My ex-wife and I have been separated/divorced for over 20 years.

Renee was fully aware of my crossdressing and embraced it. For the most part. She had a love/hate relationship with it. More love than hate. In fact I rarely saw the "hate" part. It disappear for years and then resurface at the oddest times, but only for a little while. Hours at most.

Renee had an addiction problem, a cheating problem, and a controlling mother. Her mother had three children who all moved out of the state and she worked very hard at breaking up all three marriages to get her children back home and under her thumb. Needless to say it worked.

Fast forward 23 years. Renee had breast cancer and she recently beat it. We all supported her, including me. Our daughter lives here in town with me, and she and Renee had never really gotten along. Our Granddaughters birthday was a couple of weeks ago and Renee made arrangements to come out here to visit our Granddaughter.

I pretty much live 24/7 these days, except for work functions, and talked to my daughter Stephanie about it. She never a fan of her Mom's said to just go on like I normally do.

So Stephanie, I and my Granddaughter all were waiting for her at the airport..in almost matching dresses. Renee took one look at us and a big smile broke out and she came running the last few feet and gave ME a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I'm not too sure, who was more surprised me or Steph. Of course she gave our grand daughter a big hug and then Steph a bit more subdued hug.

We did all those things you do when someone comes to town, we took her out to eat and then drove back to our town and to Stephs. When we got there, Renee asked why we didn't go to my house first to drop off her stuff. I asked "Won't your husband be a bit upset?" To which she replied "I really don't care. I haven't been happy in a long time, and everyone knows it. Neither one of us is planning on a divorce. Not because of any love between us, but because neither one of us want to start over. Where I stay is my business, and I have already told him I am staying with you."

Renee was here for two weeks and she spent time with our Granddaughter and some with Steph. Though I fear those two will never like each other, which has always broke my heart. Still...

Once our Granddaughter went back to school and Steph back to work ( she is a teacher) Renee and I spent our days shopping and going out to eat and doing touristy things. The whole time as two women. We even went clubbing and dancing a couple of times. It was interesting watching her reactions as the men I knew hit on me/us and bought us drinks and danced with us.

On the day she had to go back, it was just me taking her to the airport. I dropped her bag off at the outdoor kiosk and we walked in together. She surprised me by taking and holding my hand through the airport. When we got to TSA she gave me a hug and started to tear up a bit. She told me that she had not had that much fun since leaving me and that leaving me was the biggest mistake of her life. Then really surprised me by saying she would gladly go into a lesbian relationship if I came back to California..and her mother be damned ( or words to that affect).

It's funny. Out here I've built a whole life for me; Michelle. Out there I have sisters and family, and friends and schoolmates, and still living parents. No matter what I do, I'm just not comfortable being "out" in liberal California. I DO go out when I'm home but not in the towns I call home. Out there perhaps five or six people know Michelle. Out here where I live, in the conservative heartland, maybe a dozen people,socially, know my "brother". Sure hundreds of people know my brother through our military service. We keep that professional life totally seperate from my real life.