"Thanks Mara," mom said as I finished washing the dishes. She was sitting at the kitchen table, relaxing with a half glass of wine.

I started drying the dishes and putting them away. "Thanks for getting us pizza. And thanks for being so cool about Melissa."

It was just past eight, the three of us spent most of the afternoon and evening together. We talked a lot, when the dryer was done I went down and got the clothes then came back up and folded them and put them away while Melissa and mom talked. Then we had dinner together, and Melissa finally had to go. She had an early shift at the store in the morning so she had to call it a night earlier than usual.

Now it was just mom and me. I hadn't heard from Lily since Melissa got here. I figured she didn't want to get involved in any of this stuff. And if she heard what Melissa said earlier, she probably didn't want to say anything to antagonize the situation.

Once I had the dishes all done and put away, I got myself another glass of water then sat down at the table across from mom.

She was watching me again and had a sort of thoughtful look on her face.

I had a sip of water then asked, "Mom? What's on your mind?"

Mom had some wine, then replied "You said this morning that you figured we could put all the unpleasantness behind us now. That you thought the future looked good. I was wondering what you plan on doing with yourself?"

She added, "I know you can't go back to school on Monday, but I'm worried what you'll do about a diploma. And that job at the garage isn't going to happen either now. That means you won't be going to college in September."

I sighed, "Yeah. So what you're asking I guess is what I'm going to do for work?"

"I'm afraid so hon," she finished the last of her wine then asked, "If you like, I could ask at the restaurant and see if they have anything for you? There's usually something open there, either in the kitchen or bussing tables."

That caught me by surprise. She never said anything about trying to get me a job at the restaurant before. That's why she was going to get me to work with the guy down the street.

I asked, "How come you never mentioned getting me work at the restaurant before?"

Mom grimaced, "Because it's not great work, hon. Since you don't have any experience, starting in the kitchen means washing dishes. That's a high-turnover position and pays minimum wage. I didn't want to see you work for a week or two then quit. The job with Mr. Fredricks would have paid better, and I hoped you would have learned more too."

"I only mentioned it now because you don't have any other prospects at the moment," she continued. "And now you're an attractive young woman, I'm a little more worried about your safety? I wouldn't mind having you at the restaurant where I can keep an eye on things, to make sure nobody takes advantage of you."

She added, "They'd probably start you bussing tables if there's an opening for that? It's not a great job either, another high-turnover minimum wage experience. It would get you experience working the front-of-house though, and you could perhaps move up into waiting tables. If you wanted, and if you lasted long enough."

All that was a lot to unpack, and left me with even more questions. At least it made a little sense. As a big dopey-looking guy they'd have stuck me in the kitchen out of sight and given me a crap job in there. As a hot girl they'd want me out where people could see me. It was kind of gross when I thought about it, even if it was a little affirming in a way.

Either way though mom made it sound like the restaurant should be more like a last choice rather than a first choice. Plus, I knew Lily was still working on something that might mean neither of us had to worry about it.

After a minute or so I asked, "Can you give me some more time to think about it mom? How about till the end of the month? I'd have been at school till then, I wasn't really thinking about work till after that, you know?"

She sighed but nodded "Ok Mara. I just don't want you to get used to sitting around doing nothing. So if you aren't working and you're not going to school, will you find something else to do with your time?"

"Ok mom. I'll figure something out tomorrow," I replied. "How about you? You don't have to get back to work any time soon do you?"

She made a bit of a face, "I'm due back tomorrow night."

I scowled, "Seriously?! They only gave you one week off?"

She shrugged slightly, "I could ask for another week but... If I'm gone too long, they might decide they don't need me back at all."

"What about that insurance guy who was here last week? I know you didn't want to give him a decision right then, but that would help right? Like I know he wasn't talking about enough money to retire on or whatever, but it was still a lot."

Mom sighed. She looked at the table and when she spoke she kept her voice quiet, "I know Mara. But I feel guilty about it. Since you're not actually dead? It feels like it'd be cheating to accept that money. And after we heard what happened to the driver... I just feel worse about it."

I frowned, "I guess? I mean, ok granted I'm still here, but the past week has been hell for both of us. You had to go through all that stuff about losing your son. And I got killed! Not to mention, there's also going to be a bill for the funeral, we shouldn't have to pay for that. I'm not saying we should get a lawyer and sue for more, but I think you should accept the settlement they offered."

She sighed again, "Ok hon, those are some good points. I'll think about it, and call that man on Monday."

We were both quiet for a bit, then she changed the subject "That was quite a surprise you and Jason... I mean you and Melissa had for me this afternoon. I gather that's the secret you mentioned this morning, that the two of you talked about last night?"

I nodded "Yeah, that's the stuff we were talking about last night. First she kind of pointed out that I was trans. Like cis guys don't sit around wishing or thinking about getting turned into a girl? And if this had happened to a cis guy, he'd be completely freaking out. Like you were wondering last week right, why I wasn't freaking out? It's because I wasn't cis, I wasn't actually a guy before."

"I still feel pretty dense about that, and kind of guilty too," I added with a blush. "I mean even after being turned into a girl for almost a full week I still had to get it explained to me. Meanwhile Melissa's been dealing with this for six months she said, she's been doing research and learning and educating herself, but she had to watch me get the instant magic transition."

Mom looked a little awkward as she listened. Finally she pointed out, "It might have been instant but it wasn't easy Mara. For you, or me. I'm sure Melissa wouldn't want to put her parents through what I've been through the past week."

"Yeah you're right. She wouldn't," I sighed. "I still feel kind of guilty though. But I'm trying to educate myself, and I'm going to help her however I can."

She looked thoughtful again, "Is there anything your friend can do to help? You said she's a powerful sorceress, right?"

"Yeah..." I wasn't sure I wanted to tell mom the truth about Lily. Not after it went kind of badly with Melissa. "There's some stuff Lily can do for Melissa, but Melissa's a bit leery about it at the moment? Plus she's not even out yet to her family and stuff. She said she's not going to do anything at all till after graduation. I guess she needs to figure out how to handle the whole thing. It's a big step, even without magic."

Mom smiled, "Well I'm glad the option is there for her, when she's ready for it."

"Me too," I agreed as I got up. I rinsed out my glass and left it by the sink then headed for my room as I said, "I'm going to get ready for bed now. I know it's early but I'm still a bit worn out from the past few days."

I closed my door behind me once I was in my room, then got undressed and pulled on my nightshirt. There were no emails or messages or texts waiting for me, but that wasn't surprising. I only had one friend now, everybody else who knew me thought I was dead.

I thought about maybe getting into a game, but nothing really caught my interest. I wound up just laying on my bed staring at the ceiling.

"Mara," Lily had been silent all afternoon and evening, now she sounded sort of quiet as she spoke. "Thank you for standing up for me when you were speaking with Melissa this afternoon."

I shrugged, "No need to thank me Lily. I hoped she'd understand, that she'd keep an open mind. Her fear or prejudice or whatever doesn't affect me, or you. It sucks that my two best friends aren't friends with each other, but that doesn't mean I have to pick one over the other."

She asked, "What of your mother? You know she'll probably find out at some point. She could overhear you mention something about it while you're speaking with me, or Melissa could even tell her."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I know. I'll think about telling her. I'm not going to rush into it though, not like I did with Melissa."

We were both quiet for a few moments, then I asked "Hey Lily? Did you know I was trans, like right from the start? Is that why you brought me back as a girl?"

"Yes Mara," she replied. "I didn't know that was the word for it, or that there even was a word, but I knew right away what sort of body would suit you."

"How?"

She sounded amused, "As I explained last night, I'm something of a connoisseur of souls. I knew as soon as I saw yours that you were a good person, and that you were meant to be a girl. Same with Melissa, that's why I kept prompting you to talk with her about it."

I blushed "Oh. Right, that makes sense."

After a few seconds I asked, "Assuming Melissa finally comes around and gets over her fear or prejudice or whatever, what could you actually do for her?"

Lily replied, "If she wished it, if she were willing to enter into an agreement with me, I could transform her into that which she desires. It could happen instantly, or I could make it more gradual, over the course of a day or a week or a month."

"Wow." It sounded impressive and I really hoped Melissa would come around and accept it. I really wanted her to get a miracle like I did. I was also curious to see what she'd look like if that happened.

Like I'd always kind of thought about becoming a girl but never really put a lot of detailed thought into how I'd look. I was really happy with how I turned out though. Like looking in the mirror just felt extremely 'me', way more than I ever felt as a guy.

Eventually my thoughts came back around to my best friend again and I came up with another question, "Would Melissa be pacted with you like I am?"

"No Mara," Lily explained, "The pact or bond between us is unique. I can't enter into another pact while I am bound to you. But I can make side-deals. As I said last night, the terms would be between Melissa and I. She could share the details with you if she wished, but it would be up to her."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense."

After that I ran out of questions, and ran out of things to talk about. I eventually went across the hall to the washroom and got ready for bed. I spent a little more time online, reading and learning more, before I finally turned in for the night.

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