”“We’re wasting good fishing time. Let’s get the boat in the water and go fishing.”“You’re absolutely incredible. Don’t you get it? I ...on’t want you around me.”“The futures of about 1800 families are riding on what you decide to do here. Now, I think before you charge off making any decisions that you’ll come to regret, that it would be in your best interests to talk to me.”“Are they really sending you here to fire us?”“It’s what they want to call a staffing adjustment, which is just a polite. I had already updated my driver’s license, new bank accounts, changed passwords on so many accounts and changed so many things that a divorced man would do. Still, I was not going to allow myself to stay home and cry. I decided to get out when ever I could. I forced myself to get out. I visited my sister Carol on a weekend when she had some down time between semesters. She understood what I felt and was supportive of what I had done. I joined a bowling league, just to get out. It was nice to. I loved Kate and didn't want tohurt her, but I had to know how my new body worked. Kate told me sheunderstood."After all you let me live my fantasy with Cynthia, I have to let youexperiment," she said.Ellie stayed over with us after a party one Friday. The next morning itwas just us three girls lounging about in our pyjamas.Ellie turning to me said, "Can I see your op?"I was gobsmacked. On the one hand I was proud of it, and did wantpeople to know, but she was my sister-in-law, and I'd had. It was a unisexshop, and one that James had not been to before. With some effort, hehad kept his hair at shoulder length. He didn't mind having it long,but it was getting scraggling and badly needed to be cut. The needseemed obvious, so when he walked in for his appointment, it neveroccurred to him to specify he wanted a man's cut. The stylist - a gayman - was friendly and talkative, and James never thought to questionwhat he was doing. He faced away from the mirror, so he wasn't.