Chapter 12: 12. The Other Parents

"A ride share might have been quicker," Stacey replied as the two of us left the subway station to cover the last leg of our journey on foot, "But I'm not sure it would have been any less awkward. Instead of strangers staring at us we'd probably have the driver asking us about our ears and tails for the whole trip."

I pouted, "Ok valid point. And I guess trying to fit our tails in car seats wouldn't have been any more comfortable than the bus or the subway."

He shook his head, "I wouldn't be surprised it cars are worse. Between the hip-hugging seats and the seatbelt, I have a feeling it'd be pretty uncomfortable."

"Ugh," I shuddered. "It makes my tush ache just thinking about it."

My boyfriend chuckled as he slipped his arm around my shoulders. It was only a five or six minute walk from Sherbourne station to the house. It was one of those old neighbourhoods that was probably established long before the city got big. There were loads of mature trees everywhere, and the lots themselves weren't too big but some of the homes were.

About half the houses looked small and old on the outside, but most of those had been gutted and renovated inside. Or you could see a new big addition on the back. Then there were the places that were completely new, where they'd razed the original structure then built the biggest thing they could fit in the lot.

If you didn't already know the property values all ran well into seven figures, the excessive amount of luxury cars and SUVs in the driveways would be a good clue. And while it wasn't a gated community, I was positive I could feel people staring at me and Stacey from behind their windows. I was sure they were either wondering who we were and why we were wearing the 'fake animal' stuff, or judging us based on the quality of our footwear or the fact that my purse was a canvas bag instead of some designer clutch.

As we reached my boyfriend's parents' house I could feel him getting more uptight. Stace took a few deep breaths as we went up the short driveway past his dad's Lexus and stopped at the front door.

"It'll be ok," I told him. "Your dad's pretty laid back, remember? He was cracking jokes about you coming out yesterday."

Stace nodded, "I know cutie. This is still a big step though. Mom and dad are going to be sceptical, they probably won't even believe I'm really me? Like they won't believe I'm their child, at least not at first."

"As long as they give you a chance," I said as I hugged him. "You can convince them."

"Yeah. Fingers crossed," he said as he hugged me back. Then he reached out and pressed the intercom button.

We waited a half minute or so, till his dad's voice came through the little speaker. "Yes, who is it?"

Stace took one more deep breath then replied, "Hi dad, it's your son Stacey."

After another pause his dad responded, "I'll be there in a moment."

My heart was racing almost as hard as my boyfriend's probably was as we waited. The door finally opened, and we found ourselves face to face with Stace's dad. I'd only met him a handful of times before, and always found him a little intimidating.

He was actually about the same height I used to be. That put him a few centimetres shorter than Stacey was now. He had a sort of stocky build, but most of his bulk seemed to be muscle. He usually wore his hair trimmed very short, and the over-all impression was of a tough guy you'd think worked as a bouncer or a security guard. In fact he spent most of his career in expensive suits and ties, as a successful lawyer.

"Hi dad," Stace greeted his father. The anxiety in his voice was pretty obvious, and his tail was almost down between his legs while his ears drooped slightly too. He gestured, "This is my girlfriend Megan."

Unlike my boyfriend, there was no 'almost' for me. My tail was absolutely between my legs and my ears were very much folded back. I smiled nervously and added, "Hello Mr. Walsh, it's nice to see you again."

The older man's eyes tracked up and down over both of us, before he finally stepped back and motioned us inside. He closed the door behind us, then said "We'll talk in the living-room."

Stacey led the way, down the hall a short distance then to the right and into the small living-room. The two of us sat together on the sofa, while Mr. Walsh moved to a leather recliner in the corner.

Before sitting down he stated, "I'll be honest, right now I don't believe either of you is my child. I don't know what this is about, but my guess is it's some sort of elaborate prank. My first thought was it's something Stacey's boyfriend set up, but I know he doesn't have the money to hire a couple actors. So if my daughter's behind this, she's obviously gone to a lot of trouble to set it up. That's why I've decided to hear you two out."

My boyfriend grimaced, "Dad, once I convince you it's really me I'm going to want an apology for misgendering both me and Meg. Also, where's mom hiding? Or doesn't she want to see us?"

Mr. Walsh shook his head, "If this is a prank like I expect, there's no need to drag my wife into it. She's already dealing with some emotions after Stacey's emails. No need to upset her further by making her participate in some sort of farce."

Without waiting for a response he continued, "Now like I said on the phone earlier, Stacey made some extraordinary claims in her email. If I'm supposed to believe she magically turned into you, I'm going to have to see it with my own eyes. So rather than waste time on anything else, let's get to it. Show me some magic."

"Ok dad," Stace sighed. He gave me a look and held out his hand, while he continued talking to his father. "I know I'm repeating myself but just to be clear, I cannot turn back into my original shape. The instructions that came with the magic plush toy were very clear on that. My only options are what you see right now, or I can become a fox."

Meanwhile I opened my purse and carefully took out the small black fox toy from an inside pocket. I placed it in Stace's hand then watched and waited.

"This is it," my boyfriend said as he held up the toy. "And no you may not touch it or hold it. I'll show you right now how it works. Please don't over-react, I'm going to turn into a fox but it'll still be me."

Mr. Walsh nodded once but kept quiet as he watched. And without any more delay, Stace quietly said the magic word. A moment later my fuzzy fox boyfriend sat atop his clothes, the plush toy lay on the sofa cushion next to my left thigh, and Mr. Walsh's jaw nearly hit the floor.

I carefully picked up the toy for safekeeping, while Stace hopped down off the sofa and cautiously took a few steps closer to his dad. He didn't go near enough for his father to touch him, but he sort of walked back and forth a few times to give Mr. Walsh a good look.

"Holy shit," his dad finally whispered as he stared. "I don't believe it."

I smiled, "It's true, and it's real. I changed first, on Friday night. My fox form is a pure white arctic fox, while Stacey's is a black-furred red fox. And normally our enchanted plush toys wouldn't leave the apartment, they're too precious to risk losing. Stace brought his tonight because you wanted the demonstration."

Mr. Walsh stared down at the fox that was now sitting upright in the middle of the living-room floor. My boyfriend's ears were both perked up facing his dad, while his tail curled around his feet.

"Is that really you?" his dad asked. "Stacey? Can you understand me like that?"

Stace yipped once and nodded his head, and his father's eyes widened in amazement.

"Can you change back now?" his dad asked next.

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My boyfriend yipped again then moved back to me. He didn't climb up on the sofa though, he just sat on the floor next to my feet. I carefully placed the plush toy on the floor in front of him, then looked up and gave Mr. Walsh a quick warning. "Just a little heads-up, when Stacey turns back he's not going to have any clothes on. He'll dress again right away, but if you're watching him change you're going to see him in the buff."

The older man's eyes flicked from my boyfriend to me then to the pile of clothes on the sofa beside me. After a brief hesitation he nodded, "I have to see this, sorry. I'll avert my eyes while you're getting dressed though."

Stace let out another brief yip, then placed his paw on the toy. And a moment later he was back in his tall dark and handsome foxboy form, while his dad's eyes nearly bulged out of his head and his jaw dropped open again.

I carefully put the plush toy back in my purse while Stacey calmly but quickly got himself dressed again, and Mr. Walsh turned his head to stare at the opposite wall.

"I can't believe it," his dad said in a quiet, almost stunned voice. "Is it really you? You're my... You're my son? Stacey?"

"Yeah dad it's me," Stace replied. "So are you going to explain this to mom, or will I have to repeat the demonstration for her?"

Mr. Walsh hesitated a few seconds, then got to his feet. "I'll go talk to her. You can help yourselves to drinks if you like, and make yourselves comfortable."

As soon as my boyfriend was finished dressing the two of us headed into the kitchen while his dad hurried upstairs. There was already something in the oven that smelled appetizing, and a big pot of water simmering on the stove, so at least we knew we wouldn't have to wait that long for dinner. The kitchen table was already set for four, which seemed like a good sign. Like they were clearly hoping that me and Stace were for real and not part of some elaborate prank.

We found a bottle of white wine in the fridge so Stacey opened that and poured us each a glass, and the two of us ended up sitting at the kitchen table. The chairs in there had gaps at the back so it was more comfortable for our tails than the sofa.

"What do you think?" I asked softly. "It went ok with your dad?"

Stace whispered back, "So far so good. At least he believes magic is real. I hope that means he believes I'm his kid, or we'll end up playing twenty questions or something next."

"And we still have to see how mom handles it," he added.

"Yeah," I grimaced. "I honestly still can't believe things went so well with my folks. I was sure they'd both flip and have some sort of meltdown."

"I'm glad they didn't," he replied.

Both of us heard two sets of footsteps coming back down from upstairs, and a moment later Mr. and Mrs. Walsh joined us both in the kitchen. Stace's mom stopped in her tracks and stared with wide eyes, taking in the two of us as we sat together.

"Hi mom," my boyfriend said as he got to his feet. He moved to greet her, "It's me, Stacey. Like I said in my emails, I'm uh, I'm trans. I'm a guy. And as of Saturday, I'm part fox."

He gestured towards me as he added, "And that's my girlfriend Megan. Um, formerly my boyfriend, but she's trans too. She actually came out to me a few months ago, but she wasn't out to anyone else until Friday. When she got her magic fox transition."

Mrs. Walsh stared for a few more seconds before finally responding, "Your father told me it's real but I still find it hard to believe. May I see the magic for myself?"

"I'll wait here," Mr. Walsh added. "I think it's time I got myself a drink too."

Stace smiled, "Ok mom. We'll go back into the living-room for this. And heads-up, you're probably going to see me naked at one point. Meg will warn you when that's about to happen."

Mrs. Walsh accompanied my boyfriend and I back into the living-room and Stacey repeated the performance for his mum, with more or less the same result. The older woman stared slack-jawed and wide-eyed as her son transformed into a fox, then watched speechless as he wandered around in front of her and gave her a good look at himself.

Unlike with his dad, Stace actually let his mom touch him. She crouched down and nervously touched the fur on his head, then ran her fingers back from his forehead all the way to his tail.

"I can't believe it," she murmured to herself. "It's real. He's a real fox."

"He sure is," I smiled.

When the time came for Stace to change back I warned Mrs. Walsh about the brief nudity, but like her husband she wanted to see the transformation again. Unlike her husband, Stace's mom's face went beet-red after she got an eyeful of my boyfriend's hot naked body. Her eyes snapped shut and she mumbled something that sounded like "Oh my..."

After that she excused herself and went back to the kitchen to get herself a drink. Stace and I joined them a few minutes later, after he was fully dressed and I got all the quiet giggles out of my system.

Soon enough all four of us were sitting around the kitchen table, me and Stace were sipping our white wine while Mrs. Walsh had a glass of red. And Mr. Walsh had a double scotch on the rocks.

"So you're our dau- You're our son," Stacey's mom said. She looked at me and added, "And you're the same person Stacey's been living with since graduation, but now you're a girl? And both of you are part fox?"

My boyfriend nodded, "That's right mom. Me and Megan are both trans, although she figured herself out first. I was a little slower on the uptake, but looking back over my life I think there were a lot of signs all along."

Both his parents nodded in agreement, and fortunately neither of them seemed to have a problem with trans people. It was actually a little like with my parents, they were less freaked-out about their child being trans but the instant transition and the animal attributes were harder to accept.

As the four of us waited for dinner to be ready both Mr. and Mrs. Walsh ended up asking more than a few questions. Some were about Stacey's past, some of those 'signs' and 'clues' he mentioned. And other questions were more about the sudden magical transition and how we felt about no longer being completely human. They were both surprised by some of our answers, but they both accepted that their child was extremely happy with how things turned out.

Eventually a timer rang and Mrs. Walsh got up to finish preparing the food. We were having chicken parmesan with roasted vegetables and some pasta tossed in oil and garlic on the side. It looked and smelled really good, and while she was putting the finishing touches on that Stace got up and topped up everyone's drinks.

And finally, as we all started eating dinner, Stace looked to his dad and brought up the biggest concern he and I had.

"Like I said in my email this afternoon, we hit a wall trying to get our ID updated? And I know this isn't your area of expertise, but we were hoping you or someone else at the firm might have some advice or suggestions for us, on how Meg and I can get around that problem..."