Graham opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again.
“That’s not true; I actually care deeply about you. But when did I ridicule you?”
“When you told me that I couldn’t be transgendered.”
The man frowned.
“That was years ago,” he said.
“Oh, you remembered, I’m surprised.”
“You were just a child.”
“I’m still a child, legally. But I told you when I was five, when I was eight and when I was eleven. You pooh-poohed me then and so I’ve no reason to expect you not to pooh-pooh me now.”
Graham frowned some more.
“But, the girl; I saw her, and you, you and she, you..”
“Dad, that was me!”
“What?”
“That girl, Keira; that was me.”
Graham laughed then, a little and very nervous laugh.
“No, I know a girl when I see one, and that was not you. Besides, there is no way you could just appear like that, and disappear.”
“Doh, my bedroom window goes out onto the trellis for the wisteria, Dad. Look, I am a girl. I have to be a boy occasionally for school and shit, but I am a girl for the rest of the time.”
“No, that was a real girl.”
Graham looked sceptical, so Kenneth shook his head.
“We can argue this until we’re blue in the face. Stay there, I’ll prove it to you.”
Kenneth left his father staring after him. The boy knew that he had his father in a place that he could control. It was now or never. If he could convince his father, then he was half way there.
Twenty minutes later, Graham was still in the sitting room watching the news on the only TV that Linda hadn’t taken; mainly because it was too big, too heavy and wouldn’t fit in her car.
He looked up as the girl walked into the room.
Keira had taken the time to get her makeup right; wearing the pretty dress and high heel shoes. She still wore no jewellery as she didn’t actually have any; except the torc, that is.
“Good God!”
“No, sorry, I’m just Keira, your daughter.”
Graham stood up onto unsteady feet.
“But your voice, your body and, hell, even your face. You’re a girl!”
“Duh, what did I say, Dad?”
“No, I mean a real girl, with, those and, ....” Graham was staring at Keira’s ample bosom that was displaying a spectacular cleavage. His eyes moved south to a very smooth front at crotch level.
“Okay, so I have breasts and a vagina, that is what makes me a girl, Dad, or had you forgotten?”
“You can’t be Kenneth, he’s got a p.. a p..”
“A penis? Yes, I know Kenneth had a penis, but then I’m not Kenneth any more, am I?”
Graham sat down abruptly.
“How?”
“You don’t want to know, because you wouldn’t understand, so just accept it’s happened and you have a daughter now. Now, for awhile I’m going to have to switch back and forth, just until I’ve finished with school and get my friendly doctor to sign me off as a real girl.”
“I don’t understand,” Graham said.
“I told you that; don’t you listen to a word I say?”
“This can’t be happening.”
“Well, it is, and you’d better get used to it. Now, my doctor’s name is Anne Dobson and I need you to understand that I am serious about this. In a few weeks, Kenneth is going to be gone and I will be Keira all the time. So, task number one, I need you to find me a decent sixth form college that I can start in September as a girl.”
“But, you can’t...”
“Dad; focus and listen to me, and listen carefully. Kenneth is going away permanently very soon, have you got that?”
“But..”
“Dad, have you got that?”
“I think so. Why?”
“Because I’m Keira and I am what Kenneth should have been from birth; okay?”
Graham nodded because he felt if he tried speaking it would get even more complicated.
“Good; and when he goes away, I will be here all the time. The doctor will have to sign papers to say I must have been inter-sexed all along and someone made a boo-boo when I was born. I need you to confirm that to the doctor and to anyone else who asks, okay?”
He nodded again, as it seemed to work the last time.
“Good, then that’s settled. Oh, and it might be best to say nothing to Mum for a bit. She’s freaking out enough without all this.”
Graham was happy with the last as the less contact he had with his estranged wife, the better. By all accounts, Linda was trying to take him to the proverbial cleaners.
Graham stated that he would fight, claiming infidelity, while Linda claimed she sought comfort after Graham ‘abandoned’ her for his secretary.
Keira had to remain out of sight for a couple of weeks, while Kenneth coped with all the exams and hassle with his parents. She was limited to the privacy of her room, so was there all night. Kenneth had never slept so well until Keira came along.
Connie was conspicuous by her absence. In truth, she was more than a little scared of Keira, so used the revision excuse to stay away. She was friendly to Kenneth in school, and gradually was coming to terms with having a weird friend who was more than a little bit different to everyone else. Kenneth had such a cluttered life; he was actually grateful for the space that Connie gave him. He went out of his way to be nice to her in school, and the strategy seemed to be working as she was losing some of her fear, if not her weight.
“So, you’ve been having a busy time, then?” Anne said when Kenneth eventually came to see her. It had been over four weeks since the last meeting
“Yeah, well, what with exams and fighting parents, you could say that.”
“How are you?”
“Okay; a bit tired. But I’ve finished the exams now.”
“So, is that you finished with school for the summer?”
“Yes, I suppose it is. They let us and the A level students go at half term. The sixth formers come back for a last farewell, but we don’t have to.”
“Will you go back in September?”
“That depends on a couple of things.”
“Being?”
“One; whether my grades are good enough for sixth form; and two, whether I’m a girl by then.”
Anne laughed, as the boy was so certain. It was as if he had no doubt at all that he would change gender without any help at all.
“I suppose we ought to talk about hormones,” she said.
“I’ve been thinking about that. Can I leave that for a bit?”
She was surprised, as she had thought the boy would be eager to start down the road.
“Care to tell me why?”
“Okay, but bear with me, as you probably won’t agree. One, I’m not sure that taking stuff to change my boy body will help in the long run, as my girl body won’t need any hormones. Two, as I have to live at least part of the time as a boy, even if it is just going to be for a very short time, I don’t want to be like in the middle somewhere.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked.
“About what?”
“Changing your birth gender. It’s not unusual, as many patients suffer from doubts at some point.”
“No, not at all; why should I?”
“Well, without hormones, you won’t gain the physical characteristics that will help you do so.”
“No, I’m not saying I don’t want female hormones; I just know that I’ll make my own. Once I make my own, I won’t need artificial ones.”
Anne smiled sadly.
“Kenneth, this is ludicrous; you can’t change, I keep telling you this.”
“I know you do, but I know I can. I want that box of chocolates.”
She laughed.
“You do seem happier in yourself; why is that?”
“There are a few reasons. Now my parents have had their fight and split up, things are more settled at home. For ages I knew things were dying, but they were both in denial and tried to maintain the image they wanted everyone to see. They fooled no one but themselves. Mum’s moved in with her girlfriend and Dad is living and working from home. That’s a bit of a pain as I liked the peace of being by myself, but at least we’re talking now. I don’t have the stress of exams, and I know that within a little while I’ll be a girl all the time. I’ve told my Dad and although he’s confused, he’s okay with it.”