The Wednesday night tradition for the Kettler family was dinner at Grandma K's. Eddie's father's mother was a sweet old widow who had always been partial to Eddie and treated him kindly. He sometimes didn't feel like going because his mom made him dress up a bit, plus her house was sometimes a little stinky. But they were fond enough of each other that it usually turned out to be pretty pleasant.

This Wednesday, however, he was less than thrilled, because his aunt and uncle were coming over too. His dad's older brother Roger and his wife Agnes lived just a few miles outside of Prairie Falls - they had taken over the farm when Grandpa K died, which is when Grandma had moved into town. Farming was a demanding life, so they only made it in to family dinner every once in a while. Their lone son Randy had recently gone off to college and had pretty much fallen off the map. Uncle Roger was a rather gruff, no-nonsense farmer, hard working as well as hard drinking, whom Eddie had always been a bit intimidated by. Aunt Agnes was a bit softer but still fairly stern.

Uncle Roger was already a couple glasses of schnapps in when they all sat down to their meal of pork chops and corn on the cob. Eddie's mother was asking how Randy was doing off at college.

"I don't know why he couldn't come home for the summer," grumbled Uncle Roger. "I sure could use the help. But he'd rather be off with his pot smoking, free loving hippie friends than do an honest day's work!"

"Now Roger," Aunt Agnes interjected, "he just wants to get more settled into his new life. He's trying to find a summer job."

"Well it's getting a little late for that. I don't know why he can't stay and take over the farm. It's a golden opportunity! Here I am trying to hand him a golden goose on a silver platter, and he'd rather stick his nose in some book. That farm's been in the family for four generations now, I hate to see it get sold off to some damn bank!"

"Maybe in a few years Eddie could take over the farm," Eddie's father Leo said. "We could keep it in the family that way."

"Eddie, a farmer?!" Roger asked incredulously. "You're picking up some of those college hippie ideas yourself! Marry a farmer, maybe! Say, that's not a bad idea - Eddie could marry a farmer and then have a bunch of children, raise up the next generation to keep it going!"

Leo frowned at his brother. "Why couldn't Eddie be a farmer? Just because I didn't take that path, doesn't mean my son couldn't."

"Your son?" Roger asked, turning and blinking at his nephew. A look of shock flitted across his eyes, a sharp intake of breath passing his lips. After an awkward pause, his shoulders relaxed, and he mumbled, "Oh yes, right. Well yes, perhaps Eddie could take over, what do you say young man? How about farming? It's a real man's job."

Eddie squirmed. "Uh, I dont know, Uncle Roger, I haven't really thought about it." He stared at his pork chop and poked at it with his fork, allowing the conversation to move on to other topics. He managed to mostly ignore the discussion until Grandma K brought out the rhubarb pie for dessert. She asked Eddie's mother Marian what she'd been up to over the summer.

"Well I've been really enjoying teaching Eddie how to sew. He's a real natural at it!" Eddie's ears perked up. He certainly hadn't been learning to sew, they'd never even talked about it. "And now just recently we're starting on knitting - we're going to knit an afghan together!"

"Oh that's marvelous," Grandma remarked, "and how do you like it dearie?"

Once again Eddie was the deer in the headlights. "Um, I'm not sure what you're talking about?"

"Oh come now, dear, don't be silly!" his mother exclaimed. "We've been having such a wonderful time!"

Leo cleared his throat. "Marian, dear, why would you say such a thing?" He glared at her. "You're going to give the poor boy a complex!"

Marian started to open her mouth, then turned bewildered toward her son. "The poor boy?" Her brow furrowed. "I.. I guess I...but..."

Marian stood up abruptly with a pained expression, then awkwardly excused herself and fled from the room. A thick pall fell over the others as they all nibbled at their pie in silence.

She returned a few minutes later, embarrassed, and retook her place at the table. "I'm sorry, I guess I imagined all that. I'm not sure why."

"I remember it Mommy," little Rosemary piped in. "You told Eddie, 'now you can make yourself a pretty dress to wear to the junior high dance this fall'."

"Marian!" Leo stood up. "Is this true? What kind of games are you playing with our son?!"

"I don't know!" she erupted in tears, and bolted once again from the room, her husband following angrily behind her. Rosemary started to cry from having triggered a fight between her parents.

Eddie's head was so low he could practically hide it under the table. He not only felt shame and embarrassment, but intense regret for causing his mother anguish. Everything had felt fun and exciting so far, but now it was going haywire. Was he going to be stuck in some halfway world, where everyone was confused about who he was? He wanted to curl up in a ball and shut out the world.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his head, and he turned to see his grandmother smiling at him. "Come with me dear, I have something for you." He tentatively stood up from the table, and followed her into her bedroom.

She opened an old jewelry box sitting on her dresser, and pulled out a gold necklace. It looked ancient, but still managed to sparkle as the evening light from the window reflected off it. The pendant had what looked like a sapphire in the center, with much smaller similar gems in a circle around it, all set into an ornate golden setting.

She unclasped the chain, pulled the ends around Eddie's neck, and clasped it again behind his neck, then pulled back to admire it.

"I want you to have this sweetie, it's an old family treasure passed down from the old country. My mother gave it to me, and her mother gave it to her, but I didn't have any daughters, so I want to pass it on to you." She looked at Eddie with the sweetest smile.

"But why me?" Eddie asked. "Shouldn't this go to Rosey?"

"You're the oldest, dear, I want you to have it. I have something else for little Rosemary, when she's old enough. Oh, it looks so beautiful on you."

Eddie was regretting the fact that he'd been getting more in touch with his emotions, because he felt like he was about to burst into tears. He pressed his lips tightly together to try to stave off tears. Grandma K put both her hands on his shoulders and looked at him.

"There there honey, it's ok, don't fret."

"I'm sorry Grandma, I feel all mixed up. Everyone's getting upset, and I... I don't even know who I am anymore!"

She pulled him close and hugged him, and spoke softly into his ear. "I know you're growing and changing, and that can be so confusing. But you can't stay a little boy forever. Now you're growing up so sweet and lovely, and I can't wait to see how you turn out. And I want you to promise me something."

"OK, Grandma?" he sniffled.

"When you grow up and you have a little girl of your own someday, you'll pass this necklace on to her, alright?"

"Alright Grandma, I will." He held his face against her, relishing the warmth that came from her embrace, and the anxiety slowly dribbled out of him. Her acceptance radiated into him, and it seemed like she really understood who he truly was.

Back in the dining room things had settled down and Eddie's parents were preparing to leave. He walked out with his grandmother's arm around him. His father looked at him with a scowl.

"Eddie, what on earth are you wearing?" Leo exclaimed. "Mother, don't tell me you're participating in this as well!"

"Leo, this is my gift to Eddie, don't you dare make him feel badly!" Grandma K stated firmly. Eddie had never heard her speak to his dad that way before. "This necklace is his now and I won't hear another word about it!"

Leo was stunned, and turned and left the house to start up the car. Marian said her goodbyes and shepherded Rosemary and Eddie out the door. On the way to the car she whispered into Eddie's ear. "You look so beautiful with your necklace."

Back home Leo was still in a mood but didn't say anything. Eddie went up to his bedroom, sat down on his bed, and started to tremble. Why was everything so mixed up? Does this talisman even know what it's doing? He got up and looked at himself in the mirror. I'm definitely still a boy, he thought. But everything's all in-between and weird.

He pulled off his pants and shirt. He was still wearing the tights he'd put on that morning. He slowly pulled open his shirt drawer and held the floral blouse. After staring at it for a few seconds, he pulled it over his head, and then pulled the necklace back out so it was in front again. He looked in the mirror. Yeah, I still look silly, he thought. But he could still feel his grandmother's warmth, and somehow it made it less absurd.

After changing into his pajamas, he had just crawled into bed when there was a light rap against his door. He tensed up, but then said "come in." The door opened slightly and his father's head poked in, a serious but thoughtful look on his face.

"Eddie... I'm sorry I upset you tonight. I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"Oh. Alright Dad, it's ok."

"Ok, well... sleep tight " and he closed the door.

Eddie laid in bed, exhausted from the exercise of actually feeling things. His finger slowly stroked his grandma's necklace, still around his neck, and he drifted off to sleep, still clinging to her embrace.