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Note: This occurs over a fictional period that did not have a pandemic. Also, if you have followed my previous stories, you might have noticed my last two were short erotic tales. This one is more like the others, but perhaps more romantic, told in the third person. Chapter 1: Seven Years Ago Abby Calder was a mess. Not in any physical sense. Outwardly, she looked like any other seventeen year old girl, though perhaps prettier than most. As she looked at herself in the mirror in her new bedroom, touching up her lipgloss, inspecting her eyes, making sure she hadn't overdone her mascara, all she could see was a facade hiding a scared remnant of her former self, a churning caldron of emotions ready to boil over, a... "Abby sweetie, hurry up, you don't want to be late for you first day of work!" her mother yelled, car keys in hand, standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the second floor of the spacious suburban house that Abby now found herself living in. Abby had been perfectly content with her previous existence. She used to be an exceptionally confident child. An intelligent child, a child with a penchant for solving problems. She wasn't even in school yet when she solved her first big problem. For some reason she didn't understand at the time, her parents had mistakenly named her "William". So she set about correcting the mistake by throwing all of her clothes out of her bedroom window and refusing to wear anything at all until her parents bought her a princess dress. She even presented them with a picture from an advertisement inserted in the Sunday newspaper. "Go to Target and buy this for me," she had instructed them in no uncertain terms. Fortunately, her parents, impressed by her confident attitude and reading skills, acquiesced and bought her the dress, along with additional girl's clothes to replace those tossed out a window. Well, at least that's how Abby liked to remember it. Her parents of course had seen the problem from early on and had been struggling with it. But Abby's strong sense of self made it easier for them to let go of "William" and embrace "Abby". Later on, when Abby entered elementary school, she attend as a girl. No one knew any different until she neared puberty and word got out that she was taking puberty blockers. Her parents always suspected the school nurse was the source. Afraid of how Abby might be treated, they quietly moved her into homeschooling. For the first time in her life, Abby felt "different", a little less confident of herself, a little afraid. But she trusted her parents and at least she could be confident that she was loved and that she was safe. Abby's mom turned out to be a great teacher, mostly because she had once been one. She had quit her job when coincidentally, she gave birth to Abby and her husband's company promoted him to regional manger, which came with a salary that afforded them an upper middle class lifestyle. Until she turned her full attention to Abby's education and helping her through the puberty that hormone replacement therapy was now giving her daughter, her life had become unrewarding, taken up by hosting meaningless dinner parties at a local country club, mostly related to her husband's job. At least now, she could take satisfaction in knowing that she was helping Abby grow into a beautiful and caring young woman, albeit an isolated young woman. That all began to change when Abby's dad was asked to relocate to the company headquarters and take an executive vice president position. Everyone was excited, including Abby, to move to a large city, away from a small town where Abby was still an oddity (or worse) to some people. That is until they discovered the salary her dad was going to get (which he had jokingly said at the time, was going to push them into the lower upper class), was barely going to let them break even because of the much higher cost of living. When they purchased the house that Abby and her mom fell in love with at first sight, it was contingent on both of them helping out with expenses. So Abby's mom looked for a teaching job and luckily found one at a nearby junior college. This meant Abby's homeschooling would be coming to an end and she was going to have to attend the local high school for her senior year. But she had all summer to worry about that. For now, her biggest concern was getting through her first day of stocking shelves at Target. "Good luck, work hard," Abby's mom called out to her daughter as she exited the car. Abby stopped, turned around in time to see her mom wiping a few tears off her cheeks. Seeing her mother like that, worried and proud at the same time, made Abby feel strangely calm. It was her turn to take care of her mom by regaining some of the confidence she once sacrificed for assured safety. "Don't worry, I've got this!" she yelled back. "And same to you. If any of your students give you any grief, they'll have me to answer to!" With that, Abby turned around and headed into the store entrance. As soon as she passed through the doors, her anxiety level peaked, then suddenly fell when she saw no one was looking at her, whispering to themselves, 'there's Abby', they way she always perceived people doing back in her home town. After a rather short but comprehensive orientation, her supervisor, Michael, not wanting to convey any sexism, offered Abby a choice, "Ok, we have two areas that need restocking, electronics and cosmetics. You pick one, I'll take the other." He paused for a second, before Abby could answer, "I should point out that it would be totally un-cool to drop a flat screen TV on your first day." Abby laughed and decided that cosmetics was the right choice for her first assignment. She loaded her cart with boxes of shampoos, conditioners, and body washes, thankful there was nothing breakable, and headed for the cosmetics section. After successfully placing the last bottle of conditioner in it's correct location, Abby started to push her cart back to the stockroom when a customer in one of the aisles containing makeup, caught her eye. She saw a teenage boy, perhaps about her age, although since her experience with teenage boys was almost nonexistent, she was uncertain about that assessment. What she was certain of, was that he had just nervously slipped a tube of lipstick into the pocket of his hoodie, not into the shopping basket he was carrying, and started to walk away. Witnessing a possible shoplifting had not been covered in her orientation. Focusing on the hope that it was also possible that the boy would take the item from his pocket at checkout and pay for it, she didn't want to risk making a false accusation unless she saw him leave the store. So she decided to follow him, watching his every move. After leaving the cosmetics section, he slowly wandered near women's intimate apparel, pausing next to a display of t-shirt bras lining the aisle. For the first time she caught a glimpse of his face. Abby's unexpected reaction was to think he looked pretty cute, not at all like a hardened criminal. It was hard to tell from a distance, but she also thought he looked sad. He briefly raised a hand as if to touch one of the garments, but quickly withdrew it and continued walking. He paused one other time to look at a display of summer dresses before heading to the office supply aisle where he looked through several notebooks before selecting three. With Abby still observing from a distance, she watched him look around before retrieving the tube of lipstick from his pocket, take a long look at it, lower his head dejectedly, and put the lipstick on the shelf with the notebooks, and walk away. Abby quickly ran to the abandoned lipstick, grabbed it off the shelf, then hurried to the front of the store in time to see the boy paying for his three notebooks. As she closely walked by him, she noticed the soccer shorts he was wearing, had the number '19' on them along with 'Ridge View HS', the name of Abby's new school. Abby returned to her cart and continued on with the rest of her first day of work. When she left the store, she used her employee discount for the first time and purchased the item she had carried with her for most of the day, a tube of L'Or?al matte pink lipstick. By the time September rolled in, Abby had risen to a cashier position and Michael had become her first real friend in her new home. Over the summer, the two took their lunch breaks together, during which Michael often asked for Abby's advice about his tumultuous love life with his boyfriend. The first few times this topic came up, Abby just nodded her head and played along, giving Michael whatever advice she thought he wanted to hear. However, once the details started to get a bit too graphic, Abby's old level of confidence came roaring back, "Michael, shut up! I am transgender. I've never had a real date. I don't even know if I like boys or girls yet. And I don't have a fucking idea what you're talking about half the time!" Abby gasped, holding her hands over her mouth. "Shit, I just came out. You're the first person I've told." "Cool," is all Michael said, grinning. "That's all you can say?" Abby asked in bewilderment. "It's no big deal. I know several trans women and a few trans men. There's even a LGBTQ club near downtown that's owned by a trans woman. Check it out when you're old enough." "Are you going to tell anyone?" Abby asked, not entirely sure how she wanted him to answer. "That would be very un-cool. Nope, not my place to say anything. Also, sorry about all the uh, the sex talk," he apologized. "Actually, I find it fascinating, just please give me some context. And by that I mean, give me the PG or at least the R rated version until I get up to speed," Abby explained, adding, "And I might like to meet some of those friends of yours." Since Michael was only a few years older than her, he was still young enough to give advice to Abby about navigating life in a large suburban high school. Noting the similarities of Abby's situation to an old movie, he suggested that she pick up a DVD of "Mean Girls" from the store's video section. Abby watched the comedic film as if it were a documentary on the structure of human social groups. Although there were no transgender cliques depicted, Abby concluded she was simply another variant on being human. However, that did not mean she was ready to be on the leading edge of a movement. For the time being, she decided that her birth gender had about the same importance as her true hair color. Both had changed, neither affected her self worth, and neither was anyone else's business. After a summer of acclimating to life in suburbia, attending her first day in a real school since she started homeschooling, turned out to be anti-climatic. The diversity she observed working in a big box store was reflected in her new school's student body. Being in a growing suburb on the edge of the city meant that Abby was not the only new student in the senior class. That immediately gave her a small group of girl friends to hang out with. One of them happened to overhear Abby singing along with a song she was listening to on her iPhone. "Wow you've got a nice singing voice," the girl remarked. "Are you going to try out for one of the school choirs?" The thought had never occurred to her. Her voice hadn't changed, thanks to the puberty blockers, and she had retained a lovely soprano voice. "I hadn't. Think I'm good enough?" "Most definitely. You should go for it Abbs!" Joining the senior choir ended up having long term effect on Abby. Standing across from her on the riser during the first day of choir rehearsal, was a short but wiry boy wearing a familiar pair of soccer shorts. When the choir master asked each student to introduce themselves, Abby found out his name was 'William Hendricks' and that he hated to be called 'Bill' and told everyone to just call him 'Will' until he came up with something better (a remark that elicited a few chuckles from the choir). As weird as that coincidence seemed to Abby, an unexpected opportunity after the Christmas Concert at the end of the semester, set in motion a chain of events that would affect them both. The choir had a tradition of exchanging Secret Santa gifts. Abby had drawn Will's name. While the vast majority of these gifts were inexpensive toys and trinkets given in jest, where some choir members happily showed them off while others groaned and quickly tossed them into their knapsacks, one was a serious gift. Abby watched from a distance. As he unwrapped the small gift, Will suddenly stood up, scanning the room, looking terrified. He subtly slipped the tube of L'Or?al matte pink lipstick into his pocket and sat down when he saw the enclosed note. 'Please do not worry, and accept this gift from a friend' Now expressionless, he continued to search the room, trying to figure out who this friend was and wondering what this friend knew. But it was not yet the time nor the place to find out. Chapter 2: Three Years Ago The summer following her graduation brought an end to Abby's physical transition. That she was going to have gender reassignment surgery, was a forgone conclusion the instant she learned that it was possible when still a small child. For Abby it was nothing more than another thing to take care of before becoming an adult. Get her drivers license, get her vagina, get her college degree, and start her career (although, the actual career was still an open question), that was her list of things to do. As she neared the end of her third year at the university and having decided to major in biology with an eye towards a medical career, she was also approaching her twenty-first birthday. Michael was already planning a coming out party of sorts for Abby. With Abby's consent of course. Sometime after her surgery, Abby saw a flyer for a transgender student group on campus. Not knowing if this was a support group or a political action committee, she decided to make a casual visit. The group was primarily a help center for students in transition or contemplating one, although politics also seemed to be discussed. Abby was quite bemused when she had trouble convincing several members that she was indeed trans. Because she never actually experienced being a practicing male, she was a rarity for most of them. While she couldn't relate to many of their experiences, she did feel an affinity with the group. Enough so, that many were on her list of invitees to her birthday bash. So while Abby wasn't exactly making a formal public announcement, she was certainly confident sharing her identity with friends now. The club that Michael told Abby about some three years earlier, was now a hot spot in the LGBTQ community with live music, dancing, and drag shows, and the perfect place for the party. There was one small issue. Abby's parents wanted to take her out to a five star restaurant on the actual day of her birthday while Abby wanted to legally drink with her friends instead. The interesting compromise that surprised Michael and Abby was to invite her parents to the party in exchange for Abby going out to dinner the following day. The party got off to a great start when Abby's dad bought a round of drinks for the entire club. They were each holding a bottle of beer, Abby pretending it was her first time drinking and her dad pretending to believe her, when Abby was sure she saw someone resembling Will. Abby, like someone with an ingrained habit, couldn't resist the urge to follow him. She was only a few feet behind him, weaving through a crowded dance floor, when he suddenly changed directions, turning around and running into Abby. "Oops, sorry, you ok?" he asked. "No problem," she replied, suspecting he didn't have a clue who she was. Choir had been the only time they were ever in the same room. Besides, Abby had changed her hair color a few times since then. There was also the fact she was wearing a skimpy red dress, four inch heels, and rather overdone makeup. "You here for my band?" Will asked. "Birthday party, mine," she answered. "Happy birthday then. If you're interested, here's a flyer," he said, handing her a leaflet from a stack he was carrying. With that, he disappeared back into the crowd. Abby rejoined her friends, tucking the leaflet into her purse. "What's that?" Michael asked out of curiosity. "Just a flyer for a band someone handed me," pulling the flyer back out and showing Michael. "Oh yeah, seen them play here. Kind of a retro glam band, not my thing." Abby took a closer look at the picture on the flyer, in particular the lead singer. It was obviously Will, but his glam persona was out of sync with the other band members. While their makeup and clothing were androgynous, Will's were clearly only female. A shift dress, ballet flats, hair in a ponytail, pink lipstick, he looked more like the lead singer in a girl band. But Abby had to admit, he looked like a cute girl singer. A month later, by herself, Abby went back to the club on a night when the band was playing again. She just sat, had a drink, and watched from a distance. Later, back in her dorm room, Abby took out the band flyer from her desk drawer and turned on her laptop. Printed on the bottom on the flyer was, 'To book our band, please contact Will at...' followed by what was likely his personal email address. Abby thought for a while, then composed a short email from her alias email address. 'Enjoyed your performance tonight. Think about changing your lipstick color. A friend.' When Will read the email the next day, he began searching his memory for any encounters he might have had the previous evening with someone he went to high school with. But he came up empty. He printed out a copy of the email. He walked over to a bookshelf in his dorm room, located just on the other side of the large campus from Abby's dorm. He opened a box containing the well used tube of pink lipstick and the first note from 'a friend', and added the second note to the box. Returning to his computer, he typed a response. 'Who are you?' An hour later he got a response. 'Just someone looking out for you' Will replied, 'So you're my guardian angel?' Abby didn't reply. At least not for awhile, and not specifically to that question. She first had to figure out for herself why, after three years, she felt compelled to intervene again in the life of someone she didn't know. By not confronting him before he had the chance to change his mind about stealing the lipstick, she had saved him. For some reason she felt responsible for him now. But was she responsible for him making a poor fashion choice? The answer was not at all clear to Abby, because she was afraid she might be attracted to Will. Not Will the boy, but Will the feminine appearing singer in a band. Apparently Abby's recently discovered preference for dating women was pretty much all inclusive. The next time Will's band played the club, Abby was there, watching from afar. The thing that immediately caught her attention was that Will was wearing a darker, crimson shade of lipstick. Was he daring her to communicate with him? Will hadn't given it much thought ahead of time, but as the band was getting into costume, he asked the girl bass player if he could borrow her lipstick. He was bemused when she handed it to him saying, "Sure, this is a much better color for you than that pink shit you use." Once again, back in her dorm room, she composed a short email. 'Much better. The lead singer of a band should stand out more. Consider wearing heels. A friend.' Over the remainder of her time in college, Abby would watch Will's band whenever possible, and continued to send short email critiques to him. Will had given up trying to find out who 'a friend' was. His last resort was to make copies of his year book page with a picture of the choir and asked some of his friends to circulate through the crowds looking for a match (Will assumed it had to be one of the girls, even though it was a sexist assumption). A couple of times they looked right at Abby and moved on. With only a photo of the entire choir, it was a hopeless endeavor. Will was also graduating and the band was breaking up. Abby was at the last performance. For the last performance, the band took the opportunity to thank the crowd and to introduce themselves. The lead singer went last, "Hi, thanks for coming and my name is Maddie." Wearing a short, sparkly, white halter dress and strappy heels, all once suggested by Abby, Maddie looked adorable. Abby was crying at the end of the performance, not knowing if her furtive relationship with Will (or was it really with Maddie) might be coming to an end also. Chapter 3: Last Week The times that Abby had encountered Will had always been coincidental. Target, choir, the club, all were places they both were at the same time, none of them planned. Since graduation, Abby had no idea where Will was or what he was doing or even if he was still Will. Giving him advice as a friend, advice that he appreciated, required seeing him. As tempted as she was, purposely trying to find him seemed too much like stalking to her. Will had also come to that same conclusion. If he wanted the unsolicited help from 'a friend' he would have ask for it. He would have to give personal information to someone whose identity was unknown. While he sensed he could trust this person, perhaps the only person he did trust, it was still not worth the risk. Abby had just started working at a company near her parent's house. Her parents were exceedingly proud that their daughter had completed grad school and was now working in medical research. They weren't as excited about her desire to move out and find her own apartment, despite the fact she lived less than a mile from them and spent most evenings still having dinner at home with them. Will had graduated with a degree in music and was teaching at Ridge View HS. It was now inevitable that their paths were due to cross once more. And serendipitously they did, one afternoon at Target. Abby had just picked up a prescription at the pharmacy when she spotted Will in a nearby aisle looking at herbal supplements. She could see that he had cut his hair. While it was still on the long side, it was not long enough for the cute ponytail he sported when she last saw him as Maddie. Abby slowly walked down the aisle and glanced over his shoulder as he was reading the label on a bottle herbal estrogen. When she reached the end of the aisle, she looked back in time to see him place the bottle in his shopping cart. Unable to help herself, for the second time in her life, she followed him through Target. When he stopped in front of a display of dresses in the women's clothing section, he went to a nearby rack, selected a particular size of one of the dresses on display, and added it to his cart. After that, he did his grocery shopping. That was it. He checked out and left. Upon returning to her apartment, she poured herself a glass of wine, sat down at her kitchen table, opened the pharmacy bag, and removed her medication. She sat there staring at her prescription for estradiol. Finally she reached for her laptop, opened it, and went to her email account. She wasn't even sure if Will's email account was still active, but she had to try. 'Hi. Please don't take the herbal estrogen. I'm ready to answer your question if you don't. By the way, the dress is cute. A friend.' Will stared in disbelief at the email on his screen. His pulse was racing as he typed his reply. 'Ok, I won't. But only if we meet in person.' It was Abby's turn to respond. She was expecting this and had the answer ready. 'Ok. At the Cafe 101, next to the bandstand, next Saturday at 7:00 pm. Should I expect Will or Maddie?' Will hadn't really expected a reply, let alone an immediate one. He thought that whoever this was, they wanted to remain anonymous. The Will vs. Maddie question caught him by surprise. He now knew there was only one possible answer. 'Maddie, wearing that dress. Do you want my cell number?' Abby immediately replied 'yes'. Chapter 4: The Meeting On Saturday, Abby was in a bit of a quandary about what to wear that evening. Usually she'd just wear jeans, a t-shirt, and flats like almost everybody else would to the club. But since Maddie was wearing a dress and no doubt heels, and full makeup, Abby felt she needed to make the effort to make her feel comfortable by matching that attire. Once she had donned her favorite little black dress and completed her makeup, she looked at the clock and realized it was only 5:00 pm. Assuming it was going to take at least forty-five minutes to drive there and the fact she hadn't eaten all day, Abby picked up her purse, her car keys, slipped on a pair of black pumps and left her apartment, planning to catch a bite to eat at the club and calm her nerves. Interestingly, Maddie was going through the same calculation. Having put on the flower print summer dress she bought and spent extra time with her makeup and trying to make her hair look presentable after deciding to forgo wearing her wig, Maddie was early and hungry. Slipping on her flat sandals and grabbing her keys, purse and a pair of strappy red heels (she didn't feel confident driving in heels yet) she left for the club, more nervous than she had ever been in her life. When Abby arrived shortly before 6:00 pm, she seated herself at the end of the main bar and ordered a club sandwich and a lemonade. At that time of day, the club was pretty empty. There was a small crowd watching a soccer game, but that was about it. The club didn't get packed and noisy until around 8:00 pm. So Abby was a little surprised when she saw a familiar woman striding towards her with a huge grin on her face. "Abbs, haven't seen you here in ages! How are you babe?" Abby really hated it when people insisted on turning her perfectly easy to say two syllable name into a one syllable utterance that sounded like a body part. But she was unable to break her first girlfriend of the habit when they were dating, so she just smiled and replied, "Kelly, hey girl, nice to see you. I'm living out in the suburbs again, close to work. Just don't get down here very much anymore." Taking a closer look at her former girlfriend, Kelly smirked and asked, "Dress and heels, I see. Out cruising for some action?" "No, you pretty much ruined other women for me," Abby laughed, "just meeting someone here later. And it's not a date!" "Too bad, a cute femme just sat down at the other end of the bar. Looks like a baby lesbian or maybe a baby trans. Your type," Kelly teased. Abby had succumbed to Kelly's dyke charm and self confidence during her college days. After a few dates and Kelly's ability to give Abby the most amazing orgasms, they became a couple for one summer. When school started again in the fall, the relationship ended, but they remained friends, sometimes competing for the attention of the same type of cute feminine girls. Abby glanced down the length of the bar and there was Maddie sitting there, looking at the menu, her hands trembling. "Fuck, that girl looks scared," Kelly said worriedly, and instantly started to walk down to Maddie. Kelly sat down next to her and the two began talking. After about ten minutes, Kelly takes Maddie's hand, then talks to the bartender and points at Abby telling him to bring Maddie's food and drink to that end of the bar. "Hey Abby, this is Maddie, she's going to join us. She has some serious shit going on," Kelly explained. Kelly could wheedle information out of just about anybody. It didn't take long to find out what Maddie had told her. Apparently everything. "Hi," Maddie said weakly, shaking Abby's hand, obviously not recognizing her. Abby's depressing first thought was the realization that she had been totally forgettable in high school. Her name and face meant nothing to Maddie. This became even more evident when Kelly took the photo of the choir that Maddie was clutching in her hand and showed Abby. She immediately spotted herself on the far left of the first row with Will standing on the far right. She did note that her first name was not spelled out in the caption underneath, just 'A. Calder' was printed. After Kelly gave Abby a totally unnecessary recap of Maddie's situation, Abby could only sit there speechless. "You see," Kelly looks to Maddie, "she can't believe it either." Kelly then forcefully grabs Maddie's hand with one hand, and Abby's hand with her other, declaring "We women need to stick together. We're going to stand by you at 7:00 pm. I'm betting it's the fat dude standing behind you." Kelly proclaimed confidently, pointing at the photo. As the time clicked closer to 7:00 pm, Maddie had calmed down and was chatting away like a school girl. Abby was enthralled. Maddie was exactly her type. Maddie had experienced the kind of childhood she heard described many times at the trans support group in college. His family did not understand or want to understand why their son felt the way he did. Trying to explore who she was under the guise of a female band singer was all she had been able to do. She seemed to have only one person in her corner, and that was a mysterious guardian angel who so far had refused to identify themselves. Soon she would know. On the other hand, Abby was becoming a nervous wreck. Her plan had been to meet with Maddie privately, before the club got crowded, explain herself and offer her support, especially if Maddie was trying to transition without medical advice. Now she was about to be the center of a spectacle. During their time together at the bar, Abby had been been quiet about her own background. No mention was made of her own identity as trans. Nor did she talk about where she went to school, other than the local university, guiding any questions towards her experience of being homeschool without revealing why she was homeschooled. A few minutes before 7:00 pm, the trio headed for the the bandstand. As the minutes ticked past 7:00, Maddie became worried the mysterious guardian angel was not going to show. Abby was worried too. She had no idea how to get out of this mess. Then, when the situation looked hopeless at quarter past the hour and Kelly railing on about how she was going to "smack the bitch upside the head", a solution appeared at the club entrance. "Got to visit the ladies room, be right back," she yelled and disappeared into the growing crowd. Once out of sight, she pull her phone out and started texting. First to Mia, Kelly's beautiful but mercurial girlfriend who Abby just spotted arriving at the club. 'Hi Mia, we're at the bandstand with a cute girl we met' Ok, that should get Kelly out of the way, Abby thought. Next she tried the cell number Maddie had given her hoping it was not a fake. 'Sorry, car problems. I am on the way. Be there in 15 min. Let's meet at the entrance and find a table. A friend.' Abby hit send and ran back to the bandstand just as Mia arrived in a snit. Within thirty seconds of her arrival, Mia had taken charge of her girlfriend and had her wrapped around her beautifully manicured little finger. The two of them left with Kelly whimpering a weak, "I gotta go, sorry, Abbs will help you, good luck." Maddie was actually relieved, she had been too overwhelmed to turn down the offer of help, and a little intimidated by the seemingly strong willed dyke. She found it quite amusing to watch Kelly leave like a lovesick puppy following her mistress. After seeing the text, she was was far more comfortable asking Abby if she wouldn't mind letting her handle this by herself. Abby smiled, gave her a hug, told her she was sure everything would be ok, and headed towards the patio in the back of the club. Maddie walked back to the main bar, sat down and waited for her guardian angel to arrive. In the meantime, Abby was running through the patio, exiting out through the gate to the parking lot, through the parking lot, and around to the front entrance. As she was getting her ID checked by the doorman for the second time, she saw Maddie waiting, looking at every person entering the club, wondering if that was her mysterious friend. Abby took a deep breath, and walked straight towards Maddie. The only thing that went through Maddie's mind at that moment was, 'Why is she back?' "Sorry I'm late, I really didn't have car trouble. Just trouble freeing myself from an awkward situation." While Maddie sat there dumbstruck, still watching the entrance in case she was imagining Abby's reappearance, Abby waved to the bartender and ordered a glass of Chardonnay. "What can I get you?" She asked Maddie, who was still speechless so Abby held up two fingers to the bartender. Abby took a look around, spotted a table for two along the front wall, tapped Maddie on the shoulder saying, "go grab that table, I'll bring the drinks." When Abby arrived at the table, two glasses of wine in hand, Maddie had her photo of the choir out on the table. "Ok, if you are really 'a friend', prove it. Which one is you?" Maddie demanded. Without any hesitation, Abby pointed to herself. "There, directly across from Will." Maddie read the caption. "So, 'A' is for..." "Abby," Abby finished the sentence. "You don't remember me do you?" Maddie shook her head 'no'. "Oh, right. You told me you were homeschooled and just went to high school... Oh shit! I do remember you now, the new girl. You sang a short solo part in the concert. I kept thinking it had to be someone who knew me for a long time." "The first note, the lipstick, how..." For an hour, they covered everything up to the last note. Maddie simply asked, "Why don't you want me to take the estrogen? You're a woman, you can't imagine what it feels to know you're one and not look like one." "What makes you think that?" Abby said, reaching into her purse and showing Maddie her bottle of prescription hormones. "I'm transgender and I think if you want to transition, you should do it with the right drugs and with medical supervision. A little support from a trans friend might be helpful too." And with that, Maddie began to cry, letting out years of pent up emotions. Abby slid over next to her, wrapped her arm around her shoulder, took a tissue out of her purse, and tried to keep Maddie's mascara from running. "You really should be using waterproof mascara sweetie," Abby chided her just enough to make her smile, hug Abby, give her a little kiss on the cheek that was tantalizingly close to Abby's lips, and whisper, "Thank you, you really are my guardian angel." "Ok Maddie, I'm flattered, but you really don't know me and I really don't you yet. How about I start out as a caring friend and we'll see where our relationship goes from there, deal?" Abby immediately regretted using the word 'relationship' just after feeling Maddie's lips on her cheek. But Maddie looked happy. She also looked cute despite her partially ruined makeup, and Abby finally had to admit to herself that she felt an attraction, perhaps one that has been there from the start. Chapter 5: The Agreement Over the next couple of months, the two of them met twice weekly in a coffee shop equidistant from Abby's apartment and Maddie's parents house where she still lived. But it wasn't Maddie that would show up, it was still Will. Maddie would only appear when they went to the club. Will was still living with his parents because his teaching job was only part-time. He had taken the job at their alma mater in the hopes that it would become full-time and give him enough income to get his own apartment because his parents still refused to accept any expression of his true gender. He was now regretting his decision to take the teaching job and not pursue his first choice, a career as a working musician. When Will mentioned this to Abby one day, she didn't know how to respond. She'd seen Maddie perform. Her voice was pleasant enough and her guitar playing didn't look like anything special. Will sensed Abby's concern about his musical prowess and brought up a video of him playing a Bach violin concerto. "I should have mentioned, I'm a pretty decent violinist, that's what I was studying in school," Will confessed. "Decent?! You're fucking amazing! Well, I suppose I'm not an expert, but even I can tell you're better than decent," Abby gushed in admiration. Abby sat there and thought for awhile. She'd been contemplating an idea for a few weeks and now seemed like the right time to spring it on Will. "Do you realistically think it's possible to make enough to at least match your teaching salary?" She asked before proceeding with her idea. "Yeah, when I graduated I had the opportunity to play in a local quartet. I still pickup the odd gig playing in the orchestra pit for a few theatre companies. Why?" "What if you moved out of your parents house and started looking for work as a violinist?" Abby continued. "What are you trying to get at?" Will wondered. "You can't begin to properly transition while living with your parents. Transitioning as a teacher might be problematic, no telling how administrations and kid's parents might react. I would bet it's a lot easier if you're working in the arts. You just need an affordable place to live. I have a spare bedroom in my apartment. The caveat of course is, I am willing to be roommates only with Maddie." There was no hesitation, the answer was "Yes". The following weekend Will's parents were out of town, and he took the opportunity to empty out his room, taking his clothes (especially the clothes, shoes, and makeup hidden away), his electronics and books, and his most precious possession, his violin. He left a short, hand written letter to his parents, telling them he was sorry he was a disappointment to them and he would always love them, but he could no longer disappoint himself by not being honest about who he really was. He signed the letter 'Maddie'. There was going to be a short period of adjustment since 'Will' needed to honor his contract until the end of the school year, and he would be coming and going to work not as Maddie, but still as Will. When that time came, Will had one last task to perform as a music teacher. He had to turn in his resignation. Not a resignation per se, just inform the principal that he was not going to sign the contract renewal they sent him. Abby had already left for work and Maddie's appointment wasn't until 10am. After a leisurely breakfast Maddie wandered into her room, opened the closet, and looked at Will's clothes still hanging there. As she reached for a pair of dockers, she suddenly change her mind and said out loud to herself, "Fuck no," and picked out a white maxi dress instead. The principal was surprised but not shocked. Work place rumors are common everyplace and schools are no exception. In this case the principal himself was the source of the rumors, having seen Maddie in a coffee shop a couple of times sitting with a very attractive woman. But they weren't mean rumors. He told Maddie that he wished he could offer her a full time position, and he thought one might open up at the middle school and asked if she was interested. "Thank you, I appreciate it. But I have a callback audition for the second violin chair in a string quartet coming up and I'm optimistic about that." "Well, I hope to hear you play someday. Maybe you can perform here. We'd love to have you." The principal then got on the address system and asked any teachers in the building to come to his office. An impromptu farewell party broke out. The principal even sent out for pizza. As Maddie and Abby worked out their roommate arrangement, one thing became clear, Maddie still liked being mentored by proxy, so Abby began leaving little notes around the apartment and sending cryptic texts from 'a friend'. Sometimes Maddie would open her closet door and find a post-it note stuck to an item of clothing. 'NO' 'Do not even think about wearing this in public' 'See me, now' These were common. However, the most impactful message Maddie ever received from Abby, with the exception of perhaps the very first one, arrived via text and came on the anniversary of that first message. 'It's time. A friend.' Chapter 6: Day One Two things happened the next day. One expected, the other unexpected, but in all likelihood, predictable. First, Abby drove Maddie to a local clinic to meet with Abby's endocrinologist. Leaving with her first prescription for hormones was the highlight of her life to date. Second, Abby and Maddie became more than roommates. To celebrate Maddie's first day on HRT, they got dressed up and headed into the city to the Cafe 101. Abby had arranged for Kelly, Mia, and a few other friends to be there to join them. Maddie was more than a little emotional upon seeing the 'You Go Girl' banner hung on the wall. She took the opportunity to use the "it must be the hormones" excuse for the first time. Abby had also managed to locate a couple of Maddie's old band members, who were delighted to serenade Maddie with a rendition of "I Enjoy Being a Girl". Later, when the party had moved to the club's dance floor, and Abby was watching Mia practically seduce Kelly during a slow dance, she grabbed Maddie's hand, pulled her into her arms and proceeded to mimic Mia. When the music ended, Abby and Maddie didn't. Not until Kelly yelled, "Get a room!", did Abby realize that virtually the entire crowd was watching them. Maddie, feeling exhilarated, yelled back, "We Will!", breaking from a passionate kiss, grabbing Abby's hand, and quickly exiting the floor, and soon after, the building. It was a very long and tense ride back to their apartment. Abby was having trouble concentrating the road, to the point where Maddie insisted Abby pull over and let her drive. As soon as the apartment door closed behind them, they picked up right where they left off before Kelly interrupted them. The delay had given them the chance to think about what they wanted out of their first sexual encounter. Individually they wanted the same things. Raw passion would come later. This night was for tenderness and a sensitive exploration of each other's bodies. Maddie's was going to be changing and they both planned to celebrate each and every change as they happened in the same way. When they both finally orgasmed, they were... simply and completely happy. The next day, Maddie moved into Abby's room. Chapter 7: Full Circle Nearly a year had passed and Maddie had transitioned from teacher to professional musician, as well as to a confident and pretty young woman. When the principal of the school said he would love to have her play at the school one day, she never expected that day to actually arrive. For her, it was merely a nicety said to a departing employee. However, one evening in the late fall, the principal and his wife attended a concert featuring the Diversitas String Quartet. He didn't realize that the striking violinist in the black lace evening gown was Maddie until the intermission when he read the program notes. "Abby! You are not going to believe this!" Maddie shouted out to Abby busy in their kitchen making dinner. As she hurried to the kitchen, she continued talking. "I just got a call from our business manger, and Ridge View High, our Ridge View, has asked if our quartet would play at the Christmas Concert. Apparently it's going to be a benefit concert this year for charity and they're selling tickets to raise money. I told him to say yes." "Wow! I need to buy tickets ASAP! Find out how," Abby yelled, clapping her hands in excitement. "Why don't you just call the school," Maddie said. "I know! I'll just call the school," Abby said, obviously not paying attention. "Brilliant idea," Maddie laughed, kissing Abby on the forehead and stealing a crouton from the salad Abby was making. The next morning Abby called the school and found out the coffee shop they frequented, was one of the charity sponsors, and they would be selling tickets at the end of the month. Delighted that she would be able to buy tickets and get her morning coffee at the same time on her way to work, she was in a good mood the day they went on sale. So much so, that when asked how many tickets she wanted, she had what she would later call, one of her guardian angel thoughts, and held up five fingers. She counted one for herself, two for her parents, and two more for charity. She also grabbed two souvenir flyers advertising the concert with a picture of the quartet, one for her scrapbook and one for charity. Sitting in her office at work, she took one of the flyers, turned it over and wrote a short note. When she was finished, she put it and two tickets in an envelope, addressed it, put on a stamp, and put in her out going mail basket. Two days later the envelope arrived at it's destination. One of the recipients, a woman in her early fifties opened the envelope and read the note on the back of the flyer. 'Your daughter is a beautiful and accomplished young woman. You should be proud. Accept these tickets or give them to somebody who will appreciate watching her. I hope you pick the former. A friend.' Abby had taken a highlighter and circled both Maddie and the caption underneath, 'Maddie Hendricks, second violin, a brilliant interpreter of the Baroque repertoire.' Maddie's mother began weeping uncontrollably. On the day of the concert, Maddie was busy getting dressed in her performance attire. Abby still lounging around in her sweatpants, was not planning on wearing anything special, it was a concert in a school auditorium after all. As soon as Maddie departed, on her way to the school to warm up with the other members of the quartet, she made a call to Abby's parents. "Ok, promise you'll get her into something appropriate," Maddie asked Abby's mom. "Don't worry, I'm her mother after all." "And you made reservations at the restaurant?" "Yes dear, dad made them yesterday." "Thank you so much." "You have a wonderful time dear, we're so looking forward to this evening and watching you play. And, oh.... dad is still beaming that you asked him. It was so old fashion." When Abby's parents arrived at her apartment to pick her up, she thought her parents were a bit overdressed for the venue. "We are taking you and Maddie out afterwards to The Terrace. Maddie is going to still be wearing an evening gown. You don't want to stand out like a sore thumb, do you? Now go put on that navy blue cocktail dress you look so pretty in. Move it missy, we don't want to be late." Abby's mom did indeed know how to play the 'mother card'. Maddie needn't have been worried. The highlight of the concert was as when the principal introduced Maddie as a former student and teacher at the school. Even though Maddie gave him permission to mention that she was a proud trans woman, he instead chose to make her virtuosity on the violin her most defining characteristic. Maddie then played a couple of solo Paganini caprices to thunderous applause. At the end of the concert, when the crowd continued standing and cheering after the senior choir, accompanied by the string quartet, finished the Christmas concert with a flourish by performing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, Abby and her parents made their way to the choir rehearsal room behind the stage. It was the the same room where Abby delivered her first note to Maddie via Secret Santa. As the choir members milled around hugging each other and shedding their robes, Abby and her parents came in to congratulate Maddie on the performance. Abby could see the other three members of the quartet but not Maddie. As she scanned the crowded room, she heard one of the teachers remind everyone to pick up their Secret Santa gift from the table in back. Abby was still searching when a student came up to her, carrying a small box and a folded piece of paper. "Are you Abby?" The young girl asked. When Abby nodded 'yes', the girl handed her the box and paper, "From your Secret Santa" she said and quickly stepped aside. Abby opened the folded paper and read the hand written note. 'Since the day we stood together in this very room, you have been my guardian angel, my friend, my lover. I would be forever blessed if you would now be my wife. Abby Calder, will you marry me?' Abby opened the box, her hands shaking, touching the enclosed engagement ring. Abby's mom touched her shoulder and pointed to Maddie standing on the right side of the riser, all by herself. Abby's mom whispered to her, "I think she's waiting for an answer." Abby, tears flowing, mascara running down her cheeks, ran across the room, and screamed, "Yes," before embracing her fianc? and kissing her. Everyone was clapping, even the school principal. He had sanctioned Maddie's request to use school property for her proposal in exchange for Maddie playing at his own daughter's wedding in the spring. Maddie looked at Abby's tear stained cheeks. "You really should be wearing waterproof mascara sweetie." "Are you now my guardian angel?" Abby asked. "Yes," was Maddie's simple answer. Maddie took the ring and placed it on Abby's finger and Abby whispered in her ear, "First thing tomorrow, you're getting one of these too," Abby said, holding up her hand and admiring how perfect it looked. When Abby's parents joined them, Abby immediately asked, "Did you guys know about this?" Abby's dad answered, "Yep, ever since Maddie came over to the house two weeks ago and asked for my daughter's hand in marriage." Unnoticed during the commotion surrounding the proposal, a man and a woman had been inching their way through the crowd towards the happy couple, and were now standing behind Maddie. Facing Abby, the man, his voice quivering, spoke directly to her, "And, if she will forgive us, we would like to belatedly give you our daughter's hand." Immediately recognizing his voice, Maddie spun around and saw her parents standing there, looking sad and dejected. Maddie's mom handed Abby the flyer she had sent them, "You're the friend who sent this?" Abby nodded her head 'yes'. "We owe you so much. How can we ever repay..." "Hi, I'm Abby's mom, and I believe you and I have a wedding to help plan. We have reservations for dinner to celebrate the engagement at The Terrace. My husband is calling now to change it to a party of six. You're coming with, no argument." While Abby and her mom welcomed Maddie's mom to the family, allowing her to get to to know her future daughter-in-law, another parent and child were reconnecting and reconciling. The child had her arms firmly clinched around her father, unwilling to let him go from her grasp. In between heartfelt sobs, she apologized for crying, "Sorry dad, hormones." The father, finally able the look at the face of his child, wiped a tear from the child's face with his thumb, feeling the softness of the child's skin for the first time. He gazed at a face familiar yet foreign. The face he knew always looked sad. This one, although tear stained and transformed, looked happy. The father started to weep. Chapter 7: Ever After At the restaurant after the concert, marriage proposal, and reconciliation, the two families celebrated. Abby and Maddie held hands under the table, unwilling to let go of each other. They watched in amazement as their parents became, well, friends. Seeing a pride pin on Abby's dad's lapel, Maddie's dad asked where he, "could get one of those." Maddie broke out in laughter. This father might be hard to get used to. Later, the two young women back in their apartment, back in their bed, looked softly into each other's eyes and professed their love to each other. Oh, and a night of raw passion followed.