Dream Come True            by: Paul G Jutras

 

Jeff woke up the a soft poking in the arm. As he rolled over, he cat nuzzled his neck and licked him in the face until he opened his. With a yawn, he reached from beneath the covers and ran his arm along the cats back before it jumped out of bed and meowed for breakfast.

"Alright, I’m coming." Jeff stretched in his white trim, pink nightgown that reached his feet. As he climbed out from under the covers; he neatly made his bed, and headed into the kitchen to fix her a bowl of food. "Here you go, honey."

"Your turn this morning, huh." His mother, Elizabeth said as she walked into the room in a white night shirt with a purple, pink and yellow balloon design and put a pot of coffee on.

"She seems to go in shifts." Jeff said as he hit the shower and wash the sleepy seeds from his eyes. He blow dried his long shoulder length blonde hair and gave it a good comb job to look his best before joining his little brother Brad and his parents on the screen porch for breakfast in a pink tee shirt with white stripes, white shorts and sneakers.

"Don’t forget the shuttle is going off today." His dad, David said in a tan stripped shirt, shorts and sneakers. "We want to get there in time to see it."

"I’m done my eggs," Brad said in his blue tee shirt with the word BEACH written across the front in white, blue shorts and white sneakers. "I’m heading down to the pier and will meet you there."

"I’m just glad the shuttle is in the morning." Jeff smiled as he took a bite of his grape jelly covered toast and then a sip of milk. "I want you to see me in the parade this afternoon."

"We’ll be back in plenty of time." Elizabeth said as she got dress in a green, purple and yellow stripe shirt and shorts with a pair of tongs to show off her pink polish toes.

Walking down the beach, a strong and cold wind cut through their bones and made them wish they wore the long pants and sweat shirts some of the other shuttle watchers had on. As they stood around their eyes kept moving from their watches to the sky. Each wondering if the shuttle would go off on time.

"We should of brought a radio." Jeff said as he saw some tourists were already starting to set up to spend the day in the sun.

"Look!" Elizabeth pointed to a light shooting into the sky like a flare. "There it is over there."

"Whooo!" David cried out. "No matter how many times I see it, I never tire of the sight."

"Why can’t we hear it?" Brad asked.

"Maybe the sound comes later." David said as the sonic boom caught up with it taking off. It started as a low rumble that slowly grew like the incoming ocean waves and shook the nearby buildings as good as any California earthquake. "What a clear day for it too."

"It is amazing," David continued. "Just look at it going up."

Getting home Jeff went into his room and got his leotard out of the closet for the parade that afternoon while Elizabeth took her robe’s belt and moved it about the floor. The cat touched it and jerked the paw back. The cat leapt at it as Elizabeth ran it over the couch.

As Jeff’s grandpa came home from church in a white polo shirt, shorts, socks and sneakers with Jeff’s grandmother in a multicolor blouse and purple shorts. A scar ran up from her polish toes like a seam from her leg operation.

"Happy Birthday, Jeff." Grandma said to Jeff as he came out in his pink and blue leotard with white sneakers. Getting a hug from his grandmother, he watched his father carry out a Carvel cake with frosted roes and the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANET written in pink the same way as the roes were made.

"We know you one a piece with the flowers on it." Elizabeth said as he sliced Jeff a piece. "Next year you turn thirteen and we need to see about starting you on hormones if you want to change like all your female friends."

"I can hardly wait." Jeff said as they had cake with vanilla ice cream. His favorite gift was a rag doll his grandmother made by hand with a yellow hair and pink dress that made him love his family that much more.

"Let’s get going," Jeff said eagerly as the walked down to the parade area. Jeff said good by to his family as he went from the center of the parade to the start. David and Brad dragged Elizabeth to the classic car show going on along with the parade. The men especially enjoying the 57 Chevy and the classic red and white Chevrolet Corvette.

As Jeff got last minute instruction from his teacher, he noticed a group dressed as hillbillies in a classic car of their own, waiting for the parade to begin.

With the sound of music going they first saw a group of Marines carrying U.S. and Corps flags in their hands while the Marine band played their music. The truck that followed them carried an air boat on a trailer. This was followed by a troop of Boy Scouts in gray and Cub Scouts in blue.

The next truck in the parade contained a group of people dressed up as endangered species and a recycling float. "Where is Janet," David asked as he stared down the street. He used the word Janet so not to embarrass Jeff in the public crowd.

"She should be coming shortly." Elizabeth said as she saw a float containing the three little pigs on it. "She in the school marching band not a float."

"That group costume doesn’t match Janet’s." Brad pointed to a marching band dressed like the revolutionary spirits of 1776. And a group dressed as pirates. "Or that group either, I might add."

"Here comes girl scout troop 1052." David said as he pointed to a group of girls with blue flags that contained a picture of a flower and the word Daisy written in yellow.

"It’s not the girl scouts that’s she’s marching in." Elizabeth reminded the boys as they then saw a bunch of girls dress in blue Colonial outfits and carrying a sign that read: THE MARCHING MINUTEMEN.

"Here she is." Elizabeth said as she pointed to Jeff among a bunch of other girls also dressed in pink and blue leotards and white sneakers. They each had a baton that they twirled in their hand. Jeff notice one or two of the girls had worn sweat pants due to the brisk weather. As the air touched his bare legs, he wish he had too. Still, marching opening in a parade as a girl was a dream come true.

As Jeff twirled and smiled at his family, he glanced behind him at the tribe of Native American in classic Indian outfits marched him his friends and him. He could hear a karate class shouted as they threw punches with each marching step they made.

"You were great!" Elizabeth said when Jeff arrived at home after the parade.

"I’d of rather of been on the Ron Jon cruise ship float that being paraded about as a girl," Brad muttered as his father slapped him across the back of his head.

"Now you know that the therapist said that he has this gene inside of him that makes him more female than male. That we are to support his choice even if we don’t fully understand and agree with it."

"Yes dad," Brad said as they just sat on the front porch and glad they didn’t have to drive home in the traffic that was out on the main street. "How about going to see John Goodman’s new movie Mantinee though?"

"With this traffic, we’ll have to forget the movies." Elizabeth said. "Maybe we can enjoy Kennedy Space Center tomorrow before "The important thing is that Jeff’s dream is on it’s way to coming true."

 

THE END

 

 

 

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© 2001 by Paul Jutras. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.