Jimmy’s parents have uncovered clues that suggest their child may be living a hidden life. One that seems to bring a surprising amount of happiness. Unsure what it all means, they turn to trusted friends for guidance, leading to a carefully planned dinner meant to shed some light on the situation. Juliette performs in a small ballet recital, where emotions run high and quiet truths begin to surface. As relationships are tested and supported in equal measure, focus turns to identity, trust, and the first steps toward understanding who Juliette really is.

Jimmy rang the doorbell at the Berger's house on Tuesday morning, which was rewarded with Samantha opening the door dressed in a cream colored ballet outfit with a tutu skirt.

“Great, you are just in time to get into your tutu, Julie. I sent Lily home to put her red tutu on, too.”

Samantha ran up the stairs to her bedroom. Julie followed her upstairs and walked into the bedroom, where a pink tutu sat on the bed.

“You know the drill. The only thing different today is that instead of the leotard, you'll be wearing a ballet costume. And …”

“And?”

“Forget I said it. I don't want to scare you.”

Julie went to the pile on the bed. She shuffled through it. “Umm… S-Samantha? T-there aren’t any p-panties…”

“Ballerinas don't wear panties with their performance outfits.”

“W-what?!” Juliette blurted with panic.

Sammie thought about why Julie had suddenly panicked. Then she realized her friend was worried about the thing she didn’t like about her body. She went to where Julie's panties were kept and handed her one. “We'll make an exception for you.”

Like a well-practiced dance, Julie hurried to put on the panties and tights. She stepped into the tutu and pulled the straps up over her shoulders.

“Face the mirror while I do your back.”

Juliette faced the mirror and took in the view that greeted her. Most of the ballet outfit was pink with lace ruffles down the middle of the front. She frowned at the fact that she wasn't wearing the wig… yet. The costume started to feel tight as Samantha adjusted the back of it.

Samantha had Juliette sit on the bed and secured the curly wig in place on the ballerina’s head.

“W-what are you doing, S-Samantha?”

“Putting it in a bun… hold still. Then I’ll add the accessories.”

“Oh.” Juliette smiled at her reflection in the mirror, watching the curls disappear into a neat bun.

“I’m back,” Lily said as she entered the room.

Julie smiled at the red tutu sticking out of her friend's canary yellow sweatsuit.

“OK, I am done, Julie, Samantha said.

Looking in the mirror, Juliette noticed that she had a gold band circling her hair. She saw a pink bow where she felt the bun.

Taskmaster Samantha instructed, “Ballet shoes on, both of you. I think I know who our guests are. If I’m right, someone needs to impress them.”

“Wait… you know?” Juliette asked.

Samantha paused… “I’m not saying. Come on, practice time. I’m hoping you’ll memorize your dance.”

“Girls, it's time for lunch,” came sailing from the kitchen.

Juliette was happy for the break. Samantha could be pretty strict when she set her mind to it. Juliette enjoyed her grilled cheese sandwich.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of dancing in the den,” Mrs. Berger said as she sat down at the table. “I do hope you are giving Juliette breaks as well.”

“She gets breaks while Lily and I practice our recital.”

“Yes, Mrs. Berger,” Julie said between bites. “She’s been pretty strict with everyone… even herself.”

“OK, girls, I think practice is over,” Susan Vanderbilt said as she entered the room and noticed Juliette and Sammie practicing while Lily was asleep on the couch. “Samantha, it appears you wore my little princess out. Right now, I need you to go to your mom and get your makeup done. Juliette, come to me. I’ll work on you while Sleeping Beauty is waking up.”

Mrs. Vanderbilt bent over and kissed Lily’s forehead. When she didn’t wake up, Mrs. Vanderbilt turned to Julie, “Oh well, I guess only a prince can wake a sleeping princess with a kiss.”

Juliette giggled as Mrs. Vanderbilt gave Lily a gentle shake, “Wake up, Princess, it's time to get ready for your performance.”

Mrs. Vanderbilt put some makeup on Julie while Lily finished waking up. Then Lily stood still as her Mommie put powder on her cheeks and lipstick on her lips. For the finishing touch, Susan told her daughter to close her eyes for some mascara.

When all three girls were done, Heather instructed, “Go entertain yourselves in Samantha’s bedroom. About five minutes after the doorbell rings, go wait in the stairwell. Do not come into the dining room until your name's called.”

Susan continued, “And no peeking until then.”

“Be ready to dance in the living room when you’re called.” Heather told the girls, “Samantha, does Juliette need a barre?”

“No, she doesn't. But Julie might need to go after me.”

“Y-yes, please, Mrs. Berger… c-can I go after Samantha?”

“Do you think we’ll get any more information out of the Vanderbilts or the Bergers today?” Larry asked his wife as he rang the doorbell, holding one of the two pies she had baked.

“I don't know, I think it's unusual for them to do this over two days, but maybe this mysterious guest they’re inviting can give us some information.”

Bree and Larry, welcome again. Oh… more pie. Yesterday’s pie was very nice. Ryan, can you put these in the kitchen?” Heather greeted the Bowens at the door.

Bree noticed there were three more chairs at the table, not just one.

Like they were told, Juliette followed the other girls down to the bottom of the stairs five minutes after the doorbell had rung.

They heard from the living room, “First up is Lily Vanderbilt performing her Christmas recital.”

With that cue, Lily left the stairwell. Juliette heard Lily’s music restart and wasn’t sure why.

After the applause, the two girls heard, “Now we have Samantha performing the recital she did at Pratt Children's Hospital.”

Julie started to get really nervous about who was out there. There was more applause before she heard, “Finally, we have Juliette Bowen performing a sampling of her ballet knowledge.”

With that cue, Julie bourréed out into the living room like Samantha and Lily had shown her… and froze. Her parents were sitting there, smiling at her.

“Bourrée!” Samantha said, snapping her out of it.

The girl in the pink ballet outfit continued her dance as her teacher had drilled into her. After she was done, she bourréed to where Samantha and Lily were standing. The room filled with applause.

“Come here, my ballerina,” Mommie instructed while patting her lap.

Julie sat down on her Mommie’s lap.

“You are very pretty and talented. Who's paying for your lessons?”

“N-no one, Mommie. Samantha doesn't charge me. Sh-she just makes me work really hard.”

“Wait!” Larry interrupted. “You haven’t had any professional lessons, Sweetheart?”

“N-no, Daddie. Just lessons from S-Samantha… and sometimes Lily.”

“How long have you been learning, Princess?”

“About a month, Mommie.”

“I know you have lots of questions for your daughter, Larry, and Bree, but the food will get cold,” Heather interrupted. “Lily, Samantha, and Juliette, I put a dress for each of you in Lily and Juliette's room.”

Once the girls were gone, the parents headed to the table.

“My daughter has a room here?” Larry asked.

“It is really the guest room,” Heather replied. “Lily keeps clothes in it, and Juliette's wig is kept there as well.”

“While we wait for the girls…” Susan said, “Bree, do you have those pictures?”

“Yes.”

“It's my understanding that Rachel Vickers took them,” Susan mentioned.

“So this is Rachel’s bedroom and Christmas tree?” Larry asked.

“Yes. We think the pink flower girl dress is Amanda Mueller's. The green Christmas dress is Rachel's… the one Juliette wore when she went to Lily and Samantha’s recital,” Heather explained.

“But I thought you said you never saw Ji… Juliette in a dress?” Bree asked.

“I was very careful with my words. I said ‘in this house’. Because the normal clothes in this house for Juliette are a leotard and tights.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know whose clothes I found?” Bree asked.

“They were Rachel's, but they’re now Juliette's…”

At that moment, the girls reentered the room, cutting off that line of questioning.

“Juliette, come sit next to me,” Mommie told her daughter. “You look very nice in that red velvet dress.”

“Thanks, Mommie.”

‘Mommie?’ Bree Bowen thought as she looked at her daughter. All those times she called me Mommie on the phone… She wasn’t saying that because she was hanging out with girls. She was calling me that because she is a girl.

The other girls sat next to their respective parents.

“You look very nice in these pictures, Princess.”

Juliette’s eyes widened, her stomach dropping. “You found my p-p-pictures! W-which means you found my st-stash.”

“Yes, I did. Were the clothes dirty or clean?”

“D-dirty.”

“Not anymore,” Bree Bowen said calmly, rubbing her daughter’s back. “They were washed today, so you need to put them away with the rest of your clothes.”

“B-back in my hiding sp-spot?”

“Absolutely not, young princess. In the drawers where they belong.” Bree lightly tickled Julie’s side as she spoke.

“M-Mommie! Stop! I am trying not to spill on Samantha’s dress while I eat.”

“Whose leotards do you use? Whose clothes do you wear?”

“S-Samantha’s. I don’t have any of my own… besides my st-stash.”

“Whose wig is this?”

“Mine, Mrs. B-Berger gave it to me after she trimmed my bangs.”

“That's how your bangs got trimmed?” Bree asked, turning to look at Heather, “What do we owe you for the haircut and wig?”

“S-Samantha p-paid for it with her allowance,” Julie said.

Heather laughed softly. “I did tell Julie that, but I have to be honest. Juliette's services cost the same as Lily’s… absolutely nothing. I will not accept anything for her.”

“What about the wig?” Larry asked.

“I donated that to a good cause.”

“Going back to a previous subject, the pictures. There are apparently more pictures, including blackmail pictures,” Susan mentioned.

“Young lady, are you being blackmailed?”

“J-just… to ap-apologize. And… to k-keep the clothes.”

“That’s it?!?” Mommie said with some disbelief.

“Y-yes.”

“We did quiz the holder of the pictures if she knew what blackmail was. Her answer was, ‘I couldn't do that to Julie.’”

“Who has the pictures, Juliette … I am not sure of your middle name, Bowen?”

“R-Rachel has them.”

“I am going to want to talk to her tomorrow.”

“Y-yes, M-Mommie,” Juliette gulped. “S-Samantha… calls me Juliette Lynn.”

“There's the issue of the name,” Susan pointed out.

“M-my… n-name?”

“Who named you?” Bree asked.

“A-Amanda gave me my first name… S-Samantha, my second name.”

Susan knew her own daughter would need more direct questions to get to where Bree was going and figured Julie was the same, so she stated, “Your parents told us yesterday what your birth name would have been.”

“W-which was, M-Mommie?”

“Elizabeth Rose.”

“That's pretty… D-do I need to change my name?”

“That's up to you,” Larry Bowen stated. “Am I losing my son?”

“I-I'm not sure, D Daddie. I… I don’t know. This has all happened so quickly.”

Larry nodded, “Only you can decide. I think we have to find a counselor for you.”

“T-to stop being a g-girl?”

“Absolutely not, little ballerina,” Mommie Bree said while rubbing the girl’s back. “The counselor will help you plan your future.”

“If you need a recommendation of one familiar with gender issues,” Susan stated. “The one Lily goes to seems pretty good.”

“G-going back to the name…” Julie looked between her two parents. “I might confuse my friends if I suddenly become Elizabeth. C-can I be Juliette Elizabeth?”

“You may,” Mr. Bowen said after seeing a nod from his wife. “How many friends do you have?”

Julie quickly counted them on her fingers, “Seven. Rachel, Lily, Amanda, Tina, Anna, Jen, and S-Samantha.”

“I think Jimmy only had one friend, and they really don't exist anymore,” Julie’s Dad commented.

“W-what do you mean, Daddie?”

“Well, that person started getting a monthly surprise,” Larry looked over at Lily. “And wasn’t quite the same after that.”

“What, Daddie?!?!” Julie asked… before realizing he was talking about pre-Lily. “Oh!”

“To be honest here,” Heather mentioned, looking between Sammie and Julie. “I think that Juliette and Samantha have little crushes on each other.”

“Mommie!” … “M-Mrs. B Berger!” responded Sammie and Julie while Lily doubled over, clutching her stomach with laughter.

“Is that so, my ballerina?”

Juliette said nothing, focusing her attention on the hands in her lap, but her red face told the adults everything.

Bree squeezed her daughter, “Do you want to take ballet lessons?”

“Aren't I already?” Julie blinked.

“As good as Samantha is,” Larry Bowen smiled at Samantha before turning to his new daughter. “We are talking about you taking classes at an actual ballet school.”

Julie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, y-yes p-please.”

“I know it's a little close to Christmas.” Bree continued, “But would my daughter like to amend her Christmas wish list?”

Julie thought about what was on the list. There was model railroad stuff on there. No sports stuff. A bike was on it, “Umm… p-put the word girl in f-front of the bike,” she said carefully. “A-and… I m-might be s-sick, but I w-want g-girls’ clothes and j-jewelry.”

“How about the model railroad stuff?”

Juliette nodded quickly, “Y-yes, p-please.”

“Does my daughter or son want that?”

Julie glanced down at her borrowed dress, fingers brushing the fabric, “Y-your d-daughter, Daddie, d-duh!” She pointed at herself before taking another bite of pie. “Mrs. Berger… th-this pie's r-really y-yummy.”

“Thank you,” Mommie poked Julie. “I'll teach my daughter how to cook it soon.”

Juliette nodded and yawned at the same time, her shoulders relaxing as the moment finally caught up with her.

“It's probably time you took your daughter home,” Heather Berger mentioned. “Samantha really gave her a workout today.”

Julie’s stomach dropped.

“I'll go put my jeans and sweatshirt on. S-Samantha, c-can you help me t-take this w-wig off?” Julie expressed.

Samantha started to get up, but Mrs. Berger gently stopped her. At the same time, Julie felt her own mother’s hand rest on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

Julie froze. Oh no.

“Princess,” Bree Bowen said. “You are wearing that borrowed dress home, and Juliette will look silly with short hair. Besides, what’ll my daughter wear on Christmas Eve if you leave the dress here?”

“C-Christmas E-Eve, b-but D-Denise w-will be th-there?”

“Yes? When was the last time Denise saw you in a dress?”

Julie swallowed, “O-October.”

“I rest my case.”

Julie looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together. “H-how will I get the wig b-back here?”

“You wear it on your head,” Bree said, standing up. “Say goodbye to Lily and Samantha, Princess.”

Julie hesitated for just a second… then nodded. “…O-okay.”

With hugs dealt with, the Bowens began to walk out the door.

“Bree?”

“Yes, Heather.”

“Make sure to wash Juliette's face. She's wearing makeup.”

In the car, Julie wondered if she was going to be in trouble for learning ballet, but instead, Mommie spent most of the trip complimenting her on her dancing skills.

“To the bathroom with you, young lady,” Bree said after stepping into the house.

“Bree, I'll be on the computer if you need me,“ Larry instructed.

“M-Mommie, you are hurting me with the scrubbing.”

“That's the price of beauty, sweet girl.”

Mommie helped the girl remove the dress before hanging it up in the closet. She set the wig gently on the dresser. “Unfortunately, we don't have anything fitting for you to wear to bed, so these boys' pajamas will have to do.”

As Mommie closed the door, Juliette tried to figure out who that was and where her real Mom was. That was definitely not the same Mommie who, in the past, refused to buy girls' Halloween costumes.

Juliette fell asleep listening to her parents whispering to each other.