Daniel(le)

“Shit, you can really tell who’s gay and who’s not in San Francisco!”

I’m not the subtlest person in the world, I know.

My friend and I were sitting outside the Irish pub where a bunch of Basques from Boise, San Francisco and the Basque Country had gathered to kick off the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center Anniversary dinner. Every President’s Day weekend for the last three years I’ve joined in the celebration by flying out of Boise and spending a few days partying in the Bay Area.

No sooner had I finished my statement than this girl turns around, retraces her steps, and stops right before us. She towers over us. She’s at at least six feet tall. We are seating on a step outside the bar, which makes her look that much more giant.

“What did you say?” She asks in a soft, sweet voice.

I feel a wave of embarrassment starting to come over me. She doesn’t sound angry at all, but her face reveals just a small trace of annoyance. Her hands are right in my line of vision. Manicured. Huge. She’s wearing a wrap-around dress, tight-fitting. High heals. No hips. Pink lips.

I touched her arms. They were muscular all right.

I swear my intention was to apologize because I could tell I hurt her feelings, but my mouth got the best of me, like it usually does.

“You are not a woman, are you?”

“Oh”, she sounds disappointed. “Can you tell?”

I felt bad for her, but yes, you could definitely tell.

I love learning about people’s lives and I’m so grateful for Danielle’s patience and good nature. She hung around for a while and answered all our questions. She wasn’t gay. He just likes to dress and go out as a woman sometimes. He has a girlfriend, who he met as a guy. Yes, his girlfriend was fine with him cross-dressing. They’ve been together for seven years. He’s fifty-years old and works as an accountant in town. No, Danielle, I wouldn’t go out with you while you’re dressed as a girl.

I get discouraged sometimes. Boise is not the Mecca for single people, you know? Many times I wonder if I’ll ever find that available person who will put up with me, get me, and match all my weirdness. Then, I meet Danielle.

Yeah. Everything is possible.

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