A Devoted Future
 
By ParaGirl
 
Jenna was fast approaching her eighteenth birthday, the time for puberty.
 For so many of her girlfriends, the decision to go through puberty or
not was easy, they would or they wouldn't, they had probably made up
their minds years before.  Jenna, on the other hand, was torn.  She would
look at the empty sleeve of her mother's shirt, from when she went
through puberty, and she would think about how great her childhood had
been, her schooling, her doting father. Everything turned out fine for
her mother, it was true- she had been a great head of household, she had
a good state job teaching school, the good pay, the state housing, a
state-approved husband, and even TWO approved children, Jenna and her big
brother Charles.  Charles had entered state service through the military
and hoped to be approved for a wife some day.
 
Jenna knew that she was expected to go through puberty- all girls her age
were, really.  There were some, a minority, who didn't go through it, and
most of them turned out alright- if living in trailers outside City
Central and working in the co-ops and on farms for barter was considered
all right.  Without going through puberty, a girl wasn't considered an
adult, ever, and therefore couldn't hold a state job, couldn't get an
approved husband, and couldn't ever have children, at least not in a
state hospital.  Her friend Eliza had chosen not to go through puberty
and her family had actually kicked her out of their house the day after
her eighteenth birthday.  Jenna knew that could happen to her, too.
 
What bothered Jenna so much was the uncertainty in the whole process.
Her friend Samantha had chosen to go through puberty two months before,
and had come out of it blind- that scared Jenna.  Her mother always
handled her loss very well, but it was only one arm, not sight.  And
there was the possibility, although very slim, that she would not make it
through puberty at all.  Jenna desperately wanted to be an adult, to
become a woman, but she was so frightened about what would happen to her
in the process.
 
The day of decision came one week before Jenna's birthday, as was the
law.  There, before her parents and two state witnesses Jenna had to make
the decision that would determine the rest of her life- no pressure, of
course.  Two of the state witnesses were women, one who had only one arm,
like Jenna’s mother, and the other in a wheelchair, with both legs still
on but very thin, so she must have been a para.
 
The third witness was a very stately man who was obviously a subservient
to the two women.  Jenna was dressed in a beautiful white gown that was
traditional for the ceremony of choice, and her head was adorned with a
garland of real flowers that her mother was able to get for this special
day.  It was only the third time in her life she had seen real flowers,
and as her mother placed them carefully on her head with her single arm,
Jenna actually broke down in tears.  She walked up to the state witnesses
and the question was asked:
"Do you, Jenna Ellen Tremaine, of your own free will, choose to go
through the process of puberty and become a full adult member of the
state community?"
 
Jenna was sweating, her hands were shaking.  She looked at her mother's
empty sleeve, thought about Samantha, totally blind, thought about
Eliza's tears as she left her home, leaving City Central for the
outskirts.
 
"Yes, your honor.  I, Jenna Ellen Tremaine, of my own free will, choose
to go through the process of puberty.  I wish to be an adult member of
the state community."
"Very well then." Said the head witness said.  "This is a proud day for
you and for your family.  Your day of puberty shall be in one week, on
the dawn of your Eighteenth birthday.  Congratulations to you all."
 
After that, some papers were signed and Jenna was given the hospital
center where she was to report to.  There was still the chance that she
could just not show up, but then she would have no identicard, no
identity anywhere, even the outskirts would shun her, and she would truly
be one of the lost.  No, the decision had been made, and she had made it.
 Now it was up to fate to determine how she would come out of  it.
 
She thought of all the women who went through puberty, each of
them affected in some way.  Most were simple, the loss of a hand or
foot, or deafness.  Some were more severe, like loss of both legs and
even loss of three or all four limbs, but those were rare.  Jenna had a
teacher in mid school who had been mute and spoke only sign
language, but by that time all students knew sign language like a
second language anyway.  By age nine, all children knew sign language
and Braille along with their normal language requirements.  It was
necessary in the society they lived in.  Also, there were no steps or
curbs anywhere, at least in City Center.
 
Jenna, and all students, were
told that there were still such things in the outskirts and beyond, and
had been shown films- a stately woman in her wheelchair coming up to
some antique steps and actually needing to ask for HELP to get up
them.  Jenna couldn't imagine the humiliation she must have felt doing
it, even if it was only for a vid.  Then there was the door film, one
that still frightened Jenna.  A judge, of all women, who had no hands
or lower arms, walked up to an old-fashioned manual door, with a round
knob of all things!  She couldn't turn the knob, just stood there
unable to get past the obstacle.  It made Jenna cry to think of it,
just weep thinking of this important woman stuck behind a door of all
things!
 
     She was glad that all the doors in City Center were now automatic,
they sensed when a person approached and opened the door for them.  It
was so much more civilized that way.  No matter what puberty threw at
her, she was comfortable with the fact that she would be taken care of
by the state.
 
     It wasn't always so, Jenna knew.  There was a time, hundreds of
years before, when the state didn't do very well taking care of its
people.  People went hungry, people didn't get medial care, some
people who were non-walkers couldn't even get mobility aids, like a
wheelchair.  Jenna couldn't imagine such a world, but she thought that
the outskirts might be similar to it, although she knew no one ever
froze or starved there, people were still taken care of, if not to the
level of real citizens.  That was just proper, though, wasn't it.
 
     The day after the choosing there was a great party for Jenna, with
all her friends and family invited.  Samantha was there, with her
mother still helping her through the transition.  Samantha's mother was
on crutches, having only one leg, but she still guided Samantha through
the crowd to a seat with ease.   Some of Jenna's younger friends were
curious as to what mark puberty would put on Jenna, but that wouldn't
be known until the day of puberty.  Even Charles, Jennas' brother, was
allowed to come home for the week before Jennas' puberty.   Jennas'
aunt Eileen was there in her stately powered wheelchair, her para legs
dressed in luxurious silks.  Aunt Eileen was a stateswoman and overseer
who Jenna had always looked up to, and it made her happy to see her
there for the party.
 
     Jenna stood back during the party and looked out over her friends
and family.  The girls all played with one another and drank the fruity
drinks.  The women chatted or watched the girls, comparing their
puberty stories, a stump being flashed here, a crutch there.  Jenna saw
that even Samantha was getting into the conversation, her blind eyes
not focusing on anything, but flitting uncontrolled around the room.
Jenna noticed she kept reaching out her hand to touch her mothers' leg
stump, as if for reassurance.  It must be very difficult to adjust to
the loss of one's sight, and although Jenna was sure that she made the
right choice to go through puberty, she had a list of things she truly
prayed would not happen to her.  Becoming blind and being confined to a
wheelchair were two of the top on that list. The men in the room stood
back, almost at attention, to provide support and assistance to their
ladies.  State approved husbands were totally devoted to their wives,
no matter what had happened to them during puberty.  There was no such
thing as divorce, no such thing as infidelity if you were lucky enough
to get a state approved husband.  Jenna wondered if she would get one,
and what he would be like.
 
     Later that night, after the relatives had gone, Jenna was in her
room with her school friends when one of them suggested a game of 'What
will I be?'.  The game was silly, and Jenna hadn't played it since she
was a little girl, but with her upcoming day of puberty looming nearer,
she agreed to again play the child's' game.
 
    The game was simple- a girl would lie on the floor and the other
girls would surround her and hold a blanket over her.  The girl on the
floor would ask the other girls 'What will I be?' and they would drop
the blanket, Whatever limbs the blanket didn't cover would be the limbs
effected during puberty in some way.  It was silly, true, but Jenna
found herself on the floor asking the question anyway.  The thin red
blanket floated down and Jenna felt it cover all of her but one leg,
from about the knee, and one hand.  The odds of this combination were
slim, Jenna knew, but entirely possible.  She had known a woman who had
lost one leg entirely and one arm at the elbow during her puberty.
Jenna knew that it would confine her to a wheelchair, and shuddered at
the thought.
    The other girls took their turns next, Jamie 'losing' both legs,
Cindy ending up with her head uncovered, which meant deafness or
blindness, and Caroline 'losing' a single arm.  Rebecca, who was
youngest, had the blanket cover her completely, which made the group
fall silent-
being completely covered meant that the girl would not go through
puberty at all, she would say no to it.  Rebecca said something about
it being a stupid silly game and everyone chuckled, but the mood was
killed nonetheless.
     The girls continued to talk about school, who said what about who,
and other petty things, until Caroline brought up Elise.
     "She got what she deserved, I say." Rebecca piped in.  "She though
she was better than everyone else, that's why she didn't go through
puberty.  She got exactly what she deserved."
     "She was just afraid, Rebecca." Jenna said softly.  "Elise was
terrified of being blinded, she was deathly afraid of the dark. She
told me before she made her Choice.  To Elise, the outskirts were a
better choice than risking blindness.  She didn't think she was better
than anyone.  She was just afraid, and so am I."
     "You, Jenna?  I thought you were excited about puberty."
     "Well yes, but I'm still afraid.  I don't want to end up blind, or
in a wheelchair.  It scares me."
     "I'm scared too, Jenna."  Caroline said.  Everyone was quiet and
looked at her.  "I don't want to lose my arms, actually.  One would be
fine, your mom is just great Jenna, but both arms would be scary for
me, I like to many things that I need hands to do."
     "It is scary, Caroline, but life without puberty is more scary,
don't you think?" Jamie asked.
     "I'm not sure, Jamie." Replied Caroline.  "I won't be sure until
the day comes, I believe."
 
     The day of Jennas' eighteenth birthday was a busy one for Jenna.
She bid farewell to her parents as the sun rose, a long tradition.  It
represented Jenna the girl leaving the hose, never to return.  She
would not see her parents again until she was Jenna the Woman, when she
returned from her puberty to her state supplied home, which would be
filled with her friends and family for yet another celebration.  This
process was already beginning as Jenna took the transit to the center
she was assigned to.
     Jenna arrived at the medical center and reported to the assigned
desk, where her paperwork was taken, verified, and she was escorted to
the waiting room to wait for her doctor.  Each girl going through
puberty was assigned a personal doctor, always a woman who had
herself gone through puberty, to help with the transition.
     There were two other girls in the waiting room when Jenna arrived.
They both looked as nervous as Jenna felt.  Both looked at her, but
neither spoke, so Jenna remained silent as well.  The waiting room was
bright and cheerful, with plants and pictures of famous women of the
state.  Jenna looked at the image of Maggie Walters, whose sightless
eyes saw financial catastrophe over the horizon and prevented it,
making the state more prosperous than ever.  There was Caroline Banks,
the armless leader of the new space program, and of course Jessica
Homsley, the chief Judge Advocate, in her majestic powered wheelchair.
None of these women could have made the marks they did without puberty,
and after today Jenna had a chance to be like them, great names doing
great deeds.
     A few minutes had passed in silence when a petite redhead entered
the room. Jenna couldn't tell if her complexion was pale naturally or
if it was due to nerves, but she suspected a little of both.  A Doctor
entered the room from the clinic door, a younger woman on crutches with
a leg gone at the knee.  She called the name of one of the other girls,
and the girl got up slowly and walked up to Fate.
 
     Fate was what determined the course of a girl's puberty.  It was a
large screen, at least that's what was seen, and there was one in every
puberty clinic.  It was said to reflect a girl's true womanly self,
though just how it determined what that was was a mystery to just about
everyone.  The girl stood on the round platform and the screen lit up,
showing first a true reflection of the girl standing there.  The screen
then went dim, and another image appeared- the girl naked, with one arm
gone right at the shoulder, just a smooth rounded stump left.  The girl
let out a sigh of relief- the loss of a single arm was a very good
puberty indeed. There were better results, but not much better.
 
     A few minutes later, another doctor, this one in a wheelchair,
came into the room and called the next girl in line.  Again the girl
got up and stood on the platform, and again her image came up first as
a true reflection, then as the girl, naked, with no apparent change.
Jenna looked closer and saw the black indicators at the girls' ears-
she was to be deaf.  The girl made no sound, and the doctor asked in
sign language if she was ready.  The girl replied in sign that yes,
indeed, she was ready.  Both left the room, the doctor in the lead.
 
     It seemed an eternity before the next doctor entered and called
Jennas' name.  This doctor was also in a wheelchair, with para legs
which were mostly bare, as was a current fashion.  Jenna stood on the
platform and saw herself as she was, then the image dimmed and she saw
herself naked.  Her hair was blonde and shoulder length, her neck and
shoulders slender, her stomach firm.  She continued to glance down to
see where her legs ended, high up on her thighs, leaving a four or five
inch stump on each.  So it was to be a wheelchair then, legless for the
rest of her life.  Jenna looked at her womanly self once more and
turned stoically to the doctor.  She was in a wheelchair, and she was a
woman or respect and authority, a doctor in a state clinic.  Jenna
followed her and resolved to be the best woman she could be.
 
     The puberty room was like any other hospital room except for one
monitor- it was the monitor that held the image of Jennas' womanly
self.  The equipment wasn't visible, it would be brought out once Jenna
was asleep.  Her doctor spoke to her, saying that her puberty would be
easy, that there would be no pain, and that there was very little
chance of anything going wrong, it was very safe.  She was given a
drink of soda that was laced with a sedative, and Jenna soon found
herself laying back on the bed, falling asleep.  The last thing she saw
was the image of her womanly self on the monitor.
 
     Jenna awoke some hours later, groggy from the sedative and from
the process of puberty.  She was blindfolded, which was the custom
during puberty- the new woman was not to see herself until her body was
proper, which took two days.  She was helped by her doctor during the
two days, and she felt the treatments on her legs- or, what used to be
her legs- to complete the healing.  Her doctor told her what a
beautiful woman she made, and that her family would be so proud of her.
Jenna could hear other doctors talking to other women from her room,
and wondered how the other girls she came in with had fared.
 
     On the third morning, Jenna was awakened by some commotion and
realized that her blindfold was off.  She opened her eyes and looked
first at her doctor, sitting there in her wheelchair, smiling widely at
Jenna.  Jenna then looked down at herself- she was naked, uncovered
completely.  Her body from the waist up was how she remembered it, but
below her waist she saw her stumps, smooth and without scars, round and
soft.  She looked to her doctor, then touched one stump, a tentative
caress.  It was sensitive, even ticklish, but Jenna was suddenly in
love with it, with both her stumps.  She started to cry, tears of pure
joy, and her doctor leaned up and they hugged warmly for several
minutes.  Jenna was then given privacy to change into a new outfit,
which was made for her new womanly body.  It was a blue shirt and a
tight jumper style one-piece that went first over her stumps, then over
her shoulders like suspenders.  She finished dressing and sat there,
admiring her new stumps in their tight cloth pockets.
 
     Jennas' doctor came back in, followed by a man- obviously a
doctor's aide- wheeling in a shiny new wheelchair.  It was a manual
chair, as Jenna expected- the motor chairs were usually used by the
matrons and elder stateswomen, and were a symbol of pride.  Jennas'
wheelchair had no legrests, of course, and the cushion, Jenna knew, was
made from a fitting of her own body, so it would almost become a part
of her.  The aide wheeled the chair to the side of the bed and locked
it there, and with the doctors' coaching Jenna transferred herself into
it.  It was like a coming of age, sitting in her new wheelchair.  Jenna
took to it immediately and smiled warmly at the doctor.
    "I had the same reaction when I first transferred into my
wheelchair, Jenna.  You'll do fine, just wait and see."
    "What's next doctor?  When do I go home?"
    "First, you'll go through a week or two of wheelchair training, to
make sure you're ready for your new life as an adult woman.  Then, once
you get cleared, you will be taken to your new home.  You'll love it,
I've already been there." She smiled at Jenna.
 
     Jenna was taken to a training center where she could train in her
wheelchair for normal daily living and other tasks.  There were more
girls here than she expected, and her doctor explained that some of the
more difficult pubertys had to stay for a longer time, to train more
thoroughly to get along in their new lives.  They had to be cleared
before they could go.  As Jenna sat there, she saw one of the girls she
came in with, the one who had become deaf.  The girl came up to Jenna
and signed how wonderful she looked, and heartfelt congratulations on
her womanhood.  Jenna signed back to her warm congratulations of her
own and asked where she was off to.  The woman, who's name turned out
to be Lisa, was on her way home, as she had completed her training and
was allowed to go now.  Some women took to their new womanhood quicker
than others, and Lisa had not spent two days blindfolded either.  Jenna
signed her good byes and good lucks, and Lisa left as a new woman.
 
     Jennas' training during the first week consisted of a lot of
wheelchair exercise, upper body strengthening, and a lot of
maneuverability and transferring, as well as some 'emergency' lessons
of what to do if her wheelchair broke, she fell out of it, etc...  As
she was training, Jenna saw the other women she came in with.  The one
who
had gone first had no arm, as the screen had showed, and seemed to be
training in simple dexterity tasks, easy with two hands but now more
difficult with only one.  There were also balance exercises for her, as
arms are used a lot for balance.
 
The other woman, the petite redhead,
was learning a great deal more.  Puberty had claimed both of her arms,
only inches below her shoulders, leaving smooth round stumps that
wiggled and jumped as the woman tried to accomplish tasks with her
feet.  As Jenna trained she watched this other woman working on
dressing, eating, and writing with her feet.  She worked so hard at
things and so often failed, Jenna saw her crying more than once from
frustration.  Jenna was suddenly much more appreciative of her leg
stumps, and rubbed them as if in thanks that she wasn't going through
something much more difficult.  There was another woman who was minus
one leg at the hip and one arm at the shoulder, complete loss.  She was
training at many things too, like using her power chair, which she
obviously required to get around.
     On Jennas' second, and hopefully last week of training, her doctor
told her she was doing very well with her wheelchair and that she
should focus on getting into it from the floor and wheeling while
carrying things, like shopping bags.  Jenna started this training
wholeheartedly, but all the while she watched the redheaded girl.  She
would be in the training center for quite a while, Jenna thought.  She
watched the woman's empty sleeves hang there, like her mother's single
sleeve, and suddenly her doctor was behind her.
     "You've stopped training, Jenna, why?  Oh, Susan over there?"
     "Yes, I was just watching her trying to do things with her feet-
makes me kind of thankful that I still have my arms." Jenna replied
honestly. "I hope she does alright."
     "Don't worry, Jenna, Susan will be just as adapted to her womanly
body as you will when she leaves here, it might just take longer.  You
could go and say hello to her, if you like."
     "I will, I think." Jenna replied.  She wheeled across the floor of
the training center, stopping once to allow the woman in the power
chair pass by, and came up to the redheaded girl.
     "Hello there, my name is Jenna." Jenna said to the woman.  She had
just placed a glass on the table in front of her after taking a sip
from it- her feet were obviously becoming very adaptive already.
     "Hello Jenna, I'm Susan, it's nice to meet you." The woman
replied, offering her foot to Jenna as a form of welcome.  Jenna shook
it without hesitation and smiled at Susan.  She noticed Susan had a
watch on her ankle.
     "I couldn't help but notice you seem to be doing much better today
Susan, congratulations."
     "Well, if this is the cost of puberty," Susan nodded at her empty
sleeves. "then that's fate, and there isn't anything I can say about
it. I just have to do my best and that's all I can do."
     "Same here.  I wasn't expecting this-" Jenna said, rubbing her
stumps and wheelchair "But I'm getting along very well.  Actually, I
was thinking- if you put us both together, we'd be a whole person!"
Jenna chuckled.
     "Only, we'd have two heads!" Susan replied, and both women began
to laugh out loud.  They got a few looks from some of the other women,
but they laughed anyway, and it felt good.
     After a few more minutes, Jenna said goodbye to Susan and wheeled
back to her area, training more.  For an hour, she dropped from her
chair onto the floor and transferred herself into it from different
positions and different angles, knocked the wheelchair over and righted
it before she got in, and other tasks that might come in handy some
day.
    One day, her doctor came over from one of the other women she was
helping, a woman who appeared blind, and gave Jenna the good news.
     "I've just been informed, Jenna- you are free to go, we're
processing you out now.  Do you feel ready to go?"
     "Oh yes, definitely.  I'm familiar with my new womanly body, and
my wheelchair, and I would like to leave and see my new home!"  Jenna
could barely contain her excitement.  She then looked back at Susan,
and her doctor said "Don't worry, we'll give her your address when
she's ready to leave.  You'll see her again, I'm very sure.  Actually,
your new homes are only one street apart."
     "Oh good, thank you doctor, thank you for everything.  Will you be
at my new home?"
     "Of course, who do you think is taking you there.  The messages
are being sent out right now, so your family will be there by the time
we get you checked out and ready to go."
 
     As Jenna and her doctor wheeled up to the door of Jennas' new
home, this time with Jenna in the lead, the door opened automatically
for her.  There inside the home were Jennas' parents, her family, and
many of her friends waiting for her.  As was the custom, no one knew
what puberty had done to Jenna until they first saw her, and they all
appeared very pleased with the result.  Jenna had dressed in a very
adult outfit, with form fitting 'leggings' on her new stumps and a silk
blouse with a beautiful vest.  She wore a silk scarf around her neck
and a beautiful gold bracelet that the state had given her in honor of
her puberty.  Jennas' mother came up to her and hugged her warmly in
her one-armed way.  Jennas' father hugged her next, even lifting her
new self out of her wheelchair a few inches.  Jennas' friends were
next, telling her how beautiful she looked, how mature.  Caroline
hugged her and made a comment about their game from the party being a
silly game after all.  Jenna was overwhelmed by the love and pride she
felt from her friends and family, but she was also overwhelmed by the
fact that she was staring at the midriff of almost everyone she knew-
it was one of the things she would have to get used to being in a
wheelchair now.
     She took a tour of her new home with her doctor and her mother.
It was beautiful, finished in faux woods and marble, with a large
bedroom and attached bath.  Everything was especially accessible for
her, as she knew it would be.  All state homes were specially adapted
to the person they were assigned to at puberty, as all state homes were
assigned to women at the time of their puberty.  Men got houses from
the state only if they were approved husbands who found a wife,
military veterans who served their term, or public officials, who were
usually former military anyway.  Men were normally housed in finishing
schools or military barracks, at least until they were able to get
married or get a state position.
     The party went until late into the evening, when Jennas' parents
finally left, and Jenna was there with her old school friends.  They
chatted, and Jenna told them all about the hospital, her wonderful
doctor, and the feeling she had when she first saw her woman's body,
when she first sat in her wheelchair.  She took off her leggings and
let the girls see and touch her stumps.  They had seen many like them
over their lives, but Jenna was one of the first of their friends to go
through puberty, and so it was a special thrill.
   "Five more weeks for me." Jamie said.  All eyes turned to her, and
she sat there, a weak smile on her lips.
    "Just five weeks Jamie??"  Caroline asked.  All the girls knew it
was so, of course, but it was a surprise to hear it out loud.
     "you know what that means?" Jenna asked all the girls.  Their
quizzical looks were all the answer she needed.  "Less than two months
before our next welcome home party!!"
    At this all the girls cheered, and talked on into the wee hours of
the morning.  Most of the girls fell asleep on the think carpets or on
the furniture, while Jenna transferred herself from her wheelchair into
the large, soft bed that was now hers.  She looked around before
turning in, noticing many of her things had been moved to his place,
but some, the more childish things, had not been moved.  She noticed
many new, womanly things, which were obviously gifts of the state.  She
turned out the lights on the first day of her new adult life, curling
up in bed and drifting off to a restful sleep.
 
     The chime on the door sounded and Jenna transferred quickly from
the couch where she was studying to her wheelchair.  She wasn't
expecting anyone today, so she was dressed down, in a long shirt and
pull-ons over her stumps.  She activated the door and was amazed to see
Susan, in long slacks and a sleeveless shirt, showing openly where her
arms ended in smooth round stumps.  Jenna was amazed and pleased to see
her old training center friend out of the center and welcomed her
warmly.  Susan came in and raised her foot for Jenna to shake it, which
she did immediately. It was just over a month since Jenna herself got
out of the center, and she was surprised to see Susan so soon.
     "Susan, how long have you been out, you look wonderful!!"
     "I got out last week, and I've been getting acclimated to my new
surroundings, which is why I haven't visited earlier."
     "That's fine, come in please, I want to hear all about your new
place, what are you doing now?"
     "I'm doing great, I've gotten back on my feet, so to speak, and my
new home is just wonderful!"
     "I know, I love it here, I've been here a month and it's so much
like home it's like I've lived here all my life."
     "I'm still getting used to my place, there's only so much they can
prepare you for in the center.  I still have trouble with a few
drawers, and I never did get writing down very well, but the terminal
in my home is all voice-active, so I can still do anything I want
really.  Tell me Jenna, have you chosen a field of study?"
     Jenna lifted a medical text from the table where she had left it.
"I'm going to try to be a doctor, Susan!  I'm getting ready for the
admission exams in six months, it should give me plenty of time to meet
the minimum requirements.  What about you, any thoughts?"
     "I'm going into law, actually.  I had kind of decided even before
puberty, I guess I've just always liked to argue."  Both women giggled
at that.  Jenna got both of them tea and delicious biscuits.  Susan
slipped her dexterous feet out of the sandals she wore and picked up
the delicate tea cup expertly, sipping from it as deftly as Jenna using
her hands.  Susan lifted a biscuit with her foot and nibbled it while
chatting with Jenna.  Jenna watched her and again complimented her on
how well she had adapted to adulthood.
     "It was so hard at first, Jenna.  They teach us so much about
puberty in school, but when you actually go through it, it's so much
different.  When I saw my image in the screen, I was excited at how I
looked, I looked like my grandmother, actually.  When the blindfold was
removed from my eyes two days later, the realization hit me like a
rock.  I began to cry, I'll admit, from fear more than joy.  I couldn't
even wipe my own tears, and it hit me even harder.  The first weeks in
the center were so hard for me, I had to relearn to do everything, but
they were so wonderful and helped me so much, and now I'm out and a
fully functional member of society."  At this she clapped her feet
together, and Jenna clapped her hands with her.
     "It was a lot for me to handle at first, too, and I could just
imagine how difficult it was for you. I was always afraid to be
confined to a wheelchair, to be honest, but now that I am, I wouldn't
trade it, this truly is who I was meant to be."
    "I know Jenna, after I finally got the hang of my new self, I feel
the same way too!"
     "I know- there should be a welcome home party for a friend of mine
in about a month, would you come with me?"
     "Sure, I'd love it Jenna." Susan replied excitedly.
 
     Later that week came Jamie's day of choosing, and Jenna was at her
party, in her wheelchair and a festive outfit.  Her stumps were dressed
brightly and matched the silk scarf around her neck.  She enjoyed the
party with her other friends, but she realized that when it was time
for the adults to leave, she was expected to go as well.  She wheeled
herself home, imagining her school friends playing 'What will I Be', or
talking about how Jenna looked in her wheelchair and leg stumps.  It
was such a different feeling now that she was an adult. It wasn't
unpleasant, but it was different just the same.  She decided to ring
Susan before she came home, to talk.
     Susan activated her door and welcomed Jenna in excitedly.
     "I'm so glad you're here, Jenna!  I got approved for a husband! I
meet him on Saturday!"
     "A husband?  So soon, you are a lucky woman Susan!"
     "Yes, I know.  It was luck, mostly.  You know that women, well,
like me-"
     "Yes, women without arms are higher on the list, due to additional
needs they might have, but it's barely been two month's since puberty,
most women wait over a year!  I'm so happy for you!"
     "I know, it's amazing.  There was a man, named Gerald, who has
been waiting for a specific type of woman."
     "Armless?" Jenna asked.
     "Even better.  A redheaded Irish girl!  He doesn't have a
preference for body type!"
     "Does he know-"
     "That I'm armless?  Yes, he knows all about me, and he can't wait
to meet me!"
     "I'm so happy for you Susan, you are such a lucky woman!"
     "I know, I know!"
     Susan and Jenna ate cakes and had tea as they spoke of recent
events.  Jenna was still amazed watching Susan drink and eat using her
feet.  She had gotten even better at it, so dainty and precise in each
movement.  The gold watch she wore on her ankle glinted in the light,
and her toes were perfectly manicured- something she obviously had done
at a shop.  With a husband, she wouldn't have to go out to have her
toes done, and he would assist her with so many other things, if she
wanted him to.  Susan was certainly a lucky woman indeed.
 
     Jenna sat in her wheelchair, in a white dress cut for her stumps
and a pearl necklace she had bought for this occasion.  Susan was with
her, along with her new husband- they had been married two weeks
before.  She wore a beautiful blue sleeved dress, the sleeves hanging
limp and empty, and matching blue slip-on shoes with her blue painted
toes exposed.  She was radiant, to say the least.  The place was full
of Jamies' family and friends, waiting for her arrival.  A hush fell
over the assembled group as the door activated, and in wheeled Jamie,
both legs intact yet obviously paralyzed completely.  Her doctor walked
in behind her on crutches, one leg gone at the hip.  The crowd moved
forward to congratulate Jamie on her womanhood, as they had for Jenna
months before, and Jenna wheeled right up to her, wheelchair to
wheelchair.
    "You look great, Jamie." She said earnestly.
     "Thanks, I feel great.  It takes a bit of getting used to, doesn't
it?" Jamie said, indicating her new wheelchair.
     "It certainly does, Jamie." Jenna said, patting Jamies' paralyzed
thigh.  "But once you're used to it, it's like it always meant to be."
     "I'm sure it does." Jamie replied with a smile, rubbing her hands
against her now unfeeling legs.