Chapter 28 - Kaylee Part 2

When we walked into the house, I noticed Kaylee’s Dad - or rather my Dad. He was a physically fit guy with blonde hair. He was flipping through mail when he looked at me and sarcastically said, “There’s my long lost daughter!"

“Hi, Dad,” I replied cheerfully, intentionally ignoring his tone.

“Have you published any books yet?” he asked.

I noticed Sydney was getting angry, but responded before she could, “You know those things take time.”

“I just don’t want to see you jobless and in a gutter.” He discarded his mail on the counter.

“I have a job,” I reminded him. “I’m not homeless.”

“But, you also have a home right here. And we wouldn’t charge you rent.”

“I know, I just want to spend some time learning to live independently.” I made this same case with Daniel’s parents when I decided to go out of state for college.

“Won’t that be a moot point when you find a nice guy?”

Find a nice guy? Gross. Usually I was calm, but that got me miffed. But I was held back by an unlikely ally. Alyssa grabbed my hand and shook her head discreetly, making me realize this was likely an ongoing argument and nothing I could say this evening would change that. I took a deep breath and instead tried to change the topic. “Dad, this is my friend, Sydney.”

“Hi, Sydney, welcome to our home,” he greeted her warmly. He then turned to Mom and asked, “What’s for dinner, hon?”

“I figured you didn’t want any poultry since tomorrow is Thanksgiving,” she explained. “So I made a meatloaf.”

The family sat down around the formal dining table. Mom and Dad at each end, and I sat on Mom’s end next to Sydney but across from Alyssa. Owen, unsurprisingly, was across from Sydney.

Before sitting himself down, Owen helped Sydney with her chair. Then he spoke up, “Um, Sydney, can I get you anything to drink?”

Sydney looked at the table, which had a big glass pitcher of ice water on it. “No thank you, Owen,” Sydney sweetly replied. “But thank you for asking. You’re a real gentleman.” He plunked down in his seat as Sydney and I exchanged glances.

“You never do that for us,” Alyssa faux-complained, giving her younger brother an all-knowing smirk.

“That’s because you’re not guests,” Owen countered.

“So, Sydney,” Dad began the interrogation, “what brings you to our house for Thanksgiving?”

“Oh, um,” Sydney stumbled, “my family wasn’t doing much.”

“That’s a shame,” Dad said. “Thanksgiving is a time for families to be together.”

“It’s for new friends too,” I blurted out. “Honoring the original feast between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.”

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Did they not teach that in school here?

“That too,” Dad finally agreed.

Perhaps now wasn’t a good time to show off my knowledge of the significance of the first Thanksgiving and the lies and misinterpretations perpetuated by mainstream American society.

Sydney flashed me a concerned look. I wasn’t sure what to do. Usually I would be a guest on her best behavior. But I have to be their daughter. Of course I wasn’t sure how to be their daughter, so I was winging it. I looked back down at my plate to grab a forkful of potatoes.

“How’s Daniel?” he asked.

“Oh, he’s fine,” I replied out of habit. The ensuing silence caused me to look up from my dinner to see everyone giving me looks of confusion. Especially Alyssa.

“Daniel is home with his family,” Alyssa said, giving me the side-eye.

“Daniel?” I echoed. Now I was confused.

“My boyfriend,” Alyssa emphasized.

“Oh,” I said. “Your boyfriend… Daniel.” I do recall K telling me Alyssa had a boyfriend. She had neglected to tell me his name. I glanced at Sydney who was trying hard not to laugh. “The law student, right?”

“Right. I thought I told you about him.”

“You did. I just forgot his name. Daniel. Now I’ll never forget it.”

Alyssa turned back to Dad. “He hasn't decided which law to practice.”

“He sounds like a great guy, Aly,” Dad replied. He then turned to me. I already know what he was about to ask. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“No,” I was quick to respond. Maybe too quick.

That earned a judgmental look from Dad.

We all returned to eating our dinners.

A moment later, Alyssa asked me, “Who did you think I was talking about?”

“I-I umm…” I stammered.

“I have a friend named Daniel,” Sydney interjected. “That’s who she was thinking of.”

“Is he single?” Dad chuckled.

“No,” both Sydney and I replied in unison.

Sydney and I exchanged smirks as if we had dodged a bullet.

“Uh, Sydney,” Owen nervously asked. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Sydney stopped eating, gave me a side glance, then smiled warmly at Owen. “Let’s just say there’s someone special in my life.”

“Oh,” he said, disappointed.

“Owen, do you have a special girl at school?” Sydney softly asked.

“Me?” Owen replied, nervously. “N-No. Girls hardly ever pay attention to me.” He was turning red and sinking down in his seat.

“Well, don’t worry, Owen. Things won’t be like that forever. I remember when I was your age. Girls don’t know what they want. Give it time. They’ll start noticing you.”

Owen perked back up at that little pep talk. “Kaylee tells me the same thing.”

Sydney froze realizing her mistake.

“Great minds think alike.” I said, coming to Sydney’s rescue.

“Yeah, we can hit the gym together, son,” Dad confidently stated, “and I can teach you how to be a total babe magnet.”

“Dad, please,” Alyssa complained.

“What?” he asked with innocence. “It worked for your mom.”

Mom just gave him an indulgent smile.

The rest of dinner was a mixture of talking about everyone’s day and discussions about what their plans were for the weekend. 

I, however, couldn't ignore the tension between Dad and me. He was clearly upset that I had moved out, and that I wasn’t dating someone with the status of Aly’s boyfriend. At the same time, I was upset that he insinuated I needed a man in my life. Which is ironic considering my current gender issues. Even if I wasn’t D, and I was just Kaylee, I didn’t need a man. Odds are, good ol’ Dad is being overly possessive. Which in and of itself is gross.

Sydney, to her credit, remained mostly silent after her snafu with Owen. Her body language showed she wanted to chime in on family topics she knew about, but instead held back and played the part of a shy guest.

* * *

After dinner, we were back in my bedroom getting ready to head out to Dockside. I turned to Sydney. “Hey, is Dad always like that?”

“Yeah,” Sydney reluctantly replied. “He means well. He prides himself in being the ‘protector’ and the ‘man of the house’. But yes, it comes off as chauvinistic sometimes when he chooses the wrong words. See what I have to deal with?”

“Is he why you didn't want to introduce me as your girlfriend?”

“Mostly, yes. He has these visions of me bringing home the perfect gentleman. Like Alyssa’s Daniel.”

“So he can give his ‘I have a gun, don’t mess with my daughter’ speech?” I guessed, rolling my eyes.

“Exactly. I feel like he’d be crushed to learn I brought home a woman instead.”

I walked over to her and put my hands on her waist. “What if I brought him the perfect woman?”

She removed my hands. “He’d freak.”

I sighed at that revelation.

“Oh - and I had no idea his name was Daniel,” Sydney admitted. “Or I would have warned you that your deadname would come up this weekend.”

My deadname? I suppose it is, in a way. “I hadn’t thought of Daniel as my deadname. Maybe because Daniel is still around. But I’m not him anymore.”

“Well, I heard some people are sensitive to hearing it,” she reasoned.

“You heard? From who?”

“After you came out to me as trans, I did some reading up on it. And a lot of people wrote that they got upset when they heard their old names.”

“You’re too sweet, K.”

She smiled but then frowned again. “I’m sorry about my family, D.”

“Don’t be,” I said, as an awkward silence settled between us.“Owen seems nice,” I ventured, trying to change the subject to something lighter.. “And he sure seems smitten with you,” I laughed.

“Ugh,” she replied. “I didn’t consider how attracted he would be to this body.”

“Is your brother flirting with you as weird as your girlfriend being in your body?”

She snickered. “Weirder.”

“At least you and your brother have good taste,” I giggled.

“Yeah,” she said, poking me gently in the ribs. “I am a hottie!”

I smiled at her, seeing the inner K show through. I tried to put family issues behind us. “So what should I wear tonight?”

“I have some ideas,” she said, showing me to the closet.

“What does Alyssa usually wear?” I asked.

Sydney shrugged in disinterest. 

“Do you ever do the whole twin thing? Dressing like each other?”

“No,” she frowned. “We haven't done that since elementary school.” She began to riffle through her closet. “Normally during summer, everybody hangs out at the bar on the dock at Dockside. But since it’s November, everyone will be inside dancing instead. Which means we need clubbing attire.” She pulled a sexy emerald green bodycon dress off a hanger and handed it up to me. “What do you think?”

I turned to a mirror and held it up against my body. It looked fantastic, and made my curls pop even more.

Which reminded me, “How long will my hair stay curled?”

“Just the day,” she replied. “It’ll flatten out when you sleep on it. We can curl it in the morning again if you want.”

“I’d like that.”

I didn’t pack clubbing attire for Sydney, but she was content with skinny jeans, heels, and a sheer black blouse.

“God, you weren’t kidding,” Sydney exclaimed, standing there in just her bra. “These boobs are huge!” 

I giggled. “You’ve seen them before, silly.”

“Not from this angle!” 

“So, who all is in your friend group?" 

“A bunch of friends from high school. We were really close. Let’s see. I’m not sure who’s coming tonight, but if I had to guess…. maybe Lexie, Chrissy, Erin, and Simone. Erin lives around here. The others went off to college, but might be back in town for Thanksgiving.”

I nodded in acknowledgement. Hopefully, I can keep all of those names straight. It’s hard enough remembering them when you’re meeting one person at a time, but a whole friend group seems daunting.

Sydney reached around and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “I’ve been getting all of these notifications for the past half hour.”

I raised an eyebrow. “From who?”

“It’s a group QuikChat thread. Started by Jasmine. It says, ‘That homophobic bitch freaked out. Looks like Lauren and I will be dining at McDs for Thanksgiving.’ Then Morgan offered to take them in. So did Antonio and Gabriel. Jasmine called her mom some words I can’t repeat - or pronounce. Are those Spanish curse words?”

“I feel bad,” I explained. “Jasmine’s mom is not accepting. They were so hopeful this morning.”

“That’s why I’m afraid to come out to my parents.”

I sighed. I felt like we’d have to tell them eventually. I can’t imagine Tiffany being anything like Jasmine’s mom. Maybe Jared. “Your parents are nothing like Jasmine’s mom. I met her once.”

Sydney smiled half-heartededly didn’t reply. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I replied, as I turned off the bedroom light and we walked downstairs to meet up with Alyssa.

Alyssa was waiting for us at the front door dressed in a fun blue strappy dress and heels.

“That’s such a cute dress,” I complimented my twin sister.

She smiled, “Thanks, Kay. I’ve always thought that dress looked great on you. And, wow, Sydney, I love that top. It’s hot.”

“Thanks,” Sydney replied.

We grabbed our coats and headed to my car.

Alyssa was originally going to order us an Uber, but I offered to drive us instead. I didn’t feel like drinking, and since I’m now Kaylee I couldn’t legally do it anyways. For me, alcohol was always about fitting in. When I was Daniel, I barely tried. When I was any of the girls from the Guild, I felt obligated. But as Kaylee, I felt I didn’t need a crutch. 

* * *

We arrived at Dockside - seafood restaurant by day and dance club by night. The space in the center of the restaurant had been cleared of tables and made into a dance floor. Unlike the club we went to near campus, this one had an entirely different clientele. The lack of college kids reminded me I wasn’t back at school.

One table to the left was filled with older women, dressed to impress, giving us the jealous stink eye. Another table to the right was filled with older men, gawking at us like prey. I subconsciously tugged at the hem of my dress. Muscle memory? I wonder if those two tables will hook up by the end of the night.

“I see you noticed the welcoming committee,” Sydney whispered to me.

“They’re hard to miss.”

“Well, this is another reason I don’t like this place. The men who come here are creepy. They don’t care that we’re not even twenty-one yet.”

“At least now you can tell them you’re not looking for a man.”

She chuckled. “As if that’d stop them. God, they’re my father’s age.”

“I wonder what would happen if you brought one home to Dad.”

“He’d likely go play golf with them.”

We casually walked through the restaurant until we noticed a group of people our age waving us over. These must be our friends.

A girl with short blue hair ran up to me with open arms as another went to Alyssa. “Oh my God, Kaylee, you look so good! Oh, those curls are so cute on you!” 

Sydney whispered to me. “Lexie.”

We hugged. 

“Lexie, it’s good to see you again,” I said. “This is my friend Sydney,” I motioned.

“Oh, hi, Sydney, I’m Alex, Kaylee and Alyssa’s friend from high school.”

“Nice to meet you… Alex?” Sydney replied but gave her friend a curious look. “I love your hair!”

“Thank you, Sydney,” she said, turning back to me. “Yes, I’m going by Alex now.”

Sydney reacted before I could react. “That’s so cool.”

“It is,” I added.

“Yup,” Alex said. “I’m Alex. They/them. I’m trying something new.”

“That’s awesome, Alex. Everyone should try that.” I wish I could tell them how many new things I’ve tried over the past two months. Or even how many names I go by.

“I haven’t seen you in forever,” Alex complained. “How is life in the big college town?”

“It’s good,” I replied, smiling at Sydney. “Amazing, really. I’m independent. And I don’t have to worry about my parents breathing down my neck.”

“How are the college boys?”

I chuckled. “Umm. They’re OK.”

“Just OK?” Alex said in disbelief. “I’d expected you to be hooking up with some frat guy by now.”

I let out an awkward chuckle. I definitely hooked up with a sorority chick. I almost made it two, if not for A’s ill-timed swap. I made a sideways glance at Sydney who looked disgusted by the idea. “You know me better than that.”

“I know,” Alex said with a frown. “I just want you to be happy. And you’ve been alone since… Nick.”

Nick? Who is Nick? “The less said about Nick the better,” I said, taking cues from her delivery.

“Understood,” Alex agreed.

I wanted to turn to Sydney to ask about this infamous Nick, when the three other girls greeted me one after another. Simone, Chrissy, and Erin. I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep all of their names straight.

We all sat down at the table. 

I sat between Alyssa and Sydney.

I leaned over to Sydney and whispered. “You know, I think if you want to come out as bi to someone, I think you could come out to Alex. They sound accepting.”

“We can’t talk about that here,” she firmly whispered back.

Ixnay on the aygay. Again. “Fair enough.”

“Alex looks so happy,” she said.

“Yes, they do,” I agreed. “Hey, you can drink if you want.” 

She looked at me as if a light just went on in her head. “That’s right! I’m twenty-one now.” She stood up. “Do you want anything?”

“Just a soda, I’m the DD tonight.”

I watched Sydney go up to the bar. She turned around and waved at me with a smile. I waved back.

Just as she turned to talk to the bartender, a guy our age, sat down right next to me in her seat. Great. The last thing I needed was to get hit on while I’m out with my sister and girlfriend. At least he wasn’t one of those older men.

“Hey, Kay,” he said to me. His voice was confident, but his face betrayed his nervousness.

“Hey,” I replied to this stranger who apparently knew me.

“I haven’t seen you around much.”

“I moved closer to the university.”

“Do you go to school there?”

“No.”

He put his hand on top of mine as I flinched at the unwanted contact. “Listen, about the way we left things—”

I pulled my hand away. This must be the infamous Nick. “Nick, there’s nothing left to say.”

“I thought…” he trailed off, sounding hurt. “I just wanted to make sure you’re OK.”

“I’m fine,” I replied. “I’ve got my friends, a job, my own place. And I’m seeing someone.”

That last part caught him off guard and he froze while considering his next move. “Oh, well, good luck with everything,” he said as he got up to sit elsewhere.

I turned to Alyssa, only to see a quizzical expression on her face.

She leaned into me so I could hear her over the loud music. “What’s going on with you and Nick?” 

“Nothing,” I replied. “Why?”

“You should totally get back together with him.”

“Yeah, right,” I replied. “I have no interest.”

“Why not? He’s cute. He’s got a job. He’s a nice guy. Dad likes him. And you two have history. Remember prom?”

“I’m trying to forget.” What happened at prom?

“You had a good time! I thought you two were good together.”

I shrugged.

“I’m sorry about graduation.”

What happened at graduation? “What do you mean?”

“You know…” she said as if we’d had this conversation before. “We were both drunk. We all were.”

“It’s over and in the past,” I said, waving dismissively.

“Is it? I feel like you’re still holding it against me. And Nick.”

Wait, what? I turned to her.

“It was just a kiss. He mistook me for you.”

Oh. That sounds innocent enough for twins. There must be more. “Just a kiss?” I challenged her.

“You’re right,” she admitted, looking down. “I-I was jealous of you so I let him make out with me. It was a mistake,” she continued. “And I’ve regretted it ever since. I’ve been trying to apologize ever since too.”

I wish this conversation wasn’t happening in a loud nightclub. I also wished K was in this body to have this conversation. I looked back to Sydney who was still talking to the bartender. Is this why K and Alyssa have been fighting? I turned back to my twin. “Aly, you both really hurt me.”

“And I’m trying to make it up to you. You can have Nick. I have Dan now.”

He goes by Dan? Heh. Wait, focus. We’re talking about Nick. “Eh. I’m still not interested.”

Alyssa shrugged and turned away from me to talk to someone else.

Sydney returned from the bar with our drinks, this time taking the seat across from me. She slid a soda my way.

I leaned in and whispered to her. “I just met Nick.”

“Nick is here?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit. See? This is another reason why I didn’t want to come to Dockside. This is his hangout. What did he say?”

“He wanted to apologize, but I shooed him away.”

“Good.”

I glanced to see if Alyssa was listening, but she was still talking with Erin. “Alyssa told me what happened.”

“Oh, did she?” Sydney responded, shaking her head in disgust. “Hey, since I’m in a different body, I should go mess with him.”

I frowned. “Who, Nick? What do you mean?”

“I can go flirt with him and then leave his ass high and dry.”

“I don’t know, K. That’s not really why we swapped places.”

Sydney sighed. “I know.” She took a swig of her drink.

“Are there any friends you want to go talk to?”

“No,” she said dejectedly. “It’s just that I don’t really like this place. It’s loud and uncomfortable." She stood up. “I need some air.”

“Do you want me to join you?” I asked.

She nodded.

I followed her outside and away from the smokers congregating near the door.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“The whole Nick and Alyssa thing,” she replied, her warm breath visible in the chilly air.

“What happened there?” I rubbed my bare arms for warmth. “Something about your graduation party?”

“He cheated on me. With her.”

“She said it was a simple mistake. I mean you are identical twins.”

“He knew. She knew. I was there. But did she stop him? No! She leaned into the kiss because she was jealous of me.”

“And when he realized he had the wrong twin?”

She paused for a moment. I could feel the anger radiating off of her. “You know what he said, D?”

I was taken back by her anger. “What?”

“That fucker said, ‘I’m kissing the better twin.’”

I wasn’t there. I wasn’t Kaylee then. But I could feel the betrayal as if I was. All of Kaylee’s insecurity about being the invisible twin packed into one powerful punch by who she thought was her boyfriend.

“So you see,” she continued. “I don’t want to buddy up with Alyssa. Yes, it’s been, what… three years? I’m still not over it.”

“Do… do you want to go home?”

“Yes. I don’t like this bar. It's too loud. It's too awkward to carry on a conversation when the other person doesn’t know you.”

“OK,” I said, placing my hands on her arms. “Let’s go home.”

As we returned to our table, Alyssa was the first person to confront me. “Is everything OK?”

“Yeah,” I replied, searching for things to say. Clearly Alyssa wants to help. She wants Kaylee’s forgiveness. But it’s not my forgiveness to give. “I think we’re ready to go home.”

“Oh,” she looked disappointed. “I’m going to stay here and catch up with our friends.”

“What?” I asked. “But I drove us.”

“I’ll get Chrissy to drive me home.”

“But-”

“This always happens with you, Kay. You go someplace, then want to leave early. This time you’re using your friend as an excuse."

Sydney grabbed my arm. “Kaylee, let's just go.”

We said our goodbyes to our friends and apologized for not staying long, then we left without my sister.

* * *

The only word said during our drive home was Sydney repeating, “I’m sorry I’m like this.” I tried to comfort her and tell her she’s not at fault, but she wasn’t listening. Eventually, I just focused on driving. A part of me wondered if I should just drive back to the university and not return to Kaylee’s parent’s house. When we got home, Sydney undressed and went straight to bed.

I crawled into bed with her and draped my arm around her. She nuzzled into me.

As I lay there awake, I felt guilty. K warned me about her home drama. She didn’t want to come here. We should’ve been back at campus spending time together. Instead, I was excited to meet her family. Was I the one being selfish?

There was a light knock at the bedroom door.

I got out of bed to answer it. 

Alyssa was standing there still wearing tonight’s clothes. “How is Sydney?”

“She’s fine.”

“I’m sorry she didn’t have a good time.”

I shrugged.

“Goodnight, Kaylee,” she said, turning towards her room.

“Goodnight,” I replied as I stood in the doorway.

Just wonderful. This weekend isn’t going to plan. I wanted an exciting weekend where I met my girlfriend's parents. Instead, I’m her, she’s upset, and I’m in the middle of sibling drama and a pair of overbearing parents. And I’m not allowed to do anything about it.

Part of me is upset at the drama. This isn’t what I signed up for. The other part of me… the one that keeps staring at my reflection in mirrors… is thrilled that I finally have drama to be upset at. This is what I signed up for. What does that mean?