Gradual Change – Part 13

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Waiting out in front of their home, George saw the Collins’ new full-sized 12 passenger van turn into their driveway. George wondered what he was doing here. Somehow, Nancy had managed to convince him to come with them.  Carol pulled up in their driveway while George and Nancy were sitting together in the front yard watching NFL news.  Carol tooted the horn to signal everyone else to come outside.  Oliver and Erinna were still unaware that Connor was not the only one coming with them.

Carol had also invited Shelby, Dakota and Steven, and another two boys from Oliver’s class. Ronald Henderson, who Erinna called Ron for short, and Walter Bain, both were very close friends to Erinna, and they also talked to Oliver from time to time. Heather had confirmed that they were good kids before Carol invited them.

The plan was for Heather and Carol to go shopping for Erinna; meanwhile, Nancy and George would look after all the kids and take them to the movie. They were responsible enough to look after a group of 10-year-olds.

George and Nancy sat just behind the front seats while Oliver sat behind them, waiting for Erinna. For some reason, Heather wanted to give something to Erinna before they left. The whole house knew, but Erinna didn’t. Erinna emerged from the house with a massive grin on her face.

She walked over to George, who just smiled at her when he saw her. She rushed over to George,  giving him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. “I love you, thank you,” Erinna said, taking her seat beside Oliver.  Oliver looked at her, confused and jealous at the same time. He wished it was he who received this kiss, not George.

Looking at Erinna in her cute outfit, Oliver felt warm in his stomach; he didn’t understand why he was having that feeling or why he had that weird dream about Erinna last night.

“Ryan, you look charming, honey,” Carol said from the front seat, making Erinna blush a bit. Carol didn’t know that Erinna had chosen a new name, so she just called her Ryan by habit. She, however, could tell that Ryan’s name didn’t fit with such a pretty and feminine young lady sitting in the back seat of her minivan.

“Thank you, Mrs. Collins, but it’s Erinna now. I’m not Ryan anymore,” Erinna replied, a bit hurt.  Carol looked at her apologetically and gave her a reassuring smile. She thought that Oliver and Erinna looked cute together even though they were just friends. Carol knew his feelings for Erinna, and she could feel that Erinna was happy with Oliver around.

“Well,  such a cute name suits you perfectly,” Carol started making Erinna blush a bit. “While George may be the best brother in the world, I am sure there is another reason behind that kiss,” Carol teased Erinna a bit, making her blush.

“I got an early Christmas gift; it was from mommy and daddy,” Erinna replied, blushing a bit. She opened her clutch and took out a brand-new iPhone. Carol knew iPhones were expensive, and she wondered if a 10-year-old should have such a pricey phone. Carol couldn’t say she agreed with the decision, but it wasn’t her business.

They waited for a couple of minutes until Heather came outside and took a seat beside Carol. “Let’s get going then, shall we? Conner will be waiting for us,” Carol said, starting the engine.

“This van is much larger than your old minivan,” noted Heather.

Carol replied, “It seemed we never had enough room for the kids and their friends, so we traded it in for this model to fit them all in.

On the way to Connor’s house, the van was noisy with all the chatting. Nancy and George were busy chatting while watching NFL news on their phones. Heather and Carol talked about the many things they were going to do today.  Erinna and Oliver started to speak, but Erinna was nervous and used the conversation with Oliver as a distraction. In the middle of her conversation with Heather, Carol mentioned Erinna’s phone, and she questioned giving Erinna such an expensive phone since she didn’t want Oliver to feel jealous.

“Oh, no worries, the iPhone comes with strict rules, and Erinna understands that. I won’t let my daughter wander the Internet without me knowing what she was watching and doing all the time.  I have placed a parental lock on the phone, and it has tracking, so I always know where she is. Heather explained to Carol that there are also internet restrictions and no social media apps until Erina is 13,”

Carol nodded happily, if she bought Oliver an iPhone, he wouldn’t feel less than his friend, and with that setup, she could feel comfortable with her son having such a phone. Besides, they already had brand new tablets, even though they mostly use them for school.

The van stopped in front of the Turner’s house, where Connor and Shelby stood in front of Rachel.  She was a bit younger than Heather and Carol, being 35 years old. Just one look, and you could tell that Conor was her son, and he was a younger version of her only with his hair cut short.

Both Oliver and Erinna looked surprised, and they didn’t expect Shelby to come with them as well. Erinna was a bit nervous. Everyone’s reaction was good so far, but she still worried about Shelby and Conor’s response. After telling them to be on their best behavior, Rachel let both Shelby and Connor walk to the van while taking their bags to put them in the back.

Both Shelby and Connor spotted Erinna simultaneously, and they looked at her confused in awkward silence. Shelby was first to break the silence exclaiming how cute Erinna looked in that outfit.  Erinna couldn’t help but blush a bit as Shelby continued her praise.  Connor didn’t show any adverse reaction, but his face showed surprise and confusion.

“Why are you dressed up like a girl?” Connor asked. He tried not to sound rude to his friend, but he was just curious to know why his friend looked like a girl.

Immediately Shelby punched him in the ribs. “Connor,” Shelby scolded as they both looked at Erinna, waiting to see if she would answer or not. “You don’t have to answer that question,” Shelby informed Erinna.

While Carol was driving, she couldn’t help but look in the mirror, waiting to see how Erinna would respond.  By now, the conversation had all of Heather’s attention while both George and Nancy also looked behind them, trying to see how Erinna would respond.

Feeling all eyes on her, Erinna took a deep breath before letting it out. “I have TSS, and I have to live as a girl from now on,” Erinna answered curtly, making it clear she was not doing this because she wanted to.  “My name is now Erinna.”

Sensing her discomfort, Oliver reached and held her hand tightly, trying to comfort her.

“Sorry, I just wanted to ask,” Connor said, looking apologetically. He never wanted to cause discomfort for his friend, especially Erinna. She was an exceptional friend and was very brave in an inspiring way. After all, it took a lot of courage to stand up to Oscar.

Having a heart bigger than her body, as her mom used to say, Erinna found no need for Connor to apologize.  She was thankful, Connor and Shelby had accepted her, and Shelby seemed to like how Erinna had dressed. Now that Erinna’s secret was out, she decided to go into details and was about to tell her friends about what had happened.

To Erinna’s surprise, the van stopped again,  but not in front of the mall where the theatre should be. She looked out the window to see Dakota, Steven, Ron, and Walter standing together. She became nervous, but she couldn’t show it since Oliver was also worried.

Outside of their group Oliver didn’t have any other friends, and Carol wanted to change that. Not being close friends to the three of them, Oliver was a bit nervous, and Erinna took it upon herself to hold his hand tightly in a reassuring way. Everyone climbed into the van at the same time, Dakota was the first to see Erinna, and she first smirked at Erinna and then grinned.

“I knew you would look good in a skirt,” Dakota teased Erinna, who just stuck her tongue at her, making her laugh a bit. Just like always, Dakota was wearing a pair of jeans with a button-down shirt under her coat.  After all, she was never the girly type. Seeing Erinna dressed like this made a weird feeling start in her stomach. She was a bit confused as to why she enjoyed seeing Erinna dressed up as a girl. She couldn’t deny that Erinna had always looked girly and cute, but now she had a warm feeling seeing her like this.

Everyone entered the van, and all except Dakota looked surprised at seeing Erinna dressed like a girl.  Wanting to save her daughter from embarrassment again, Heather loudly explained the situation, “Listen, kids, Ryan tested positive for TSS. By law, she must now be a girl and now goes by the name Erinna, please understand,”

“That’s too bad. Are you ok?” Both Ron and Walter asked in unison, making everyone laugh. Ron and Walter shared a nickname, which was ‘the twins.’  Since they were babies, they had been friends; they spoke together, ate together, and not surprisingly lived together. They were more like brothers than friends. Even Erinna’s classmates, who were actual twins, never acted like them.

“Do you two always speak in unison?” Carol asked, a bit amused. She thought that Erinna and Oliver were exaggerating when they called them the twins but now, she’d started to change her mind.

“Not always,” came the reply from both of them. The twin’s answer caused another round of laughter as everyone settled down.  Excited chatter started in the van while Oliver and Steven remained quiet most of the time until Erinna made sure she brought both of them into the conversation.

The other children asked Erinna many questions, and most of them were just curious questions, and no one seemed to ask anything weird. Steven and Connor both asked a question that surprised Erinna.

“How do you feel about now being a girl?”

“It’s still a little weird for me since I’m adjusting to my new gender,” she replied. “Give me some time to get used to this.”

Eventually, the van parked in front of the mall near the movie theatre entrance. They all walked into the theatre, and Heather and Carol bought them their tickets. “Alright, kids, Nancy and George are in charge. Make sure you listen to them, and we will do some shopping while you watch the movie,” Heather announced as she handed everyone their tickets. “They will buy you popcorn and drinks.” With that, Heather and Carol left George and Nancy in charge of the kids, knowing very well that they were fully capable of taking care of them.

Erinna could feel eyes on her as they entered the theatre, but she just dismissed it. George, however, could see those eyes, and he didn’t like it. George moved behind Erinna, blocking the view of the group of boys who were eyeing his sister. They looked to be 12 or 13 years old, and with Erinna being the same height as them, he was sure she could easily be mistaken for a girl their age. He didn’t like that.

Nancy didn’t miss George’s actions or why he was doing it, and she appreciated him all the more for it. The way he wanted to protect his little sister even from the boys’ stares was adorable.  After everyone got popcorn and a drink, they entered the theatre and took their seats, waiting for the movie.

Heather and Carol walked through the mall, entering various shops. “Are you sure she won’t need to try any of these on?” Carol asked as they carried multiple outfits they had bought for Erinna. Heather seemed determined to buy a completely new wardrobe for Erinna, not that Carol minded.

“No, I am sure of her size. We just measured Erinna this morning,” Heather said as she paid for the clothes they bought. “What she needs more than anything is shoes, and I know the perfect place,” Heather excitedly said. Both Carol and Heather walked back to the van, leaving the shopping bags in the back.

Both of them returned inside the mall, with Heather leading the way. They walked into a woman’s shoe store. It wasn’t full of customers like many other stores, but there were many lovely shoe styles, and the prices weren’t higher. That’s what Carol observed at first. Of course, that was nothing compared to the flamboyant young clerk who soon approached them. The clerk was a boy probably in his early twenties, but that was not what caught Carol’s attention.

The clerk was wearing tight-fitting black shorts, black tights, and a pair of 4-inch spiked heeled boots. He wore a white satin blouse as a top. His short brown hair was in a neat cut, with the sides and back shaved closer than the rest of his hair. The young man had covered his face in light makeup. Even with the makeup, Carol could tell he was a man. Carol was surprised that he didn’t try to hide the fact that he was a boy.

“Hi, Mrs. Huston, good afternoon. How are you today, ma’am?” The young clerk said, smiling, surprising Carol even further.

“Joshua, I am fine. You look good today,” Heather complimented Joshua, making him smile. “This is Mrs. Collins. She’s my friend, Carol.  Joshua works here, and his aunt owns this store; he’s also a client of mine.” Joshua held his beautifully manicured hand towards Carol, who shook his hand still in surprise.

“We have a new collection if you ladies are interested to see it. I know you will like it, Mrs. Huston,” Joshua spoke in a feminine, soft tone. Even though his Adam’s apple was clearly visible, he didn’t have a deep voice like his peers.

“Thank you, Joshua, maybe another day; I am here to buy something for my daughter Erinna,” Heather announced,

This statement made Joshua look confused.  He didn’t know that Heather had a daughter but remembered seeing one of her sons. The boy had looked feminine and was a younger version of Heather. He would look around with curiosity, even if the store were full of women’s footwear. He also had Heather’s eye for fashion. Still, he had said he was a boy, so Joshua didn’t ask. He was not someone who would judge after all.

“Oh, I never knew you had a daughter. May I ask what exactly are you looking for?” Joshua asked, feeling a bit disappointed. He would have preferred if Heather had brought her daughter along, so he could help get the proper size that would fit her the best.

“I would like to take a look at your collection of preteen shoes. I am sure you can help us. You have seen my daughter here a couple of times with me,” Heather explained, making Joshua more confused than before. Then his face looked surprised a bit, and a smile spread across his face.

“I see, so that lovely young lady was your daughter. I am glad you decided to try shoes from here,” Joshua said before turning around and hurrying away on his heels.

Heather followed him closely behind, with Carol walking beside her. Walking over to a shelf, Joshua started pulling out boxes. “If I am correct, she’s size five, right?” Joshua asked Heather rhetorically as he kept removing the shoeboxes from the shelves.  Joshua had this exceptional talent; he could tell a customer’s shoe size from one look at their feet and which styles suited them the most. “First things first,” Joshua said, opening one of the boxes.

A pair of Mary Jane black patent girl’s low heel dress shoes were in the box, complete with a rhinestone strap. They were pretty, and Joshua knew Heather would like them, and he was also sure that Erinna would like it.  He never once thought he could be wrong.   After all, Erinna used to look around the store with a curiosity that Joshua would call passionate.

Heather picked the shoes and started to scrutinize them. “They look great. Can I see what else you have here?” Heather excitedly asked, which was met by a smile and a nod from Joshua. He happily opened every shoebox while Heather and Carol would carefully examine the contents.