As the dense clusters of buildings grew thinner, and trees began to take their place, Dani found herself staring out the car window in a trance. Her and Simon had only been on the road for fifteen minutes and she was already feeling her lack of sleep catch up with her.
It was the morning of Thanksgiving. The two had gotten up early and each packed a small bag in case the festivities ran too late and they had to stay the night at Simon’s grandparents. Simon assured her that there was plenty of guest space and she could have her own room and bed without issue. Dani wasn’t really concerned about that, though. What had worried her was what to wear. How to present herself.
She had met Simon’s family before. Not all of them, but a lot. Definitely his mom, sister, grandma, and a handful of cousins. Even if Simon swore up and down, which he did, that his family would have no problem with her change in appearance, it did nothing to help her nerves.
Wearing the new clothes she bought with Rachel felt like too much of a leap. She hadn’t even worn them outside of the store or her bedroom since getting them. On the other hand, dressing in guy clothes when his family was primed for a change would be equally embarrassing. In the end, she decided to once again wear her green sweater.
Her makeup was an easier decision once she had decided what to wear. The basics, mascara, concealer, lipstick with a natural color. She was proud of how second nature applying it all had become. Now and again she would still make mistakes but they were smaller than they were when she started, and she was even learning how to correct those.
“You can squeeze in a short nap if you’d like,” Simon said. He was somehow staying diligent at the wheel. “Sorry we had to wake up so early. I like to help out with the meals.”
Dani settled into her seat and contemplated his suggestion. “I should be okay, I’m used to being tired at work so this shouldn’t be a huge deal. And I think it’s nice to help your family with everything. Feels good to have everyone work together, I bet.”
“Yeah it’s relaxing.” Simon smiled, his eyes still on the road. “And to be honest my family isn’t as good at cooking as they think, so it’s good if I’m there to keep an eye on things.”
Dani laughed at the idea of Simon running around making sure his family used the correct amount of salt and had the stove at the right temperature. It brought back memories of her own Thanksgivings growing up.
I wonder if Caleb and Noah even care that I’m not there.
She focused on the faint radio music, which was little more than a dull hum.
***
When Dani was twelve, she had the happiest day of her life. She of course has had happy days since, though that particular day stood out to her. It was the last time she remembered feeling like her family was the perfect picture she was raised to believe in.
“Why don’t you boys go play outside while I get the turkey started?” Dani’s mother said to them that morning. She loved referring to Dani and her brothers as “her boys.”
Dani was on the couch playing a video game on her Gameboy while her younger brothers, Caleb and Noah, were on the floor with a coloring book in a sea of spilled crayons. They were twins and always seemed to be doing the same thing together. While Dani loved them, they were much younger than her. She found it hard to communicate with them when they were already so close to each other.
Their father, who was in his favorite chair trying to cycle through channels, agreed with his wife’s suggestion. “Yeah, go make some use out of that football I bought you.” He aimed his words more at Dani, who hadn’t shown any interest in her recent gift.
Dani stood up, setting her game on the coffee table. She had been feeling guilty that she wasn’t into sports the way her father wanted her to be, and took the chance to make him happy.
“Okay, come on you guys,” she said.
Caleb got up straight away and stood next to her, waiting. It surprised her.
Do they not mind listening to me? I thought I weirded them out.
Noah, on the other hand, continued coloring his book. Maybe he really needed the elephant to be completely green before he was comfortable leaving it.
Out of the two, Dani had noticed that Caleb was the more approachable twin. She felt like an idiot for being nervous to talk to her kid brothers but it was her reality. Caleb had darker hair, brown like their dad’s. Noah on the other hand looked more like Dani and their mother, with red hair and paler skin. Some of the kids in her class didn’t believe they were twins when she mentioned them, but a smart kid named Simon explained the concept of fraternal twins.
“Come on,” Caleb said, tugging at Noah’s arm. His voice was tiny and squeaky.
Dani missed when she used to sound like that. Well, she didn’t want to sound like a literal child, but her voice had been getting scratchier and deeper lately. It seemed to make her parents happy, at the very least.
Noah obliged and together, the three of them threw on their jackets and stood in their backyard. That November hadn’t been as cold as others, leaving no snow in sight. Just dead trees and muddy grass.
Noah looked at the ball Dani had brought with them. “How do you play football?”
“I’m not sure,” Dani said with a shrug. “But you need more people to do it right. We can just toss it back and forth though? That could be fun.”
Dani tried to wrap her hand around it the way her dad had showed her. She could barely keep it from slipping out of her grasp with one hand.
If I can barely hold it there’s no way I can throw it, let alone expect these two to catch it.
“Why is it shaped like that?” Caleb asked.
“I think so it can fly through the air faster.” Dani held it out in front of her with both hands and snaked it through the air between them.
Caleb’s eyes got wide. “Like a spaceship?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
Noah seemed to get more interested as well after she admitted the similarities. “So, how high can it go then?”
“Depends on how hard you throw it,” Dani said.
“Maybe you could hit the moon?” Noah looked deep in thought, as if he truly believed Dani was capable of throwing the football all the way to the moon.
I guess I could play along.
“Well the highest I’ve hit is an airplane, but maybe I’ve gotten better.” Dani gripped the football in both hands and launched it up in the air. It went a little higher than the first floor of their house before plummeting down and striking the ground between them.
“That didn’t hit an airplane,” Caleb said. He almost sounded disappointed.
“I was warming up! It was my first throw in a long time. Besides, there aren’t any planes in the sky right now because it’s Thanksgiving.” Dani picked the ball off the grass and wiped off the few specks of mud that got on it during impact. “Here, maybe one of you can do better.”
Caleb reached out first and took it. He wrapped the ball in his arms and squatted down, then leapt up and let go. The ball flew up a foot, then spun around until it landed by the fence behind him. Immediately he looked upset.
Maybe I let their expectations get too big.
“That was really high!” Noah said. He was smiling from ear to ear.
“No it wasn’t,” Caleb insisted. He walked over to the ball and gave it a tiny kick.
“He’s right,” Dani said. She saw a chance to stop any potential tears. “It’s hard to see when you throw it yourself. You were about as high as my throw. If there was an airplane up there you would have scared them.”
Caleb didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”
“Totally.” Dani walked over to the side of their house and pointed up at the place she had thrown to. “If you reach up to there then it means you’re at airplane height.” Then she pointed higher, to the roof. “And if you reach up to there it means you would hit the moon. Or you would, if it was night out.”
“Let me try!” Noah ran over and picked up the ball. He tucked it in his arms and to his side, and with a big twirl he tossed it up.
To Dani’s surprise, it almost went as high as her first throw.
Okay am I that weak? Or is this kid a prodigy?
Caleb cheered. “That was airplane! You hit the airplanes!” He had a smile that matched Noah’s, and no longer looked mad at himself.
“I bet if you keep practicing you can reach the moon before dinner.” Dani looked at the window to the kitchen and noticed her mother watching them. She seemed content.
Noah retrieved the ball and walked up to Caleb. Together, the two huddled close and whispered to each other.
I guess they’re back to saying little twin secrets. Oh well, they seem to be having fun.
The twins broke apart from each other and rushed toward Dani.
“Dani,” Caleb said. “Can you try to hit the moon? We want to see it.”
She took the ball and giggled. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot. But if I go too high it might not come down, so I have to be really careful.”
The three laughed and got ready for another toss.
***
The song that was playing softly through the radio suddenly switched, jarring Dani out of her memory.
I hope they’re both okay.
That Thanksgiving was the start of their sibling relationship improving. Noah and Caleb continued to ask Dani to show them cool things she knew about, like how to trap a bug in a bottle or skip a stone. Eventually they got old enough and found out that throwing a football up to an airplane or the moon was impossible. Still, they all got along. They even joined a youth baseball team after seeing Dani do so well at swim meets, and wanted something of their own to be good at.
Except I’m not Dani to them. They never saw me as their big sister. I bet they never will.
Simon let out a small cough. “We’re gonna be there in a few minutes, if you aren’t awake already.”
“Huh?” Dani jolted up in her seat and checked her phone. Outside, she realized they were no longer on the highway.
Somehow fifty minutes had passed since they left the apartment.
“I fell asleep?”
“Yeah, sorry.” Simon turned the car down a dirt road and the ride became much bumpier. “I didn’t want to wake you up when you looked that exhausted.”
Dani was a bit relieved to find out she had napped. Some of her exhaustion was due to worrying about meeting a ton of Simon’s family for the first time as Dani.
At least I’ll be refreshed.
Announcement Head over to Patreon to support my writing and read 4 chapters ahead! It also has a bonus chapter for Roommates, an exclusive trans sci-fi story, and some more fun stuff~ And of course nice comments, ratings, and telling your friends to read helps me too!
As the dense clusters of buildings grew thinner, and trees began to take their place, Dani found herself staring out the car window in a trance. Her and Simon had only been on the road for fifteen minutes and she was already feeling her lack of sleep catch up with her.
It was the morning of Thanksgiving. The two had gotten up early and each packed a small bag in case the festivities ran too late and they had to stay the night at Simon’s grandparents. Simon assured her that there was plenty of guest space and she could have her own room and bed without issue. Dani wasn’t really concerned about that, though. What had worried her was what to wear. How to present herself.
She had met Simon’s family before. Not all of them, but a lot. Definitely his mom, sister, grandma, and a handful of cousins. Even if Simon swore up and down, which he did, that his family would have no problem with her change in appearance, it did nothing to help her nerves.
Wearing the new clothes she bought with Rachel felt like too much of a leap. She hadn’t even worn them outside of the store or her bedroom since getting them. On the other hand, dressing in guy clothes when his family was primed for a change would be equally embarrassing. In the end, she decided to once again wear her green sweater.
Her makeup was an easier decision once she had decided what to wear. The basics, mascara, concealer, lipstick with a natural color. She was proud of how second nature applying it all had become. Now and again she would still make mistakes but they were smaller than they were when she started, and she was even learning how to correct those.
“You can squeeze in a short nap if you’d like,” Simon said. He was somehow staying diligent at the wheel. “Sorry we had to wake up so early. I like to help out with the meals.”
Dani settled into her seat and contemplated his suggestion. “I should be okay, I’m used to being tired at work so this shouldn’t be a huge deal. And I think it’s nice to help your family with everything. Feels good to have everyone work together, I bet.”
“Yeah it’s relaxing.” Simon smiled, his eyes still on the road. “And to be honest my family isn’t as good at cooking as they think, so it’s good if I’m there to keep an eye on things.”
Dani laughed at the idea of Simon running around making sure his family used the correct amount of salt and had the stove at the right temperature. It brought back memories of her own Thanksgivings growing up.
I wonder if Caleb and Noah even care that I’m not there.
She focused on the faint radio music, which was little more than a dull hum.
***
When Dani was twelve, she had the happiest day of her life. She of course has had happy days since, though that particular day stood out to her. It was the last time she remembered feeling like her family was the perfect picture she was raised to believe in.
“Why don’t you boys go play outside while I get the turkey started?” Dani’s mother said to them that morning. She loved referring to Dani and her brothers as “her boys.”
Dani was on the couch playing a video game on her Gameboy while her younger brothers, Caleb and Noah, were on the floor with a coloring book in a sea of spilled crayons. They were twins and always seemed to be doing the same thing together. While Dani loved them, they were much younger than her. She found it hard to communicate with them when they were already so close to each other.
Their father, who was in his favorite chair trying to cycle through channels, agreed with his wife’s suggestion. “Yeah, go make some use out of that football I bought you.” He aimed his words more at Dani, who hadn’t shown any interest in her recent gift.
Dani stood up, setting her game on the coffee table. She had been feeling guilty that she wasn’t into sports the way her father wanted her to be, and took the chance to make him happy.
“Okay, come on you guys,” she said.
Caleb got up straight away and stood next to her, waiting. It surprised her.
Do they not mind listening to me? I thought I weirded them out.
Noah, on the other hand, continued coloring his book. Maybe he really needed the elephant to be completely green before he was comfortable leaving it.
Out of the two, Dani had noticed that Caleb was the more approachable twin. She felt like an idiot for being nervous to talk to her kid brothers but it was her reality. Caleb had darker hair, brown like their dad’s. Noah on the other hand looked more like Dani and their mother, with red hair and paler skin. Some of the kids in her class didn’t believe they were twins when she mentioned them, but a smart kid named Simon explained the concept of fraternal twins.
“Come on,” Caleb said, tugging at Noah’s arm. His voice was tiny and squeaky.
Dani missed when she used to sound like that. Well, she didn’t want to sound like a literal child, but her voice had been getting scratchier and deeper lately. It seemed to make her parents happy, at the very least.
Noah obliged and together, the three of them threw on their jackets and stood in their backyard. That November hadn’t been as cold as others, leaving no snow in sight. Just dead trees and muddy grass.
Noah looked at the ball Dani had brought with them. “How do you play football?”
“I’m not sure,” Dani said with a shrug. “But you need more people to do it right. We can just toss it back and forth though? That could be fun.”
Dani tried to wrap her hand around it the way her dad had showed her. She could barely keep it from slipping out of her grasp with one hand.
If I can barely hold it there’s no way I can throw it, let alone expect these two to catch it.
“Why is it shaped like that?” Caleb asked.
“I think so it can fly through the air faster.” Dani held it out in front of her with both hands and snaked it through the air between them.
Caleb’s eyes got wide. “Like a spaceship?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
Noah seemed to get more interested as well after she admitted the similarities. “So, how high can it go then?”
“Depends on how hard you throw it,” Dani said.
“Maybe you could hit the moon?” Noah looked deep in thought, as if he truly believed Dani was capable of throwing the football all the way to the moon.
I guess I could play along.
“Well the highest I’ve hit is an airplane, but maybe I’ve gotten better.” Dani gripped the football in both hands and launched it up in the air. It went a little higher than the first floor of their house before plummeting down and striking the ground between them.
“That didn’t hit an airplane,” Caleb said. He almost sounded disappointed.
“I was warming up! It was my first throw in a long time. Besides, there aren’t any planes in the sky right now because it’s Thanksgiving.” Dani picked the ball off the grass and wiped off the few specks of mud that got on it during impact. “Here, maybe one of you can do better.”
Caleb reached out first and took it. He wrapped the ball in his arms and squatted down, then leapt up and let go. The ball flew up a foot, then spun around until it landed by the fence behind him. Immediately he looked upset.
Maybe I let their expectations get too big.
“That was really high!” Noah said. He was smiling from ear to ear.
“No it wasn’t,” Caleb insisted. He walked over to the ball and gave it a tiny kick.
“He’s right,” Dani said. She saw a chance to stop any potential tears. “It’s hard to see when you throw it yourself. You were about as high as my throw. If there was an airplane up there you would have scared them.”
Caleb didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”
“Totally.” Dani walked over to the side of their house and pointed up at the place she had thrown to. “If you reach up to there then it means you’re at airplane height.” Then she pointed higher, to the roof. “And if you reach up to there it means you would hit the moon. Or you would, if it was night out.”
“Let me try!” Noah ran over and picked up the ball. He tucked it in his arms and to his side, and with a big twirl he tossed it up.
To Dani’s surprise, it almost went as high as her first throw.
Okay am I that weak? Or is this kid a prodigy?
Caleb cheered. “That was airplane! You hit the airplanes!” He had a smile that matched Noah’s, and no longer looked mad at himself.
“I bet if you keep practicing you can reach the moon before dinner.” Dani looked at the window to the kitchen and noticed her mother watching them. She seemed content.
Noah retrieved the ball and walked up to Caleb. Together, the two huddled close and whispered to each other.
I guess they’re back to saying little twin secrets. Oh well, they seem to be having fun.
The twins broke apart from each other and rushed toward Dani.
“Dani,” Caleb said. “Can you try to hit the moon? We want to see it.”
She took the ball and giggled. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot. But if I go too high it might not come down, so I have to be really careful.”
The three laughed and got ready for another toss.
***
The song that was playing softly through the radio suddenly switched, jarring Dani out of her memory.
I hope they’re both okay.
That Thanksgiving was the start of their sibling relationship improving. Noah and Caleb continued to ask Dani to show them cool things she knew about, like how to trap a bug in a bottle or skip a stone. Eventually they got old enough and found out that throwing a football up to an airplane or the moon was impossible. Still, they all got along. They even joined a youth baseball team after seeing Dani do so well at swim meets, and wanted something of their own to be good at.
Except I’m not Dani to them. They never saw me as their big sister. I bet they never will.
Simon let out a small cough. “We’re gonna be there in a few minutes, if you aren’t awake already.”
“Huh?” Dani jolted up in her seat and checked her phone. Outside, she realized they were no longer on the highway.
Somehow fifty minutes had passed since they left the apartment.
“I fell asleep?”
“Yeah, sorry.” Simon turned the car down a dirt road and the ride became much bumpier. “I didn’t want to wake you up when you looked that exhausted.”
Dani was a bit relieved to find out she had napped. Some of her exhaustion was due to worrying about meeting a ton of Simon’s family for the first time as Dani.
At least I’ll be refreshed.
Announcement Head over to Patreon to support my writing and read 4 chapters ahead! It also has a bonus chapter for Roommates, an exclusive trans sci-fi story, and some more fun stuff~ And of course nice comments, ratings, and telling your friends to read helps me too!