask me to marry him tonight.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Then as I hugged Larry, I whispered, “Good luck.”

“I’ll need it.”, he whispered back.

“I don't think so. Let us know what she says.”

“Will do.”

Larry then looked at me, and said, “You know. I just accepted your hug as I would from a real girl, even though I know you’re not. It’s like ... like ... ”

“Like she is a girl?”, Kelly added.

“Yeah. As she said, when she’s Tammy, she’s Tammy. I wonder if there’s something to what we’ve read.”

“What you read?”, I asked.

“That information that you have from your grandmother on what the Navajo people believe.”

I saw Amy smile, as I said, “You never know.”

After they had left, Amy said, “Kelly asked me something a little personal.”

“Oh.”, I said. “What?”

“She said she was asking it as a psychologist would.”

“What?”

“She wanted to know if I’d ever had sex with you when you were Tammy.”

“I’d say very personal. What did you tell her?”

“First I told her that it was very personal. Then I told her that we have, but it wasn't intentional. That things had just gotten so hot between us, that you didn't take the time to change.”

Then I said, “That’s what I told Larry.”

“So, she asked me, and he asked you.”

“I think that either Larry couldn’t bring himself to ask us together. Or, it’s something that needed to be asked separately.”

“Could be.”, Amy said. “I know Larry's wanted to talk to us separately. And you know, I like them. I hope things will work out between them.”

“It will.”

“How do you know? Oh, great all-seeing one.”

“She told me.”

On Saturday morning the phone rang, and my mother answered it. And she said, “Tom. It’s for you.”

I answered the phone, and it was Larry. And the conversation something went like this.

I said, “Hello.”

“Hi, Tom. It's Larry.”, Larry said.

“So, old buddy. Did you ask her?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“And?”

“You want to be my best man?”

“Congratulations! And sure I’ll be your best man. When?”

“Haven’t set a date yet. Or, even talked about it.”

“You two doing anything for dinner tonight?”

“Don’t think so. Why?”

“Thought we’d take you two out to dinner to celebrate.”

“Ah. Sure. Tom or Tammy?”

“Would it make a difference?”

“I guess not.”

“We'll pick you up at your place at five, then Kelly at her dorm. Don't get too dressed up. We're going to one of our hangouts. Your choice.”

Then, we said our goodbyes.

Amy had heard part of this, and asked, “I take it that Kelly said yes. And that we’re taking them out tonight.”

“Yes and yes.”

We took Larry and Kelly out and had a nice dinner. We talked about everything but Tammy. The girls talked about the wedding, and I overheard that it could be a summer wedding, and maybe next year, in Kelly's hometown. Which I guess is about three hours from here. It would be a Catholic wedding.

Larry told us that they were driving to Kelly's hometown next weekend to talk to her parents. And he was worried about it. He was Catholic, but her parents were strict Catholics. I told him about taking Amy's dad out in the Chevy, letting him drive, and then asking permission. I then told Larry, “Look. Don't worry too much. The worst they could do would be to send Kelly to a convent.”

“Not funny.”, Larry replied. Amy laughed.

“I thought it was funny.”, Kelly said. “Like I’ve told Larry, my dad will act like a tough Irish dad. All Larry has to do is stand up to him. I’m his only daughter, and he’s very protective. They met last summer, and he and my mom both like Larry. Now, my older brothers. That may be a different story.”

“Oh, God. I forgot about them.”

“Honey. Don’t worry. They may think that they’re protecting their baby sister, but I can wrap them around my little finger. Once they see that I love you, they’ll accept that it’s what I want.

“And I’ll bet that my oldest brother, Jack, may even be able to marry us.”

“He’s a priest?”, I asked.

“Uh huh. He went into the seminary right out of high school and is now a Chaplin for the Navy in San Diego. We'll have to ask the Priest at Sacred Heart when we see him next weekend if he can.”

“We’re seeing a priest next weekend too?”, Larry asked.

“Of course. It’s no big thing.”

“Can’t we just elope?”

“No. Honey, you know I want a big wedding.”

We continued talking while we ate. Then we spent the rest of the evening with them and had fun. We did something that I hadn't done for a long time. We went bowling. Kelly is an excellent bowler and won all three games. Then we dropped the two of them off and headed home.

As we walked into the house, my mother was still up and in the kitchen. We said hello to her. She looked at me with a somewhat strange look.

I asked her, “Is there something wrong?”

“No. Honey.”, she replied. “I was just looking at your hair.”

“What about my hair?”

“Take your hair down and let me see it without the ponytail.”

I removed the rubber band that I'd used to make the ponytail and shook my hair out. My mother walked up to me, ran her hand through my hair, and said, “I think you could do something with this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It's gotten long. It's nice and thick. And, I think that it could be styled into a nice feminine look that could also be put into a guys ponytail.”

“Really?”

“Yes. What do you think Amy?”

“It has gotten long.”, Amy replied. “But, he needs to take better care of it.”

“Mrs. Taylor said that I have split ends and that it needs a good conditioner.”, I said.

My mother looked at my hair again, then she said, “Yes. You do have split ends, and a good conditioner wouldn’t hurt.

“What time do you have to be at school on Monday?”

“Not until one. All of our classes are in the afternoon. Why?”

“I’m going to call Helen and see if she will come in early on Monday to work on your hair.”

“She’d do that?”

At nine on Monday morning the three of us were walking into the store where my mother works and went up to the beauty shop. Mrs. Taylor was there waiting for us. And she had me sit in her chair. She took my hair out the ponytail and looked it over. Then she said, “Honey. Your hair is almost long enough to do some cute things with.”

“And, still be able to put it into a boy's look?”, I asked.

“Yes. But, right now we need to get it into shape. I’m going to wash it, condition it, and trim it to remove the split ends. Then I’ll give you some good shampoo and conditioner that you need to use. And, I want you to use it regularly. Okay?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

An hour later Amy and I were walking out of the store. Mrs. Taylor had done a nice job in trimming my hair, and she didn't have to trim off much. To top that off, whatever she did to my hair made it feel great.

On that Friday, Amy’s only class had been canceled by the prof. I only had two in the afternoon, and I was going to do some research at the library after my classes. So, Amy and her mother were going shopping, and I went to my classes and the library.

It was after dark when I finished my research. I was walking from the library to where I parked my car, and I took the alley behind fraternity row as I usually did. It was in a poorly lit part of the alley ... Then everything went black.

The next thing I remembered I was dreaming, dreaming about them cutting off my poodle skirt after the accident when I was twelve, and I woke up yelling, “Mommy! Mommy! Why did they cut off my poodle skirt!”

I heard Amy’s voice like it was far far away and muffled, say, “Honey. Honey. Calm down. Everything is going to be okay. You’ve been hurt.”

“Huh!” I opened my eyes, looked around, I was in bed, but I wasn’t in my room. I saw Amy, and I asked her, “Where ... Where am I?”

“Honey. You’re in the emergency room.”

“Why! Why? What happened?”

“We’re not sure what happened. You need to relax and let the doctors do their thing.”

“Okay. Okay. Oh, God. Oh God, I hurt.”

“I know honey.”

Then a couple of doctors and nurses came in and started checking me over, and asking me all kinds of questions. Then the one doctor said, “The x-rays don’t show any broken bones. But, you took one heck of a beating. Your face is bruised and swollen. And you have some other bruising.”

“Why do I hurt so bad down below?”

“Down below?”

“My crotch.”

“It looks like you might have been kicked there multiple times.”

“It feels like it.”

One of the doctors looked down at me and asked, “Do you remember what happened?”

“Only that I’d been at the University doing some research in the library until late.”, I replied.

“And nothing after that?”

“Well. I remember leaving the library, and walking through the alley behind fraternity row, like I always do, to where I parked my car.”

“Nothing more?”

“No. It’s like something is missing from my life.”

“That’s not unusual in a trauma like this. It’s your brain protecting you from what happened.”

“Like when I was in the wreck.”

“What wreck was that?”

“I was in a bad car accident when I was twelve and knocked out, and I still don’t remember anything about the accident.”

“That happens. Sometimes the memory comes back, and sometimes it doesn’t. How long were you unconscious after the car accident?”

“A day or two days.”

“Did you have any problems after that accident?”

“Like what?”

“With your memory?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“That’s good. Now, since you were unconscious when they found you, we want to keep you for a day or two to be sure that everything is okay.”

“If you must.”

“We must.”

“What happened to me?”

“We think you were beaten up. That’s all we know.”

“How long have I been here?”

“About four hours.”

“What time is it?”

“Two in the morning.”

“Honey.”, Amy said. “Your parents and mine are out in the waiting room. They wouldn’t let anyone but me come back here. So, I’m going to go and talk to them.”

“Okay. I’m not going anywhere.”, I replied.

Amy kissed me and walked out of the room.

Shortly a nurse walked in with two men in suits, and she said, “Mr. Young. Do you feel up to talking with these two detectives?”

“Sure.”, I said.

The first detective said, “Hi Mr. Young. I’m Detective Richards from the University police department, and this is Detective Thomas from the city police. We’re working on your case. Think you can answer a few questions for us?”

Looking at Detective Thomas, I said, “Sure. Hi, Mr. Thomas.”

“Tom!? Tom Young?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh no!”, Detective Thomas said. And to the other detective, he said, “Bob. This is Thomas Young. He's my son Larry's best friend.”

“I see.”, the other detective said.

“Tom. Do you feel like talking? The sooner we get as much information as we can, the better chance we have catching them.”

“Yes, sir. I want you to find whoever did this.”

“Okay. Can you tell us what happened?”

“I don’t remember much.”, I replied. “I know I’d just left the university’s library, about nine, after doing some research. I was walking in the alley behind fraternity row towards the parking lot where I parked. That’s about all I can remember.”

“You don’t remember anyone being around you?”

“No, sir. I don't remember anyone being around. The lighting in that area isn't the best.”

“No, it's not.”

“Can you tell me what you know?”

“Sure.”, the detective from the university said. “A couple of students walking from class found you behind one of the frat houses severely beaten. They notified us, we called an ambulance, and they brought you here. We did find all of your books and papers. No one in the area heard or saw anything, but we still have a lot of people to talk to. We will also have an article in the school paper, and that may bring us some tips.

“You don’t have any enemies. Do you?”

“No, sir. Not that I know of.”

“It may be just a random act. If it is, it might be hard to track down who did it. But we’ll do our best.”

Just then, Amy and my mother and father walked back into the room. My dad and Detective Thomas have been friends for a long time. My dad saw him, and said, “Randy. I’m glad to see you here.”

“Hi, Chuck.”, Detective Thomas said. “Hi, Jean. Amy. I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances.”

“We do too. Any leads on any of this?”

“It’s too early. We’re going to do our best to solve this.”

“I know you guys will.”

I could tell that my mother had been crying, and I said, “Mom. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Honey.”, my mother said. “I know. But you could have been killed.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“Tom.”, Detective Thomas said as he handed me two business cards. “We're going to leave and let you get some rest. If you remember anything, anything at all, give either of us a call.”

“Yes, sir. I will.”

My father walked out with the two detectives, and I know that they were going to talk. When my father came back, he brought Amy’s parents back to see me. I tried to talk everyone into going home. I finally did get our parents to go home, but Amy wouldn’t leave my side.

We sat together in the emergency department for another hour, and they finally came and took us up to a room. It was a private room. Amy said it was that way because they would be checking on me on a regular basis and didn’t want to disturb anyone else.

“Honey.”, I asked. “Why do I hurt so much down there?”

“Down where?”

“Between my legs.”

“Oh. ... Well. ... They ... They told me that whoever beat you up may have damaged you down there.”

“How ... How bad?”

“They don’t know yet. And, they do have an excellent urologist here.”

“Does ... Does this mean that ... that I won’t ... won’t be able to father children.”

“Honey. Let's worry about that after they examine you.”

“But ... But we wanted to have children.” I could feel the tears start.

“Honey. Please don’t cry. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes, it is. Whoever the hell beat me up, made it so I can't father kids.”

“Honey. You don’t know that. Please calm down.”

“These bastards deserve to die!”

A nurse came in, and asked, “Is something wrong?”

I heard Amy explain to her what had gone on. She left, and came back a few minutes later with a hypodermic needle, and gave me a shot. I didn’t fall asleep, but I felt calm.

I know I dozed off every once in a while. But the nurses were always coming in and waking me up to check on me.

Finally, I noticed Amy was sleeping in a chair. I just looked at her, and thought, ‘God. I love her so much. I continued to watch her sleep. Finally, about the time it started to get light outside, she began to stir. She opened her eyes, and I said, “Morning sleepy head.”

“Good morning.”, she said as she stretched.

“Get much sleep?”

“No. The nurses were in and out of here every hour or so checking on you.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I feel like it is. If I hadn’t been walking where I was, it probably wouldn’t have happened.”

“Honey. Don’t think that way. You had no control over what happened.”

Just then, three doctors walked in. They introduced themselves and said that they were there to examine me. They asked Amy to leave, and after she had, they spent some time looking at my private parts. I know they had me on some painkillers, but it was still painful. One of them commented, “You took a beating. Didn't you?”

I thought, ‘No shit buddy.’ But I said, “Yeah. I think I did.”

One of the other doctors asked, “Was that your wife that was here?”

“Yes.”

He turned to one of the other doctors and asked him to find Amy and have her join us. He and Amy were back quickly. Then the doctor, who appeared to be the senior doctor, said, “We are going to have to operate to see what damage has been done. It appears that your penis is bruised, but not damaged. We think one of your testicles is fine, but the other one appears to be damaged. And that’s why we need to operate. We need to see how bad the damage is, and if it can be repaired or not.”

I asked, “And if it can't be repaired?”

“We’d have to remove it.”

“Would I still be able to father children?”

“Yes. As long as the other one recovers from the beating you took, you should be able to. And I think that it will.”

“How soon do you want to operate?”

“As soon as we can schedule an operating suite. It will help your whole body heal.”

I took a deep breath, looked at Amy, looked back at the doctor, and said, “Let's do it.”

Early the next morning, Amy walked with me as far as she could. We kissed, and I said, “See you in a little bit.”

With what I knew was a forced smile, she said, “You damn well better.”

She and our parents sat in the surgical waiting room, while I went to sleep, and the doctors went to work.

I don’t remember waking up in the recovery room. But when I was back in my room, I was fully awake. Amy was sitting there holding my hand. We smiled at each other, she kissed me, and said, “I’ll be right back. I have to tell them that you’re awake.”

“Don’t be too long.”, I replied.

The nurses came and checked me out. When they left, Amy and our parents came in. We visited for awhile, then I asked the big question, “Well. What did they do.”

Amy took a deep breath, and said, “Well. The operation was a success. They found that your left testicle was bruised, but fine. On the other hand, your right one was too damaged to repair. So, they had to remove it. And they put in an implant.”

“An implant?”

“Yeah. Something about looking balanced.”

“At least I still have one that works.”

She smiled, and said, “That’s all it takes.”

I think I saw my mother-in-law blush. My dad grinned. I couldn’t see my mother or Amy’s dad. And I expected something out of her dad, that didn’t come.

“How long did they say I have to stay here?”

“They didn’t. It depends on how quickly you recover.”

I was in the hospital for almost a week and then spent another two weeks recovering at home. Larry and Kelly, and Mark and Maria stopped by from time to time, as did others. Larry and Kelly, when they stopped by, would occasionally bring hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes from our favorite drive-in. I also started walking to build my strength back up. Yes, Amy would accompany me on my walks, and I was eventually walking to the lake and our bench.

I'd spoken with my counselor at the University, she knew what had happened, and was working with my professors to see what we could do about my classes. I continued studying on my own. I was missing lectures and some lab time. A couple of the classes lasted for all three-quarters, and I could make up the work over the break. The others we'd work out something. Some of my classmates even volunteered to share their lecture notes with me.

One night, right after I’d started going to classes again, I sat straight up in bed, and said, “Damn.”

Amy rolled over, and said, “What?”

“I just remembered what happened that night.”

“Really!?”

“Yes. I’d better go write it down before I forget it again.”

I jumped out of bed, grabbed a notepad, sat at the kitchen table, and wrote down what I remembered. Amy came along with me and watched over my shoulder. When I finished, she said, “Oh, my God. Really?”

“Yeah.”, I replied. “It was clear as day.”

“That’s scary.”

“I know.”

“I'll call Detective Thomas first thing in the morning.”

We went back to bed. I tried, but couldn't get back to sleep. When I've had trouble sleeping, I would usually sit on the porch, but it was too cold. So, I laid a small fire in the fireplace and sat in the den. Amy wandered in, dragging a blanket, sat down next to me, and said, “I rolled over, and you weren't there. And I figured that you couldn't sleep and that you might be here. Mind if I join you?”

“Of course not.”, I replied.

She cuddled up with me, we tossed the blanket over us, and she was soon asleep. My mother was the first one up and found both of us asleep in the den. She walked in to check on us, and it woke me up. She whispered, “What's wrong?”

Trying not to wake Amy, I whispered, “I remembered what happened.”

“When you were attacked?”

I just nodded yes. Then I whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”

My mother left us. I sat there and held Amy for a while. Then I needed to use the bathroom. So, I carefully worked my way off the couch, hoping not to wake her.

When I came back, I checked on Amy, and she wasn’t in the den. So, I headed for the kitchen, and she was there with my mother. My mother asked, “So, you remembered?”

“Remembered what?”, my dad asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“What happened to him that night.”

“Good. Now, you may get some answers. So, what was it?”

I picked up the notepad and handed it to my dad. He and my mother read it at the same time. When he finished reading my note, he looked at me, and said, “Really?”

“Yes, sir.”, I replied. “I can remember them running after me and yelling, ‘Get the fag.’ And me trying to run away from them. Them caching me and knocking me to the ground. And while I was down and they were kicking me, they kept calling me a fag, sissy, queer, and homo. One even said, ‘Pretty boy you deserve to die.’ I also remember the strong odor of alcohol.”

My mother didn’t say anything, but you could see the anger in her eyes.

“You’re calling Detective Thomas. Aren’t you?”, my dad asked.

I looked at my father, and said, “Just try and stop me.”

I did call Detective Thomas, and then Amy and I met with him and the detective from the university police. Amy sat with me as I told them what I'd remembered, which included specific jackets, that the guys were wearing, that put these guys right in the cops sights. The detective from the university police, also said that if they could prove who they were, along with criminal charges, they would be kicked out of school.

Then, he said, that they had another incident like mine, but it had been interrupted by some other students. And they now have some good descriptions. Then Detective Thomas asked, “Do you think you could identify them in a lineup?”

“That’s the one thing.”, I said. “I couldn’t see their faces. It was like they were blacked out.”

“Thanks, Tom. And you too Amy. We think we're getting very close. I just hope one of them messes up and brags about it to the wrong person. Keep in touch.”

School the rest of the week was good. On Saturday, Amy asked, “Honey. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”, I replied.

“Wrong. You’re not yourself. You’re moping around, and Tammy hasn’t been here. So, something is going on. Please talk to me.”

“This whole damn thing just has me upset. I'm scared to be on campus at night. I'm always looking over my shoulder. I just don't know how to handle it.”

“First you need to talk about it. Like you’re doing right now. Maybe even see someone. And be honest with them.”

“Kids.”, we heard my mother say. “I’m sorry, but I heard part of your conversation.”

“That’s okay mom.”, we both said.

“Honey. I know of someone, if you want to talk to a professional, that might be able to help. I’ve known her for a while, and she does this kind of counseling.”

“Maybe I should.”, I said.

“No maybe about it love.”, Amy said. “You’re going to talk to someone.”

Mom said, “I’ll give her a call.”

“Thanks, mom.”, I replied.

After my mother had walked away, Amy said, “Can I say something without you getting mad?”

“Sure.”

“Honey. You are small for a guy. People, like the guys that beat you up, pick up on things like that. And you become a target for them. The university offers something during new student orientation to the girls, about safety on campus. I’m more than willing to share what I remember with you.”

“Why did they call me a fag and a queer?”

“Honey. I don’t know. Because you’re not.”

Amy shared the information with me, and even a few simple self-defense things. The one thing that she emphasized was to not walk alone after dark and always walk in well-lighted areas, and that there is safety in numbers. She also said something about us going to a self-defense class.