Once they got back to Jenn’s, Marcy asked, “How long have you been friends with the Hartley boy?”

Sami replies, “I’m not sure. We were friends in elementary school, but we became closer in middle school. He’d watched out for me. He even picked me up and protected me when some boys started to beat me. Once, we even went to see a film. We sat together, and he shared his popcorn with me, because I hadn’t gotten any.”

Marcy asks, “Is there a possibility that he has some affection for you?”

“I never felt he had,” responded Sami.

Jenn, “I expected you to say, ‘ewe or something like that.” Jenn asked, “Did he ever ask you to go to a movie with him after that?”

Sami said, “He told me to tell him if I ever wanted to go see a movie together. We once went bowling with others. I wasn’t going to go, because I neither had a ride nor the money. Leslie was jealous; she was the closest to my girlfriend. She was happy when he moved up to high school.”

Marcy asked, “What would Leslie think of you dressing like a girl?”

Sami blushed, “I don’t think she’d like how much I’ve done, but she has treated me as a Ken doll a couple of times. That was in middle school. Sorry, but I can’t be thinking about all this.”

Jenn looks to Marcy, “I think you are doing well as Samantha. You have Barb Sterling and Bill Hartley, and I’d hope Leslie Herder could be added as a friend.”

Sami pauses to ponder what she just said. “Being with you two and Sheri is enough, more than enough for now…” Sami shook his head, “I can’t believe you are carrying a second child… We need to go, or I need to use the bathroom soon. How’s my makeup?”

Marcy giggles, “We could go and check your makeup, if you wish.”

Jenn says, “I think you are doing.”

Jenn wanted to talk to Marcy, and she asked, “Sami, would you be willing to bathe Sheri and get her ready for bed?”

Instead of answering Jenn directly, Sami asked, “Sheri, are you ready for a bath?” She lifted her arms when Sami approached Sheri and her Mom. “Good, Sheri.”

Sami carried her and got her tub and put it in the regular bathtub. Sami took off Sheri's outfit and then her onesie. The tub was filled with warm water and bubbles. Sami had the wand sprayer. She played with Sheri, the wand of water, and got her used to the water and bubbles forming in the tub. She found herself tearing at the thought of how pretty she was. Sami shampooed her hair and lightly washed her delicate areas. Sheri enjoyed splashing Sami. Finally, we were done. Sami was drying her off and carried her to her room. Sami used a onesie for the night and looked for a cute night shirt. Sami put a pair of socks on her and took her back to her Mommy and Aunt Marcy.

Sami excused herself to call my mother. “Hey, Momma, this is Sami… I stand corrected, Sam. But I need to talk to you; can you come over? …It’s not that late, and you need to go to work in the morning… The problem is, I’m beginning to like being Sami, but I’m not sure I should. My desire to dress and act like a girl is growing; I need to talk with you, please? I danced with Bill Hartley; he and his folks were at the Straw Hat. We even kissed… Mom, I know we’re friends, but. I give up, you’re not taking me seriously. Call me after work… If we go somewhere to eat. It needs to be some place we can talk seriously.” They soon ended the call.

Frustrated, Sami goes back to Jenn and Marcy. Jenn hugs Sami and has her sit with her. Jenn lets Sami talk. Sami is leaning into Jenn as they are sitting. After a while, she asks Sami. “Should I be doing something differently, and not treat you as Samantha? I don’t want to hurt you.”

Jenn changes the subject, “Sami, how much do you appreciate all that your mother does for you? And why did she ask you to wait until after work tomorrow?”

“No,” Sami grows frustrated again, “Why couldn’t she have just taken some time, better yet, take some time not only to listen but to be here for me! Is that asking too much?”

“Sam, your Mom is a single mom, that’s not an easy thing. Yet she’s done a fairly good job in raising you two. She has health concerns; has she ever burdened you with them? Did you ever think that for a single Mom, things could quickly change for her?”

Sami speaks up, cutting in on Jenn, “She has a good job; I don’t see that ending any time soon. She even gets away with friends now and then. That doesn’t look like it’s hard on her.”

Marcy asked, “Does she ever ask either of you to go with her to her doctor? When you are home, do you take time to talk with her after she comes back from work or the doctor’s?”

“She’s a Mom, she’s not expecting me to talk with her. She only goes to a GYN doctor. I don’t think she wants me to ask how that went?”

“Does she give you weekly spending money, more when you need it? Jenn asked.

Sam says, “Yes, but it’s not as much as other kids get. Roni gets more, and she even gets more if she asks.”

Jennifer asks, “Do you know how humbling it is that she usually can’t do something for herself unless her Mom or a friend helps her. You say, she goes out with friends. Do you realize that it is no more than once a month, maybe not for three months?”

“Sami, she’s helped you twice in the short time you’ve been here. Otherwise, it’s Mac and me who are treating you to the clothes and experiences. You’ve moaned about your Mom. You’ve gone out of your way to help me and to be there for Sheri. I suspect you’ve hidden this side of you away from your mom.”

“Sami, did I ever tell you about being there for my Mom? Like your Mom with Roni, it’s been something we just did. I like loving my Mother back, and most of the time it doesn’t cost much more than time. It seems being Sami, you enjoy being here with Sheri and me.”

Sami makes a big sigh, “I’ve enjoyed being here for you. You’re probably disappointed with me for being so insensitive to my Mom?”

“Unfortunately,” Jenn says, “I’ve learned not to be disappointed with guys. At sixteen, one should know better, but boys tend not to even think of it. Being Sami, I kind of hope that changes when you go home.”

Sami asks, “Do you think my Mom would want me to ask about her doctor’s appointment?” Sami says, “Roni wanted to talk to me about Mom, but I said, no thanks and walked away. She’s acted annoyed, but she didn’t stop me.”

“Doing things here is fun. I love Sheri; I feel like a big sister. You help me be Samantha. I’m becoming her. I wanted to share that with my Mom.”

Jenn says, “Let's change the subject. Tell me about you and Bill dancing?”

Sami smiled, “The frustrating thing about dancing with Bill and kissing was that I liked it. I was surprised but happy that he liked me as Sami. It frightens me that ¬¬-sometime people are probably going to know. Especially if I tell Mom that I might want to go to school as Samantha.”

Marcy asks, “Are you seriously thinking about doing that?”

“Yes, but right now, I need to apologize. I’ve taken her for granted and been insensitive,” whimpers Sami.

“Go to bed, Sami. Think about what you’d want to say, even better, how you’d like to show your mother that you love her,” said Jenn. “Come here for a hug and then off to bed. Sweet dreams.

Sami hugged Jenn and said goodnight to her and Aunt Marcy. Muttering to herself, ‘How am I going to have sweet dreams, having been insensitive?’ The top sheet rubbed against Sami’s nipples. It aroused her. ‘That can’t be, it felt nice, but it must be in my head. Thinking about his Mom, tears come to Sam’s eyes. “Should I give my Mom a gentle hug to show I care, or a big hug so she knows it’s from me, Sam.’ Oh, how Sami would like to be the one. Sami was awake for a while, but eventually fell asleep. She dreamed she and her Mom were having a good time. Mom was smiling as she was saying something to Sami… but then Sami woke up.

Sami was anxious for the day; she wanted to see her Mom and have the opportunity to show her she loved her Mom. Yes, she wanted to continue as Sami and explain that she wanted to be a loving and considerate daughter.

She started the day by helping Jenn. She expressed her thanks to Marcy, who was leaving this morning. She took care of Sheri; Sheri was awake and happy to see Sami. Sami celebrated that Sheri had gone all night without messing her onesie. Sami helped Sheri to use the toilet. Sami cleaned her and took her to the kitchen. Her Mother was ready to feed her daughter. “Sami, have a yogurt and fruit for your breakfast. We’re going shopping to get each of us an outfit before Mac comes home.”

Sami asked, “Is there a reason we are getting new outfits?”

Jenn said, “One, I want him to be proud of how much of a pretty girl you have become. Secondly, and more important to me, is that Sheri and I want to look our prettiest in something he hasn’t seen yet.”

Sami eagerly says, “Will he see that Sheri has changed, and wish he hadn’t missed being here?”

Once in the stores, Sami saw a soft terry-cloth pair of light blue shorts. She asked, “Would I look good in something like that?”

Jenn said, “Sami, that would softly yell about your feminine side. I suggest you also get that terry-cloth shell for your top.”

Sami says, “But that top hugs the silhouette of the mannequin.”

Jenn says, “You might not realize it, but that would show you off.” Jenn gave Sami both small and medium shorts to try on. Sami’s butt had a cute roundness that the shorts would show off. Sami came out to show Jenn what they looked like. Sami asked, “Would this be an inappropriate look for me?”

“Don’t be silly, we’re buying both a blue and pink pair of shorts, and a pink and white top.” Jenn said, “They will cost less than one nice outfit.”

Jenn found a Mother-Daughter set of sun dresses for Sheri and her.

Sami asks, “Does Mac know you’re pregnant?”

She giggles, “He knows it is possible, but I have not confirmed it with him. Remember, that is for me to tell him. Don’t you say anything about it.”

Once they got back, Sami changed into his new terry cloth shorts and top. Jenn sighed when she saw the teenage boy looking like a precious teenage girl. It was also the moment they heard Mac drive into the driveway.

Sami knew to let Jenn and Sheri enjoy their moment of greeting Mac. Mac came through the door carrying his luggage; upon seeing Sami, he dropped whatever he was carrying. He sighed, “Jenn, you shouldn’t force him to dress like that!”

Sami yelled out, “She didn’t, I did it to impress you. I thought you wanted me to act this way while helping them. I’m sad if you’re angry with me.”

Mac stretched his arms out and called for a hug from Sami, “You mean you embraced being Sami while I was gone?”

Sami’s Mom, Beth Larsen, came through the door at that moment, and she giggled as she hugged Sami. She whispered, “I’m glad you shaved your legs again.”

The five of them sat and chatted in the living room. Sam is staying in character as Sami.

Sami ran to her room, the guest room, and changed into her pink denim skirt. She took her time picking the printed blouse. She lightly did her makeup and went back to see everyone. “Mom, I’m sorry about being impatient last night. Jennifer had a good talk with me. Be it Sam or Sami, I want to be more appreciative of you!”

Mom replied, “I don’t know where that came from, but I appreciate you too. If you got dressed up to go out to dinner, we should get going. We’ll leave them alone to have their time together.”

“How about we go to Highland; there’s a new Asian restaurant to try out? …It looks like Mrs. Kincaid has helped you learn how to do your makeup as well as given you some sense of fashion.”

“She took me shopping to get Sami some clothes while I stayed there. Her sister Marcy came later and helped me some more,” said Sami. “You are better friends with Jennifer than I knew. Somehow, she knew that I was denying this side of me. I tried giving her a hard time, but I finally gave in.”

“I was so certain that you were against me exploring this side of me. I didn’t realize you and Roni were already trying to help me.”

Mom said, “Do you remember the time Ronnie said, 'If you want to go through some of her old clothes, she would help you?'

Sami got angry, “She accused me of getting into her old clothes, and that she wanted me to show you what I had gotten into.”

Mom hugged me, calming me down. She said, “I realized then what you were thinking. What we wanted was for you to explain to us what you liked and why. We had read a book in which a woman, Dr. Rudd, suggested that you write down your story about what you liked about wearing our clothes.”

Frustrated, Sam replied, “I was afraid that if I did that one of you would use that against me.”

“That wasn’t why we asked. Roni did want to tell you what was okay for you to wear, and what to do with the clothes that you wore. Finally, Roni suggested we see if Jennifer Kincaid would try helping you.”

“When we’re done talking, I want to suggest you take a shower. We can either go out to eat or order something in.”

There was a pause before Sami asked if she could go out with Mom and Roni.

Mom said, “Yes, you’re the one we invited. There is one request that you don’t keep apologizing.”

Roni asked, “Sami, please check your makeup. It looks like you rushed putting on your makeup.”

“Oh, yeah! I was in a rush to let Mac and Jenn have their space.”

Roni said, “If you have your purse, I will give you the money Mac gave in appreciation of you being here so long.” Sami received the money and quickly said, “It was too much.”

“Roni informed Sami, “That is what we agreed to, he was set on giving you twice that much.”

Mom said, “Billy called last night and left a message that he wanted to ask you out on Friday. Was he calling you, Sam or Sami?”

Sami blushes, “I’m not sure, I think he likes both of us. It would be nice if we could be friends.”

Mom says, “I don’t know if I’m ready for you to be dating another boy.”

Roni says, “Why don’t we go to eat and leave that discussion for another day?”

The next morning, Jennifer called and asked, “Would it be possible for Roni and Sami to come over next weekend. Sami already knows I will have a child in less than six months. Roni is in her senior year, so I know she will be extra busy. I will need one or the other.”

Mom giggled under her breath, “Well, that answers whether Sami will still be around. Sam, I think you have grown over the past two weeks. You now know Jennifer and Mac have been family friends for a long time. I will schedule an appointment for you with Dr. Pencraft as we’ve agreed.”

“Mom, isn’t Dr. Pencraft your women’s doctor?”

Mom said, “Yes, she is also Roni’s doctor. She may or may not become your regular doctor. Either way, I want you checked out by her just the same. Jennifer spoke up and said, “I will pay for the check-up.”

“Mom, I won’t need to put my legs in those stirrups, will I?” Sam says seriously.

“You will do as Dr. Pencraft tells you.”

To be continued…