Zoe waited patiently as Jonchelle finished putting on her makeup and jewelry. Zoe watched as Jonchelle browsed her collection, settling on a pair of gold hooped earrings and a matching gold heart-shaped pendant around her neck. Nodding to herself in the mirror, she stood up and followed Zoe down the stairs for breakfast.
Mom and Dad were already in the kitchen having their breakfast when Jonchelle and Zoe entered the room. Dad was reading the paper, while Mom was reading a fashion magazine. Not for the first time, Jonchelle marveled at the results of the resolution. Dad was wearing a simple polo shirt and jeans whereas Mom was wearing a pink cape sleeve dress and matching heels, looking more like a trophy wife than a mother of three, her platinum blonde wig falling softly just past her shoulders.
Mom was completely engrossed in her fashion magazine and didn’t notice her daughters but Dad did. He looked up from his paper. “Morning, Chelle and Zoe.”
Mom finally noticed them and looked up. She took one look at Zoe’s mismatched outfit and wrinkled her face in disgust.
“Geez... Zoe, if you’re going to be a girl, at least do it properly, not this half and half stuff. I suppose you’ll be wanting all of that Goth stuff back out of storage?”
“Uh-huh, but not all of it,” Zoe noted as she sat down. “Chelle and I came to an agreement last night that I would try and tone it down a little, be less goth and more...girl.” She smiled, catching Jonchelle’s eye as she reached for her cereal. Mom and Dad nodded, both seeming to approve of Zoe’s decision to tone it down. It would be a lot easier for everyone.
“I’m hoping that it won’t be too much, girl,” Dad quipped, chuckling. “With how much these two are spending on clothes, I doubt that we could afford it. And that’s not including Kiera,” he added as he glanced at Mom and Jonchelle.
Zoe laughed. “Don’t worry, I promise that I won’t be as high-maintenance as these two.” Dad chuckled and went back to his paper as Jonchelle and Rose pouted and tried to defend their spending habits.
A few moments later they were finally joined by their youngest sister, Kiera. Like Jonchelle and Rose, she had begun to take a keen interest in fashion and, as such, was starting to put a lot of time and effort into her appearance. Today she was wearing a pink knitted top and a white poplin skirt, her blonde hair tucked neatly behind one ear.
“Good morning princess,” Dad said as Kiera came bounding in, her skirt bouncing along behind her. Kiera cheerfully greeted them all as she sat down at the table and reached for a bowl of cereal. Having finished his breakfast, Dad watched the rest of the family eat theirs while he sat with a mug of coffee. Once everybody had finished, he put his mug down and got everybody’s attention, suddenly looking very serious.
“Everyone, I have an announcement.” Jonchelle and Zoe looked at each other, confused, as Dad continued. “I’ve been thinking about something and with Zoe’s decision last night to return to her old self, I decided that it’s for me to do the same.”
“What? No way.” Jonchelle gasped. She was sure that, if anyone in her family would stay, it would be her parents. Dad looked at Jonchelle.
“Honey, I know how much this means to you and that you’re disappointed... But this just isn’t working for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love how this has turned out for you. You seem to be a lot happier than before and you’ve even gotten a girlfriend out of all this but this...just isn’t me,” pulling at his top to make the point as Jonchelle pouted, folded her arms and slouched in her chair a bit.
Liam sighed, reaching out and placing a hand on Jonchelle’s arm. “Honey,” he pleaded, “please try to understand. I can’t go on pretending to be a man. I miss being Linda. I know that this is hard to hear for you, but it isn’t for everyone, and while it was fun to try it out with everyone else doing it, it’s time for me to move on, go back to a normal life. I’ve talked to my boss and, since I’ve been doing such a good job as Liam, he’s agreed to keep me on in my current position which means that we can still afford all your clothes and everything.”
Jonchelle continued to pout. “If you’re keeping the same job… then what’s the point in changing back? If you want to be Linda again, then...you must want Linda’s old life?”
“Some good things came out of this. But… This isn’t for me. Remember when you were in third grade and tried to play the recorder and it just...didn’t work out well?”
Jonchelle nodded. She was no musician, she’d learned.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Same thing about this. For some people, it’s about their identity, and I respect that a lot. I’ll be donating a lot of the extra stuff I bought to charities that help homeless people prepare for job interviews.”
Jonchelle tilted her head. “Oh, that’s a very nice thought!” She smiled, a sense of ease passing over her. She couldn’t change her parents’ minds, and as Dad said, something good did come out of this.
