It happened so slowly that nobody really noticed it happening, but by mid-summer Polly and Sheila had moved from being 'Summer Help' to join Little Rose as 'Family.' The hotel had been in the Russo family for generations, so it was sad that Russ and Rose had no children to continue the family business.

Polly soon found that life in the kitchen was very attractive, and Russ took her under his wing to pass on his love of cooking for large groups. His mentoring didn't stop at the kitchen door, as Russ played the Jolly Innkeeper, welcoming his guests heartily and making them feel at home. With his example to follow, Polly grew and became more than a summer's lark, flirting and catering to the people who chose the hotel for their relaxation, making sure they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Sheila gradually began to help Rose with some of the buying, learning the practical aspects of money management, being sure that the invoices matched the goods delivered. With several part-time people, managing who was on duty when could be a challenge, but one that Sheila gladly took on.

In their private moments, Russ and Rose would beam with pride at their ersatz granddaughters who, in their turn, reveled in the relationship. Polly, particularly, enjoyed being a granddaughter. Counting hours 'on the job' went by the wayside, everybody worked to make the family business thrive. Little Rose just shook her head at the whole situation, wondering just how her friends had become her cousins.

So it came to be that Polly was at the reception desk on a Friday afternoon in the middle of August. This wasn't a very demanding job, so Polly was immersed in a book between customers. Hearing the door chime she finished her paragraph and looked up.

"Welcome, can I help you…"

And the words died as her breath vanished. Standing before her was her mother. In the silence that followed the door chimed again and her father and sister entered with suitcases in hand.

"Did you find Peter, honey?" he asked, to be greeted by silence.

"Uh, hi Mom, Dad?"

Alerted by that sixth sense that any good innkeeper develops, Rose came out of the office to see what was happening.

"Is anything wrong, Polly?" she asked. Having taken the Zimmerman family reservation a few weeks before, she was aware that her intervention had come to pass at last. "Ah, I understand. Welcome Mr and Mrs Zimmerman. I know it's quite a shock, but could I introduce you to your daughter Polly? She has been quite a wonderful help to us this summer and we think the world of her. I hope you don't mind sharing her with us, as we have come to consider her part of our family.

"You knew? Asked Polly incredulously.

"Of course, child. How you choose to present yourself is up to you. As long as you treat the customers properly and they don't spend more time talking about you than the hotel, who are we to judge? You are obviously very comfortable with being Polly and that, in itself, is a triumph. So many people go through life not knowing who they are or what they want to be.

"I think you need to check your parents in so they can unpack and then you can spend a little time with them. I'll get Chanice to cover for you and I'll take over for Sheila so she can join you."

With that Rose bustled off, leaving the family in stunned silence.

"This ought to be good!" spoke Vicky. "How did I end up with a big sister?"

"It's a long story, kid." answered Polly.

"I'll just bet it is." Polly's father marveled.

"We thought we'd surprise you by coming down for a vacation, uh, Polly?"

"That's my name for the summer, Mom."

"I guess we got the surprise, though," responded her Dad. "I think we would like to try to understand."

"I'm not so sure I can explain it myself, but I'll try. Let me get you keys and as soon as Chanice gets here I can show you to your cabin. Then we can talk."

"Even your voice is different. You even sound like a girl!" her sister exclaimed.

"Duh! How else am I supposed to sound, sis?"

"You sure don't sound like my bratty bother!"

"Girls, don't fight, warned their mother. "Oh! I can't believe I just said that!"

"And you don't know how many times I've wished I was your daughter so I could hear you say it."

"Really?"

"Really."

Just then Chanice arrived, long braided hair flying wildly."

"Rose said you needed me to take over, Polly. Oh! You look like someone just walked over your grave, girl," she said in her soft Jamaican accents.

"You may be closer than you know, Chanice."

"Damn girl, you got to stop working so hard, you too cute to look so frass. I don't know how you do it, up at the crack of dawn, waitressing, maiding, cooking - you do it all. You got to slow down, but not until you make some more of that apple whatever-it-was you made for dessert last night. Make a big bowl of that stuff and put my name on it - it's spelled C-h-a-n-i-c-e, girl - and then you can slow down!"

"And you say I need to slow down?" Polly queried with a smile.

"There now, you look better. I can still talk your ear off and put a smile on your face. What's happening, girl?"

"Uh, my parents decided to surprise me by coming for their vacation this week."

"Well hallelujah! You the lucky one. These your folks?"

"Yeah, Chanice, my parents Irene and Scott and my little sister Vicky."

"Welcome to the place. You done one fine job of raising this girl, she's a superstar round here. Don't know what we're going to do when she has to run off to college."

"I'm not sure how we managed to raise such a fine, uh, daughter, but thank you for your praise. I'm sure she appreciates it as much as we do."

"You folks go on now and settle in so you can enjoy our hospitality. See you later, Polly."

"You too, Chanice."

"Covering for you is going to be quite a trick, sis," murmured Vicky as Polly led them out the door.

 

Passing the pool, a flock of children waved frantically and shouted "You gonna come in the pool with us today Polly?"

"You know I'm allergic to water," Polly called back.

"That's what you always say."

"I'm allergic to smart-aleck kids, too."

"None of those here!"

"Then why am I sneezing?" Followed by a rather theatrical sneeze.

"You seem to be rather popular here," observed her mother.

"I suppose I am. I really enjoy getting to know our guests."

"And it seems I haven't really gotten to know my own son."

Passing the flower beds, Bill the gardener waved and called "Beautiful day! How's it going, girl?"

"Round in circles, Bill."

"As long as you aren't circling the drain, that's OK"

"I think I may be in over my head about now."

"Just give me a shout and 'ole Bill will be there with a life jacket. You take care."

"I will, Bill."

"Does everyone here know you by name?" asked her dad.

"Pretty much. I serve their meals, make their beds and sometimes check them in and out. Russ has been teaching me how to cook for a crowd and he embarrasses me by telling everyone when I made their cake or side dishes. I really have to thank you for teaching me how to cook, Mom. It's been a real asset."

"Well I never…"

"And I even saved us a bundle, Dad, because you taught me how to fix a toilet and we didn't have to pay a plumber to do the job."

"While you were wearing a skirt, I suppose."

"How else? This is the official uniform and I wear it all day long except on my days off."

"I afraid to ask, but what do yo wear then?"

"A sundress if it's warm, or a skirt and blouse. Depends on my mood and the weather."

"I suppose you wear mini-skirts?"

"Not a chance! I realize I don't have the body to wear something like that. Actually my taste are much like yours, Mom, at least when you wear a skirt."

"This is just too weird!"

"At least we have that in common. Here's your cabin. Rose booked you into one of the two bedroom ones, and now I know why the reservation book seemed to be in Rose's office whenever I was covering the desk. You weren't the only one to get a surprise this afternoon."

"And she knew you were doing this?"

"I certainly didn't know she knew. Only Sheila and Little Rose had any idea. Shows how perceptive I am."

"Speaking of Sheila, looks like she's about to join us, sis."

"Did she know that this was going to happen?" asked Dad.

"If she did she deserves an Oscar for best actress!"

"I think you might be in line for that one."

"Actor or Actress?" Polly asked with a rueful grin.

"A damned good question, child of mine."

Just then Sheila came to a halt by them."

"Should I disappear until you guys decide if I'm wanted here?" she asked.

"Don't you dare! We're in this together."

"Wow! Your dad can do Mr Spok with the eyebrow."

"Even he couldn't help. I don't see any place to insert logic in this situation."

"It's a situation that calls for McCoy, who does human emotions, Dad."

"I'm trying not to get too emotional, at that. Why? What makes you want to dress like this?"

"Let's get you settled in first so we can sit down and talk."

"Spoken like a true innkeeper."

"Don't laugh, but I think I may have found what I want to do with my life. The hospitality industry may be it."

"Besides changing sex?"

"Wait until you're settled and then we can go into those details. This is one of our deluxe cabins, two bedrooms, full bath and kitchenette. Some wag nicknamed it Hell's Honeymoon Cabin but we don't tell the tourists that. Lots of privacy but if the wedding fizzles they can both stomp off to separate bedrooms. Seems that's what happened once years ago and the name stuck. The legend is you could hear the screaming all the way to the front desk with the doors closed. On that hopeful note, Sheila and I will wait for you on the porch and I'll see if I can rustle up some drinks."

"You do take this inn-keeping seriously, don't you?"

"The only way to do it."

"All right, give us a few minutes and we'll join you."

"Polly and Sheila settled on to the porch swing together and Polly called the kitchen on her cell phone to beg for some special service.

"Well," said Sheila, "you appear to have survived without any major lacerations or contusions. What happened?"

"They decided to surprise Pete by spending a week of vacation here. They sure as hell succeeded in surprising me."

"You gave as much as you got, eh?"

"I'm still shaking. At least nobody started screaming, but what am I going to say?"

"Try the truth. From experience, I can tell you that lying and hiding things from my parents didn't work worth crap."

"So easy to say and so hard to do…"

"They were going to have to know sometime. We both know this isn't something you want to do for the summer and then turn it off, isn't it?"

"You're right. Speaking of knowing, Rose knows who I am and arranged it so I didn't know they were coming."

"She did? Can't get much past that woman, can you? She never once treated you like anything other than what you appear to be."

"I wonder if Russ knows?"

"Get real! There's no secrets between them, honey."

"Hey Jimmy, thanks for the special service."

Jimmy put a tray of drinks and snacks on the small table on the porch. "My parents showed up to surprise me and I wanted them to see just how good this place really is."

"Anything for you two dolls. The place won't be the same without you when you have to go off to college."

"Only a couple more weeks. I'm going to miss being here."

"Gets to be more than a job, doesn't it? I just love the atmosphere that Russ and Rose have created. They treat people real good, don'cha know."

"So they do. Hi Mom. Meet Jimmy, one of the people who keeps this place humming."

"Hi Mrs Z, nice to have you here. Your daughter really knows her stuff. The place won't be the same without her."

"I'm sure of that, right daughter?"

"Thanks for the compliment, Jimmy."

"Gotta run. See you later, ladies."

"Have you got every man in the place twisted around your little finger?" Polly's mother asked skeptically.

"Not every man," answered Sheila. "Everybody. I wasn't sure about Polly at first, but she is a real person and I love her as much as I do Pete. This was kind of a nasty way for you to discover her, but I hope you'll give her a chance. It'll be worth it, I promise."

"Love? Is that why you have matching engagement rings on your hands?"

Sheila started to laugh. "Ten bucks each on Amazon and we have to coat them with nail polish every few days or our fingers turn green. Keeps the wolves at bay when you're waitressing or someone is still in their room when you come by to make the bed."

"Quite the resourceful pair, aren't you?"

"Don't be surprised if there's a real diamond there sometime soon, Mom."

"I accept!" enthused Sheila. "We need to go shopping on our day off and blow all our summer wages."

"Not all of them, sweetheart."

"Scott! Come out here. I think our daughter just proposed to Sheila."

"What?"

"I just asked Sheila to marry me, Dad."

"Oh my aching head! This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation and what do I get? A new daughter and a new daughter-in-law and a misplaced son. I need a vacation from this vacation!"

"Don't worry, Dad," offered Vicky. "I know CPR if you have a heart attack."

"Oh joy, one child gives me heart failure and the other wants to revive me. How lucky can a man get?"

"If you don't mind me saying," Sheila answered, "Pretty lucky. If you hadn't raised Peter so well I never would have found him or Polly. I did a pretty good job of messing up my life when I was younger and my parents and some very good people showed me I could be different. Polly may be different, but she's the one I want to spend my life with and I wouldn't want that if she weren't the most wonderful person I know."

"I'm trying to understand, really I am, but why? Is it the clothes? Just… why?"

"It's not just the clothes, although it started out that way. I can't tell you how jealous I was of you, Vicky, when you got your first training bra."

"Jealous? Of me!" her sister was incredulous.

"I love her but she's crazy, isn't she Vicky?" asked Sheila.

"I'll say! You really wanted a bra?"

"I really did. I think I really wanted to be a girl just then, but I couldn't quite put it into words or even a coherent thought."

"But you never seemed to be unhappy to be a boy," her mother said.

"I don’t think I was all that unhappy. I just rather wished I was born a girl. There wasn't anything I could do about it, so I just ignored it."

"Typical man!" scoffed her mother.

"Wait a minute!" laughed Polly. "I thought the girls were supposed to just want support and the guys were supposed to want to solve the problems."

When the laughter ended, Polly got serious.

"Actually, I did like most people these days do, did some looking online. There seem to be a lot of men who wish they were women and a few women who want to be men. Then there are people like me who aren't sure or don't care which side of the line they fall on. Gender-fluid is the buzzword. I found a whole new vocabulary to describe what I was thinking. It helps to put it into words, it isn't as confusing that way."

"That's easy for you to say," commented dad.

"You guys are taking this awfully calmly," commented Sheila.

"Once Peter admitted you two were sleeping together, we kind of used up our shock quotient," Mom replied.

"Oh…"

"Hey, you told your folks, I didn't want to be outright lying to mine."

"Just neglected to mention a few things, eh?"

"I figured I would know better just what I wanted by the end of the summer."

"And have you figured it out?"

"Living as Polly just feels right!"

"Right enough to make it permanent?"

"I just don't know. If it were only me, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But there's you and Sheila and college and shrinks and legal stuff and… Well, it's not something I could do without a lot of thinking and talking to people who know about this stuff."

"Scott, even though this isn't what we thought we'd get when the nurse handed us a baby in a blue blanket, we seem to have raised a very responsible child. I think we can be proud of whoever he or she turns out to be."

"I couldn't agree more, Irene."

"And Sheila, if you two do get married, we will be just as proud to have you as part of our family."

"I think you two delinquents should get back up to the hotel and get on with whatever they're paying you to do. We need some time to let this all sink in. We can talk some more later."

"You're right. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you about Polly and why I feel so right living as a woman. I'm just sorry it had to be so abrupt."

"Maybe it's for the best. Now scoot!"