Hawaiian Retreat 8 free porn video

As we approached the others, Marie saw my glass and said, "Ohh, that looks good. Can I try it?" Before I could answer, she snatched the glass from me and took a sip. She looked at me confused, then took another, bigger sip. "Is this a Shirley Temple?" I laughed and nodded. "Lord, you really are a good girl, aren't you?" She laughed as she passed my glass back to me. "Excuse me," a young woman in Hawaiian garb interrupted us. "Would you like a group picture taken?" "Yes!" Mitch's mom said, excitedly. "Here," she put two chairs together, "Donnie, come sit with me. I want my new daughter next to me in our first family photo. Mitch, you and your dad get behind me and Marie and Hilda, behind Donnie." She took my hands and we sat very close. "Oh, I'm so happy," she smiled at all of us. "I finally have a big family and we're all together. Isn't this wonderful!?" I had to agree. It was. The joyful vacation/honeymoon with our whole family lasted two more days and we all enjoyed every moment. Marie, Mitch's mom and I went shopping in the town, had our toe nails done together - not that any of us needed to have them done, it was just a whim. There was a nail salon and as we passed it, Mom suggested a quick pedicure, so in we went. It was a wonderful, spontaneous, adventure in womanhood. Mitch and his dad enjoyed a casual round of golf one morning while Hilda went to the set of a TV series that was filmed in Hawaii to visit friends in the movie trade. The next day, though, she joined them on the links, and from what I heard, she turned their casual game into a very competitive one. Mitch said that he and his dad had to really up their game to keep from being embarrassed. In the end, Hilda beat Dad by fourteen strokes and Mitch only beat Hilda by four strokes. Turns out my sister-in-law is a world class golfer! Who knew? On their last evening before leaving for the airport, we all ate at the resort's nicest restaurant. Mitch and his dad looked handsome in their nicely tailored suits, Mom wore a lovely, lavender dress, Hilda was in a chic, black pantsuit with a scooped neck, white blouse, Marie wore her favorite black dress, a lovely, cap-sleeved, form fitting sheath that hugged her curves perfectly. What did I wear? Oh, well, you know me by now! I just had to make a show of it! While we were out shopping, we went into a beautiful little boutique where I found the perfect little Ralph Lauren dress - nave blue, with a vivid hibiscus print on it. Sweetheart neckline, tiny spaghetti straps, form fitting, hemline falling just above my knees, bright shocks of blue and red flowers with green stems and leaves all around the dress... just a perfect little dress to wear to dinner. I also wore my mother's pearls that Marie had loaned me. I wanted Marie to take them home with her the next day, so this was my last hurrah with them. "Oh, God, Mitchell," Mom said when we joined all of them in the lobby, "doesn't she look gorgeous in that? I don't know how a quite guy like you did it, but you certainly landed a beautiful wife." Then she turned to me, took both my hands in hers and kissed my cheek. "And how is my favorite daughter this evening?" "She's your daughter-in-law, mom," Mitch laughed. "Oh, shut up and let me have my fun," Mom teased in reply. She took my arm and led me aside, "When we get back home and you're all settled in, I'd really like to have a nice, long talk with you, Donnie." "Actually," I said, seeing an opening, "I'd like to talk to you as well. See, I might be starting a new job as an Art teacher and I was wondering if I could sit down and talk to you about that. Maybe get some pointers on how to run my classes and, you know, actually create a good program for the kids." Mom's eyes shot wide open. "Oh, Donnie, how wonderful! I'd be thrilled to help you with that in any way that I can. What I'd like to to also talk about is... well... it probably seems a bit sexist to assume that, now that you're a woman, you may have an interest in cooking and baking and things like that, but if you are at all interested..." "Are you kidding!?" I burst out. "I've always been interested in cooking and ESPECIALLY in baking. I go crazy at Christmas time making cookies and pastries... if you could teach me to be better at those, I'd be very grateful!" Mom smiled and her eyes welled up a bit. "Oh, Donnie, I'm so glad to hear you say that. It's going to be so nice to have another girl around the house! Mitchell doesn't show any interest in these kinds of family traditions and I was starting to despair that all of my recipes and cooking methods - everything that I was taught by my mother and she was taught her mother, etc., for generations - was all going to be thrown out when I passed away." She hugged me tightly. "Thank you, dear." "Are you kidding?" I was shocked by her words. "Thank YOU, Mom. I want to learn everything you can teach me. Who knows, maybe someday Mitch and I will adopt a child or two and we can teach my daughters together." Before, Mom's eyes were watery, now they shed tears. Happy tears. "Oh, Donnie, that would be wonderful and... I do so love it when you call me 'Mom.'" That made me smile. Just then the hostess told us that our table was ready and she ushered us into the restaurant. I can't imagine what Dad paid for the meal, but I suspect that it was probably more than I'd paid for every meal I'd eaten for the past year! It was delicious, though. Everything from salad to dessert was amazing. As we chatted during the meal, Mitch was explaining to everyone what he'd already done to have my 'legal sexual designation' changed on a whole slew of documents. My records at Umass had already been changed to indicate that my name was 'Dawn' and that my sex was 'Female,' and the license I'd used to get through TSA security before flying to Hawaii was now my permanent license, etc. "So," Mom asked as she turned to Marie, who, along with Hilda, had also been charged with referring to Mitch's mother only as 'Mom,' "are you happy about having a sister, now?" Marie laughed, "You mean 'a sister I LIKE,' right? I do have two other sisters, but those two..." she held a hand flat in front of her and wobbled it from side to side, "...not so much." Mom laughed at that. "Oh, of course. I'd forgotten all about your older sisters. What are their names, again?" "Claudia and Angela," Marie said, politely enough, but I could sense the dislike in her voice. "Yes, yes," Mom nodded. "Lovely women, as I recall." Marie knew better than to air family laundry to outsiders, so she just nodded as Mom continued. "I guess they couldn't make it to the wedding, then?" Mitch heard the conversation and jumped in, "Mom, that's my fault. I didn't think to invite them. I'll call and apologize when we get home." I figured that Mitch was just trying to divert his mother, but I needed to put an end to any discussion of involving my older sisters in my affairs, at least for a good long while. "Oh, ummm, that's ok, honey. You don't need to do that." Then I looked at Mom and said, "Claudia and Angela aren't really... close to Rie and me. I don't think we need to tell them anything for now. Later, perhaps, but for now, let's just... leave them out of all of this." Mom looked confused and concerned. "Oh... you're not close? Oh, what a shame, Donnie. You know that family is everything to us. I do hope that you will reconcile someday." "Not likely..." Marie began in her 'let me tell you something' voice, but Hilda interrupted. "You see, their older siblings have behaved... selfishly... towards Marie and Donnie. It was their decision to create the distance between them. Marie, and particularly, Donnie, have made attempts to resolve their differences, but, alack, the older siblings have made it clear that they want no relationship with the younger. It is sad, but such is life." Marie and I both looked at each other and smiled when Hilda said, 'alack.' It was one of those little quirks you hear from someone who first learned the English language in a very formal way. She'd probably learned it while reading a Shakespeare play or something. We'd never call her on it, of course, because it was, technically, correct, if idiomatically obscure. Besides, we both found it endearing. "Oh, but it is still a shame," Mom shook her head. "Let it be, now, dear," Mitch's Dad shook his head. "The kids are old enough to deal with these things on their own. If they want to reach out to these women, then they will. You just need to stay out of it." He laughed as he shook his head. Mom shook her head at Dad. "I just think it's sad, that's all I'm saying. Families are like flowers. They need to be watered and cared for." "I always say that our family is like jazz," Marie said. Mom nodded in agreement. "Because you make it up as you go along?" "No," Marie was thrilled to have an opening to be a smart ass, "because it sucks." Hilda looked straight at me and said, "I hate that joke," but the exchange made Dad guffaw loudly and that guffaw made everyone else laugh as well, which eased the tension that inevitably existed when we talked about our older sisters. Too soon, though, it was time for the others to get changed and head to the airport. There weren't any tears, but leaving each other, even for a few days, seemed more difficult than ever before. Mitch and I waved from the entrance to the resort as the limousine that Mitch had arranged pulled away and disappeared down the driveway. When the car was out of sight, Mitch put his arm around my back and smiled at me. "I guess it's just you and me, now." I smiled up at him. "I guess. It's almost like a real honeymoon, huh?" He laughed and nodded. "I guess so. Let's take a walk on the beach." We did, and it was warm and romantic and beautiful. We talked about our future, the possibilities of building a life together, and then Mitch said, "Did I hear you say something to my mother about adopting kids?" I smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, I did, but... even as the words came out of my mouth, I was wondering where that had come from." We were walking along the shoreline, letting the warm sea water wash across our feet. Mitch was silent for a few moments before asking, "Is that something you want to do?" I was kind of astounded that we were having this conversation, to tell you the truth. I thought about it for a few minutes before I answered. "I... I think I always thought that I'd have children, but now... I guess adoption is the only way, so... yes. I'd like to consider adopting a child or two, someday." Mitch nodded. "Ok. Let's look into it, then." That was it. It was mentioned, it was discussed and Mitch set his mind to accomplishing it. Every minute I spent with him made me more impressed than I was a minute earlier. How did I ever get so lucky as to have wound up with this guy!? That night, I wore the nightie that Marie had encouraged me to buy at Victoria's Secret. Immediately upon pulling it over my head, I knew exactly what she meant about how the garment made me feel. I don't even know why it made me feel as sexy as it did - but it certainly did! It was no silkier than my other nighties. It didn't have any more lace than my other nightie. It wasn't even shorter than my other nighties, but it was a joy to wear and it made me feel amazing. It caught Mitch's eye, too. Within three minutes of me entering the bedroom with that nightie on, my pantie were off, there was a pillow under my belly and Mitch was positioning himself to take me again. Mitch would have liked to have had sex with me on my back, but I just couldn't let him see my... you know... taped up between my legs. I just wanted him to go on thinking of me as a woman... as his woman... forever. I know that might sound stupid, I mean we'd be in locker rooms together growing up, so not only did he know it was there, he'd actually seen it, but I just wanted to be 'his girl' and not his buddy. Our last few days in Hawaii were as beautiful and wonderful as every previous day had been, and before we knew it, it was time to go home. I felt bad for the poor maids who had to pack all of my clothing back into my luggage, but it was awfully nice to not have to do it myself. Mitch did tip them extremely well for their efforts, though. The east bound flight was more mundane than the than the west bound flight had been. There was no need to 'dress to impress' upon landing. In fact, there was a need to 'dress to stay warm.' I left Hawaii in a short skirt and sleeveless blouse and got off the plane at Logan Airport in Boston in a long, mid-calf length, soft, wool, A-line dress. It was a grey background with squares of red and blue scattered about it in a seemingly hapless manner. It was long sleeved and the hem came to mid- calf. It wasn't as sexy and pretty as what I'd worn in Hawaii, but it was a very handsome dress and it was very warm. Warm was the key word, too, because after two weeks in the warm, tropical sun, that cold slammed into me like a sledgehammer as soon as I walked out the door to the town car that Mitch had hired to drive us home. We had a day off before Mitch had to return to work and I had to meet with the principal at my new job. Mostly we slept to catch up, but we did find a little time for some playtime as well. We were newlyweds, after all. Mom made us some chicken stew for dinner that evening. She knew we'd be exhausted from the jet lag. It was delicious and I made a note to ask her to teach me how to make it. I did find a little time to meet with her that day to help me prep for my meeting. It was my understanding that I already had the job, but I wanted to impress the principal as much as possible and Mom gave me lots of ideas, as well as key phrases that teachers use. Things like 'develop a rigorous pedagogy' and 'create formative evaluation,' things like that. She interviewed me for an hour or so and corrected and coached me whenever I got stuck. We also found a little time for Mitch and me to visit my house and figure out what I wanted to take with me to Mitch's. It wasn't a lot. Some old CDs and a video game system that Mitch didn't own. My clothes could all be thrown out, my kitchenette and bedroom sets were from IKEA and pretty worn out. I liked my coach, but it wasn't as nice as Mitch's, so I didn't really need it. I'd given Nancy permission to walk Craig through the house before we returned because she wanted to get him as excited about buying the place as she was. I called her as Mitch looked through my financial records to see how much money Nancy had already spent on mortgage payments. "Hi, Nan," I said, happy to be able to call her again. "Hi!" She replied, very happy. "How's the blushing bride?" I laughed at that. "Happy to be back, but missing the warmth." "I know how you feel," Nancy agreed. "It's almost April, though, so there is warmth in our future." I got to the point. "Look, Nan, I'm at the house, now and I'm kind of wondering if there's any furniture or appliances that you may want to keep. Mitch already has a house full of nice things and I don't need much of the stuff here..." "Oh... Umm.... Yeah, I'm sure there is," she interrupted, "but... Donnie, we're in the car now and I was thinking that... I mean... can we swing by? We're only about three minutes away." I grew a bit concerned by the tone of her question. Maybe they weren't interested in the place any more. I'd kind of hoped that they'd be buying it - not just because it would make the sale process easier, but because I knew that Nancy really did like the house. Maybe Craig didn't, though. "Oh..." I sputtered. "Sure. Come on over." "Great," she sounded upbeat, again. That was a good sign, right? "We'll be right over." I told Mitch they were coming over and my concerns that they may have changed their minds about purchasing the house. Mitch shrugged and said, "It looks like Nancy paid about thirty percent of the mortgage in the time that she lived here. I'd say that was already a decent downpayment. If you want to just transfer the deed to her and have her take over the payments, she has already paid nearly as much as you'd profit from the sale of the house. You're only a few years into a thirty year mortgage, so you've barely touched the principle." I nodded. "I guess I'd be ok with that. I don't early want to make a profit off of Nancy. I'll just be glad that someone who loves the house will live here." Seconds later, I heard the front door open and Nancy yell, "Hi!" from the living room. We greeted them, exchanged hugs and kisses and invited them to sit on the coach while I poured some soda into glasses and we sat and chatted. Mitch first asked if they liked the property and wanted to purchase it. They said that they would buy it if the price was right. Mitch gave my records to Craig to examine and offered them the deal we'd discussed. Craig looked at Nancy with raised eyebrows. "It's a very generous offer, if you want to take it." Nancy looked at me and I could see that she was a bit excited. "Are you sure, Donnie?" I nodded. "of course, Nan. I'll just be happy if you're happy in the house." Nancy returned her attention to Craig and nodded. Craig took a breath and shrugged. "I guess you have a deal, then." He offered me a handshake that I happily accepted. Then he looked at Mitch and shook his hand, too, saying, "I guess I'll be getting some paperwork from your attorney, then." Mitch laughed. "You will, indeed." We were all very happy for a moment until Nancy said, "Umm... there is something that we need to talk about, though, and this is kind of important." She looked very serious about whatever it was that needed to be said. "Is something wrong?" I asked. "Possibly, but... possibly not," Nancy said as she sat back down on the couch. "What is it?" I was concerned. "If you don't want the furniture that's here," Mitch offered, "then we can arrange to have all of it removed. That's not a problem." "No..." Nancy took a breath and prepped herself. ""Look, as your know, last week, we did a walk through and we were very respectful of your stuff, Donnie. We didn't open any closets or anything, but..." she pointed to the wall by my television. I looked to see what she was pointing at and I let out a gasp. On the wall was a large frame that was filled with smaller pictures of some of the happiest moments of my life. Of course, I was in them and I was male in all the pictures. I'm sure that the pictures could have been explained away if it were not for the fact that both Mitch and Nancy appeared in many of the pictures and, naturally, my arm was around Nancy in a lot of them - and in several, we were kissing. "I know that I promised not to say anything, but... I just couldn't lie to Craig about this. I had to explain everything to him." The room was deathly quiet for a moment or two. I wanted to scream at Nancy for telling ANYONE, but who was I to ask her to lie to her fianc?? I looked at Mitch, who was obviously considering the situation, then I looked at Craig who was biting the knuckle of his thumb, nervously. "Ok, look," Craig finally broke the silence, "I admit I was... surprised. I mean, I knew that Nancy had had a long relationship with a guy named 'Don,' but I never once, not for a second, suspected that 'Don' could be 'Donnie.' I mean... come on... look at you... there's nothing 'manly' about you at all. So, my first reaction to seeing those pictures was, I admit, shock and I guess I felt a little like a trick had been played on me. You know, like I'd been somehow duped by all of you guys, but... the more I thought about it, the more I realized that... I mean, cripes, we all change as we go through life and discover who we really are. Right? Donnie... I guess I'm just happy that you figured all of that out, and Mitch... if you and Donnie are happy together, then I'm happy for you." He looked around the room to gauge our reactions, but neither Mitch nor I showed much emotion at that moment. "Look," Craig continued, "trust me when I say that I am thrilled to be friends with you both. That I am madly in love with Nancy and that I would never, ever, ever say or do anything to hurt or upset any of you. No matter what, I am here to support you. I swear it." Mitch suddenly stood and offered me a hand. "Would you excuse Donnie and me for a minute?" He said, a bit coolly. "We need to speak in private." I stood, confused, took Mitch's hand and followed him into the kitchen. He gently closed the door between the two rooms and let out a big breath. Then he pulled out a kitchen chair for me, waited till I sat, then took a seat next to me. He took one of my hands in his, kissed it and said, "How are we going to handle things like this when they come up?" I blinked at him, unable to understand the question. "Maybe it won't ever come up again..." I said, lamely. Mitch just shook his head. "Donnie, no matter how much we change your history, there are people in this world who knew you before and every once in a while, one of them is going to surface and they are going to bring up the fact that you were once a man. I think we should agree upon how we're going to handle it." "What?" I was dumbfounded. "Right now? You want to discuss how we're going to handle this for the rest of our lives RIGHT NOW!? With Nancy and Craig in the other room?" He nodded and kissed my hand again. "Can I tell you how I'd like to handle it?" Still befuddled, I just nodded. "Alright," Mitch cleared his throat. "Donnie... I love you and you know that. I've loved you for years, but the feelings I have for you now... well... those are more recent and I will never deny those feelings to anyone or for any reason. I loved you as a friend, I loved you as a girlfriend and I love you as my wife. No back peddling, no denials, no made up stories, just the truth. Yes, you were born male, yes, we were friends, yes, I fell in love with my friend and yes, my best friend is still my best friend, but now she is my wife. THAT is how I'd like to respond to anyone who ever brings up any of these things and that is how I'd like to respond to Craig, tonight." I sighed and glanced at the ceiling to keep from becoming emotional. "But Mitch... not everyone is going to understand. What happens if it's someone with a more narrow view of life. If we take that attitude with people like that... What do we say if they refuse to accept us that way." "We say, 'Fuck You,' and we move on." Honest to God, in the thirty one years I'd been alive until that point, I'd never once heard Mitch swear, let alone drop an F-bomb so forcefully. I was shocked. I stared at him for at least half a minute before I started to laugh. "Did you just say 'Fuck You!?'" I couldn't stop my giggles. Mitch smiled. "I did and if I say something like that, then you know that I mean it." I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Oh... I have the best husband in the world!" "And I have the best wife," he hugged me back. "Come on. Let's go back into the living room." When we got there, Craig was standing, hands in his pockets, and looking very concerned. "Listen, guys," he started to say, but stopped and changed tact, "I mean... Mitch and Donnie... I didn't mean to upset anyone. I was just..." Mitch startled him into silence as he pulled him into a big bear hug. "Craig, we're glad that you know and we also know that you are only the first of many people that we'll have to explain this to over the years so... thank you for your friendship and we hope that we can count on your support down the road." I tell you, you should have seen the look on Craig's face when Mitch released him from that hug. Dumbfounded doesn't even come close to describing it. "Oh... ok..." Craig said. He looked to me, then back to Mitch. "So... we're cool, then?" Mitch slapped his shoulder in a friendly manner. "Of course we are. Look, Craig, we will appreciate your discretion, of course, but we know that this is not going to be an easy secret to keep. So, as long as you accept us as is, then we're all fine." "Great," Craig nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. The very little time that we stayed at the house that evening was spent with Nancy and Craig as we made plans to move some of my stuff out and leave the rest. It was agreed that, as long as the bank agreed to what Mitch and Craig would write up, Nancy and Craig could move into the house in just a a week or two. Everyone was happy with the arrangements and we headed back home to get back to sleep in order to be well rested the next day. On the way home, I asked Mitch, "What do you think will happen if Bob and Oscar find out about me?" Mitch looked at me and shrugged. "They'll either accept us or not, I guess." "And if not?" I was serious. "I mean, all this began to help you put with your job. What if they find out and fire you?" Another shrug. "I'm a good lawyer, Donnie. If that happens, I'll find another job or start my own practice." "Really?" I was serious about this. "I seem to recall you saying that you worked at the ONLY firm in the area that would let you practice the kind of law you loved. Now, you say that you'll walk away from a partnership if they question your relationship with your wife? I don't think that's likely." Mitch looked at me with a lot of concern on his face. "You're not suggesting that I'd choose my career over you, are you? Donnie... I... I would never, not in a million years, choose anyone or anything over you. I thought you understood that." He took my hand in his and kissed the back of my fingers. "I love you. You know that." I nodded. I did knew that, certainly, but... "I know, Mitch, but what if it comes out." He shook his head, a bit frustrated, I think. "Let's... just... cross that bridge when we come to it, ok." Up until now, I had been confident that no one would see through my disguise, but this situation with Craig had gotten me to thinking about how people may react to this kind of a revelation. I let out a deep breath. "I think we need to discuss how to handle this, Mitch. I don't want to be the cause of a career ending problem for you. No matter what you say, if that happens, then you'll resent me and... I don't want that, Mitch. I really don't." Mitch was quiet for a moment as he thought. I don't think I'd ever challenged his decision in this way before. "What do you suggest? That I tell them? That I tell them all? After they were all a part of our wedding? Should I just tell them that we fooled them all? I mean what I just said about telling people to F-off, but I was thinking that we'd only take that step if they found out. I wasn't planning on making an announcement." "No," I insisted, "I don't mean tell everyone. Just Bob and Oscar - and of course, Bev and Jodi." We pulled into Mitch's driveway, well... our driveway... and Mitch turned in his seat to look at me. "Look, honey, I love you and I am proud of you and I will ultimately support whatever you decide you want to do, but this... this is a BIG deal. I'm really happy that things went well with Craig, but that's no guarantee that things will go well with everyone. Please, at least sleep on this. Let's talk about this tomorrow and, if you want to be open about your true sex, then... fine, I guess, but you need to consider the consequences of an announcement like that." "Mitch, I'm not talking about an announcement. I'm talking about taking your colleagues into our confidence." Maybe I was feeling a bit too brave about things because Craig seemed to take everything in stride, but I felt like there was no way to keep this under wraps forever, and the sooner the higher-ups at Mitch's firm knew the truth, the less damage could be done. Mitch shook his head. "When did you become so brave? Weren't you the one that had to practically be pushed out the door to go to dinner with me just a couple of weeks ago? This all seems very sudden, babe. Seriously, let's just sleep on it and discuss it, tomorrow." I agreed and we put that conversation on hold for the time being. The garage doors closed and we hustled inside, but seconds of entering the house, there was a knock on the door. It caught me by surprise, but Mitch just smiled as he took my coat from me. "That's mom's knock." He looked towards the door and called, "Come on in, mom! It's open." "I'm sorry to come over so late, but I have something for my girl to wear to tomorrow's interview." Mom was carrying a dress on a hanger with a clear plastic bag over it. She removed the bag and handed it to me. "All of your clothes are so fancy. I thought that you should show up dressed appropriately to impress the principal. A teacher needs to look lovely, but be able to get down on the floor to work with the kids - especially and elementary school teacher and even more especially and Art teacher. This is more of a nice work dress and less of a fashion statement." It was a lovely dress. A medium blue with a V-neck, loose fitting, short sleeves, a tasteful elastic waist and a simple skirt that would rest just above my knees. A soft crepe-like material. I liked it a lot. "Oh, mom," I said as I looked the very generous gift. "That's just perfect! Thank you so much!" "Don't be silly, dear," she kissed my cheek. "Just remember the things we discussed and they will love you." She put her hand on my cheek. "How could they not?" That made me laugh. "Thanks, mom. I'll do my best." "Of course you will," she smiled at me. "Call me when you've left the interview and tell me how it went. If I don't answer, it's because I'm in class, but leave a message for me. Ok?" "Ok," I said, smiling at her enthusiasm and support. She only stayed a moment, but the gesture was extremely thoughtful and just her presence interrupted our discussion and we let the topic drop for the evening. The next morning, I was too nervous to eat anything for breakfast. Mitch made me a cup of coffee before he left, but I couldn't even finish that. It was weird, you know, because I kind of already had the job and the interview was just a formality. Regardless, I was much more nervous about this interview than any other interview that I'd ever had before. Mom called between classes to wish me luck, and Dad came by to give me a 'good luck hug' before he went to his office. He also informed me that he'd set up an appointment for me to have my breasts done on April 20th, which would be right at the start of school vacation. That way, I wouldn't miss any school time. So I'd only need Hilda to fix my breasts with her 'three week treatment' one more time. My meeting was at one o'clock that afternoon. I walked around the house all morning stressing over it. 'Don't say anything stupid,' I'd mutter to myself. 'Don't say 'when I was a 'boy' or anything like that.' I just kept beating myself up over things I hadn't done or said. I'd been living as a woman for three weeks at this point, but it was the first time I'd driven a car in a dress or while wearing heels. Getting settled behind the wheel while wearing a dress was a bit of a challenge, but driving in heels... that was going to take a little getting used to. Rather than trying to meet that challenge on that particular day, I just slipped off my right shoe and headed downtown. There was a parking lot at the school, but it was gated and only accessible with a pass code. I was early anyway, so I decided park in a municipal lot about two blocks away. It was a very easy stroll to the school, but I got more nervous with each step. The private school was in a large building on the edge of the downtown area. It was a majestic structure with arched windows and ornate highlights of geometric designs inlaid about. According to the cornerstone, it had been built in 1902 and, obviously, no expense had been spared. It was an inspirational thing to look at and it made me hope that I might actually be able to work there. I entered through huge, glass doors that led to the lobby and the front desk. The woman behind the counter made a call and within seconds, Alycia was hustling down the hallway with a friendly smile and wave. We greeted each other like old friends and she ushered me down the hallway. "You look lovely, as usual," Alycia told me as we walked. I thanked her and returned the compliment, and I meant that sincerely. I don't think I'd ever had a teacher who dressed as well as she did, but then again... maybe I just never noticed. "This is my classroom," Alycia said as she opened a door and we entered a room filled with fourth grade girls, all working, or at least appearing to be working, diligently on some kind of a worksheet. "Girls," Alycia clapped her hands, "girls. Give me your attention, please. This is Miss Dawn and she is going to be your new art teacher, starting very soon." There was a murmur of excitement from the class. "Let's all say hello to Miss Dawn, shall we?" The girls all sat a little straighter in their seats and in a unison, sing-song way said, "Hello, Miss Dawn." I felt a bit awkward and on the spot, but I responded, "Hello, girls. It's very nice to meet all of you." I felt very exposed as I stood in front of all of these innocent eyes. Their eyes looked at me with such intensity that it felt like they could see right through my disguise. "Do we have any questions for Miss Dawn?" Alycia asked. Almost every girl through her and up, which made Alycia smile. "Margaret," Alycia pointed to a girl. "Go ahead." The little girl stood, "Miss Dawn, you're very pretty." I laughed and said, "Why, thank you." Alycia shook her head. "That was very sweet of you, Margaret, but it wasn't really a question, now was it?" The little girl smiled as she sat back down. Alycia called on another child who stood. "Miss Dawn, are you good at art?" I smiled at the way she phrased the question. "Well, yes, I think I am." "Could you draw something for us, Miss?" I sputtered for a moment. I may have mentioned before, I'm not a brilliant artist, but I am very good at graphic arts, which primarily involves computers. I looked to Alycia for support, but she just smiled and held up a handful of whiteboard markers and pointed towards the large, empty whiteboard on the wall. I took the markers and stared at the massive blank space, trying desperately to think of something - anything - to drawer. For at least fifteen seconds, I just drew a blank, until, finally, I took a green marker and began to draw the palm trees on the beach in Hawaii. While I drew, I spoke. "I don't know if Miss Alycia told you, or not, but we met a few weeks ago in Hawaii." I kept drawing and everything just seemed to flow from my brain to my finger tips in an unusually easy way. "This is what the beach at the resort looked like. There were palm trees and the sand was almost as white as this board. And the water was so clean and clear... you could see to the bottom, even when you were neck deep in it. And the water was as warm as bath water." There was ohh-ing and ahh-ing at my picture and my story. "And that's not all, girls," Alycia said. "While Miss Dawn and I were in Hawaii, Miss Dawn's boyfriend proposed to her, right on that beach." The girls let out gasps at the romance of that statement. "Not only that," she went on, "but on the last night we were there, Miss Dawn and her boyfriend got married - right at the resort, in front of everyone. Isn't that amazing?" Once again, the girls swooned at the romantic story. One of the girls raised her hand. "Yes, Jessie?" Alycia asked. "Miss Dawn," the girl asked. "Can we see your ring?" I laughed at the sweetness of the question, but of course, I was more than happy to show them Mitch's Nana's rings and they were delighted to see them. They gathered around me, looking and touching and asking questions about how good looking Mitch was, did I really love him, was I happy that we got married, etc, until Alycia clapped her hands and ordered the girls back to their seats. When I turned, a big smile on my face, I was surprised to see another woman had entered the room. She was in her late forties or early fifties, dressed in a very businesslike blouse and pencil skirt, and carrying a yellow legal pad. Both she and Alycia were smiling, but this woman's smile was guarded. There was something... judgmental... in her gaze. I knew immediately that I was being evaluated. Just then, a chime sounded. It was actually three separate notes. It occurred to me that the notes were actually quite pleasant - not at all like the harsh buzzing sounds of my school years. "Alright, ladies," Alycia clapped her hands. "It's time for Phys. Ed. Put your books into your desks and let's go see Miss Cheryl." The girls hustled to put their books away, then lined up by the door. Alycia waved me over to her. "Dawn, this is Alma. She is the principal here. Why don't you two get acquainted and I'll walk the girls to the gym. I'll be right back." Alycia and the girls left and Alma guided me to a large table on the far side of the room with standard height chairs and indicated that I take a seat. "So," she said, looking at the drawing on the whiteboard, "I don't need to ask if you have any artistic ability. That's quite a lovely drawing you did for the girls. And, from what I saw, you didn't seem to have any problem engaging their attention, did you?" I smiled and shrugged. "I guess not, but Alycia certainly helped." She nodded and jotted down something on her legal pad. Then she looked back at me and said, "We received your transcripts from Umass..." for a second, my blood ran cold. I knew that Mitch had contacted them, but what if the school got in touch with the university before that "... and you seem to have done well in your art classes." She was gracious enough to not point out how poorly I did in my academic classes. The facts were, though, that I did manage to pass and earn my degree. "Alycia tells me that you worked as a graphic designer of some kind?" I nodded and gave her a truncated history of my career. While I was delivering my narrative, Alycia returned and joined us at the large table. She smiled a friendly, supportive smile as she sat opposite me. "Well..." Alma said with a sigh, "... everything seems in order. The job is yours if you want it." I shook my head, surprised that this was such a brief interview. I hadn't even used the phrases that Mom had given me. "Well, I... I... Yes, of course, I'd like to take the job. Thank you." Alma reached across the table and shook my hand. "Thank you, Dawn. We're glad to have you on the team." "Thank you," I said, again. "Please, call me Donnie." She smiled. "Donnie. Of course." She stood and said, "Today is Monday... when do you think you can start?" "I can start tomorrow, if you'd like." Alma nodded. "Tomorrow it is, then. Before you leave, today, see Linda, the head secretary, and she'll give you your employment papers, tax forms and direct deposit papers. I hope that everything goes smoothly for you, but if you have any questions, any questions at all, please feel free to come see me. My door is always open." Once she'd left, Alycia gave me a big hug. "Congratulations! I knew she'd love you. Your drawing was wonderful and the girls seemed to love you, too. Oh, I'm so happy that this all worked out the way I'd hoped it would." I actually had to catch my breath. "That was... less horrible than I expected." I laughed. "So, that's it? I just come in tomorrow and start teaching?" "That's all there is to it," Alycia smiled. "Come on. I'll show you your classroom." As I was headed out of the room, I stopped and looked at the picture I'd drawn. It was actually... ok. I mean, if I didn't know that I'd drawn it, I'd actually say it was quite good. Sure, it wasn't high art, but it was just fine. Maybe I'd been too harsh on myself? Maybe I'd allowed a bunch of unchallenged college professors to define my abilities. Honestly, just seeing my little sketch on the whiteboard made me feel like I did have something to teach these little girls. My classroom was large, clean and well stocked. Lots of space for projects and displays. This was exciting. Suddenly, I wasn't so much nervous as I was excited to get started. Before I left, Alycia gave me a friendly warning to start small and not be overly ambitious to start. She said that's the downfall of a lot of first time teachers. Too many movies about teachers who wander into a classroom and change everything in an hour and a half. "Just get to know them, guide them to find their strengths and you'll do great." I filled out my paperwork in the office and thanked everyone for being so nice to me, then I headed out the door. I called Mom as soon as I got to the sidewalk. She was between classes, so she took my call and couldn't have been happier for me. She also made arrangements with me to meet and go work-dessert-shopping with her. That all felt nice. I called Marie, knowing that, due to working the night shift, she'd be sleeping, and left a message. I did the same with Hilda, knowing she had to be on a set all that day. I was about to call Mitch when I looked across the street and stopped in my tracks. I'd never known where Mitch's law firm was and here I was standing right in front of it. I looked at my phone and considered the options - calling him, or going to see him in person - and quickly decided to cross the street and tell him in person. I entered the offices and was greeted by a very attractive receptionist. "Good afternoon," she smiled, "how may I help you?" "Hi," I smiled back. "I'm here to see Mitch." She looked a bit confused. "Mitch? You mean Mister... oh, wait... you're not... the wife, are you?" I smiled and laughed a bit. "Yes, I am. Is Mitch available." She stood and came around the counter and, much to my surprise gave me a big hug. "Congratulations! It's 'Dawn,' right?" I was completely befuddled by the burst of emotion. "Yes...Umm... Donnie, actually, but yes." "Well, come on," She said with excitement. "Let's go meet everyone." She guided me behind a dividing wall and made an announcement in a very loud voice. "Everyone! Listen up! This is Donnie - Mitch's wife!" Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by nearly twenty women and a few men - all support staff, secretaries and paralegals who had not been in Hawaii. All of them were congratulating me, hugging me, shaking my hand and telling me how wonderful Mitch was and how happy they were for us to have gotten together. The final person to greet me was someone I actually recognized from the Halloween party. "Hi, Donnie. I'm Rachel, Mitch's personal assistant. We met back..." "...at the Halloween party, of course. I remember you, Rachel. Nice to see you, again." The woman seemed a bit surprised, but to tell you the truth, a lot of this whole situation was caused by Rachel's gift of a framed photograph of Mitch as Freddy and me as Velma from Scooby Doo last year. At first I'd held her partially responsible for the torture I went through to become who I became, but at that point, I viewed her as a vital part of the process I'd gone through to find the real me. "Oh, well... I am glad to see you again, as well, Mrs..." "Just Donnie, please, Rachel," I insisted. "Oh, well... Donnie, please follow me. I'll show you where Mitch's new office is." I was impressed. "He has a new office?" "Of course. He's a partner, now. He's on the third floor with the other partners." We entered an elevator and rode it to the third floor - a world of polished, old, oak floors, gorgeous, oriental carpets, deep green painted walls and clouded glass doors. Rachel knocked on the one with Mitch's name on it, cracked it open and asked, "Are you too busy to see a new client?" I heard Mitch sound confused. "A new client? Rachel, I don't see anything on the calendar about a new client. Did you bring me any paperwork?" "No, I didn't, Mitch, but I think you probably know everything there is to know about this client." Now Mitch seemed very confused. "Is he downstairs? Send him up and I'll meet with him, but get your laptop and take notes. If we don't have a file running on him, let's get one started. Ok?" "Mitch," Rachel smiled at her own playfulness, "the client is a woman and she's right here with me." I heard him mutter, "Well, for crying out loud, Rachel, don't keep her waiting. Show her in." "Yes, sir," Rachel smiled and stepped aside, holding the door wide for me. "He'll see you now, ma'm." Mitch stood, buttoning his suit coat as I entered. His business smile turned into a shocked grin as he caught sight of me. "Donnie! What a surprise! What brings you all the way up here? How did the interview go? Rachel - you remember Donnie, don't you? You met at Halloween, right? This is Donnie - my wife." The words just kept coming out of his mouth. I think the stress of his first day as partner and the surprise of seeing me all hit him at once and he suddenly got a case of spontaneous verbal diarrhea. "Yes, we've been getting reacquainted," Rachel laughed at his inability to stop speaking, too. "Oh, of course," he shook his head and got his bearings. "What brings you all the way up here?" He smiled and hugged me. "I parked in the lot across the street and walked to the school. When I realized I was so close, I thought I'd come up and tell you the good news in person." I told him as he hugged me tightly. "You got the job!?" He was very excited and I nodded. "Congratulations, baby! Rachel, Donnie got a teaching job, isn't that great?" "Congratulations," Rachel smiled. "I'll leave you two alone," she winked at me as she closed the oak and glass door behind her. "That's wonderful!" Mitch said as he hugged me. "When do you start?" "Tomorrow," I said, feeling unusually proud of myself. "I've got to do a little research tonight to figure out what I'm going to do, but I'm really excited about getting started." "That's great, honey," Mitch hugged me once again. "I'm so proud of you." Now, I know that this is a long story and I've told you a lot of things about my life, but... I can't stress this enough - I was thirty one years old the day I began to live as a woman, and until that day, I don't think I'd ever heard the words, 'I'm proud of you,' spoken to me before. Now, it was becoming the norm. I was actually doing things that I was proud of and that made others proud of me. "Did you tell my mom," Mitch asked. "She's going to burst! Not only does she have a new daughter, but that daughter is a teacher! It's like all of her dreams just came true!" I laughed. "I told her. She's excited. She wants me to go out with her to buy a few 'teacher dresses' this afternoon. I'm meeting her at the mall at three thirty." "Perfect," Mitch said. "My two favorite ladies together. That's just perfect." He planted a gentle kiss on my lips. "You're going to be a great Art teacher." "Thanks, honey," I hugged him back. "Well, don't let me break up the party," a voice came from the doorway. It was Oscar, standing there with a big smile on his face. I jumped away from Mitch, a bit embarrassed, but Oscar just continued on. "From what Rachel said, I understand that congratulations are in order, Donnie. I'm sure that you'll do a great job. Teaching is a very noble profession. I'm sure you'll find it very fulfilling." Oscar spread his arms and offered me a hug, which I accepted. It was a sweet, paternal hug and he gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek, too. I let go of Oscar and smiled. "I should probably get going. I'm sure that you all have a lot to do around here and I don't want to be in the way." "You're never in the way, my dear," Oscar said quite sweetly. "Well, thank you, but I should get going anyway. I'm meeting Mitch's mother in a little while." I kissed Mitch goodbye and he and Oscar walked me into the reception area. Just as I reached the elevator, Bob's office door opened, too. "Well, hi! What brings you to our humble offices today?" Mitch explained my achievement and Bob offered his congratulations as well. Just as the elevator door opened, I said, "Hey! You know, Mitch and I would love to have both of you and Jodi and Bev join us for dinner this weekend. Do you think that Saturday night might work?" Bob and Oscar looked at each other. Bob nodded and said, "Actually, we had already planned to go out to dinner together on Saturday, so... we'd be happy to go to your place. Thank you." "Wonderful!" I said as I stepped onto the elevator. "We'll see you then." Mitch nodded and got into the elevator with me. "I'll be right back up. I'm just going to walk her out." When the doors closed, Mitch sighed. "So... Saturday, huh? Are you still determined to come clean about everything?" I nodded. "That's what I'd like to do, but... I won't do it unless you agree to do it, too." He took my hand and squeezed it. "We'll figure it out, hon. We'll tell them together." I stood in silence for a moment before I asked, "And if they don't take it well?" Mitch looked at me and smiled. "Then we say 'Fuck You' and we move on." Author's Note: I apologize for the length of time between posts. Unfortunately, despite all of my precautions, I recently tested positive for COVID 19, which has substantially complicated my life. I am, at this time, asymptomatic, but it has disrupted my daily life in a lot of purely bothersome ways.