When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I realized was the cloths I slept in. From the time I got my own bedroom, that was in my elementary school days, I slept with nothing but my underwear. Why did I then I would have slept like I had to get up and go somewhere instantly. I also realized that Candy had left the bedroom. I sat in my bed and slowly, memory of previous evening and night, returned and I jumped out of bed, rushed out to find her and found her in the bathroom taking shower.

Hearing me entering the bathroom, she moved the curtain and said:
"You sleep well, and must be dreaming when I woke up?"
I did not reply but raised my eyebrows in a questioning way, what she meant.

"You were smiling and mumbling something, and I thought maybe you were having that recurring dream. Come on in, we haven't taken shower together is a long while." Candy invited me.

My mind was still entangled with the emotions of last evening and worried subconscious was reluctant to get into amorous episode early in the morning. I said to her:

"Not a good timing; Mr. Roy will be here in one hour to take me to the Court House. Besides that, we have to deal with the issues between us; the one caused by, what looks like to me, by the new developments at work. We discussed it if you remember."

"Disappointed Candy pulled herself in and said in a lame tone:
"Yes; it did escape my mind. I will meet you in the living area shortly."

I finished the morning routine and came out in the bathrobe and found her dressed up for the duty sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hurry up; I have half an hour before heading out to the station. There is coffee ready on the counter." Candy spoke in a casual voice.

I couldn't make head or tail of her quick recovery from the previous night's crisis at work, that she had narrated to me. I said nothing and went to bedroom and came out in my formal attire I always wore to go to such affairs. Then I walked up to her and took her in my arms, kissed her affectionately and said:

"You frightened me last night; what was eating you?"
"Nothing, just the stresses of working with those assholes, and putting up with the nasty barbs."

I looked in her eyes and she averted them. Instinctively, I recognized that gesture. I had seen that in the eyes of Walter, when I went up to him to shake hand and express my regrets for beating him. That morning, I felt, Candy was worried about something and did not wish to tell me some bad news that would ruin my birthday celebration. I caught her face in the palms and turned it towered me and said:

"This is not working; I have to know now, or else I will be miserable all day, wondering why you have stopped trusting me. Please, let us work it out together."

She broke out of my embrace, turned towards the sofa and sat down with her head buried in her chest. I followed her and sat next her. She in a low voice gave me the true cause of her distress: the plan she learned brewing at the station to put her in a tight jacket and expose her to the danger of lifetime. She received an anonymous tip from a person working in the office of the County's DA. Perhaps it was someone sympathetic to her sexual orientation, and aware of her troubles with the nemesis, one I mentioned previously. It was him who had come to the D.A. with a request to open an investigation of the arrangement between my parents, the Child Welfare Department and Candy for my living with her. The underlying cause was to establish that there was no effects of her gay orientation upon my juvenile adolescence. They were looking for a judge, to obtain search warrant and to get an order for taking me in the protective custody. The danger she faced was the Prima Facie evidence if found then, Candy would be facing a prosecution for Child pornography and myriads of related charges.

By the time she finished telling me these details, Mr. Roy had arrived and had walked up the doorsteps. I rushed to meet him and could not give comforts to my love. I did not want him to meet Candy in that vulnerable state, so I got out of the door and took him directly to his SUV. We must have cleared our long path leading to the paved road and he surprised me with a barrage of questions:

"What is going on? Child pornography charges? Are you involved in something I should know? Am I not your legal guardian until papers are made? Please don't hide anything from me. If you two are in some sort of legal tight spot, we can work on resolving it. Trust me; I will not let anyone get it out of me. It may have impact upon today's business."

I got stunned by his speech. I did not know how much he heard and could not decide how to answer him. I couldn't share details of our private life to him. I did not know his mindset about the LGBT community. I quickly thought of some way to take him off the trail, and at the same time, we had no person of worldly knowledge to turn to. Besides that, it was Candy's personal problem, and I was just a pawn in that nasty business. I finally decided to share with a part of that situation and our impending disaster.

I narrated the story of Candy's jeopardy without describing how we actually lived together in her place. I described the discrimination and sexual harassment with the abusive treatment from the fellow police officers. I explained to him that they were planning to launch an investigation with the allegations of influencing a minor for making an unnatural choice of sexual orientation.
He heard my story and drove for some time, as if he was organizing thoughts and then, asked a loaded question that I did not expect:

"Is there any truth in this suspected offence? You must trust me on this. I know how you feel about sex. I watched you growing up since you were a toddler. Your Pappy had expressed concern at one point when you had stepped in the teen year. He believed lack of woman's presence in your life made you to picked up a Tomboy's male personality. I have dealt with this and other issues of identity mix ups in my life in the army. So, be free to speak how two of you managed daily life for the past year. Your mom told me how much you have changed for better since living with Candy. Did you have independent bedrooms, or you were careful when moving in public? Has any outsider ever come in and noticed anything out of ordinary such as sexual gadgets females use? We will have to find solutions quickly before law enforcement acts and finds the stuff that will bring disasters to her and to you also."
I was surprised by his questioning and told him the truth. By the time we finished the Court Business, and I received my papers, it was past the lunchtime. We stopped at a fast-food restaurant and went to the drive-through lanes.
After finishing the lunch in the parking lot, we went back to our apartment and sanitized it. Took every intimate item and memorabilia I could find and packed it in the boxes. He carried everything to his SUV and help me to set up an independent bed with the mattress I had used on the first day we had arrived and spent the night in that utility room. He made the room look like a bedroom of a teenager in any home. I left a note for Candy which Mr. Roy dictated, telling her that I was returning home and how grateful I was for being one great 'Older Sister' to me and letting me live under her supervision etc.

As a Post-Script message, I invited her to have dinner with my family and asked her to come as per her convenience. It was written in quite impersonal and neighborly invitation language. We headed home without speaking a word. Both of us were lost in own mental issues. I wasn't sure of my life again. The words in the message of that note left behind, had double sharp edges and one of them was cutting my soul. Sisters? I could not envision that role and albeit a deceptive one, and yet it was a strategic move. How do I to behave like a sister with Candy in this selfish male dominated world of powerful people? What sort of freedom I was going to have?

Lost in my thoughts, I did not realize we were in the parking lot of Wall Mart. After pulling in, Mr. Roy cut the engine and turned towards me and said:

"Listen carefully. I have a plan that has a good chance of avoiding all that police inquiry stuff. It will primarily depend upon your behavior and Candy's acting. Common, we have some shopping to do."

I was bewildered with this new approach but did not say a word and followed him. In the store, I began to understand the plan. He told me to choose at least 3 women's suits. I never ever entered women's apparel areas before and selection of female outfits was not my cup of tea. I got lost in the lines and lines of clothing hanging. He must have sensed my difficulties and got hold of a matronly shopper and expressed his inability to help a daughter who can't seem to pick a dress. She was delighted and we picked the desired style of clothing and then moved to the female face makeover section. Same woman accompanied us and picked for me the paraphernalia for the female face makeover stuff. On the way home, he explained the strategy. I had guessed most of the scheme but let him explain it to me.

"Your mom and I are going to host a party in celebration of our daughter's coming of age. You have to call Candy and let me explain to her what she needs to do. We returned home with my stomach in knots. I never learned to act as a female, and here, I have to pretend for other people's benefits to be a real, debonair young woman. How was it possible? I had not a single drop of Progestogen in me; I could not even envision the suggested farce. However, I thought that it was a workable scheme for a short period. One can't fool the Mother Nature and I was afraid my true self would reveal itself sooner or later. What about that possibility? I kept that question with me to worry about.

We must have arrived home for half an hour or so, and phone rang. I picked up as soon as the first ring sounded. In a very low tone, Candy asked me:
"You left me? Not even a goodbye? This note; how could you..." She was weeping loudly, and I intervened:

"Honey, stop, stop please! Nothing has changed between us. Let Mr. Roy explain it to you; just calm down; here he is."

Mr. Roy explained the scheme to her how we are going to take the wind out that police investigation efforts. The plan was that on the party day, Candy was to ask one of the nicer of the policemen in uniform to escort her as a partner. She was to come in and greet little sister, all dressed up and glamorized for the occasion in a manner two closest girlfriends do. Then she has to introduce her to the escorting partner as her adopted sister. The case worker who used to visit her to fulfil the assigned duties of monitoring progress also will be there to witness the human Butterfly emerged from the cocoon. During the evening, we will be creating an atmosphere of a successful transformation of a Tomboyish juvenile me, into a young woman, ready for integration in the society, and the credit of bringing a PTSD suffering child in the adulthood was to be share between Ms. Candice, and the Social Worker with many thanks to the staffs of Child Welfare department. Then the Photo ops and other rituals set up to produce the evidence of a healthy relationship between all parties involved were planned.

The next phase of it was scheduled for the disclosing only to two of us, on the last day of Me. Roy's stay. After that task was over, we ate the supper, and I went to my old bedroom and closed the door. I failed to notice that Mr. Roy had retired with mom to her bedroom. My body was here, but soul was with my love. I did not get a chance to speak to her and see that she had calm down.

Birthday arrived and as per the plan, place was decorated as per customs and norms. My large photos were displayed prominently in a young debutante incarnate pose. With makeup my face appeared more feminine than I wanted it to be, but in the desperate times they say, one has to do everything to avoid the impending tragedy. I practiced walking like a young woman and how to present a fake persona like they teach you in a customer service training class. I was restless and apprehensive about Candy bringing a man as her escort.

The questions and doubts rising out of fear of losing my love was dominating my thinking. What if it leads to a more permanent arrangement, and she sleeps with him and is forced to go in that direction? I had no answers, and we were advised not to contact each other, I couldn't get access to her inner thinking. I endured that agony. Again, and again I visited those feelings to assure myself that this is all a Vaudeville drama, and we were actors performing for fooling the audience.

The evening came and one by one people arrived. I was the queen bee of the hive, sitting on the thrown of nails; unhappy in my female role and surrounded by the worker ants, my life seem to be waiting for the next storm.

Mom had invited her coworkers, and then few government employees assisting me had also arrived. At last, Candy arrived with a handsome man in mid-twenties. He was holding her by hand and watching them enter in that way, gave me a sting of jealousy. I wanted to throw all that game playing and rush to her and grab and kiss her in front of all and announce my love for her. I would have acted on but for Mr. Roy's action I did not. He was watching me, and I think, he had a suspicion of me reacting in a way that two lovers would. He must have spoken to my mom and they may have expected troubled reaction on my visage. Mom, immediately went to Candy and took her away from her escort, and Mr. Roy took him towards the bar. Candy and mom came to me and as coached, she acted in a predictable way. Very former in approaching and giving me a hug. Her escort also joined after getting a beer bottle and watched the performance from a distance.

He also came up and gave me the appropriate wishes and complements. The evening regalia went on like a birthday bash and a passage of a teen into the adulthood supposed to go. When everyone was getting ready to leave, Mr. Roy called attention of the assembled folks and said:

"Please pay attention. I am Roy Brown, a longtime family friend. On behalf of the family and as a former trusty of our beloved daughter, I am thanking you for joining us in this celebration of 17th birthday and the ceremony for welcoming her to the adulthood."

He added few more sentences in the similar genera, and then made a move with an announcement that surprised me beyond imagination. He went up to mom and held her hands and brought her forward to the center of the circle formed by the guest. He then went on his knee and proposed my mom:

"Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

Mom immediately accepted the proposal and then he put a ring on her finger. They kissed. In a way, I had a potential dad whom I loved as much as I did Pappy.

They decided to get married the next day without a ceremony which I learned later they were going to formalize in a church on the Taylor Mountain road in West Virginia. That made sense: our ancestors lived there for a century and mom had few cousins to make it a family affair.

That evening, Candy played her role of my sister and friend efficiently, and while doing that I think, she impressed her escort about our relationship. My eyes were following her, but she was avoiding me. One can imagine the torture of separation and the fears of losing precious person. I had no way to deal with those emotions at that moment and a storm of doubts was ragging.

"What if he takes her to his place? What if she likes heterosexual life better than what we were living with? Thoughts generated by envy and fear have high potential for degenerating into insane anger. Anger towards fate, circumstances, the world, and especially two individuals causing them to spawn in the first place. That night, my resident deity, the Morpheus also went off to visit someone else on the Mount Olympus. I, on that night, felt abandoned again and spent turning and tossing in my bed.