"Hello, Parker," Mrs. Anderson says. She sits down on the bed next to you, close enough that you can smell the subtle scent of perfume in her hair. "Since your mother is gone, Mr. Anderson asked me if I could come in and speak to you about the changes you're going through. I hope you don't hate us, though I wouldn't blame you if you did. In our defense, as Mr. Anderson told you, we really didn't think that you'd go through the Process. Everything your mother told us about you indicated that you were an extremely unlikely candidate, but we were wrong. We are really desperately sorry about that. If there's anything we can do to make it up to you, please let us know."
You soften a bit. "That's very kind of you," you reply.
"The least I can do," she says. "I was going to offer you a whole new wardrobe and lessons on hair, makeup, and that sort of thing, but I heard you wrestled with the boys today. I really don't approve of that, but Mr. Anderson says we owe it to you. You really ought to just accept that you're going to be happier as a girl. And you're going to need makeup and fashion advice. I suppose you can decline if you want, but I really don't advise it."
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