84 -TV FICTION CLASSICS

BORN TO BE

"The operative word is 'was'! She is now my wife." "He has breasts? A high voice? Curves? Long hair and arched brows? Are those pierced ears?" Mary rambled on. "Yes, Karen has all those things. Everything about her is real. She and I love each other very much." "Love? Married? But how? Bill is a man. "No she isn't, Mary. She is all woman!" "But she is...was my husband?" Mary stated.

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"Yes, but you divorced him. . .and I married her. We were married three weeks ago. She is now my wife----legal and proper!" I proudly announced.

Mary was stunned! "My son, Ted? What happened to him?" she asked as panic filled her voice.

"Ted? I needed a family, not just a wife. After Bill was so successfully transformed into my wife, I thought maybe.

.?”

"NO! It isn't so!" Mary shouted.

""

"I'm afraid so. Ted is now my daughter, Barbie. "Your daughter? My son is YOUR daughter?" Mary gasped, near fainting. "Yeap!"

Karen again,

At that moment, Barbie and I strolled down the stairs. Todd was due at any moment, and I had to introduce Barbie to Mary before he arrived.

Barbie's hair was a mass of bouncing golden curls that surrounded her face and flowed over her shoulders. Her thin arched brows sat above huge brown shaded eyes, and her frosty pink lips and peach blush highlighted her cheeks to give her the image of a lovely sixteen year old girl. Large white balls swung from the ends of fine gold wire that pierced her lobes. Diamond studs and white balls alternated as they lined her ears.

Her strapless floor length pink gown exposed her thin translucent shoulders and arms. The bodice was cut just deep enough to reveal a generous amount of feminine cleavage and the gentle swelling of her growing breasts. The top of her gown was held up by twin crystal straps that hooked to a jeweled collar around her neck.

The tight waist of her lovely gown accented her tiny waist and full feminine hips. The pointed toes of her satin evening pumps peeked from under the hem of her long dress, revealing ten pink nails through her sheer nylons.

"Hello, Mrs. Lamb," Barbie announced with her eyes diverted to the ground. She was obviously nervous about

A DAUGHTER

SANDY THOMAS ADVERTISING -85

meeting her real mother as the girl she had become, but she wasn't ashamed. "My name is Barbie Anne Reynolds. I'm going to the Prom tonight with my boyfriend, Todd, who will be here shortly. It's very nice to meet you."

Mary was dumbfounded! Her eyes were as large as saucers and her mouth was hanging open. I was afraid she was about to have a heart attack.

"Ted?" she uttered, "You're my son? What happened to you? To your voice? Why do you call me Mrs. Lamb?"

"No, Mrs. Lamb. I'm Barbie Reynolds now and Daddy and Mother's daughter," she stated gesturing towards Bob and I. "This is my natural voice and Daddy insists that I address adults respectfully by their last name."

"How? Why?"

"At first, I hated wearing pretty dresses, soft lingerie, and makeup," Barbie answered. "I was terribly embarrassed and ashamed all the time, but gradually my body and feelings became feminine. Now, I love being a teenage girl and look forward to this summer when I will become Barbie for real!"

"But you're my son," Mary whispered.

"No she isn't, Mary," Bob intervened. "On Ted's twenty first birthday, he signed official papers to reassign his gender and become my daughter. It was his first and last official act as an adult. Ted ceased to exist legally and during summer vacation, it will become a reality. Barbie has become a real person and I have officially adopted her as my daughter. You no longer have a son!"

That was more than Mary could take. Her eyes rolled back and she fainted into a deep swoon.

"D...did I say something wrong, Mother?" Barbie anxiously asked while Bob went for some ice and smelling salts.

"No, dear. Everything will be all right. The changes are just more than she can handle right now, but I'm sure she'll adjust," I assured my lovely daughter, not wanting her evening ruined because of Mary's unfortunate and badly timed arrival.

Mary came around, and after collecting her thoughts, she stated, "I'm so confused. She looks so lovely, so real?" Regaining her composure, Mary gasped, "In that dress? You're going to a dance with a boy?" She couldn't stop staring at her former son, now my daughter.

"Yes, Mrs. Lamb. We are going steady. Todd's a real hunk. He's lettered in practically every sport! You'll love him, he's heavenly!" Barbie gushed while holding out her wrist for Mary's inspection of Todd's class ring?