This story has some strong biographical aspects for the writer, but it is essentially a novel about the life of a transgender woman. Yes, we are normal people, and we want to have normal lives and be respected.

 

Chapters

 

Hi, Girls 

It was a cold, snowy day in Switzerland, and Eva left her house in Reinach to have lunch with her best friends, Linda, Olympia, and Victoria. They were all around the same age, between thirty-eight and forty-two years old. She was driving around to find a parking place near the old town of Basel near the Aeschengrabe. By luck she found a parking place for her black Mercedes and walked into the upscale Asian restaurant.

“Hi, I am looking for the reservation under Eva M,” she told the hostess.

The hostess found her reservation and led her to the table, where Linda and Victoria were already sitting.

“Hi, sisters,” said Eva. They both got up and kissed her hello.

………..

 

A New Life in France

The weekend was over, Monday arrived, and Eva had to get up to get to the airport. If you have a six a.m. flight you always have to get up very early, meaning about three a.m., but if you are a post-op transgender girl and have to do your dilating routines, you have to add another hour, meaning waking up at 2 a.m. to catch the plane. You can always sleep on the plane, but from Basel to Paris the flight is only about an hour.

Thomas and Eva arrived at Charles de Gaulle around seven thirty. They picked up Eva’s bag, rented a car, and headed to the French offices of Thunder on the outskirts of Paris, in the industrial zone of a town called Argenteuil. After a good hour of driving they arrived in front of the French HQ, parked the car, and rang the doorbell. There was a total silence, partly because they had gotten there very early, partly because they were very nervous about the outcome of the day.

“Bonjour,” said Sylvie, the office manager, as she opened the door. “Oh, mais quelle surprise! Thomas et Eva.”

………

 

First Holidays in the Caribbean

It was a Sunday with Eva in Switzerland and the girls decided to have a nice brunch in Mövenpick, a great restaurant in beautiful downtown Basel, on the Marketplatz. After the usual hellos, kisses, and hugs, the four girls got their food from the buffet and sat down at the table.

“Oh my God, I’ve gone so long without a proper zopf with butter,” said Eva. She bit into the braided bread, enjoying its eggy sweetness. “I am having a wild time in France, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I really miss Switzerland. Well, I miss many things around the world.”

“I can understand that. Honestly, I could not be out of Switzerland for more than three weeks; I love this country,” said Linda.

“Well that is your view. I would go anywhere. I am dreaming of going to live in a warm country. I don’t like the snow. I would love to go to the Caribbean and be a pirate,” said Olympia.

………

 

Back Home to Switzerland

After a short stop in Basel, Eva went back to Paris. All was more or less the same, except that she had found three suitable candidates to take over the position of GM France.

“Hi, Thomas, nice to see you here in Paris,” said Eva on the morning her boss arrived in the Argenteuil office.

“Hi, Eva. I’m glad that you have done such a great job here, our sales have actually increased quite significantly. I am sad you will be leaving here, but also glad you’ll be coming back to the home office in Switzerland. As a matter of fact, we will be adding France to your responsibilities.”

“Really! Does that mean more money?” answered Eva with a big laugh.

“We will talk about that later,” Thomas said with a grin. “You know we never left you short. So let’s see the three candidates and see where we go from here.”

It was a long day interviewing the three candidates; all were engineering men in their late forties. In the end both Eva and Thomas agreed to hire Jacques, a Frenchman. He looked energetic and knowledgeable about the trade.

……….

 

Traveling Around Again

Eva didn’t have long to be sad about Uri. She was back in business and needed to see her clients worldwide; there was a lot to catch up on.

It was a Saturday in April. Spring was coming up, and it was beautiful outside. She had not seen Uri for a couple of weeks. He kept telling her he was busy; he probably had another girlfriend. Eva put her luggage in the car and drove to the Zurich airport. There was not much traffic, so she was there in under an hour.

Eva went through the check-in area and through duty free and was in the glamorous shopping and restaurant area, waiting for her flight to São Paulo, Brazil. She then went to the second floor and to the Swiss Lounge. She was admitted, took the elevator to the top floor, got a glass of champagne and some nuts, and sat down. She then checked her email and texts in the phone.

There was one from Uri: “Have a nice flight, can’t wait to be with you again.” And on the group text, all the girls said, “Enjoy Brazil.”

………..

 

New Feelings

On a Saturday some weeks later, everybody went out for dinner. On Sunday Eva was going to leave for Dubai and then India. Among the four couples, there were six girls and two lonely guys, but well, that is life.

There were the usual kisses and hugs, and then they sat at their table in a really nice restaurant.

“Everyone,” said Eva, “let me present you to my girlfriend, Yvonne. We met some weeks ago and have been getting to know each other since then.”

“And I want to present my girlfriend, Lisa,” said Victoria. “We have been together for a few weeks as well.”

“I am sorry to ask, but I am kind of very surprised to see you with a woman, Eva,” said Linda. “I always saw you with men, what happened?”

“Wow, that is a direct question,” said Eva. “I thought I was straight, but now I know I am either bisexual or pansexual, meaning that I am attracted to any gender. I have my definition, but it’s about hearts not parts. And I am very much in love with Yvonne.”

……….

 

A Big Trip This Time

Eva was planning her tour around the world; it would be her first such trip. If you go from east to west on such a tour, you lose one day of your life because of the time difference. If you go west to east, you actually gain one day. That is great, but if you have a customer plan, it is difficult to change.

The first day of her trip arrived. On a Saturday morning, Eva went to Zurich airport to fly to Newark, one of the New York airports, and probably  the best. She had a nice trip in business class, and she tried to rest during the flight. In Newark, she rented a car and drove to New York City, where she checked into a hotel in midtown Manhattan.

New York is the most vibrant city in the world; you can stay there one year and still have many things to visit and know. For transgender people it is probably the most trans friendly place in the world. It is quite normal to see transgender girls and crossdressers all over. That night Eva had a quiet night. She went to a restaurant near Times Square, then afterward to a place to hear some live music before going to bed early. Usually if she stayed longer in the Big Apple, she would buy Broadway tickets and then see a big show, but on this trip there was not enough time for all that.

………

 

What Is Going On? Accept Yourself

The chemistry between Eva and Chris was real. There was an electricity between them that was very intense.

The next morning Chris was a little tired and jetlagged. Eva got up, made breakfast for them both, and brought it to bed. They started the morning by kissing.

“Good morning, gorgeous, did you sleep well?” asked Eva.

“Yes, my love, what a night. You are amazing.”

“You were amazing, what a lover! So when do you have to go to your customer?”

“What customer—oh.” Chris seemed kind of embarrassed. “I will tell you the truth: I only came for you, no customer.”

Eva couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, that is a compliment, my love. If that’s the case, then we can go to your hotel now, get your things, and move you here in my house for the rest of the stay. I am not going to allow you to go away from me.”

“You are so right, my love,” said Chris, kissing Eva at the same time.

Eva was caressing his torso and smelling his manly skin and getting really horny again. This time Chris in a very nice way turned her and made passionate love to her. Again, like the rabbits, they were doing it again; she hadn’t even had time to clean herself from the night before.

………..

 

New Continent, New Life

It did not take long for Eva to get her confirmation that she could leave two months later. Thunder insisted that she stay and that she would assure a transition to a new person still to be designated. So, things were getting prepared.

At the same time Chris’s immigration lawyer started to get all the paper together for an L1 Visa, since she was going to work for Chris’s company as its international sales manager.

There was a lot to do: give notice to stop the lease of her house, pack boxes to send to the US, get the necessary permissions—and getting appointments at the US consulate is not necessarily an easy thing.

As usual the girls came together again, this time on the weekend.

“Girls, becoming a mother is quite nice,” said Linda. “The hormones are making me strong, and I feel so good. I would recommend you do the same, I mean you, Olympia.”

“Yes, I am jealous. That is one thing I will never be able to do, become a mother. But probably Lisa could. That would be great, to marry and have a child together,” said Victoria.

……….

 

Is There an End or Just a New Beginning?

Eva came back to Florida, where Chris was waiting impatiently for her. Some weeks later Linda had her Alexander. Eva sent her a huge bouquet of flowers and of course a huge selection of boy’s clothes and toys from the US. They had an internet party together. Linda was so happy, and the girls were loving her new life changes.

Victoria, Lisa, Olympia, and David came to Florida. Eva took some days off to show them around; they went to see all the iconic tourist places: Miami Beach, Bayside, the art district, Little Havana, did the obligatory Everglades alligator tour, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and took some time to go to Key West and Orlando to enjoy Disney World and Universal Studios. They had a great time.

One of the last days of their trip was reserved to go shopping. It was a must, Eva said, to go to the Sawgrass Mills and get some of the incredible deals they had to offer. As usual, they started by buying a big suitcase, and filled it in every shop with clothes, shoes, sports items, gifts to take to friends and family all at incredible prices. They started very early and were there until the mall closed. Olympia had to buy a second suitcase, the first was already so full.

……….