I nodded somberly as she slipped it over my knuckle and onto my finger. My eyes watered up, and I started to cry a little.

"There there dear, don't be sad for me. I'm going to a better place. I'm so tired. I have to sleep now. Bless you child for coming to see me. I didn't think I would ever lay eyes on you again. Now my life is complete. I must sleep now..."

She laid back, with a peaceful look on her face, and quickly fell asleep. We sat there for an hour, until visiting time ended, but she never woke up. When we left, we all knew it in our hearts that we would never see her again.

One the way out the door, one of the nurses ran over to us.

"Melissa! I can't believe you're here!" she said. It was Katie, her best friend. I remembered her from when I was young. She had been pretty back then, and I had always been excited to be with her. But she never paid any attention to me, I was just a kid.

"Katie, I'm so glad to see you. I was here to visit Grandma Bessy..." I said as we hugged.

"I know. Its so sad to see her like that. Do you remember when we used to sneak into he barn..."

"...and read those romance novels" I said, knowing just what they had done from reading the diary.

"I have to get back to work, but call me! We have so much to talk about! It's so great to see you!"

"Bye bye!" I said, with a smile.

When we got back into the car, I was so relieved. I had made Grandma so happy. I played with the ring on my finger as we drove home. But there was something more: I had fooled Melissa's best friend too. That sort of scared me, that I could pass for a girl like that, and even fool another girl. But at least it was over, and we got home without incident.

I stayed dressed up as Melissa until I went to bed. When Uncle Jack and Aunt Claire told the usual stories that night, they would say "remember the time that you...." rather than saying 'she'. They acted like I *was* her for that night, and it made them so happy that they stayed up an hour longer than usual.

When I went to bed, before undressing, I read the rest of her last diary. For that day, I was her. I was Melissa.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up, and took a good long shower. I could still smell a hint of the perfume on me, along with the smell of the nail polish remover. I did my normal morning ride, and when I returned, I was surprised to find that there were three people talking to my uncle and aunt.

"They heard that Melissa was in town, and they wanted riding lessons" he said to me.

"She's not here right now, but I can give lessons myself" I said, helpfully.

"I don't know" said the man. "I wanted her to teach my daughters. She has quite a reputation, you know?"

"Yes I do. She taught me herself."

"Well, we'll think about it. If she becomes willing, give me a call. Good day" he said, turning to go.

"That's the fourth person who heard that Melissa was here, and wanted riding lessons for their children. Do you realize how much that would be if she could do it? Requests for six series of lessons, and its only ten O'clock."

It turned out that word spread, and there were over *fifteen* people wanted lessons by the end of the day. My uncle and aunt sold lessons in blocks of 5 or 10, so fifteen people times five lessons would be more money than they had made all summer.

They looked at me, and I knew what was coming.

"I can't make you do this, but you know how things are around here. I turned down more money today than I'll make all summer. If you would consider...."

"Honey, I know it must have been hard for you to pretend to be a girl. But if you do this, we might be able to keep this place. I can't *make* you do it, I can only ask. It's your choice. But if you were willing to be her for a while..."

"I don't know Claire. The we can't ask the boy to do that. It's too much."

I played with the ring on my finger, and looked up to them.

"She died last night, peacefully in her sleep. We were going to tell you, but things got too busy" said Claire. I nodded. I already knew it in my heart.

"I have to think about all this" I said, and went up to my room. It was really Melissa's room, but I was thinking of it as mine now. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be a girl! I wanted to be me. But this could save the family business. Oh, only if she could be here for real! But that didn't seem likely to happen.

I looked at the diaries on the shelf that I had just read, next to all of the riding trophies she had won. I felt such a bond with her now. She had hated becoming a woman, and now I was faced with almost the same thing.

Katie had called, and wanted to hang out with Melissa that night. She had paid me no mind at all the times I had passed her in the hall at the hospital. It was only when I was Melissa that she cared about me. As me, I was lonely, unwanted by anyone by my family and my horse. As Melissa, I was popular. Nobody wanted a lesson from me, but they all wanted one from her.

I didn't know what to do. I decided to go for a long ride on Suzanna. That always let me clear my head and think clearly. As I said, it was almost spiritual for me, like meditating. I had been riding the horse long enough that all I had to do was to gently lean, or press with my leg, and it knew where I wanted to go. Or I knew the course she wanted to travel, and I'd let her go that way instead of choosing the path myself. We flowed together, over hills, through bright meadows, over streams, and through the musky woods.

As I rode with the wind, I could almost see my path ahead, with a fork in the road. Down one path, I would be me; a lonely boy. I would have my family, but this, my special place, would be gone. Down the other road, I would be anything but lonely. I would be popular. I would be hanging around with Katie every night. I would teach riding lessons all day. The farm would be saved. But I would have to be someone else. I would have to be Melissa. I would have to be a girl.

* * *

After my long ride, I tended to Suzanna, then went back to my room. I took a long hot shower, and cleaned up before dinner. I got dressed, and made it down to the kitchen table, just as dinner was being served.

"Why Melissa, I'm glad you could join us for dinner tonight. Not going out with your friends?" asked Claire.

"No mother, I'm staying here with you so we can make the funeral arrangements.

Remember?"

"Oh yes, sorry. I'm just so upset with all that is going on."

I ate carefully, trying not to spill anything on my pretty white shirt. My legs itched from having just been shaved, and I squirmed a bit in my seat. My smooth legs showed, with only the tops hidden by my shorts.

"I have some soothing aloe cream you should put on after dinner" said Claire. "Then I'll give you a good manicure."

"That would be nice" I replied. I didn't have time to redo my nails, so they were just plain. I would let them grow longer, as Melissa did. I brushed the long hairs from my face, and took a drink of milk. I needed a lot of work if I was going to be Melissa full time now.

It was clear that Claire and Jack were going to treat me as if I really was her, so that I would be fully into the role. But I needed something before I could act as her all the time.

"I tried on my riding pants" I said. "They are a little baggy in the hips."

"Ah, you need proper padding. You don't have a very girlish figure yet, but remember, you'll grow up to be a woman some day."

"Aw mom" I said. Melissa's diary told me that Claire often chided her in this way.

After dinner, Claire gave my the manicure, telling me about nails and how to take care of them. She applied the nail polish in three coats, then added a clear sealer. She said that she'd be giving me some of her vitamins that helped with keeping nails strong so you could grow them longer.

She went upstairs, and returned with an off-white undergarment.

"This is a special girdle. Since you were so slow in developing curves, I used to make you wear this when you wore your dresses, like at Ethel's wedding. Remember?"

"Oh yes" I said, remember the description from the diary. Since Melissa looked so 'unwomanly' in Claire's eyes, she bought a special girdle with extra pads in the rear and the hips. It gave the illusion of curves. With this, I could wear the riding pants, and fill them in such a way that my body would pass for female. Between that and the falsies in my bra, I would be all set.

Claire ('mom') talked to me all night, reminding me of many things. She had me practice doing certain things, like carrying my purse the right way, or learning to put on my own mascara. She picked through my clothes with me, and showed me what sort of outfits that I should wear, and what to avoid.

I tied on my new shoes, and most of them fit me fairly well. I practiced walking in the heels, although I knew that Melissa only wore them on rare occasion. I had to really concentrate with all the new things I was learning.

At last when I was tired, I drank a glass of warm milk, put on my nightie, and started to reread 'my' diaries. I wanted to make sure I knew it all.

* * *

I got up in the morning, for the first time as Melissa.

"I am Melissa" I said aloud. I would repeat it to myself over and over. I could pull this off! But I had to be careful. If anyone ever found out that I was really a boy, it would be the most embarrassing thing in the world.

'Mom' had made Belgian waffles for breakfast. As Hank, I didn't really care for them. But they were Melissa's favorite.

"Wow, my favorite!" I said, digging in. Claire was determined to treat me like her, and there was no mention of 'Hank' anymore in the house.

I ate the waffles with strawberries, a glass of fresh milk, and took the vitamins she had laid out for me on the table. This would become a daily ritual. "Don't forget you have a riding lesson at 10:00. That Jenson girl has never ridden before."

"Great" I said. "I like it better when they don't have any bad habits yet."

Jack and Claire smiled. That was something Melissa had told them, something I read in her diary.

I put on my riding outfit, and checked myself out in the mirror. The girdle felt strange, and it was wild to see myself with curves. It made my hips look wide, my stomach look narrow, then I got wide again up top where the breast forms filled out my bra. My long hair flowed down around me, so I pulled it tight into a pony tail, with a scrunch. I thought the pony tail was rather appropriate for riding.

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