The more Abigail talked to Adam in a soft voice, the more he relaxed. “Now, the first thing we have to do,” Abigail said, as she slowly started walking Adam, Dorothy, and Toni toward the changing rooms, “is measure all of you. You see, Adam, in order to look right in any clothing you wear, they have to fit the person’s body correctly; unless you’re going for some type of fad look or making a costume. You want blouses and shirts to fit the person’s chest measurements. If they are too small, blouses or shirts can’t be buttoned, or you’ll pop every button on them. And if they’re too large, well, it just doesn’t look right. Pants or slacks have to be the correct length for the look you want, or the statement you’re trying to make. For women, the hips have to be considered when selecting slacks because a woman’s hips are usually wider than a man’s. And when it comes to dresses, oh, dear me. There are a whole slew of measurements that have to be considered. There’s how large a woman’s breasts are, how wide her hips are, her waist size, the length of the dress, and oh, yes, the color of the dress, because not every color looks good on every woman because of the woman’s skin tone.” Abigail could feel how relaxed Adam had become as she talked, and as they slowly walked to the changing rooms. They stopped in front of the door to the changing rooms, and Abigail looked down at Adam and asked, “Well, here we are. Are you ready to give it a try, Adam?”

Adam was silent for several moments before turning to look at Dorothy and Toni. Dorothy slowly nodded her head, while Toni looked like a bobble head doll with a pleading look on its face. Then he looked up at Abigail and asked her, “Are you positive I won’t look like I’m trying to mock or humiliate any girl? Because if you can’t guarantee me I won’t look like I’m trying to do that, then I’m not going to do it.”

Abigail turned and faced Adam. “Adam, I never lie to any customer that comes into James’. If I don’t think a particular piece of clothing is right for them, I tell them. If I don’t think the look they are going for is right for them, I tell them. If the color they chose isn’t right for them, I tell them. And I’m telling you right now. If you let us help you, I guarantee you’ll be the cutest teenage girl to walk out of James’ I’ve seen in a long time. So, what do you say? Shall we give it a try?”

As the three women watched, Adam looked down at the floor, unaware that six hands had six crossed fingers. When he looked up and into Abigail’s eyes, she could see a determination that hadn’t been there a short while ago. He took a deep breath before telling her, “Yes, I’m ready to do this.” He stepped past Abagial and opened the changing room door, and walked into a future he didn’t know was coming.

Abigail had a big smile on her face after Adam walked into the changing room. Dorothy let out a breath, while Toni pumped the air with a fist and exclaimed, “YES.” Abigail allowed Dorothy and Toni to walk into the changing rooms first so she could change the sign on the door from ‘Open’ to ‘Occupied.’ Once that was done, she stepped inside the large room and closed and locked the door. “Now, Mr. Adam. I can’t very well get the measurements I need, so I can clothe you properly if you are hiding who you are with what you’re wearing. I need you to unclothe yourself down to your underwear.” Adam gave Abigail a blank look until she said, “I need you to get undressed except for your underwear. Then we can begin getting the measurements I need so we can choose the right clothes for you.”

Adam looked a bit sheepish after what Abigail said to him. He looked at his Mom and saw the raised eyebrow, a meaning he knew too well. He then looked at Toni, who replied, “Adam, you know I have three younger brothers, and I’ve seen it all. So don’t worry about me.”

After shrugging his shoulders, Adam sat down on a bench near him and muttered, “In for a penny, in for a pound,” before he bent down and started untying his shoes. After taking his shoes and socks off, he put each sock in the corresponding shoe and slid them under the bench he was sitting on. He then stood up and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, before sliding them down his legs far enough to make it easier to pull his legs out of them. After neatly folding his jeans and setting them on the bench, he started at the bottom of his shirt and unbuttoned the six buttons on his shirt. After taking it off, he neatly folded it and laid it on top of his jeans before turning to face the three women, saying, “This is as naked as I’m going to get.” The three women hadn’t watched as Adam undressed because they’d been holding a council of clothing.

Dorothy and Toni looked up as Abigail turned around to look at a slim boy standing in front of them in his underwear. As Abigail studied Adam, she couldn’t help the feeling that was scratching the back of her mind. Then it hit her right between the eyes. She turned back to Dorothy and Toni and whispered, “Look at his breast area. Take a good look.”

Like prairie dogs popping their heads out of their holes to have a look around, Dorothy and Toni popped their heads up and did as Abigail asked. At first, they saw nothing unusual. But as they looked and looked hard, the realization of what they were seeing hit them full force. Dorothy looked at Abigail, then back at Adam, then back at Abigail, then back at Adam, before she looked at Abigail and whispered, “How is my son developing breasts?” Toni, meanwhile, was staring at Adam, slack-jawed. Abigail chuckled as she reached over and gently lifted Toni’s jaw to close her mouth.

Toni and Dorothy were now staring at Abigail, who whispered to them, “I’ll be able to confirm what we suspect as I measure his chest. Dorothy, maybe you should ask him about the pain a girl might encounter each month, and whether he stands or sits to pee?”

Dorothy nods her head, and Abigail moves to stand by Toni. “Sweetheart,” Dorothy begins, her voice shaking. “Have you had any stomach aches recently?”

The three watch as Adam thought for a moment, and replies with, “Yeah, Mom, I have. I think it must be something they serve in the cafeteria at school.” He shrugs his shoulders, then adds, “It goes away after a couple of days.”

Dorothy tries to calm herself down as she asks, “How long has that been happening?”

They again watched as Adam thought about Dorothy’s question. After pursing his lips for a moment, he said, “Since a month after school started.” School had started five months ago.

After hearing this, Dorothy mutters, “Oh, Dear Lord.” Then she says, “Adam, I’m not trying to embarrass you, but when you pee, do you stand like the other boys or have to sit?”

The three expected Adam to turn a lovely shade of red or pink. Instead, he quickly answers, “Oh, I have to sit, Mom. If I stand, it makes a big mess. And, um, Mom? I’ve had to sit ever since you stopped having to come in the bathroom with me.” It never dawned on him at that moment to ask her why she wanted to know these things.

Abigail clears her throat and tells Adam, “The first thing we should do is get your height and weight. So if you’ll go stand on that scale over there,” pointing to the wall opposite the bench Adam sat on, “we’ll get started.” Abigail waits until Adam stands up and starts walking over to the scale before following him, and watching as he steps up on it. She reaches into an open cabinet next to and above the scale and takes out a thick pad of preprinted paper forms. “Toni, would you mind being my recorder today?” Abigail asked, handing the pad and a pencil to Toni.

Taking it, Toni then looks at Adam and notices the way Adam is standing on the scale. Adam can’t see when Toni points to his lower back and hips, or when she indicates how his back bows forward and his hips tilt forward when he stands straight. Then she points to Dorothy, Abigail, and herself.

What Toni implied by pointing hits Dorothy hard. Her hand flies to her mouth, and her eyes go wide. She tries to slow her breathing, even though her heart is racing. In a shaky voice, she tells Adam, “Um, Adam. I need to make a phone call. Toni will be here helping Abigail and will be ready if Abigail gets frisky with you. Okay, sweetheart?”

Toni and Abigail chuckle at Dorothy’s words. Adam, on the other hand, just says, “Oooh, Mom.”

Dorothy turns and walks to the door, unlocks and opens it, closing it behind her after leaving the room. She looks around the area, trying to find a relatively quiet place to make her call. Of every area she sees, the baby section has the fewest or no shoppers there at the moment. She calmly walks toward the baby section, glancing at the clothes as she walks by them. Walking to a corner in that section, she pulls out her cell phone, touches the ‘contact’ app, then scrolls down until she finds the number for Doctor Jenny Palmer, her gynecologist.

Dorothy walks back into the changing room just in time to hear Abigail say, “Now, Adam. I need to measure your inseam; that’s the length from where your leg connects to your pelvis and down to your ankle. I have to put my hand between your legs so I can hold the tape at the right spot. Please understand, I’m not trying to do anything unsavory to you. It’s just what I have to do to get the right measurement. Okay? Do you understand?” After Adam nods his head, she has him separate his legs a little more, then takes the end of the tape and holds it up against his pelvis and the inside of his leg. She then tells Toni the length to his ankle and to his ankle bone. “Alright, Adam, you did good, ” she says as she stands up. Giving Adam a haunting look and laugh, she says to him in her best Dracula voice, “Now it’s time to break out the Brannock Device.” When he pulls back a bit and gives her a questioning look, she chuckles and tells him, “We’re going to measure your feet, me boy.”

Toni laughed at Abigail’s attempt at being Dracula and Adam’s reaction. Adam gives her a serious face and says, “Watch it, sister! I know where you live.” Not phased at all, Toni just waves her tongue at him, causing both of them to laugh.

Abigail walks to the far end of the room and unlocks an upper cabinet. She opened the left door with her left hand, reaches inside, and pulled out the Brannock Device, a shoe seller’s tool. She closed the cabinet door, then turned and walked back to Adam, where she points to the bench and uttered one word, “Sit.” After Adam sat down, she takes her time explaining how the Brannock Device is used to measure a person’s feet. She shows him the different parts, explaining what the numbers and letters mean. Setting it on the floor, she has Adam put his left foot on the device, making sure to slide his heel firmly against the cup in the back of the device. As Adam watches, Abigail pushes the side component in until it rests gently against his foot just behind his big toe. Then she slides the top component in until it rests gently against the tip of his big toe, telling him, “If these measurements aren’t done correctly, then the shoes might be too tight or loose. And we don’t want that, do we?” Adam shakes his head. After giving Toni the measurement of his left foot, she repeats it with his right foot, giving those measurements to Toni. “Okay, Adam, you are now a measured young man,” she says, even though she knows in her bones that he isn’t a young man and has never been a young man. “The only way we could do better would be to put you into a chamber and use a laser to measure a person. But I’m better than any ol’ laser, don’t you think?”

She had leaned down to say it right to Adam’s face, and was surprised when he put his arms around her neck and hugged her, saying, “You bet you’re better, any day.” She put her arms around his back, hugging him back. And tried to keep her tears from getting him wet.

Dorothy wiped her eyes at the sight.

Abigail started standing up after letting go of Adam; his arms slowly sliding away from her neck. “Um… yes, well,” she said, wiping her eyes, “it’s time for the real fun, Adam. It’s time for me to take Toni and find the right clothes that will make you sparkle. Oh, and everything that goes under the clothes.” Taking the pad from Toni, she tears off the top sheet, hands it to Toni, then goes places the pad and pencil back in the upper cabinet where she kept them. Linking arms with Toni, they march to the door, where Abigail unlocks it, opens it, and allows Toni to leave the room before her.

After the door closes, Dorothy goes and sits beside her son, asking, “Are you alright? Has anything Abigail done upset you?”

She watched as he scrunched up his face, pursed his lips, and told her, “Not really, Mom. It’s all better than I feared it’d be. Abigail’s been real nice. She’s explained everything she’s done; that’s helped me understand a lot. But…,” and here he paused, not only wondering if he should ask the question on his mind but how to ask it.

“But what, Adam?” Dorothy prodded. “What did you want to say?” Dorothy had seen his facial expression when he wanted to ask a question, but didn’t want to hurt anyone by asking it. He had that expression now.

Taking a deep breath and pursing his lips, he asked, “Why did you want to know if I’ve had any stomach aches? Or whether I stand or sit to pee? Is something wrong with me, Mom? Is there something else causing my stomach aches, or why I can’t stand up to pee?”

Dorothy suddenly stood up and began pacing, trying to decide if she should tell him that she didn’t think he was or had been a him. She mentally spanked herself for being scared, and walked back to the bench and sat down. She centered herself, took a deep breath, and began. “What I’m going to tell you, Adam, might be hard to hear and believe. But seeing you in here today, dressed only in your underwear, and getting a really good look at your body, and the answers you gave us, I don’t think you were born a boy. I think because of the penis-looking organ you have, the doctors decided you were a boy when you were born. Those stomach aches you told us about? I think you might be having a period. And we haven’t seen any discharge because there’s no way for the discharge to get out of your body. And when you pee? You don’t pee through that long organ that looks like a penis, do you?” Adam slowly shook his head. “There’s more, Adam. When you stood on that scale, your posture is that of a girl. Your lower back has the same inward arch a girl has, and your hips are tilted slightly forward. Just like a girl’s hips. And Adam, you’re developing breasts. Adam… I think your name should be April or another girl’s name beginning with an ‘A’.”

Dorothy expected he would explode after hearing what she told him. Instead, he was quiet. Just looking at the floor. The door opened, and Toni and Abigail walked into the room with their arms full of clothes and other items. Abigail locked the door before turning back and seeing the expression on Adam’s face. And the barely held tears in his eyes. She walked over to a table sitting under the cabinet where she kept the pad, and set everything in her arms down on it. She then walked over to the bench and sat down on the other side of Adam. She put her arm around his shoulders and asked in a soft voice, “Your mom told you what we suspect, didn’t she?” Adam nodded his head. “And you’re trying to understand how it could happen, aren’t you?” Again, he nodded his head. She pulled Adam into her and just held him for several minutes; she could see the tears sliding down his face. Then Abigail softly asked, “Is there anything you want to say? Anything at all?”

Adam sits up, wipes his eyes, then says, “If what Mom said is true, then Toni and I can’t be boyfriend and girlfriend. Or make a life for ourselves when we get older. And what will the school say? Or the other students, especially Franklin and those guys?”

Toni feels her own tears sliding down her cheeks as she hears Adam speak. She dumps her armload on the table and walks over to her boyfriend. Kneeling before him, she takes his hands in hers before saying, “Adam, right now is right now. You can’t worry about what hasn’t happened yet. Whether we can be boyfriend and girlfriend or are girlfriend and girlfriend, isn’t important right now. What the other students think or what Franklin and those morons do isn’t important right now. It’s your health that’s important right now.” While looking at Dorothy, she says, “I’m betting your mom went out to call her gynecologist, to make an appointment to get you examined.” Dorothy slowly nodded her head. “And know something else, Adam Thomas, or April Thomas, or whatever Thomas you become. I’ll love you until the day I die, and you can take that to the bank.” Adam slid off the bench and held onto Toni as though his life depended on it; they both cried into each other’s shoulders. Abigail reached up above her without looking and took a box of tissues from the shelf above her head. She handed one to Dorothy and took one for herself; she’d hand Toni and Adam each one when they were ready for them.

Their crying had slowed, then stopped, but they clung to each other a while longer. Dorothy couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen two people as in love as she saw in Toni and her son. She hated to do what she was going to do, but it needed to be done. “Hey, you two. How about we see how Adam looks in everything you two brought back with you?”

Toni lifted her head and looked at Dorothy. Then she said in a playful voice, “Mrs. T, you’re a spoil sport. We were enjoying this.” Toni laughed when Dorothy waved her tongue at Toni.

Adam lifted his head, then turned to look at his Mom. Slowly shaking his head, he sighed, “Oh, brother.” Then he turned to Abigail and told her, “Abigail, it looks like you’re the only adult in the room right now.” That statement caused all of them to start laughing. Abigail handed a tissue to each of them, helping Adam get up off his knees. Then, taking Toni’s hands, Adam let her use him to help get her up off her knees.

Sitting on the bench for a few minutes, they both wiped tears out of their eyes and off their cheeks. Then, Toni looked at Adam and asked, “Well, are you just going to sit there, or do you want to see how you look in what we brought back with us?”

As he started to stand, he said, “Pushy, pushy, pushy. You’re SOOO pushy.” Turning to face Abigail, he asked, “Where do we start, Abigail?”

She gave him a smile before telling him, “Panties and bras, my dear youngling. Panties and bras, the foundation of every girl.” After she said that, his real schooling began. She walked over to the table and began separating the panties, bras, camisoles, nylons, and dresses into separate areas of the table, then started explaining the different panties to him. He saw high-waisted panties, briefs, high-cut briefs, bikinis, and thongs. When Abigail showed him the thongs, Toni started laughing.

Adam gave her a funny look and asked, “What’s so funny, brat?”

She kept laughing for several minutes, her breath short as she finally said, “Some of the girls call a thong, butt floss,” then she started laughing again. Dorothy covered her face with one hand and slowly shook her head. Abigail, on the other hand, covered her mouth to try not to laugh along with Toni. It didn’t work, she snorted along with her anyway.

When they’d all regained their composure, Abigail asked, “Leaving the thongs out, which panties would you like to wear?”

Adam stared at the panties, then turned to look at Toni and his Mom. “Toni, Mom, I’m in outer space here. I need your help with this.”

For the next few minutes, Toni and Dorothy told Adam about their experiences with all of the panties. Then Toni picked up one of the thongs and started twirling it around in the air, giving Adam an evil smile as she did so. Adam sighed, then started shaking his head. “You are NOT going to see me wearing that, you brat.” Then he gave her a sly grin and added, “Yet.” Abigail covered her mouth again, while Dorothy dropped her head to her chest and shook her head.

After the silliness subsided, somewhat, Dorothy suggested he wear the briefs, due to his supposed penis. She told him how to pull it back between his legs as he pulled the panties up. With a smile on her face, she picked up a baby-blue pair and pointed to the small changing room. A few minutes later, Adam walked out of the small changing room with a look that would have fooled any boy staring at what she had between her legs.

Abigail pushed the panties aside and started laying out the different bras she and Toni brought back with them. She explained the difference between each bra and when each one could be worn. She also showed Adam breast enhancers and explained why they would be used. It was then that Dorothy made a decision she’d been mulling over ever since it became clear Adam had never been a boy. “Sweetheart,” she said to Adam. “Come with me a moment,” she continued, as she walked over to the full-length mirror hanging on one wall. Adam followed her until he stopped in front of the mirror. Dorothy gently turned him until he was facing the mirror, then said, “I want you to take a good look at yourself. And as you do, I want you to see if your body has the same shape as other boys you’ve seen. Look how wide your shoulders are. Look at your waist and hips. Then turn so you can see if your chest is as full as those boys you’ve seen.” The three women watched as Adam did as Dorothy asked. He ran his hands over his body, visually comparing what he was seeing with the boys he’d seen in the locker room.

Then, when he turned so he could look at his chest from the side, his face developed a questioning look as his hands explored his breast area, first one side, then, turning around, the other side. Then he turned to face the mirror and used both hands to explore both areas at the same time. “Mom? Why are these areas,” and he used his fingers to circle the area around each breast, “firmer and slightly puffy,” he had turned side on to the mirror, “than what I’ve seen on other boys?”

Dorothy stepped up behind him, took his right hand, and, holding his hand flat, guided it over each of his breasts. “Adam, what you felt, and are now feeling in those areas, are called breast buds. Those are the beginning of the breasts you are developing. Breasts like I have, or had, like Toni has, and Abigail has. Adam, you’ve never been a boy. The doctors misdiagnosed you at birth, and your hormones are just now kicking in and starting your female development. Because we, I, just learned about this, I’ve made an appointment with my gynecologist; you need a complete physical. They also need to see if you have any female organs inside of you, and if maybe those stomach aches you’re having are because your vagina is there but blocked.”

Dorothy had taken a chance to be completely honest with her son, or rather, her daughter. Dorothy hoped she would be able to deal with the information and not completely lose it. She had stepped back and watched as Adam again ran his hands over his breast area, before he turned to look at Toni and Abigail; both nodded their heads. While looking back in the mirror, Adam asked, “So, how long until I have breasts that actually show?” He turned to look at Abigail again and asked, “Is that why girls use those enhancers, to look like they have breasts, Abigail?”

Abigail nodded her head at Adam’s last question. Dorothy answered his first question by saying, “Sweetheart, breast development is different for each girl. Many girls start developing when they’re 10, 11, or 12 years old. For some reason, your body delayed your development until now. But we know about it now and can deal with it.” Dorothy held off telling him about the other part of being a girl, the slightly messy part; they’d deal with that part after the more important matters.

Abigail stepped back in with, “Let’s see which of these bras is going to suit you until your own breasts decide to make an appearance. We’ll see which size enhancer gives you a nice breast definition for your age.” As Adam walked to Abigail, Abigail watched as Dorothy took a deep breath and closed her eyes in relief at how Adam took the news he was told. She then, with Dorothy’s opinion, chose a full coverage bra that matched the color of the panties he was wearing, in his size, and with cups that would accommodate enhancers that would give Adam the appearance of small, developing breasts to onlookers. For his first time wearing a bra, Abigail put it on him, explaining how it should sit on his chest, how to adjust the straps to have it fit right, and where the bottom band should lie. She then put an enhancer in each cup, explaining how to position them correctly. She then unhooked the back, set everything on the table, and said, “It’s your turn to put your bra on, Adam.” Toni almost chuckled until Dorothy gave her a look that could have cracked granite.

As the three women watched, Adam picked up the bra, put his arms through the openings below the straps, then grabbed the hook side with one hand and the latch side with the other, and reached behind his back to fasten them together. “And girls do this every day?” He asked as he fumbled to fasten the ends together behind his back.

“Every day,” Abigail responded. “Take your time, Adam. The first few times can be frustrating, so don’t rush. If you have to, bring the ends back in front and reposition your fingers, then try again.”

Even though Adam repositioned his fingers on each end of the back straps, he never got upset. After repositioning his fingers on each end strap for the third time, when he reached behind his back, he hooked the ends together just as though he had done it his whole life. He blushed when all three women cheered his success. He then picked up an enhancer and placed it in the left bra cup, following that with an enhancer in the right bra cup. He adjusted the enhancers and his bra a bit before walking back to the mirror to see how he looked. All three women walked over and stood behind him. The tears were overwhelming his eyes as they slid down his cheeks. Dorothy stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Mom, I don’t see a boy in that mirror. I just see a young girl staring back at me, and not the boy I thought I was. When’s my appointment?”

Adam brought her hands up to grip her Mom’s arms, as Dorothy pulled her tightly into her. “Doctor Palmer has agreed to see you tomorrow, given the situation. She said because of what you’ve been experiencing, she’d make an exception to see you on Saturday. You look wonderful, sweet girl. Wanna keep going?” Adam nodded her head eagerly.

With her arm now around Adam’s shoulder, Dorothy walked her daughter back to the table where Abigail once again took over. “Now, because we are dressing you for school, we’re going to stick to pantyhose for your nylons.” She picked up a package and opened it, taking out a pair of suntan pantyhose from it. She unfolded them before saying, “These are like really long socks, only more delicate. You need to make sure your nails are smooth before putting these on. Also, make sure your toenails are cut short, or you could poke a hole in the toes.” Adam chuckled as the three looked down at his toes. Abigail continued with, “Some pantyhose have a front and a back; you can determine this by looking for the tag or markings the pantyhose have on the inside of the panty.” She showed Adam the tag on the pair she was holding. “With others, you decide the front and back. Also, these are plain, unlike some that have designs woven into them. This color, suntan, is one of several colors you can buy for general use or when you dress classy. And then there are the exotic ones, but I let your mom tell you about those. Those can be fun, can’t they, Mom?” Toni and Adam looked at Dorothy, who was now a lovely shade of pink. The two giggled before Abigail cleared her throat. “Now, getting back to our nylon subject. There are thigh-high nylons that have an elastic band at the top to hold them up, while other nylons require a garter belt to hold them up. You and your mom can discuss those last two and decide when you can wear them. But right now, take these,” and she hands Adam the pantyhose, “and go sit down and carefully put these on.”

After he sat down on the same bench, the three women coached him as he carefully bunched up one leg, put his foot in the toe, and carefully pulled it up one leg, and then did the same with the other leg, before standing and pulling it the rest of the way up. “Not bad for your first time, Sprout. And you didn’t create a run for your first time. But wowzer, sweet cheeks,” Toni said, almost drooling as she said it. She saw the expression on his face and quickly put her arms around him, saying, “I’m sorry. I was only joking.”

“I know, Toni, I know. But it isn’t that,” he told her as he pulled her tightly to him. “It’s all the time that was wasted when I could have been a girl all along. Now I have to play catch-up, learning the things you learned as you grew up. And somehow convince people that for fourteen years, they weren’t looking at a boy. But a girl everyone thought was a boy. That’s going to be rough.” He let go of her, taking her hand and walking back to the mirror with her by his side. As they stood there side-by-side, Adam again took in everything he was seeing. In an almost whisper, he said, “Wow. And yeah, wowzer.” Dorothy and Abigail only smiled as they watched the two engage in a very passionate kiss.