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"Now," he smiled some more, "the name of Veronica Harrington is very well known to anyone with even a passing interest in modern opera, but I have to say, I sat here today completely overwhelmed by this amazing woman's talent and generosity." More applause. "And I've been sitting out there with you all day just being amazed by this amazing young lady on the piano! What is your name, dear?" Alex told him and Ralph called for a round of applause for Alex, too. "I can't thank Ms Harrington enough for the kind and generous way she has treated all of us today, but..." he grinned, broadly, "... I may have thought of a way to at least offer... just a little bit of thanks. While we were being entertained today, I took a few short videos and sent them to a friend of mine who is a classical music corespondent for The New York Times and also for CBS television. She was overwhelmed both by the generosity and talent of our hostesses and she will be contacting both Veronica and young Miss Alex for an in-depth interview and feature stories in both the Times and on the CBS Sunday Morning television show!" The audience applauded wildly. Alex shot Veronica a shocked look. Veronica replied with a little shrug. Things had just gotten much more complicated. Ralph turned and took Veronica's right hand in his, then covered the back of her hand with his left hand in the typically insincere gesture of all lifelong political creatures. He held her hand like that while a member of the town's emergency team took their picture. Presumably, that photo and a story about how the Town Manager, Ralph Wilson worked with the world renown opera diva, Veronica Harrington, to keep the people of Lenox safe and warm through the terrible storm. "Ali! Ali!" Alex heard someone calling him from behind. He turned and saw Maddie waving him over. There were two other teenaged girls near her. "Come here, Ali! I want you to meet my friends." Alex hurried down the few steps to where Maddie waited. "Come on," Maddie smiled and took Alex's hand and pulled him towards and exit, the two friends hurrying behind them. She was moving so fast that Alex needed to prance on his toes to keep up. Maddie turned down the hall and turned into the rehearsal room, the girls following. When they were all in the room, Maddie shut the door and turned to her two friends. "What did I tell you!? Is she amazing, or what!?" Suddenly, the girls moved in close to him and his ears were awash with excited conversation. "You're amazing! How did you do that? I love your dress. You play like a grownup. Do you you live here, now? Will you being going to our school after break? Where did you get that dress?" It went on in a blistering assault of words and excitement. "Oh, come on, girls," Maddie interrupted, "give her a break. Let her catch her breath and she can answer your questions." One of the girls stopped the other and said, "I'm Anna, this is my sister, Mae. You know June, the lady who runs this place? She's our aunt. The girl who works here, Melissa, she's our cousin, too." Alex smiled at the odd introduction. "Hi. I'm Alex." "No kidding," the girl named Anna laughed. "We've been watching you play all afternoon. How come you're so good?" Alex shrugged. "Hard work, I guess. I practice, like, all the time." "Wow," the one named Mae smiled. "That's pretty cool." "Hey, come over to the piano," Maddie smiled. "I'll play that Chopin thing that Ali taught me." Maddie sat and they all gathered around, including Alex, as Maddie played the Chopin Funeral March for her friends. When she was done, they all applauded. "Hey, do you know any songs that we'd know?" Mae asked. "I showed her how to play 'Say Something,' but that's the only pop song she knows." Maddie explained. "Really?" Anna was shocked. "So... not 'Clocks,' or 'Hallelujah,' or 'Someone Like You?" "Nope," Alex smiled and shook his head. "Damn," Mae laughed. "Every kid I know can play those songs. Come on, Maddie. Play 'Hallelujah' and we'll sing it." "Ok," Maddie smiled and began to play some very simple, but pretty arpeggios. Bb major to G minor and back again a few times. Then the girls began singing. 'I heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you?" It went on from there. The rolling 12/8 feel becoming hypnotic as the melody became more interesting and the biblical references in the lyrics became more and more interesting. Alex was shocked that such an interesting piece could actually be a popular piece of music. When they reached the refrain, the sisters sang in a lovely harmony. Alex was truly impressed, not just by their natural musicianship, but by the joy that shone through in their voices. Once again - not a masterpiece of music, or a virtuosic performance, but it was beautiful in its simplicity. When it was done, Mae asked, "So will you be going to our school?" "No," Alex smiled. "I already finished school. I had tutors. I travel for work, now." "Geez," Anna laughed. "You're already working!? I really don't want to get a job. I guess there is a plus side to being a talentless idiot." "Hey, don't say that!" Alex was truly surprised that she'd call herself such an awful thing. "I think you guys have lots of talent!" Mae laughed, "Imagine how Mr Mullins would flip if he got a student who played like her to accompany the choir." Anna and Maddie both chuckled at that. "He?d have a conniption if he heard her play. He always talks about being the best piano player in the school system. Alex would blow his mind!" All three laughed, while Alex leaned on the piano feeling awkward. Suddenly, just as the woman in the Ballroom had done, Anna began playing with his skirts. "This is really pretty, Alex. Do you usually wear things like this when you play concerts?" He looked down at the red dress, as Anna shook it and the petticoats below, just a little, and he shook his head. "Not really. For concerts I usually wore... something black. To be honest, I never wore anything like this before a few days ago. Veronica picked this out for me." "It?s pretty, but looks kind of fussy," Mae said. "Is it comfortable?" "I guess," Alex shrugged. "Touch those petticoats," Maddie said, happily. "They?re soft. Not like the ones we wore when we were little." Anna pulled the dress?s skirt up a bit and felt the silky garment below. "Wow. Not what I expected." She smiled at Alex. "Pretty elegant, huh? Must be nice to be rich." He laughed out loud. "I?m not rich. Ronnie?s the rich one. This is her house, not mine." "Oh, that?s not exactly true," Alex heard Veronica?s voice as she strode up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a playful hug from behind. "This is OUR house, Ali, but the facts are, girls, I?m nowhere near rich enough to live in this house. My grandmother was, though, and she made it possible for me to live here. And it?s true that I?ve been more successful in my career than Ali, so far, but you heard us out there, right? I just sing one note at a time while Ali makes one piano sound like a full orchestra." The girls all smiled, but Anna said, "Yeah, but... when you sing... it?s pretty amazing, Ms Harrington." "Ms Harrington!?" Veronica looked shocked. "Oh, no, no, no. I?m Veronica. Ok? And as we told Maddie, you girls are always welcome in our house." The girls smiled and said thank yous. "It looks like you guys are staying the night, I?m afraid," Veronica informed the girls. "The snow is slowing down, but your part of town won?t have power for hours, yet. We have a room for you and your mother in the west wing." The girls nodded, a little excited to have some adventure. Veronica unwrapped her arms from Alex?s shoulders and took his hand in hers. "Come on, Ali. You can play music with your friends later, but right now, we need to talk about these interviews." She led him towards the door, calling over her shoulder, "make yourselves at home, girls. We?ll see you later. Cook is making something light for a late dinner." As the door closed, Maddie looked at Anna and Mae. "Pretty awesome, aren?t they?" The girls agreed. When Veronica opened the door to the dining room, Lucy was already sitting at the near-end of the table and Alex could see that she was fretting. When Veronica closed the door, she and Alex took seats and Ronnie sighed, "Well... how do we handle this?" Alex sat, quietly thinking, as his mother spoke. "Ali... I think that you need to make a decision pretty quickly. Do you A) Go back to dressing like a man and we just pretend that the girl who played piano on that video is long gone and no one knows how to reach her? Or B) Stay in dresses and pretend to be the little girl they thought you were? I am concerned, though, how long that can possibly last." Alex just continued to think. "There is the issue, of course," Veronica pointed out, "that there are people in the world who know you as a pianist, know you as an accompanist, know you as a recitalist... my guess is that someone will put two and two together and figure out who the little girl accompanying me is, at some point." Alex?s mouth screwed up and drew to the side as he considered these options. "Well?" Lucy asked. "What do you plan on doing? Do you want to go back to wearing boy?s clothing?" He shook his head. "No... I don?t think so. I just sort of feel... more like myself this way. Like... I know full well that I?m a guy and I am not gay, at all. I mean, I ONLY want to be with Veronica. I?ve never been attracted to a guy on any level and, as much as I adore women, the only one I ever wanted to be with is Ronnie... but... When I see myself dressed like this... I don?t see a guy pretending to be a girl... or an adult pretending to be a child... I just see... me. The real me. The me that I truly am... Does any of this make sense to either of you?" "Of course it does, babe," Veronica smiled and squeezed his hand. "I get it," Lucy nodded, "but that does that mean that you?re going to go onto national television, onto one of the most popular news magazines on TV and give an interview to The New York Times, the most powerful newspaper in The United States, and pretend to be a child prodigy and just hope no one finds out?" Alex pondered some more. "It?s pretty risky, babe," Veronica warned. Alex mulled all of this over while looking at the coffered ceilings, the art work on the walls, the wood grain of the table top... anything to avoid making eye contact with the woman he was with. Whatever he did, it needed to be his decision and only his. Finally, he asked, "What time are we serving that ?light supper? you mentioned to the girls?" Surprised that he?d changed topics, Veronica stuttered for a moment. "It?s... umm... it?s at six, I think... why?" Alex nodded. "I?d like to wear something else to that. Something pretty, but maybe not as formal." Veronica and Lucy looked at each other, confused. Veronica spoke first. "Umm... ok... I can help you pick something out, but... don?t you think we should decide what to do before we get you changed?" "Oh, I?ve decided," Alex said, with uncharacteristic confidence. "Then..." Lucy sighed, "... you?re going to pretend to be a child? You know, Ali, that may not be the best choice, but we... Veronica and I, I mean... we will support you...." "No, mom," he interrupted. "I?m not going to pretend to be anything. I?m going to tell them the truth." "Which is?" Veronica was almost scared to hear his answer. "I?m going to tell them that I have discovered that I am a normal human being who just so happens to be gender-fluid. They can either accept that, or laugh. Frankly, I don?t care which they do, but I?m not going to lie about who or what I am. I mean, look at me! I look nice, right? I have nothing to be ashamed of." Veronica brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. "Spoken like a true lady." She smiled. "Well, yes," Lucy was still concerned, "but what about your career? I mean, you just did your first tour of Asia and you?ve done pretty well on the college ?visiting artist? circuit... won?t this derail all of that?" "I don?t know, mom," he admitted, honestly. "There are other gender- fluid people in entertainment ? of course, fewer in classical music circles, but who knows? Maybe it won?t be that big a deal?" Lucy shook her head. "I think you may be giving people more credit for being accepting than they deserve, honey." "Maybe," Veronica smiled, "but maybe not. People love Freddie Mercury and David Bowie and they certainly pushed gender norms, right. Miley Cyrus has always been very open about her sexuality. Eddie Izzard makes no bones about his own gender-fluid choices... who knows?" "And Elliot Page," Alex pointed out. "Who is Elliot Page?" Lucy asked. "He was Ellen Page, mom," he pointed out. "That Canadian actress that you liked in that movie ?Juno? and in ?The Umbrella Academy.? He announced that he was transgender and now goes by Elliot." "Oh," Lucy nodded. "I didn?t know that. And did Elliot?s story impact your decision to become Ali?" "No," Alex shook his head, "in fact I barely took notice of the story when it came out, but I did admire his courage. Now, I guess I admire it even more. I?m going to be honest with everyone starting with the people at dinner tonight." "Well..." Veronica looked at Lucy, "I guess that?s that." "I guess so," Lucy nodded. It was a little after five o?clock that afternoon that Eva wandered down the stairs. No one seemed to be around. She could hear the staff setting things up in the ball room, but opted to not go in there just at the moment. Instead, she wandered into the living room and looked at the lite Christmas tree at the other end. It was lovely and festive. She?d always had mixed feelings about Christmas. Sophia had used it, and every other holiday, as an opportunity to be the center of attention, which, by definition, pushed Eva to the side, making her less important. She hated that when she was growing up and she removed herself from her mother?s presence at a certain point in her life, securing her importance in every social situation in which she participated. Now, as her looks were fading and she was entering a frustrating phase of her life, her daughter... her own daughter was doing exactly the same thing to her that her mother had done ? pushing her aside and diminishing her status with her constant need to perform for everyone. It was disgusting. Suddenly, she got the feeling that she wasn?t alone. She turned snd looked over her shoulder where she found that girl, Maddie, the one that Veronica had taken under her wing, sitting, cuddled under an Afghan blanket, reading. "I didn?t know that you were in here," Eva said. "I thought I had the room to myself." The girl said nothing. She?d probably been poisoned against Eva by Veronica. Typical. "I suppose you think I?m a horrible person, too, right?" She asked as she threw herself onto the loveseat, next to Maddie, causing the girl to let out a scream ? which in turn caused Eva to shout as well. "Geez! You scared me!" Maddie laughed as she pulled her ear buds from her ears and continued laughing as she said, "I?m sorry. I was listening to Patrick Stewart reading ?A Christmas Carol? and reading the book at the same time. I guess I didn?t hear you." Eva breathed heavily. "Oh, Lord, Matilda, you scared me half to death. Please, don?t ever do that again." Maddie was still laughing, not just at the fright, but the melodramatic way that Eva was fanning herself. It kept the laughter coming. "I?m sorry. Were you talking to me? I was kind of engrossed in the story." "I was," Eva said with that superior inflection of hers. "Where did your school friends go? Have they gone home?" "No," Maddie took a deep breath and got control of her giggles. "I guess they didn?t get much rest last night, so they took a nap before dinner. We?re performing at dinner, you know ? the girls and I. Veronica?s going to do like an open mic thing and invite anyone in the room to sing, or play, or whatever. My father?s gone to get his guitar from our house so people can play that, too. It should be fun." "Sounds wonderful," Eva said without any attempt to sound at all interested in what sounded like an evening of singing that was sure to be worse that an evening or karaoke. "Will you be singing?" Maddie asked, obviously psyched to perform. "Me!?" Eva was appalled. "Oh, don?t be silly. I don?t ?perform,?"the word sounded like a swear. "That was always Sophia?s thing. Now, of course, it?s Veronica?s." Maddie smiled. "It sure is. Honestly, I grew up hearing about how great a singer your mother was, but I never really paid much attention to her. She was just that old lady who lived up the hill. Now that I?ve heard Veronica sing, though... oh, my God... you must be so proud of her!" Eva scoffed and shook her head. "May I be honest with you, Matilda?" "Of course," Maddie smiled, enjoying being a confident to yet another adult. Eva took a deep breath and shook her head, again. "Look, Maddie... I?m not denying that Sophia sang beautifully and so does Veronica, but, to tell you the truth, all of that operatic caterwauling just doesn?t do it for me. I just find it all so... pretentious." Maddie blinked and looked at the older woman. She was only fifteen, but Maddie wasn?t stupid. She could see that Eva was a bitter woman, but there was a sadness in her that made Maddie feel bad for her, too. "I get that. I mean, opera isn?t everyone?s thing, but still, you must be proud of your own daughter, right?" Eva shrugged and changed the subject. "The tree is beautiful, isn?t it? This is something I miss, actually. The big tree, all lit up with snow falling outside. That?s Christmas. We certainly don?t get that in Miami. I?ve missed that." Maddie had never known a Christmas that didn?t involve at least some snow and it was usually something that called her father into work, delaying their Christmas celebrations. Then something occurred to her. "My dad said that Miss Sophia was still healthy and had all of her mental capacities until she passed away suddenly in August." "That?s what I understand, yes," Eva nodded. "So..." Maddie was genuinely confused. "Why didn?t you come spend Christmas here with her last year?" Eva laughed out loud. "Oh, sweetheart, Sophia and I haven?t spoken in... oh... I?d guess... twenty years or more. I haven?t been in this house since... well, I?m not sure, but Ronnie wasn?t old enough to be in school." "Oh, my God," Maddie said, sympathetically. "How awful. So, Veronica didn?t even know her grandmother." Eva smirked. "Well, I certainly didn?t want her to know her, but when she got a little independence, she connected with the old bat. Ronnie was at Julliard in New York when she met someone who knew ?The Great Sophia? and she went behind my back and came up here to see her. Apparently they hit it off. Since then, Ronnie visited her several times a year and got real close to my dear old mom." She looked directly at the girl. "It paid off, too, as you can see. I got completely bypassed in Sophia?s will and Ronnie got The Haven." The harshness of this statement was beyond Maddie?s experience and ability to process. "Well... I mean... A grandmother and granddaughter... they?re both opera singers... I mean... why wouldn?t they become close? I?m sure that Veronica went behind your back out of love for her grandmother, not to spite you." Eva shook her head. "Spite. You know why I named my daughter Veronica? To spite my mother." She looked at Maddie, but only saw confusion on her face. "I named her after Ronnie Spector." The girl was still flummoxed. "Ronnie Spector. Of The Ronettes? ?Be My Baby?? ?Remember ? Walking In The Sand?? You don?t know who The Ronette?s were!?" Maddie shook her head. "Oh, my dear, they were the best of the best of all of the girl groups of the 1960s and Sophia HATED them with a passion!" This conversation had taken a direction that Maddie simply could not comprehend. "I don?t understand? Your mother hated this person and you named your daughter after this person JUST to spite your mother?" "Well, yes..." Eva admitted, "but I did love The Ronettes, too." Maddie blinked in confusion. "So... Sophia didn?t like the way that this Ronnie Spector sang?" "That was part of it, yes, but Sophia was a bigger star than most opera stars. She was on every television program that would have her and she knew EVERYBODY! The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Phil Collins ? you name them, Sophia knew them and they were all so sweet to her because she was ?The Great Sophia!? Well, only one person ever put her in her place, and that was Ronnie Spector. Ronnie and Sophia were on The Ed Sullivan Show on the same evening this one time and Sophia was given the biggest dressing room, of course, but The Ronettes had recorded one of the biggest hits of the decade and were not happy to have been shoved into a small dressing room, all together. Long story short, an argument arose between Ronnie Spector and the show?s management and The Great Sophia tried to intervene and, for the first time ever, I saw someone put my mother in her place. That woman went up one side of Sophia and back down the other and Sophia was horrified. I?d never seen anything like it and, of course, Ronnie Spector became my hero!" She laughed at the memory. "I don?t know if Sophia ever realized why I named my daughter what I did, but it sure made me feel good." Maddie was shocked by the pettiness AND by the show of pride at that pettiness being displayed by an adult. She asked the only question she could muster. "Then... you didn?t... love... your mother?" "Who knows?" Eva waved her off. "I mean... what is love, really? No one REALLY knows." "I know what love is," she replied. "No offense, sweetheart, but you?re only fifteen and still..." The girl interrupted, very abruptly, surprising the older woman. "I know that I am only fifteen, but I certainly know what love is. I LOVE my father and he LOVES me and, even though my mother has been gone since I was eight years old, I still LOVE her as much today as I did on the day she died. I?m sorry, ma?m, but I know exactly what love is and I?m shocked that you don?t." Eva looked at the young woman, shocked by her outburst. "How dare you speak to me like that!" She sat straighter and was about to continue to put the girl in her place, but the girl continued too quickly. "I know that I?ve only known you for a couple of days," Maddie went on, "but in that time, I?ve seen your daughter reach out to you on several occasions and I?ve seen you dismiss her each time. I?ve heard you be rude to pretty much everyone and now I just sat through you telling me how evil your mother was because she made a great living for you as an artist and that made her the center of attention. None of that makes any sense at all." Eva let out some amazed, guttural noises, but could not form a word. "Look, ma?m, I know I?m just a stupid fifteen year old, but I?m smart enough to know that nothing, nothing, NOTHING, is as important as family and friends and I am scared, really scared, that someday you?re going to be sitting alone in your big house in Miami and you?ll realize that the only thing you?ve ever accomplished in your life is that you pushed your daughter away from you in exactly the same way that you pushed away your mother. And I hope that when that day comes, there?s still time for you to call your daughter and beg her forgiveness." Maddie stood to leave, shocked at her own words, but she stopped when Eva spoke, almost irrationally agitated. "Of course you side with her!" She shouted. "Of course you side with the woman who... dazzles you with her talent! Of course you sided with ?The Great Sophia? and her legend! But what about me, Matilda!? What about me!? I?m not the talented one! I?m not the beautiful one, any more! What about me, huh!? I?m tired, Matilda! I?m tired of living in everyone else?s shadow! Of being ?Sophia?s daughter,? or ?Veronica?s mother!? I want someone, someday to just look at me and see Eva! Just see me for who I am!" Maddie nodded, then spoke quietly. "I do see you for who you are... and that?s why I feel bad for you." Maddie, once again, turned to leave, but stopped when she heard Eva speaking much more quietly. "Maddie... please... please don?t leave me." The girl felt terrible. She?d never done anything like what she?d just done before. "Don?t you think you should be talking to Veronica right now instead of me?" Eva blinked in a failed attempt to stop her tears. "Yes... I should, but... can I... can we... talk first? I need to... I need to think through all of this and... I can?t do that while I?m talking to Veronica. Will you... please... sit and talk some more?" "If you can?t talk honestly to your own daughter, why do you think you can talk honestly with me?" Maddie folded her arms. Eva thought for a moment. "Because... you see through my bull shit. I can see that. You have no reason to humor me. I need an honest ear to hear me out." Maddie was even more confused now than before, but she felt as if this older woman needed her now more than before. So, as much as she wanted to go storm up the stairs to her room and scream into her pillow, she instead took a deep, calming breath and said, "Ok..." When dinner was served, it consisted of clam chowder, cold, sliced meat and sliced bread for sandwiches, freshly baked lasagna and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Cook had outdone herself with almost no time to prepare. When Veronica went into the kitchen to thank her, she expected to find Cook worn out from the exertion of creating yet another meal for the ?guests,? but instead, she found a jovial woman who said, ?It?s nice to have life in the house again, ma?m." As the guests filed in, Alex returned to the piano, wearing a more casual outfit. He wore a white silk blouse that had a stiff, rounded, Peter Pan style collar that buttoned in front with loose, three quarter length sleeves that had similarly stiff cuffs that fit loosely as well. It was buttoned up to his neck with a tiny, black bow tie that barely covered the opening between the collar?s ends and matched the medium sized, ball shaped, black buttons that ran down the front of the soft blouse. On top of that, he wore a red, jumper style dress that completely covered his back, then ran in wide straps that fell to where the dress crossed his belly and buttoned up the front with large black buttons, a narrow black belt crossed at a girl?s natural waist and the dress fell in a loose but narrow skirt to his knees. He first played a theme and variation on the melody of ?It Came Upon A Midnight Clear? in which he improvised around the familiar melody for nearly twenty minutes, never letting the performance become uninteresting. Then he worked his way through some Bach inventions before settling into Nat Kong Cole?s ?The Christmas Song? which, once again, prompted the gathered people to sing along with the familiar tune. Somehow, June had found a small PA system and gotten it, along with four wireless microphones, set up in the ballroom. As ?The Christmas Song? wound down, Veronica picked up one of the mics and said, "I don?t know if everyone heard or not, but we thought that it might be nice to have an open mic this evening. So, if any of you would like to sing, or tell a few jokes, or recite a poem ? whatever ? the floor is now, officially, yours. We have a newly restrung guitar here, the piano, of course, and a pretty darned good piano player," she smiled at Alex, "if you?d like to incorporate any of those instruments in your performance. Would anyone like to go first?" There were a few subdued murmurs before a woman in her thirties stood and said, "I?ll go." She hurried up to the stage and looked at Alex asking, "Do you know ?Till There Was You,? form The Music Man?" Alex replied, "Sure. What key?" The woman shrugged. "The original, I guess." Alex played as the woman sang, giving a lovely rendition of the song. Next, Maddie and her two friends volunteered. The girl named Anna played piano while Maddie and Mae sang harmony on a song that Alex had never heard that was titled ?The Climb." It was simple and had inspiring lyrics and they performed extremely well. Alex, who had spent the majority of his life listening only to professionally trained, classical musicians, was again astounded by the joy that people with little or no training brought to these songs. It was very inspiring. Next, a man in his forties took the guitar in hand and accompanied himself on a rendition of ?Edelweiss? from ?The Sound of Music.? He had an amazing, and obviously well trained, tone. Some of the people seemed to know him and encouraged him to sing another. Alex was shocked when the man asked him if he knew ?Nessun Dorma? from Pucinni?s opera Turandot. He was even more surprised when the man performed the virtuosic piece with aplomb. Not Pavarotti, mind you, but as well performed as many professional performances that Alex had accompanied through the years. It turned out that the man was a failed opera singer who?d given up singing as a career to teach literature at the local college. Apparently, he?d kept his singing ?chops? honed by singing in local community theater productions. When he?d finished and received a well deserved round of applause, he came over to Alex and shook his hand. Then turned to the audience and said, "Isn?t this little girl unbelievable?" More applause erupted and Alex decided that things had gone as far as they could go. He walked up to the microphone and spoke to everyone in the room. By the tone of his voice, they could tell that, whatever this little lady had to say, it was important. "Hi, everyone," he began. "My name is Alex Claremont and..." he began to feel the butterflies moving in his stomach, "... well... I... umm... I have really enjoyed playing for you this weekend, but... as it seems that I will be staying here with Veronica, and since you are our neighbors... well... I think that I need to be very honest with you. You see, I keep hearing everyone talking about how I play so well for someone so young, but the truth is... see... I?m older than I appear. I know that I?m very small and that is a little confusing for a lot of people, but... see... I?m really twenty two years old." There was a murmur of surprise running through the room. "You?re still amazing!" The man who?d just left the stage called back, which received a lot of support from the people assembled. Out of the corner of his eyes, Alex saw Veronica, Lucy, Maddie and Jim all moving discreetly towards the stage to offer assistance if needed, but things seemed to be going well up too this point. "Well... thank you," Alex said in response to the crowd?s show of support, "but there is more I need to tell you." The people in the ball room quieted and waited to hear more. "See..." Alex?s began to flush a bit. "...until a few days ago... well... I looked very different. What I mean is... I didn?t dress like this. All of these clothes... well... they were here and they fit me and since I needed clothes..." He couldn?t see a way to get from where he was to his point, so he just changed tactics. "I... I am not at all what I appear to be. I am a piano player, of course, yes, but... I know that I look like an eleven or twelve year old girl, but I?m not. I?m a short, twenty two year old man who is coming out to all of you as complete, fully realized, gender fluid human being." There was a stunned silence in the room for a few moments, but then Anna and Mae stood and started applauding, calling out, "Yeah! Unbelievable, Alex! Yeah!" Strangely, the rest of the room joined in and, with only a few exceptions, and those people just seemed confused by what had been said, everyone stood and joined in the girls? enthusiastic support. Veronica mounted the stage and stood beside him, speaking loudly into the microphone, over the noise of the applause, "And we have an announcement to make." The crowd died down and Veronica continued. "This morning, Alex proposed to me at the same time that I proposed to him and," she grabbed Alex?s left hand and lifted it, displaying it as well as her own left hand and the tasteful rings on each of them to all assembled. "We both said yes!" The crowd, once again, applauded. Veronica went on, "We?re going to be married here, at The Haven, this summer and we hope that all of you will be our guests again for that." That got an even bigger round of applause. Suddenly, Lucy was beside Alex, turning him to hug him and then look at his ring. Much more surprising, though, was that Eva was suddenly beside Veronica to hug her as well. Veronica exchanged a somewhat awkward hug with her mother and then everyone who knew Eva was surprised when she took the mic and said she wanted to say something. Veronica started to step aside, but Eva took her hand in hers and began speaking. "I... umm.... I think a few of you may remember me growing during the summers I spent here at The Haven. My mother, Sophia, was an institution here in Lenox... well, she was an institution pretty much everywhere in the world..." she chuckled at that and so did a lot of the people assembled who know of Sophia?s reputation. "Anyway... being the daughter of an icon is... challenging, to say the least. And now," she looked at Veronica, "being the mother of an icon can prove equally challenging for someone like me. Someone who... well... likes to be the center of attention." The people seemed a bit confused by this presentation, but Eva was determined to say something, so they listened. Eva looked to her right and said, "Maddie... could you come up here, too?" Maddie was a bit surprised by the invitation, but the look of shock on Veronica?s face revealed her lack of understanding as to what was happening, so, reluctantly, Maddie climbed the stairs and stood awkwardly by Veronica and her mother. Eva took Maddie?s hand in her free one and continued speaking. "I just want to share something to all of you. See... I had a long conversation with this young lady," she indicated Maddie, "before dinner and she made me realize that, well, as Joni Mitchell used to say, ?You don?t know what you?ve got till it?s gone,? and I... I missed my chance to have a good relationship with Sophia... with my mother. Now that she?s gone..." she paused and thought for a moment, "well... I don?t want to make the same mistake with my daughter that I made with my mother." She turned and looked at her stunned daughter. "Ronnie... I know that I?ve been... difficult, but I want... I mean... I know you want us to be closer, to be a family and... I want that too, Ronnie. I really do. So... if you?ll still have me, I?d love to move up here and and be with you ? not full time, mind you. I still want to be in Miami for the winters, but..." she laughed at her own self consciousness, then struggled with the last of her thoughts. "I... I love you, Ronnie. I really do and... if it?s not too late... please... please let me be your mother." The tears were streaming down Veronica?s face as she threw her arms around her mother?s shoulders. The people in the ball room were taken aback by the unexpected display of family matters and emotion, but felt like some sort of acknowledgment was required, so they applauded in support. Eventually, Veronica turned to the microphone and said, "Oh, my goodness, I must look a mess from all this crying." She dabbed at her face, then hugged Maddie, whispering a thank you. She asked the girl something and was answered with a nod. "Ok," she gasped through happy tears, "let?s get back to our open mic format. Maddie here is going to play a Chopin piece that Alex taught her yesterday. You?ll be blown away by how quickly she?d learned the piece, I promise. Meanwhile, I?ll pull myself together. Maddie ? the piano is yours." Maddie crossed the stage to take a seat at the piano, but before she could, Alex hugged her tightly and whispered his own thank you. As Maddie played, Lucy wrapped her arms around her son and congratulated him on how well everything had gone. "Let me see the ring, again!" She said, excitedly, but quietly. "Oh, honey, it?s lovely! Congratulations!" "Thanks, mom," he smiled, admiring the ring again. "And I love his outfit," she smiled. "It?s so neat and prim and classic. It?s probably older than me, but I think this look really suits you, honey. You look just lovely." "Oh, mom, thanks." Just then, Mae came hurrying up to Alex and grabbed his arm. "Ali, Veronica wants to talk to you while Maddie is playing." "Oh, ok," he said. Then he looked at his mother and said, "Excuse me, mom. I?ll be right back." He followed the girl into the hall where Anna was listening something through a phone with headphones while Veronica spoke to her. "If you guys can figure out the harmony, that would be great," Veronica instructed, "but we won?t have time to rehearse, so whatever you can do will be great. Just keep running it with Maddie and your sister until we?re ready to go, ok?" "Sure," Anna grinned. "This is so cool!" "Great!" Veronica smiled. When she saw Alex approaching, she took the phone from the girl, for a moment, and had Alex listen to it. "Do you know this song?" Surprised that he actually did know this old pop song, he nodded. "Sure. Why?" "It?s my mom?s favorite song and, under the circumstances, I thought it would be a nice way to end the evening." Veronica was almost giddy with the turn of events. Alex nodded. "Sound great, Ronnie. Do you want it in the original key? Nilsson?s? Mariah Carey?s...?" "Mariah Carey?s would be best, if that?s ok." She replied. "Sure." Alex nodded. "She did it in F, I?m pretty sure." Veronica smiled at her fianc? in his pretty little ensemble. "How is it that you know nothing about pop music, but you know so much about this song?" "It?s one of those classic piano songs. When I was a kid, I heard the Mariah Carey version and liked it, so I got the sheet music, but the sheet music said, ?From the album Nilsson Schmilsson,? so I looked into that. Then I heard the Badfinger version, then the Air Supply?s, etc. So, I guess I just... know it." She hugged him and kissed his forehead. Then Veronica handed the phone back to Anna, and she and Alex went back into the ball room to resume their hostess duties. "Well, I guess that about wraps things up here," Veronica smiled at the exhausted group of guests, about an hour after the meeting she?d had with Alex and the girls in the hallway. It was past nine and anyone who had wanted to perform seemed to have done so. "I?ve been told that the roads are nearly all clear and that everyone will have their power reconnected by morning. We?d love for you to have breakfast with us in the morning, if you?d like, though. Cook tells me that she?ll have a breakfast buffet set up by six thirty and we?ll keep that going until ten or so. We hope that you enjoyed your time at The Haven ? not exactly a vacation, I know, but I hope you did feel welcome and speaking for my family, it was absolutely wonderful to get to meet so many of you." That received a round of applause. "Now," Veronica continued, "I know you?ve heard some... rather personal... family things being discussed here this evening and I hope that you didn?t find any of it... uncomfortable. Having said that, I?d like to do one more embarrassing, personal piece of family business. I?d like to sing a song that I?ve never sung before but is my mother?s favorite. Sing along if you?d like." She looked at Alex who began the soft introduction of Gm/F to F. Typically, that is played just twice, but Veronica let it go by four times so she could get a handle on her emotions. Finally, she started and the pop quality that she used, the quality that was appropriate for the song, shocked Alex. It wasn?t the voice he knew, but it was a passionate, strong voice that overwhelmed everyone in the room. "Well, I can?t forget this evening Or your face as you were leaving But I guess that?s just the way the story goes. You always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows Yes, it shows." Some of the people knew the words, while others knew just the melody. Soon the room was singing of humming along quietly. "No, I can?t forget tomorrow When I think of all my sorrow When I had you there, but then I let you go And now it?s only fair that I should let you know What you should know" Now, nearly everyone joined in. "I can?t live If living is without you I can?t live I can?t give any more" Then it raised up an octave "I can?t live If living is without you I can?t give I can?t give any more" As the song returned to a recapitulation of the first verse, Maddie, Anna and Mae took the stage behind Veronica so that they could add their voices to refrain in the way that Mariah Carey?s version of the song used a gospel chorus behind her. By the time they reached the last refrain, even those who didn?t know the song before were clapping on beats two and four and singing along with the simple lyrics of the refrain. When they finished, everyone stood and applauded as Eva climbed the stairs to the stage and hugged her daughter tightly. Lucy climbed the stairs on the other side of the stage and hugged Alex as well. "Goodnight, everyone," Veronica said into the microphone. "We?ll see you in the morning. Even if you choose not to have breakfast with us, please stop by and say goodbye so we can have a little conversation time together." As people started disbursing, many stopped to talk to Veronica and Alex to thank them for their kindness and hospitality. Many offered to pay for their stay, but Veronica waved off their offers, suggesting that they make any donations to the emergency food bank. Alex hugged Maddie and her friends, thanking them for doing such an amazing job with no real rehearsal time. They were all thrilled to have been a part of the evening?s amazing finale. "It felt like a professional performance!" Anna smiled. Alex shook his head. "No it didn?t. Most of my performances end with an ovation, but they are polite gestures. This... this was incredible." "Wow!" Maddie kissed his cheek. "We?re not even sisters yet and look what we did together! Imagine how much we can do once we know each other." Mae put her arms onto both Maddie and Alex?s shoulder. "Girl power! Am I right?" Anna did the same on the other side of Alex and Maddie and they all said it together. "Girl power!" It was just about this time that Veronica noticed that there were a few new people in the room. One looked familiar, the second was operating a camera and the third was holding a very long pole with a ?boom? microphone hanging from the end of it. They seemed to be interviewing some of the guests as they were leaving. "Excuse me, Ms Harrington?" Someone called up to Veronica from the ballroom floor. Veronica looked and saw Ralph Wilson, the town manager with a woman in tow. "Ms Harrington, this is my friend Simone Bristol from CBS Television and The New York Times." "Oh!" Veronica said, surprised that they?d shown up so quickly. She turned and called Alex over to the edge of the stage. "Ms Bristol, this is my fianc?, Alex Claremont. Alex is also my accompanist." The reporter shook both of their hands. "I hate to impose on you both at this late hour, especially after the long day that you?ve had, but I wonder if we might have a few words with you before we go looking for a hotel for the evening?" "Absolutely not," Veronica said, surprising the reporter. "We have plenty of room for you and your crew here at The Haven. I think I speak for Alex, as well as for me, when I say that we are absolutely exhausted, though, and we?d really rather do this over breakfast tomorrow morning, if that?s ok." The reporter remained shocked. "That would be... wonderful. Would you mind if we spoke to some of your guests at that time, too?" "Maybe," Alex jumped into the conversation, "it would be better if you set up your camera in the parlor, then we could invite anyone who?d like to speak to you to go there. That way we don?t bother them during breakfast." Veronica nodded in agreement. "Is that ok with you, Ms Bristol?" "Perfect!" The woman smiled. "June," Veronica called to her majordomo. "Could you show Ms Bristol and her crew to rooms in the west wing?" "Certainly," June smiled. Veronica thought of something. "Oh, wait. Did you and your crew have dinner on the way up?" Simone smiled. "Well, no, but we packed sandwiches. We didn?t even know if we?d be able to get here before midnight, but the roads were actually all cleared and there wasn?t much traffic. We?ll be fine." "Oh, don?t be silly," Veronica scowled. "June. Please stop in the kitchen and see if Cook can do something for these people before they go to bed." June smiled. She had worked with Sophia for many years, acting not only as the estate manager, but as a kind of publicity agent, booking agent and calendar manager. She was very happy to see that Veronica had an excellent sense of how to present herself to these people who may hold her reputation in their hands. "Of course, Ms Harrington. I?m sure that Cook will make sure that they are all well satisfied before retiring to the west wing." "Thank you, June," Veronica smiled. "Oh, Ms Harrington," the reporter asked. "Will you be singing during breakfast?" Veronica put her arm around Alex?s shoulders. "Possibly, Ms Bristol, but my Alex will certainly be playing. Why?" "Well," the woman smiled, "I must say I was very impressed by your performance this evening, but I would love to have footage of you singing something operatic, as well." Veronica smiled. "We shall see, Ms Bristol. I do love singing for my new neighbors, but I wouldn?t want to impose on their last meal at The Haven. If the opportunity arises, I will certainly be singing." June smiled even more broadly. This young woman either knew exactly how to play the publicity game, or she was genuinely generous and pleasant. She suspected that the latter was actually the truth. When the news crew and town manager had left the ballroom, Veronica thanked the teenaged girls for their help, praising them for their talent. Then she kissed her mother?s cheek, thanking her for giving her the best Christmas present she?d ever received. Then, as Eva, Jim, Lucy and the girls left the ballroom, she hugged Alex and sat next to him on the piano bench. "Quite a Christmas, huh?" She giggled. Alex chuckled, too. "Yeah. Maybe the best I?ve ever experienced." He leaned his head on her shoulder as her fingered the piano keys casually, noodling through simple melodic fragments. Veronica put her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his. "I really love you, babe. You know that right." Alex giggled. "Of course I know that, Ronnie, and I love you, too." She nuzzled her nose into his hair and breathed in his scent. "I have one more gift for you upstairs. Would you like to go up and see it?" He nodded as she took his hand and led him to her room. She handed him a shirt-box sized present which he opened, excitedly. When the paper had peeled away and the box had been opened, Alex found a soft, pink garment which he pulled from the box and held out in front of him. It was a nightgown - and it was new. Soft pink silk. The modest neckline of gathered material had a delicate ruffle with a six inch bow at the center. Loose, capped sleeves puffed out in little blooms that ended high on the arm in elaborate lace. The gown itself was just pink silk material that fell loosely from the gathered neckline to end in a lovely four inch fringe with a delicate lace hem that mimicked the lace trim of the sleeves. As he held it in front of him, it was clear to Alex that the gown would fall to just below his knees. It was a beautiful garment and he wanted, desperately, to put it on, but he paused and thought for a moment. "Don?t you like it?" Veronica asked. "I... I love it," he said, honestly, "but... it?s brand new." "Yes." "But... I?ve only been wearing... How did you... When did you buy this?" Veronica sighed. "Ok. True confession time. I?ve been fantasizing about having sex with you in... well... with you dressed in something... pretty... for a long, long... LONG time, but I never acted on it. Then, when I saw all my mother?s old clothes in the trunks... I kind of got inspired. Don?t get me wrong, babe, I never meant to force anything on you, but... I was only planning on a little role playing, but... as things worked out... I guess it?s a more appropriate gift than I expected it to be." She smiled at him. "You do like it, though, right?" Alex smiled broadly. "I love it. Thank you." That made Veronica very happy. "Good. Why don?t you go wash up and get ready for bed. I?ll get ready out here." Alex scurried away, into the lavatory and prepared for bed, while Veronica went to her vanity and did the same. When he was finished, he nearly skipped out of the bathroom; face cleaned of makeup, hair brushed free of hairspray and delighted by the way that his new nightie looked and felt against his smooth skin. Veronica was still at her vanity, so he bounced onto the bed, pulling down the covers and laying on top of the sheets, awaiting the arrival of his lover. It only took a moment or two, but when Veronica arrived at the bed, her appearance surprised Alex. Her hair was pulled into a neat, tight bun behind her head and she was wearing what appeared to be classic, men?s broadcloth pajamas. They were that medium blue color that nearly all men?s clothes utilized, and did nothing to show off Veronica?s amazing femininity. "Men?s pajamas?" Alex asked, a little confused. Veronica smiled. "Just for tonight, I?ll be the man. Besides, someone needs to wear the pants in this house and, I?m sorry to have to tell you this, you are way too cute in dresses to do that, anymore." For just a moment, Alex thought that he should take offense at that remark, but that thought was only fleeting. Instead, he smiled, licked his lips in anticipation, bent his knees so that they were upright and spread his thighs wide. Veronica took his body language as an invitation and climbed onto the bed, positioning herself between his legs. "Alexander David Claremont, you are the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen." Veronica spoke quietly and with deep sincerity. Alex laid back, his hair forming a loose, wild halo around his head. "And you, Veronica Sophia Harrington, are my Prince Charming. Come and take me." Veronica smiled and lowered the bottoms of the pajamas. She raised herself just high enough to guide Alex?s penis into herself. Then she began to thrust slowly into the space between his thighs. It wasn?t just the feeling of his penis and her vagina being at odd angles that excited them both, and it wasn?t just the playfulness of their role reversal game that made them both shiver. It was the ?rightness? of their positions. That rightness made every sensation exquisite. "Ahh," Alex moaned in a quiet, feminine voice. "I wish you?d been born a man and I was your woman." Veronica increased the power of her thrusts as she tightened herself around his shaft. "No. I?d never want to be a man. I love being a woman." She thrust harder and deeper. "A strong, powerful, successful woman. And I wouldn?t want you to be anything other than what you are. A beautiful, talented, loving, feminine man ? and I love him even more when he looks like my sweet little girl." Once again, that fleeting moment of doubt passed through Alex?s consciousness, but it was quickly replaced with adoration and ecstasy. He knew that he adored this strong, powerful, successful woman and that she loved him deeply, so he let those feelings enfold him as he headed towards his bliss. "Oh," Veronica let out a quiet moan as her first orgasm crested. She closed her eyes and concentrated on that spot, that perfect spot that his penis had caressed within her and she quivered and shuddered and thrust harder to maintain the feeling for as long as possible. As it subsided, she increased her speed. She opened her eyes to find that Alex was also lost in his feelings of euphoria. His face was damp with sweat and his neck looked long and slender as it extended from the feminine riffles of the nightie. Veronica leaned forward and whispered as she continued to thrust, "That?s it, baby. That?s a good, good girl. Come on, now, be a good girl and make Ronnie feel good. Come on, baby. That?s it. You?re so, so, so beautiful. Be a good girl and make Ronnie feel good." Just at that moment, Alex?s eyes squinched up and his mouth formed a shape of either agony or ecstasy and he thrust himself forward as deeply as he could into Veronica?s strong body. He froze there for just a moment, and then his eyes opened wide and he began to spasm into the woman he worshiped. He shook and he shook and he shook as the spasms continued, over and over and over for longer than he could have imagined possible, until at last, exhausted and spent, he fell back down into the luxurious bedding - panting and shivering and sweating. When, at last he could muster his voice, it was soft and hoarse. "I love you, Ronnie. I love you." Veronica rose slowly, gently and removed his limp penis from her. As she raised the pajama bottoms back up, she spoke in a low, quiet voice. "I know, baby. I love you, too." She raised his left hand to her lips and kissed his weak, limp fingers, taking note of the elegant, delicate little diamond ring on his finger and smiled. "I do so love you, my little girl." By six thirty the next morning, Veronica was dressed in a less formal, but still dazzling dress of Sophia?s as she helped June to set the buffet tables for the guests? breakfasts. Alex took his place at the piano wearing a gold colored shirt-dress that had an open collar, loose sleeves that reached just to his elbows, a two inch wide, matching belt and a wide, pleated skirt that hung wide from his hips, giving the impression of a petticoat where one did not exist. While no one was in the ballroom, Alex began with some quick finger exercises to loosen up, then played a section of Prokofiev?s Piano Concerto Number Three ? a piece that he loved, but had never had the opportunity to play with an orchestra. Someday, though, the opportunity would arise and he would be ready! When he finished the piece, he was surprised to feel a tight hug coming from behind, followed by a kiss on his cheek. "Good morning, little sister," Maddie giggled. He smiled and said, "Good morning, Maddie. You?re in a good mood." There was a self satisfied twinkle in her eye as she flashed a Cheshire grin at him and said, "I am! And so should you be. You?ll never guess what my dad told me this morning." Alex cocked his head to the side. "What?" "If everything goes well," the girl placed a finger on Alex?s chest, next to where the necklace that Maddie had made him hung from its chain, "you," she moved the finger to her own chest, "and I are going to be sisters for real, very soon." Alex?s eyes opened wide. "You?re kidding!" Maddie shook her head, her smile still glowing. "He?s asking her this morning. He ran home last night and got this beautiful opal ring that my grandmother left to him to use as an engagement ring. After that, it?s up to your mom to say ?yes,? or ?no.?" "Wow," Alex muttered just as Jim appeared on the stage as well. Jim looked at his daughter and shook his head. "I thought I asked you not to tell anyone." "Come on, dad," Maddie rolled her eyes, "sisters don?t keep secrets. I had to tell her." Jim tried to look angry, but he couldn?t stop smiling. He looked at Alex and touched his cheek. "This is ok with you, isn?t it, honey? I mean, I would never try to replace your real father or..." Alex took Jim?s hand in his. "Jim... it would be nice to have anyone I could call my father." Jim bent and kissed Alex?s cheek. "Thanks, Ali. Now, let?s just hope that your mother is amicable. I know she?s planning to go back down south in a couple of days, so I need to ask her soon." He took a steadying breath. "Which me luck!" Both Maddie and Alex did so as he walked away. Almost on cue, the ballroom began to fill up just at seven o?clock. The guests were all anxious to get home, but also looking forward to one more meal with entertaining music. There was an awful lot of joyful chatter as people thanked Veronica for her hospitality, June and her small staff for their hard word and Alex for his entertaining piano playing. Meanwhile, Simone Bristol and her small crew invited people to join her for a few words with her about their experiences at The Haven. The guests seemed delighted to share their stories of the kindness that had been extended to them by this relative stranger. As the morning meal wore on, there were requests for Veronica to join Alex on the stage for a song. Of course, she was more than willing to do so. As she reached the stage, she took the microphone in hand and spoke to the guests. "Good morning, everyone. On behave of Alex, my mom, his mom, my staff and of course, me, I just wanted to say that, even though you all had difficult things to deal with this Christmas, it has truly been a blessing for us to have had you here with us." A woman called from the floor, "Thank you for having us!" That brought a big round of applause. Veronica smiled, humbly, and as the applause subsided, she continued. "I would, very much, like to end our time together with a song. Now, I?ve thought about this all night and, even though Ms Bristol and her team from CBS would prefer that I finish up with a song written by a man who was a guest at The Haven on many occasions. He was a friend and mentor of my grandmother?s and Sophia once told me that, without his support, she would never have had the career that she had. This song is called ?Dream With Me? and comes from the great Leonard Bernstein?s 1950 musical, ?Peter Pan.? I hope you enjoy it." Alex began to play the haunting accompaniment and Veronica entered with the odd, beautiful, angular melody, enchanting the room. "Dream with me tonight. Tonight and ev'ry night, wherever you may chance to be. we'er together, if we dream the same sweet dream. And though we'er far apart, Keep me in your heart And dream with me. The kiss we never dared We'll dare in dreaming The love we never shared Can still have meaning. If you only dream a magic dream With me tonight" When she?d ended the last note, there was a moment of silence, followed by a huge burst of applause. "Thank you," Veronica said into the mic. "Please come back this summer for some of our concerts that Alex and I are planning and, of course, for our wedding. We want to see you all again and you are always welcome at The Haven." It took another hour or so for everyone to depart. The buses made several trips to accommodate everyone. Finally, Simone Bristol had Veronica and Alex to herself. She asked Veronica and Alex to sit side by side, with the Steinway behind them, as her crew moved the camera set up into the empty Ballroom and began her interview by talking to Veronica about the events of the last few days. She gave a brief recap of the whole situation and Veronica was very self effacing, saying that her grandmother, Sophia, would have done the same. They chatted some more before Simone turned to Alex. "And Alex... I have heard you play a couple of times before and always been impressed, but I never saw you dressed like this before. What?s going on?" Alex looked at his gold dress and shrugged. "Going on? Nothing?s going on." Simone laughed a bit at that. "Well, Alex, that?s not exactly a tux you?re wearing. Are you making some drastic changes in your life?" He shook his head. "Not drastic, no. Fairly subtle, in fact. I have recently discovered that I am more gender fluid than I?d formally understood. That?s all. From now on, don?t be surprised to see me performing in a variety of clothing." Simone smirked at his response. "So... is this just a publicity stunt of some kind?" Alex was shocked by the question. "Umm... have you ever been in the audience at a classical music performance? Those audiences are pretty conservative. Honestly, if anything, I think this may hurt my career more than help it." "Then..." Simone adjusted the way she sat in her chair. "Why appear on national television dressed this way?" Alex took a deep breath in through his nose and thought for a moment. "First ? I didn?t expect to be ?outed? the way that I was, but... No ? I don?t mean that. ?Outed? means that I did something I should be ashamed of, but I didn?t. I... found myself. This... these clothes, this hair... this is who I am... and I like who I am. Being who I like being makes me happy, Simone. Now, my career was doing just fine before, but... if being who I really am destroys that, then... that?s ok. See... I really want to be successful, but I realized recently that being successful doesn?t mean being rich and famous. It means being happy and... given the choice... I?d rather be happy." *** "You?ll be in Italy for the first ten days of May, then Germany for three performances, London for three nights, Paris for one and then back here for a break. July fourth, of course, you"ll be in Washington DC for the concert and fireworks, then back here again for the rest of July and August, with the two Tanglewood performances in August, of course." June was running through Veronica?s travel/performance schedule as Ronnie?s new ?maid,? more like aide-de-camp, prepared her clothes for the tour. "And Alex?s schedule? What?s his schedule like?" Veronica asked. June looked at the book, again. "He?s in New York City for the first three days in May, back on the fourth, then nothing until September. From September to November, he?s got a pretty full calendar ? as do you, by the way." Veronica stopped and looked at June. "Wait. Wasn?t he offered a two week run in Dublin in May?" "Yes, but he turned it down," June explained. "Why?" Veronica was puzzled as to why he?d turn down a pretty nicely paying gig in a beautiful city. From the doorway, Alex?s voice answered the question. "Because I have two weddings to help plan, crazy lady," He giggled as he jumped onto the bed. He was wearing a more modern looking dress that day ? a black, form fitting, short sleeved top with a keyhole neck opening, a high waist and a wide swing-skirt that was mostly white but had black silhouettes of flowers printed on it. "You will just be wearing a tailored suit to our wedding. I need to get my gown fitted. Same thing for my mom?s wedding. I?ve never been a maid of honor before and I want to do everything right for her." Veronica looked at him and smiled, noticing his dress. "That?s pretty. Did you buy that?" He shook his head. "No. This is one of Maddie?s old dresses. She had a few that she?s outgrown, so she gave them to me." Veronica nodded. "You look very dressed up. What?s the occasion?" "I?m going over to the high school this evening to play through the orchestral rehearsal for their musical." "Ahh," Veronica smiled and nodded. "I forgot about that. And that is in May. So, you?re turning down a two week run in Dublin with a nice paycheck attached so that you can play piano for a high school production of ?Mama Mia!? right?" Alex shrugged. "Not just ANY high school production of ?Mama Mia!? The high school production that features my future sister as Donna. I couldn?t possibly miss that, and since she asked me to play piano in the orchestra, well... that?s where I need to be. Right?" He smiled coyly, making Veronica smile at how cute he could be when he wanted to be. "And how much are they paying you for this amazing performance opportunity?" "Not a Penny," he grinned. "I?m donating my services. I figure that they can?t possibly pay me what I?m worth, so I might just as well just not take a check and just have fun with Maddie and the girls." Veronica shook her head and looked at June. "What on earth am I going to do with this one?" June just smiled and notated the dates of the musical in her calendar. "I have an idea," Alex stood and threw his arms around Veronica, his head nestling into her shoulder. "Why don?t you hug me and tell me how much you love me." Veronica chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the sweet, little, beautiful man and hugged him tightly. "I can?t do that, I?m afraid, because I love you more than anything on earth, so there is no way I can explain how much that is." Alex squeezed harder. "That?s a good start." He let go, kissed Veronica?s cheek and took a step back. "Do these shoes look good with this dress? Maddie gave me a nice pair of white pumps, but they?re too big for me. These came from the trunks." "Very nice," Veronica smiled approvingly at the classic, black pumps. "You?d better be careful, though. You look awfully cute in that dress. You might break a few young boys? hearts looking that cute." Alex took the hem of his skirt in his hands and curtsied, deeply. "Why thank you, but I don?t think they?d be too happy to find out what?s under my pretty, flowered skirt." Veronica raised her eyebrows. "You?d be surprised. It?s a more open minded world than it used to be, and those boys are in a theater program, so... be careful." Alex chuckled at that. "There is only one person who will ever see what?s under my skirts, Ronnie and that?s you." That made Veronica laugh out loud. "See that it stays that way." Then she turned to June and the maid and asked, "Could you please excuse my fianc? and me for a few minutes?" "Of course," June nodded, then exited, taking the maid with her. Knowing where this was headed, Alex hopped back onto the bed and smiled at Ronnie as she approached. "You," she said in a playful voice, "are what we used to call ?a tease,? little girl." Alex?s grin extended from one side of his face to the other as he raised his knees and prepared for Ronnie to take him. "I?m not a tease. I?m ready to follow through. As long as I follow through with you, I am not teasing." Veronica dropped her jeans and panties to the floor and she climbed up, positioning herself on top of the man she loved. She raised his skirts and smiled at the lace covered, silk panties that contained Alex?s little penis. She lowered his panties just far enough to release his penis, but she used the soft, smooth material to manipulate his phallus and excite him enough so they could have intercourse. "You know what I like about men?" She whispered in a husky voice. "What?" "How small and feminine and beautiful they are ? and how beautiful they look in silk panties." "All men?" Alex teased as the blood flowed to the core of his being. "All REAL men," Veronica smiled. "Of course, I only know ONE real man and he?s the most beautiful little girl I?ve ever met." Alex smiled as Veronica?s vagina consumed his penis. He shivered as Veronica took control of every nerve in his body. Neither could be happier. Pop music Hallelujah, sung by Rufus Wainwright https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kB67HO8tkQs Till There Was You, from The Music Man, sung by Shirley Jones https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JLDsLeVxOaU The Climb, sung by Miley Cyrus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs&list =PLEAC7240CA48F4D70&index=1 Edelweiss, sung by Christopher Plummer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bL2BCiFkTk Without You, Badfinger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyBS_1vGwpU Without You, Harry Nilsson. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnUv3DUP4E Without You, Mariah Carey https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s7PvYLtKynM Non-pop music Nessun Dorma, sung by Pavarotti https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cWc7vYjgnTs Dream With Me, Bernstein, sung by Linda Eder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMeCa2d885U Prokofiev?s Piano Concerto #3, played and conducted by Van Cliburn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTPtRf7tsYU