Byline chapter 23

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Copyright © 2021 Peregrine
All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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chapter 23

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“You girls look nice,” Mom said. Abbey and I were hanging up our coats. “Bring your bags to your rooms then come down and help with dinner.” We did as she asked and hurried down to help Mom in the kitchen.

As we ate dinner, we talked about the gifts we got at our various office parties. Mom told stories of her office parties past and present. We cleaned up after dinner and soon we were relaxing in the living room. When it was time to go to Christmas Eve services we got ready and left.

Christmas Eve service was an early evening service. The church was nicely decorated. There was a re-enactment of the nativity scene by the children. During the sermon, we were reminded what a glorious and happy time the Christmas season was. I felt anything but happy. How could I with my recent breakup with Kevin? That and my assignment cancellation looming.

After the service, there was a Christmas social in the social hall. There were desserts aplenty and small gifts for the children. We had found an empty table in the hall which was soon filled with mom’s friends. After a short prayer, people got up to get some desserts. Abbey had left Mom and me to go talk with some friends.

“How are you holding up, Casey?” Mom asked.

“I’m doing alright. Why do you ask?”

“It’s the first time you’re presenting as a woman in your old neighborhood, so to speak.”

“I have noticed some stares,” I said.

“I’ve noticed that too,” Abbey said. She had come back with a sampling of desserts that looked tempting. “Some people are wondering why you have two daughters.”

“Don’t pay any attention to them. We don’t have to stay. If you want, we can go home.” Mom said.

I thought about leaving. People had been chatting with Mom and Abbey. A few people who spoke to me thought I was Abbey at first. No one seemed to see me. In a room filled with people, I suddenly felt alone. “No, Mom. Let’s stay. If I decide to do this, I have to get used to this. I’m going to try some of the desserts.”

I wandered over to the refreshment table. I had put a small assortment of treats on my plate when I sensed someone beside me. “Um, hi Casey,” Came a voice. I turned to see Carol Wahim. Carol was an on-again, off-again sort of friend. Like most people, she was never sure whether I was a boy or a girl. We never really hung out in high school but we were friendly.

“Oh, Carol, hi,” I said. I was trying not to drop anything from my plate as I turned.

“I wasn’t sure it was really you,” she said. “It’s been so long.”

“Well, you know, going to college then grad school. What’s it’s been, 10 years?”

I did a one-handed hug still trying not to drop anything.

“About that long,” she said. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. How about you?”

“I’m good. I see you’ve made some, um, changes. You’ve stopped dressing like a boy. You look great. It suits you.”

“Thanks. It’s been quite a change.”

“Oh, look, there’s Alysa. Alysa!,” She called out, “Over here!” She waved her over. “Alysa, you remember Casey from school.”

“Oh my God, Casey,” Alysa said. “It’s been ages.”

I had to hug Alysa also. It was a marvel that everything stayed on my plate.

“Alysa’s getting married,” Carol said. “Show her your ring.”

Alysa showed me her ring. I gushed over it and offered my congratulations. I felt pain from the thought that I could have been showing off a ring Kevin might have given me. I quickly put that thought aside. I was determined not to cry. Others joined the three of us and we talked for about half an hour. At one point I noticed mom glancing over at me. She nodded and smiled. I no longer felt alone. The girls accepted me as I was. We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch. I was glad I decided to stay.

I finally broke away from the girls as the party began to die down. I was heading back to the table so I could try the desserts on my plate when I heard a male voice.

“I know your not Abbey. I saw Abbey a little while ago. Can it be? Kenzie? Is that you?”

No one has called me Kenzie since that Halloween night I dressed as Sailor Mars. Other than my family, only one other person knew me as Kenzie.

“Trevor? Oh my God, Trevor!” He came over and we hugged. He gave me a kiss on my cheek. I still managed to keep everything on my plate.

During that Halloween night, I had met Trevor Wilkes at the refreshment table. We talked, danced and he gave me my first kiss from a guy. I didn’t want anyone to recognize me that night so I pretended to be my fictitious cousin Kenzie.

“You look as beautiful as I remember,” he said. “When did you get back?”

“Get back?”

“From Australia.” Abbey had told him Kenzie had moved to Australia.

“Australia, right. Um… after I graduated Grad school. How have you been?”

“I’m great. Abbey didn’t mention you were back. Where are you staying?”

“I’m, um… visiting my aunt for the holidays.”

“How long will you be in town?”

“I’ll be with my Aunt until Friday or Saturday. I'm not sure yet. I live in Philly now so I’ll be in there after that.” I noticed mom and Abbey trying to get my attention. “There’s my um… Aunt and cousin now. I think they’re calling me over.”

“Any chance I could get your number? I'm in Philly also. I’d like to call and maybe take you out for dinner to catch up.”

“Sure, let me get my phone.” He followed me to the table where Mom and Abbey were sitting. “Aunt Sheila, this is Trevor. I met him at the Halloween party when I took Donna’s place.”

“Nice to meet you, Trevor.”

“You too Mrs. Cummings.”

Mom was quick to pick up on things. “Kenzie we’re about to get going. We’ll meet you at the car. Don’t be long. Good night Trevor.”

“Good night Mrs. Cummings. You too Abbey.”

I retrieved my phone and dialed Trevor’s number. It rang, he answered. It took no time to enter my name into his phone.

“Thanks, Kenzie. I’ll call this week. Have a good night. It’s great seeing you again.”

He came close and kissed me on the cheek again. I did the same. We parted and I began to walk to the exit. I turned to see my dessert plate sitting on the table. I had not had a chance to try one of them. Mom and Abbey were waiting in the car. Abbey started talking the second the door closed.

“Casey, I was looking for you to let you know Trevor was here. He found you first.”

“That’s okay. It was a pleasant surprise. He’s going to call to go to dinner this week. I can’t believe he was here.” It was a surprise. I hadn’t seen him since he graduated high school. Finally, something good was happening.

~~0~~

I was in the kitchen late Christmas morning making pancakes. Wearing a red sleep top and sleep shorts, I was pouring the pancake batter on the griddle. The smell of bacon and coffee filled the room. I had a cup of coffee within reach.

“Thanks for making breakfast,” Mom said. She walked into the kitchen and gave me a kiss on the side of my head.

“I thought I’d surprise you and Abbey. Do you want me to pour you a cup of coffee?”

“I can get it. You finish with the pancakes.” Mom stole a slice of bacon as she walked to the coffee maker. I playfully went to slap her hand and missed. She sat at the table with coffee in hand watching me as I flipped the current batch of pancakes. “I saw you talking with some old classmates at church,” she said.

“Yes, it was Carol and Alysa. Alysa is getting married.” I poured the last of the batter on the griddle. I looked over at mom as she sipped her coffee. “Carol said she noticed my changes. She said I stopped wearing boy's clothes. Said it suited me. She called Alysa over. They both acted like it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to be wearing a dress. It was the same with the other girls.” I looked up from the griddle. “Mom, did everyone think I was a girl?“ I put the last of the pancakes on the serving plate. I brought the food to the table. I got my coffee and sat with mom.

“Not everyone. Although, I was asked many times why I let you dress as you did. Many people were like the Henderson’s the other night. Mrs. Henderson was sure you were a girl. Mr. Henderson was not quite sure.”

“If I were to decide to continue presenting as a woman, would the family understand?”

Mom put her coffee down. “Are you considering that?”

“It’s come up a few times.”

“Your Uncle Raymond would understand, without a doubt. Your Aunt Kaity would also. She thought you were a girl from the first. Took a while for her to believe me.”

“I would be accepted then.”

“Definitely on my side of the family. Honey, you wouldn’t be the first.”

“Excuse me? I wouldn’t be the first? What do you mean?”

“You’re Uncle Raymond, he used to be my sister Raychel.”

I sat there with my mouth open. “Uncle Raymond? Really? I never knew.”

“And why would you? I never told you or your sister. He would accept you without question.”

The two of us ate in silence after mom’s revelation. I was deep in thought. I almost didn’t hear Abbey walk in.

“It’s so quiet in here,” she said. “Who do I thank for breakfast?”

“Thank your sister,” Mom said, “She made everything. You do have to pour your own coffee.”

“Can’t get good help these days,” Abbey said. I stuck out my tongue at her. “Thanks dear sister.” She came over and hugged me.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

~~0~~

With breakfast done, we were sitting around the Christmas tree in the living room. Abbey and I had finished given Mom her presents.

“Thank you both,” she said. “I had a difficult time choosing presents this year. Mostly because of you Casey.”

“Me? What did…”

“Now don’t get yourself in a tizzy.” Mom patted me on my knee.

"I was unsure what to get for you. In the end, I went with my gut feeling. Last night told me I was right. I hope you both like your presents.”

Abbey and I opened our presents. Mom had gotten us dressy and casual tops, a dress, in different colors and earrings.

“They’re beautiful,” I said.

“I saved the receipts if you need to exchange anything. I was going to get you two the same colors. Then I thought you might be getting tired of people thinking you were twins.” Abbey and I laughed.

“Thanks, Mom,” we both said.

“One more thing.” Mom handed us each an envelope. We opened it to find a certificate for a spa day. Abbey squealed when she saw what was in her envelope. “It’s for all of us. I want to spend the day getting pampered with my girls.”

A round of hugs ensued. After cleaning up, we left the room to get ready for the day. I have been thinking of continuing to present as a woman when my assignment was over. If I did, I now knew the family would accept me. I even had someone I could talk to about transitioning. Last night showed me, my old school mates, the girls at least, accepted me as I was currently presenting. And then there was Trevor. I was hoping he would call. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do when the assignment ended. Whether it ended the week after the new year or when it was complete, this weekend had started the pendulum moving.

~~0~~

I didn’t get back to my apartment until Friday evening. I wheeled my suitcase into the lobby. I waved to Henry at the desk.

“Did you have a nice Christmas Miss Cummings?” asked Henry.

“It was very nice Henry. I spent Christmas with my mother and sister. How was yours?”

“Mine was nice also.”

I walked up to the desk and place a wrapped Christmas gift on the desk. “This is for you Henry.”

“For me? Miss Cummings, you didn’t need to do this.”

“I wanted to. Go on, open it up.”

I could tell he was a little embarrassed as he began to unwrap the gift to reveal an Alexa. “Miss Cummings, you shouldn’t have.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I saw Henry open the box as the elevator doors closed.

~~0~~

Christmas was over and the New Year wasn’t far away. Saturday morning had me up early sitting with my computer open and a huge mug of coffee by my side. I was hoping my seeing Trevor again would jump-start my creative juices. It didn’t. There was still an ax hanging over my head ready to terminate my assignment. When it did, my feature story and my byline would go with it. I tried to write. I was being frustrated by the blank page of my writing program when I got a call from Trevor.

“I was hoping we could go to dinner tonight say around 6:30,” he said.

I accepted without out much thought. I suggested a casual place nearby my apartment. I didn’t want to get all dressed up tonight. A nice top, a pair of capris, and flats tonight would be fine. Of course, I would have on a little more makeup and some perfume.

I wanted to be careful. It hasn’t been that long that Kevin and I broke up. I needed to be sure I wasn’t rebounding to Trevor. This was just a dinner to catch up. It was not a serious date so I didn't feel the need to tell Trevor I was a guy, yet.

I began thinking about the rest of that school year, long ago, after I had met Trevor as Kenzie. I thought about Trevor a lot. He had tried to find out as much as he could about our fictitious cousin Kenzie. He asked Abbey and then me, questions about Kenzie. Abbey had concocted a story that Kenzie moved to Australia. It was plausible. Our Uncle did move there for work. I had laughed to myself when he asked me if I could get a message to Kenzie to see if she would fly back to go to his Senior Prom. I actually thought about it, being Kenzie and going to the prom with him. Abbey said I should go. I decided not to accept but as the Prom approached I wondered if I had made a mistake.

Lunchtime passed and dinner approached. If I had been using a typewriter and paper, my trashcan would be filled with paper. I gave up and decided to get ready for my catch-up date with Trevor.

It was getting close to 6:30 and I was far from done. I called security and told them I was expecting Trevor and to send him up when he arrived. I finished putting in one of my earrings when security let me know Trevor was on his way up. I went to the door in my bare feet.

Trevor was wearing a button-down shirt and khaki pants and looked great. “Come on in. I’m almost ready,” I said. I started back to my room trying to put my other earring in place. I heard the door close.

“Very nice place. It suits you,” I heard him say.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll be ready in a moment." I returned back to my room. I brushed my hair, finished my makeup, put on my shoes and walked through a cloud of perfume. I got my bag and walked to the living area. Trevor was sitting on the couch. He stood up. I stopped an arm's length away. “How do I look?” I asked. I twirled.

“You look beautiful.” I went toward him as he reached for me and we kissed. I saw some lipstick on his cheek after our kiss. I used my finger to clean it off.

“I’m gonna have to fix my makeup before we leave”. I went to the living room mirror to make the minor repair. “All finished,” I said. “Let’s go.”

Dinner was nice. He talked about school, college, grad school and law school. He was a contract lawyer. He found a job in Center City on Market Street. I told him about going to College and Grad school to become a journalist.

“So you’re a writer. Any articles yet?”

“Not yet,” I lied. I had written that article about Hannah. “I’m working on one now. I just haven’t been able to write anything lately.”

“Why’s that?”

“Writer’s block I guess. I broke up with my boyfriend before Thanksgiving. I guess it’s still affecting me. If I don’t get something written that they like, I’ll be pulled off the assignment.”

“Maybe I can help. What’s your assignment?”

“I’d love to tell you but I can’t. Confidentiality and all. You understand.”

“Sure. Let’s get the check. It’s a nice night. We can walk around a bit if that’s alright with you.”

“Sure. I wore flats,” I smiled.

We walked around Old City and stopped in an ice cream shop. We found a bench and sat and talked. We then walked back to my building.

“I had a great time, Trevor. It’s been a while since I felt this good.”

“I had a great time too. The company couldn’t have been better,” he said. “I want to ask, would you come to a New Year's Eve party with me? It’s a company party. We’ll be surrounded by a bunch of boring lawyers. I know it’s last minute. If you already have plans, I understand.”

“I know one lawyer who’s not boring.” I smiled. “I don’t have any plans but let me think about it. I’ll let you know on Monday.” I needed time to make sure I wasn’t on the rebound.

“That works. Have a good night Kenzie.” We kissed. I found my way into my building.

“Looks like you had a good night Miss Cummings.”

“How can you tell Henry?”

“You’re glowing,” he said. He was right. I was.

~~0~~

My good feeling continued through most of Sunday. I actually got some writing done. It wasn’t great but it was a start. My mood clouded over when my phone rang. I saw it was Kevin. I didn’t answer the phone. Why should I? He tried to tell me I could not be friends with one of my best friends if I wanted to go out with him. He was a bigoted son of a bitch. The phone went quiet. A minute later I was alerted I received a text.

Please answer, it read. It was from Kevin. The phone rang again.

“What do you want?” I answered in my most menacing voice.

“Casey, please don’t hang up. I want to apologize.”

“Go on,” I said.

“I was a jerk. I had no right to tell you who you can have as friends. I’m sorry. I want to make it up to you.” He sounded so pathetic.

“Why should I believe you?”

“There’s no reason you should. I’m telling you I realized I was wrong. I’d like a chance to make it right. Bart and Hannah are having a New Year's Eve party. If I get out of line, you can have them throw me out.”

“Maybe I have plans for New Year's Eve. Let me think about it. I’ll text you on Monday,” I said.

“That’s all I can ask for. I’m sorry for how I acted. I really am. I hope you can forgive me. Have a good night.” I hung up without saying good night to him.

I now had two guys asking me to go out on New Year's Eve. I needed some advice. I had to call Abbey.

~~0~~

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Thanks for reading. Comments welcome.

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Cover picture Credits
Photo by Daria Sannikova from Pexels
Photo by Valeriia Miller from Pexels
Photo Composite by Peregrine

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