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Show 100 I asked more questions as we walked down the middle lane of a blank 3 AM State Street, violet in the streetlights, back to our apartment. So does this mean you like men or women? I like women. You know I like women. Well yeah but this doesn't change anything? It doesn't change that. Have you told your family? Not yet. So why Erin? Chris kind of swings both ways, doesn't it? I like Erin. Any particular reason? I just like it. She asked again if I was freaked. I thought about it, said, No, just surprised. How long have you felt this way? She said, All my life. When we got home I taped a blanket over the window so the sunlight wouldn't seep in later. It occurred to me that there were probably aspects of every person I would never know about. Then I hoped that in her gender transformation, Erin would stop being such a slob and do the dishes once in a while. I had an older sister and knew that was a stereotype, and not a particularly compelling one. But I was hoping Erin would fall for it. Erin Plus the name, Erin had already gone shopping for new clothes, knew which hormones to start taking, the price of eventual surgery, and was in e-mail contact with members of "trans communities" in several big cities nationwide. Halfway through the transition some things were going better than others. Erin had a long thin body and it was passable for the most part but she was very self-conscious about her hands and jaw line. She always had kind of a high voice but she softened it now. She wore long earrings sometimes and carried a handbag. |