Surprise Offer 2: is a direct continuation of the story about Lily and her ‘brother’ Lance. Can she find acceptance and her place in the world as Lily instead of Lance? Emotions run high as Lily’s new best friend and ‘adoptive’ family members move things forward at lightning speed. Can she handle it all? How will a surprise just before Thanksgiving change everything? Lily and Sammie are back, ready to take on the world with pigtails and dancing, in a way only ten-year-old little girls can do.

Previously:

Another knock on the door happened. Lily invited the person in, too. The more, the merrier. It was her family doctor.

Doctor Kendrick looked around the crowded room. “Well, quite the gathering here.”

“Doctor Kendrick?” Mommie asked. “What are you doing here?”

“When our office sends someone to the hospital, we like to check up on them,” Doctor Kendrick smiled at Lily, before turning back to Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt. “But there is also a very important reason for this visit. We got back the results of Lily’s Chromosome test early, and I thought you might need it. Do you want to step out into the hall so we can talk, or is it okay for everyone to hear the results of Lily’s Chromosome test?”

Lily thought for a moment, “I don't mind.”

The doctor got a non-verbal agreement from Lily’s parents before proceeding, “Your chromosome test is, drum roll please, …”

“… XX. We knew you had to be either XX, XXY, or XXX,” Dr. Kendrick went over to Mommie. “You are going to need this certificate of female status sooner than later.”

After handing that off, he left the hospital room, turning back into the hall.

“See, you always were female, Bestie,” Sammie proclaimed.

“As if the period cramps I've been having don't already prove that, silly Sammie,” Lily said with her tongue out. “Anna, you were saying something?”

“The only thing you lied about was your real last name. You were honest with the rest. So, it was another reason we didn't care that you were Lily.”

Blushing, Lily responded, “Thank you.”

Aunty Hanna got everyone’s attention, “Amanda, Anna, Jen, Rachel, and Tina, it is time to head back home. Mother, are you ok watching both of your granddaughters?”

Granny looked over at Lauren, who had fallen asleep using Lily as a pillow, and smirked as she looked at Lily, “I will gladly watch Lauren, but Lily is too much trouble to watch.”

Lily exclaimed, “Hey!”

“Alison, since all the girls can't fit in Hanna's car, are you fine with watching and taking Samantha home?”

“That is fine with me, Heather.”

The oldest granddaughter got a pat on the head, “You know I love you.”

“You have to love me. You keep closing your store to hang out with me in a hospital,” Lily pointed out.

Amanda went up to Lily and handed the teddy bear over, “This is for you from all five of us.”

“Thank you, girls,” Lily smiled at her fellow Girl Scouts.

“This is also for you,” Sammie said while handing Lily’s homework over.

Lily stuck her tongue out at her best friend before turning to the other girls, “Anna, Jen, or Rachel, does one of you want a new best friend? My old best friend brings terrible gifts.”

“Sorry,” Anna responded, shaking her head back and forth. “I already have a best friend.”

“So do I, but unfortunately, she likes to bring me homework. I hope to see you five next week. Thank you for visiting.”

As that group of friends was leaving, Sammie's stomach growled. Lily looked at her best friend and asked, “Have you eaten, Bestie?”

“Not since lunch,” Sammie said with a blush.

The girl lying in bed put her hands on her hips again, which was hard to do with Lauren on one side of her, “Bestie, you have to take care of yourself. Granny, can you please make sure my best friend gets food from the cafe?”

Granny decided to also take the drowsy Lauren for some food, leaving the Vanderbilts alone.

Mommie broke the silence, “How do you like being my daughter?”

“You have to ask that?” Lily glared at her mother. “I was your daughter every minute I could get for the last four weeks. Unfortunately, the good comes with a monthly visitor.”

After Mommie nodded, Lily smiled, “How do you like having a daughter?”

“I love it. My only regret is that it took us ten years to realize we had a daughter. So many missed opportunities.”

Lily looked at her Daddie, “And you, Daddie?”

“Is Lily much different than Lance?” he asked rhetorically. “The only difference is that Lily is more bold in doing the girl stuff. Lance never liked the boy stuff. He did them because he felt he had to. But it was obvious he didn't enjoy them. Just like your Mother, I regret that it took ten years to find my daughter.”

Lily looked at the homework, “This will take Sammie to explain it to me. I think I will go borrow some picture books for Lauren.”

After Mommie helped the girl off her bed, she grabbed the magazine she had read and the two of them headed to the library in the playroom. She soon returned with three picture books and a stack of magazines.

Granny, Sammie, and Lauren soon returned. The two older girls did their homework while Lauren snuggled against her cousin. After that was done, Lauren eagerly listened to the books Lily and Sammie took turns reading to her.

The short girl had her bestie press the call button for the nurse after one of the books.

Once the nurse had entered, “I need to use the bathroom, Nurse Kate.”

As Nurse Kate and Lily left the bathroom, Sammie held her nose, “What did you eat, Bestie? That stunk!”

“Hospital food?”

When three books had been read to Lauren, Granny decided it was time for Lauren, Sammie, and her to head home.

Lily didn’t make it much more before she felt tired. She did say before she was out, “No sleeping here, Mommie.”

Moments after giving her directive, the little girl was sleeping with Creamy held tight, or at least as much sleep as you can get in a hospital.

Thanksgiving morning, Lily woke up and noticed she was alone for once. After ordering her breakfast, she decided to read the Secret Garden book she had grabbed yesterday. The phone in her room rang.

“Hello?” …

“Hi, Mommie.” …

“I will be fine without someone watching over me constantly.” …

“See you after church. Enjoy it.” …

“I love you too.” …

“Goodbye, Mommie.” …

She hung up the phone and went back to her book.

Mommie and Daddie showed up right after church. Or as right after church, as a 30-minute drive away can be. Lily noticed that Mommie’s first stop in the room was the closet.

A few minutes after the folks had arrived, a knock was heard at the door, shortly followed by Nurse Kate walking in, “I understand you need help getting a princess into her gown for the day.”

“That is my cue to leave,” Daddie expressed, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Mommie answered, “Yes, Ma'am.”

Mommie went to the closet and got out a red velvet dress. The young girl wouldn't call it a princess gown, but she thought it was beautiful. Of course, anything was better than the hospital gowns she had been wearing since entering the hospital. The preteen watched the nurse thread the IV bag and line through her left sleeve in the pink hospital gown before she helped Lily take her arm out of that sleeve.

The dress was dropped over Lily’s head once the gown was gone. Again, the IV line and saline bag were brought through the sleeve before the arm was carefully inserted. After the monitor unit was above the neckline, both the IV and the Saline bag were hung on the IV rack.

“Okay, you should be able to dress her the rest of the way,” Nurse Kate said as she left the room.

Mommie helped the dressed girl finish getting changed before arranging the outfit in such a way that certain things would not be seen while lying in bed. Afterward, Daddie was invited back into the room.

The family was chit-chatting when someone else knocked on the door.

After being invited into the room, the food service guy said, “I have one children’s portion and five adult portions of Thanksgiving dinners.”

Mommie grabbed the meals from the guy. She tried to tip him but was refused. Lily asked, “Five?”

Mommie put her hands out and shrugged her shoulders while looking at the two other individuals in the room, “Who would the other three be?”

Lily thought and was going to say Granny and the Kane family as the said family members walked into the room.

Lauren tried to join Lily again in her bed but was denied by her Mommie. The seven family members sat down to enjoy a Turkey meal with pumpkin pie.

Mommie said, “Sorry your Thanksgiving plans got altered, Alison.”

“I will save the food for Christmas. There would have been plenty of leftovers because I bought for six before I realized you three were heading northward.”

Once the meal was done, Lily was asked how her period was going. She replied that the last pad change had been lightly covered. So, her period was almost done. She was cuddling her cousin as she read stories to her.

A couple of hours later, in the lobby of the hospital, a senior citizen lady and guy, a middle-aged lady, and guy, and a preteen girl approached the receptionist. The oldest lady did the speaking for the group, “We would like to see Lance Vanderbilt.”

The receptionist typed something into her keyboard before saying, “There is no Lance Vanderbilt here.”

The older lady picked up her phone and said, “Hi Tom, Mom Moose here.” …

“They are saying there is no Lance at Pratt.” …

“Ok, I will.” …

“Talk to you in a bit,”

Grandma Moose hung up the phone and turned to the receptionist. “Correction. We would like to see Lily Vanderbilt.”

Without typing anything, the receptionist said, “Room 416. The elevator is just down the hall behind me.”

Mommie had stepped into Lily’s bathroom for a bit when her phone rang. Daddie answered it with, “Susan's phone, Tom speaking.” …

“Hi, Mom.” …

“Try Lily Vanderbilt.” …

“See you then,” Daddie hung up the phone and turned to Lily. “At least your Grandma Moose is here.”

Mommie had come out of the bathroom and asked, “What about my maiden name?”

Daddie said, “I’m not sure if anyone else is here, but at least your Mother is here.”

Granny Gilbert asked if they should leave, and they were told to stay. About ten minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

When the Moose relatives entered the room, Lily smiled, “Nice seeing you, Grandma and Grandpa Moose, Aunty Stephanie, Uncle Mark, and Tracy.”

Mommie stood up and went over to hug the visitors, “Did you folks really drive over two and a half hours to get here?”

Grandma Moose declared, “Yes, we did. We were worried about the young one.”

Daddie, Mommie, Mommie's relatives, and Lily’s adopted family discussed the wellness of the patient in the bed. Lily, for her part, tried to ignore the conversation with a very red face. The petite girl was glad everyone cared about her, but she’d rather not have the spotlight on herself.

“So what is Lily’s middle name?” Grandma Moose wondered.

Lily proudly stated, “Lily Ann Vanderbilt, Granny Moose.”

“That is pretty,” Aunty Stephanie said. “Who decided the name?”

“Granny Gilbert picked the first name, and Mommie picked the middle name. Oh, where are my manners?” Lily started pointing to the people in the room. “Granny Gilbert, Aunty Hanna, Uncle Eric. Granny Moose, Grandpa Moose, Aunty Stephanie, Uncle Mark. Lauren is the toddler trying to steal my bed. This is Creamy, and that is Tracy.”

Tracy handed her cousin a wrapped gift, “This is for you. Is it true you have the internals and monthly visitors of a girl?”

“Thank you. Yes, my period showed up on Monday. Both my best friend Sammie and my doctor believe this wasn’t my first one,” Lily explained.

“Actually,” Mommie corrected. “Based on the mood swings you were going through on Sunday, that was the first day of this month’s period.”

Lily unwrapped the present to discover a book titled ‘Girl’s Guide to Puberty.’ Also in the present was a bunny-shaped hot water bottle. The short girl blushed bright red at her gifts.

Tracy grinned, “That hot water bottle helps a lot with your monthly cramps.”

“Thank you,” Lily responded with a blush. “I think, cousin.”

Grandma Moose gave her granddaughter some pink flowers, “These are also for you.”

Lily thanked her Grandma for her flowers.

“Oh,” Mommie headed for the door. “I have something to show you, Mother. I have to run to the car.”

Tracy looked at her cousin’s hair, pink and cream bears, and what appeared to be a red velvet dress peeking just above blankets, “You seem very at ease with being a sudden girl. This look is a lot different from the boy who visited me at the end of the summer. Long hair, a holiday dress, and girly stuffies, including one that looks more loved than just two days old. It’s almost like this week isn’t the first time you have been a girl recently.”

“Ummm… Umm… Umm… Because it isn’t, Tracy,” Lily admitted. “I was wearing a pink leotard with white tights and practicing my ballet moves when Sammie put two and two together to figure out I was having my period and growing breasts.”

Grandma thought for a moment, “So, were you really a ghost for Halloween?”

“No, Grandma, sorry, I lied to you. I couldn’t exactly tell you that your grandson got a girl’s makeover as Sleeping Beauty,” Lily said. “The scouts I was vague about going to are the Girl Scouts. Heck, I was wearing Lily clothes when I talked to you on the phone.”

Mommie walked into the room with a photo album, “I figured you bunch would like to see Lily’s scrapbook.”

Lily just half groaned from her bed. She really didn’t know this scrapbook existed. She watched as Mommie flipped the pages, seeing all of her Halloween costumes. Wait, how did Mommie get her hands on the pictures of young Lily?

“I always thought you were cute in my old Halloween costumes,” Tracy said before pointing to a picture of young Sammie next to young Lily and asking, “Who is that?”

“That would be four or five-year-old Sammie,” Mommie said, flipping to a recent photo. “This is also Sammie.”

Tracy looked at the book and then at her cousin, “How many Halloween costumes did you wear this year, Lily?”

“I had to earn my share of the Halloween surprise makeover I got, so I worked at Grandma Gilbert’s costume store,” Lily explained.

“Doing what?” the 11-year-old asked.

Granny Gilbert explained, “She was my living, breathing, walking mannequin.”

Aunty Stephanie asked, “How long have you been doing ballet?”

“Three weeks, Aunty. I am a bit nervous because I was supposed to learn my solo recital piece on Saturday for my recital on the 19th.”

Tracy smiled, “I will have to get Mommie to bring me back down to see your recital.”

Lily blushed right up, “I'm not even sure it is still happening. This hospital stay kind of put a wrinkle in that.”

“I am sure you are still performing, Princess,” Mommie stated as she flipped to a page with Lily in her Girl Scout uniform.

Inquisitive Tracy looked up from the scrapbook page, “And how long have you been in Girl Scouts?”

“Four or five weeks, I missed Wednesday’s meeting because I was here. My troop leader is an evil lady,” Lily stuck her tongue out at her Aunty Hanna.

Aunty Hanna glared at her newest Girl Scout, “During our next meeting, I will show you an evil lady.”

“Before I get myself in bigger trouble, I have to point out that my Aunty Hanna is my troop leader. I also have to point out that I don’t really think she is an evil lady,” Lily smiled at Hanna before continuing. “She has been very nice to me. She even brought five of my fellow Girl Scouts to visit me here in the hospital after this week’s meeting. That isn’t including Sammie. Today is the first day Sammie hasn’t been here most of the day since I got here. I didn’t even know those five knew that their schoolmate Lance was also their good friend and fellow Girl Scout, Lily.”

Mommie had flipped to the page showing the Sleeping Beauty costume and the fact that she won first place in the costume party.

Grandma Moose examined the picture, “Who made that costume? It is very nice.”

“Aunty Hanna made it. Her job is making costumes for Gilbert’s Costumes,” Lily pointed at Mrs. Kane. “I think she made all the costumes I wore this year.”

Hanna smiled and nodded.

Tracy asked, “What is the story of these faces painted up and the rag doll?”

“Raggedy Lala is me, and I painted all those faces. It appears to be a small selection of the ones I’ve done,” the face painter pointed out after examining the page. “One of those faces is Mia, the birthday girl at the gig I did dressed up as Raggedy Lala. The other two are Sammie’s face.

In the back of the scrapbook, Mommie had a bunch of things stuffed in an envelope. She took out a printout of the ultrasound and passed it around, causing the blush switch to break again on the patient. Tracy mentioned that suddenly getting the wrong puberty would be a big shock. The parent also noted that a chromosome test was done.

Tracy looked at her little cousin and asked, “So, what was the result of the test?”

“XX,” Lily said while blushing right up and hugging Creamy for support.

Tracy thought about that for a moment before asking, “If it was XX, what was or is between your legs?”

“The doctors don’t know,” Lily responded. “The only thing they are certain of is that it isn’t a penis. It is not shaped right and not the correct size. Also, it doesn’t feel like one, according to the doctor. That malformed growth has been joined by a fancy one-way plastic tube allowing blood to leave my womb.”

Grandpa asked, “What about your balls?”

Lily explained, “Grandpa, there never were balls. They never were there.”

Uncle Mark and Grandpa blurted out, “What!?!?”

“Remember, her chromosomes are XX,” Mommie reminded them.

Grandma looked between Lily and Mommie, “How long is that tube going to be there?”

Mommie responded, “The doctors hope to be able to do a reconstruction sometime next year.”

Grandma Moose continued, “And how long is my granddaughter going to be in the hospital?”

Daddie joined the conversation, “They want her period to end and her uterus to dry out so they can scope it to see if the retention of blood did any damage. She only had small drops of blood when her pad was last changed, so it is basically almost done. We are hoping she will be home tomorrow evening or Saturday morning.”

“What do you mean by scope it?” Lily inquired.

Granny Gilbert explained, “That means they are going to stick a camera inside your womb.”

Lily thought about that, “Oh.”

A knock came on the door. Lily invited them in to discover that it was food service with her dinner. With her hands on her hips, she said, “All 11 of you need to eat too!”

“Yes, Mother,” Mommie sighed to Lily before turning to the Moose family visitors. “I swear she has gotten bossy since she entered the hospital. Go eat! No, you can’t sleep at the hospital! That is just a few of the ways she has become bossy.”

Lily just stuck her tongue out at her Mommie as the older lady was following the extended family out in the hall to go to the cafe.

Mommie and Daddie were the only ones left during the evening. All the rest of the family had slowly left soon after returning from the cafe. The nurse had already helped her back into a clean pink hospital gown. Lily had turned to reading her new book with a huge blush on her face. She needed to know about the subject matter, but it made her so embarrassed to read about it. Her parents didn’t stay much longer, and the little girl drifted to sleep once again.

Author's Notes: Comments and questions are always welcomed -- Thanks Becky

This story is complete, though we’re wrapping up the proofreading process chapter by chapter as they get posted. I plan to post a chapter every Wednesday.

Four of the six short stories featuring side characters are already finished and will be released as we reach their places in the timeline. I’m currently writing the fifth side story while continuing to proofread this one. Plans are also in for a sixth side story and a final chapter for KA.

As for Surprise Offer Book 3, the research is done, but I’m planning to take at least one story break from the series before starting it.