StoreFraternity Brother To Sorority Sister
Trouble At The Frat
Ken knew he was in trouble and he couldn't hide much longer. He was
hiding in a friend's house who was away and had told him he could stay
there for a couple of weeks. He was thinking about his actions over the
last few years that led him to his current predicament. It started three
years ago with the access of easy credit. He had accumulated several
credit cards with a combined credit line of $30,000. Which was amazing
considering he was a college student with only a part-time job.
At first, it was easy to pay the bills because he was living at home and
had no expenses. That all changed when he moved out to go to Florida
State University for his last two years of college. At FSU he foolishly
spent his money, buying things he did not need. Within months he had
exhausted his credit limit, and he couldn't even afford to make the
minimum payments. Ken's problems would soon get worse, he lost his job
and now he had no income. He could no longer make any payments on his
cards. Creditors were threatening legal action, they were harassing his
family. He thought about bankruptcy. Then something happened.
His fraternity's treasurer had to leave the chapter due to family
emergencies. A brother, not knowing about Ken's financial problems, asked
him to assume the treasurer's role. Ken knew he should say no, but he
said yes. He said yes because the treasurer's role was to also serve as
administrator of the house and this position would give him free room and
board. For a few weeks, everything was fine. Alumni and brothers
commented on how smooth the house was being run. Ken took great pride in
his work. Unfortunately, this period of bliss would soon end.
After a month the collectors turned the heat up on Ken. His family tipped
him off that his creditors were looking for him to serve him papers to
appear in court. He put his personal issues to the side to attend to the
affairs of the house. He prepared to pay the fraternity's bills. When he
logged onto to the fraternity's bank account he noticed there was
$63,213.00 in the account. He thought, "If only I had that kind of
money."
Unfortunately, that thought led to action. He knew it was wrong, but he
did it anyway. He wrote $37,126.00 worth of payments from the fraternity
account to pay his bills. Ken had relief for about half a day. He knew
that he had traded one problem for much bigger problems and his problems
were now criminal and not civil. He knew he had to leave before the theft
was discovered. In the middle of the night he walked out of the house,
leaving his personal possessions including his cell phone and car behind.
And through a combination of walking, and the city bus system he made it
to his friend's house.
Of course, his friend had no idea of Ken's troubles, or he might have
hesitated before letting him stay there. Ken never left his friend's
house, never logged onto the internet, and he made no calls. To his
knowledge, his friend had told no-one that he was staying there. At the
end of two weeks, Ken had no idea what he would do. He had no idea where
he should go and turning himself him was not an option, he would not be
able to survive prison.
Ken estimated that he had 30 minutes before he would need to leave the
house. He had no idea what he would do. He did the only thing that he
could do. He prayed. He prayed like he had never prayed before:
"Dear God I have sinned. I have been irresponsible with my finances. This
led me to steal. I am sorry God. I do not have any means to repay the
money that I stole. Please help me."
At once a bright light appeared in the room. A huge, fierce man appeared
in front of him. He had a flaming sword and spoke with a voice of
authority.
Ken was scared. He was hoping that he was having a nightmare. The man
said in fierce deep voice, "Ken this is no nightmare. God has heard your
prayer and He sent me to help you."
Trembling Ken asked, "What are you, an angel? You seem too fierce to be
an angel."
The creature replied, "Read your Bible. Angels are very tough men. One
angel can wipe out a million men. You need to forget about the angels you
have seen on 'Touch By An Angel' or in advertising." The angel addressed
Ken firmly and said, "Look I can help you, but time is wasting. If the
police find you I will be unable to help you. I suggest that you be quiet
and listen." "There is one way to save you, it will involve you helping
someone else. There is a young lady who will lose her life if we do not
take action."
"How can I save someone's life, especially when the police are looking
for me."
The angel said, "Her name is Beth Campbell and she is a student at
Florida State. She is preparing to purchase a painting from a guy she met
on Craig's list. The painting is a gift for her parent's wedding
anniversary. What she doesn't know is that this man is no dealer, he is,
in fact, a serial killer. She is not responding to our spiritual
warnings. She is convinced this is a good deal."
"I don't understand how can I help he?" asked Ken.
The angel replied, "We will put you in Beth's body. And you will change
her decision. In other words, you will become Beth."
"How can that be? wondered Ken.
The Angel explained, "Your mind would enter Beth's body. You would be
Beth Campbell for the rest of your life. When you become Beth, no one
will know Ken, because Ken will have never existed."
"Why do I need to have never existed?" Ken asked.
"Look your wasting time. Your friend told the police that you are here
and they are on their way. If you are still here when they arrive then
the deal is off and you go to prison. I will tell you this much. If you
never existed, you never ran up a huge debt, then you never stole the
money. We essentially erase all of your mistakes. You need to decide now.
Do you want to go to prison and have a criminal record or do you want to
be the beautiful daughter of a rich family with a wonderful life ahead of
her?"
Ken was hesitant. He didn't want to be a girl. But he didn't want to be
convicted felon and having to serve time. He was still thinking when he
heard a car door slam. He looked outside and saw the police car and the
officers walking up to the door.
Ken looked at the angel and said I will do it.
Ken Becomes Beth
Instantaneously Ken went from his friend's living room to sitting at a
red light in a car that wasn't his. It took him a few minutes to get his
orientation. He looked at his nails with their lollipop red polish and
then looked in the rearview mirror and the face of a beautiful young
woman was looking back at him. Then he remembered the angel and the angel
telling him that he would be placed into the body of a young woman.
Ken sat at the light paralyzed about what to do. The sound of car horns
behind him broke him out of his trance. He took his foot off of the brake
and drove through the light. Not knowing where he was going he turned
into the Target parking lot and parked to get his bearings. As soon as he
placed the car in park he heard the sound of a ringing cell phone. He
realized this was now his cell phone, and he found it inside of his
purse. He answered the phone and was surprised at the sound of his high
pitch voice.
"Where are you?" said an angry and loud voice.
Ken asked, "Who is this?"
"You know who this is. If you are not here in ten minutes I will keep the
painting." The painting. Ken remembered he needed to avoid this guy in
order to save his life.
Ken said, "I don't want the painting," and he immediately ended the call.
Ken had accomplished his first task, saving Beth's life, now his life.
But he didn't know what to do next. He did what was instinctual to him,
he prayed, again. Ken prayed aloud "God thank you for helping me. I need
the angel to come back, I need more guidance"
In an instant, the angel appeared. He was sitting in the seat next to
Ken. Ken told the angel, "Thank you for coming. I am still lost. Can you
help me by giving me more information?"
The Angel replied, "First my name is Thomas. Second, I can help you. I
can answer questions, but I can't give advice or tell you what to do.
Also, I can only visit you five times. However, since you didn't know the
rule and the change was instantaneous this visit will not count against
your visit total. So, what do you want to know?"
"Who am I? Why was I put into the body of the girl, a girl who attends
the same college where my friends are?" were the first questions that Ken
had for Thomas.
"First your name is Beth Campbell. You are a junior at Florida State
University and a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. Your dad is a
professor in the College of Business. Your mom is a teacher, and you have
one sister." You were put into the body of a girl because Beth was the
body that was in the direst need of saving at the time and she seemed to
be the person you would be the best fit for you."
"As for staying in a body in Tallahassee, there are two reasons. Staying
in a familiar university and city would be the easiest transformation for
you. Also, it would serve as a reminder to you about your transgressions
so that you will not repeat them. This brings up an important point about
living as Beth. You will have her friends, family, possessions, but you
will still live your life. You can live the life that Beth was living, or
make your own decisions. I cautioned you about making too many changes
from the way Beth lived her life, it can cause problems with family and
friends."
"You have successfully completed the first and most important step, you
saved the life and body of Beth Campbell. What happens next is up to
you," said Thomas. Then he added, "Remember I can come and help. but I
can only visit you five times so use me sparingly and wisely. Anything
else before I leave?
"Yes," said Beth. "What happens to my old family?"
Thomas replied, "You may have forgotten that I told you this. But your
existence was erased you never existed. If you never existed, then you
never committed any crimes. And if you didn't commit a crime then there
are no victims. Your family never knew you. As far as they are concerned
they only had two children and not three."
Thomas then left as quickly as he had arrived.
Beth Begins Her New Life
As soon as Thomas left Ken began to realize and accept that he was Beth
and no longer Ken. He sat in the Target parking lot while he contemplated
his next move. Where should he go? To Beth's house? Back to the Chi Omega
house? He decided that he would go to the Chi O house. He was familiar
with the FSU Greek system and he felt confident that he could navigate
Beth's life in the Sorority house, and while there he could learn about
Beth's life, her family, and her routines.
Beth drove to the Chi Omega house. She took a moment to look at the house
before going in. She had been here many times before as Ken. She had been
there for socials, formal dinners. As a member of Pi Kappa Alpha
fraternity, and he had many opportunities to visit. This time she was
going in the house as a girl and she would see things differently than
she had before.
Things were different indeed, especially when she went upstairs the first
time. When she was a guy, she was never allowed upstairs to the area
where the sorority sisters lived. Beth saw a few young women dressed in
scantily clothing, and she noticed that she wasn't aroused. She decided
to walk to her room, room 26. Beth wondered How did I know I was in room
26?
Beth found her room and walked in. Sitting on one of the beds was a tall
brown hair Chi O. Beth recognized her as her roommate, Leigh. Again, Beth
asked herself how did I know her name? She was broken out of her
soliloquy when Leah said, "You look like you have had a hell of a day.
Where have you been?"
"Hell, of a day is an understatement," said Beth. "This has been the
craziest day. There is no way I could explain this day."
"Before I ask if Brad is involved in your crazy day, where is the
painting for your parents? Again, I am sorry that I couldn't go with you
to meet the dealer," said Leigh.
Brad - my boyfriend. OMG, I have a boyfriend Beth thought to herself.
Immediately she was able to picture Brad in her mind. He was 6'2", Brown
hair, green eyes, muscular. Beth wondered how she knew that when she had
never seen him?
"I decided not to buy the painting. Something told me this was a bad
deal, the dealer seemed creepy. When I told him, I wasn't coming he got
very rude and nasty. I made the right decision."
"Glad you are ok. What are you going to get them now?" asked Leigh.
"I don't know. I have a few days to come up with something," replied
Beth.
"Well I am heading to the mall. Want to tag along and look for some
ideas?" asked Leigh.
"No thank you. I need to catch up on studying. Today's runaround cost me
a few hours," was Beth's reply.
Beth sat on her bed and tried to make sense of the day. She was still
trying to figure out how this switch worked. How did she know the things
that she did? What things will she know? What will she have to learn on
her own?
She was tempted to call Thomas, but she didn't want to waste one of her
five visits. She decided that she would make a list of questions for the
next time she spoke to Thomas.
Getting to Know "Beth"
After Leigh left Beth decided it was time to find out who she was. She
sat down at her desk and wondered where should she began. She thought
about asking Leigh, but that would arouse suspicion. She was trying to
think of another idea when she heard a phone, her phone ringing in her
purse-she was still trying to get used to the idea of having a purse. She
pulled the phone out of her purse and the caller id showed that it was
her mom calling. She decided to let it go to voicemail, she wasn't ready
to talk to her new mom yet.
She started to put the phone back into her purse, then she realized the
phone could help her in her quest to learn more about herself. He figured
that Beth was most likely a very social young woman, she was in a
sorority after all, and like most college students her life details were
probably on her phone.
She went to the email on her iPhone first. Nothing much there. Just a few
reminders about class assignments from professors, that information would
come in handy later on. She went to her text messages. Lots of
information. She had text to and from her parents, sister, Brad, and
friends.
After an hour of reading text messages, she learned the following:
Her sister was named Kellie and she was a student at Auburn University.
Kellie had been communicating with Beth about bringing her boyfriend home
for their parent's anniversary party in a couple of weeks.
She learned that her dad's name was William and he was a tenured
professor in FSU School of Business. Apparently, she was not close to her
dad. She saw that weeks, sometimes months went by before she and her dad
would communicate with each other. On this day her dad sent her a text
message telling he would get back with her later in regards to re-
scheduling a lunch that he had canceled three weeks ago.
If her dad under communicated, her mom over communicated. Her mom sent
her text her at least a dozen times a day, and most of the text were
unsolicited. Her mom criticized her for her major, psychology. Her mom
felt she should major in something that would enable to support herself.
Her mom added more criticism about her education, she laid into Beth for
maintaining only a "c" average in an easy major. Mom suggested that she
should cut back on her sorority activities.
Beth's boyfriend Brad was another sore subject. Her mom did not like Brad
and she subtly suggested that she shouldn't bring Brad to their
anniversary party. Her mom questioned why was she with him and why
couldn't she find someone better. The rest of her mom's text was critical
of other areas of her life.
Text from Brad was not critical, but he was not happy with the way things
were going between them-Beth wondered if anybody liked her. Brad was not
happy about their physical relationship. He also felt that she was
becoming a drag on his social life. The message was clear, she needed to
start doing more sexually or she was history. The new Beth was thinking
maybe he should be history and mom might be right about him.
There was text from sorority sisters reminding her that she is not
fulfilling her committee assignments, she was late on projects, and
accumulated some fines, etc. "New Beth" laughed to herself. Her mom
thought her grades were suffering because of her sorority activities. In
reality, she was doing just enough to get by, making the sorority
leadership angry with her. New Beth began to wonder if the Old Beth might
have purposely ignored the warning signs about the "art dealer" who was
really a serial killer.
Beth knew she should read her social media postings to learn more about
her life, that would give her more history, a better sense of what was
happening in her life. She was just about ready to go to her Facebook
page when another text came in. It was from Ron.
Ron was a guy that she had worked with at summer camps and in the
church's youth ministry, where she currently worked part-time. She always
knew that Ron had a crushed on her. Beth liked him, but not in a romantic
way. He was always available in a pinch when she needed someone to help
her, go with her to an event that Brad didn't want to go to, etc.
She almost ignored the message from Ron, but her eyes caught the words
"Where are you" in Ron's text. She decided to read the whole message:
"Beth, where are you? You were supposed to be at work 15 minutes ago. I
am covering for you with Larry (their boss). Beth suddenly remembered
that she had to go to work-again she wondered how did she know that? Beth
hurriedly ran out of the house to her car and headed to work.
Fortunately, the new Beth had two things going for her. One, her sorority
house was only five minutes away from the church. Two, the Old Beth
always had a habit of running 15 minutes late, so this was not totally
unexpected.
Fifteen minutes after receiving Ron's text, Beth had clocked in and was
ready to go to work. She was amazed at how she knew the names and faces
of people that she had never met before. She was no longer wondering how
she was able to do this, she just accepted this as part of the change and
went with the flow.
As Ken, Beth never had any interest in working with kids. Beth was
surprised, and yet she wasn't surprised when she saw how easy it was for
her to relate to the children and lead them in their activities. Although
she would have been hesitant to admit it, she actually had fun and
enjoyed her job. An experience that Ken had not had in a long time.
Beth made it through the rest of the day without too much trouble. She
was beginning to realize that when Thomas changed her from Ken to Beth,
he must have installed some sort of system that helped her with daily
life, i.e Old Beth's schedule, friends, family, for starters. She also
knew passwords for old Beth's devices, social media accounts, etc. And
how to do things that a young woman would know how to do naturally, how
to dress, put on makeup, being extra careful recognizing her
vulnerability as a young woman.
Before Beth knew it a week had passed and she couldn't believe that she
had spent a week in her new body and life. She was starting to get
comfortable. But she knew some big test was coming up. She still had to
"meet" her parents, sister, and Brad. Beth had lots of questions. She
decided it was time to call Thomas for his first visit.
Thomas' First Visit
Thomas had told Beth that he could visit her five times. But he never
said how he would visit. Did she need to be somewhere secluded? Were
there certain times that he could visit? Would others see Thomas when he
was talking to Beth? Beth knew none of these answers. She decided to play
it safe and would call for Thomas on Friday night when she was going to
the home of a couple from church, to take care of their plants and pets.
Beth planned on calling Thomas when she was alone at the house.
Friday night arrived and Beth stuck to her plan. She called out to Thomas
not knowing exactly how this would work. Seconds after her plea Thomas
appeared in the living room of the house. Thomas appeared with a very
authoritative greeting of hello. Thomas asked Beth how she was adjusting
to the change.
Beth answered cheerfully, "It has been relatively smooth. I don't know
how I know all the things that I do about the Old Beth, but it has helped
tremendously having that knowledge. I have been able to avoid some
awkward situations. Thank you for making it easier for me"
Thomas replied sternly, "We didn't do that for you. We did it for Beth's
family and friends. Imagine how they would have felt and reacted if Beth
suddenly didn't know who they were or anything about them. We wanted to
make sure that they had no knowledge of what happened to the Old Beth.
You are a beneficiary of this generosity."
"What does that mean?" asked Beth with some irritation.
"Do not forget that you are in Beth's body because you did wrong. You
were granted grace and mercy so that you might help others, especially in
this case Beth and her family. You saved Beth's physical life which
spared her family and friends of having to experience her traumatic
death. Because you agreed to do this you were spared the earthly
consequences of your sin and crimes that you committed as Ken"
Beth meekly replied, "Thank you for this gift and second chance at life.
I will not waste this opportunity." Beth was silent for a few minutes
while she took in everything that Thomas had said. Then with humility,
she said to Thomas, "I have some questions that I hope you will help me
with."
"Proceed," said Thomas.
"I have been reading all of Beth's old text, emails, social media
postings and a journal that I had found. I get a sense that she really
wasn't happy with her life. Is that true?" was Beth's first question.
"That is true," Thomas replied. "Old Beth was a very nice young woman
full of compassion and love. She loved to please others. Usually, this
trait is an asset to most people. In Beth's case, she needed a little
skepticism. She needed to realize that not everyone can be trusted and
some people can use your kindness to harm you."
"I'm starting to realize that. It looks like everyone was telling her how
he should live her life, and she reluctantly went along with whatever
they wanted," Beth answered. She then added, "And this brings me to my
next question."
"What is that?" asked Thomas.
"Can I make changes in her life?" she asked.
"We have covered this before, but I will cover it again. Yes, you can
make changes in the way Beth was living her life. You can make any
changes you wish. But, again I cautioned against making too many changes,
especially in the beginning and too radical changes in her/your life.
What kind of changes were you thinking of making?" Thomas asked Beth.
"For starters, I wish to change my major to something that has a better
future, seek a sorority leadership position, start being on time, get
better organized, and dump Brad. I would like to get rid of Brad before
my parent's dinner. Fortunately, he goes to college in Virginia and I
have not had to deal with him face to face this week," Beth replied to
Thomas with confidence.
"Don't you think that is a lot of changes, especially after only one week
in Beth's body?" Thomas asked in a way that indicated his disproval.
"No, I don't. I am just getting started," Beth answered with confidence
that bordered on arrogance. "What is wrong with making all of these
changes?"
Thomas took a different approach to answering her questions. "Let's look
at those changes one at a time. Why do you feel the need to change your
major?"
"What am I going to do with a psychology degree? My mom is right I need
to have a serious major, a major where I can make lots of money. I don't
want to ever be in the same shape financially that I was in as Ken," said
Beth.
"It's too late change you major this semester. Why not take some time and
learn more this major and see how you could use it in your life? You can
apply some better study habits and raise your GPA and see what
differences that would make in your education and viewpoint," Thomas
replied with a smile. "Tell me why do you want a sorority leadership
position?"
"I was a leader in the fraternity. I enjoyed being in leadership and I
was very good at it," Beth answered. "I would like to lead the sorority.
I think it would be interesting to have led both a fraternity and a
sorority. How many people can claim they have done that-of course I can
tell no one."
Thomas looked at Beth and asked her, "how did it work out when you led a
fraternity?" Without waiting for an answer Thomas added, "You forgot your
values, you were motivated by power, greed, and gave into the temptation
to commit financial crimes."
Thomas could tell these were tough words for Beth to hear. With some
compassion, he added, "Why don't you just focus on being a good sorority
member. That would be an improvement over the old Beth. This will also
give you a chance to find out what your role should be and an opportunity
to get to know the other girls in the house."
Beth accepted this answer and then asked, "Can I improve my organization
and punctuality skills at least?"
"That would be a great idea, and many people will appreciate that," said
Thomas. "Now let's talk about Brad."
"What about Brad?" Beth asked.
"You are right. It's probably not a good idea to have him come to your
parent's anniversary dinner. You are not ready to deal with him in
person. I will make sure that Brad is unable to come. In the meantime,
get to know him before you make any decisions about your relationship,"
said Thomas.
"Are you going to hurt him?" asked Beth.
"I assure you he will not be harmed," Thomas said. "Do you have any more
questions?"
"Yes, one more. When I call for you do I need to be isolated like I am
tonight? Will other people see and hear you?" Beth asked.
"It is best that when I come to visit you are alone. Others will not see
or hear me, but they will see you talking to an invisible person."
"Beth, it is time to say good-bye. You are doing well for your first
week. Remember you have only four more visits left," As soon as Thomas
had finished saying those words he was gone.
Brad
Beth immediately begin working on some of the changes that she and Thomas
had discussed during his visit. She went out and bought an organizer and
notebooks. She downloaded all of her class syllabus and assignments onto
her IPad-Old Beth had never read them, she just seemed to get by. Old
Beth had never bothered to purchase the class books. New Beth purchased
and downloaded all of her class books onto her kindle app on her IPad.
Finally, she scheduled time to meet with her professors. She wanted to
make sure that all of her professors knew her and knew that she was
determined to do better academically.
That was the easy part. The hard part was what should she say to Brad?
Thomas had told her that she wouldn't have to worry about Brad. She had
spoken to Thomas three days ago, and Brad was still coming. More than
once she asked herself why, why hadn't she asked Thomas how he was going
to handle Brad?
Tuesday night at dinner, Beth decided she would call Brad as soon as
dinner was over and tell him not to come. She would tell him, he should
just stay in Virginia, that it was too much for a weekend trip. Beth
suspected that Brad would be okay with this, because he didn't really
want to come.
As soon as she got back to her room, Beth took out her phone to call
Brad. She started to dial his number but stopped when she saw that she
had a voicemail from Brad. She thought that was odd. She couldn't
remember the last time Brad had called her, much less leave a voicemail.
She pushed play on the message and listenened:
"Hi Beth. I have some bad news. I can't come down this weekend. The pipes
burst in my parent's basement. They need me to come over and help them. I
am leaving tomorrow and will be helping them with cleanup, repairs, etc.
I know you are at dinner and you can't have your phone with you at dinner
which is why I am leaving you a voicemail. I will talk to you later.
Bye."
Beth sat on her bed re-listening to his message. She had several thoughts
about Brad's message. First, she was surprised at the lack of affection
in his voice. Brad and old Beth had been dating for over a year. There
was no hi baby/honey/sweetie, etc. He didn't say I love you. Second, he
knew the house rules prohibited cell phones at the dinner table and that
she was at dinner. Then why did he call during dinner time? Did he not
want to speak to her? Beth also realized that he seemed too happy that he
couldn't come and he was happy about the damage at his parent's house.
Beth wondered who exactly was Brad? How did he meet old Beth? Why were
they dating? She knew a little from reading Brad's text. She knew that he
was very demanding. His text were really directions about what he wanted
her to do for him.
She went to Brad's Facebook page. She noticed two things; two thirds of
Brad's friends were female and most of the pictures on his page were,
will objectionable, especially to a girl he had been dating for over a
year. Her next move was to go her journals to learn more about her
history with Brad.
Beth and Brad met the year before at a mixer that her sorority had with
his fraternity. They had paired up for a dance. Then they had a second,
and a third. After the third dance, they left the mixer together. Brad
took her to Lake Jackson. A long night of talking led to some light
kissing and hugging.
Her entry into her journal explained:
"Left the mixer with Brad last night. What a night. I thought I could
sneak in before breakfast. Sadly, I was greeted at the door by Leigh,
Jen, and Kate. I was busted ha ha. I had to tell the girls what happened.
They all suspect that I am holding back. They are convinced that Brad and
I had sex last night."
New Beth still found it hard to believe that Old Beth had fell for Brad
so quickly and easy. The thought that her body had possibly had sex was
amusing and curious. Amusement and curious turned to horror when she
thought of her having sex in this body.
Beth's amusement and horror were for naught. Further reading would reveal
that old Beth and Brad had not had sex yet. The furthest that they had
gone was the one time she let Brad cup her breast, through her unbutton
blouse but over her bra. This lack of intimacy was causing friction in
their relationship. Brad had made it clear that if he was going to be
making trips down from Virginia (he was in grad school in Virginia at
this time) he expected much more. He had even made a suggestion that she
should start taking birth control pills.
Sex wasn't the only issue with them. Brad was constantly ridiculing her
and demeaning her. He made fun of her major. Stating that only the
dumbest people major in psychology, they could not handle any tougher
major. He Was constantly putting down her sorority, sorority sisters, and
friends. He made sure that she knew he did not want to associate with
such low life, and he would like for her to start thinking about new
friends.
What hurt Beth the most was Brad's insults to her Christian faith. Old
Beth admitted that she was puzzled by this. When they had met, Brad was
actively attending church. She knew that he grew up in a strong Christian
family. Now he was saying that if they had a future together the church
would have no part of it. Not only would he not be going to church, he
didn't want her going to church.
New Beth pondered on this for quite a while. She was starting to get an
idea of why old Beth was struggling in school, work, and life. She was
surrounded by people who didn't always treat her kindly, and sometimes
took an advantage of her nice and meek personality to get their way.
Brad was definitely one of these people. Beth sensed that he was only
interested in Beth for the sex that he hoped she would provide when he
came down to Tallahassee. She also thought that Old Beth only stuck with
Brad because she feared that she had no other options.
New Beth decided it was time to change the dynamics of her relationships
with those in her life. She decided that the first change would be to
tell Brad good-bye.
Beth's Family
Beth prepared for the meeting with her family at her parent's anniversary
party. She had done some crash studying, using all of the resources that
Old Beth had left her.
She knew her mom would be her biggest challenge since her mom was her
biggest critic. The list of things that her mom constantly criticized her
about was endless; her grades, sorority, Brad, not going to church, going
to the wrong church, physical appearance and so on. Reading Old Beth's
journal entries into her journal brought tears to new Beth's eyes. Some
of her mom's comments that old Beth had recorded:
"Had lunch with mom today. As I was preparing to order, she suggested
that I go on a diet. I am shocked. I'm 5'6" and 128 pounds. Granted I am
not as skinny as some of my sorority sisters, but I still think I am
healthy."
"Mom said glad you have a boyfriend, but does it have to be Brad? Mom
spent the next hour listing all of his faults, which I already knew. Her
criticism forced me to defend Brad."
Beth wasn't surprised that she and her mom were having some problems. Her
short time as a woman had taught her that most young women had struggled
with their mothers. What was different was the intensity and the
frequency of their arguments. What she couldn't' figure out was why were
things so tense between her mom and her?
_______
Beth's dad was a well-known and respected college professor. At one time,
he appeared on track to become the Dean of the Business School at the
Pennsylvania College he taught at. Things changed when Beth was eight.
That summer her family suddenly decided to move to Florida. Nothing was
ever said as to why her family had to move and leave relatives behind.
All that was ever said was that it was because of her dad's job.
When Beth was older she took advantage of the internet and did some
research. Beth was shocked to learn that her dad had an affair with a
college student. The affair became a nasty scandal when it was learned
that the young student committed suicide when she was discovered that she
was pregnant. Old Beth never mentioned this to her parents, she kept it
to herself.
New Beth did some calculations and determined that things started to go
sour with her dad about the same time she had learned this dirty family
secret. Further calculation revealed that Beth was now the age of the
student that her dad had an affair with. This explained much of the
coldness between her and her dad.
_______
Beth always wondered if her older sister knew why the family moved to
Florida. She and her sister had never had the deep conversations that
sisters normally have. The day Kellie graduated from high school she left
for college at Auburn. It was only after she left that Beth would learn
the truth about her dad.
Kellie was everything that Beth was not. Kellie was assertive, very open
sexually-her sister's sexual exploits were well known in high school, she
detested the church. Kellie also was a Business Major. And she was
determined to step on whoever she needed to in order to succeed. Beth
thought it was strange that her sister tried to emulate so many of the
qualities of their dad, a dad that Kellie openly despised.
Beth began to wonder if maybe there was another reason that he was put
into this body/life. Could Ken have been placed in this body/life in
order to improve the relationships between Beth and her family members,
which improve the lives of her family?
_____
Beth knew it was time to call for Thomas. She had some ideas on what was
going on with her family and some things that she wanted to do to restore
relations with her family members.
Remembering Thomas previous instructions about communicating with him,
she decided to call him while she was driving. If anyone looked in the
car and saw her talking they would just assume she was speaking to
someone on her phone using her Bluetooth.
As soon as she turned onto Tennessee Street she called out for Thomas. He
was in her front street before she got to Monroe street. "Hello, Beth,"
was Thomas's greeting.
After some casual conversation about her new life, Beth finally
approached the subject for which she had summoned Thomas. "I called you
here because I want to talk about my family. I think things are tense in
my family and between us all because of what my dad did in Pennsylvania.
And the tenseness comes from the fact that the family has not talked
about these events."
Thomas answered firmly, "You are correct. What your dad did in
Pennsylvania has cast a dark cloud over the family. Your family has tried
to bury what happened and move forward with their lives. What are you
thinking?"
"I am thinking it is time to unbury what happened and put it behind us,"
Beth answered with command. "I want to approach my mom, dad, and sister
and clear the air, and while I am it let them know that I am not going to
let them walk over them anymore. I believe this one reason you put me in
Beth's body and life."
"First, as I have mentioned previously you were placed in Beth's body as
a second chance for your life. But if you improved things in your family
that would be a good thing. Second, I advise you to proceed cautiously
while bringing up old memories," Thomas warned.
"I will. I will be sensitive and caring. Not sure if I should approach
Kellie first? Mom? Dad? Do you have any other advice?" Beth asked.
"I would start with Kellie. You two need to firm up your relationship.
After that, I would suggest that you speak to your dad. I would add that
you should approach your dad with the same grace and mercy that you have
received. He has punished himself and has been punished by others
enough," Thomas answered.
"You suggest I talk to my mom last?" asked a surprised Beth.
"That is my suggestion. But don't be surprised if you learn somethings
that are different than what you think."
Thomas knew the conversation was over and decided to say good bye. "I am
going now. Good luck and remember that you have only three visits left."
______
Heeding Thomas' advice Beth decided to visit her sister at Auburn. She
had debated for days about should she call Kellie and let her know she
was coming, or should she just show up. She knew just showing up was a
risk because Kellie might not be there when she arrived. But if she
called ahead a time and told Kellie that she was coming, chances were
great that Kellie would find an excuse to be away when Beth came to
visit. She decided she would have a better chance at success by showing
up unannounced.
Before making the drive to Alabama Beth decided that she needed to do
some more research on her sister. She went to Kelly's Facebook page. The
first thing that Beth noticed was that her sister changed her hair style
and color often. She counted six different hair colors on her sister in
the last 18 months. Her Facebook page didn't give Beth much more
information than she already knew about Kellie.
Searches on Twitter, text messages also didn't provide Beth with any new
data. She decided it was time to take a break and do some errands. Beth
contemplated calling Thomas, but decided to wait on his 3rd visit.
Instead she thought to herself, I wish Thomas could help.
After her inner plea, something strange begin to happen. Her internal
data bank begin to load with information about Kellie. She started
remembering conversations she had with Kellie, fights, vacations, etc.
After a day of running errands she was ready to meet Kellie.
The weekend following her visit with Thomas Beth decided to drive up to
Auburn. Four hours later she was knocking on her sister's apartment door.
After several minutes of persistent knocking Beth almost gave up, but she
heard some movement in the apartment. Her very surprised sister awkwardly
greeted her and invited her inside and welcomed her with a hug while
saying, "This is a surprise" said Kellie. "I wish you had called."
Beth laughingly replied, "If I told you that I was coming you would have
not been here"
Kellie replied, "Right I would disappear when my only sister visits.."
The sarcastic tone of her reply told Beth that there was an element of
truth to what she was saying.
It was over breakfast that Beth finally brought up the reason for her
visit. With confidence, that Kellie had never seen in her younger sister,
Beth looked directly at her sister and asked, "Why did we have to leave
Pennsylvania, especially so quickly?"
Kellie almost choked on her eggs when she heard Beth's question. She
asked, "Why are you bringing this up now?"
"To be honest I have gone through life changes and I am tired of things
being the way they are. Look I know the reason we left. I have done the
research I know about dad and his student that he had the affair with."
Shocked by her sister's bold statement Kellie asked, "Then why did you
ask me?"
Without hesitation Beth replied, "I wanted to see your reaction. I was
also hoping you could fill in some blanks."
"That was a tough time. To be honest I would just as assume forget it. I
was just starting middle school when it happened. I remember mom crying
and arguing with dad. People coming to our house speaking very forcibly
with dad. It was a scary time. Things got worst with my friends. We lived
in a small town then and everyone knew about dad. Some of my friend's
parents wouldn't let them associate with me. Some my peers made fun of
me, and our family. The few friends that I had left I had to abandon when
we moved. I started middle school in a new place with no friends," Kellie
replied on the verge of tears.
New Beth realized something that Old Beth never knew, how much her
family's sudden move impacted her sister. Beth was only in the second
grade when these events happen as a result she was protected by the
innocence of being a young child. Her sister however was entering her
teen years facing all of the struggles of being a young teen girl without
friends, and without parent support. So many pieces of her sister's life
started to fall into place and now she understood why Kellie did some of
the things that she did.
_____
After a several hours of tears, hand holding, and hugs the two sisters
arrived at a closeness that they had never experienced before. Kellie
said, "For the first time in a very long time I feel like we are
sisters."
Beth thanked her sister for bearing the brunt of what happened and for
sparing her younger sister of much agony. This lead to more tears and
hugs.
Later that evening, after Beth had decided to stay overnight with Kellie.
The two young women were watching tv and doing their nails when Beth
asked Kellie, "have you ever talked to mom or dad about this?
"Dad no. I think he was embarrassed about what he did. I could tell it
was a subject that he didn't want to discuss," Kellie answered. "I tried
many times to talk to mom. Many years she would just tell me that it did
not concern me. Then a year ago she said that she had no choice in what
happen. She had to stick with dad because she had two small children. I
could tell she was still bitter about what had occurred almost a decade
earlier."
After several minutes of silence Kellie turned toward her sister and
asked, "What has happened with you?"
"What do you mean?" Beth answered.
"You have definitely changed. It wasn't too long ago that you wouldn't
have approached this subject with me. You have always been a very passive
person, avoiding conflict. The old you would never have driven up here by
yourself and demanded that we have this conversation. Mom tells me that
you are doing great in school. Did you get struck buy lightening or
something that caused you to change this much?"
Beth laughed to herself. She was tempted to tell her sister the truth,
but she knew her sister would never believe the truth. Beth understood,
she knew that she wouldn't believe this if she hadn't been experiencing
this.
Beth told her sister, "Let's just say that I have been doing a lot of
praying. Those prayers have changed my life." Beth thought to herself
that this was not a total lie.
Kellie with a smile said, "Wow if prayer can change you this much then
maybe I should start praying."
"Well it could only help," Beth said. "Look I feel that I need to talk to
dad next about all of this. Would you like to join me?"
Kellie thought for a moment before answering. "I think you should do this
alone. You are definitely on a mission from God. But I will be praying
for you."
_____
Despite being a student at Florida State and having lived in Tallahassee
for many years Beth had never visited her dad's office in the College of
Business on the FSU campus. So, it was little wonder that Dr. William
Campbell was surprised to see his daughter waiting for him in the lobby
when he walked out of his office.
Fearing that something was wrong William quickly and nervously asked his
daughter, "Beth is everything ok?"
"Yes, dad everything is ok," Beth replied.
With the knowledge that his daughter was ok William calmed down and said,
"I am surprised to see you here. You have never visited my office
before."
"I never been invited before," answered Beth.
William felt a twinge of guilt as he realized that Beth was correct. He
replied, "That is true I guess I should have invited you before. Sorry
about that. Now that you are here what do I owe this pleasure to?"
"Dad I wanted to talk to you. I know we hadn't done this in the past.
But, I want to change things. Can we grab lunch or at least a coffee?"
Sensing that his daughter had something on her mind William offered, "Why
don't we go to my office and talk and we will order a pizza." Beth
accepted her dad's offer. They went to his office had some small talk
while they waited for the pizza to arrive.
Once the pizza arrived and while they were eating lunch Beth got to the
point of their meeting. "Dad, I met with Kellie last weekend and we had a
good talk. I am wanting to fix things in my relationships with the
family."
"And I guess I am next?' William asked
"Dad I will get straight to the point. I know why we had to move from
Pennsylvania. Yes, I know about your affair with a student, her
pregnancy, and eventual suicide."
Bath paused to let her dad take in this knowledge that she knew about his
past. William reflected on what Beth had just said. How did she know
this? How long has she known? What does she want?
Sensing her dad's questions Beth said, "Dad there's this thing called the
internet. It wasn't really hard to find out the information. I have known
ever since high school about this."
For a moment William was frozen. He wondered what was his daughter's
motive in bringing this up? She had changed considerably over the last
few months. He couldn't believe how is daughter was talking to him. She
was talking very forceful, direct, blunt almost as if she was man.
William couldn't figure out what had caused the change in his youngest
daughter. "Ok so you know, what do you want to do with this information?"
Beth remembered what Thomas had told her about treating her dad with the
same grace and compassion that she had received as Ken. "Dad I love you
very much. I love our family. This secret has hurt our family. It is time
we destroy it. You are a good man. You have taken good care of Kellie &
I. Let's put this in the past." Beth walked over to dad and gave him a
hug reminding him again that she loved him. She added, "Dad I really miss
you and want to spend more time with you. Let's get together at least
once a week for coffee or lunch."
William looked at his daughter and wondered what had caused this
incredible change. He decided that it didn't matter. He liked the new
Beth. After a few more hugs Beth decided it was time to leave. On her way
out she said to her dad, "Dad two more things. I want to talk to you
about changing my major to business and you really need to talk to
Kellie."
_______
Beth had fixed things with her sister and dad. Now it was time for the
most difficult challenge, her mother. Anne Campbell was going to be the
most difficult family member to talk to. New Beth had already learned
that her mom was the polar opposite of her dad who had been very distant.
Anne was a smotherer. She was very close, too close. And when she spent
time with Beth most of the time was spent on criticizing her and an
endless list of suggestions on how she could improve her life. Beth knew
that talking to her mom would not be easy, but she had to try. She
contacted her mom and invited her to lunch.
Anne was surprised and little suspicious as to why Beth wanted to have
lunch with her. Anne had met Beth many times for lunch, coffee, etc., but
it always been at Anne's prompting and Beth reluctantly accepted. This
was the first time that Beth had invited her.
Beth didn't want this to be a typical meeting and critique lunch that she
usually had with her mom. She decided to put her mom at ease with the
hopes of avoiding any confrontations. Beth invited her mom to a tea and
sandwich shop that was a favorite of her mother. And because she knew her
mom liked her wearing something besides jeans she decided to dress up and
wear a dress to the tea shop.
As Beth got ready for lunch and a put the dress on it dawned on her how
easy it had become to adjust to wearing dresses and skirt. When Ken
become Beth at first she wore nothing but jeans. The she slowly wore some
capris, followed by shorts-shorts that were way shorter than anything
that she had ever worn as Ken. She next tried a very plain dress, then
more girly dresses, then skirts. Her clothing choices more than anything
else she had experience affirmed that she was 100% female.
While Beth looked feminine, and acted more feminine she still thought
like a guy when it came time to be assertive. And many were noticing this
change along with her changes towards academics, work ethic and overall
confidence. Anne liked some of these changes, but most she wasn't sure
about or she did not like. During her lunch with Beth Anne planned to
find out what was going on with Beth and why she was changing so much.
When Anne saw her daughter in a red A line dress, white pumps and wearing
the necklace she had given her last Christmas, she soften her mood and
decided maybe she didn't need to pursue her agenda.
Anne made a point of complimenting her daughter on how nice she looked
and for choosing this restaurant over one of the burger places that Beth
usually favored. Beth greatly appreciated the compliment and made sure to
tell her mom how much she appreciated the praise from her mom.
In conversations with her sister and dad Beth had been the one to lead
the conversation and bring up the difficult subject. Her mom did not give
her a chance to steer the conversation. Anne looked at her daughter and
said, "You have a changed I don't know why you changed, what motivated
it. I am glad that this change has resulted in improved grades, and I
appreciate that you are on time and more considerate of other people's
schedules. But what is going on?"
"Mom, I am glad you noticed my improved academic performance. I felt it
was time to get serious about my studies. And while we are on the subject
of academics I am considering changing majors," Beth replied with
strength.
Anne had never heard her daughter speak like this before, with strength
and authority. She was both proud and a little worried about this abrupt
change in Beth. Not sure what to say she asked Beth, "Why this change
now?"
"Better late than never," Beth answered quickly.
Beth sensed that if she didn't take control of the conversation quickly
her mom would go over every detail of her life demanding an explanation
for everything that she did not agree with. And Beth was in no mood for
this. Not waiting for her mom to finish speaking she said, "Mom stop. I
need to talk to you about something."
Anne was shocked that her daughter was so abrupt. Her daughter, the one
she though she knew would never talk to her mom like that. Anne wondered
what could have gotten into Beth. As stunned as Anne was by Beth's
abruptness she still had a pretty good idea of what Beth wanted to talk
about. She looked her daughter squarely and said, "I know what you want
to talk about. Your dad told me about your conversation. I have no
interest in digging up that terrible part of my life. I have moved on."
"Have you mom? Have you moved on? Because you seem to have been angry all
of these years. You have been extremely hard on me and Kellie. I know mom
and daughters have problems but ours seem more intense than other mom and
daughter relationships. Why didn't you leave dad when all of this happen?
Beth asked.
Beth's words were like a dagger to Anne. She could feel a dam of tears
about to burst inside of her. She knew if she didn't leave immediately
she was going to start crying uncontrollably in public, something that
she would not allow. It took every bit of strength she had to hold back
the tears. Anne told Beth to pay the check and to meet her at her car.
After Beth paid the check she went to her mom's car and found her mom
inside crying uncontrollably, but what caught Beth's attention was that
her mom was sitting in the passenger seat and not in the driver's seat.
Beth got in the car and her mom handed her the keys and told her to drive
to their house.
Anne cried uncontrollably during the 10-minute drive to their home. When
they arrived at the house Anne did not get out of the car. She kept
crying. Beth began to wonder if she might have been too hard on her mom.
After what seemed like an eternity Anne finally spoke. "I couldn't leave
your dad. One I had no job skills. I didn't finish college. If I had left
your dad I would have had no way to support you and Kellie."
Beth was shocked to hear about her mom not finishing college. Her mom had
always told her about her college days and how great it was. Why had her
mom lied to hear all of these years? Beth asked her mom, "What do you
mean you didn't finish college?"
Anne tried her eyes before answering Beth. "I got pregnant with Kellie
during my last year of college. I had to drop out. Your dad and I
couldn't get married because he would have lost his scholarship and the
financial support of his parents. When I had Kellie I was an unmarried
college dropout."
Beth was stunned to learn about this revelation. She wondered if Kellie
knew about this? Before Beth could ask another question her mom resumed
her confession. "It was terrible. My friends at church deserted me. I was
kicked out of my sorority. Grandma and grandpa couldn't provide financial
support for me to stay in college so I had to move back home to have the
baby."
More questions poured into her head. Was this why she had hardly any
contact with her dad's parents before they died? Beth could only recall
meeting them a couple of times. Wait her mom was in a sorority? But her
mom said she was kicked out of the sorority. Maybe that was why her mom
disapproved of her being in a sorority.
Beth finally asked, "Does Kellie know about this?"
"Yes Kellie knows. This one reason she never listened to me when it came
to relationships, sex, etc. She felt that I had no moral authority."
Once again Thomas' words came back to Beth, "Offer the same grace and
compassion that you have been offered." Beth got out of the car and
walked to the other side and opened her mom's door and took her hand to
lead her out of the car. She gave her mom a big hug, then smiled and
said, "mom I love you. The past is the past. I am looking forward to us
rebuilding our relationship now that his dreadful secret is out of the
way."
Anne gave her daughter a long hug. She and Beth walked into the house arm
in arm. Once inside Anne said, "Can I tell you something strange?"
"Stranger than what I have already heard," Beth tried to reply with a
chuckle.
"Maybe not strange, more like unbelievable," answered Anne.
"Tell me," Beth said.
Anne took a deep breath and said, "Last night I had a dream. An Angel
name Thomas told me that you had died and that another person, a guy had
taken over your body. I know it sounds strange but it would explain so
much."
Beth shockingly replied, "What?!"
"I know it is strange and hard to believe but..." Anne paused, then
added, "He said one more thing."
"What did he tell you?" asked Beth, not believing that she was having
this conversation.
"He told me not to let you change your major."
Thomas Third Visit.
Beth was still trying to wrap her arms around her mother's description of
her dream about Thomas the Angel and his message that Beth's body was now
inhabited by the soul of a former man. Her dream had to have been real,
it would be too much of a coincidence to have been just a dream.
Going on the premise that the dream was real, Beth asked herself over and
over why did Thomas say those things to her mom? And did her mom believe
them? Beth's mom admitted that the dream sounded unrealistic, but it did
same to be the best explanation for her daughter's change in behavior,
attitude, etc.
Beth decided that she would deal with her mother later. For now, she
needed to talk to Thomas. Her mom was not up to driving Beth back to pick
up her car. Beth found some of her old clothes in her parent's house and
decided to run back to her car and take the opportunity clear her head.
Beth had determined during Thomas' second visit that the best way to
contact Thomas was while driving so that it would like she was talking on
her Bluetooth. As soon as Beth got in the car she called out for Thomas.
Thomas took his time to arrive. Beth wondered if this was his way of
playing mind games with her. When Thomas finally showed up he greeted
Beth a big smile and said, "Hello again. Has anything happen since we
last spoke." Thomas ended this sentence with a laugh.
Beth screamed, "You know what has happen. Did you appear to my mom in a
dream and tell her the truth about me?"
"You know I can neither confirm nor deny that. But for sake of argument
why would I do that?" Thomas asked.
"I don't know. I am not up for these games. I was completely shocked when
my mom told me about the dream. It has to be true it's too much of a
coincidence. Couldn't you had used another name besides your real name?"
Beth asked in frustration.
'First Angels can't lie so if it was me, I would have used my real name.
But play along, if this was true why would I do this?" Thomas asked.
"I don't know why you would do that. I am not in the mood for games,"
Beth replied with frustration.
Thomas realized he was going to have to be more direct with Beth. "If I
did this maybe it was to help you."
"How could this help me?" asked Beth.
"For starters, it made your mom open to what you had to say. She would
listen more than she usually did. And it would help if you have an ally
on your side. A dream like this would be real enough that your mom would
have to believe it is a possibility. And she would be able to accept your
changes over the last several months." Thomas paused then added, "And by
keeping it a dream, your mom is less likely to think it this is real, and
if she thought the truth was real she would be endlessly interrogating
you. Think about all of this."
Beth drove several minutes in silence taking all of this end. She
realized that Thomas would never admit to doing this, but she was certain
that he had appeared to her mom in a dream. And what Thomas said made
sense.
"Well if you had appeared to my mom in her dream I would have said thank
you," said Beth. With that Thomas smiled and they put the subject away
and never spoke of it again.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Thomas asked.
"First, did I do the right thing with my family? Will everything turn out
okay?" Beth asked.
I can't tell you how things will turn out. There is much information,
that I as an angel is not privy to. But if you prayed and had peace about
your actions with your family then yes you did the right thing," replied
Thomas
Beth thought about all of her interactions with her family over the last
few weeks. She indeed had spent much time in prayer before talking to her
family members. She had complete peace when she approached each
individual family member. She was convinced that she had done the right
thing. She moved on to her next topic.
"I need some help about Brad. From what I can determine Brad is a
complete selfish jerk. He only wants me, old Beth for his needs and
pleasure. I am wondering why did old Beth go out with him?" Beth paused
then added, "That seem to be one of the few things that Old Beth and her
mom agreed on, that Brad was bad for Beth/me."
"I need to dump him. I am trying to improve Old Beth's life, studying
harder, being more responsible, and I believe I need to remove this
distraction."
Thomas answered, "You are right about Brad. But keep in mind you're not
just improving Old Beth's life, you are building your life. You are going
to be Beth until the day you die. The things you are doing today will lay
the groundwork for your future."
Beth took in Thomas' words before asking, "How should I end this with
Brad? I don't want to drive to Virginia to break up with him."
"You don't have to drive to Virginia. You will be surprised to learn that
Brad is currently in Panama City, two hours away. You didn't know that
did you?"
"No I didn't. Even though she, as new Beth, had actually never met Brad.
She still feel hurt by this slight. She was more convinced than ever she
need to dump him. "Any suggestions on how I should dump him?" Beth asked.
"Thinking like a guy has worked for you so far, so do that when you meet
Brad. Keep in mind that the longer you stay in Beth's body the more you
will lose the ability to think like a guy. Eventually you will start
thinking more feminine, but you always some ability to remember your male
brain," Thomas said in a tone that was both reassuring and warning.
Thomas looked at Beth and said, "I need to tell you two more things. One,
remember you want to treat all, including Brad with the same grace,
compassion, and mercy that you have received." Thomas let those words
hang in the air. "Finally, this is my third visit, you have only two
visits left. You want to use those last two visits sparingly, you have
already called on me three times in less than a year."
And with those word Thomas disappeared.
Beth Meets Brad
Beth, Kellie, and various family friends celebrated her parents 25th
wedding anniversary. The party was a good time, and her parents affirmed
their love to each other. Beth realized that her parents had loved each
other very much in spite of all that they had been through. She really
was beginning to believe that she had a good family and it was not too
late to restore their relationship.
One thing that made the night more enjoyable for Beth was that she had
wisely chosen to ask Ron to go with her to the party. This was good for a
couple of reasons. One, if she had come alone it would have been a rough
night. She would have hated the interrogation about why she could not get
a date.
Another benefit of Ron going with her was that her parents, especially
her mom really liked Ron. Ron seemed to soften her mom and dad up and put
everyone at ease. Beth knew she owed Ron a big thank you for coming with
her to her parent's party. She would add the thank you to ever-growing
IOU list that she had for Ron.
_______
A couple of nights after the party Beth decided it was time to cut Brad
away from her life. She decided to ask Leigh to accompany her to Panama
City so she could dump Brad.
Two hours after leaving Tallahassee they showed up at the club where Brad
was attending a party-Leigh had discovered he was at the club from Brad's
Facebook page. After several minutes they found Brad, locked in a very
intimate kiss with a girl that Beth had seen on Brad's Facebook page.
For the first time that she could remember, Beth wanted to act like a
girl when she broke up with Brad. But the words of Thomas were still in
her mind; act like a guy and treat Brad with the same grace and
compassion that you have received. With those words still in her mind she
walked up to Brad's table and said, "Hello Brad."
Brad was stunned to see Beth at this club. It was unlike her to track him
down, and she did not like going into clubs, due to her religious
beliefs, something that had been a source of contention between her and
him.
While Brad was shocked to see Beth, Brad's date was scared to see her,
wondering if there was going to be a confrontation. Beth reached out to
Brad's date and said, "Hi I am Beth, Brad's ex-girlfriend. I will not
cause trouble. I just have a few things to say to Brad and then I will
leave."
Brad started to respond, what do you mean ex-girlfriend but then thought
wisely that it would be a bad idea to say in front of his current date.
Instead he asked, "Can we go somewhere private?"
Beth without hesitation said, "No! This will only take a few minutes.
Brad we are done. Let's be honest we have been done for a while. We
haven't seen each other in months. I am not the girl you met, and I never
have been. Do not call, email, text me, or contact me on Twitter,
Facebook, snap chat or any other social media. Good bye Brad. I wish you
the best."
Without looking back Beth and Leigh left the bar and returned to
Tallahassee, leaving him with lots of questions and few answers. One of
questions was who was that girl? That was not Beth, at the least the Beth
he though he knew. What happen to her? He had never seen her so
assertive, forceful and strong, all of the things that Brad did not like
in a woman. He was glad that they had parted ways.
________
On the way back to Tallahassee Leigh turned to Beth "Girl I am proud of
you for the way you stood up to Brad. I never knew that you had it in
you. These last few months I have noticed quite a difference in you, it's
like you are a different person."
Beth thought to herself, "If you only knew."
Major and Being A Girl
During the fall of Beth's junior there were two events that happen that
made an impact on her and she would end up calling Thomas for guidance.
With Brad out of the way Beth had one more thing that she wanted to take
care of, her major. Beth felt that she was wasting her time in
Psychology. She felt it was time to move to Business. It meant it would
take an additional year of college, but it would be worth it. She would
have a degree that was more marketable, and she would be financially
independent. With this plan in mind she decided to talk to the person who
had always badgered her, at least the old Beth, about her major; her
mother.
Anne had always thought it was a bad idea for her daughter to major in
Psychology. It was a major that set you on a course for, well nothing.
She had wanted Beth to talk to William about becoming a Business major.
Beth was surprised when Anne didn't approve and thought she should stay a
Psychology major. "What do you mean you don't want me to change?" asked
Beth. "You have been wanting me to change every day since I declared my
major."
"I have had a change of heart. I think it would be the best if you
graduated with your bachelor's in Psychology and then earned your
Masters. I see you in a different light. You have a gift for helping
people. Look at how much you have helped our family this year."
"To be honest that dream I had about the angel also weighed on me. I
still remember him telling me not to let you change your major." Anne
finished talking and waited for Beth's response.
Beth was going to argue. She realized her mom was right and she also
remembered Thomas telling her to stay a Psychology major. Of course,
Thomas reasoning probably had more to do with her financial misdeeds as
Ken.
After that conversation Beth never thought anymore about changing her
major.
______
With the issue of her major settled she begin to settle into her life
more and more. She began to be Beth more, and Ken less. There were days
that she wouldn't think of her life as Ken. Then the days became weeks,
then the weeks became months. She thought of herself as young women who
was in college.
When Thomas switched her from Ken to Beth, he gave her all the knowledge
and experience that a woman of 20 years would have acquired. Thomas knew
she would need this knowledge in order to function in society.
It is one thing to have a powerful tool, it is another thing to use it.
It took Beth awhile to be comfortable with using this tool. Living in a
sorority house she was forced to use the tool that Thomas had given her
before she was comfortable, but she did use it.
She discovered many different things about living life as Ken and living
life as Beth, for example clothes. Ken, didn't have too many clothes, as
Beth she didn't have enough clothes. When she was Ken she could put on a
blue shirt and khaki pants several times and always feel that the outfit
would look the same no matter what. However, as Beth her mood, emotions,
cycle, etc. could affect how she felt about the outfit. One week she
could look stunning, and the next week she would think it made it her
look fat.
The other thing that she had learned about clothes and girls, it's a
competition. Girls judge what you are wearing, they remember if you have
worn the same thing before. Beth had fallen into this trap, as both the
judger and judgee.
Clothes also affected the bathroom. As Ken, he thought that girls took so
long in the bathroom because they had to sit to pee. As Beth, she learned
it was more than that. First there were never enough stalls in the
women's rooms. Second some outfits required that you practically undress
before you could pee.
The other thing she learned is that women's clothes were not practical.
They were made for beauty and that made certain activities almost
impossible when wearing them. Shoes was another example of how much
different her life was from Ken's life. When she was Ken she had only
three pairs of shoes. She probably had 20 pairs of shoes in her closet,
and almost all of them were uncomfortable after wearing them for an hour
or two. She now understood why women often go barefoot. Many times, she
found herself carrying her heels.
It was tempting to blame men for designing the shoes and clothes that
women wore. But Beth was surprised to learn that most women's shoes and
clothes were actually designed by women! At first, she thought maybe the
women who designed these clothes and shoes were masochist/sadist because
they enjoyed the pain that they inflected on themselves and others.
Another thing that she learned was it was worth the pain. Her heels would
hurt eventually, but before they did, she looked great. And yes, many of
her outfits were not practical but she enjoyed how they made her look
beautiful, hot, and sexy.
Beth knew about all of the latest fashions because the tv in the house
was usually tuned to the E network and every girl had about 20 fashion
apps on her phone. As Ken almost of his apps were sports related and 95%
of his tv viewing was sports.
While fashions were one part of being a girl, there were some not so fun
things she had to take into account of being a girl. Ken could walk
anywhere he wanted and not worry about anything. He would often walk
around campus into the wee hours of the morning. Beth rarely went walking
on campus once it was dark, and she never walked alone.
She knew she was vulnerable to attacks. Her sorority house was a constant
reminder of how vulnerable women can be. In the sorority's chapter room,
there was a stained-glass memorial to two of the members who were
assaulted and murdered in the house during the 70s.
Yes, there were many other downsides to be a girl, weight, limiting food
intake, more body maintenance. But there were many upsides. Among them
were the relationships with other women.
Ken saw all women as potential romantic interest. He never took the
effort to develop relationships with women as friends. If he had taken
the time maybe some of those relationships with women could have evolved
into something more.
The first female friends that Ken had occurred when he became Beth. Beth
would spend hours talking with her sorority sisters, other girls in her
classes and at work, and she talked more with her mom and sister that she
ever talked with Ken's mom and siblings.
Beth would have conversations that covered everything. She discovered
many times conversations were a way to validate, unload, to bond, and
rarely were conversations about solving problems. Nothing was off limits,
problems with professor, parents, boys, frustrations with weight, mean
things that had been said, boys who were jerks, boys who were hunks,
birth control, food, religion, you name it.
The friends that Beth had far exceed the number of friends that Ken ever
had. She never ate alone, went to Starbucks or a movie by herself-unless
she wanted to, and that was rare. Whenever she went shopping plenty of
friends tagged alone to give advice. And if she wanted to go out and have
fun, there were plenty of girlfriends to accompany her and make the night
more fun and memorable. She also learned about the concept of safety in
numbers and watching each other's back.
Of all the new girlfriends she had, no one was closer to her than Leigh.
If anyone would notice changes in Beth it would have been Leigh. Leigh
was old Beth and new Beth's roommate for a little over two years. Every
now and then Beth would do something that was different from the way old
Beth did them. Leigh would sometimes comment lately you have acted like a
different person.
Most of the changes that Leigh noticed in Beth she attributed to growth
and maturity. And in a weird way new Beth inspired Leigh to grow and make
changes her life. As time went on their friendship deepen. Of all the Chi
O sisters Beth felt closest to Leigh and vice versa.
Thomas had given new Beth all of the memories of old Beth, and those
memories include growing up with a sister. Those memories help
tremendously, especially with new Beth deepening her relationship with
her sister Kellie.
Her relationship with Leigh was even better than the memories. She got to
experience life living as a sister. She and Leigh had indeed become more
than sorority sisters, they had become true sisters.
Since Beth lived locally, she would often invite Leigh to her house for
the weekend so that she could get a break from campus life. Leigh became
so comfortable with the Campbells that were there weekends when she went
to Beth's parents' house without Beth!
Leigh returned the favor she would often bring Beth to her family's home
in South Florida on spring break, summer break and other long breaks. It
was on one of those breaks that Beth realized something important.
Leigh's dad had taken the girls, along with the rest of Leigh's family
out on the family's boat. As they cruised many of the canals of South
Florida Beth thought about the past year and all that had happened. She
was no longer lonely, she was on a good academic track, her faith was
strong, she had a good family.
The most surprising thing to Beth was that she enjoyed being a girl. She
enjoyed all the things that make a girl a girl. She didn't miss any other
things from her old life as Ken. She went into this life as Beth
reluctantly. A year later if Thomas had offered her the chance to go back
to being a guy she would say no thanks.
Leigh looked at her friend deep in thought. She asked Beth what she was
thinking about. Beth smiled and said, "I have never been happier than I
have been in the last year. And you have been a big part of my
happiness."
With that Beth and Leigh hugged and held each other's hand for the rest
of the boat ride.
Ron
Beth had experience almost all aspects of a young woman's life. Almost.
One thing Beth had not experienced was a romantic relationship with a
man. She didn't count Brad. Brad was old Beth's boyfriend and the only
interaction she had with him was to dump him.
Unlike Ken, Beth cultivated friendships with the opposite sex. Of all the
guys that she was friends with, Ron was her closest and dearest guy
friend. If any of her guy friends had a chance to be her boyfriend it was
Ron.
Ron had been friends with both old Beth and new Beth. When old Beth was
disorganized and floundering, Ron stood by her and helped her with her
studies. When her family was criticizing her, Ron was her biggest
cheerleader. When she needed a job it was Ron who went to his boss and
lobbied for him to hire Beth. And when she was late for work, which was
often, it was Ron who covered for her.
When new Beth arrived and would feel lost, Ron would be the anchor that
her life needed.
If you asked Ron he would tell you that he would love to be Beth's
boyfriend. He dreamt of being her boyfriend and more. He would do
anything he could to spend time with her, study, go to lunch walk her to
her house after work.
He would spend money to buy her flowers and other treats. When Brad had
forgotten/ignored Beth's birthday, Ron made her a jewelry box filled with
her favorite candies, and decorated with some of her favorite things like
pandas.
_____
For the longest time, it looked like Ron and Beth were going to be
nothing more friends. Then two things happen to give some spark to moving
their relationship forward.
During the winter, a FSU student had been attacked on campus. Ron and his
friends had heard the screams of the girl and called the police. They ran
towards the attack. The police arrived on scene first and stopped the
attack, and saving the girl's life. Ron and his friends never saw the
girl.
After he gave his statement to the police he knew where he had to go; to
the Chi O house. He wanted to know that Beth was safe and that she wasn't
the victim. When she came to the door he told her what happen. And how he
had been worried about her. Beth thank him for his care and love. As Ron
walked back to his car she shouted loud enough for everyone near the
house to hear, "I LOVE YOU RON!
After that incident Beth slowly warmed up to Ron as more than a friend.
When they walked she walked closer to him than she used to. Sometimes she
would hold his hand, and when they said good bye their hugs lasted longer
and were tighter than before.
They also started sending cards and little gifts back and forth to each
other. She would come and visit him at his apartment. They did dinner
more than they did lunch. Many people started to suspect that they were
more than friends.
_____
At the end of the school year Ron was feeling ill. He put off going to
the doctor. Several people pushed him to go to the doctor. He only went
after Beth said that she wanted him to go the doctor.
The doctor determined he had nothing more than a bad summer cold. But
during his examination of Ron he discovered a lump on Ron's hand. Ron had
ignored the lump thinking it was an injury that would eventually go away.
The doctor thought otherwise and did a biopsy. The doctor scheduled
surgery for that week to remove the malignant tumor.
Ron was shocked and frightened to learn the doctor's diagnosis. He had
the prayers and support of the members of the church and his friends. He
appreciated all of this love and support. But there were two people he
would like to be by his side.
One was his mom. His mom had been emotionally distant to all of her
children. She never came to visit Ron at college, she rarely called,
emailed, or text him. Whenever he talked about coming home for a visit,
his mom stressed that she would be too busy to spend time with him.
Ron's mom said that she was too busy to come to his surgery, but she
would pray for him. He wasn't surprised, but he was still disappointed.
He had hoped his illness would bring her to his side.
Ron's mom was one of the people that he wanted to be with him, but she
wasn't the number one person that he wanted. The person that he wanted
the most was Beth.
There was never any doubt that she would be by his side. He was the first
person that he told about the doctor's diagnosis. She told him that she
would drive him to and from his surgery and she would stay with him all
night at his apartment.
On the day of his surgery Beth picked Ron drove him to the hospital.
Stayed with him through the check in process. Went to his private room
where they waited for them to take to surgery. Why they waited they
prayed, read Bible verses, laughed, and held hands.
Finally, the orderly came took Ron away to surgery. Almost as soon as he
was out of the room she kept a prayer vigil up, praying and crying.
One of the nurses came into the room and told Beth that Ron was out of
surgery and the doctors had removed all of the tumor. Soon as he was
alert they would bring from recovery back to his room where he probably
stay for a couple of hours.
The nurse asked Beth about her relationship with Ron. She said it was
complicated. The nurse told her that she had seen wives who were not as
devoted and caring towards their husbands as she was to Ron.
_____
After a few hours the doctors determined that it was safe for Beth to
take Ron home. She drove him home and got him into bed where he would
drift in out of sleep for the next few hours. Beth stayed in his
apartment checking on him periodically.
Later in the night she went into his room. She looked at him in a deep
sleep. She was glad that he was going to be ok. She laid on his bed next
to him. Thinking about everything, particularly her relationship with Ron
and how much she cared for him.
She had surprised herself on how easy the nurturing side came out of her.
As Ken he would have never taken care of any body. At one point during
the night she put her head on Ron's shoulder and fell asleep. She would
wake up hours later, while Ron was still asleep. Poor Ron had no idea
that he and Beth had slept together in his bed!
_____
During the rest of the summer Beth and Ron stayed busy. They both worked
at the camp their church held every summer. Almost every day after work
they would go out to eat.
Ron loved the weekdays, but he dreaded the weekends. During the week Beth
and he were like a normal couple. Going to dinners, movies, hanging out.
Sadly, for Ron Beth would usually leave on Friday night or early Saturday
to either visit her sister at Auburn, visit Leigh who was working in
Savanah for the summer, or go somewhere with her mom. Ron tried to be
understanding and supportive of these trips. It was hard because he
wanted so much more.
One weekend towards the end of summer Ron thought he might have caught a
break. Beth decided she was going to stay in town and visit with her
parents. She, at her mom's urging, invited Ron over for Saturday night
dinner. Ron was ecstatic. He brought flowers for both Beth and her mom.
He thought this could be the night that things changed for him and Beth.
Dinner was great. He had a wonderful time with Beth and her parents. He
offered to help clean up but Mrs. Campbell wouldn't hear of it. She told
Ron and Beth to go and enjoy themselves.
Beth suggested to Ron that they go out into her backyard and sit in the
gazebo. After some small talk Ron decided to lay it on the line and tell
Beth his true feelings.
Before he could speak Beth said that she had something that she wanted to
say. She held Ron's hand and said, "Ron you mean to the world to me. I
cannot imagine not having you in my life. You have done so much for me."
She paused then continued, "I know you are wanting our relationship to
deepen to be boyfriend and girlfriend and to date for real. If I was to
date anyone right now it would be you. Only you."
Beth could see the disappointment in Ron's face, but she knew she should
continue. "So much has happened to me in the last year. I am just not
ready to enter into a relationship, yet."
She moved closer to Ron. "That romantic love we are talking about I feel
I am heading into that direction. Please do not give up and please be
patient and give me time to get there." For the first time Beth moved
face closer to his and kissed him on the lips. It was a closed mouth
kiss, but it was on the lips and not on the cheek.
Ron stood up and thank Beth for her honesty and said he would take in
everything that she said, He asked Beth to thank her mom for the dinner.
He left and drove home more confused than ever.
Thomas's 4th Visit
Beth and Ron started their junior year with their relationship still
undefined. Ron was still patient and hoping. Beth was still unsure but
was slowly moving towards a romantic relationship with Ron.
One week in October their relationship questions were put on hold. It was
time for one of the great campus traditions, homecoming. Homecoming is a
special event on campus for alumni and students. There are also special
traditions for the members of the Greek system. Fraternities and
sororities are paired up (the Greek council does the pairing) for
homecoming activities, i.e. build a float, do skits, etc. The big
homecoming event for the Greek system is the homecoming mixer. The
fraternity and sorority that have been paired up will get together for a
mixer, usually at the fraternity house. This year the Chi Omegas were
paired with Ken's old fraternity.
When Beth heard which fraternity that her sorority was paired with, she
almost fainted. She couldn't believe that she would be going back to the
old frat house. She had not been anywhere near there since her
transformation.
The thought of going back terrified her so much that she thought about
resigning from the sorority. She had fears that her old fraternity
brothers would recognize her and call her out for being a girl, and then
call the police. She also feared that even if they didn't recognize her
there might be mean things written or said about her (as Ken). She was
also afraid that she would see things that she would recognize and would
bring back bad memories of her time as Ken, especially in the last days
at the frat.
She decided it was time to call Thomas again.
When Beth had previously called Thomas, she would usually drive around
Tallahassee and pretend to be talking on her blue tooth. She knew that
this talk would be longer than previous calls and driving around town
would not be an option. She decided to go to her parents' home-they were
away for the weekend-and summon Thomas.
"Well hello Beth I was beginning to think that you had forgotten about
me," Thomas said with a smile and a laugh.
"Hello Thomas, yes it has been a long time. Thank you for coming," Beth
greeted Thomas warmly.
"Beth what can I help you with this evening?"
"A few of things are on my mind. You probably already know this, but my
sorority is having a mixer with my old fraternity this week, and to be
honest I am scared," Beth answered.
"What are you worried about?"
"That I will be recognized and attacked."
"No one will know who you are. Remember when you became Beth, Ken ceased
to exist. He never existed. Since he didn't exist, he didn't steal money
from the fraternity. When you enter the frat house and the brothers see
you all they will see a beautiful young woman, just like all the other
sorority girls on this campus."
"Well that is reassuring that I will not be remembered as Ken. But if I
understand you correctly, I will be able to recognize everyone and things
at the house?"
"Yes, you will have all of your old memories and knowledge as Ken when
you go to the mixer this week," Thomas told Beth.
"Is there any way you could remove my memories? I think it would make
things easier for me."
"To answer your question, yes I can erase your memories as Ken, but I
will not erase them," Thomas replied sternly.
"Why?
"Two reasons. One you need your old memories to help you make a better
life for Beth and others. Second you need to remember what you did as
Ken, or else you will be prone to repeat the same mistakes."
Beth stated, "I thought I was forgiven?"
Thomas spoke with authority, "Yes you have been forgiven, but there are
still consequences for your actions. And in your case retaining memories
helps and protects you and others."
Beth quietly pondered what Thomas said, and she realized that he was
right. Beth looked up at Thomas and said, "Thank you Thomas for your
guidance and wisdom. I have a couple more things I would like talk to you
about."
"Ask away"
"Again, I am sure you know this, there is a guy in my life name Ron. Ron
wants me to be his girlfriend, and I am leaning that way. But not sure if
I should commit. What should I do?"
"Why are you hesitant to commit?"
"I am not sure that I am ready for a romantic relationship. I am not
opposed to be romantically involved, just not sure if this is the time."
Thomas without hesitation, "Look I cannot tell you what to do, this is a
decision you have to make on your own. On one hand, you are right to wait
if you are not ready but then there really is no perfect time to fall in
love. Keep in mind Ron will not wait forever. At some point, he is going
to realize that it will be time to move on."
Beth was disappointed that she didn't get a direct answer from Thomas.
But she knew there was no point in belaboring the point. "Ok I have one
final thing to talk to you about."
Thomas, giving the look and impression that he already knew what she was
going to ask, "And what would you like to ask me about next?"
"I know as far as my old family concerns they know nothing about me, in
their minds I have never existed."
Thomas replied, "You are correct, what is your point?"
"I would like to see them one last time. I know I can't talk them, but I
just want to see them one more time. Is this unreasonable?" Beth asked
almost crying.
Thomas wasted no time in responding, "It is understandable why you feel
that way, but it is not possible. You need to focus on your family.
William, Anne, Kellie."
With a sigh Beth said, "I don't like it, but I accept your decision."
Thomas stood up to get ready to leave before he departed, he spoke, "You
have only one more visit left. Use it wisely."
It dawned on Beth that she had only one visit remaining. She asked
Thomas, "What should I do if I need advice?"
"You have friends and a family that can help. And don't forget you can
always read your Bible and pray to God."
And with that Thomas disappeared.
Homecoming
Before she knew it the date that Beth had been dreading arrived, the
Homecoming Mixer with her old fraternity. Beth wasn't sure how she would
feel seeing all of her old fraternity brothers. Even though she had
Thomas's assurances that she would not be recognized, she was still
nervous. She tried almost every dress in her closet and in the Governor's
Square Mall for the mixer. She went back and forth on how she should
dress for the mixer.
Most of her sorority sisters were opting for the sexual sultry look.
After considering this look Beth decided against it for several reasons.
The main reason that she was that she knew these guys. She knew how they
treated girls, especially when they dressed sexy. Beth was not ready for
a sexual encounter with her former fraternity brothers. She opted for a
pink Bodycon Cami Dress with white wedge sandals. Hoping that guys would
not notice her.
_____
Almost every sorority house had a rule regarding mixers at a fraternity
house. The main rule-Do not go upstairs. Stay on the party floor. Every
fraternity had the members bedrooms upstairs.
Sororities did not want their members upstairs for the protection of the
members and of the sorority. Many sorority sisters had gone upstairs
willingly only to find themselves in a compromising situation. Then there
were girls who went upstairs willing and participated willingly in the
activities upstairs. Sororities knew that their members went upstairs all
the time at non-sanctioned events. They (their national organization)
didn't want them going upstairs at an official sorority sanctioned event.
Beth listened to the chapter president reminding everyone to stay
downstairs. She debated if she should share some inside information that
she had about the house and its members with the president.
There was one thing different about Beth's old fraternity house from
other houses. In addition to the rooms upstairs there were rooms on the
side of the house just off of the main floor where the party was. As Ken
he was one of the few people to live in lived in those rooms. Members
used to call those rooms the Bible Belt since most of the Christians in
the house lived there. Despite having the nickname, the Bible Belt, Beth
knew of many girls from many different sororities who had skirted the
upstairs rule by going to the side rooms.
In the end Beth decided not to say anything to the chapter president. How
could she explain this knowledge?!
_____
The night of the mixer arrived. Beth walked to the fraternity house with
Leigh and several other sisters. On the way there Leigh whispered to
Beth, "Are you ok, you seem tense. This is supposed to be fun."
Beth whispered back with a forced smile, "I know and it will be fun. I.
am just nervous I used to know some guys from this house, and they were
jerks if you know what I mean."
Leigh put her arm around Beth's shoulder and gave her a side hug. "Yes I
do. But don't worry I will be by your side. Is that why you dressed down
for this evening?"
"Yes, it is and thank you Leigh."
When Beth walked back into the house for the first time in over a year
she was flooded with many memories, not all of them were bad. The most
prominent and recent memories were anything but nice. She remembered
sneaking through this room and out the front door before she would be
discovered by the members and the police. She tried to put that memory
out of her mind, after all Thomas had told that had never happened.
Beth went to the wall where all the photo composites were. She looked at
the composites where Ken's picture had been, the picture was not only not
there she could tell by looking at the composite it had never been there.
She went to the other photos on the wall, photos that should have had Ken
in them doing various fraternity activities. Ken was not in any of those
photos either. Ken hadn't been photo shopped out of the picture you could
tell he never had been in the picture. For the first time Beth begin to
relax and trust Thomas's words that she would not be recognized.
She moved away from the wall and told Leigh that she was feeling much
better, and Leigh should feel free to mingle.
"If you are indeed ok, I see a couple of guys I want to get to know
better. But if you need me I am right back by your side." Leigh laughed
and hugged her roommate and went in search of her prey.
Feeling more confident, Beth started looking around the room searching
for people she once knew. She saw Paul the weasel chapter president who
was now in his 7th year of college. He was a rich kid who never worried
about finances and was intent on staying in college and living off of his
parents for as long as he could.
As Ken, he and Paul never got along. He could never figure out why. Beth
now realized that it was jealousy. She wished she could apologize to him.
Next, she saw Wayne, the SOB Chapter Vice-President. Ken and Wayne fought
all the time They had different values and beliefs. The real reason she
didn't like Wayne was because he had been the one who figured out where
Ken was hiding and told the police. What made Beth upset about that was
that Wayne enjoyed lowering the boom on Ken. Still Beth knew that she
should forgive Wayne because Ken had indeed stolen the money.
Beth knew there was no way she could express her regret and apologies to
either Wayne or Paul, especially since Ken's crime and their actions no
longer existed. So, she said a silent prayer offering forgiveness and
asking for forgiveness. This gave her peace.
As soon as she finished praying she heard a familiar voice say hi to her.
She opened her eyes and saw Dave. Dave had been one of her best friends
in the frat. They had watched many games together, played golf together,
and went on a few road trips together.
Beth wasn't surprised that she was talking to Dave, what she was
surprised about was that she and Dave were almost eye to eye. Ken had
been 6'2, She was now 5'6 and Dave was 5'4." This was another reminder of
how much she had changed as Beth.
Dave spoke again, "Hi I am Dave."
Beth quickly responded, "Hi I am Beth."
Dave and Beth began a conversation. He told her about the house, his
interest in sports, about his studies. After a few minutes she realized
she no longer had anything in common with Dave. Beth told Dave, "I need
to check on my sister she was not feeling well. Maybe we will catch up
later."
Beth went in search of Leigh. She found Leigh sitting on the couch
speaking with another former friend of Ken's, Scott. Beth noticed a sense
of irony of Leigh and Scott together. Scott and Ken and done numerous
things together, movies, dinners and they went to the same church. Scott
had invited Ken to his family's home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The
fraternity brother who had shared his family numerous times with him as
Ken, was now sitting with the Sorority member who has shared her family
numerous times with Beth.
Seeing that Leigh was ok, Beth returned to the party. She was looking at
her text messages. She was looking down at her phone when she literally
ran into Aaron Dye, her old roommate at the Pike House.
Beth was surprised to see Aaron. When Ken had fled the house, Aaron was
in the process of leaving the fraternity so that he could marry his
girlfriend Kathleen. Beth had just assumed that Aaron had left the
fraternity and was living with Kathleen while they finished school.
She was processing all of this when she heard Aaron ask, "Hey are you ok?
I didn't mean to run into you."
Beth fumbled her words. "Uh, it's ok, my bad. I was I was not looking
where I was going." Beth was struggling because she had never seen Aaron
like this before. First of all, she was looking up to Aaron, who was 6'0-
Previously as Ken he had been slightly taller than Aaron.
Everything seem to stop as Beth looked at Aaron. So many memories were
going through her mind. They had been pledges together. They had been
drawn together because both had been Christians and active in Bible
studies. They had shared values. They had met each other's families. Ken
was closer to Aaron than he had been to anybody else in the Pike house or
at FSU.
The changes in height was not the only reason that Beth looked Aaron
differently. She was looking at him for the first time as a girl. She was
seeing him as a kind, handsome, good looking man- "What did I just say?"
she screamed internally to herself. Why do I think Aaron is cute? She was
definitely into unchartered territory. She had never had a, sexual(?)
feeling about a guy before. While she was processing all of this Aaron
invited her to step outside of the house and sit on the front porch.
Beth accepted his invitation and they walked out and sat on the steps.
They chatted about trivial things while their fraternity brothers and
sorority sisters partied inside of the house. After about 20 minutes of
chatting Aaron turned to Beth, "I really didn't want to be here tonight,
but as a member of the fraternity I was required to make an appearance. I
am guessing it was the same for you?"
Beth laughed and answered him, "Guilty. I didn't want to come either"
"We both have made our appearances. Why don't we walk over to the ice
cream shop that is a block away?"
Beth had been to the store many times with Ken, often with Aaron. She had
never been there as Beth. Usually her fellow Chi O opted for the frozen
yogurt store on the other side of campus. It took her no time to accept
Aaron's invitation.
Aaron smiled and stood up. "Great let me go inside and get my wallet and
we'll go."
Beth knew she had only a few minutes and she couldn't do much, but she
would do what she could. While Aaron went back inside and she was still
sitting on the steps she opened up her purse and took out her compact
mirror. She quickly applied some fresh lipstick, then some make up, and
tried to brush her hair into some sort of style. She finished her rushed
cosmetic job as Aaron came back outside.
Aaron offered Beth his hand to help her up and asked her, "Are you ready
go?"
Beth answered him with a smile. And they walked to the store unnoticed by
anyone else, or so she thought.
_____
Beth and Aaron spent the next hour eating some ice cream-which melted
long before they had finished it and learning about each other. Well
Aaron learned about Beth. For Beth, it was hard asking Aaron questions
that she already knew the answers to, but she did it.
There was one question that Beth was dying to ask, but she couldn't ask
until Aaron open the door. Aaron finally gave her the opening she needed
when he asked her, "Are you dating anyone?"
Beth quickly answered, "Not dating anyone right now. There is one guy I
am friends with, but not dating.." Then she asked the question that she
had been dying to ask, the one question that she did not know the answer
to. "Are you dating anyone?"
Aaron took a deep breath before answering. "I am not dating anyone. I was
dating someone, we actually were engaged, over a year ago."
Trying not to sound excited or eager, she asked, "What happen?"
"It wasn't meant to be. Her mom got ill and she went back home to take
care of her. A month after she had left she told me that she had met
someone else and that we were through."
Beth patted his hand. "I am sorry about that. That must have been rough.
I didn't mean to bring up an unpleasant memory."
Sitting up straight and full of confidence Aaron told Beth, "That's ok. I
now know it was for the best and it wasn't God's plan for us. God has
given me complete peace about all of this."
Aaron looked at his phone and saw the time. "I guess we should head back
to the house."
"Actually, would you mind walking back to my house instead?"
Aaron was all too happy to walk her back. It gave him some more alone
time with Beth. Leaving the ice cream shop their hands touched. When they
turned onto Jefferson their pinkies were touching. When they got to the
Sigma house they were holding hands, with their palms touching. When they
were in front of the DZ house their fingers became intertwined. They
would remain that way until they arrived in front of the Chi O house.
Aaron reluctantly let go of her hand, but was looking at her face. "I had
a good time tonight. I would like to call you and go out sometime."
"I would like that too," Beth said. "Let's exchange numbers." They
exchanged numbers and began their long good bye.
"Good night Aaron. I had a fun time tonight. Thank you for rescuing me
from the mixer," she said with girlish laugh.
"Good night Beth." With that Aaron leaned down and kissed Beth. It was an
open mouth passionate kiss with their tongues meeting. It was Beth's
first open mouth kiss as a girl.
She looked in her purse for key fob and she saw that she had a message on
her phone. She was thinking Aaron sent her one more good night message.
He did. There was also a message from Ron.
Thomas Might Not Have Advice But The Sorority Has Lots!
Upon entering the Chi O house Beth quickly realized that she was kidding
herself if she thought that no one had noticed her disappearance.
Some of the comments:
"What happen with you and that tall handsome guy?"
"You thought that we didn't notice you putting on make-up and walking
away with him, and not returning?"
Beth tried to end the interrogation by saying, "It was just a friendly
chat at the ice cream shop."
"You talked at the ice cream shop for over an hour?"
Beth- "We just lost track of time. We are friends."
"We all saw you two holding hands while you walked down Jefferson Avenue.
And we all saw the kiss that he gave you in front of the house. I wish I
had friends like," which was followed by lots of giggles.
Beth acknowledged that they were right and proceeded to tell them all
about Aaron. She was hoping that would end the conversation and she could
go upstairs. It just led to more questions.
"Who is it going to be Ron or Aaron?"
"You should choose Ron. He is loyal and will always stand by you."
Another sister answered that comment by saying, "That sounds like a dog."
"You should choose Aaron he is tall, good looking, and it looks like he
is confident and knows how to give a girl a good time."
"Guys like Aaron are trouble. They know how good they are and are jerks.
Choose Ron."
"Choose Aaron. Ron has been hanging around you for four years and
couldn't pull the trigger."
"Ron is a better choice. He is passive and well not dominate you. You
will be in control." This was met with, "That's exactly why you shouldn't
choose Ron."
"Chose Aaron. You could have Ron any time in the last few years. Hell,
you even chose that jerk Brad over Ron. Why did you choose Brad over
Ron?"
Beth thought to herself, "That is a good question. I have often wondered
why did old Beth choose Brad over Ron?"
The comments and questions went back and forth for another 15 minutes.
Finally, Beth shouted, "Enough! I had a good time tonight I will admit
it. I don't know what I will do. I need to sort things out. I love all of
you. Good night my sisters."
Beth hurried upstairs hoping that Leigh was still awake. She entered
their door and called out, "Leigh you are...." She stopped because she
realized that Leigh was not in their room. From wat she could tell Leigh
had not come back from the mixer. Beth didn't see leigh's purse and the
clothes that were on the bed when they left were still there.
Concerned for Leigh's safety she called Leigh, no answer. She then sent
Leigh a text.
Beth "Leigh it's Beth. Are you all right?"
Leigh "Yes I am more than all right:);)
Beth: Where are you?
Leigh: I am still at the Pike House?
Beth What?
Leigh I am with Scott, the guy you saw me with at the mixer
Beth: You didn't go upstairs did you?
Leigh: No! You will never believe this. They have some rooms on the side
of the house.
Beth sighed she knew what that most likely meant.
Beth: Are you coming home tonight?
Leigh Not until everyone is in bed. The last thing I want to do is face
the interrogation. By the way how was your interrogation?
Beth What how did you know about that
Leigh Everyone saw you get all made up and leave with Aaron and not
return.
Beth I survived. Make sure Scott walks you home. Ok
Leigh I will
Beth BTW I want details tomorrow lol
Leigh I want details also tomorrow ;)
Beth Good night sis I love you
Leigh Love you too
Now that she knew that Leigh was safe, well mostly safe, it was time to
deal with her other messages.
She listened to Ron's voicemail:
"Hi Beth. Just thinking about you. Hope you are having fun with all of
your
homecoming activities. Looking forward to next week when we go to Sonnys
Bar B Que. Miss you at work and miss walking you home. Give me a call
when you are free."
Beth had forgotten all about next week's dinner. She was wondering if she
should cancel. She couldn't decide about that right now.
She went to Aaron's text message.
Hi Beth. Wow I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a mixer. Enjoyed
our time at the ice cream shop. Plus the walk and the kiss. Good night
Aaron
Beth was trying to get her head around that she had two guys who were
interested in her. They were both great guys. But she wasn't sure which
one she liked the best.
A that moment her phone announced that she had another text message.
Beth-Aaron again. Are you going to the game on Saturday? I have a ticket.
I am sitting with our church and I would like to have you join us. After
dinner some members of our church are hosting a dinner I would like for
you to come. Let me know.
Beth already had a ticket to Saturday's game. She had been planning on
sitting with the sorority. If she ditched the sorority to sit with a guy,
well she wouldn't be the first Chi O to do that.
She sent Aaron the following text:
Aaron sounds like fun. I am looking forward to sitting with you and the
members of your church. Pick me up at the Chi O house @11.
Night Beth
Beth closed her phone and muttered this is not going to be easy, but she
said it with a smile.
Ken's Family
Beth had a wonderful time at the game and the dinner at Aaron's church.
She enjoyed meeting all of Aaron's friends and learning and relearning
more things about him. Yes, they did kiss more times. Before they knew
it, homecoming was over.
Beth did keep her date with Ron at Sonnys. She told him all about
homecoming, omitting all references to Aaron.
With homecoming over Beth needed to focus on school and work. For once
she was glad that she had a job to go to. Usually she complained about
having to work. Work was now proving to be a good excuse to avoid dealing
with Aaron/Ron.
She was no longer employed by the church. She accepted a job working for
the state. Tallahassee being the state capitol employed thousands of
students to do menial task. For Beth the state job paid more and had
better hours. She worked in the bureau of vital statistics. Which track
social economic factors of Florida's citizens.
One of the things that Beth discovered working for the state is that
there is a lot of down time. When they didn't have reports to audit they
were free to use the computers for school. Beth did utilize this benefit.
She also did something else.
She tracked Ken's family. She wanted to know how they were doing if
anything major had happen to them. Most days there was nothing to report.
One day after she logged on to her computer there was an alert. The
system flagged new information on Ken's mom. Ken's maternal grandfather
had passed away and his mom had filed a claim for a death certificate.
Beth did some research. She discovered that Ken's grandfather had passed
away, not at his home in Deland, but at Ken's old house on Merritt
Island. Ken's grandfather had been living with Ken's family, which was a
surprise to Beth.
Beth did some further research and learned that the funeral was to be in
two days in Deland at the family plot. Beth knew exactly where that was.
Ken had been there twice once for his grandmother's funeral and once for
his aunt's funeral.
She decided she had to go. She knew she couldn't speak to them, and that
they wouldn't know who she was, but she could see them. She saw no harm
in this. She thought about asking Aaron or Ron to go with her. But that
would require too much explaining. Besides she still wasn't sure how she
felt about her relationship with those two. Her dilemma was helped by
Aaron going home to South Carolina for his mom's birthday and Ron was
committed all weekend to helping the youth at church with their campout.
She got up early Saturday morning and drove the four hours to Deland.
Even though her old family wouldn't recognize her she wanted to look her
best. She went to Macys and bought a black sleeveless dress that covered
her shoulders. She decided wear black hose with four inch black pumps.
She wanted Ken's mom to be proud of how she looked
Beth arrived at the cemetery just as the ceremony was concluding. She
looked around for the best place to observe. She found a tombstone near
where Ken's relatives were buried.
She stood in front of the tombstone with flowers in her hands. She was
pretending to pay her respects to the person buried beneath the tombstone
she stood in front of. She could see all of her old family members.
Her former cousins walked by her, nodding as to say hello. They didn't
even recognize her. She could see her former mother and brothers. All
things considered they looked good, they were understandably sad. She was
debating about walking up to her former mom, thinking about how she would
express her sympathy.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her former cousin Butch. Butch had been
Ken's closest cousin. They were only a year apart in age. They had spent
many summers at their grandfathers, spent the night at each other's house
numerous times. For a short time their two families had lived together.
During this time they shared a room. To say that they were intimately
familiar with each other would be an understatement.
Butch approached Beth and said hello. Beth responded with hello.
"Who are you visiting?" Butch asked
"Um (Beth had to look at the tombstone to see who was buried) my
grandmother. You?
"We just buried my grandfather."
"I am sorry for your lost" Beth said to Butch
"Thank you. He lived a long and full life"
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes as Butch stood there
looking at Beth.
"Is there something you wanted?' asked Beth
"I know this might sound strange, especially considering the
circumstances. But I feel that we have met before."
Beth thought about unloading in him, but then realized maybe he
recognized something of Ken in her. She politely said, " I doubt it. I
live in Tallahassee and I attend Florida State."
"Never been there. I am a fireman in Orlando," Butch paused then stepped
closer to her. "Listen this might sound crass, but would you like to go
somewhere for a drink?
Beth couldn't believe what she had just heard. OMG was he really hitting
on her? Seriously he just buried his grandfather. He was married. She
could see Butch's wife. Ken had been the best man at their wedding. In a
forceful, but normal voice she turned to Butch and said, "are you crazy?
I am paying my respects to my grandmother and you just buried our
grandfather."
Moving closer he said to her in a tone just above a whisper, "maybe we
can help comfort each other."
Beth was now furious. Her former cousin wanted to have sex with her on
the day of their grandfather's funeral. Granted Butch didn't know that
she used to be Ken, but still it was sick.
Ken and Butch had a shared a room many times growing up. Sometimes for
months at a time. This gave Beth some useful inside knowledge about
Butch. She knew two things about him. One was that he had a one inch
dick. A very small dick. She had seen it a few times, as Ken. Butch had
shared with Ken many times the frustration that this had caused him
sexually over the year. She also knew that Butch had a four-inch scar on
his groin that was only visible when he was naked. Butch like to tell
women that he got the scar when he was saving a small child in a fire.
Some women bought it.
When she was Ken there were rumors that Butch was cheating on his wife
Susan. He would have sex with female fire fighters at the fire house on
the nights he was on duty, and sometimes they would meet up when they
were off duty. Ken had defended Butch on these allegations stating that
he didn't believe him. Years later Butch confessed that it was all true.
While all this was going on Beth noticed that her former family had left
the cemetery. She missed seeing them leave. She had driven four hours for
nothing. Beth could not contain herself anymore. "First I think it is
disgusting that you are trying to hit on me within sight of your
grandfather's freshly dug grave and YOUR WIFE."
"How do you know I am married and that my wife is here? asked a puzzled
Butch
"You are wearing a wedding ring genius and it only makes sense that she
would accompany you to the funeral. Leave now and we can forget this
whole thing."
But Butch wasn't budging. He figured getting her to bed was going to be a
challenge and he was up to the challenge. This turned out to be a foolish
decision on his part. He was still standing there staring at Beth when
his wife Susan showed up.
'Hi what is going on?" asked Susan with a little bit of suspicion.
Normally she would have politely said nothing and walked away. But Beth
was angry that Butch had caused her to miss seeing her former family. So,
she let loose with anger.
"You want to know what is going on? I am student at FSU I drove down her
today to pay respects to my grandmother. While I am standing here in
quite reflection your husband comes up to me and asked out me out for a
drink, hinting that maybe we could comfort each other."
"No way he wouldn't do that, especially on a day that we buried his
grandfather who he adored," Susan responded defensively.
Beth felt some tears welling up she decided to release them. With tears
streaming and crying she said, "Your husband told me he could rock my
world with his one-inch dick, and that he would impress me with the scar
he had on his groin from when he saved a child in a fire."
Beth could see Susan's mouth open as in shock. Beth decided to go in for
the kill. "He also told me how he was the king of the firehouse. He
mentioned how he used to fuck-what was her name Paula-when they were on
duty. He told me how they would sneak around have sex with her when he
was off duty."
Beth dropped the flowers on the grave of the woman that she did not know
and walked back to her car. She never looked back, but she could hear
Susan yelling at Butch.
_____
Beth was a few miles down the road she decided she need to stop and
compose herself. She pulled into a Starbucks. She looked at herself in
the mirror and saw where streaks of mascara had run down her face and
where the tears had ruined her make-up. She was in the midst of doing a
repair job when her phone buzzed telling her that she had a text message.
The sender of the message was not identified, but when she read the
message she knew who had sent it.
Unknown: Was that necessary? You should not have said those things about
Butch.
Beth: Why not. They were all true. Susan deserved to know.
Unknown: It wasn't your place to tell her. All you did was hurt her
deeply.
Beth: I was mad at Butch because of his perverted behavior I missed
seeing my old family.
Unknown. You shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Beth: Are you mad at me for going to the funeral?
Unknown: I don't get mad. I will say that I am more disappointed by your
behavior at the funeral.
Unknown: Your silence tells me that you are thinking about what I am
saying. Remember you are to offer the same grace, mercy, forgiveness, and
love that you have been given.
Beth: I am sorry that I let you down
Unknown: Your Heavenly Father has forgiven you. You have been operating
under the impression that you will not make mistakes as Beth. You will
make many. Put this behind you and move forwards.
Beth was feeling more composed now and she decided to drive back to
Tallahassee. She stopped at a Chick Fil A in Gainesville. While she was
waiting for her food she checked her phone for messages.
First message
Leigh: Where are you?? I heard you get up early this morning then I fell
back to sleep. Want to go shopping tonight?? Love you girl Leigh
Second Message.
Ron: Beth this has been a wonderful weekend. The Holy Spirit is alive at
this Camp. Can't wait to tell you about it. What do you say Burgers @ Red
Robin on Wednesday? Ciao Ron
Third Message:
Aaron: Missing you, wishing you were here. Mom's B day is lame, mostly
Her friends. I am getting up early tomorrow morning and driving straight
back to Tallahassee. What do you say if I can get come in time we go to
Potbellys for a couple of hours. And I am off on Wednesday how about
Barnacle Bills?. Look forward to seeing you Aaron
Beth though about what she would say to all three messages while she had
her Chick Fil A Sandwich
After a few sips of tea (feeling proud of herself for forsaking the
fries) she took out her phone to returned messages.
Beth: Not sure if I will make home in time for shopping tonight. Maybe we
Could grab a salad tomorrow after church? What is the latest with Scott?
Leigh; Salad sounds great. I will tell you tomorrow about Scott. What's
up with your love life?
Beth Lol sounds good I will tell you tomorrow. It has been a long day. A
coworker asked me to drive her to her grandfather's funeral. It was a
last-minute thing.
Leigh You are a good person. Drive home safely.
Beth: Ron I am afraid I can't make it on Wednesday I have another
commitment. Let's look for another night.
Next message
Beth: Aaron-Barnacle Bills on Wednesday sounds fun along with Pot Bellys
tomorrow. Sorry you are not having fun at your mom's b-day party. But be
a good son and don't be a Debbie downer? Drive home safely Can't wait to
see you xoxo Beth
Another Visit To The Old Frat
Aaron made it back in time for him and Beth to go to Potbellys. They had
a pleasant couple of hours before they had to say good night. Aaron drove
Beth back to the Chi O house. They spent several minutes in the car
saying good night with intimate kisses. When Beth finally got out of the
car she felt like she was floating to the house.
Beth knew she was falling in love with Aaron. She was falling in love
with Aaron, the way Ron wanted her to fall in love with him. She dreaded
having to tell Ron the truth. She had no idea how to tell him. She took
Thomas's advice and prayed.
_____
Thinking of Thomas reminded Beth of another thing that she had to do.
Using her job in Vital Statistics she contacted the funeral home that
handled Ken's grandfather's funeral. She was able to get the contact
number for Butch's wife Susan.
Beth had intended to hurt Butch, she ended up hurting Susan. Beth was
able to contact Susan and apologized for her actions. Surprisingly Susan
did not blame Beth for anything. She felt bad for Beth because Butch was
trying to hit on her on the day she was honoring her grandparent.
Susan also told Beth that she didn't learn anything new from her
outburst. The things that Beth said were things that she already knew or
suspected. Susan finished the call by telling her that she and Butch were
divorcing and she completely believed Beth was innocent.
______
Beth and Aaron continued to see each other. They would go out on a
date/dinner a couple times a week, coffee usually each school day,
text/IM/skype/Snap Chat each other throughout the day. Beth also changed
churches and begun to attend Aaron's church on a regular basis.
This change in church greatly reduced the times that she and Ron saw each
other. Beth knew she had to be honest with Ron. She was just hesitant
because she did not want to hurt him, even though she knew this was
inevitable. She did try to carve out time for Ron. Once a week they would
meet for lunch and catch up. Beth was glad that Ron was staying busy at
the church as a member and as an employee. Ron's busy schedule meant that
Ron wasn't reaching out to her as much as he used to. Still Beth knew she
that she needed to find a way to be truthful with Ron. Channeling her
inner Scarlett O'Hara she said, "Tomorrow is another day, I will think
about it tomorrow."
______
Chilly weather (by North Florida Standards) settled onto the FSU campus.
Soon it would be time to begin preparation for the holidays. The first
holiday up, Halloween. Some of the Chi O were planning on a private
Halloween party at one of the sister's farm in Thomasville. Beth was
going to ask Aaron to come with her. She was thinking about dressing up
as a pirate winch and Aaron could dress up as a pirate. But she wasn't
sure if winch costume might be too much too soon.
As it turned out, the question about the winch costume was moot. Beth's
mom and her mom's friends were hosting a Halloween party for some of the
kids from the children's homes in Tallahassee. Anne Campbell wanted, well
demanded that Beth help her with the event. She wanted Beth and some
other FSU students to come dress as Disney characters and hand out candy
and gifts to the children.
Anne also asked Leigh to participate. Leigh and Beth agreed to help.
Leigh decided to ask Scott to come Beth decided she would ask Aaron to
participate when they went out that weekend.
_____
Aaron and Beth went to Theater Tallahassee and saw Fiddler On The Roof. A
friend of theirs from church was playing Chava in the play. They were
pleased with the play and their friend's performance.
Afterwards they went to what was becoming their favorite restaurant
Barnacle Bills. Over dinner Beth asked Aaron about helping with her mom's
Halloween party. He said he would gladly help, he could meet her mom and
Scott already told him that he was helping.
The next thing to be decided was what costume should they wear. Ken had
never paid attention to Disney movies. Beth was more familiar with Disney
movies, having worked at children's camps she had become familiar with
many of the recent movies.
After her mom approached her about the party she began reviewing all of
the Disney princesses. She decided that she wanted to go as Belle. She
felt that she could identify with her the most in appearance, and with
her love of books. This meant that Aaron would go as the Beast, to which
he agreed to do.
After dinner, they stopped at the ice cream shop near the frat house.
Over ice cream Aaron asked Beth if she would be comfortable going back to
his room at the house. Beth froze before she answered, she would blame it
on brain freeze. She wasn't sure how she felt about going back to her old
room. She weighed the pros and cons back and forth. Finally she decided
if this relationship was going to continue eventually she would have to
go back to his place. With a cheerful smile she told Aaron that she would
love to go back to his room. But first she wanted to visit the women's
room.
Beth took a little extra time in the women's room. She was doing more
than freshening up. She was taking in what it means to go to Aaron's
room. Having roomed with Aaron She was familiar with his relationships
with Kathleen and other girls. Aaron had shared, before he became
Christian he had been sexually active. He didn't start dating Kathleen
until after he became a Christian. Aaron told Ken that he and Kathleen
had not had sexual intercourse.
Ken now Beth, believed Aaron when he said that they had not had sex, he
knew that they had some sexual activity, to his/her knowledge they had
not advanced too much further than "second base." Beth wondered what were
Aaron's expectations and how far was she comfortable going tonight? She
admitted she didn't know the answer to either question. The only thing
that she knew was that the only furniture in the room was two desks and
two beds.
______
Beth and Aaron arrived at the Pike house parking lot. He opened the door
for her and took her hand and helped her out of the car. They walked hand
in hand up the back steps that she had walked many times as Ken. They
walked through the main living room, which to Beth's relief was empty.
They went down the hallway that she had walked down many times before.
She couldn't help but remember the last time she had walked in this
hallway. it was 2:00 am and she, as Ken was sneaking out of the office
before her theft had been discovered.
Those memories quickly disappeared when they approach Aaron's room. Beth
could feel heart rate racing as Aaron reached into his pocket for his key
card. While it took him 15 seconds it seemed like it took 15 hours for
him to open the door.
Aaron turned on one of the lights in the room he led her into what had
once been their room. What struck Beth the most about her old room, was
how it had not changed, literally from when she had fled the fraternity.
Only difference was that Ken's stuff was missing, everything else was the
same.
Beth noticed that the other bed had no bedding and the other desk was
unused. She asked Aaron, "Do you have a roommate?"
"I used to have a roommate, Taylor. Taylor dropped out of school last
month. We do not need to worry about anyone barging in on us."
The couple sat on the bed sitting with their backs against the wall. Beth
took off her black high heeled sandals. "That feels good. My feet are
killing me," she said flirtatiously. They spent some time talking about
general things. The play, friends, family, etc.
10 minutes after they had sat down Aaron kissed Beth. They kissed almost
non-stop for several minutes. Aaron then turned off the light leaving
them in darkness, with only the light from the moon illuminating them.
Aaron resumed exploring Beth's lips, neck, and ears with his kisses. Beth
was enjoying all of this, but she was still experiencing some nervous
energy. In an effort to slow down, and try to regain some composure. She
asked Aaron to stop while she took off her earrings, saying that she
didn't want to lose them. Aaron obliged.
After placing her earrings on the desk next to the bed she turned to face
Aaron again. Aaron placed his arms around Beth and was able to move her
so that she was now lying flat on the bed. Aaron picked up where they had
left off, but now he was on top of her, not totally though.
Beth's soul, conscience, and inner voice was at war inside of her. Part
of her was freaking out with the thought that a guy was on top of her. As
Ken, he had been on top of girls before, but this was totally different.
When she was Ken and on top she was in control. Now there was no doubt
that Aaron was in control of this situation. There was a part of her that
wanted to yell out stop let me up.
But a larger part of her inner workings was enjoying it. She felt
comfortable and at ease "submitting to Aaron." She relaxed as Aaron's
tongue explored more parts of her neck, lips, cheek, tongue, ears. She
could feel a fire forming inside of her. A fire that was giving her
warmth.
She also knew that if she got too close to that fire it could burn her.
She felt a little "ember" from the fire when Aaron's hand cupped her
right breast. She was still fully clothed but the touch was warming her
erogenous zones, preparing them to fire.
As Ken he had felt women's breast before, right here in this very room 15
feet from where she was now being felt up by Aaron. As Ken, when he felt
a woman's breast he would feel it in his groin, feeding his erection. The
feel of a woman's breast didn't affect any other part of his body.
The experience was much different as Beth. While the most intense of the
sexual energy was being felt in the nerves of her breast, other part of
her body were reacting to Aaron's touch and his kisses. Her heartrate was
definitely rising. Her body heat was increasing, she could feel a warmth
forming on her chest. She felt tingles up and down her body, her toes
begin to curl making her painted peach toes to not be visible.
More ambers from the fire were landing on Beth, she was still feeling
just warmth and not flames. Aarons kisses were taking her places that she
had never been before. She was enjoying this new experience in intimacy.
Aaron repositioned himself so that his body was aligned with Beth's. When
Aaron moved Beth felt something new, Aaron's erection bulging inside of
his pant. The only erection that Beth had ever felt or seen before were
the ones he had experienced as Ken. While the temperature was getting
hotter, she was still feeling warmth and not flames.
Aaron's hands continued to explore Beth's upper body through her blouse.
After a few minutes he decided to try going a little bit further. While
he and Beth were engaged in a deep passionate kiss, he unbuttoned the top
button of Beth's blouse. Beth now felt the flames and not just the heat.
She received a jolt of adrenaline and broke the kiss and told Aaron that
she wanted to stop. Aaron obliged, feeling good with how far they went
tonight. They both sat up. Beth told Aaron that she enjoyed the night,
she wasn't ready to go that far tonight. They spent the next hour cuddled
and holding hands while they watch the conclusion of the live action of
Beauty and the Beast, a concession made by Aaron.
When the movie was over Aaron took Beth home. Where they spent another 10
minutes saying good night smothering each other in kisses.
Halloween
Fall was in full swing on the campus. Students and fans were flocking to
the campus on weekends to watch their beloved Noles. The Seminole
football team was enjoying one of their most successful seasons, eight
games into the season they were undefeated.
During the last weekend of October all of the Nole fans took a break from
dressing in Garnett and Gold and dressed up for Halloween. Aaron and Beth
had already decided to dress up as Beauty and the Beast.
Although she had been looking forward to the Chi O Halloween party, she
was happy to be at this special party. Her mom had always been a
volunteer on the children's home board, always working to do special
projects for the kids. Ken had never been interested in any type of
philanthropy, especially anything that involved kids. But as Beth, he/she
enjoyed participating and helping the children.
Some might say that Ken's change in attitude was because he was now a
girl and these were the kind of things that girls like to do. There might
have been some truth to that, but there was more. Beth enjoyed helping
kids with their homework, making crafts, leading them on activities, etc.
Helping others reminded her of how much she had received, how she had
been forgiven, given a second chance at life. She wanted others to
experience these things.
After serving the kids dinner the volunteers led the children and staff
in a sing along of various Disney songs. When the kids started to sing
"Be Our Guest" the entire audience began cheering for Belle and Beast to
dance. They agreed and went to the front of the makeshift stage.
Beth figured she knew everything about Aaron, all though she was seeing
some things from a different point of view. One thing she was certain of
was that Aaron didn't dance, especially any type of ball room dancing. No
one in the room was more surprised than Beth when Aaron took her hand and
waltzed with her across the stage.
Those in the crowd saw the radiant smile of Beth, her glow, and how her
eyes popped as she was treated tenderly and lovingly by the Beast. More
than one person said, they must be in love in real life.
After the sing along and dancing the volunteers disbursed to different
parts of the fellowship hall and set up stations to distribute candy to
the kids for a little trick or treating.
Beth was giving out M & M, a job that didn't take much thought. She
distributed candy without thinking for her mind was somewhere else.
She was thinking about her and Aaron dancing tonight, last week in his
room, the many other times they had been together. She thought about the
Pirate Winch costume that she had considered wearing. She started
dreaming.
She saw an image of her wearing the winch costume. She and Aaron were in
a house, a house-that she had never seen before. She saw Aaron kissing
her as he removed her costume. She saw them tumbling onto their bed.
She closed her eyes to take it all in. She opened her eyes and saw no
kids at her station. She went back to her dream. It was early morning she
was cooking breakfast. She saw Aaron come up behind her and kiss her neck
as she flipped the pancakes. She saw Aaron move in tighter behind her.
She saw him put his arms around so that they were just below her breast.
Beth smiled and could feel herself blushing. She went back to her dream.
She saw him slowly slide his hands down the front of her body, stopping
when his hands got to her baby bump.
Beth's inner voice started screaming, "What the hell?"
She was interrupted by the sound of little kids shouting, "Belle. Belle,
Belle." Beth remembered where she was. She quickly gave out the candy,
giving every kid bonus packs of M& M.
________
Beth enjoyed the night, but the end couldn't come soon enough for her.
All the volunteers pitched in and cleaned up and they were done in no
time. Beth and the rest of the crew was happy to be out of their costumes
and back into regular clothes on the way home.
Beth's mom had asked Beth to come home this weekend so they could have
time together. After some hesitation she agreed to have some
mother/daughter time with her mom.
She dove her mom's car while her mom made some phone calls. While her mom
chatted with the other volunteers and board members she had that vision
again. Once again she was making breakfast. Aaron came up behind her put
his hands in front of her and again slid them down again to her baby
bump.
"Beth watch out!" screamed her mom. Beth was brought back to awareness
just in time to avoid hitting the car in front of them. "What are you
doing? Where is your mind?" Beth thought to herself, trust me mom you
don't want to know.
"I am sorry mom I was distracted with school and some other things." They
drove in silence until they pulled into the garage. As soon as they
entered the house her mom announced, "I will make us some coffee. Any
preference? Her mom planning to make coffee late at night was a sign that
she wanted to stay up and talk. Beth had a hunch her mom was going to be
talking in the sense that her mom would be asking almost all of the
questions and Beth would be answering them."
Beth took her stuff to her room. Before she returned to the living room
she took out her phone and sent a text to Aaron
Beth: Hey sweetie. Had fun with you tonight. Thank you for dressing up. I
owe you.
Aaron: It was fun. Got to meet your mom, and had fun helping the kids.
Beth: Where did you learn to dance that? You surprised me!
Aaron: I will tell you another time
Beth: Good idea. Mom has made some coffee. Means she wants to talk, I m
sure one of the subjects will be you lol
Aaron: Well I think I made a good impression
Beth: Tomorrow night dinner your pick and my treat, Love you
Aaron: Love you too
Beth: xoxo
Beth changed into a pair of Chi O sweat pants and FSU sweat shirt and
walked to the living room. Her mom had made her favorite coffee Starbucks
Italian Roast. While her mom chose Dunkin Doughnuts coffee. Her mom
commented that this was one of the things that she loved about Keurig,
everybody gets their favorite coffee.
Beth figured her mom was going to want to talk about Aaron, what she
didn't know was how would she bring him up.
Anne sipped her coffee quietly for a couple of minutes and then asked
Beth, "Where was Ron tonight?"
Beth was not expecting that to be the starting question. She stumbled
over words. "Well he was busy doing something at church."
"Doing what at church?"
"Look mom I really don't know what he is doing. I just guessed it was
something church related."
"Why don't you know? Don't you two talk?"
Beth sensed her mom was looking for an answer, an answer to confirm what
she suspected about Ron. "Mom, Ron and I are both busy during the week
with school and other things. We try to meet up for lunch once a week.:
Anne quickly asked, "Did something happen between you two?"
"No mom, nothing happened. We are both very busy. We are just good
friends."
Anne decided it was time for her second round of attack. "Are you an
Aaron and just friends?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean are you and Aaron friends, or is there something more between you
two?"
Beth was feeling the heat, and it wasn't from the coffee. Her mom was
driving at something, but didn't know what it was. "I spend time with Ron
and I spend time with Aaron."
"You mentioned you get together once a week with Ron. How much time do
you spend with Aaron?"
Beth didn't want to get specific and she wanted to end this line of
questioning. "Mom what is your point?"
"Ron is a good boy. He serves the Lord, is active in the church, and is
nice to everyone." Beth started to speak, but her mom stopped her. "If
you want to date Aaron and not Ron that is fine, you just need to be
honest with Ron. Let him be free to find someone."
Beth said nothing for a few minutes, I just don't' want to hurt him."
Anne moved closer to her daughter and put her arm around her "I know
honey you are a good girl, and you would not want to intentionally hurt
Ron. But the longer you wait the harder it will be for you and Ron."
Beth hoped that was the end of the conversation and that they would say
good night and go to bed. But Anne wasn't through.
"Tell me about Aaron. Where did you meet?
"We met at homecoming. We were paired up with his fraternity. Neither one
of us was interested in the party. We sat on the front steps and talked.
Then we walked to the ice cream shoppe and talked some more."
"Where is he from? What is he studying? Does he go to church?"
"He is from Charleston, SC. He is majoring in Business. Yes, he attends
church regularly."
Her mom smiled. "Let me guess he goes to Celebration? Is that why you
started going there?"
"I went to Celebration because he invited me to some special events. I
met some wonderful people there besides him, and I decided to keep
going."
"Well be careful. Protect your heart. Remember what I said about being
nice to Ron. With that mom and daughter said good night and went to bed.
Beth was in bed but she couldn't sleep. She thought about what her mom
had said. She knew her mom was right. She started praying about the words
she should say to Ron.
I am Woman
Beth finally got some sleep, for about an hour. Unfortunately for Beth,
at least on this night, she was a light sleeper. A late-night text
message from Leigh would wake her up. Leigh sent a message saying, "It
happen!!!" And she would give Beth details tomorrow.
Beth knew exactly what that meant, Leigh and Scott had finally had sex.
Beth knew that tomorrow would be an interesting day. She tried to go back
to sleep.
Every time she would close her eyes and almost get to sleep, the image of
her and Aaron would bring her back to full consciousness. She could
clearly see Aaron unbuttoning the buttons on her Winch costume. She saw
Aaron slide the dress to the floor. She saw herself again making
breakfast. Again, Aaron walked up behind her as she flipped the pancake.
Aaron put his arms around her and slid his hands down the front of the
body stopping at her baby bump. There it was again, that bump. The baby
bump brought home another crashing reality about being a woman.
When Beth was Ken he had thought about what it would be like to make his
wife pregnant and having to go through pregnancy and childbirth with her.
He assumed it would be hard for his wife, but he would be supportive, and
he didn't give the pain of pregnancy and childbirth much thought.
Now Ken was Beth and she was the one with a uterus and vagina. And she
knew how tight and small that space was! And a baby was much bigger than
the birth canal that she now owned.
When Ken became Beth, he hadn't really thought about pregnancy other than
in the abstract. He knew pregnancy was a consequence of his new gender.
But it seemed so far off. He didn't see himself in a relationship, and he
definitely didn't envision having sex with a guy.
Now he was in a relationship with a guy, and sex with a guy was beginning
to seem more and inevitable. She wondered when she and Aaron would have
sex. Not if, but when.
Living with many college age women she had heard plenty about sex from a
woman's point of view. For women talk around sex often accompanied talk
about birth control. College age women enjoyed sex, but most were not
interested in experiencing pregnancy and motherhood while still in
college. While feminist did not like it, many women still assumed the
responsibility for birth control, for a good reason. Guys can't get
pregnant. Women knew that if they forgot the birth control or if it
failed, it was the woman who would suffer the consequences. They are the
ones who get pregnant and give birth. From this side of the fence she
understood completely why women didn't trust men to be responsible for
birth control.
Beth knew some of the birth control methods that were being used by her
sorority sisters, and abstinence was defiantly not the most popular
choice. One of her ex-Chi Omega sisters was a nursing student. She had
obtained some childbirth photos of the baby's head crowning. She then
blew the pictures up and hung them in the living section of the house
with the message "tonight on your date remember this photo"
Did it work? No. Beth knew of two Chi O who became pregnant and left the
sorority. Most Chi O ridiculed and mocked this ex-sister. Rumors abounded
about what had happened to her. Some said that she became a lesbian
and/or became pregnant.
When it came to birth control there were many options, but by far the
most popular method was the pill. Beth had come to realize that being on
the pill was more than birth control, it was a status symbol. To many of
her peers having that pink round case was a way to say I belong. I belong
to the sisterhood of women. They treated the pill the way her Chi O
sisters treated their sorority pin as a way to identify that they are
members of the Chi O sorority.
Beth was surprised to learn that many young women were on the pill for
reasons other than birth control. Many used the excuse that they needed
to regulate their periods as a way to get their parents to let them get
the pill in high school. And some girls had obtained the pill by claiming
they had an eating disorder. She also found it ironic that many girls
used these excuses for having the pill even if they were using it for
birth control.
_____
Birth control, child birth was just one part of being a woman. Beth had
already accepted that she was now a woman and would be a woman until the
day she died. Even though she had gladly embraced that she was a woman,
she still struggled with what does it mean to be a woman? How should she
live out her life? How can she best serve others and make a difference in
the world as a woman? In the almost two years of being a woman, Beth had
heard many different views from women on what exactly it means to be a
woman.
She knew that feminist would despise the argument of her question. They
would say that the argument is moot because the question is moot. They
would say there are no differences between men and women. Anything men
could do women can do.
Beth agreed that men and women should be free to purse whatever pursuits
that they wanted. But having the privilege of living life as both genders
she knew that the feminist argument was wrong. Men and women were
different, and not just physical and biologic differences.
As Beth she was more cautious and less inclined to take risk than she had
when she was Ken. As a woman she was more vulnerable and that may have
been part of her new found caution. But she was more cautious when making
everyday decisions. She spent a month researching and praying before
deciding on her major. Ken would have made the decision in an hour. When
it came time to make purchase decisions she would go on Yelp and Amazon
and read the reviews before making purchases. Of course it was Ken's
reckless living that got him in the financial peril that led him to steal
and led him to live life as Beth.
She couldn't deny that she was more emotional and held on to things more
than Ken ever did. Ken could get in an argument with a fraternity brother
and 30 minutes later they would be drinking a beer together. Beth had
some arguments with her sorority sisters that resulted in them not
speaking to each other for over a month.
Beth was more nurturing and caring than Ken ever was. Beth would see an
upset child or an elderly person and offer to help. Ken never noticed
others who were not directly linked to him
Beth's interest and hobbies had changed since she became Beth. Ken's life
was sports. Beth still like going to FSU games, but for her it was more
of a social event. Since becoming Beth she had developed an interest in
the theater, baking and cooking. She also knew the latest fashions.
Beth had some arguments with some of her more feminist sorority sisters
who disagreed that certain jobs and certain majors appealed more heavily
to one of the genders than the other. Beth would reply "then why don't
you see women fighting to get into construction jobs? Why aren't there
more men in the education and music majors?"
Establishing that men and women were different was just the starting
point for Beth as she pursued what it means to be a woman. One of the
popular movies among college women was Legally Blonde. In the movie the
lead character Elle Woods struggles with how she can be a taken seriously
and be a successful woman lawyer. She comes to realize that instead of
denying her feminine qualities that separate her from men she needed to
embrace them. But how?
There were two resources that Beth knew could help her. One was the Chi
Omega Symphony, which encourage its members to always be womanly. This
means live above snobbery. Place a person's character over their
appearance. To be loved instead of seeking to be popular. Work earnestly,
speak kind words, be thoughtful in your choices. Be loyal. And never be
discouraged by life's obstacles.
These words were good words to live by. She would find direction in
another place, The Bible. Beginning in Genesis. Yes, God had established
women as the gender who would bring life to the world by giving birth. He
also established that she would be a helper to her man, for it is not
good to be alone.
The Bible also states that giving birth is not the only role women are to
have in the family. Women are instructed to make the house, to create the
heart and soul of the family.
In Ephesians women are told to submit to their husbands for they are the
head of the house. He also told men-a verse that many men either forget
or neglect-that they are to love their wife the way Christ loved the
church. To honor and cherish their wife.
The Bible also states that women are to be honored. 1 Timothy states that
women are to be worthy of respect. Finally, she noticed that many of the
tenants of the Chi Omega Symphony seem to be taken from 1 Timothy Chapter
2; dress modestly, do good deeds, worship God, learn in quietness.
Beth decided that she would be a woman that honors God by being the best
woman she could be. First thing that she needed to do was be honest with
Ron.
A Surprising Breakup
After weeks of praying and soul searching Beth knew that she could no
longer put off the unpleasant task of talking to Ron. There was no doubt
that she loved Aaron, and if their relationship continued at its current
pace they were destined to be not just in love, but lovers.
She and Ron agreed to meet at one of the college hangouts on Tennessee
Street. She agonized over what she would say to Ron, she knew there was
no way to avoid hurting Ron, she wanted to minimize the hurt.
Beth walked into the sandwich shop and saw that Ron was already there.
Ron stood up gave Beth a hug and invited her to sit down. Beth had
already decided that she would not order anything. It would be best to
get this over with and make a clean break.
Beth started to speak but Ron stopped her. "Beth, I have something to
say. And I need to say it now."
She thought that Ron was going to once more affirm his love for her. This
was going to be harder than she wanted it to be. She meekly said, "Ok go
ahead and say what you have to say."
Ron took a drink of his Coca Cola and then began his speech. "Beth we
have been friends for a long time. You have been a great friend for me.
You have always been there for me. You have done so much for me. You are
a wonderful Christian woman. You would make a great girlfriend and one
day a wife for any guy."
Beth did not like how this conversation was going she knew she needed to
stop it before it went too far. She tried to stop Ron. Ron was not
deterred, "I have told you before that I have been in love with you and
that I wanted more. However, things have changed and I have to be honest
with you. I no longer feel the way that I used to about you. I am sorry
that I have not been honest with you."
Beth processed what she was hearing. She said to herself, "Did he say
that he was no longer in love with me? Did I miss something?"
Ron was continuing with his oration. "I should have been honest with you.
I met someone a few months ago. And we have been dating." Ron paused and
then continued, "I am sorry to hurt you but I really do love Samantha."
Beth was processing all of this. At first, she wasn't sure she was
hearing this right. When she realized she did hear Ron correctly she went
to disbelief. She couldn't believe that Ron was breaking up WITH HER! She
was supposed to be breaking up with him.
Beth said with a forced smile. "That is great. I am happy for you. How
did you meet her?"
Beth tried to listen to Ron's description of how he and Samantha met, but
she really didin't hear him. She was too busy trying to get over the fact
that she was the one being "dumped." Granted she and Ron were not an
official couple, but she had enjoyed and liked the comfort of having Ron
around and always available. She also realized that she had not treated
Ron fairly, and that she had not been honest with him.
Beth looked at Ron. "Ron I need to ask your forgiveness. I should have
been honest with you earlier about my feelings for you. I should not have
strung you along. Please forgive me for that."
Ron did not hesitate. "My good friend you are forgiven."
Before he could get another word out, Beth interrupted, "there is one
more thing I need to confess. Not too long ago I met someone and started
dating him. I should have been honest with you once I realized my true
feelings for Aaron, I am truly sorry for misleading you, lying to you,
again I ask for your forgiveness."
Ron waited until he knew Beth was through. "I had heard that you were
dating someone, but I wasn't surprised. A smart, beautiful, polite,
charming woman like you would be the desire of any man. Not surprised you
found someone. Tell me about Aaron."
Beth proceeded to tell Ron all about Aaron. After she was finished with
giving Ron the details she asked Ron, "You said that you had heard I had
been dating someone. Who told you that I was dating someone else, my
mom?"
"Well your mom, and others at church did mentioned that you were dating a
guy, but that wasn't where I first heard about you dating another guy."
"Really? Where did you first hear?" asked a surprised Beth.
Ron chuckled. "You probably will not believe me."
"Of course, I will believe what you tell me. Who told you that I was
dating someone else?" a very curious Beth asked.
"An angel told me!"
"An angel?!!" Beth answered back with astonishment.
Ron continued, "I know it sounds crazy but an angel appeared to me in a
dream. In the dream the angel told me I was seeking happiness and
fulfillment in all of the wrong places. He told me that you were dating
someone else and that I will never be happy until I let you go
emotionally."
Beth had a sneaky suspicion who this angel might be. "Did this angel have
a name?"
Ron begin to feel relief as he sensed that Beth believed his story about
the angel. Ron wasted no time in answering back, "He said his name was
Thomas."
Beth rolled her eyes.
_____
Beth and Ron spent the next several minutes talking about school, and how
life was going in general. They both knew when it was time to end the
conversation and say good-bye.
Outside of the restaurant they gave each other a hug and said agreed to
stay in touch and remain good friends. Beth said she would like that.
However as she watched Ron walk away she knew that was highly unlikely.
Beth had been a girl for almost two years. But she had been a girl long
enough to know that there was almost no chance that Samantha would
support Ron regularly seeing a girl that he had a long-time crush on, no
matter how innocent and Christlike it might have been.
Beth and Ron no longer attended the same church and they were in very
different majors in school, the odds of them seeing each other was very
low.
She was thinking about all of this, her relationship with Ron and the
future as she watched Ron walk down Tennessee Street. At the precise
moment that she realized she would probably never see him again, Ron
turned right onto Copeland and walked out of her sight.
Speaking in a soft and regretful tone she said, "Good-bye my good friend.
I wish you well."
-------
"He broke up with you," Leah said with a loud laugh. "Oh my God. This is
hilarious you wanted to dump him and was worried about hurting him. But
he broke up with you and he was worried about your feelings."
"Thanks for the recap" Beth said sarcastically.
"And then you were worried he would find out that you have been dating
someone, only it turns out he has been dating someone else! This is so
funny" Leigh laughed.
"Yeah it's very funny. Tell me again why I thought you would be a
comforting friend?" Beth asked before taking another taste of her frozen
yogurt.
After her meeting with Ron Beth called Leigh and asked her to meet her at
their yogurt shop. Leigh was enjoying Beth's saga, too much for Beth's
comfort.
Leigh finally decided that her friend need some comforting. She held
Beth's hand and spoke, "You have been worried about hurting Ron, turns
out he is doing ok. And I know it took a lot of courage for you to meet
Ron and tell him the truth. Now you don't have to worry about him. You
know he has found someone and is moving on with life."
Beth realized her friend was right, and gave her a friend a sincere thank
you and told her that she was a great friend and that she loved her. Then
it was time for the second reason for their meeting.
"So tell me what happen with you and Scott?" Beth asked.
"Well as you know at the Halloween Party we went dressed as Woody and
Jessie from Toy Story. Let's just say we made a version of Toy Story that
Disney will not be making anytime soon," Leigh answered with a wink.
"I take it would be an X Rated film?" Beth asked with a grin.
Leigh finding it hard to suppress a big grin, "Yes it would be X Rated!"
Potpourri of Events
Having settled things with Ron Beth was ready to move on with her life,
especially her relationship with Aaron. She wanted to freeze her every
moment of time, but life seemed to be speeding by with so many things.
---------
Thanksgiving
Although it was almost a month between Halloween and Thanksgiving, to
Beth it seemed like it had just been hours. Before she knew it,
Thanksgiving had arrived.
Normally Aaron would have gone home for Thanksgiving. But this year he
decided to stay in Tallahassee. His mom was not happy about this news.
But he was able to convince her by playing on her emotions, that it was a
six hour drive each way, and Thanksgiving was only a four-day weekend. He
appealed to her alumni pride. The FSU-UF game was taking place on
Saturday, and as an FSU alumnus she understood why he had to stay in
town.
Reluctantly his mom agreed when he told her that a family from church had
invited him to their Thanksgiving. Aaron's mom told him to make sure that
he brought something to the dinner and have a good time and that she and
the family would miss him.
What Aaron didn't tell his mom the family he was spending Thanksgiving
dinner with was Beth's. On Thanksgiving morning Aaron followed his
mother's advice and showed up with flowers for Mrs. Campbell and Beth,
plus a pie that he purchased from Publix.
Aaron wanted to make a great impression on his girlfriend's family. He
succeeded. Anne Campbell quickly warmed up to this polite young man from
Charleston. Beth's dad spent much time bonding with Aaron over football
and Aaron's pursuit of his Business Degree. They shared a laugh when
Aaron reminded Dr. Campbell that as a freshman he had given him an F on
his first college exam.
Beth's sister Cheryl initially offered some resistance to her sister's
boyfriend. She "interrogated" Aaron whenever she had a chance to get him
alone. By the time dessert was served she realized that her sister had
made a great catch.
----------
The Hated Gators
Many people in Tallahassee, and Gainesville live and die with the FSU
Seminole-Florida Gator game. Some people on both sides get so wrapped up
in the game that the next year could be a happy or depressing one
depending on the game's outcome. This year's game promised to be no
different. Both teams were undefeated and ranked #1 and #2 in the
country. Tickets were going five times the face value.
Normally the Chi Omegas tended to sit with their dates at games. This
game would be different. One of the Chi Omega sisters, Bridget had been
suffering from cancer. She had been planning on going to the game with
her sisters. The Chi Omegas had decided to sit together as a sorority
with Bridget and accommodate Bridget's request.
Bridget stated that she wanted to go to the FSU-UF game dressed up, in a
dress and heels. She never said why she wanted to dress up for the game.
Her Chi Omega sisters didn't care why, they were going to make sure that
her wish was granted.
Sadly, Bridget died a little over a week before the Big Game. The Chi
Omegas decided they would attend the game in dresses and heels to honor
Bridget. This is why Beth went to the Florida game in a red dress and
cream-colored pumps instead of jeans and a FSU tee shirt.
Before the game there was some excitement for Beth. Coca Cola had decided
to sponsor a pre-game contest. Four fans (2 from Florida and 2 from FSU)
were chosen to come onto the field for a pre-game field goal kicking
contest. And Beth was one of the contestants chosen.
Beth was one of two FSU students and the only female picked out of the
four to kick a field goal for a chance to win scholarship money. Beth was
excited to go onto the field and kick. As Ken, he had been the place
kicker and punter on his high school football team. He remembered the
basics of how to kick. But Ken never kicked in a dress and heels. And
Beth did not have the leg strength that Ken had. She wished that she
could change out her dress and into some shorts, but that was not an
option.
The official from Coca Cola explained the rules to the participants and
wished them luck. As the contestants got ready, the production assistant
asked Beth if she was going to remove her heels? Beth started to say yes,
but then she remembered a movie "The Right Kind of Wrong" that she had
seen on Netflix earlier in the week.
In one of the movie's opening scenes the Bride, in full wedding gown and
heels, punted a football at least 40 yards. Beth decided she would try to
kick a field goal in dress and heels. If she was the first one out, which
seemed likely, she would at least look beautiful!
The first attempt for the four contestants was the equivalent of an extra
point. The 1st Florida contestant kicked it through the up rights. The
1st FSU contestant kicked it wide right, words of terror to all FSU fans.
The second Florida contestant failed to get the ball off of the ground.
Then it was Beth's turn.
Fans could not help but notice a beautiful young woman dressed up and
getting ready to kick a field goal, which was in stark contrast to her
competitors who wore jeans/shorts and a tee shirt.
Beth remembering her football days, followed through with a solid kick,
while balancing on one heel-a small miracle. The FSU fans and some of the
Gator fans cheered when her kick went through the uprights.
The two competitors moved to try a 25-yard field goal. Both were
successful. Beth had no idea how she did this. Since she was in dress and
heels she was unable to get a full follow through. The ball was moved
back five more yards for a 30-yard field goal. The contestant from
Florida missed.
Beth was nervous. As Ken she had kicked a game winning 33-yard field
goal. But now she didn't have Ken's leg strength and she wasn't in a
uniform. But a sense of calm came over her. She kicked the ball and it
sailed through the uprights. The fans cheered and the FSU band played the
FSU fight song!
The fans on both sides cheered for this beautiful woman who had out
kicked the guys. In fact there were many cheers of "you go girl!' Beth
quickly realized that many were cheering for her because she was a girl
and won a football kicking contest. She felt proud to display some girl
power. Beth decided to respond in a very feminine way. She picked up the
hem of her dress and did a full curtsey and brought down the house.
Beth accepted the congratulations of the representatives from Coca Cola.
She was given an envelope that gave the details of her scholarship money.
The letter said congratulations and that a $25,000 scholarship would be
deposited into her account at FSU. The letter was signed by a Mr. Thomas
Angel.
As Beth walked to where the Chi Omegas were sitting she was greeted by a
large round of cheers. One of those cheering was Aaron. Aaron had a been
a former high school football player. He laughed at the irony that he was
in love with a girl who had just won a scholarship with her football
skills.
Beth's sorority sisters were very proud of her also. She spent most of
the game regaling her triumph with the girls from her sorority. They paid
very little attention to the game even though it was an exciting game.
Beth and her fellow Chi O missed most of the first 58 minutes of the
game.
When they begin to pay attention to the game they realized that their
beloved Noles were trailing 21-20. The Noles gave their fans hope when
they were able to get the ball to inside of the 30 with two seconds left
in the game.
FSU sent out their kicker to try a game winning 30-yard field goal. The
irony was that he was going to kick from the exact same spot that Beth
had kicked her field goal before the game. Everyone in Doak Campbell
Stadium figured it was a lock. After all a girl in a dress had kicked a
field goal from that spot before the game.
Sadly for the FSU faithful the triumphant field goal before the game was
the only the only kick they would celebrate that day. The FSU kicker's
kick went wide right, reminding the FSU faithful of previous wide right
kicks that had cost the Seminoles victories in big games over the years.
After the game so many people were complaining and wondering why couldn't
a college place kicker kick a successful field goal from the same spot
that a girl from the stands, who was dressed for an afternoon tea had
successfully kicked through the uprights.
The criticism became so constant and mean that some of the FSU coaches
and players went on social media and tv and tried to defend the FSU
placekicker. They pointed out that no one was rushing Beth and that she
was able to use a kickoff tee. The two kicks didn't compare. The pleas
fell on death ears. The sorority girl kick, as it became known, would
dominate the local sports news for the rest of the season.
After the game most of the FSU fans went back to her homes and begin
their mourning. Beth and Aaron were probably one of the few FSU fans who
were in a good mood after the game.
They wanted to go out to dinner, but all the restaurants were packed with
fans from the game. They settled on Chick Fil A. Because it was the
Thanksgiving holiday both Beth's sorority house and Aaron's fraternity
house were closed. They ended up enjoying their Chick Fil A treats in her
parent's back yard swing.
Aaron told Beth how proud he was of her. He rubbed her legs while they
kissed and fondled each other, hoping that the darkness would shield them
from her family.
Since that night when Aaron and Beth first became intimate in his
fraternity room, they had slowly advanced their intimacy. They still had
not had full sexual intercourse nor had they been fully naked in front of
each other. The most they have done was when Aaron had unbuttoned Beth's
blouse and kissed her breast above her bra.
Part of this slow response was a reflection of their strong Christian
beliefs. And some of it was attributed to Beth still learning to be a
woman. Even though they were Christians, they were still human with
carnal needs.
That night after the game they were ready to consummate their
relationship. Unfortunately, or fortunately, for them they had no
options. They couldn't have sex in her parent's house or in the house of
the family that Aaron was staying with. And because of the game hotel
rooms were nonexistent. And they agreed that their first time wasn't
going to be in a car.
That night Aaron decided that next year he was moving out of the
fraternity house and getting his own place to live.
______
Christmas and New Years
Within days of the conclusion of the FSU-Florida game it was time for
final exams and final presentations and papers. Beth and Aaron were both
very busy and saw each other very little over the last couple of weeks of
the fall term. They did take time to go to each other's Sorority and
Fraternity Christmas party. And before Aaron left town for Christmas he
would attend a Christmas party with Beth's family.
Beth gave Aaron some sweaters, a framed photo of her kicking the ball
before the FSU-Florida game and some homemade fudge and cookies for his
trip home. Aaron gave her an FSU football jersey with "Campbell on the
back' and the number 31.
The number 31 gave Beth paused. 31 had been her number when she played
high school football as Ken. She asked Aaron what made him choose the
number 31. Aaron said he felt like a spirit was telling him too buy that
number. He added, "The strangest part I thought I heard the spirt say
that his name was Thomas."
Beth once again rolled her eyes.
Beth and Aaron said good-bye. Aaron went back home to Charleston to spend
Christmas day with his family in his home. The day after Christmas Aaron
and his family left for a two-week vacation in New England.
Beth and her family were going to Colorado for two weeks of skiing. She
and Aaron stayed in touch via all forms of social media, phone, and
texting. On the night of the Sugar Bowl they watched their beloved
Seminoles beat the UCLA Bruins. Beth wore the shirt that Aaron had given
her. She made sure to send him lots of pictures of her wearing the shirt
while she watched the game.
After the game they decided they would spend time with their family and
promised to check in and say good night before they went to bed.
Beth decided she was going to wear her FSU jersey to bed. She decided to
give Aaron one more present. She tied the front of her jersey into a bow
making sure that it exposed her Victoria's Secret velvet lacy bikini
briefs She took a selfie and sent it to Aaron and said good night.
------
Beth went to bed hoping to get a good night's rest for the next day's
skiing. For a few hours, she slept soundly. She was dreaming. She was
wearing her FSU jersey and she was making breakfast. Aaron came up behind
her and put his arms around her and kissed her neck. As she flipped the
pancake Aaron slid his hands down her torso, stopping when his hands
reached her baby bump.
Beth immediately woke up.
Is Beth Ready To Take Things To The Next Level?
Aaron spent the rest of the break staring at the picture of Beth in her
jersey and panties. He had never seen her panties before, he had only
seen her bra a view times and had never seen her bare breast. They knew
that some people ridiculed them for their approach to sex and for wanting
to maintain some purity.
But he couldn't stop thinking about that picture. He wondered what it
would be like to feel those panties. He imagined the thrill he would get
sliding those panties down her smooth-shaven leg and tossing them aside.
He knew that time would have to wait.
2,000 miles away Beth also stared at the picture that she had sent to
Aaron. She still couldn't believe that she did it, but she was glad that
she did. It felt great to be daring and sexy, and safe. She was not sure
if she would have the courage to do that in person in front of Aaron.
It had been almost two years to the date since Ken had become Beth. Two
years ago she was only interested in in survival and becoming Beth was
the only way that he could avoid a prison sentence. He really gave no
thought at that moment what it would mean to become a woman.
Two years ago he never imagined that he would become as feminine as he
had become. Wearing skirts, dresses, and sexy under garments. When Ken
became Beth he never thought he would one day be in a romantic
relationship with his former roommate. Two years ago Ken's mind would not
have been able to process the thought of him wearing panties and he
definitely wouldn't have imagined that he would send a picture of him in
his panties to any guy, let alone his former roommate.
Beth realized more and more that she was a full-fledged card carrying
double X woman! And she had to admit she had never been happier.
-----
At the same moment that Aaron was imagining what it would be like to
remove Beth's panties, Beth was wondering what it would be like to have
Aaron remove them from her body. She wondered what it would be like the
first time Aaron saw her body? How would she react the first time she saw
Aaron's erect penis?
As Ken and as Aaron's roommate, Beth had seen Aaron's penis a few times.
But she couldn't recall what it looked like. She attributed that to the
fact that guys do not stare at other guys' penises. If Beth couldn't
remember Aaron's penis she was pretty certain that she had never seen it
erected.
Beth's sexual experience was very minimal, and to be honest as Ken it
wasn't much more than what Beth had experienced. She had so many
questions but whom should she turn to? Thomas? Well she didn't want to
waste a visit on this subject and besides this wasn't the kind of thing
you should probably talk to an angel about.
Leigh was the first person that came to mind. But Leigh was currently on
the other side of the world in Australia with very limited cell service.
She knew when she got back to FSU they would talk, but she wanted answers
now.
She thought about her mom, not a good idea. Her mom was of a different
generation and she would probably tell Beth to wait. At that moment she
heard the door to their suite open and in walked her sister Cheryl.
Cheryl. She could talk to Cheryl. She knew of no one who had more sexual
experience than her sister Cheryl. Besides it had been awhile since she
and her sister ad shared some bonding time.
-----
"I can't believe that my sweet, pure, and virgin sister is wanting to
have sex with Aaron! I mean it's Aaron right?" Cheryl asked.
"Yes, it's Aaron," answered a very irritated and embarrassed Beth.
Cheryl and Beth talked for hours. Cheryl told her not to set her
expectations too high for the first time, talked about birth control, and
then moved on to other subjects besides sex.
The sisters realized how much they missed sharing with each other and
expressed how much they enjoyed their talk. As they got ready for bed
Cheryl asked "can I ask you one more question. I know how much your
Christian faith means to you. How do you reconcile having sex outside of
marriage with your faith?"
Beth thought for a moment before she replied. "I know that it is a
contradiction, and part of me feels guilty, but there is an equal part of
me that really wants to. I know I am not the only one who feels that
way."
"Like Aaron?" asked Cheryl with a mischievous grin.
"I am sure Aaron feels that way. There are also many people our age in
church who are sexually active. I would guess that half of the girls in
my college Bible Study are having sex on a regular basis. Then look at
how many Chi Omegas are having sex, and many of them profess to be
Christians. We know it is wrong, but we are struggling with our sexual
urges that Paul warned us about in 1 Corinthians," Beth answered.
"So all those years I could have been going to church and while still
enjoying screwing different guys," Cheryl replied with a wink.
"I am not saying having sex when you are unmarried, especially when you
are a Christian is the right thing or even acceptable. I am acknowledging
that it is a problem. Just like people in the church struggle with other
things like lying, addictions, and even stealing." Beth silently thought
about people who steal and are Christian. Sadly, this was a subject that
she was all too familiar with. "I sometimes wonder if this was one of the
reasons that people got married at much younger ages than they do now."
Cheryl didn't hesitate to fire back. "Yeah and back then women didn't
have rights, there was no abortion, no legalized birth control, very few
women had education or a job with career potential. I say no thanks to
the puritan standards, and as you have pointed out the hypocritical
standards, of the church. I will gladly choose to be a sinner and enjoy
life."
"I didn't say that the church is hypocritical. The church has been
consistent. It is the people in the church who have been inconsistent,"
Beth answered her sister's sharp rebuttal. "You said you would rather be
happy. Are you truly happy?"
Cheryl didn't answer, and simply said, "Good night I am tired we will
talk again."
-----
Before her conversation with Cheryl she was leaning towards to having sex
with Aaron as soon as they were both back in Tallahassee. Cheryl,
unintentionally, had had made a good point and now Beth was having second
thoughts. She wondered how do you justify sex outside of marriage when
you are a Christian?
If Beth had learned anything from her time as Ken it was that sin brings
consequences, eventually. You cannot justify doing the wrong thing.
The reason she was living as Beth and not Ken was because as Ken he had
lived life carelessly, spending money he did not have, then he stole
money to pay for his debts. Ken had no impulse control. He just thought
about the moment and did what pleased him.
In the two years as Beth she was hardly impulsive at all. Beth seldom
bought things on impulse. She thought about her actions and how they
would affect others.
How would having sex with Aaron now benefit her or Aaron? To quote Carol
King "would this be a lasting treasure or just a moments pleasure?" Would
sex benefit Aaron. His goal was to earn his Business degree, go to
seminary and use his business degree and seminary degrees and be a
successful pastor. What if she and Aaron became sexually active and she
became pregnant, what would that do to Aaron's career? How many other
people would be affected by their actions? Could they still be an
affective witness if people knew they were having sex outside of
marriage?
Beth was convinced that Aaron was called to be a pastor and to shepherd a
flock, and to provide spiritual guidance. If Aaron's career was derailed
before it got started, how many people would never receive help because
Aaron was not there? Beth thought about her own role. Since her
conversion, each day had taught her that her role was to be supportive.
She found her calling in not just the traditional verses about wives and
mothers but also in the 6th chapter of Acts. Her goal was to take care of
others to care for others, so that those who are called can focus on
teaching and preaching the Word of God.
If Beth was still Ken and a guy he would not think of any of these
things. He would only care about trying to screw whatever girl he was
with and not consider the potential consequences.
Beth knew full well that Aaron was a man and he has the same drives that
Ken used to have. Beth knew she would have to be the strong one to
protect both her purity and the purity of Aaron and Beth as a couple.
(Re)Meet The Parents
Vacation seem to come to an end much too quickly for both Aaron and Beth
and their families. Soon they were back at school and getting ready for
the spring semester.
For Beth there was one welcome change in this new semester. Her football
kicking skills had won her a scholarship and this meant she no longer
needed to work and she was happy to leave her job with the State behind.
This free time gave her an unexpected opportunity, spending more time
with her dad. Her dad being a college professor was always aware of the
old maxim for college professors, "publish or perish." He was now working
on a new book. He needed someone to help with research and editing. He
needed someone that he knew well and who he could trust and no one better
fit this role than his daughter Beth.
Beth welcomed the opportunity to spend additional time with her father.
They would spend 10 hours a week working together. This work time was
sprinkled with time to talk about a wide variety of subjects. For Beth
this was a treasured time that helped her getting to know her dad.
William Campbell was also getting to know his daughter. One thing that he
was learning was that his daughter's relationship with Aaron was serious.
And he decided he needed to spend time with and get to know his potential
future son-in law better.
William invited Aaron out once a week for lunch. Aaron wisely accepted.
At first, he was intimidated by Dr. Campbell. This was nothing new, after
all most men are somewhat intimidated by their future father-in-laws.
Over time Aaron saw and accepted that Beth's dad loved her, and always
would. He also made it clear that he was very protective of his daughter
and no one had better harm her. Aaron came to respect and fear Beth's
dad.
------
Before long Valentine's Day arrived. Ken used to dread this day. He
sometimes dreaded it because he hated the idea that he had to go the
extra mile to please the girl that he was dating at the time. The real
reason he dreaded Valentine's Day was because most V-Day he was alone.
Beth had someone and she was looking forward to (expecting was more
accurate) Aaron making this a special day. He did not disappoint. He
found a family from church that was willing to open up their home and let
him use their kitchen. Aaron made Beth a wonderful meal of grilled shrimp
and shrimp scampi. And he attempted to make a cake. The cake did not turn
out so well. But he decided to go with it because he had no choice.
His hostess saw the cake and took pity on him and baked a new one. After
dinner Aaron was surprised when he uncovered the perfect chocolate cake.
Aaron presented his beautiful girlfriend with flowers and a homemade
jewelry box. Inside the case there was a necklace with the Cross, FSU
crest, and a football. Also, in the box there was a promise ring that
Beth put on her right hand.
-----
Valentine's Day was able to be enjoyed without the pressure of sex. Aaron
and Beth had discussed their relationship and sex upon their return to
school. Beth shared with Aaron her conversation with Kellie and her after
conversation thoughts about sex and how it would affect their
relationship long term.
Aaron reluctantly agreed. Admittedly he had been hoping that this
semester he and Beth would consummate their relationship. He had to admit
that Beth's arguments were right and valid.
Aaron and Beth also agreed to seek a mentor from church. They found a
married couple, Justin and Rachel, who were 10 years older than them.
They were far enough removed from college life to offer a fresh
perspective but close to enough to college age to remember the struggles
of being young and in love.
One of the suggestions that Justin and Rachel made was for Beth to no
longer go to the fraternity house. Aaron did not like this suggestion.
But he knew it was for the best.
-----
Very shortly after Valentine's Day it was Aaron's birthday. Beth wanted
to make this a special day for Aaron. And she did, sort of. She was able
to get him a round of golf at her family's country club. She also gave
him the complete volumes of CS Lewis, and made him a homemade Italian
five course meal in her mom's kitchen. To Beth's regret she couldn't do
this on Aaron's birthday, she had to celebrate his birthday a couple of
days early.
His family drove down from Charleston to celebrate Aaron's day. Beth
reluctantly gave Aaron some alone time with his family. Aaron went along
with this idea only because his mom agreed to let Beth join for most of
the family celebrations.
One would expect Beth to be nervous about meeting her boyfriend's mother,
but she was not worried. She had met Martha Dye many times before. Martha
would usually visit Aaron at least once a semester. Whenever she visited
Aaron she was always nice to Ken. She would invite him out to eat with
the family, she would always give him baked treats, she treated Ken as
another son. Ken appreciated Mrs. Dye's generosity and caring.
It didn't take Beth long to realize that she was meeting a very different
Martha Dye. Gone was the friendliness and warmth that she knew as Ken.
She was meeting a Martha that saw this young woman as a threat.
Martha put on her Charleston charm. She greeted Beth by saying, "It is a
delight to meet you. How long will we have the pleasure of your company?"
By now Beth was fluent in girl speak and she knew what Martha Dye was
really saying was "I am not happy about meeting you. How long until you
leave before your carriage turns back into a pumpkin?" Beth begin to
suspect maybe there is something to this whole mother/son crap.
To Beth the visit seemed like a remake of the movie "Meet the Parents",
but with a feminine twist. When Beth shared that she was majoring in
Social Work, Martha replied, "Social Work is a major for girls who are
not smart or just hoping to find a husband. I am sure neither applies to
you."
Over dinner Martha bragged how Aaron could trace his family lineage 300
years to some of Charleston's founding families. Beth felt a chill go up
her spine when Martha asked her "how about your family, how many
generations have they been in Tallahassee have they been involved in
State politics? Beth meekly replied that her family moved to Tallahassee
when she was young and that her dad was a college professor and that her
mom was a stay at home mom, and now does volunteer work at the church and
community."
Martha replied with a touch of sarcasm, "That's nice," and rolled her
eyes.
During the after dinner conversation Martha "complimented" Beth telling
her that she dressed very well for the daughter of a college professor.
Beth had no trouble translating Martha's girl speak-"Your rags might do
for the daughter of a poor college professor, but they would never do for
someone who wants to be the wife of a man who comes from one of
Charleston's founding families."
Beth surmised that Martha Dye would be happier if she wasn't around. She
told Aaron that she wanted him to have some quality time with his family
and she would do the same with her family. Beth drove back to the Chi
Omega house and wondered if her relationship with Aaron would survive his
mother.
Road Trip
Aaron enjoyed the rest of his family's visit. He couldn't wait to be back
with Beth. They both were excited to see each other. Their welcome
greeting told each other that this vow of purity was going to be tough to
keep.
Eventually Aaron asked Beth what did she think of his family. "I think
your mom doesn't like me."
"Why do you think that?" asked a surprised Aaron.
"Let's call it a woman's intuition. Hopefully, I can get her to warm up
to me," Beth answered giving Aaron hope.
-----
The spring semester was racing by. Both Aaron and Beth were working and
studying hard. At the end of March, it was time to relax and time for
spring break. They decided that they wanted to go on spring break
together, but not to the usual spots Daytona Beach, Panama City, etc.
They were going to go on a mission trip to Colorado. They were going to
help a church and school rebuild that had been destroyed by one of the
fires from the previous fall.
Aaron was excited about the trip, working with the church, and enjoying
the Rocky Mountains. Aaron had never been to Colorado before. He was
looking forward to some hiking, maybe a Rockies game and he thought he
might check out Denver Theological Seminary.
The FSU students arrived early Saturday morning and went to work. By
Tuesday they had donated over 100 hours of work to restoring the church
and school and were told to go and enjoy the rest of their vacation.
Tuesday night all of the students went to the Rockies-Dodgers game. They
celebrated when Charlie Blackmon hit a walk off grand slam home run. The
FSU students especially liked this event. Blackmon had visited the site
where they had been working at. He spent time taking pictures with the
students and talking with them.
Wednesday the group went to Colorado Springs. They took a tour of the Air
Force Academy. They were awed by the beauty of the Air Force Academy
Chapel. They visited Pike Peak going to the top of the mountain. This
time they were in awe of the beauty and majesty of God's creation.
Standing on Pike Peak it was easy to understand how Katherine Lee Bates
was inspired by Pikes Peak to write "America The Beautiful."
On Thursday everyone was given an "off day" from the group, free to do
individualized activities. Beth and Aaron got up early to drive to
Breckenridge. Beth wanted to show Aaron where her family stayed at last
Christmas. They didn't stay long, but there was enough time and snow for
them to have a snowball fight.
On the way back to Denver they stopped in Littleton to give Aaron a
chance to check out the Denver Theological Seminary (DTS). Aaron had
heard about the seminary from a church member who used to live in
Littleton and whose father was an instructor at the Seminary. His
interest in DTS was increased when he met some students and instructors
from DTS while they were working on their service project. They all
invited Aaron to come out and visit DTS.
The couple had a good visit with DTS and they were both very impressed
with what they saw. Aaron felt a bit of sadness, because he knew his
family, well his mom, was going to insist on him going to a seminary on
the east coast.
Aaron didn't let his sadness overtake the good time he was happy on his
visit. He struck up a good relationship with one of the deans at DTS. The
Dean invited and encouraged Aaron to come back tomorrow night. The local
community was having an annual carnival and he felt that Aaron and Beth
would enjoy it. Dr. Wilson offered to serve as host for the couple so
they could enjoy the events.
The carnival was everything that Dr. Wilson said it would be and more.
They enjoyed all of the rides, food, games, etc. Needing to take a break
Aaron and Beth sat down on a bench overlooking the specialty booths.
While they sat on the booth they discussed the week. They both took a
satisfaction in their work on the service project. They reminisce about
the Rockies game, trip to Air Force Academy, Pikes Peak, Breckenridge,
and the Rockies game.
They observed all of the specialty booths that were on the edge of the
carnival. They saw booths that would take your photo and photo shop you
into a variety of scenes. There were booths that test your skills. Some
merchants offered you a chance to make videos, either a music video or a
chance to broadcast a historical sporting event. Some vendors offer
various virtual reality experiences, Aaron was interested in trying the
NASCAR experience.
They saw other types of booths. One offered face painting, another
offered to spray your hair any color or colors. There were vendors
offering tattoos, and a variety of body piercings. Aaron pointed to those
booths and asked Beth, "Can you imagine what people would think if we
dyed our hair, say green?"
"My mom would freak out. Your mom would go ballistic, and it doesn't
really fit in with the Chi O image," Beth answered.
"How would we look if we got parts of our body pierced?" Aaron asked
"Well certain piercings are more acceptable by Chi O. Getting my ears
pierced is as far as I will go. I am a big baby when it comes to
needlesm" Beth answered with a laugh, They continued this way for the
next 20 minutes. One of them would point out a booth and asked the other
what would they think about doing that.
One booth caught Aaron's eye. He pointed it out to Beth. "What would you
think about us doing that?" Asked Aaron as he pointed to the booth he was
asking about.
"Are you kidding?!" asked a very surprised Beth.
"No I am dead serious," said Aaron with confidence. "He spent the next
several minutes explaining what gave him the idea and why he wanted to do
it."
Beth took in Aaron's words and sat on the bench in silence. Finally, she
spoke, "You know that CS Lewis did this?"
Aaron replied, "Well I hadn't thought about that, but you are correct he
did do this," A few minutes of silence passed and Aaron spoke again. "Why
don't we just call this an insurance policy."
Beth responded, "Then let's do it." They got up from the bench and walked
hand in hand to the booth they had been talking about.
Sisters and Friends
Throughout the history of time, women have often neglected their friends
when they get involved in a serious relationship. In the early stages of
a relationship a woman typically goes all in with the new guy that she is
dating, she almost forgets her friends.
Inevitably the woman goes back to her friends, when she and her guy have
a disagreement, fight, etc. During the time she had been dating Aaron,
Beth had gone against the norm. She surprisingly had kept a balance
between Aaron and her friends. Her separation from friends came because
it was her friends who became seriously involved in relationships. This
has been the case with Leigh.
Leigh would "disappear" from their lives for weeks at a time. Come back
when she and Scott had some problems. Then she and Scott would make up
and she would disappear again. Leigh was on one of her out cycles with
Scott when Beth returned from Colorado. Leigh found it strange that Beth
did not spend time with her telling her all about her trip.
Beth was spending fewer and fewer nights at the Chi O house. She started
spending more nights at her parents' home, which was a surprise, and she
began spending more and more time with Rachel from church. Beth and Leigh
still managed to make time for each other, they would meet up 3-4 times a
week. Beth explained that she wanted to spend a little more time with her
mom, and she enjoyed Rachel as a surrogate big sister in her life.
Leigh would learn that there was another reason that Beth had been
spending more time away from the sorority house. Beth confessed that she
had lost interest in sorority life, and that her life had changed, and
she really didn't feel a part of the sorority anymore. She admitted that
this feeling had been building for some time, but the break came after
her mission trip to Colorado. Leigh stated she had noticed some changes
in Beth since she came back but couldn't figure out what exactly had
changed in her friend.
Beth would say that Colorado was a life changing experience, but she
wouldn't elaborate. Leigh tried to ask Beth about Colorado, what had
happened. Beth would smile and laugh as to say, "I have a secret" and
"She would say we did some fun and memorable things in Colorado," This
was very unusual for Beth. Leigh knew that her friend loved to talk and
share about her life. Typically, a life changing experience would have
amounted to an all-day conversation!
-----
As the school year came to a close Beth and Leigh discussed plans for the
summer. Leigh was going to spend a week with Scott and his family, then a
couple of weeks with her family and then a couple of months in Germany
and Italy. Beth laughed when Leigh asked her "what are you doing this
summer?"
"I am going to go visit Aaron's family in South Carolina and then spend
the rest of the summer working with my dad on his research. Nothing as
exciting as your summer!"
"Are you really are going to go to visit Aaron's mom on her home turf? I
will be praying for you," said Leigh.
"Thank you I can use it. I am sure it will be ok," Beth responded seeking
assurance.
-----
Going to Charleston may not be as fun and exciting as going to Germany
and Italy, but for Beth it was a vast improvement over her summers as
Ken. Ken was always broke when summer vacation came. He would spend his
summers working extra hours and because he was trying to graduate early,
he was also taking a full load of classes during summer. Between his
work, school, and lack of money he rarely did anything during the summer
break. If he did anything he went to a movie, and usually alone.
________
Before they left for the summer Beth and Leigh decided that they were
going to move out of the Chi O house and get an apartment together. They
found a wonderful apartment near the mall and they secured it for the
next year.
Aaron also decided to move out of his fraternity house. He found a spot
closer to the church and he moved in before he left town with Beth.
Unlike Leigh, Aaron would be sticking around Tallahassee this summer
taking summer classes so that he could graduate at the end of the fall
term.
------
The last two years of Beth's life had been ascending. She was doing
better academically, professionally, and socially. Her parents felt that
her life was on track, and her relationship with Aaron made them feel
really good about her future.
Kellie wondered if Beth and Aaron had finally had sex? Kellie asked her
sister point blank. Beth responded with a resounding no. Then she went on
to tell Kellie how the talk they had over the Christmas Holidays had
changed her mind.
Kellie accepted her sister's answer and let the subject dropped. She
didn't totally drop the subject, however. Kellie mentioned this to her
mother and Leigh. Both of them acknowledged that they too noticed
something different, since her return from Colorado but they couldn't
figure out what was different.
------
Beth continued to help her dad with research on his book. One of the
periodicals he assigned her to research was the Wall Street Journal. Beth
never read the journal. To her it was a boring paper about stocks and
other business things.
Next to the article that her dad had assigned her to research there was
an article that caught Beth's eye "I'm Catholic Thanks to "Humanae Vitae
It's about more than birth control." Beth was surprised to find an
article in the boring journal that discussed birth control. She
immediately read it. She was surprised to discover the article not only
talked about birth control, but about faith, and faith from a woman's
perspective.
The article, written by a woman lawyer and practicing Catholic outlined
the benefits of using what she calls "no birth control" but is often
referred to has the rhythm method. Some of the benefits of practicing the
Catholic doctrine is that you grow to see everything, including your
spouse as sacred. Following the natural methods of a woman's cycle allow
the couple to share in family planning, when to have children. Husband
and wife do not act as two individuals but as one.
The author stated that using contraception allows a man to be selfish,
forget the reverence due to his partner. The author stated that when
contraception is used the man often will often reduce the woman to be a
mere instrument for his satisfaction and desires.
Even though she and Aaron were not having sex she knew it would happen
soon, Colorado had ensured that it would happen, she wanted to be ready.
She decided that this was the birth control method that she wanted. She
hoped Aaron would be on board.
Visit to Charleston
It was a trip that she knew that she had to make, but it was a trip that
she was dreading. Aaron and Beth were heading to Charleston to spend a
week with Aaron's family. A whole week, Beth still couldn't believe this
was happening.
The trip was Aaron's idea. He thought a trip to see his family at the end
of the spring semester would be a great opportunity for Beth to have
another opportunity to spend time with his family and for them to get to
know her better. The idea sounded good, but Beth wasn't too sure if
Martha Dye was onboard with her visiting Martha's home.
Aaron assured Beth that his mom had invited her and wanted her to come
and spend time with the family. Aaron went as far as having his mom call
and personally invite Beth to South Carolina. Martha's forced invitation
sounded exactly like a forced invitation:
Martha: "We always enjoy when Aaron comes home and we get to spend some
quality time with him. But this year it will be extra special with you
coming.
Girl Speak translation -Crap I enjoy having my son with HIS family. You
being here will ruin everything
Beth: I am honored that you would invite me to your home and family. I
can't wait to be a part in all of your family's activities. Beth could
her Martha groaning
Martha: "I know an ambitious girl like you has many things going on this
summer, and while we appreciate you making time for our family, we would
understand if your obligations kept you in Tallahassee.
Girl speak translation: We know your end game you want to get your hooks
into my son and his family assets. Are you sure you don't have something
else to do this summer.
Beth: Thank you for your concern, but I was able to clear my calendar.
Spending time with Aaron's family is the most thing for me right now.
Beth could hear the disappointment in Martha's voice.
As Beth hung up the phone she thought back to Colorado. She laughed to
herself and said, "Lady if you knew what I knew you would be livid"
Even though Beth knew that Martha didn't really want her to come, she
came anyway. Beth couldn't deny that a small part of her was coming
because her boyfriend's mother really didn't want her to come.
_____
Beth was packing for the trip. She was guessing what she would need to
pack. Neither Aaron nor his mom had given her any idea of what they would
be doing in Charleston. This meant she had no idea what clothes would be
needed for the trip.
The day before she and Aaron had gone to the mall for lunch. While they
were there she and Aaron went off on their own and did some shopping for
the trip. Beth emptied the contents of the bag onto the bed so she could
pack them for the trip.
As the clothes landed on the beg a box with a bow caught her eye. She
immediately knew it was from Aaron. She figured that he must have put
dropped it in her bag. She quickly read the note that was with the box:
I hope you will pack this. I have been thinking about you wearing this,
ever since Colorado.
Beth opened the box and smiled. She wasn't sure when she would wear the
item, but she packed the box anyway.
____
Six hours after pulling out of Tallahassee they arrived at Aaron's family
home. The drive gave her a chance to reflect on another way her life had
changed. When she was Ken, she drove all the time, especially on dates.
The only time she drove now was when she was by herself or when she was
with other girls. In fact, she could not remember if she had ever drove
with Aaron as her passenger. Slowly she adapted to being in the passenger
seat full time. She could use her ipad, text friends, watch movies, or
sometimes she could simply rest and maybe catch some sleep.
As they got closer to Aaron's home Beth figured that the toughest part of
this trip would be having to pretend that she had never been there
before. She had visited the Dye home three times as Ken. The last time
she had visited, Aaron's mom put him and Aaron in the same room. Beth was
pretty sure that wouldn't happen on this trip.
As soon as they were in the house the games began. Beth knew that she was
in competition for Aaron with his mother. Whenever Beth tried to get some
alone time with Aaron, his mom would find some reason to intrude, or make
up some excuse for some mother-son time.
Martha was constantly waging war against her son's girlfriend with her
double entr?es. It sounded nice on the surface and to everyone else, but
Beth got the true meaning. She only had to look at Martha's sneer to know
that she was right.
Aaron for his part tried to balance things. He wanted to be respectful to
his mom. He also wanted to show his affection for Beth. Aaron often found
himself negotiating for a type of truce between the two. He thought he
had an idea.
Aaron thought it would be a good for his mom and Beth to have some time
alone. Aaron suggested that his mom take Beth to lunch at the family's
club. Beth thought it was a great idea. Martha agreed with some
reluctance. She only agreed after Aaron pleaded with his mom by saying
that Beth could be the one.
A few days later Martha and Beth were dinning at the Palmetto Club during
the ladies' lunch. The lunch got off to a good start. A few days earlier
Martha had taken Beth out shopping for a dress to wear to the lunch. Beth
appreciated this gesture, and she accepted it because it showed
gratitude, and she didn't have anything appropriate for the club.
Because it was Ladies Lunch, most of Martha' friends were present. Martha
was polite, and this time genuinely polite, Beth thought. She introduced
Beth to all her friends as Aaron's girlfriend. After an hour of meeting
everyone Beth and Martha were finally seated at a table.
Martha was disappointed that two other women would be joining them at
their table. she and been hoping that she and Beth would have a table to
themselves. Martha hid her disappointment well and continued to put on
her charm.
During the lunch Beth would look around-while trying to pay attention to
the conversation. She looked at the splendor of the club, everything was
beautiful. Every woman was dressed to the max, no one wore a dress that
cost less than $300, including Beth. There was a definite elitism to the
club.
When Beth was Ken he used to dream and desire a life like this. Now Beth
wondered why was Ken so interested in living type of life? Beth and found
much joy in the things she had as Beth. Beth's parents were not rich, but
they did not lack for any necessity. Surprisingly this life, combine with
her faith gave her much joy. Beth was confident that Aaron really didn't
desire this life either, which gave her some relief. She knew that Aaron
only participated in these events out of respect for his parents.
The two-hour lunch ended and it was time to leave. As they left the club
Beth sense that some of the warmth that Martha had been exhibiting for
the last two hours was starting to chill. She was wondering was this
Martha's version of the clock striking midnight?
Upon arriving back at the Dye house Beth was surprised to hear Martha
invite her out to the deck to chat. Beth wondered what was this about,
she was pretty sure this was not going to be a pleasant chat.
"Martha began the conversation by saying, "I was very impressed with how
well you did at the club today. You probably didn't have many
opportunities for social events like this when you were growing up."
Beth thought to herself, "Here we go. I wish she would just come out and
say what she means." One thing that Beth did miss about being Ken was
that guys say what they mean. There was none of this talking behind your
back, phony compliments, etc. Some of her Chi O sisters were pretty good
at this, but they were all amateurs when compared to Martha Dye.
Behind her charming smile, Martha fired her next shot at Beth. "It must
be hard for you. When you see the background Aaron comes from, and you
realize how different you two are. I commend you for lasting this long in
this relationship, especially against such difficulties."
Beth was fuming. She was ready to unload on Martha. At first, she was
going to say some hurtful things. Then she calmed down. Then she thought
about something else she could say to Martha. Something that would hurt
more than any angry words.
Before she could say what she longed to say, Aaron arrived back at the
house. While Beth and Martha were at lunch Aaron went to the airport to
pick up his sister who had flown in from New Hampshire.
Aaron's sister Laura was married to a Naval Officer stationed at
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Laura had decided to fly
down and spend time with her family and get to know her brother's
girlfriend better. After some refreshments Laura invited Beth to go
shopping. Laura stated she needed some clothes that were more appropriate
for the hot and humid weather of South Carolina. Beth happily accepted.
-----
On their way to the mall Laura asked Beth, "Is my mom getting to you?"
Beth showed surprise at the question. Laura laughed and continued, "I
have my answer. There are many reasons that I live 1,000 miles away from
here, and my mom is reason number 1!"
Beth couldn't believe what she was hearing. Laura continued, "Don't get
me wrong I love my mom dearly. But she can be a bit much at times."
The two-young woman spent a few hours bonding while shopping. Their
shopping spree turned into several hours. Laura called her mom and
brother told them. "I am kidnapping Beth. We will not be home for
dinner." She then laughed and ended the call.
Over dinner Laura continued to share with Beth. She asked, "Do you know
why my mom gives you a hard time?"
"Because she hates me?"
"No, she doesn't hate you. She is intimidated by you and afraid of you."
"You're crazy. There is no way she is intimidated by me."
"My mom knows the hold you have on Aaron. She knows how much Aaron loves
you. She knows that you are most likely the one for Aaron. I know all
this for many reason, but mostly because my mom has shared this with me
numerous times." Laura paused to let that sink in. "My mom knows that she
cannot compete with you."
Beth pondered what she had just heard. She began to feel a strong
connection with Laura. She believed that she could be trusted. Beth
decided to go with her intuition, and asked Laura, "Can I share something
with you, something I have shared with no one, and can I trust you?"
"Yes, on both accounts!" replied Laura with excitement.
-----
"Oh my God I can't believe it. That is wonderful and incredible. Just
promise me I can be present when you tell my mom," Laura exclaimed.
"I will try." Feeling more at ease, she and Laura decided it was time to
go home.
"Thank you for trusting me. Remember you have power over Aaron that my
mom cannot touch."
-----
When Beth and Laura arrived at home they discovered that they were not
the only ones who had been shopping. Martha had taken Aaron and spent
hundreds of dollars on him buying new clothes. Once they arrived home She
had made him his favorite dinner, hamburger steak with fresh cut French
fries. For dessert she made him his favorite cake, chocolate with sour
cream icing.
Martha made a point of letting Beth know how good she took care of her
son, spending money on him, making his favorite meal. Martha asked Beth,
"Have you ever made that meal for Aaron?'
"No, I haven't made that meal for Aaron. I have made many other meals for
him that he likes. Maybe you could share your cake recipe with me?" Beth
responded with a mixture of confidence and fatigue.
"I will be happy to," Martha answered Beth in a way that it made clear
that she had no intention in helping Beth in her relationship with her
son.
"Where is Aaron?"
"He went to his room. You and Laura were out late tonight."
"Good night. I think I will turn in also, after I say good night to
Aaron."
As if she was firing a warning shot, Martha answered back, "Good night to
you also. Laura and I will be up shortly."
Beth went to Aaron's room. She told him about her day with Laura, most of
it. He told her about his day. They spent a little time being intimate,
knowing that they would have to cut it short.
She went to her room that she was sharing with Laura. Laura was outside
talking to her husband. Beth was relieved to be alone. She thought about
everything that had been said and done that day. She was secure in her
relationship with Aaron, and after her talk with Laura she was more
confident in her relationship with Martha.
Beth fell asleep without undressing. She had the dream. This time she was
wearing a Precious Lavender Sexy and Lace slip. She was making pancakes.
Aaron came up behind her and put his arms around her as she flipped the
pancakes. He slid his hands down her torso stopping at her baby bump. She
put her hands on top of his. She could see her diamond engagement ring
and wedding band and Aaron's silver wedding band.
Beth woke up and saw that Laura had entered the room. "Wow. You look you
were having quite dream," Laura greeted Beth.
"Laura, I think it's time. I need to show Aaron another way that I can
express my love to him. I am ready."
"Well I think it is a safe bet Aaron is ready. Let me help you."
Laura went to her bag and pulled out a lavender slip. The same slip that
Beth wore in her dream. "You and I are the same size. Wear this. I will
also help you by running interference with my mom."
"How are you going to do that, and thank you."
"I will tell her I am hesitant about having a baby. And I need her
advice," Laura answered with a wink
"Thank you and I owe you." Beth took the slip and gave Laura a hug.
Beth anticipated that Aaron might be hesitant about having sex in his
childhood room, in his parent's house. She remembered her time as Ken and
figured that Aaron's resistance would soon melt.
Aaron was very surprised when he saw Beth walk into his room in her slip.
"What are you doing?" Aaron asked with anticipation, wanting confirmation
that what he thought was going to happen was going to happen.
"Aren't you worried about my mom?"
"No, I am not worried, and besides Laura is taking care of her."
"I guess you are not worried about us having sex outside of marriage?" He
said with a smile.
"You and I both know that no longer matters."
At Last
Aaron walk up to the woman he loved. He put his arms around her and
pulled her closer. He kissed her passionately and deeply like he had
never kissed her before. He stopped long enough to brush a lock of her
brownish red hair to the side so that he could see her sparkly green
eyes.
He looked into those eyes and realized there was no one more beautiful in
the whole world. He pulled her even closer, in a low and passionate voice
told her "you are the most beautiful woman in the world. I am so lucky to
have you. I love you so much."
-----
Beth felt Aaron's love on so many levels. For the first time in her life
she felt truly loved. Even when she was Ken she never felt true romantic
affection from another.
Beth felt Aaron's touch as he slid the straps of her slip off her
shoulders. He kissed her bare breast. Feeling his tongue work his magic.
Beth (and Ken) had never felt anything this good in her life.
She knew at this point there was no turning back. She was going to claim
Aaron as hers, and he was going to claim her as his woman.
-----
Aaron couldn't believe this was finally happening. He dreamt about this
many times before. He picked Beth up and laid her on his bed. He put his
fingers inside her panties and slid them down her leg and tossed the
panties onto to the floor.
He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. He wanted to stare at our
naked body. He imagined how beautiful and sexy she would look when this
moment would finally happen. His expectations were far short of how
beautiful and sexy she did look.
-----
Beth and Aaron would make love multiple times that night. Neither one
would ever forget that night. And they both wished they had not waited so
long.
The Next Morning.
Laura kept her end of the bargain and kept her mom occupied for as long
as she could. Martha spent over an hour convincing her daughter that
having a baby was the right thing to do. What Martha was really saying
was that I want to be a grandmother and I don't care what it cost you.
Despite Laura's efforts Martha was aware of what was going on in her
son's room. She told Laura, "I need to put a stop to this."
Laura stood firm and blocked her mom's path to the doorway. "Mom I
understand you don't like what Aaron and Beth are doing, but if you go in
there right now you will lose Aaron forever. Take a minute and think
about this."
Martha reluctantly realized that her daughter was right. She decided to
sleep in the downstairs guest room, although she got very little sleep
that night.
-----
Despite having little sleep, she was still up before Beth. She was
sitting at the breakfast table. Thinking about last night, and the events
of the past several months. She was also wondering what she would say
when she finally saw Aaron and Beth.
Beth came downstairs shortly after Martha had poured her coffee. Martha
saw the happiness and joy in this young woman. She didn't know how to
take that. She almost wished that Beth had come downstairs in a regretful
mood.
Martha looked at Beth and sent her a non-verbal communication that said,
"we both know what you did last night-" Beth didn't back down, she sent
Martha a non-verbal communication that said, "Damm right I did!"
"Please tell me you used protection, that you are on the pill," Martha
asked in almost pleading fashion.
Beth immediately answered, "You do not have to worry about us being
unmarried parents."
"That's an unusual way to answer that question," thought Martha to
herself.
Martha stared at the beautiful young woman in her kitchen who was making
herself some coffee and an English muffin for breakfast. She could
understand why her son was attracted to her. She had beauty, personality,
and above average intelligence. She would be the perfect girl for just
about any guy. Any guy except her Aaron.
She wondered how she should handle this girl. Part of her wanted to end
everything right here and now. But she knew that would probably backfire,
and she would have a more difficult situation on her hand. After much
thought Martha decided that this was a case where she might need to lose
the battle, in order to win the war. For the rest of Beth's stay Martha
decided that she would be the perfect Southern Lady. Graceful, loving,
and a welcoming hostess.
After they left, she would figure out a way to get extended alone time
with Aaron and sabotage the relationship.
Return to Tallahassee
Mercifully for Beth her week in Charleston ended. She felt like she had
survived a very difficult test and she wanted to celebrate.
As they were heading back to Tallahassee Beth looked at Aaron. She knew
what she wanted. "We had a good visit in Charleston. I think we need to
celebrate. There is a nice Embassy Suites in Savanah. Let's stop there
for the night. We can enjoy the Manager's Reception and the breakfast
buffet tomorrow morning." Two hours later they pulled into the Embassy
Suites parking lot.
______
"Managers' reception starts in two hours." Beth told Aaron as they walked
down the hallway to their room. Using the app on her phone Beth unlocked
their room and Aaron dropped their bags on the floor. In less than a
minute their clothes were off, and they were in bed for the first of
several lovemaking sessions."
_____
Aaron hoisted his glass of Merlot and said, "To the most beautiful woman
in the world. Thank you for making me the luckiest guy in the world,"
Beth clink her chardonnay with his glass. Aaron then added "I am enjoying
this new life we are living!"
Beth smiled and laughed. "I bet you are."
They discussed small talk. Aaron asked Beth what she thought of where he
grew up, the trip in general. Beth worked to stay positive, focusing on
her time with Laura, visit to the club, walks that they took on the
beach, etc. Finally, she said, "We need to talk about your mom."
Aaron with some reluctance admitted, "Yeah I know."
"Look I don't expect you to be rude to your mom or to be disrespectful
towards her, or stop to caring about her. But I need to know that you are
with me, that I have your support when there is a conflict between your
mom and I."
"You do have my love and support. You are the most important person in my
life. I promise that I will not let my mom come between you and me. I
love you."
Beth and Aaron had another glass of wine and went upstairs for another
round of lovemaking. The next morning, they attack the breakfast buffet
with zest, stating that they had worked up a good appetite the night
before.
_____
As they drove back to Tallahassee, Beth pretended to sleep. She was
thinking about Aaron and his mom. She wondered was she being too hard on
him? Was Aaron what they would call a mama's boy? She thought back to the
relationship that Ken had had with his mom.
Ken and his mom had a very adversarial relationship. His mom was very
distant, cold, and gave the impression that she resented having children.
Beth/Ken knew that much of this resentment, and coldness came from the
fact that she had Ken so early in life. His mom gave birth to him when
she was 19. She was a farm girl who had married the first guy that would
get her off of the farm. In a funny turn of events, Beth really
understood Ken's mom (and his dad who had to drop out of college when Ken
was born) better, and why she did some of the things that she did. In a
silent prayer Beth told God that she forgave Ken's mom.
Ken's upbringing would cause him to have difficulty relating to women in
later life. Beth didn't want a mama's boy for a partner, but she didn't
want a man who didn't know hot to relate to women either. She was hoping,
well praying that Aaron would be somewhere in between.
As Aaron drove, she put her air buds on and listened to music. She
decided that she needed to call Thomas for his 5th and last visit. She
prayed that Thomas would respond to her in a way that Aaron would not
notice. Thomas did not disappoint. He told Beth to communicate through
prayer and he would answer.
She began, "Well Aaron's mom ruin Aaron and I's relationship?"
"Your relationship is in jeopardy, but it has nothing to do with Martha
Dye. It will be because of you, and your failure to learn from your
previous life."
"What do you mean because of me?"
"Let me ask you, what did you learn from your life as Ken?"
"Dishonest living in any form will only lead to trouble." She paused. "I
know what you are referring to. But, before we deal with that, I need
Aaron to stand up to his mom."
"Actually, you have it backwards. You need to come clean, with his
parents, your parents, and friends. In the process Aaron will become the
man that you want him to be."
Beth thought for a couple of minutes before responding to Thomas. "This
is the last time that I will speak with you. Do you have any final advice
for me?"
"As you live the life of Beth, remember it is important to help others.
You need to forgive as you have been forgiven. You need to extend grace
and mercy as you have been given grace and mercy. You need to help
others, as you have been helped."
Thomas let all of that sink in then he continued. "You have come a long
way as Beth. Beth is much better person than Ken ever would have been.
Beth's family is much better for having YOU in their lives, and the Dye
family will benefit from having you in their life also, and you will make
a much better wife for Aaron than any other woman would have made."
Beth started to cry hearing those words. She turned her head so Aaron
would not see her crying."
Thomas continued. "Two more things, what you and Aaron did in Colorado
was not bad, you just should have been open about it. And while this is
the last time you can call me, you still have the power of prayer and
your Bible. Besides you never know where I will show up again."
Even though Beth could not see Thomas, she knew that he had vanished from
her presence.
_____
In the days after their Charleston trip Beth would often look at the
package that Aaron had bought for her to wear. She would take it out of
its box and stare at it. She would wonder if today would be the day that
she would finally wear it. Aaron often asked her when she would start
wearing it. Every day she would ask herself, and even pray about when she
would wear the gift that Aaron had bought her.
With her conversation with Thomas still fresh in her mind, Beth knew what
she, and Aaron had to do. It was time to put things in order.
She knew that she needed some help. She reached out to Leigh, her sister
Kellie, Aaron's sister Laura, and her friend Racheal from church. She
didn't tell them why she needed their help, she just told them what she
needed from each of them and they all agreed to help.
She prevailed on Leigh to help her create a romantic ambiance in their
apartment, and for Leigh to make herself scarce while she and Aaron had a
romantic dinner. Racheal would create a romantic four course meal for
Beth and Aaron. Laura and Kellie would be instrumental in phase two of
her plan.
_____
It was Friday during the first week of school. That morning she had sent
Aaron a text telling him to come to her apartment precisely at 5:00 and
not to make any other plans for the weekend, other than going to the FSU-
Miami game Saturday night.
Aaron dutifully arrived at Beth's apartment at 5:00. He used his key to
enter. Even though there was still some sunlight, he could tell that the
apartment had been decorated to create a romantic mood. He saw Beth
standing in the living room of her apartment, with the rays seeping
through the window it made her look like an angel.
Aaron couldn't help but notice that she was holding the box that
contained the gift that he bought her before they went to Charleston. He
had been wanting Beth to wear it for a long-time, he was wondering if
this would be the night that she finally put it on.
Beth addressed Aaron, "Aaron I know you have been wanting me to wear this
for some time. If you want me to wear it, you are going to have to ask. I
know it will be just a formality and it will not change things between
us. But I need you to ask. This will be the first step that we will need
to take."
"First step, hmm I wonder what other steps she has in mind," Aaron
thought to himself. He decided he would worry about that later, he knew
what he needed to do now.
Aaron approach Beth took her hand and got down on one knee. "Beth, I
never loved anyone more than I have love you. You have brightened my
life, made it better, introduced me to new things, and made me a better
person. I know that I don't want to live another day without you, I want
you to be my partner in life, ministry, I love you, will you marry me?"
"Yes I will be your wife. I love you!" Aaron stood up and put the diamond
engagement ring (like the one in all of her dreams) on her finger and
planted a deep kiss on her lips. Beth led her true love to the kitchen
table where they enjoyed a wonderful dinner. There was no mention about
the next steps that they needed to take.
_____
On Saturday, Aaron and Beth had a leisurely breakfast, went to the pep
rally, and then went and watched the Seminoles defeat the Hurricanes in a
26-21 thriller. That night Beth went back to Aaron's apartment. It was
then that Beth told Aaron the steps that they would need to take next to
make things right so that they could move forward with their lives.
A Secret Revealed
The next day it was time to put phase two of Beth's plan into action.
Both Kellie and Laura had informed her that they had successfully did
their part. Beth was happy to hear that, but she knew that it was going
to be a tough day.
What Kellie and Laura had to do was get their parents to meet with Aaron
and Beth together. For Kellie this was relatively easy, she got her mom
to agree to host Aaron's parents at their home, something that she had
been wanting to do for a long time. Laura had a more difficult challenge,
she had to figure out how to get her family, well mostly her mom, to
Tallahassee on short notice.
Getting Martha Dye to Tallahassee would be more difficult. Laura would
need help getting her mom to come down from Charleston on short notice.
She called her dad.
Steven Dye was a very powerful lawyer in Charleston. He had influential
clients, who came from all parts of the world and gladly paid his five-
figure retainer. Steven spent many more hours at his office, traveling to
meet clients, than he ever did at home with his family. He sometimes
didn't see his family for weeks at a time.
While Steven's presence with his family was scarce, it was powerful. When
he was present there was no doubt who was in charge of the family. Laura
knew that her dad was the only person in the world who could make her mom
do anything. She also knew that her dad was the only person who would be
able to keep her mom from exploding when she heard the news that Aaron
and Beth were going to share with the families.
Her dad not disappoint Laura. Steven, Martha, and Laura were on their way
to Tallahassee in hours.
_____
The next morning the Dye family showed up at the Campbell's home in
Tallahassee. It was the first time that the two families had ever met.
Martha was in true form, putting on a very polite and graceful face.
While pleasantries were exchanged the families speculated about what
Aaron and Beth wanted to talk to them about.
After what seemed like an eternity, Aaron and Beth showed up. They
entered the room with Aaron's right hand holding Beth's left hand. Aaron
waited until he and Beth were being hugged by family members before
letting go of her hand.
It was Anne who noticed the ring first. "Oh my God you are engaged!" Anne
screamed out.
Others offered similar congratulations, all except Martha. Laura turned
to her mom and asked her mom, in a way that would encourage a response,
"Mom isn't Beth's ring beautiful?"
"Yes it is," was Martha's cold reply.
Aaron took charge. "Everyone please sit down. We have some things to tell
you," Once everyone was seated Aaron continued, "Beth and I decided that
I will speak for both of us," After a short pause he continued. "We need
to apologize to you and ask for your forgiveness for lying to all of
you."
Everyone wondered what he could possibly be talking about. Aaron
continued, "Last Spring Break when we went to Colorado, we did
something." The suspense was building. Everyone speculated on what they
could have possibly done that made them feel guilty. Aaron continued,
"Beth and I got married when we were in Colorado."
The responses were mixed. Kellie and Laura were thrilled. Their fathers
were silent. There was no need for them to say anything, because Anne and
Martha were saying plenty.
______
The next several hours were, to put it mildly, tense for all. Anne &
Martha who had never met before were bonding, bonding over their rage and
hurt. Their hurt however was different. Anne was hurt that her daughter
would have a wedding without her presence and without Beth telling her
about getting married. While she would have still been disappointed, she
would have at least, appreciated a call after the wedding instead of a
public announcement five months later.
Martha was angry that her son had deprived her of a huge social event,
that he had married a girl that she did not approve of. She was not happy
because she could not think of anything to do. When Aaron and Beth were
just dating, it would have been much easier to break them up. Their
marriage was a game changer.
_____
Aaron and Beth went back to Aaron's, now their apartment. They sat in
silence, holding each other while they hope and prayed that their
families would forgive and support them.
_____
The next morning Aaron & Beth were awoken by her parents. They were
invited, summoned to come to their house for "breakfast." One hour later
they arrived at the Campbell house, surprised to see that only Beth's
parents were present.
Breakfast was served. Anne wasted no time. She made the following clear.
She understood that they were in love and wanted to get married. She and
Bill were hurt that they were not told about the wedding before or after
the ceremony. She stated that a simple call before the ceremony would
have been nice saying that they were going to get married.
She let all of that set in for the next several minutes while everyone
ate their breakfast quietly. Then it was Bill's turn to speak. "We have
accepted your apology and confession and you have been forgiven. Before
we can move on we have two things we need to discuss."
Beth asked, "What are they?'
"Why did you get married and why did you keep it a secret these last five
months?"
Aaron spoke for the couple, "We got married because it seemed like a good
idea, we were caught in the moment, plus we wanted an insurance policy."
"Insurance policy?"
Aaron hesitated before answering. "Well this is awkward, but we called it
an insurance policy because we wanted to make sure that we were married,
even if only technically, when we had sex for the first time."
Silence hung in the air. Parents know from the minute that their child is
born, that the child will one day have sex. Still parents are not ready
for that moment when they first discover that their child is sexually
active.
It was Beth's turn to talk. "As far as the secret, we weren't sure how to
tell you. In the beginning we weren't sure how this would work. And to be
honest it was kind of fun and thrilling having a secret like this. I know
it was wrong."
Anne took over the conversation. "Well we understand, we were young once
ourselves. Just remember this in 20 years when your daughter does
something like this!" She paused and smiled. "Aaron welcome to the
family. We have come to know and love you as a son. We can't help but
notice that Beth's life changed and took took a positive turn around the
time that she met you. We don't think it's a coincidence."
Aaron felt accepted and loved by this family. He looked at his in-laws
and said, "Thank you for making me a part of this family. I promise to be
the best husband possible for your daughter."
The four of them were now in a group hug. Anne spoke, "One last thing. We
know that you are already legally married, and you will be living
together. But we still want to give you a church wedding. Your friends
and family want to celebrate with you."
Beth and Aaron said in unison, "We accept."
_____
Aaron and Beth were on there way back to their apartment. They were
wondering why they hadn't heard from his parents. They tried calling his
mom. No answer it went right to voicemail. Same with his dad. They tried
calling Laura, she answered. She told them that their parents were having
a serious conversation. They gave her some cash and told her to leave the
hotel room for a few hours, they would call and tell her when to come
back."
Aaron and Beth invited Laura to hang out with them back at their place
until their parents told her that it was okay to return. After a couple
of hours of watching movies Laura's phone finally rang. It was her dad
telling her to come back to the hotel. Laura told him that she was with
Aaron and Beth. He told her to bring them with her to the hotel.
_____
Steven Dye, as always was a man of few words. He got right to the point.
"While we wished you had told us that you were getting married, or even
that you were married, we understand, and we fully embrace your
marriage."
Beth and Arron immediately said thank you and got up to hug him. 'Sit
back down I am not finished. It is no secret that your mom did not
embrace this relationship. I think it is time that you knew why."
Aaron responded to his dad, "We pretty much know why, mom doesn't think
Beth is good enough for me."
Steven decided to take the conversation in a different direction. "Son
why don't you tell your mom how you feel."
"Mom, I love Beth more than anyone else in the world. I am fortunate,
lucky, and most importantly blessed to have her as my wife. You need to
respect Beth's place in my life as my wife. If there is ever a conflict
between you two I will always side with Beth. Mom, I love you and I thank
you for everything you have done for me. I hope you will accept these
terms. Because if you do not, I will leave this room now and your life."
Martha let her son's words sink in. She had been worried about losing her
son. She now realized that if she interfered in her son's marriage, she
would lose him. She got up walked over to Beth and welcomed Beth to the
family and promised that she would not interfere in their life.
Steven Dye resumed his oration. "I thought it was important for you to
know why your mom gave you a hard time. The reason that she resisted..."
"Wait Steven, stop. I need to tell them. I need to confess something.
This is not my first marriage. I was married once before. The three young
adults were stunned. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Laura
and Aaron felt like their whole life had been one big lie. Laura yelled,
"What do you mean you have been married before? Why didn't you tell us?"
Tears were starting to form in Martha's eyes. Laura and Aaron noticed it.
It was almost as a big as a shock as finding out that their mother had
been married previously. Neither could recall a time when their mom
cried. Martha continued, "There's more"
Aaron was still in too much shock to speak. Laura was angry. "What the
hell else could you possibly be hiding?"
"I had a son with the man that I was married too, and I left them behind
to marry your dad," Now Laura joined Aaron in silence, both were shocked
to discover that they had a brother somewhere that they never knew about.
During the next few hours. Martha confessed everything. She was unhappy
in her life. She wanted more. She said that her ex-husband was a decent
man, he was manager of a grocery store, hard worker, honest, treated her
well, etc., but it wasn't enough. She wanted to live a different life, a
life with riches and wealth.
One summer she came back to Tallahassee for a wedding of one of her
college classmates. She met Steven that week at The Moon, a Tallahassee
night club. She lied to Steven about being single, and she invited him to
be her plus-1. She saw that he was a up and coming lawyer who was going
to make big money, and she knew he could provide her with the material
riches that she desired.
Martha told her husband that she wasn't going back, and she surrendered
all rights to her son. A few months later they were divorced and a week
after her divorce she married Steven in Las Vegas.
Steven then told the family, he knew it was wrong to steal another man's
wife, but he did it anyway. He added that both him and Martha suffered
for their actions, for years neither one was happy. That they were going
to get a divorce when Martha discovered that she was pregnant with Laura.
Steven and Martha came to an agreement. He would give Martha freedom and
all the material things that she wanted, and she would play the part of
the loving wife and provide him with a family.
Martha explained that she never hated Beth. She had lost one son because
of her selfishness and she didn't want to lose another son, which is why
she tried to hold Aaron close. She didn't realize until it was almost too
late that a different type of selfishness almost caused her to lose a
second son. It was this fear, the fear of losing another son that caused
her to try and push Beth away. She then asked Beth to please forgive her
and to give her a chance to start a new relationship with her new
daughter-in-law.
Beth's immediate instinct was to say no way. But then she remembered how
much she had been forgiven. She had been given a second chance and was
able to avoid criminal prosecution. She had been given a second chance at
life by becoming Beth. She remembered Thomas's words, forgive as you have
been forgiven. She walked over to Martha took her hands and said, "Martha
I forgive you, all that has happen between us is in the past. Today
begins a new day in our relationship."
______
Before the night was over, Aaron finally asked the question that was on
everyone's mind-what happen to your son, you know our brother?"
Through red eyes and tears, Martha answered, "I don't know. I knew it was
for the best that I leave him. I know that his dad remarried, and his new
wife adopted him as her son. He got the loving mother that he deserved."
Aaron and Laura took in all of this news. They had never heard any of
this before. They knew nothing about their grandparents, they had died
when they were toddlers and both of their parents were only children.
Laura spoke, "Mom we have a lot to digest here and it is going to take
some time. Before we can even begin to think about what we do next."
_____
In the weeks that followed Martha's revelation Beth, Aaron, and Laura
talked about that night. There was much debate about should they reach
out to the son that Martha had abandoned. How would he respond? Did he
even know the story? Would it be right to upset his life? Laura and Aaron
tried to balance all of this against their curiosity about a brother they
knew nothing about.
Beth also had her own thoughts about what Martha should do. She felt it
would be good to have closure for Martha, Aaron, and Laura to meet their
long-lost son/brother. But was it right to force their way into a
"stranger's" life? She wondered if it would be better to have a third
party reach out to the man on behalf of the Dyes? Or should they just
leave him alone.
There was another thing that nagged at Beth about Martha's revelation.
She wondered if she should tell others, or at least Aaron about how she
used to be Ken? Should she follow Martha's example? Beth wasn't sure
about what she should do. Martha's story was at least believable. Who
would believe Beth's story? They would assume she was crazy and who knows
what would happen to her. In the end she decided this was a secret that
she would take to her grave.
It would take years of visits, phone calls, family counseling, but
eventually Steven, Martha, Laura and Aaron were able to work through the
hurt and forgive each other and work past their hurts.
Making Things Right-Beth Takes A Stand
Following the weekend announcement things began to move, quickly. Beth
had her name changed on all documents, driver license, credit cards,
checking accounts, FSU records, etc. She loved seeing the name Beth Dye.
Mrs. Dye-a name that she was trying to get used to, moved out of the
apartment that she shared with Leigh and moved into Aaron's apartment,
and quickly soften it up with a feminine touch. The move was made easier
in that Leigh was able to quickly find a new roommate.
Next on the agenda was picking a date for the wedding. August 6 was
selected as the date that would work best for all. Martha Dye would host
a dinner at her club and formally introduce Aaron and Beth to their
friends in Charleston. It was decided that the dinner would take place in
March.
Wedding plans became secondary until after New Year's Day. Beth and Aaron
were in their last semester at FSU and were focused on graduating in
December. The young married couple graduated together the week before
Christmas. Things were good and they had lots to celebrate.
____
They decided to spend Christmas with Beth's family skiing in Colorado-
They had spent Thanksgiving with Aaron's family. This was Aaron's first-
time skiing. He took a lot of teasing about his struggling on the blue
slopes while his wife looked like an Olympic Skier on the red slopes.
Still they had a good time. It proved to be a wonderful way to get closer
to Beth's family.
Beth and Aaron stayed behind in Colorado. Aaron decided to formally apply
to attend Denver Theological Seminary. Aaron and Beth met with the Dean
of Admissions at the seminary. They wanted to make sure that he
understood that they had been married last March in a private ceremony
and that the August wedding was a celebration for their family and
friends. They were assured this would have no bearing on Aaron's
application for admission.
_____
Martha Dye hosted a party that impressed all of her friends, which was
one of the objectives of going to Charleston. The other objectives were
to celebrate the marriage of Aaron and Beth, and to continue to bond as a
family. The only problem that they had to work through was the
recognition of their marriage.
Martha wanted to give the impression that the August wedding was THE
wedding for them. However, Beth and Aaron wanted to be honest. They
insisted that Martha tell everyone that they were married one year ago in
a private ceremony and that the upcoming wedding was a celebration with
family and friends. Martha reluctantly agreed.
___
Beth felt good. They had done the right thing. Confessed what they did
wrong, asked for forgiveness, and yielded to their parents' wishes for a
formal wedding. She felt that they had healed things with hers and
Aaron's families. All in all, things were looking good, except there was
one more family that she wanted closure with.
She wanted to see Ken's mother and family one last time. Thomas had told
her that it was not possible. But Thomas was not in charge. She decided
to start praying to the Man in Charge for one last opportunity to see
Ken's family.
Before she would have an opportunity to get closure with Ken's family,
she would have to make something else right. In her quest to do this she
would find herself opposing many church leaders.
____
It would be Eight months between graduation and the wedding & Aaron and
Beth's departure for Colorado. They knew that they needed a job, however
a full-time job would not be an option. Not only were they short timers
in Tallahassee, they had the trip to Charleston and a trip to Disney
World scheduled a month before the wedding. The Disney World trip would
be a graduation & wedding present to themselves. They needed and wanted a
short-term temporary job.
Aaron got a job working with the Department of Transportation auditing
accident records. Beth took a job with University Ministries. Her job was
to work on a team that was trying to understand why church participation
among college students was declining.
Most days she would visit different places on campus and ask them a
series of questions. One of the things that she discovered was that the
church had alienated itself from most college students and other young
adults. A driving force that kept many away was that they knew what the
church was against, but many could not tell you what the church's mission
was. Most of this centered around the way some churches treated the LGBTQ
community.
Beth often got frustrated when she heard these complaints from her peers.
What was even more frustrating was that when she tried to present her
findings to the church leaders, she was met with death ears. Either they
didn't believe her, or they did believe her, but they didn't think it was
a problem.
____
She was required at the end of her assignment to submit a report to
various church officials at an upcoming symposium. She didn't know what
she could say that was any different from she had already said countless
times.
She talked to Aaron about it. He tried to be supportive and helpful. He
knew that this was a hot button issue that needed to be addressed. In the
end they decided that her best option was to go to a higher power and ask
what she should say. That night she and Aaron prayed for hours.
____
The next day many church leaders from around the state had arrived in the
Capital City of Florida to hear what Beth and others had to say about
declining church participation among 20-30 year olds. Beth was the one of
the last speakers, she approached the podium and spoke with confidence.
"Many young adults are turned off by the church today, especially in
North America. There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones
has to do with how the church has treated those in the LGBTQ community."
"We need to remember that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality
or Lesbianism. He did speak about divorce multiple times. At one time
divorced people were not allowed to participate in the church, let alone
be a member of the clergy or serve in the church. Today that has changed.
99% of the churches welcome those who have been divorced, and some who
have been divorced are in pastoral positions. The church has accepted
those who have been divorced with the love and grace that Jesus offers,
and we should. Wouldn't Jesus want us to offer the same to those in the
LGBTQ community? Yes, He would.
"Jesus said in Matthew 28 to go and make Disciples to all. He didn't say
go and make disciples to all, except those LGBTQ community. Do you think
Jesus doesn't care about those in the LGBTQ community? Our job is to
welcome all in the love of Christ, and to let God do the judging.
"Speaking of judging, the Bible teaches that we all have sinned. We will
all be judged for actions and none of us are perfect in God's eyes. We
all need the love, grace and mercy of Christ. Jesus never said if you are
LGBTQ you are not welcomed to His mercy and love. Again, we need to make
all feel welcome in Jesus name and God will do whatever judging that
needs to be done."
"We also need to remember that we are all made in God's image. The Bible
says all. It doesn't say all are made in God's image except those who are
LGBTQ. All are made in His image. When we reject those in the LGBTQ
community we are rejecting God."
"It is important to remember what is being said about LGBTQ was once said
about the African-American community. One of our nation's largest
denominations was started as a pro-slavery denomination. We need to
remember that the church has been wrong before in interpreting God's
will."
"I have two final thoughts. Let's assume you are right that homosexuality
is wrong. What did Jesus do with those who had done wrong, who society
had rejected? He went to them. He ate with them. He welcomed them into
his fold. If our Savior and Lord did that shouldn't we?"
"Finally, to those in the LGBTQ community, I say that the church is not
perfect. But God and Jesus are perfect. The love and peace of Jesus
Christ is meant for all. We want you to join us in fellowship and
worshipping Christ."
As expected, there were some in the Christian Community that did not
welcome or liked Beth's message. Her mom and Aaron's mom were two that
would have preferred that she had not spoken out about this subject. Some
of the older churches, challenged her on her statements.
Beth's message was well received by many in the community. She received
many emails of encouragement and support from those in the college
community, those in government, and some members of the LBGTQ community.
There was one unexpected surprise. Many churches, even conservative and
traditional denominations reached out to Beth, wanting to know if she
could help them learn to minister to and welcome members of the LBGTQ
community into their flock.
After meeting with the Pastoral Staff from a non-denominational church,
Beth received an email from Denver Theological Seminary. They told her
they were excited about her and Aaron coming to Denver and they hoped
that she would continue her work educating the churches on the modern
flock when she arrived in the Rocky Mountains.
A Magical Visit to Disney World
Aaron and Beth were settled into their own apartment. For Beth the hard
part about living with Aaron was pretending to be surprised by Aaron's
idiosyncrasies. She had lived with Aaron previously as Ken. Prior to
moving in with Aaron, she wondered if he still did the same annoying
habit of setting his alarm for 5:30 am, then hit the snooze every to
minutes for the next hour. Beth was convinced that she could break Aaron
of his habits, because she had powers of persuasion over Aaron that Ken
never had!
Adjusting to each other's quirks in their personalities was just one of
the things that Aaron and Beth had to adjust to. Before living together
as husband and wife their sex life was irregular. Now that they were
living together as a married couple, they were having sex on a more
regular basis. Beth felt it was time to bring Aaron in on her plan for
birth control.
Ken never really thought much about birth control. One reason he didn't
think about it was because the chance of him having a date and having sex
with a girl was pretty slim. He also had the typical male attitude that
it was the girl's responsibility to take care of birth control. And it
was not unexpected that Aaron would have the same attitude about birth
control.
Aaron did have the same attitude as Ken about birth control. Now Ken was
Beth. She was having sex regularly and she could pregnant which meant
that "Ken's" view of birth control had changed.
She explained to Aaron "Humanae Vitae." Aaron liked the fact that he
wouldn't have to use a condom, but he didn't like that he would have to
plan love making around Beth's cycle. But he did like the faith component
and he knew that the woman he loved embraced this method and he would
also.
There's an old joke, "What do you call girls who use the rhythm method?
Mothers!" This is one of the reasons that this method of birth control is
not very popular. The rhythm method requires a lot of discipline-which
cuts into spontaneity, and most women's cycles are not regular, so it is
hard to pinpoint the exact days of ovulation.
Unfortunately for Beth she fell into the latter category. When she ate
not only all of her steak and bake potato, plus a good portion of Aaron's
steak and bake potato, she figured that she was just hungry. When the
spaghetti from her favorite Italian restaurant made her sick, she blamed
it on a change in sauce. When it was colder than normal in Tallahassee
(50 degrees) she claimed it was too hot and demanded that the AC be
lowered. She and Aaron were watching "Wedding Crashers." When Vince
Vaughn's character got injured during the touch football game she cried
and couldn't stop crying. Aaron, in a moment of stupidity, said you have
been very emotional lately.
It was only after that comment, when she threw the pizza at him, went to
the bedroom, and called Aaron many names, that she suspected that she
might be pregnant. She sent Aaron to the store to get a pregnancy test.
Aaron was only too happy to get out and he turned what should have been a
10-minute trip into an hour errand. Just past midnight on Mothers Day,
ironically, the First Response pregnancy test showed two pink lines and
Beth realized that next Mother's Day she would be celebrating it as a
mother.
Beth was overjoyed at being pregnant. She was happy that she and Aaron
were starting their family. She was experiencing a joy and happiness that
she would have never known as Ken. Each day was a journey and adventure
into motherhood, a venture that on somedays seem to fly by and other days
it seemed to crawl.
Her pregnancy wasn't all joy, most of it was joy. For example, Beth was
horrified to realize she would be five months pregnant at her wedding.
She was already married, and this was going to be the celebration wedding
WITH PICTURES! She realized that for the rest of her life when she and
others looked at her wedding pictures, she would always see her baby bump
in her wedding gown.
Moving was another problem with her pregnancy. Beth would be well into
her fifth month when she and Aaron moved to Colorado. Aaron reassured her
that he would take care of anything, she only had to take care of herself
and the baby.
Beth wasn't the only one who was concerned about having her baby in
Colorado. Both moms, hers and Aarons, pleaded with her to have the baby
in Tallahassee. This baby would be the first grandchild for both
families. Both future grandmothers wanted to be present for every moment,
or for as many moments as possible. In the end Beth made it clear that
her husband's place will be in Colorado, and her place is with her
husband. She told both Anne and Martha that they wanted both of them to
be part of the baby's life and they look forward to their visits to
Colorado to spend time their grandchild.
___
Beth's pregnancy came at a time when she and Aaron were planning on going
to Disney World for a week. They were looking forward to staying at the
Wilderness Lodge. It was close enough to the park amenities, but far
enough away to enjoy some peaceful down times also. Fortunately, her
pregnancy wasn't too far advanced. She had just enough of a baby bump
that it was visible and cute, and people would definitely know that she
was pregnant. She would be able to enjoy most of the parks, but she would
have to skip Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and the other
rollercoasters at the parks.
Aaron wanted to ride Space Mountain, but he didn't want to leave Beth. It
was only after Beth had urged him several times that he decided to ride
Space Mountain without her. Beth told him not worry, she would take this
opportunity to ride It's a Small World, visit some shops, and do some
people watching.
It's A Small World was another reminder of how much different her current
life was from her former life. Ken, like most guys hated It's a Small
World. Beth had dragged Aaron onto the ride a couple of days ago. She
enjoyed the music, the bright colors, the details of the different dolls
from different regions. Which is how Disney Imaginer Mary Blair and Music
Composers The Sherman Brothers designed the ride. They wanted a catchy
tune that you could sing and hum and after leaving the ride. It was a
soothing 17-minute ride for Beth.
When she was Ken, she found all of that distracting, boring, and
annoying-especially the song. The last time she had rode It's A small
World was when she was Ken and he was 9 years old and his mom made him
ride the attraction. As she waited in line she was thinking back to that
day and other trips that she had taken to Disney World with Ken's family.
Since Beth was by herself the ride operators directed her to join the
party in the first row. She entered the boat without noticing the other
family in the row. A few seconds after the boat started on its journey
around "the world" Beth turned to looked at the dolls on the left side of
the boat, and she almost went into shock. She was sitting next to Ken's
mother.
Beth couldn't believe it. Her reaction looked she had seen a ghost. She
tried to regain composure before Ken's mom saw her. It was too late. She
turned to Beth and asked, "Are you ok?"
"Yes. Sorry for alarming you. My mind is playing tricks on me. I thought
I saw something that startled me," Nothing else was said between the two
women for the next few minutes. Sometimes she would look at her old
mother, and sometimes she would look at Beth. And a couple of times they
turned to see that the other one was looking at them and they quickly
looked somewhere else," The 17-minute ride seemed to last 17 hours.
Beth had wanted this for some time, now that she had the opportunity that
she had prayed for, she wasn't sure what to do with it. The ride was over
and she saw Ken's mom leave the boat and go outside. She thought that she
had lost her only chance to have closure with Ken's family, or maybe that
was all the closure she was allowed to have.
As she walked out of the darkness of "It's a Small World" and into the
brightness of the hot Florida sun that covered the Magic Kingdom she was
temporarily blinded as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. A few seconds
later her eyes adjusted, and she was looking into the face of Ken's
mother, she almost walked into her.
"Hi, my name is Carol. I feel like we have met before and that I know
you. I think you feel the same way, which is why you kept looking at me
during the It's A Small World Ride."
"Hi, I am Beth Dye. Would you like to talk and see how we might know each
other? If you don't mind could we sit down and chat?"
Carol spoke first. "I see you have a wedding band and that you're
pregnant. I am guessing Dye is your married name. What is your maiden
name?"
Beth hesitated. She wondered if she should give her maiden name or Ken's
last name. If she said Ken's last name that might create some problems.
She went with her maiden name. "I was a Campbell-"
"I don't know any Campbells. But there is something about your eyes that
makes me think that I know you from somewhere."
"Maybe we don't know each other, but I would like to keep talking with
you. Tell me about you. Married? Children? What do you do?"
"We live in Satellite Beach. I have two children, two sons."
"What about your husband?"
"He has his own State Farm Insurance Agency."
Beth took all of this in. Her family was definitely living a better life
without her. Because her mom didn't get pregnant with her in her early
twenties, she and her dad finished college. They had careers, lived in a
nicer place. She was happy for them.
On the other hand, her family was happier and had a better life without
her. Was Ken the cause of his family's unhappiness? For a few minutes she
felt guilty for her family's misfortunes. Then, again Ken's parents were
the ones who got pregnant with him. They made the choices that affected
their family. But...
They did their best. It was time to let go and forgive. Her life was
better, and so was her family. In her heart she offered her forgiveness
to Carol.
They chatted for another hour. Aaron texted Beth after he got off of
Space Mountain. She told him to ride it again, she was having a wonderful
conversation with a lady she met on It's A Small World.
Eventually Beth knew it was time to go. "I enjoyed this chat. It has been
a pleasure meeting you."
"I know we couldn't figure out how we might know each other. Give me your
email address and I will email you if I ever figure it out," Carol said
with a smile and laugh. Carol then added, "You know if I had a daughter,
I would like to think she might have been like you."
"Thank you. Would it be inappropriate to give you a hug?"
"I would like that very much. Wish you the best with your new baby, and
please send me some baby pictures. With the way my two sons are about
relationships, your baby might be as close as I get to being a
grandmother."
Beth hugged Carol. As she hugged her, she remembered all of the other
times she wished Carol had hugged Ken this way. Beth didn't want to let
go. But she reluctantly ended the hug and said good-bye."
As they parted ways, Beth took one last look at Carol. She felt happy and
at peace knowing that all members of her former family were having
wonderful lives.
The Wedding
For weeks Beth basked in the memory of their trip to Disney World. She
was thankful that she had a trip to see her former family and speak with
Ken's mom one more time. She would treasure that moment always,
especially when Carol said that if she had a daughter she would have
liked for her to be like Beth.
She was debating whether she should send Carol a baby picture. It might
be a way to keep the communication open so that she could stay a part of
her former family's life. Or maybe it was a door that should be closed.
That would have to wait. She needed to put the finishing touches on her
wedding that was fast approaching. When the idea of the wedding was
offered she had gladly accepted and was looking forward to the event,
that was before she became pregnant.
Now she was visibly pregnant. She insisted that the invitations and all
correspondence regarding the wedding state that she and Aaron had been
married for over a year and that this wedding was a celebration of their
marriage. She even made sure that the pastor who was preforming wedding
ceremony would say it.
___
It was finally the week of the wedding. Aaron and Beth were honored that
so many friends and family members came to the wedding, including all the
Dyes. They had made significant progress in healing as a family since
Martha's revelation last fall. Things were not 100% ok, but they had
reached a point where they could come together and celebrate Aaron's
marriage to Beth.
Many of her Chi Omega sisters came for the wedding. She debated if she
should ask any of them to be her bridesmaids. She decided to avoid hurt
feelings and asked Laura and Kellie to be her bridesmaids and she asked
her former Chi Omega roommate and best friend Leigh to be her maid of
honor. Leigh happily accepted and asked Beth to be her Matron of Honor
next summer when she married Scott. Beth squealed and happily agreed.
The Rehearsal dinner was a very welcome treat for the families and
members of the wedding party. Steven used his connections and was able to
book the rehearsal dinner at the Governor's Club, a very exclusive
private club in Tallahassee. Beth and her family had lived in Tallahassee
for decades. Not only had they never been to the Governor's Club, they
didn't even know anyone who had been to the club!
Steven had wanted to hold the reception at the Governor's Club also. Beth
and Aaron politely refused. They wanted their friends to be able to join
them in the reception. They had a simple reception at the DoubleTree
Hilton across the street from the church.
The morning of the wedding arrived. Beth, like every other bride wanted
to look beautiful on her special day. She wanted to look perfect! No
matter how many times everyone told her how beautiful she looked, she
still found something about her that didn't look right. It was only after
three hours of putting on her makeup and fixing her hair would she
relaxed.
It was easier for her to relax after receiving a text message from an
"unknown caller" that was very known. He told he her that she had done a
wonderful job transforming into Beth. And to everyone in the room she was
the most beautiful bride they had ever seen, baby bump and all.
Beth had come to terms with her baby bump and wedding after the Disney
World Trip. This is who she is. A married woman expecting a baby. She
couldn't think of any greater title to have than those two. Besides she
would tell her future child how they were married a year and a half
before this ceremony. They did the ceremony again because they wanted
everyone to share in their love and joy.
Finally, it was time. Beth and her bridesmaids made their way to the
church entrance. They were met by William Campbell. William like many
dads who hid their emotions cried as he took Beth's arm and waited for
their cue to begin their march down the aisle. During those last seconds
he was filled with memories. Memories of watching his little girl grow
up. He had no way of way of knowing that the woman on his arm was not the
little girl he was remembering. Thus, it was poetic when he said, "I love
you very much and I am very proud of you. These last few years you have
really blossom. You are a totally different person from the little girl
that I watched grow up. "
Beth smiled, knowing how true his words were. She thought about the
original Beth and then whispered to her dad "that little girl and I both
love you very much and we appreciate everything that you ever did for us"
and she kissed him on the cheek.
As the first notes of the Bridal March started Willam and Beth began
their walk down the aisle. Beth was still thinking about the original
Beth. She had not thought about her in a long time. Beth knew that the
original Beth was enjoying peace. One day when Beth's earthly life was
over she would meet the person whose life she replaced. What would the
old Beth think of the how she lived the life of Beth?
The walk from the narthex to the altar was about 100 feet. It seemed like
it took 100 years as time froze with each step.
After a couple of steps Beth glanced to her right. She saw Aaron's, and
her former fraternity brothers. Aaron didn't participate very much in the
fraternity during his last year at Florida State, but he remained close
to many of his old fraternity brothers. He had formed strong close ties
with his brothers which is why many of them came to the wedding.
There was a time Beth would have felt very uncomfortable being in the
presence of many of her old fraternity brothers. But time has a way of
healing and changing one's perspective. They were not to blame for what
happen, it was Ken who stole the money and it was Ken who broke the trust
that they had in him. Fortunately for Ken & Beth-she now thought of them
as two different people-they had been given another chance at life.
As Beth walked past her old fraternity brothers, she was filled with
positive memories that she had with them when she was Ken. They were good
guys. She was no longer a member of the fraternity. She was now the wife
of a fraternity brother and she was happy and comfortable in that role.
If any of her old brothers asked for a dance, she would be happy to dance
with them, in fact she was hoping that certain ones would ask for a
dance!
She took a few more steps and glanced to her left and saw many of her Chi
Omega sisters. Beth was blessed with many more friends than Ken ever
imagined having. Beth's friends were not just casual acquaintances, these
were deep intimate relationships. The most surprising thing for Beth was
how much she enjoyed having these relationships. Beth could not think of
a single moment that she had felt lonely, isolated, or didn't have the
support of 100 plus women who were always at her side at a moments
notice. Another reason she was glad to be a woman.
A few more steps and she saw the many friends that she and Aaron had made
outside of the Greek system and FSU. Beth was a more confident person
than Ken had ever been. She was active in her community and focused on
helping people as much as possible. Focus-definitely not a word in Ken's
vocabulary. Ken had no idea what he was doing or where he was going in
life. Beth had direction. She was going to use her love for Christ and
help as many people as she could, while being the best Christian wife and
mother possible
As she progressed down the aisle she saw her family. Beth was closer to
her family than Ken ever was to his family. She loved her family dearly.
She no longer thought of them as her new family, they were just her
family. The Campbells had been there for each other, through the highs
and lows of their lives. At the end of the day they loved each other, and
they were still family.
She realized that Ken had been unfairly critical of his family. He felt
that his parents had not provided for him, at least in a way that he had
wanted. Beth now understood that Ken's parents did the best that they
could and that they did love their children. Were they perfect, no.? But
then what family is perfect?
This journey had taught Beth something about families. No family is
perfect. All families had things that they wish they could change. Beth's
family, Ken's family, Aaron's family, and hers & Aaron's family were
going to fail at times. But she and Aaron will be like their parents and
do their best and love their families unconditionally. She was thankful
that in her lifetime she had experience the love of the Campbell's, Dyes,
and even Ken's family.
She was now approaching the altar. She saw Aaron's Best Man Scott and her
Maid of Honor, Leigh standing parallel to each other. She had thought how
amazing it was that the person who been one of her closest friends as Ken
was now engaged to Beth's closest friend. What were the odds of that?
Beth suspected that the odds might have been tampered with, that a
certain angel might have had a part in their relationship. Of course she
couldn't prove it. She was happy that both Scott & Leigh were going to be
part of their lives.
They finally reached the altar and Aaron came down to meet them. William
kissed his daughter and shook Aaron's hand and went and sat down next to
Anne.
They said their vows, read scripture, and before they knew it they were
walking back down the aisle to form the reception line. Eventually to the
relief of Beth and Aaron the reception line came to an end and they
joined their wedding guest in walking across the street to the DoubleTree
Hilton for their reception.
The reception was wonderful. Aaron and Beth got the party started,
dancing to a Frank Sinatra Classic "Nice and Easy." Neither Aaron nor
Beth had ever heard of this song until three months ago. Beth and Aaron
were at her doctor appointment, sitting in the waiting room. They were
discussing the recent family events and the challenges ahead that they
would be facing. Aaron remarked that he wished they could take things
nice and easy. At that moment the Sirius station that was playing in the
waiting room played "Nice and Easy," They were hooked on the song.
Beth danced with her dad. She also danced with Scott while Aaron danced
with Leigh. At one point during the dance Scott whispered, you know you
remind me of someone, I can't figure out who.
She danced with other former fraternity brothers. She danced with Dave.
She remembered the fun times that Ken and Dave had going to FSU baseball
games. She danced with Paul. Earlier Paul had mentioned his struggles
with finding a date, and his reliance on his parents. During her dance
with Paul she encouraged him to get his independence, telling him there
were many girls who would find him attractive, especially when they saw
he was an independent man who could make his own way.
She danced with Wayne. There was a time when being in the same room with
Wayne would have made her sick. But she had moved on. After all it was
Ken who was in the wrong and not Wayne. And she couldn't be mad at Wayne
for turning Ken in. If he hadn't, she wouldn't be enjoying this wonderful
life that she now had. As the music died, she told Wayne thank you and
gave him a kiss, leaving Wayne thrilled and confused.
_____
All good things must come to an end, including the wedding celebration of
Aaron and Beth. At the appropriate time everyone made a final toast to
the young family-after all they were not just a couple anymore-and wished
them well.
As arranged, when the DJ played John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" Mr. &
Mrs. Aaron Dye left the ballroom to begin their two-day drive to Colorado
and the start of their new life.
Epilogue
Aaron dove into his studies while Beth set up their house and prepared
for the arrival of their daughter. Aaron said he was looking forward to
having a daughter that he could spoil. Beth admitted she was worried
about having a daughter. Would she have the knowledge that would be
necessary to pass on to a young girl? Her prayers told her that she had
everything she needed to be a mother.
A few days before Christmas Beth went into labor. Unfortunately for Beth
when her labor began, they were in the middle of blizzard. Police were
advising everyone to stay off the road. Aaron checked in with a few
people who had ventured out. They all said you needed a 4 wheel drive to
go anywhere. He called 911 and they said they were not sure if they could
get an ambulance to them in time. But they offered to get a doctor on the
line who could talk Aaron through the childbirth. A prospect that scared
Aaron more than it did Beth!
Fortunately for them their next-door neighbor, Jason had a Ford F 150
with four-wheel drive with and an extended cab. They were able to get
Beth into the back seat and Jason drove them to the hospital in blizzard
like conditions. Even with the 4 wheel drive the drive was not easy. 30
minutes after arriving at the hospital, Beth gave birth in a snowstorm to
a beautiful baby girl who was named after three southern women who had
never seen snow. MarthaAnne Leigh Dye arrived a couple of days before
Christmas, giving her parents a Christmas they would never forget.
MarthaAnne would grow up to be a wonderful woman, taking after the women
she was named after and her mother. She would be a terrific and
supportive big sister to her five brothers and sisters.
Kellie inspired by her baby sister, transferred to FSU and moved in with
her parents. She earned her MBA, where she was mentored by her dad to
become a college professor. When her dad retired, she took his place on
the faculty. She would marry a colleague and became the mother of twin
boys.
After the wedding, Laura did not immediately return home to New England.
Instead she went to Charleston for a month to take stock of her life and
to determine what she wanted to do with her life. She realized that she
wasn't happy in her marriage, and she wanted a divorce. She told her
husband Mark that she had been using her marriage as an excuse not to
deal with her mom, and she was sorry for hurting him. She wished him well
and hoped they could remain friends.
She may not have wanted to be married to Mark, but she was inspired by
his military service. She went back to school and became a Physician
Assistant and was commissioned into the Navy.
She had lost touch with Mark over the years and wouldn't see him again
until almost a decade later. Commander Martha Dye was surprised to see
her ex-husband. Lt. Commander Mark Watson was even more surprised,
especially when he realized that he had to salute his ex-wife. They got a
good laugh out of it and maintained their friendship, sometimes with
benefits.
After graduating from seminary, Aaron discovered he loved teaching. He
became a professor at the seminary. He would be asked to fill in at local
churches when a need arose. He was also requested as a consultant to help
other churches, nationally and internationally.
Beth focused on being a Pastor/Professors Wife, Mother, and working on
special projects to help the church when needed. She earned her MSW and
would partner with many organizations to launch social programs that were
a partnership with the church and community.
One reason that Aaron and Beth were financially free to live this life
was because of Martha & Steven Dye. Steven had made millions of dollars
in his life and he invested very well, setting up huge trust funds for
Aaron, Laura, and of course Martha. He also established another trust
fund for his grandchildren's college education.
Martha changed more than anyone else, except Beth. She became a more
loving, caring, and compassionate woman. The change was so incredible,
Beth often wondered if someone else was inhabiting Martha's body; maybe
after meeting a certain angel?
A couple of years after the family wedding, Steven passed away. The Dyes
were comforted by the fact Steven lived long enough to see the family
reconciled with healthy relationships. Martha knew that she did not want
to live by herself in Charleston. She sold the house and moved to
Colorado. Aaron, and Beth were happy to have grandma close by to help
with the children.
Sadly, Steven's death wasn't the only one that the family would grieve.
Six months after Steven's death, Anne Campbell passed away. Beth grieved
Anne's death hard. Anne was HER mother, and she had formed a close,
loving, and supportive mother/daughter relationship with Anne.
After Anne's death, William decided that he did not want to stay in
Tallahassee with the memories of Anne. He remembered the fun times that
he had in Colorado with his family. He joined, Aaron & Beth & their
families, and Martha and moved to the Rocky Mountains.
Anne's death would offer another example of how much Martha had changed.
She not only became a full-time grandmother to Aaron & Beth's children,
she became a surrogate grandmother to Kellie's twin boys. She was always
happy to do grandma duty whenever she was called. And she ended up
spoiling all 8 grandchildren.
The family was happy to have another grandparent close by. The family did
many events together. Martha and Bill enjoyed these family events, but
they wisely developed their own friends and activities.
One Thanksgiving the family was sharing what they were thankful for. For
Beth she was thankful that she and her family had been given a second
chance at life. She realized, not for the first time, just how blessed
they all were.
And they lived in peace and joy.
The End
Don't be surprise if Beth, Aaron and Thomas appear in another story.
Fraternity Brother to Sorority Sister Notes
First, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this story. All
of you read and commented on this story made this such an enjoyable
venture. A journey that has finally come to a close.
Some questions that I have been asked during this writing.
Who is Beth based on?
Beth is a composite of several people. Some parts are based on my life. I
really was a Chi Omega and I had a baby during a blizzard, which was a
shock to this native Florida girl with Southern California ties! Our
next-door neighbor did drive us to the hospital, thank you again Jason.
Other parts of Beth came from experiences of friends, and some I made up.
Why did you have Beth end up with Aaron and not Ron?
When I started writing this story I intended for Beth to end up with Ron.
I changed to Aaron after I saw that I could come up with more storylines
and more interesting storylines if Beth fell in love with one of her
former fraternity brothers. I tried to give Ron a great send off by
having HIM break up with Beth.
If you have any other questions please email me
[email protected]
I started this story six years ago. Since then I had two babies, moved
across the country, and many other experiences. I couldn't have finished
this without help from many.
I want to thank my husband, who gave me time to write, who supported me
in this endeavor, and supported me in supporting my brother.
My Chi Omega sisters, who reminded me of many fun times we had, some of
which I included in this story.
Thank you to my brother, who I hope to be able to call my sister one day.
I am inspired by your strength and courage. I wish there really was a
Thomas to make your wish come true.
Love Megan