“That’s excellent news. What’s he confused about?”
“I don’t think he can come to terms with me as a girl. You know, I was his only son and great things were planned. He doesn’t quite understand that it’s my life and I will live it my way.”
“You’re not a girl yet,” Anne pointed out.
“An academic point.”
“How did he react when you told him?”
“Denial, in that I couldn’t be, followed by confusion.”
“Would you like me to talk to him?”
“Maybe after I’ve gone through the change.”
Anne was surprised again.
“It might be better that I talk to him before that, as the transition period might be as long as two years.”
“No, more like a couple of days. So, I think you’ll probably need to get your head round it first, before you try to sort him out.”
Anne shook her head and smiled.
“So, once you are a girl, what will you do with your life?” she asked, humouring him.
“That’s easy; I’ll be a super hero and uphold truth, justice and the British way,” he said with a smile.
“Oh yes, and what will your super-name be?” Anne asked, entering into the spirit of the game.
“Ah, good point, I haven’t actually thought of one yet.”
“Well, let me know. And what super-powers will you have?”
“Oh, just the usuaclass="underline" the ability to leap tall buildings with a single bound, impervious to bullets, to be able to fling bolts of kinetic energy with my mind, and to understand all languages instantly.”
“Not a lot then?” she asked, smiling.
“Nah, just same old, same old.”
“Seriously, Kenneth, have you given much thought to how you really want your life to unfold?”
“Seriously, no; I just want, no I just need to be a girl. Once that happens, I don’t actually care. I can look at things differently and go with the flow. I suppose it all comes down to how well I’ve done in my exams. If I get good grades in my GCSEs then I’ll look at sixth form. I’m not sure that staying on at my present school will be an option, as to transition there might be tougher on the school than on me.”
The answer surprised Anne.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Okay, for me, I’ll be a girl, so I’ll be fine. For the school, they have to manage the fact they will have a boy who is now a girl. They will have neurotic and bigoted parents who will want to create a stink; I’m not sure why, as I’m sure transitioning to being a girl doesn’t make me into a serial sex offender. Anyway, they’ll get their knickers in a twist and force me to use a neutral toilet, so as not to infect all the ‘normal’ kids, I suppose; and to forgo any sort of sporting activity in case their little precious has to touch me or see my partly naked body. So, it’s far more complex an issue for the school than for me.”
Anne was amazed at Kenneth’s maturity and sense of reality.
“So, what’s the answer?”
“Find a school at which I have no history, so I can attend as a girl. You could write a letter telling them that I’m a normal girl, and that’s it; job done.”
“You’ll still be transitioning until you have GRS,” Anne pointed out.
“If I was to do things your way, yes, but then I’m not going to, am I?”
Anne laughed.
“I think you’re in for a shock.”
“I could say the same to you.”
“Somehow I doubt it.”
“Well, let’s wait until the exam results come in, shall we?” Kenneth asked, not appearing the slightest bit concerned.
Connie was hanging about by the bus stop when Kenneth stepped off. His heart sank, but he greeted her warmly.
“What are you waiting for me for?”
“I needed to apologise,” Connie said.
“For what?”
“Avoiding you.”
“Okay, I accept your apology.”
“I wanted to explain.”
“You don’t have to, as I understand completely. I freaked you out and you were trying to get your head round me and what I was capable of.”
“You’re doing it again. Are you sure you can’t read minds as well?”
“Nope, it’s obvious. Had it been me, I’d have been freaked out as well. I did too much too fast, so perhaps I should apologise to you.”
Connie smiled.
“No, that’s okay. It must be so lonely for you. I heard about your parents. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay, it was a long time coming, so now it’s actually happened, we can get on with our lives.”
“You’re not close, then?”
“I get on all right with my Dad now, but he’s never really been there while I was growing up. He’s a bit of a stranger, so it’s tough for him too. He’s finding it hard with me becoming Keira full time.”
“He knows?” Connie asked, surprised.
“Yeah, I had to tell him. When he was always away, it didn’t really matter, but now he’s back, I suppose it’s only fair to keep him in the picture. Actually, he’s been okay with it so far. Mind you, I’ve been at school every day, so he only sees Keira occasionally in the evenings. He seems to spend most of his time with his girlfriend,” Kenneth said, grinning. “Like you, I think I freak him out.”
Connie shook her head.
“You seem to have a complicated life. Does he know you’re from somewhere else?”
“God no! I couldn’t do that to him, as he’s psychologically fragile enough after my mother left him for another woman. No, you’re the only one who knows and I’m keeping it that way.”
“You know you said you’d help me lose weight and stuff?” Connie asked.
“Yeah; I thought you’d chickened out. Are you still up for it?”
“If you are.”
“Great, come on in; I’ve been a boy long enough today.”
Thirteen
Graham was working in his study when he saw Kenneth and the girl walk down the drive. This was the first time he’d seen Kenneth with anyone his own age. He was feeling a little less unsettled about things now, as they’d fallen into a routine that gave the illusion of stability if not actual stability. Kenneth always came home from school, went to his room and then came down as Keira. She’d do her revision or whatever in the dining room and then she’d help him make an evening meal. Graham found that she was a better cook than Linda had been, so she took on that role more and more.
To start with, he found it disconcerting, bordering on the surreal having a beautiful daughter instead of a son. He tried to ascertain some hint as to how this impossibility had happened, but the girl just smiled and told him that he wouldn’t understand.
He wanted to understand, so she told him that one day she would explain, but it was vitally important that he never told anyone, at least until she made the change permanent. She hinted that that time was not in the far future. For that he was grateful, as he didn’t know if he could cope with having Kenneth and Keira around.
It was definitely like having two children. The strange thing was, he actually liked Keira better. He wasn’t sure why that was, but suspected it was because she was more at peace than Kenneth. Indeed, it dawned on him that he actually thought of them as two distinct and separate individuals, and while he did so, he was able to deal with them far better. If he consciously thought of them as one person, his mind objected.
He went out to the kitchen as they came in. He remembered seeing this girl before, but couldn’t remember her name.
“Hi Dad.”
“Kenneth; how did you get on with the doctor?”
“Okay, I have to go back next week. I think I’ll make that the last one.”
Graham frowned, as he’d been doing research on the internet.