Life 2.0: mostly sweet short M2F TG stories

Happy Birthday

"So, Juan, what would you like for your ninth birthday?" Jacinta asked as she pushed the shopping cart towards the electronics area of the department store.

Juan, walking two steps behind his mother, looked her over, admiring her smart fashion sense; a simple white blouse, gray blazer and a peasant skirt with an intricate red, gray and white Aztec design, black hose and three inch heels.

Her hair was pulled back tightly and woven into a single braid that swung back and forth, a large, red bow on the end, brushed the small of her back.

Mesmerized by the swaying of the bow, Juan almost missed his mom's question.

After a pause, he quickly realized what she had asked.

Taking a deep breath, he hesitantly, quietly replied, "A dress."

"What," Jacinta asked her son as she brought the shopping cart to a halt, not completely sure he had said what she thought she heard.

They were stopped at the end of the birthday decoration aisle.

Without responding to his mom, Juan ran down the aisle and grabbed several items from the shelf.

"And these," he continued as he returned, tossing Barbie image paper plates, party hats, napkins and table cloth in the cart.

"Juan, what are you saying?" Jacinta asked as she crouched down eye-to-eye with the smile on her son's face.

The smile quickly faded and moisture began to well up in his eyes.

Jacinta understood.

Ever since her husband had died a painful death from lung cancer caused by exposure to high levels of asbestos dust in the factory, she had found it hard to say no to her son. She found it especially difficult when he was convincingly serious about what he wanted.

Jacinta sighed before standing upright and turning the shopping cart towards the girls clothes.

She looked down at her son, ready to ask him if he was sure this was what he really wanted, but she didn't get the words out before seeing a single tear trickle from one eye, drip off his cheek and onto his shirt.

From the other eye, another tear quickly followed.

Jacinta took a deep breath and paused. Thoughts crowded her mind as she wrestled with what to do.

"Mom," Juan finally asked, snapping Jacinta out of her thoughts. "We gonna stand here all day?"

Realizing she had been lost in thought for an unnaturally long time, Jacinta looked around then down at her son.

"Come on," she softly instructed as she began to walk.

By the time they arrived at the misses department, Jacinta was feeling a heavy weight on her shoulders. Her heart pounding in her chest.

She looked around.

In her mind, she could hear her late husband, in a stern, demanding voice, ask her what she thought she was doing. It was a voice she often heard, guiding her decisions and actions.

She stopped, and almost turned away before replying to the voice.

What I know in my gut I should have done three years ago, instead of listening to you in my head and trying to explain the subtle signs away, telling myself it was nothing more than him just trying to deal with your sickness and death.

Jacinta pushed the cart forward, moving between the racks of skirts, dresses, blouses, and jeans.

"What kind of dress do you want?"