Aunt Rose, Mom, and I didn’t do much the next few days. I couldn’t sleep at night. Mom and Aunt Rose slept a little. Sarah came and slept with me one night, but I was afraid she’d get raped, too. The next night, Peg came in and slept with me. She wrapped her arms around me, and said, “I will bring you justice. By the time I get through with them, you will be able to sleep at night. You will never have to be afraid of them again.” For some reason, I knew she was right.
Dick and his friends disappeared the next day. Their parents stormed over to our house, accusing us of making up the rape story, making up the push-down-the-stairs story, and treating their little angels so unfairly. It’s a good thing we didn’t know what Peg was up to.
Peg’s friend Josette Burns had just finished her first year of veterinary medicine, and was visiting for the summer. Josette wanted to work with large animals, such as cattle and horses. Peg told us that Josette was very good at what she did.
The day after our confrontation with the rapists’ parents, Peg went into the beauty shop where Aunt Rose worked and bought make-up and hair remover—lots of it. She refused to tell what it all was for, but we (Mom, Aunt Rose, Sarah and I) figured she must have been planning some sort of humiliation for the rapists, which meant she knew where they were.
The weeks passed, with no sign of the rapists. Mom figured they must have left the country, either forced out or by escape. Peg and Josette came over rarely, and made only small talk. Mike came by occasionally, but I wouldn’t let him touch me—not even hold my hand. Once or twice he seemed to be on the brink of crying when he left. Finally, one day when we were alone together I sat down on his lap and kissed him gently. He rocked me to sleep. I knew then that I would marry him.
The next day, Peg and Sarah came over to see me. “We have something to show you,” they said.
I noticed that Peg and Sarah were dressed up, so I put on a dress for the first time since I was raped. It was a strangely frightening yet liberating experience, which I did not fully understand. “You are learning to be feminine again,” said Peg. My cast was not due to come off for another couple of days, so I was still on crutches, though putting weight on the foot was no longer painful, so long as I didn’t leave the weight on too long.
We rode for about three hours in Peg’s car, then stopped at a small house in the country. It appeared deserted. Josette opened the door, and we walked in, going down a steep stairway to the basement. Three young women in party dresses sat in chairs placed in a semicircle. “Ladies,” said Josette, “meet Helen Ross. Helen, may I introduce Virginia Richards, formerly known as Dick Winston; Nicolette Stein, formerly known as Stoner; and Beverly Anderson, also known as B.A.?”
Nicolette became one of my best friends, and all three were bridesmaids when Sarah and I married our honeys in a double ceremony. All of them now live their lives as women, and all but Virginia are married. (She’s engaged—to Mr. Pierson [no, he doesn’t know her original identity].) Mr. Walters retired. Mr. Hambert is the principal now.
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