A Nerd, a Tough Kid and the Wonder of Dance

Chapter 7: "I want to be a girl"

Jena and I were standing there at our turnoffs, with me absorbing her news.

"Have you told your parents?" I asked rather severely.

"Not really. I've . . ."

"That means no," I interrupted, "Come on."

I grabbed her hand and dragged her down the street towards her house.

As we came in the door, Jena called out nervously, "Mum, Dad, I've got Garth with me."

"Hi, Garth."

"Hello, Garth."

Now I felt that Jena's parents were a fairly laid-back couple. I was confident that they would handle Jena's 'news' well.

Mr Akerman was sitting at the kitchen table shelling peas or something. His wife was over at the sink.

"Mrs Akerman, could you come and sit down at the table for a moment. Jena wants to talk to both of you."

The parents exchanged a look and Mrs Akerman came and sat down.

Jena gulped, but I pushed her forward saying, "Go on, Jen. Out with it."

"I want to be a girl," Jena blurted out and then froze.

The parents looked at each other, "Well, it had to be something like this."

They both sort of pulled a face and then nodded to each other. Turning back, they smiled a little uncertainly and Mr Akerman took a breath and spoke gently, "Jen, Mum and I love you and will stand by you, but we have to grill you a bit. Please understand."

"Sweetheart," Jena's Mum said with kind concern, "it's such a big decision, are you absolutely sure about it?"

With a trembling lower lip, Jena squeaked, "Yes, yes, totally, completely."

"Okay, okay. But we need to be sure that you've considered all the aspects; we need to talk about what's involved, the processes, what will change in your life . . . oh, Jena love, there's . . . there's just so much . . ."

It was time for me to go. I pulled a chair out and sat Jena down opposite her parents. I whispered rather loudly, "You're on your way, Jen. Be brave, be honest; you and your folks have a lot to talk about."

She grabbed my hand, "Oh, Garth, thank you, thank you, thank you."

"And thank you from us too," the parents said with sly grins on their faces.

At school during the following week, I could see that there was a brightness about Jena that hadn't been there before. Nevertheless, we maintained our 'normal' level of interaction.

On the Wednesday at our regular dance session, Jena whispered to me, "Things are moving, I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Oh, it's so exciting, Garth."

"Good," I said patting her shoulder, "I'm really pleased for you."