Can happiness flourish after tragedy?

Forensics Studies

by

Paula Dillon

Eighteen-year-old Elliot Dresden was helping his father, Robert, load his sister’s things in the 6x12 U-Haul trailer. Rebecca, 22, had just graduated with a BS double major in Chemistry and Botany, with honors. Now she was headed to East Lansing, Michigan, to start on her PHD in Forensic Botany. She loved the idea of being able to solve crimes using trace evidence that she or others had collected.

Robert had gone with Rebecca when she had spoken to the people in Michigan State’s Graduate Admissions. After a favorable interview, Robert and Rebecca had gone out in Lansing and had found a nice 3-bedroom Condo and made an offer to buy, as Rebecca would be spending the next four to six years in Lansing, Michigan.

Back in Gainesville, Florida, they had hit the local Ikea, the Bed Bath and Beyond and Pier 1 Imports to help Rebecca flesh out her new Condo. From late spring to early summer they had stored all the boxes in the garage displacing Danika’s 2014 Yukon. Of course, Robert’s Lincoln MKZ still had its place of honor in the garage.

Rebecca’s 2012 Escalade had been heavily insulated, winterized and rust proofed, along with being made mechanically sound, to handle the epic winters that Michigan is famous for. Lansing averages just over fifty inches of snow a year and its winter temperatures can range from negative numbers to an average temp in the teens.

Danika, 48, had taken her daughter to many different shops to winterize her daughter’s wardrobe. Danika was born in Stockholm Sweden, where she spent her first fifteen years. Her father’s job moved to the United States and they came along too. Danika only missed the snow and the cold a bit, snow can be fun to play in, but being able to wear a bikini outside in January, in Miami, was very nice too.

She drilled Rebecca on the dangers of winter in the north. She helped Rebecca build a survival kit to store in her Escalade, that contained high energy foods, blankets, jumper cables, snow chains, kitty litter, flares, reflectors and such. Rebecca knew to keep her kitchen stocked for a month with non-perishable food, she was given four cases of MRE’s in ration heater packs. She was told to check the seven-day weather forecast and to check the daily weather forecast every day in the winter. Her ham radios had the capability to act as weather alert radios. Cold weather could come on like a juggernaut.

Robert, a 63-year-old electronics engineer, had insisted that everyone in his family be an Amateur Radio Operator. All of their cars were equipped with a minimum 2-meter/440 dual band radio and a separate 6-meter radio. He himself could talk to New Zeeland, South Africa or Europe from his Lincoln, on his mobile HF radio. Danika had actually contacted a Swiss Guard, who was a ham radio operator at the Vatican, on the same trip, as she had a contact with Pitcairn on a vacation trip. Two very rare radio contacts.

When the 6x12 U-Haul trailer was filled, all four of the Dresden’s sat around the kitchen table to have a conference, after Danika brought home a bucket of chicken, with all the sides. Robert, the head of the family, was in charge and set the agenda.

Rebecca was leaving in the middle of July, so that she could set up her condo, learn the city of Lansing, collect specimens of the local fauna and begin reading in her doctoral classes. She knew the classes she would be in already.

“Ok, tomorrow is Tuesday,” Robert said. “We hit the road at eight a.m. We will drive to Atlanta and spend the night, next to Cincinnati, then to Toledo and arrive in Lansing after a short drive. So we won’t be so road tired when we get to Lansing. Your Mom and I will spend the next two weeks helping you get set up, Rebecca, and then we will fly home.”

“Elliot, you will be here. I know there won’t be any wild parties and that you won’t tear the house up. You won’t starve, there is food in the house and I know you know how to cook and clean up after yourself.” Robert said, chuckling. “We expect you to start at the University of Florida in August.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to sell the house and steal your car, Dad.” Elliot said. “I am already registered and have my classes. I have my own money, if I eat all the food and my 70 Chevelle SS is in great shape and is a lot more Rad than your car or Mom’s. I wouldn’t drive something as respectable as they are.”

Elliot was a great driver and he hardly ever exceeded the speed limit, although he could with the twin turbo charged, EFI 396 engine, that Robert helped him piece together. He could go a lot faster. It had been one of Robert’s dream cars, but when they got it all together, Robert gave it to his seventeen-year-old son on his birthday.

They ate and discussed the move and their plans in some detail. Robert was a very meticulous man and a famous list maker. Danika was more extemporaneous in her actions but they all put up with Robert, because he could get the job done.

The rents headed to bed at nine-o-clock that night and left the kids in the living room. Dad was a little chauvinistic and would do the lion’s share of driving over the next four days. Rebecca and Elliot were sitting next to each other talking.

“Geez, I am going to miss you, Elliot.”

“I will miss you too, but if Dad gets his way, I will be coming to Lansing also, in two years.”

“He just wants to see you get into your studies before you join me. The first two years at any college are just basics anyway.”

“I know. I am going to be studying chemistry and geology. I think I like to think of us both going into Forensic Science.”

“Michigan State has one of the premiere graduate college programs for the study of forensic science.”

“I just hate to think about all that cold weather, it might be nice to go snow skiing for a week or two, but give me warm weather the rest of the time.”

“Tomorrow, I left some things for you in my room. We should be near Atlanta about six p.m. you can follow us on Google.aprs. Skype me and be ready to text me.”

Google.aprs was set up for ham radio operators. APRS stands for automatic packet reporting system. When an APRS unit is set up with a GPS system, you can follow the target on Google.aprs, in real time on a Google map. An APRS unit reports the GPS location and possibly other data, such as weather, if a computerized weather station was attached to the unit, every few minutes. There are ham radio stations all over the world that receive APRS signals and report their current location on Google.aprs on the internet.

Rebecca, stifled a yawn, she hugged Elliot and kissed his cheek and said, “I need to go to bed. I have to get up at six if I am to be ready to go at eight. You know daddy, he will leave me sitting here if I’m not ready to go.”

Robert wouldn’t actually leave her here, she was the reason for the trip, but he would be extremely impatient waiting for her and would remind her what this was doing to his time table. So, they both headed to bed at ten that night.

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Elliot and Rebecca were both awake within minutes of each other. Their parents would still be asleep for another forty-five or fifty minutes. When Rebecca was dressed in a Michigan State jersey and cut off shorts, no not daisy dukes, Elliot came into her room dressed in a basketball tank, gym shorts and running shoes. He helped his sister pack all her bags and loaded them in her Escalade. Elliot sat on the bed as Rebecca sat in front of her vanity to fix her face. She was leaving about half of her clothes here, along with her makeup. She was mostly just taking her new things and makeup with her.

“Don’t forget to check my closet after we leave. I will know when I skype you.”

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For five years, Elliot had been intermittently wearing her clothes, with her blessing. It started just before his thirteenth birthday accidentally. He got up one Saturday morning and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. The jeans were incredibly tight in the waist and loose through the hips, but he still got them on. He came out of his room complaining about his new blue jeans shrinking. His sister, who was sixteen at the time, had a giggle fit, when she saw him wearing a pair of her mid-rise jeans.

“Come here and let me look at you.” Her Guess mid-rise skinny jeans fit him pretty good, except the waist was a little tight and his hips and derriere were a little loose. “I have got just the thing to help you wear these jeans, come with me little brother.”

Rebecca took Elliot to her room and dug around in a drawer. She pulled out a spanx control padded brief. “I use to wear these before I started growing hips and butt. They pulled in my waist and gave me a butt. Pull the pants and your underwear off and put these on,” she said herding him into her bathroom.

They were always playing with each other and getting each other into trouble, having fun while doing it, so he did what she told him. He knew what she was handing him, but they were alone and he liked her. The spanx were really tight and sucked in his tummy, but the pants fit really well afterwards, at least they did after he found that he had something that needed to be relocated, to keep them from being crushed. He also realized that the pants weren’t his pants. His mom made a mistake returning the laundry.

Rebecca got him into a padded bra, one of her blouses, when he came out of her bathroom and into a pair of her high heel sandals. They were both surprised by the results. Even without putting on any makeup on Elliot and with his boy’s haircut, he still looked like his sister. They weren’t twins, Rebecca was two inches taller than he was and he was a little skinnier than she was. His face was narrower and his nose was smaller and cuter. Their feet were basically the same size. His feet were just a little wider than hers.

They stood together and looked at each other in a mirror. They looked good together. Elliot looked a year or two younger than his sister, but a year or two older than the boy he was. Rebecca wanted to make up his face, but she didn’t want to push it just now. She hadn’t thought about doing that before, but now she noticed how girlish his face was, not unlike Natalie Portman when she played Queen Amidala.

They had fun that day. Rebecca taught him how to walk in heels, after a rocky start falling, and almost falling a dozen times, he found his stride. The practice lasted an hour and maybe a half, till he had to sit down and rub the arches of his feet. They stayed dressed for four hours and he changed back an hour before they expected the rents back.

Elliot dressed up in Rebecca’s clothes once or twice a month, when their parents were at work. Robert worked on designing printed circuit boards for dozens of devices, from hand held radars, to differential global positioning systems. Danika worked as the director of design for a company that produced swimwear, bikini’s and accessories.

Danika discovered Elliot’s proclivities by accident. She was off one Saturday when Elliot was fourteen. She had trained the kid’s in doing their own laundry, but during final’s week for school, she decided to help them out. She went to the kid’s bathrooms and emptied their hampers. She found a pair of plain nylon panties, a padded bra, a spanx padded brief, a pair of Tommy Hilfiger low rise boot cut jeans and a tunic style top. The pants were Rebecca’s size, but the bra definitely wasn’t. There weren’t any girl’s clothes in Elliot’s closet or drawers. She washed the clothes and set all of Elliot’s things on his bed, for him to put up.

Elliot looked a little sheepish the next time she saw him, but she didn’t say anything to him. She knew that he knew, that she knew. Over the next few years, she still bought his clothes, but she also bought him a few plain looking but very nice panties, padded briefs, bras, ladies’ jeans and tops. She never saw him dressed in them, but she knew somebody was wearing them.

Over the years, Rebecca couldn’t get Elliot into a dress or a skirt, although she did teach him to do his own makeup. It didn’t make sense to her but she didn’t force him to wear anything or make him do his makeup.

She had been right in her thoughts, when Elliot did all of his own makeup. She got him to grow his hair out a bit and taught him to style it. He was a real babe when he was all done up. He seemed to like the post grunge look of Avril Levigne. He was better at doing his eyeliner than Rebecca was. Before some of her dates, she actually had him do her eyes.

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Elliot and Rebecca prepared breakfast for their parents, when they heard them begin to stir at around seven that morning. Elliot cooked as Rebecca made the orange juice, coffee and set the table. Robert always had a good breakfast and today was no different. He had two eggs, over easy, two breakfast sausages, hash browns and two biscuits, with strawberry preserves. Danika had two eggs, poached, a biscuit, with orange marmalade and a sausage. Rebecca and Elliot ate the same, two eggs, over easy, a sausage and a biscuit.

When Robert and Danika finished, they got up and went to their room to get ready, as did Rebecca. Elliot cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, before going to get ready for work.

Elliot worked from nine to three, four days a week, at Carson’s Bookstore. He worked checking new shipments and then stocking the shelves. He also relieved the people working the registers at times. He loved circulating and helping patrons decide on this book or that book. One lady tried to embarrass him by asking him about a couple of lesbian romances. He didn’t know anything about the books except which authors’ works sold better.

They all met up at the Escalade at five till eight. Elliot got his kisses and hugs. Danika told him to be good, Robert shook his hand and told him to hold down the fort. Rebecca cried a little and kissed her brother, sometime sister on the cheek. Then they were gone.

Elliot went back inside their home and had to check his sisters closet. He opened the door and nearly fainted. There on a hangar with a bow on it, was a long sleeve, v neck, fuchsia dress, along with a Victoria’s Secret bag and a shoe box on the floor.

Elliot had never worn a dress or a skirt before. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted too. He was afraid to. He liked wearing ladies’ pants, panties, the padded brief and tops. He even loved the makeup. He was afraid of losing himself. He was almost wearing panties all the time and loved them way too much. He wondered if he put on a dress that maybe he couldn’t go back to just being Elliot.

The crux of the problem was, he had promised his sister, whom he loved.

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Elliot had a busy day at the bookstore. He had fourteen boxes come in with just over three hundred books to check off the invoice and they needed to be shelved. Some books went on the just arrived table, others went in their subject/author area, which sometimes meant rearranging upwards of a hundred books, to make space, also rearranging books in their proper order, as customers didn’t always return the book to the space they came out of.

He once found a racy romance novel, mixed in with some children’s books. He was glad he caught that one. He could just see a twelve-year old picking up a soft core romance book and reading about what he did and she did, in the language of romance novels. Some of them could be quite steamy.

All the while he was at work, he thought about what he and his sister had done over the past few years. Rebecca, even at high school, was always interested in botany and chemistry. She and Elliot often went out in the woods to collect plant leaves and such. Often Elliot was dressed in his girl clothes, as the areas they went to, didn’t have many people that they would run into. They would mark the location on a map, GPS location, photograph, and then collect samples. This was the time that Elliot also became interested in geology. The areas they went to sometimes had very different geology.

Back at home, Elliot would help Rebecca sort out the cuttings of the plants and mount the specimens by sealing them between layers of wax paper, using an iron. Rebecca then identified the specimen by its taxonomy, listing kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species, if she could. Genus and species can be quite tricky at times. Rebecca had four footlockers that contained her collection of over a thousand specimens.

Elliot got books on chemistry and geology and began taking a rock hammer out with him and started collecting rock specimens. Some were easy to classify, many weren’t. Unfortunately, his school didn’t have a course on geology, so he found a college level class in geology, online.

On top of all of this, Rebecca gently put girl lessons on Elliot’s list of things to do when they were alone. She taught him the things girls do, how to do them and why they did them. He wasn’t an unwilling participant. He often found the things they did interesting and fun. He read Seventeen magazine, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle at various times. He became quite knowledgeable in what was fashionable, mixing and matching, make up looks and accessorizing. He also got quite comfortable in three, or four inch, heels and he kept his grades up while doing all this.

He had two B’s in four years of high school, in Spanish I & II. He and the teacher, Mr. Sanchez, just really didn’t get along. He did well in AP Chemistry and AP Calculus.

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Elliot got home from work and realized that if he was going to do this for Rebecca he had to get started, so that he could be dressed by six. He ran and took a shower in his sister’s bathroom, shaving his face and the rest of his body. His face didn’t need it, but his pits, arms and legs had a bit of peach fuzz since he last shaved them. He shaved his bikini area also, except for a small triangle. He also shaved off his sparse side burns after taking a close look in a mirror. He loved using his sisters bath gel, but couldn’t use it all the time, it had a fragrance of lavender that persisted for hours. He did have the same shampoo and conditioner as his sister. She used Paul Mitchell’s hair care products and they smelled of coconuts, almost good enough to eat and left his hair silky and smooth. He dried off and used his sister’s body moisturizer and scented powder, before partially drying his hair on a cool setting.

In his sister’s room, he put on his panties, a padded brief and one of his padded bras. His mom had bought him a bra that gave him a modest 34B bust line. He really should have worn a 36, but the 34 was less likely to twist around on him while he was wearing it. He sat at his sister’s vanity and began to work. He put his hair up in a high ponytail, pulling his hair back tightly. He then used curling gel and hot curlers to roll the ponytail up.

He then took some white glue and foundation and mixed them thoroughly. He used this concoction to hide his masculine eyebrows. They weren’t bushy or overly large, but they were far from feminine. He took a makeup stick then and did a lot of work contouring his face. He highlighted his cheeks, worked to make his nose smaller and more feminine. He worked on his jawline and his throat. After working in all the contouring, till it wasn’t obvious, he applied foundation.

If he had done nothing else, he would never have been mistaken for a boy. In a way he mourned, how easily he was transformed, but paradoxically the transformation also excited him. Not sexual excitement, junior hadn’t stirred, but from the of joy in looking sexy and feminine.

Then he began his real artwork. He used makeup to create two really sexy arched eyebrows. He lined his eyes, creating wings to the outside, applied false eyelashes as his were not really adequate and used three shades of shadow to create a ‘barely there’ effect, but one that dramatically added depth and color to his eyes. On his cheeks he brushed just a hint of cool pink blendable blush, without overwhelming his natural color. Lastly he did his lips in MAC’s Ruby Woo filling them in a natural pointy style lip.

He couldn’t help himself as he stared at the woman reflected in the mirror, whom looked a lot like Taylor Swift, except for his light brown hair, to her blonde hair color (at times). He leaned into the mirror and kissed the woman. He thought he could send his mother a picture and it would take her several minutes of looking at the woman to recognize her as Elliot. He fixed his lips and cleaned the mirror before he looked doe eyed, pouty smile, with some pearly whites showing, straight into the mirror and took a selfie, sending it to Rebecca. Seconds later he received a “WOW, you have got to teach me that look!” back.

Elliot had to revert to the feminine name he had thought about Michelle Briana Dresden. It was a name he had picked long ago, but never told his sister or anyone else for that matter.

He, no she thought to herself, she went to Rebecca’s closet and retrieved the dress, the Victoria’s Secret bag and the shoe box she saw. Michelle hung the dress on a door hook and put the shoe box and lingerie bag on the bed. She opened the bag, inside were bra, panties, another padded brief, garter belt, stockings. She stripped and began to dress.

She had never worn a garter belt and stockings before, although she had worn pantyhose. Rebecca still had taught her. Rebecca had worn a leotard and tights, demonstrating how to wear the garter belt and stockings. First came the garter belt. This one was a tummy trimming garter belt. She had ten hooks to do up the back and was made in a shimmery champagne color stretch fabric covered in lace. It took almost eight minutes to get it in place, pulling and hooking. The belt snugged her waist in a little over two inches and felt bullet proof. Four straps hung down. She sat and worked the lace pattern stockings up her legs. The feeling was tremendous, like electric shocks of pleasure up her spine. It caused Michelle to shiver in pleasure.

Panties and brief followed the stockings. The padded brief had more silicone padding than she had ever worn. It added almost four shapely inches to the hips and derriere, instead of the two and a half inches to the backside. The bra had large silicone breast forms store in pockets in the cup. The label said 34D. It weighed over twice what the bra she took off weighed. She put the bra on and adjusted the padded (thank god) straps. The shoe box label stated that it contained a pair of size 40 Shimmery Silver Satan Ferragamo pumps with 10cm stiletto heels. The shoes were just a tad narrow at the toe and heel, but they looked so gorgeous on her feet. A size 41 might fit better she thought.

The dress was a radiant shimmery fuchsia. The hem would be just below mid-thigh, but there was three layers of shimmery fringe strings that would hang down just above the knee. Michelle unziped the dress and stepped into it. She never had to work a back zipper before and it took a couple of minutes to zip it up. The dress fit like a glove from the bodice to mid-hip where it just hung straight to above the knee. The back and neck were v-ed but covered the bra completely.

Michelle sat and adjusted her makeup a bit to go with the dress. She unrolled her hair and four ringlets hung down from the elastic band she used. She sprayed her hair with hair spray to set the look. She opened Rebecca’s jewelry box. There was a large Austrian crystal and silver necklace, with many large crystals, matching chandelier earrings, silver bangles and a large silver cuff bracelet. She could wait to put them on.

She stood and looked in her sister’s full length mirror. She was gorgeous from head to toe. Michelle knew she had crossed a barrier, Hell make that, she blew the frigging wall down. She wondered if Elliot could ever come back or whether she should pack him away. No she had to be Elliot for her family. She could still come back and play though, she thought with a giggle.

She took a couple of selfies, as she posed from several angles and sent it to her own email account. Her backside reminded her a little of Christina Aguilera, as she now had big breasts, hips and a nicely rounded posterior. Rebecca could wait to see the dress. In the radio room, she sat and fired up the three computers with large computer monitors. On the left screen she opened her email up and looked at her picture. It would have been so nice not to have her iPhone in the mirror shot but it was still quite startling.

On the right screen, she pulled up Google.aprs. Michelle saw that her family were approaching Atlanta from IH 85. They had diverted to Tallahassee to visit with a friend, but now they were about twenty minutes out. She knew her Dad wanted to get through Atlanta and find a motel on the north west side of town. It would be ten to twenty minutes before Rebecca could get a good 4G signal so she could Skype her, so she went ahead and forwarded the picture to her sister by email.

She got a text back on her iPhone, “Gawd I can’t believe it’s you.” “Mom and I bought that outfit for you.” “She is shaking her head looking at those pics.”

Michelle texted back, “She knows.”

“She talked to me years ago. She found out doing the laundry. Don’t worry she doesn’t mind. Might be too much for Dad. But he loves you. So, it’s just between us girls. We didn’t want to push you. But it was time to either fish or cut bait.”

“I love you Rebecca, I expected the dress. You should have told me about Mom.”

“Why and spoil the fun. It was her idea. I think she is going to miss not having a daughter around.”

“She wants me to dress for her?”

“It wouldn’t hurt. She knows after all. She has been hoping, that you would talk to her. She gave you hints.”

All of the sudden Michelle gets a Skype request. “Hello, Elliot. How did work go today?” Rebecca said.
“Hello Elliot, we are just getting to Atlanta,” their dad said.
“Hello sweaty,” Mom replied. “Having a good day?”

“Great Mom. Dad I am following you guys on APRS and Sis, work was busy. I had a ton of books to shelve and dozens of customers to help. That new Patterson book came out today.”

“I really love that last FB post.” Danika said.

Michelle then got a text, “Find a cute cat or dog pic. Mom is referring to the dress pic. We’ve been texting back and forth about you.”

As if on cue, Danika texted, “Elliot, I can’t believe how pretty you are.”

“Sorry Mom. I was afraid of talking about it with you.”

“No problem, cat is out of the bag now with me.”

They talked back and forth on Skype for ten minutes. Then all of the sudden the picture Michelle was receiving shuddered, rolled around and then went blank. Michelle tried calling Rebecca, her mom and lastly her dad nobody answered. She kept trying for twenty minutes, using her cell phone, skype and a land line to call, she didn’t get anyone. Google.aprs showed the family car hadn’t moved in all this time.

Michelle Googled Atlanta PD’s telephone number and called them using her land line connection.

“Atlanta Police Department how can I help you?” A woman asked.

“My dad was driving my sister to Michigan State. I was talking to my sister as they were driving on IH 285 on the west of Atlanta and we were suddenly cut off. Was there a big traffic accident?”

“What is your name?”

“I am Elliot Dresden of Gainesville Florida. My father is Robert Dresden, my mom is Danika Dresden and my sister is Rebecca Dresden. There were driving in a black Cadillac Escalade, towing a U-Haul trailer.”

“Can I get a phone number and I will call you back as soon as I know something?”

Elliot gave the woman his telephone number and after a few more words were exchanged, he hung up.

He then Skyped his Aunt Susan Bergstrom in Syracuse New York. She was his mom’s sister and worked at home editing books. She was at her computer working when Elliot called.

“Aunt Susan, Mom, Dad and Rebecca were headed to Michigan. I was talking to them on the phone and then nothing.

“Elliot is that you?” Susan asked, seeing a very pretty girl on her monitor.

“Oh god,” Elliot said, realizing he still was in a dress and had on makeup. “Yes it’s me. Oh God, I am so afraid Auntie. I called Atlanta PD, that’s where they were when I lost them.”

“Slow down sweetie, start at the beginning and tell me again.”

Elliot stopped and took a breath and began telling his aunt about talking to his sister, texting his mom, as he was following them on the computer.

“They haven’t moved in a half hour Aunt Susan.”

Susan looked up Google.aprs on her computer and saw her borther-in-laws call sign on IH 285, “Let me make some inquiries and I will get back to you. Take some time to calm down and fix your makeup. You look quite lovely. I expect you to look very pretty when I call back.” Susan said as she disconnected.

Michelle was shaking as she went back to her sister’s room. When she looked in the mirror, her makeup was streaked from tears. She took a makeup wipe and cleaned her face. She thought about reverting to Elliot, but found herself reapplying her makeup. She did a normal makeup look instead of the glamour look she had used before. She then went to the radio room and waited by the phone and the computer.

It took thirty minutes before Aunt Susan Skyped back, “Elliot they won’t say anything over the phone except that there has been a major accident on IH 285. Stand up and let me get a good look at you.”

Elliot did as Susan asked. He stepped back far enough for the computer’s camera to get a full length shot.

“Oh my you look so good.”

“I am Michelle when I look like this Aunt Susan. Michelle Briana Dresden.”

“Ok Michelle. Now look Michelle, I don’t think they will tell us anything over the phone. If it is bad, they will contact the Florida Highway Patrol or the Gainesville Police to make any notifications. As much as I love the way you look, they will need to speak to Elliot. So go ahead and dress as Elliot, but don’t think that this is the last time I will see my niece. I am going to start packing and making travel arrangements. So go ahead and get yourself straightened up.”

“I will call you if I hear anything Aunt Susan.”

“Good I will be waiting.”

Michelle went to Elliot’s room and undressed down to her padded brief, laying her things out on the bed. For some reason she didn’t want to take the padded brief and stockings off. She set her jewelry out on the dresser. Even though she brushed out her hair it did nothing to make it look more like Elliot’s. Elliot then made a mental shift but still he dressed in his girl jeans and a University of Florida football jersey and his running shoes. She just barely got the jeans over her hips, but the waist actually fit better now, but the garter straps were visible, when he sat. The jersey came down three inches below her crotch, Michelle could belt it and wear it as a mini-dress. Shit he couldn’t think straight right now mixing pronouns in his head.

Elliot was hungry but he didn’t feel like eating. He sat and fretted. He again tried calling. His sister’s car fell off the map after two hours without an update. It was close to nine thirty that night when the door bell rung.

Elliot got up and answered the door. There was a police sergeant and another man that looked like a chaplin.

“Are my Mom, Dad and Sister all dead?” he asked.

“Hello, I am Sergeant William Greavey and this is Chaplin Davis. May we come in.”

Elliot just turned away and walked into the living room. The policeman and the chaplin followed him in.

They stood in the living room and Sergeant Greavey said, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I see that you already had an inkling as to what has happened.”

“I was following their car on the internet and talking to my sister at the time. My family are all ham radio operators. My sister’s car was equipped with a APRS unit connected to a GPS unit. I could see that they were near Atlanta, Georgia on Google.aprs.”

“I am sorry, Danika and Robert Dresden were pronounced dead on the scene. Rebecca Dresden died on the way to the hospital.”

Elliot sat and started crying in earnest. The policeman and the chaplin also sat and tried to comfort Elliot.

“You said, you were talking to Rebecca at the time?”

“Yes my Father was driving and Mom was in the front passenger seat. Sis was in the back. When she got near enough to Atlanta to get a 4G signal we began Skyping. Mom also texted me.”

“Did your father text you or talk to you?”

“No, he never took driving for granted, although he did give me a shout out. We talked about ten minutes and then the picture went topsy-turvy and then black. I tried to call several times, but no one answered.”

“I know what time Atlanta said it happened, but what time do you say it happened?”

Elliot looked at his iPhone and read the last time stamp on the last chat he received and showed the Sergeant. Sergeant Greavey made a note on the time.

“Witnesses and the Escalade’s dashcam showed the accident. An 18 wheeler apparently merged right hitting the Escalade, which rolled over several times. You need to contact Sergeant David Preston of the Atlanta Police Department.” Sergeant Greavey said, handing Elliot a piece of paper. “Again we are very sorry for your loss.”

They two men shook hands with Elliot and wished him the best before leaving. Elliot went to the radio room and skyped his aunt.

“They’re gone Aunt Susan. Mom and Dad died on the scene and Rebecca died on the way to the hospital.”

“I am so sorry, Elliot. How are you doing?”

Elliot started crying and said, “I am all right, I am going to miss them so bad.”

“I know sweetie. I will miss them too.”

“I was given a phone number of a policeman in Atlanta and I wonder if you would like to hear it too?”

“You bet I do!”

Elliot dialed the number on their land line and hit the speaker button. The phone was picked up on the second ring.

“Sergeant Preston, Atlanta Police Department.”

“Hello, this is Elliot Dresden, in Gainesville Florida and I have my Aunt Susan Bergstrom, in Syracuse, New York listening in. She was my mom’s sister.”

Sergeant Preston gave his condolences to the two of them and began to give them details of the accident echoing what they had been told. He hated to do it but asked if one of them or both could come and identify the bodies and make arraignments. They both said that they would be there tomorrow afternoon. After a few more words were spoken, Sergeant Preston hung up.

“I know that this is going to be hard on you Elliot, but there are some things you must do.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Call your dad’s lawyer tonight. Give him all the pertinent information. I need you to get some clothes for your family to be buried in. Did your sister leave a suit there?”

“I will check, but I think so. She got a whole new wardrobe for school.”

“Good. No jewelry though. Some funeral homes have been known to steal things like that. Can you be in Atlanta by one?”

“Yes ma’am, that is a five-hour drive.”

“Pick me up at the United terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.”

“I can do that.”

“Don’t leave Gainesville unless you get at least five hours of sleep, Elliot I don’t want to lose you too. Be strong for the next week sweetie, there will be time to grieve after we take care of our family. Love you and oh bring Michelle’s things too, I would like to meet her also. Well spend the night there and maybe another day, till we get things sorted out.”

“Love you too, Aunt Susan. Bye.”

They hung up and Elliot found the phone number for his Dad’s lawyer. His lawyer was Adrianna Weston. He called her home number and informed her. The call lasted over thirty minutes as Adrianna wanted certain information and gave Elliot some information too. When he told her that he and Susan were going to identify the bodies and make arrangements, she said that she would meet them at the Fulton County Coroner’s Office tomorrow.

“Don’t worry Elliot, we can get over this. Please take care driving.”

Elliot did all the things he was told to do and got six hours of sleep waking at five-forty-five. He dressed in Michelle’s lingerie and jeans, with his dress shirt, dress shoes and sports coat. After loading his dad’s Lincoln, he headed out.

He picked up his aunt and they had a good cry in the car, before they left the airport for the short drive to the Coroner’s Office. Ms. Weston raised an eyebrow when she saw Elliot. He looked to have womanly hips and derriere. She hugged Elliot and Mrs. Bergstrom after she was introduced.

Together they identified the family. There wouldn’t be open caskets due to injuries. The coroner wouldn’t release the bodies till his reports came back. The autopsy on Robert Dresden’s, needed to be complete first, since the deaths were a result of a traffic accident and charges could be pending on the truck driver. He cited the possibility of contributory factors of Robert’s age and health. They should release the bodies within two days, though.

“Would you two wait outside? I would like to talk to the coroner for a second. I want to take you two out to dinner tonight,” Ms. Weston asked.

Susan and Elliot stepped out and waited in the corridor.

Ms. Weston came out a few minutes later with a large bag of personal property of Robert, Danika and Rebecca Dresden.

“I just remembered to ask for their personal property. I also took time to get us a couple of suites at the Sheraton Hotel, a suite for you two, and I’m in the next suite. I can’t tell you how much I will miss your dad. I was a new lawyer in town and he was my first big client. I would do anything for him.”

Elliot called up the hotel on his iPhone. It was just a few miles away, “Ok we will meet you at the hotel in fifteen minutes.”

Susan and Elliot drove to the Sheridan and took everything out of the car and let a valet park the car. They met Adrianna at the check-in desk. In their rooms a bellman unloaded all the bags.

“The black suit bag is Dad’s, the white suit bag is Mom’s and the pink suit bag is Rebecca’s” Elliot told his aunt. “I got everything you asked for, for them.”

“You have done well, Elliot I am so proud of you. Let’s shower and get dressed for dinner. Did you bring a nice suit for Elliot?”

“Yes, I brought my black suit.”

“Good, also you might take the padding off, I think it makes your tush look good, but it looks unusual on a boy.”

“I didn’t realize it till I was dressed. I came close to putting on a bra. I will leave it off.”

“Ok sweetie, get a little rest, shower and be ready to leave in two hours. Don’t be afraid to come to my room if you need a good cry.”

Elliot took the bags containing his family’s personal property and sat on his bed, as he went through them. He checked to see if everything appeared to be there. As far as he could tell their ID and credit cards were there. He put their money in his wallet. From his sister’s and mom’s purses, he took out their makeup bags. In his Mom’s makeup bag, he found a matt nude lipstick. He took it, and a compact, and used it on his lips. It changed his lip color a little but looked somewhat natural. Best of all, his mom had used it last. He dreamt of her kissing him as he put it on. Elliot put their makeup in his suitcase.

He did have a cry as he held, what was left of his family’s things. He knew that they had been more than these trinkets, but he derived some comfort by holding them.

Elliot opened his eyes after some time had passed. He had to hurry to get a shower in and get dressed. He dressed in panties and off black lace patterned pantyhose, leaving off the padded briefs. He looked like a million dollars when he finally got dressed in his white French cuff dress shirt, black suit pants, tie, dress coat and black patent leather oxfords.

Danika had taken him shopping for the suit. They, or rather she, spent five hours looking for the right look. On his slim build, the jacket and pants had to be heavily tailored to fit right. If you asked him, he could have gone without getting a suit.

Just before he left his room, he stood in front of the mirror and added some nude lipstick. It did add a little color, but his dried lips needed the touch.

Ms. Weston and Aunt Susan were sitting in the living room of the suite talking, when he exited his room.

“Oh my, you look good Elliot,” Susan said, coming over to take a good look and to adjust the tie.

Elliot giggled to himself, why do most women adjust a man’s tie. It didn’t look any different to him than when he had adjusted it.

“Mom bought this suit for me at Christmas, I think it’s Givenchy. The tailor had to take a 36R and heavily tailor it to fit.”

“You look very handsome,” Adrianna added.

Susan was dressed in a chiffon teal, knee length, cocktail dress that was fitted to the top of the hips and had a multi-layered flared skirt, with silver stiletto pumps. Adrianna was wearing a red, just above the knee suit, with a white blouse and several pieces of gold jewelry, with red pumps. Her jacket was fitted at the waist and the skirt was a straight skirt.

Adrianna came over to Elliot, “Elliot your Aunt and I were talking. I want to ask you a question. It doesn’t matter one Iota to me, except I can help you out. Are you transgender?”

Elliot stood there and thought for a few seconds. If someone had asked a week ago he would have been terrorized inside and would have staunchly denied it. His sister had seen it in him, his mother seemed to believe he was, heck even his Aunt had seen him in a dress, heels and makeup.

“Yes. I am. My sister and mother got me to admit it to myself. Internally I was in denial.” He took out his cell phone and showed Adrianna.

“Oh my gawd, you look gorgeous. Tell me you have that dress here.”

“I have the dress and heels here with some makeup, I left the jewelry back home.”

“Do you have a fem name?”

“Michelle Briana Larsson, I had used Dresden, but Larsson was my mother’s maiden name. I loved my Dad too, but I would rather carry my Mom’s maiden name.”

“Mine too,” Susan said.

“You are so dressing up tomorrow. Now let’s go eat, I am starving.”

While they ate Adrianna laid out what she was going to do tomorrow. She was going to talk with the police accident investigators. They were talking about charging the truck driver with vehicular homicide but, wanted to make sure that Robert hadn’t driving impaired, suffering from low blood sugar or under the influence.

“Dad installed dash cams in all our cars, he had seen accident video’s on You Tube before. The dashcam would really help investigators in the accident reconstruction.”

“I need to get a hold of that video.”

“It probably is up on his cloud. It does that when it gets a solid 4G signal.”

“Regardless, we are most certainly suing Jenkins, Smyth, Erickson trucking company. Witnesses have said the truck merged through your family and rolled them. I have already seen the car, but couldn’t touch it yet. Can you get into your father’s cloud?”

“Yes, I can.”

“We will do that when we get back to my hotel room. You can use my laptop.”

“Ok, I can do that, but I don’t want Aunt Susan or myself to watch the video past first contact.”

“You might have to in court, but you won’t have to tonight. Also, don’t worry about money. I don’t know how much you know about your parent’s finances, but they were doing much better than average. They also had nice insurance policies. You can’t buy the QEII or Trump Plaza, but you don’t have worry about your finances. I will have a better reckoning for you in a month or so. I just need to speak to your father’s accountant. Also, your father and mother did have a will, your sister didn’t, that I know of. Except for a few friends that received certain small bequests, everything is yours.”

“Are you going to college this year?”

“I was, I am registered and paid. Classes start next month.”

Susan and Adrianna both agreed, that even if he didn’t feel good about it, he should go anyway. Having something to do would only help him get on with living.

“I will call your dean for you if you want. They may make some accommodation if your grades fall for a semester. Also next week, I will have a list of doctors for you to see, so you can live full time as a girl. Susan can you spend an extra week or two with Michelle.”

“I am a book editor and I work from my home, I save all my work daily on my publisher’s server. So as long as I have a good computer I’ll stay, although I will have to go to New York for meetings with my authors two or three times a month. I can spend about a month in Florida easily.”

“Dad has a hell of a computer system.”

Back at the hotel, they went to Adrianna’s room. Five minutes after Elliot booted her laptop he found the dash cam videos. One spilt screen front and interior of the SUV and one rear of the SUV. He joined his Aunt sitting on a couch as Adrianna played the videos. They could see her flinch at one point.

“Shit, you may own the company.”

“I don’t want to own them, but I want them to know just how they hurt me.”

“Oh they will know your hurt. Don’t be surprised if I can get five or ten million dollars.”

“Just don’t run them out of business.”

>>>>><<<<<

Elliot slept fitfully and finally got up at four-ten according to his watch. He showered and shampooed again and shaved his body, he could feel a little stubble. Today he went full Michelle. Her pants were nicely tight at the hips, but the waist and legs fit well. She went with the 34D bra and had to bring some of her mom’s tops, because the tops Elliot usually wore in girl mode wouldn’t fit at the bust. Her mom did have some really nice, stylish tops. She chose a white poet’s blouse with large ruffles hanging from the throat and her Ferragamo heels.

She then gathered the makeup she had and began to create a dramatic daytime look. She first did her nails, she filed them into ovals. She wished they were longer, but Elliot would have looked strange with opera length nails. She then used Opi Red Hot Rio nail polish as she was going to use a bold red lipstick. Michelle then got to work on her contouring, foundation and pressed powder. She plucked a few stray brow hairs although she wanted to arch them a bit. She used makeup and a brush to give them a slight arch. Since her lips were going to be bold she went subdued on her eyelids. She lined her upper lid added a shorter false eyelash and used cream, light gray and charcoal eye shadows. She hollowed her cheeks a bit with just a touch of blush and finished off with DNA Really Red lipstick.

Her sister’s Hobo bag was in the best shape, because she had it inside a large tote bag. She just had to clean it a bit. Inside the tote was a large flannel roll up of some sort. Michelle unrolled it and found her sister’s nice jewelry. She selected a maroon velvet ribbon choker with an amethyst cameo. She picked out a brass cuff bracelet for her left and four bangles for her right, along with several rings. She also put on her mom’s wedding set, with her dad’s wedding band on one of Rebecca’s 30-inch gold chains, which hung on top of the ruffles, where her cleavage would be. She put Elliot’s Tablet and iPhone into the Hobo bag, along with his wallet and keys. The hotel keycard went into the purse’s side pocket.

She took a sheet of stationary and wrote a note. Couldn’t Sleep, got dressed, wandering around, be back at eight, or call me.

Michelle then left the room. Elliot would have been afraid to go out dressed as a girl. Michelle didn’t give a shit. She was staying in the hotel, she didn’t want to be discovered as transgendered, but she didn’t give a shit if she was. She would be gone from here in a day or two.

When she opened the door to the suite, there was a newspaper lying in front of the door. She knelt like a girl and picked it up, carrying it with her. She took the elevator to the lobby and went to the hotel’s restaurant, which was just opening. She was escorted to a booth and ordered a cappuccino.

“I want to wait till my Aunt gets up before I eat, but I want to read my paper and check my e-mail.” She told the waitress.

She took her tablet out first and began checking Elliot’s e-mail. His boss sent him an email asking where he was. Elliot had missed work. Michelle sent a reply, stating the obvious, he was out of town and the reason he hadn’t been at work. She also emailed a few of his friends, mostly girls he knew and told them. She asked one girl to call when she had time.

She then checked Elliot’s Facebook account and updated it with the announcement. She posted a message on all three of her family’s FB pages and on Elliot’s, including birthdate and the day they passed away, ringing the announcement in black. Michelle then wrote a four-sentence explanation about what happened, signing the note as Elliot Dresden.

Michelle then started reading the newspaper. She found a story and a picture on the accident. The picture came from a traffic cam set up to monitor traffic flow. It was easy to see that the truck was diving for an exit onto another highway. She was reading the paper when she heard, “Excuse me.”

Ms. Weston was there dressed in a black suit. “Oh Hi Ms. Weston. Please have a seat.”

Adrianna sat and asked, “You couldn’t sleep?”

“No, I have been up since a bit after four.”

“I must say you look marvelous. Is your aunt up yet?”

“No, I didn’t want to wake her. Here is a story about the accident and it includes a picture.” Michelle shared with Adrianna.

“Well that picture is the nail in that driver’s coffin. Oh, I am so sorry; I shouldn’t have said it that way.”

“That’s ok. I know what you meant. I posted on Elliot’s FB page and each of my family’s pages, about their death’s. I need to call my father and mother’s employer and let them know. Oh Ms. Weston, what about my sister’s condo in Lansing Michigan.”

“She owns a condo in Michigan?”

“Yes, he bought it for me and her. It’s in Dad’s name though.” Michelle opened Rebecca’s wallet and pulled a piece of paper out with the address.

“I will call and check on it. It’s no big deal we just have to file a court order there after probate. Do you have money?”

“I have eight thousand in my own account and a debit card. It’s listed as E.W. Dresden. Plus, my dad had about a thousand dollars in his wallet and mom had three hundred or so. Rebecca had about five hundred. I can live six or seven months.”

“Money should start coming in about two weeks from the insurance. You’ll have millions tax free, that won’t have to be probated. Get a bunch of those newspapers. It could make things easier along with their death certificates.”

Michelle’s cell phone rang, “Hello… I am down in the restaurant with Ms. Weston… Not yet. I was waiting for you… Ok see you in a bit.”

“Aunt Susan just got up. She is going to shower and get dressed. She’ll be here in thirty minutes.”

“I will need to be on my way in a little bit. I need to meet the investigator in an hour.”

Adrianna ate and talked with Michelle. She took the paper with her to show the investigator. A few minutes later, Susan came down to the restaurant. She raised both eyebrows when she saw Michelle.

“What’s good Michelle? You look absolutely fabulous by the way.”

“I haven’t eaten yet, but Ms. Weston had the Southern Breakfast: two eggs, two sausages, two strips of bacon, grits, gravy and a biscuit. Their cappuccinos are pretty good too.”

They ate and talked. Michelle stated that the week after the funeral, she was going to live full time as Michelle. They talked about the implications. Elliot had never been so direct, but Michelle said, “I don’t have many friends, never needed them. I don’t care what Mom’s and Dad’s friends think. I am going to live my life my way. If I have to move to a place where nobody knows me I will. I could move to Syracuse for a while couldn’t I.”

“I would be glad to have you for a while, if college doesn’t work out, but I really want you to give the University of Florida your best shot first.”

“I will Aunt Susan.”

Elliot’s phone rang, “Hello,”

“Hello Elliot. Ben Carson. I just read the Facebook notice, is it true.”

“Yes, Ben I am afraid it is. I am in Atlanta, Georgia, with my aunt and Dad’s lawyer waiting to get the bodies released. You are Dad’s closet friend, can you arrange for pallbearers for Dad, Mom and Sis.”

“Sure, don’t worry about it. I will spread the word at the office and call your Mom’s workplace for you. You have all of our prayers buddy, be strong.”

“I will.”

“Call me when you get the information about the funeral home and such. Bye.”

“Goodbye Ben.”

“Turn your phone off for now, or you will get flooded with calls. Today is for the living, tomorrow we mourn.”

Michelle changed Elliot’s voice mail message, “I can’t answer the phone today, I am busy dealing with the loss of my family and their remains. Leave a message and I will get back to you when I can,” and turned the phone off.

“So what are we going to do today, Aunt Susan?”

“I am taking my niece shopping for clothes. Adrianna has my number if she needs us. What does Michelle, have for clothes?”

“One dress, four pair of ladies’ jeans, and about a dozen tops that don’t fit with these breast forms on.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, Elliot was in denial till a couple of days ago, I had never worn a dress or a skirt, till the day before yesterday. This is mom’s blouse.”

“You’ll have plenty of jewelry.

“Yes, I will have Mom’s and Sis’s. I am wearing Mom’s wedding set and Dad’s wedding band on one of Rebecca’s necklaces. So I will have a piece of all three of them with me. I need to recover Rebecca’s costume jewelry box and I have Mom’s jewelry box at home. Sis had her good stuff in a flannel roll up in her tote bag.”

“Shoes?”

“I can wear Mom’s. Rebecca’s shoes are too narrow and short. I can wear Mom’s suits. I will need to lose about two inches in the waist. Mom had a 27” waist, I can’t hope to get down to Sis’s 24” waist although I can wear her low rise jeans.”

“Do you want to be this size up top?”

“Mom selected it. Sis had me in a 34B, I am wearing a 34D right now. I like it.”

“Well, we will just have to get you everything.” Susan said taking out her tablet and making a list: Bras, panties, padded briefs, corsets, hosiery, shoes, dresses, skirts, tops, jeans, slacks, shorts, workout clothes, “How are you on makeup.”

“I have some, plus I have Mom’s and Rebecca’s.”

“Get rid of any open eye makeup that belongs to your mother and sister. I’ll just add it to my list. You’ll want your own ‘first’ nice purse and wallet. Your probably covered pretty good on accessories.”

“I have Mom’s; Rebecca’s was in the Escalade. We haven’t gotten their suit cases back yet.”

“Right. We will get you some more of your own makeup.”

As they drove to the mall, Susan asked if Michelle knew her measurements and sizes. Elliot had known his sizes 31-inches in the chest, quite small for a guy, 30-inches in the waist and 35-inches in the hip, with a height of 5-foot 7.5-inches and a shoe size of seven and a half C in a men’s shoe. Michelle was 38-28-38. She wore a 34D instead of a 36C bra because the tighter bra kept her breast forms in place better. The padded brief added three inches to her hip and her shoes were a ladies 9W. Her top and bottom sizes were 6 and 12 respectively according to a U.S. Standard size chart.

“But the rule is, try everything on, to see if it fits, Michelle. That size chart is just a guideline to manufacturers, who sometimes play with sizing, to flatter women.”

“I know. I read that in Elle Magazine. It’s a boost to some women’s ego to know they can fit a smaller size. Also, just how many standard women are there. There are more guys who fall into standard sizing than women, because women’s curves complicate matters.”

They first stopped at a specialty lingerie shop. This shop also sold high quality breasts forms to mastectomy patients and transsexuals. They were very discrete. Susan selected some breast forms to fit the 34D bra, but after measuring the Attendant suggest either a 36C or a size larger to 36D. Her breast forms were made to attach with two different adhesives, either a short-term adhesive that releases in a day or two and can easily be peeled off or one that can hold on for up to two weeks and needs a solvent to remove. Susan suggested the 36D.

The lady attached the breast forms with the temporary adhesive. Michelle was then laced into a waist nipper corset, that brought her waist down to a 26, and had hip and silicone butt pads attached like the breast forms, but with the long term adhesive. They felt better to Michelle, than the padded brief. The lady also used a dye to match Michelle’s skin tone and texture. As long as someone didn’t closely inspect them they would pass for her skin, as long as she didn’t tan.

Michelle then was measured; she gained an inch and a half in the bust, but lost an inch in the waist and hips. She tried on dozens of bras and bought eight, four more corsets, three under the bust and one over the bust, plus the waist nipper. Susan also selected a small mountain of other bits of lingerie, including panties, stockings, camisoles, baby doll nighties, two satin robes and such. Michelle selected a half dozen spanx control briefs, to help her keep some things hidden.

Susan paid for everything, but refused to tell Michelle what she had spent for everything.

When Michelle dressed, everything fit better, her mother’s poet shirt fit better and the camisole made the blouse look better. The stay up stockings felt the best to her, under her jeans, without the garters.

Shopping as a girl came as quite a shock to Michelle. Aunt Susan seemed to go crazy. Having Michelle try on various outfits. Michelle was quite knowledgeable from reading all of Rebecca’s and Danika’s fashion magazines and started picking out looks that she really liked for her. She was surprised at the cost of all the clothes. Elliot bought pants at seventy-five to a hundred dollars, the skirts they were looking at started at a hundred and a quarter, to four or five hundred. She was talked into wearing a wool, above the knee, black pencil-skirt, out of one store, instead of her jeans. She found it easier to get in and out of the skirt, to try on other clothes. They ravaged a shoe store by buying ten pair of shoes; then Susan filled a large rolling makeup kit, with new makeup. They both got free makeovers with their purchase, and she had her own scent ‘Commodity Magnolia’. Michelle loved the smell of Magnolia.

When Michelle called ‘Uncle’ to stop the onslaught of clothes, they had touched everything on Susan’s list.

“Now, that is a good starter to your wardrobe.”

“I think this is everything I will need for a year.”

“Oh no, didn’t you ever check your sister’s or mother’s closets?”

Susan was right, Rebecca had about twice what she now had and her mom had even more, because she had stopped growing years ago.

Susan had also bought Michelle a new luggage set and garment bags. It took two bellman carts to get everything up to their suite. The message light on the phone was blinking, so Michelle called up the message.

It was Adrianna. “Got some news, the Coroner called and they will release the remains at ten o’clock tomorrow. I have contacted an Atlanta funeral home to prepare the bodies for transport. Do you have clothes for your family, or do you want to let them make arrangements? The remains will be in Gainesville late Sunday. I have made arrangements for a funeral home in Gainesville. You can speak to them about what you would like after they get the bodies. The D.A. has charged the truck driver with 3 counts of vehicular homicide. Dinner tonight with Michelle and Susan at seven, dress nice. See ya.”

“Aunt Susan we have just over two hours to get ready for dinner. Adrianna asks that we dress nice.”

“Ok, take a quick shower and let’s get a move on.”

Michelle took a quick shower and reapplied her deodorant. She put on one of her new bras , panties and new stockings, before she dressed in the dress her Mom bought her. Makeup took the longest to do. She went for a full evening glamour look, with darker smoky eyes, with eyeliner wings, darker blush and glossy red lips. She changed Rebecca’s jewelry, unfortunately she didn’t have as many silver bits. Michelle liked silver with this dress, but she found some rose gold that looked pretty good. She changed shoes, seeing she was wearing gold now. She put on a pair of gold pumps

Michelle and Susan met up with Adrianna, in the lobby of the hotel, just outside the restaurant. They greeted each other and then headed in. They had reservations and so were escorted directly to their table.

“Well I have all the information I need.” Ms. Weston said. “The driver that hit your parents, had a long list of moving violations, from speeding to reckless driving. The investigator thinks he was trying to cross three lanes to hit an exchange to another highway,” she said, pulling a document out of her briefcase. “We need to sue the shipping company. They knew, or should have known, that he was an accident waiting to happen. He killed three good people. I need you to sign this, so I can start to work on it.”

Michelle and Susan both signed the agreement with Ms. Weston.

“My investigators will begin working on it tomorrow. I have contacted Craig Wilson’s funeral home here, to handle the embalming and transportation of your families’ remains. We will go there tomorrow, to give them the clothes you have for your family and to select caskets. I have contacted Wood Lawn Cemetery and funeral home back in Gainesville. They will receive the remains and make accommodations for their internment.”

“I have asked Ben Carson, one of your Dad’s friends, to make arraignments for Pall Bearers and such.”

“Do you want one big funeral, or three separate funerals?”

“One big funeral, we were all one family.”

“Alright that limits, the number of churches we can use for the funeral. Your mother and father will have many people who knew them, who will want to come. What about your sister?”

“She had a lot of friends. Some like her, will be back in college. I can’t say for sure. I posted on mom, dad and sister’s Facebook pages, but I shut my phone off and haven’t checked, in two days.”

“Facebook good idea, do you have a tablet to check their Facebook pages?

“I have my tablet back in my room.”

“We will check it when we go upstairs. You are so lovely, I hate to say this, but I need you in boy mode tomorrow. This is the bigoted south, let’s get your family taken care of, and then after the funeral, or when you’re at home, you can dress as Michelle.”

“I would really like to be Michelle on the drive home. I will dress as Elliot to go to the funeral home. Then come back to my room, change and then head home. Aunt Susan can you drive back for us.”

“Yes, I can do that. If we leave at between one or two, we will get back to Gainesville at what… six to seven?”

“Not if we stop along the way and eat, I would put us getting back between eight and nine.”

“Good, I will call you the day after tomorrow, and tell you for sure when your family makes it back home.”

“How did the autopsy go?” Susan asked.

“Robert wasn’t impaired and didn’t have any demonstrable medical conditions that contributed to the cause of the accident. He and Olivia died from head injuries, Rebecca died from blunt force trauma to her chest and abdomen, she bled to death internally. The shipping company won’t be able to claim Robert had a problem, that contributed to the accident. He had the heart and lungs of a man fifteen years younger. The police recovered the dashcam and have looked them over very carefully, but won’t release them till they have a conviction.”

“We’ve already seen them from dad’s cloud server.”

“Those would need authentication, and nobody is left that was there. The dashcam is still best evidence in this case, ‘IT’ was there.”

They all returned to Susan and Michelle’s suite. Michelle started up her tablet and checked her families Facebook pages. All three of them had hundreds of hits over the last twenty-four hours. Michelle composed a few paragraphs to add to each.

Saturday my family will be released by the Fulton County, Georgia Medical Examiner. My aunt (mother’s sister) and I will be bringing them back home on Saturday or Sunday. Sorry, due to the nature of the accident there will be no viewing or open caskets at the funeral.

We will post here and in the local newspaper the time and date of the funeral, most likely Tuesday. My aunt and I will be fit to receive callers on Monday, please give us some time to morn alone.

Elliot Dresden

Michelle posted the blurb and checked Elliot’s E-mail. She was surprised by all of the e-mail he had. Some from people who didn’t have Elliot’s email address. Apparently one of Elliot’s few friend’s was sharing his e-mail address. She read a few and wrote an e-mail that she sent globally to all the inquirer’s and well-wishers. She sent Ben Carsen a more detailed e-mail and inquired about Pall Bearers.

Ms. Weston hugged them and left to go to her room. Susan and Michelle sat on a very comfy couch and just hugged each other and cried for a bit. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Michelle woke at about three forty that morning. She got a blanket and covered her aunt up, after she made a bathroom run.

She stared in a mirror and giggled to herself. She was a mess. She took a few minutes to clean her face and take her jewelry off. She then took a shower and took time to take the breast forms off and put them away, although she still left the silicone hip and butt pads on.

Elliot dressed in his suit. He just barley was able to wear the suit pants. Through the hips the pants were tight. He wore panties and a non-padded brief over his silicone hips and butt. He also wore a camisole under his dress shirt and left off his tie. One thing his coat did that was good was, it covered the hips and made him look less feminine there.

Elliot packed almost everything else, now rather than later. He left out Michelle’s breast forms, short term adhesive, an over the bust corset, a camisole, a white Chiffon blouse, a denim miniskirt, a knit hoodie, black stiletto sandals, makeup, jewelry and Rebecca’s hobo purse. Most of Michelle’s clothes went from shopping bag to new luggage. There was a mountain of new things.

He went down to the restaurant at six, with the newspaper that was at his door. He had a cappuccino while he read the newspaper. He was through his third cappuccino when he finished the paper just before eight. He went back to his room. Susan was in her room getting ready, he called out to her when he came in.

In his room he buttoned the shirts top button and tied his tie. He checked to see that all traces of Michelle were gone from his face. He was sorely tempted to add a little makeup.

Susan was waiting for him, when he came out. She looked immaculate in her black sheaf dress, jacket and heels. Her makeup was nice, but she used little eye makeup. She didn’t want to have to clean up black runny eye makeup.

“You look wonderful Aunt Susan. I love that dress and jacket on you.”

“You don’t look so bad either Elliot. Come your tie needs to be retied.” Susan said. His tie didn’t really look bad, she just had to do something.

They met Adrianna in the restaurant and had breakfast. Adrianna was wearing a black pantsuit and looked ready to do battle. Her makeup was a sophisticated ‘don’t fuck with me’ lawyer make up.

“Good, you two are here. I got a text, the police are releasing the contents of Rebecca’s Escalade and the U-Haul. I made arraignments for it to be shipped back to Gainesville and stored in a storage locker till you are up to going through it.”

“Rebecca had some good stuff in the U-Haul. I hope it isn’t all broken up… I hate what I just said. I would rather have my family back unhurt.”

“I know sweetie. The U-Haul turned on its side and slid. Can’t say what it will look like till you look at it, but it may not be that bad.”

They arrived at the funeral home. Elliot brought the clothes for his family in. Ms. Weston made arraignments for the services this funeral home would provide, transportation and payment. Susan and Elliot chose the caskets and a spray for each casket. They were told that it would take twelve hours for them to be ready to ship the bodies to Gainesville. Three hearses had been contracted to handle shipping overnight.

They left about noon and headed to the police impound lot. The Escalade was junk and was headed to a junkyard for scraping. The family’s luggage went into Adrianna’s trunk as Susan stated that the Lincoln would already be loaded to the max. Adrianna said she would come over Sunday to deliver the luggage. There was some damage to the contents of the U-Haul, but a truck would be by later to load it up into a pod container and ship it. Elliot spotted some things that they put in Adrianna’s car. He knew where his sister had put her nicer things.

Adrianna headed back to Gainesville and Elliot and Susan went back to the hotel. Michelle made her appearance shortly after, Elliot had gotten undressed. She attached her breast forms with Susan’s help. She put on her above the bust corset, Susan pulled the laces tightly on the corset and took off the garter tabs. The blouse was off both shoulders, but left the breast forms totally covered. She finished with the skirt and sandals, before doing a nice makeup job that included emo eyes, fully lined with wings, a little darker than normal eye shadow and longer false eyelashes, mascara. She painted three mascara tears, using eyeliner like J. M. Linsner’s Dawn. Lastly she used a dark red lipstick.

Michelle called Linsner’s Dawn up on her tablet, when Susan inquired about the makeup job.

“It’s very striking, Michelle. I can’t say that I like it on you, but you are beautiful,” Susan said, as she braided Michelle’s hair.

“It’s the way I feel Aunt Susan.”

They were late checking out, but finally got on the road about three-thirty, stopping at a Shoney’s to eat. The two of them drew stares as they came in. Michelle just held her head up and smiled. They stayed quite a while, Susan made sure that Michelle ate slowly, so she could eat enough to sustain her. She was wearing a corset after all and couldn’t eat as much, or as fast, as Elliot could. Also it was good to stretch their legs and walk around a bit, not too fast, considering their heels.

They got back on the road and arrived in Gainesville at around ten that night. Susan had casually driven down IH 75. Michelle read many of the Facebook posts on her tablet, while Susan was at the wheel. Susan really didn’t need directions, except for the start and when they got to the interchanges just outside of Gainesville. The cars garage door opener, automatically opened the garage door as they turned at Elliot’s home. She pulled in right next to Elliot’s Chevelle and the garage door automatically closed.

Michelle opened the kitchen door and reset the alarm’s. They only brought in what they needed this night and changed into sleepwear. Susan took the guest room and Michelle entered Rebecca’s room. When Michelle had her skirt and blouse off, Susan came in to loosen the corset for her. Michelle needed it to ensure that the breast forms would still be in place the next morning. Besides, she loved the corset and could live with the looser lacing.

They sat on the couch and just held onto each other. Michelle was smart and had brought a blanket with her, after she dressed in a baby doll nightie. Susan was dressed in a pink, knee length, ‘Hello Kitty’ sleep shirt.

Michelle started to get up and go to Rebecca’s room to go to sleep, when the grandfather clock struck the half hour after eleven.

“Stay with me Michelle, please. I miss my sister, your mom so much.”

“I know; I miss all of them.”

“I need to hold onto someone tonight, too many ghosts live here now.”

Michelle got some pillows and they made themselves as comfortable as they could.

>>>>><<<<<

They both woke up just after six, as the sun came streaming in through the large garden picture window. They hugged and kissed before going to their rooms to get dressed, for the day. Michelle took a shower and dressed in a waist nipper, jeans, running shoes and a bra. She went to her mom’s closet and put on one of her Mom’s pretty blouses. It fit nicely.

After bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice and coffee, they began to empty the Lincoln. Rebecca’s Closet had the most room since she had taken a lot of her things with her, also most of her clothes would be going since the figure Michelle cut right now, wouldn’t fit in many of Rebecca’s things. They emptied many of Rebecca things out and began putting Michelle up. Susan bagged up Rebecca’s things for Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

After two hours, they got it done.

“Michelle, I want to see if your mother’s suits will fit you.”

“Mom does have six or seven really nice suits. I think she bought a couple of new suits each year. She bought a really nice Prada and a Versace suit this year. Also mom’s waist was larger than Rebecca’s.”

They went to her parent’s bedroom and Michelle took off her pants, the blouse she wore would work with the suits. She took a pair of pantyhose out of the dresser and put them on as Susan went through Danika’s suits.

Susan tightened the waist nipper because Danika’s waist was smaller than Michelle’s and her skirts fit at the waist and not the top of the hip. Danika had six suits in her closet and was now wearing her dark green suit. Michelle could wear four of her mom’s suits the other two she needed a much smaller waist for her to wear them.

“We could have these tailored down to your hips and they would look great on you,” Susan said.

“Mom put on a few pounds around the middle these last two years. I have heard about a program where women can donate their suits to women who need nice suits and clothes for work, or to get jobs and can’t afford them. Instead of me trying to fit them, why don’t we give them away.” Michelle said, looking at the red Armani she was wearing. “I like this suit very much.”

“That is a wonderful idea Michelle and yes that suit suits you very well,” Susan said, selecting some of her sister’s jewelry for Michelle. She chose a heavy gold necklace, some gold bangles and a gold Rolex. Michelle had to adjust the band of the watch for it to fit her.

“Let me fix your braid, before you do your makeup, in a business professional look. I will make us some lunch, while you get ready.”

Susan brushed out Michelle’s hair and began to re-braid it, “You know, you should probably get your hair dyed blonde, if you are going to be a girl. It would speak to your Nordic heritage.”

“I think I might just do that, Rebecca’s hair was a golden blonde, while Danika was a light blonde and Dad’s was Dark brown.”

Susan took a pink ribbon from Danika’s vanity and tied off Michelle’s braid, with a nice bow, “Now go fix your face.”

Michelle went to Rebecca’s room. She selected a pair of her new red pumps with a four-inch heel and put them on, before sitting at her vanity. She had much more to work with now. She took out her tablet and called up a business professional look, when she found one she liked, she tried to copy it. She contoured her face, added her new foundation, lined her top eye lid, used medium light shade shadows, a touch of blush, not too much, and a light red lipstick in a warm tone. Lastly she polished her nails in a red polish.

She used a UV dryer and in minutes she was ready. She got up to go to the kitchen. When she was in the living room the doorbell rang. She didn’t think much about it and went to answer the door. When she opened the door there stood Kimberly Green.

“Hello, Kimmy come on in.”

Kimberly was a little shocked, how did this relative of Elliot’s know her. She was already inside and Michelle was closing the door when she snapped.

“Elliot is that you?”

“No, I am Michelle, Michelle Larsson when I look like this Kimmy. I know this may come as a shock to you, but I am a transgender girl. I hope that doesn’t bother you?”

“No, I was just shocked. You look better than I do.”

“Smoke and mirrors. Come on back to the kitchen, have you eaten yet?”

“No,” Kimmy said, as she followed Michelle. “I heard about your family and just came over to see you.”

“Kimmy this is my Aunt Susan Bergstrom. Susan this is Kimberly Green. We went to high school together.”

“Hello Kim, please have a seat. Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I haven’t Mrs. Bergstrom.”

“Call me Susan, please, I’m not old enough to require young adults to be so formal. I am fixing hot Rueben sandwiches with some minestrone soup.”

“That sounds awfully delicious, Susan. Thank you.”

They all sat at the breakfast bar, after Susan brought them their food.

“When did all this happen Michelle, is it?”

“About me being Transgender or my family.”

“Both I guess.”

“My parents were taking my sister to Michigan State, where she was going to work on a PhD in Forensic Science. An eighteen-wheeler hit them on the northwest side of Atlanta, Georgia, killing all three of them.”

“Me dressing up as a girl, started I guess when I was twelve. My sister got me in some of her clothes, pants and blouse you know. That sort of thing, although I never wore a skirt, or a dress, till Wednesday. Rebecca taught me how to be a good girl. I read mom’s and Rebecca’s fashion magazines; Seventeen magazine and such. Mom found out because I was sloppy with my laundry. I usually did my own laundry, but when I was fourteen and busy about finals, I let it slip a few days. I left some incriminating laundry in my hamper. She never said a word about it to me. I was afraid to say anything. Mom started buying me more things like she found, again no skirts or dresses. I probably would have freaked if she did. I wasn’t ready to come out to myself, much less to her and dad. I guess Rebecca always knew and was just biding her time. Anyway, when she left to go to Michigan State. She and mom had a surprise for me.”

Michelle took out her cell phone and called up a picture, to show Kimmy, “They bought this dress and jewelry for me.”

“Oh wow, you are gorgeous. I love that dress. Did you really do that makeup?”

“Yes, Rebecca was good at makeup. She taught me and I am better at creating looks like that, than she was.”

“Oh gawd, if you are that good, you have got to teach me. I wish I had clothes that nice.”

Michelle looked at Kim. She was just a little smaller than Rebecca. She had to be a small size four, “My sister was a four to a six. I am a size eight. I am going to have get rid of her things, would you like to see if you can wear them?”

“I could look I guess. I have always wondered what nice clothes were like. I am splurging when I go to J. C. Penney’s. I’m not complaining, you understand. I love my parents very much. We aren’t poor, we just don’t make this kind of money. The suit you have on, is it Versace or Armani.”

“It’s Armani, it was my Mom’s suit. You know she worked in the fashion industry. She was director of design for swimwear, for the company she worked for, and they were part of a major label, Delmonico’s.”

“No, I didn’t. I love some of their swimwear. Can’t afford it, but they had this one bikini…” Kimmy went on describing it.

Michelle knew exactly which suits she was talking about. Danika sometimes brought home their stylebooks to make notes after they were shown. It would take an army to get the book out of the building before the swimsuits were shown. Rebecca and Elliot used to look over their mom’s shoulder at the pictures.

They finished eating and Kim helped Michelle put the dishes in the dishwasher; while Susan cleaned the kitchen.

“Let’s go try on those clothes,” Michelle said, leading them to Rebecca’s room. “By the way, how did you know where I lived.”

“I saw you working on an old Chevrolet, while I was on my way to Cynthia Hawthorne’s place, to babysit.”

“Yes, she lives two blocks away on my street.”

“She told me it was your place when I told her I saw you.”

“So, you babysat the gruesome twosome.”

“They aren’t so bad when they are scared shitless of you. Once they got to know me, they were really nice.”

“You can have anything on the bed, or in the trash bags. It is just going to Goodwill, if you don’t want it. Also, my sister’s suitcases will be here tomorrow for sure. They are being brought here.”

Kim opened a bag that had lingerie in it. She picked up a bra and looked at the label, “Shit, I have never worn La Perla, this is my size too.” Without thinking she took her T-shirt off and stopped for a second when she saw Michelle. “We’re all girls here,” she said, and continued taking off her bra and trying on Rebecca’s bra, after checking how worn it was. “There is little sign of wear in it.”

“No, she wore them about once every week to ten days. She had tons of bras.”

“I counted twenty,” Susan said, “and that isn’t counting what she took to college with her.”

“That will be new or hardly worn. Mom bought her a new wardrobe for college.”

Kim then began trying on Rebecca’s clothes. Most were just a little big on her, but looked good. With a little tailoring they would look great on her.

“I can take the seams in on these clothes.”

“I will take you to a tailor. I need Mom’s suits tailored for me. How about we go on Saturday. Try on her shoes too. They are a bit too narrow and an inch too short for my foot.”

Kim was wearing a DKNY black pantsuit and blouse. She found a pair of black pumps and sat to try them on, “Oh my gosh they fit. I love you Michelle.” Kim said, throwing her arms around Michelle’s neck and kissing her. “Can you do my makeup.”

“If you have some makeup I can. I am fair skinned and you are slightly olive skinned. What do you have in your purse?”

Kimberly pulled out a large makeup bag from her purse. It wasn’t nearly enough, or the right things to create the look that Michelle wore and the brands were definitely inferior, but she could do a fair job with what she had.

While Michelle worked on Kim’s face, Susan set out some hair care products. She would fix Kimmy’s hair, when Michelle finished her face. Susan was smiling, as she thought, her hair was long enough and thick enough for a ponytail thru a bun and then curl the tail. When they both finished, she looked ready for business.

Susan then had Kim put on one of Rebecca’s older burgundy skirted suits that was really nice. Kim went back to the bags that held Rebecca’s lingerie and pulled out a garter belt, a different bra and panty set by DKNY and a package of stockings. She undressed all the way, before she began to put on the garter belt and stockings. She stepped back into the heels before she stepped into the panty and put on the bra. Kim then selected one of Rebecca’s prettiest, most feminine blouses in a mustard yellow, silk.

The suit fit almost perfectly, Michelle was surprised at how well the mustard blouse looked with the deep burgundy suit. Michelle had Kim sit down and adjusted her makeup a bit, to fit the new colors she wore. She brought out the girl’s eyes more, as she used pink and gray eye shadows, a pink blush and lipstick.

“My, you girls look so nice. You have to take both of those suits, Kim.” Susan said. “Let me go get dressed and we can go out to eat.”

Michelle got the keys to the Yukon, after touching up her makeup and selecting a red handbag. As she worked on her face; Kim and Michelle talked.

“I love the clothes, Michelle, but I don’t know if I can keep them. They are so expensive.”

“Kimmy, you have got to keep them, otherwise they will go to Goodwill, or the Salvation army. I would Rather you have them. I could never get down to the size my sister was in less than a year. You will be doing us a favor. Kim, I am going to be Elliot, for the next three or four days and then I will live as Michelle for the rest of my life. I really need you as a friend. I share what I have with friends. Are you going to college next month?”

“Yes, I will be attending the University of Florida. I have a grant and a partial scholarship. I will still need to work about twenty hours a week.”

“What do you do?”

“I wait tables at TGI Fridays, Monday through Saturday from five till closing, which is nine, week days and midnight on Friday and Saturday. Are you going to U of F?”

“Yes, my lawyer is working on things so I can go to U of F as Michelle. I plan to go there for two years and then head off to Michigan State. I plan to do a degree in Forensics.”

“So, you’re are going to be a Gil Grissom, I haven’t given a thought about a major yet.”

“More like Stella Bonasera. What do you like to do?”

“I love photography, I am pretty good at chemistry and biology. I love to read a good mystery. I have all of James Patterson’s books, Patricia Cornwell, J.D Ross and others, but I usually have to wait till they hit the library.”

Susan finally got ready, they left the house at just about three, with Susan driving, “I love this Yukon. I may have to get me one when I get back home.”

“You can have this one, Aunt Susan.”

“No, aint no way. I’m not driving any vehicle over a thousand miles. Even if it is free. Keep this one and the Lincoln.”

“Yes, I think I will. I think I will sell the Chevelle. I was never one to appreciate all that power. Dad wanted me to have it and I liked working on it with him. Turn right here and about three miles.”

“Are we headed to the Clarice Chateau?” Susan asked.

“Yes, I haven’t been there in over a year. I don’t think I will be recognized there. I’m not ashamed for what I am. I’m just not ready to come out yet. Let me get my family buried first.”

“I don’t think you will be recognized, Michelle. I’m your aunt and I saw you transform yourself. You don’t look anything like Elliot. People who knew your family might think they know you, you do have a bit of your mother in you, but they won’t be sure.”

“What she said. I know you, but I still can’t believe it is you. How did you learn to act so much like a girl? I mean you’ve got it down cold.”

“Rebecca drilled it in me for five years. From standing, walking, talking, make up, hair and my mannerism’s. I thought it was a game when I was a kid, but she was training me for this. She must have seen something in me that said I was a girl. Mom must have seen it too. I loved what Rebecca and I were doing.”

They got to the restaurant, which was an upscale surf and turf establishment (seafood and steak). Fridays and Saturdays, you had to have a reservation to get in, other times it was just crowded.

“Remember Kim, I am Michelle, Michelle Larsson, if you need to introduce me.”

“Alright Michelle, Michelle Larsson, secret agent double O9,” Kimmy said, giggling, “don’t worry. I doubt if I will see anybody I know here.”

Kim was very wrong. There were many people that she knew from high school and from her job waitressing. She flawlessly introduced Susan Bergstrom and Michelle Larsson. A few of the girls she knew commented on how lovely Kim looked, inwardly they knew how pretty Kim was, but had never seen just how beautiful she could look.

One girl asked, “Who did your makeup, Kimberly? I love what they did for your eyes.”

“Susan did them,” Kim said, to protect having Michelle flooded with requests.

“I spend a lot of time in New York, working as a book Editor. I have to look sharp,” Susan said, picking up Kim’s intent. “I could do better if I had a professional makeup kit. Me and my cousin just don’t have the same skin tone as Kim, so our makeup just doesn’t match her well.”

One girl said, “Hey Kimberly, did you hear about the Dresden’s?”

“Yes, I went to see him. We talked for a bit and then he went for a drive. He has this awesome restored 69 Chevelle.”

“Should he be alone?”

“He was distraught, about his family, but he isn’t suicidal.”

“I am his Aunt and he and I will make it. He just wanted to be alone.”

“So, you are both here for the funeral.”

“I am, but Michelle has an appointment in New York she just can’t miss. She has to fly out tomorrow, she has a business meeting she just has to be at.”

They had a nice meal and a good talk.

“I can’t believe all the compliments, I have been getting,” Kimberly said.

“I knew you were a beautiful girl, Kimmy. You just have to dress and use a little makeup to bring out the look. The real beauty is inside you. You just need to let it out.”

“These clothes are most of it. I could never afford to dress like this.”

“You don’t have to be a millionaire, to dress like a million bucks. You just have to know how to shop. I could show you next week, but if you take my sisters clothes, you won’t have to shop for a while. Except for fun.”

Kimberly rubbed the arms of the suit she wore. She loved the looks and feel of the clothes, “Ok, but you have got to let me pay a little for them.”

“Goodwill would sell them for what, five or ten dollars, Aunt Susan?”

“At least that, but not much more, because of the people that shop there.”

“Kimmy you can pay me Goodwill prices over a year or so. Oh and the underwear you keep is free, they don’t sell used underwear or lingerie.”

Michelle’s phone rang, she answered it. It was Adrianna, “Hi Adrianna…”

“I am getting ready to head over to your place and I wanted to make sure that you are there. I have your parent’s and sister’s luggage.”

“Ok, we are at Clarice’s right now. We will be home in twenty minutes.”

“Good, I will be there in thirty minutes then.”

They all went to the ladies’ room to take care of business, powder their noses and reapply lipstick. They got back to the Dresden home about five minutes before Ms. Weston. The garage was open and the Lincoln was moved out of the way.

“Hello Ms. Weston,” Michelle said.

“Hello Michelle, Susan and who is this?”

“This is Kimberly Green, Kimmy this is Ms. Adrianna Weston, my families’ attorney.”

“Hello Ms. Weston,” Kim said.

“If I’m not at work, please call me Adrianna. Now I got your families’ things. Help me unload them.”

There were about fifteen suitcases and boxes. The trunk was full as was the back seat. As they worked Adrianna said, “I have the funeral set. St. Marks, at eleven, on Wednesday, with interment to follow at Wood Lawn Cemetery. I have already talked to Ben Carson and Sandy Davis, who works with your mother. They will start the phone network. Notices will appear in the paper the next three days. There will be three wakes. Tomorrow at six for your Dad, Tuesday at one for Danika and Rebecca’s at seven. Had to do it that way, three different groups of people want to get together. I will call tomorrow with their locations.”

They carried all the bags and boxes into the livingroom, Michelle sorted them into Robert, Danika and Rebecca’s things. The bags were slightly beaten up, to almost crushed, but none of them popped open.

Michelle explained how Kim had come to be in on Michelle, “Kim just found me dressed like this and so I let her in on it. She is cool with it. I want to go through all the bags tonight, so we can get them out of the way. I expect we will be very busy tomorrow. I am selling Kim, Rebecca’s clothing, at Goodwill prices, Adrianna.”

“An excellent idea. Let’s dig in and get this sorted out then.”

They began to dissect the bags. Michelle Identified the bags belonging to Rebecca. The first box contained her electronics. The laptop, computer, printer and monitor were toast. They sealed that box and marked it trash. The next box was shoes, Kim tried on a dozen pair and they all fit. Michelle told her 48 dollars for all the shoes, which cost well over a thousand dollars, as there were four pair of designer shoes. Most of the lingerie was new and unused. Kim offered a hundred for the lot. They hit the clothing and Kim tried on about a third of it, everything was about a size large on her, but she could wear all of them. Michelle did make a pile of dressier clothing that she would have tailored to Kim. Kimmy again complained that she could do the sewing, but Michelle was steadfast. Rebecca had three very nice suits, a Prada, a Donna Karan and a Ralph Lauren. The Ralph Lauren looked fabulous on Kim.

Michelle, found her sister’s jewelry box. It contained lower cost things, like silver, gold plated, wooden and beaded jewelry, “Kim, this is all costume stuff, I have my sister’s expensive gold, diamonds and pearls. You can take what you want, at no charge.”

Kim sorted out about a third of what was there. She took most of the rings that Michelle couldn’t hope to wear, because her knuckles were too large. Rebecca loved silver rings.

Kim looked at her watch, “Let me call my Mom and tell her that I will be late.”

“Ask, or tell her, that you are going to spend the night. We have an extra bedroom or two.”

Kim liked Michelle/Elliot, she didn’t treat her as a lower class girl, “I will do that.” She dialed her mom and when she answered, she said, “Mom, I am going to spend the night with Elliot and his Aunt. They both need a good shoulder to cry on.” Kim then blushed as her mom told her something. “Mom, I can’t believe you actually said that. I just might go ahead and do it. Love ya mom. Oh by the way. I am going to have a ton of really nice clothes; Elliot’s sister, Rebecca, wears the same size as I do…. Alright goodnight Mom.”

“What did your mom say?” Michelle asked. Susan and Adrianna wanted to know too.

Kim blushed crimson, and started not to say, but, “She said, cry on your shoulder hell, shag the dude. Maybe he’ll marry you. Mom can be a little course at times, but she is a good woman.”

“You ought to hear the way my sister and I use to talk,” Susan said. “Women can use that kind of language too.”

“Just not in polite company,” Kim said.

Adrianna told them she needed to get to bed and hugged the three of them.

The final price for all the of Rebecca’s thing came out to six hundred dollars, for over ten thousand dollars of clothing, or much less than ten cents on the dollar. They moved much of Kim’s new clothes to the garage. Kim kept a bagful of things that she would wear the next few days.

They moved Robert and Danika’s things to their room and cleaned up Rebecca’s room.

“Kim, you can stay in Rebecca’s room, Susan is in the guest room and I will stay in Elliot’s room.”

“No, I will take Elliot’s room; it is more gender neutral. You need to stay in Rebecca’s room Michelle, it’s feminine.”

Michelle showed Kim to Elliot’s room and showed her where the bathroom and towels were. Kim gave her a kiss that was more than sisterly, then Michelle went to her room to shower and get ready for bed. After she showered, she dressed in panties, bra and a baby doll nightie. She turned off her lights, which turned on some very low light LED nightlights, above the baseboards and crawled into bed. There wasn’t enough light to keep you awake, but you could see the shape of things in the room.

She laid there for ten minutes thinking about her family and finally closed her eyes. Her door opened and in came Kim, wearing a thong and a very sexy baby doll negligee. She came in and got in bed with Michelle. “

Don’t tell anyone, but I am Bi, and this is something I wanted to do with Elliot. Michelle can be more fun though.”

Michelle started to complain, but was cut off by a smoldering kiss. They kissed and groped for more than an hour, but junior never came out to play. The grandfather clock chimed once several times before they went to sleep, legs scissored and in each other’s arms.

>>>>><<<<<

They woke in the morning after six and had a shower together. Kim peeled off Michelle’s breast forms and took solvent to remove her hip pads, but left the butt pads in place. Elliot put on a pair of panties and a non-padded spanx brief. They then went to Elliot’s room to get dressed. Elliot put on a white shirt and his black suit. Kim dressed in Rebecca’s black pantsuit, four-inch black stiletto pumps and a very pretty white blouse. She did her makeup simple, foundation, powder, mascara and lipstick.

Susan just came out of her room in a robe, when Elliot and Kim came out of Elliot’s room.

“Dressed already, my gosh. Elliot, I don’t know how you do it.”

They had a light breakfast and then Susan got ready.

Several flower trucks arrived before nine, a wreath was put on the door and a dozen pots of flowers were placed about the rooms. People with dishes of food started arriving after nine, from the neighbors, from work, and from friends of the family. They could feed an army for a week, it seemed.

From ten to three, there must have been three hundred people in and out. Kim played hostess, made coffee, served drinks and cleaned up paper plates, plastic cups and coffee cups. Elliot and Susan helped a little, when Kim would let them. Their job was to sit and talk with the people. They shooed people away at three, so they could get ready. Adrianna had come by and had given them the locations of the wakes. Today at the Holiday Inn at five, tomorrow the Ramada Inn at one and at Billy Miner’s Bar and Grill at seven. There was still a lot of food in the house. They refrigerated what needed refrigeration and cleaned up.

“I’ve got to get ready for work,” Kimmy said. She took a few sets of the clothes and none of the clothes that needed altering, in her 95 VW Golf. She kissed Elliot before she left.

Susan changed dresses and Elliot dressed more casually.

There was an open bar at the Holiday Inn. Only a few got really drunk and they were taxied out of there by one of the senior management, from Robert’s company. Elliot and Susan said all the right things and met with a lot of people, many Elliot didn’t even know. They didn’t get out of there till eight-thirty.

The next day the wake for Danika was a higher class of people. Elliot and Susan dressed smartly, as they knew some of the people who would be there. They were the upper crust, but they could still down the booze. There were models, fashion designers and co-workers there. Elliot was glad, Kim wasn’t here, all these beautiful people could give her a complex, although she could fit right in. She just didn’t know it. They spent two hours there and the place emptied.

The wake for Rebecca was a wild one, they filled the side room they were put in and half the rest of the place at the Bar and Grill. Kim was there and stayed by Elliot. He didn’t know how, but he had been drinking an iced tea, but at some time during the wake, he found a he was drinking a Long Island iced tea, Susan was drinking them too. A taxi got them to the Dresden home and somehow, they got in and fell asleep together on the couch, without setting off the alarm.

Kim got them both up and in the shower. She delivered her nasty, disgusting, gut wrenching hangover remedy and Tylenol to both Susan and Elliot, laughing at the two of them, while they were in the shower.

Susan was halfway alive by nine and dressed herself. Kim helped Elliot dress in panties, camisole, spanx, pantyhose, dress shirt, and his black suit, with his patent leather dress shoes. He put on Rebecca’s chain, with his mom’s and dad’s wedding ring set, before Kim tied his tie.

Kim drove them to Denny’s in the Lincoln, at nine thirty. They had coffee and breakfast at Denny’s. Kim sat next to Elliot and had her left hand high up on Elliot’s leg. She rubbed his leg, when the waitress wasn’t there, which drove Elliot crazy.

They got back, just as the limo arrived for Elliot and Susan. Elliot tried to get Kim to ride with them, but she said, “Family only, Elliot. I will be there to support you, but you need to be with your Aunt.” She compromised with Elliot by driving the Lincoln, instead of her VW.

St. Marks was filled to capacity and then some, almost five hundred people were there. Ben Carson, Sandy Davis and Janice Wentworth (a friend of Rebecca’s) spoke, along with Elliot Dresden and Father David Mason. The most profound thing said at the whole funeral, was when Elliot said, “Life doesn’t end when you lay your family to rest, for those that are left behind. We must pick ourselves up and live life to the fullest. The legacy they leave behind demands it. We will morn their passing, but they will never leave our hearts. We stand up and we go on living, knowing that one day we will be together again.”

The eight-mile drive to the cemetery took half an hour. Kim drove the Lincoln, right behind the family’s limo. Two hundred people were there to say Goodbye to Robert, Danika and Rebecca Dresden. Elliot and Susan dismissed the limo and Kim drove them home.

Another eighty or so people were in and out that afternoon. Kim again played hostess, while people came in and out. Four ladies stayed and helped clean the place afterwards and took care of the trash. Kim made plates of food for Susan and Elliot before she left for work.

Adrianna came by at six, to talk to them. She had been at the funeral and the graveside, but gave them some space. Now she was Ms. Weston, who came to talk business. She told Elliot not to worry about money; he had plenty. The house was paid for, and beside some small bequests, everything was his. She would pay the bills and provide Elliot four thousand a month, from Robert and Danika’s accounts, till the will was probated, in about six months. Their life insurance policies would be paid directly to Elliot. A paralegal would come by tomorrow to do a search for important documents.

“I want to start at the University of Florida as Michelle Briana Larsson. What can you do for me?”

“I can petition for a name change to M.B. Larsson, male, till you qualify for a change of sex. You have appointments tomorrow for a psychologist at eleven AM and a doctor at two PM. Don’t attach your breast forms, but wear them and dress up for your psychologist at eleven. The legal name change will take two weeks and you will have to appear in court. I have some paperwork for you to fill out now. To change the gender marker on your driver’s license or passport, you will need a statement from your ‘Attending Physician’ that you are under his care and that you are in transition to becoming female. To get that, your doctor and psychologist have to get together. It might be a year or so before they agree to issue you the paperwork you need.”

Elliot signed an agreement for Ms. Weston to be his attorney. He filled out the paperwork for a name change and some other paperwork, registering Michelle Briana Larsson as a nom de plume associated with Elliot D. Dresden.

“Write me a short story about your life, using Michelle Briana Larsson as the author and I will get it copyrighted. I will pay you ten dollars, so we can say it is published.”

“Your psychologist will call me if she agrees to the RLT and I will begin legal paperwork for you. You can use it if you are pulled over by the police, while dressed as Michelle. You will still need to carry Elliot’s Driver’s License. If the cop is an asshole, that paper won’t help at the time, but I will own his ass later in court.”

“Your psychologist will tell you about legal requirements for hormones and surgery, should she approve, and about the legal sex change on your documents.”

“You may open any mail for your parents, but bring me the bills that need to be paid or if you have any questions about it. Refer any certified or registered mail to me. Don’t sign for it yourself, unless it is for Elliot. I have an attorney in Lansing, Michigan, that is looking into your sister’s condo there, while I work on it from here.”

“I want to keep it for school in two years. He can lease it for nine or ten months. He can use the lease money for his fee. I want to move into it next year.”

“He will be one happy attorney. That place could lease for two grand a month. I will contact him.”

“If you have any trouble, or just want to talk, CALL ME, Elliot.”

“Alright, if you insist Elliot, although I would rather call you Adrianna.”

Susan and Adrianna laughed at Elliot, who gave them a Cheshire cat grin.

Susan went to bed at about eight. Elliot stayed up watching TV, intending to go to bed after the ten o’clock news. Kim came over at nine thirty. Elliot told Kim about what Ms. Weston had to say. At ten they went to Rebecca’s room and had a shower together. They each made sure the other was very clean. They dressed in baby dolls and played around a bit before going to sleep.

Susan dressed in a robe. She was surprised to see Kim and Michelle having breakfast. Michelle was dressed in Danika’s black Prada suit and heels. Kim was dressed in her black pantsuit and heels. Both of their makeup and hair were immaculate. Kim got up and made Susan a plate.

“Are you coming with me to the doctors’ offices, today?” Michelle asked Susan.

“No, I think I will stay here, with the paralegal. You have to tell me what happens though.”

“I forgot about the paralegal. Check my parents’ bedroom and the office. You can also use the computer if you need to work on editing. My password is sycamore56Bluebird, all lowercase, except for the b in blue, one word. Let’s go ahead and login while I am here.”

Susan turned on the computer and after booting up, she logged in without a problem. The paralegal arrived just before Michelle left. She showed the paralegal where the important stuff was kept.

Kim went with Michelle for her appointments. Beverly Greyson was the psychologist, after filling out some paperwork, she and Michelle talked for an hour and a half.

Michelle told her when she first knew she should have been a girl. She talked about what dressing she had done. The girl lesson’s she went through. The death of her parents and sister. She approved of Michelle starting her RLT. She did say she believed at this point that Michelle was a girl, but she had to get to know her better, before she approved of anything else like anti-androgens or hormones. Approval for surgery was way far away. She gave Michelle some resources and paperwork to read.

“I will contact your doctor and attorney and tell them what I believe. Set up a schedule with my receptionist, visits twice a month, beginning this Wednesday, Michelle. I have some tests I want you to take, so be prepared for at least two hours.”

“Yes, Ma’am and thank you.”

Kim and Michelle had a late lunch, before heading to the doctor’s office. Dr. Drew Carson was a male who was in his late thirties. He gave Michelle a grueling physical. She had blood drawn, gave urine and stool samples. She had x-rays taken. Her ears, nose and throat were checked. Her blood oxygen was checked, along with her temperature and blood pressure. She had to smile and cough, as he checked for a hernia. Her prostate was checked. He checked her reflexes, poked and prodded her. She was doing something every minute for the two hours she was at the doctor’s office. He told her to come back tomorrow morning, for a fasting blood sugar test, at eight in the morning.

Kim left to go to work, when they got home. She told Michelle she would be over after work and they kissed.

Michelle found that Susan had cleaned many of the dishes and disposed of the food that would go bad soon. There was plenty left to eat for a few days.

Susan wanted to hear about all the gruesome details. So, while they ate dinner, she filled her Aunt in. Susan told her about what the paralegal found, there was nothing earth shattering. She had a printed list of what the paralegal found and a list of what she had taken for Ms. Weston.

Michelle took all the trash, and recycling, to the curb, as Friday was garbage day.

Susan attached Michelle’s hips and breast forms with long term adhesive, making sure Michelle knew how to do it and apply makeup to hide the seams. They both changed into lingerie, shorts and T-shirts. They held onto each other and had a good cry, while they watched TV.

Kim came over after nine and changed into shorts and a T-shirt after showering.

“Doesn’t your mom wonder about where you are?” Susan asked.

“No ma’am.” Kim said. Tears began to slowly fall. “I love my mom and I know she loves me, but our relationship is kind of strained. Dad ran off a couple of years ago and Mom has been on the prowl and drinking lately. She isn’t a blind drunk, but she is three sheets to the wind on weekends. At least she takes a cab, when she drinks. I think in some way, she is eager for me to move out. I think she wants to bring her dates home, but she loves me enough not to do that if I am home. She isn’t going to push me out but…”

“Do you argue with each other?” Susan asked.

“We get in some shouting donnybrooks, but we don’t hit each other.”

“Kim, anytime you need somewhere to get away from things, you are most welcome here. Mi casa es su casa,” Michelle said.

Kim reached over and hugged Michelle.

Kim and Michelle got up early and dressed in jeans, blouses and heels, at around six-thirty. They made Susan a pot of coffee and left at a seven-forty-five to go to the doctor’s office, to give more blood, for a fasting glucose test. Michelle stopped and had a door key made for Kim. They picked up sticky buns and sausage and cheese kolaches.

Susan was up and eating eggs, bacon and toast, but she didn’t feel averse to having a sticky bun.

“Today, I need to clean out my mom and dad’s room, Susan if you want to do some editing. I won’t need any of dad’s things, and I only want some of mom’s things, but I will keep their jewelry and important things.”

“I will work on Saturday. I’m not going to let you face their ghosts alone,” Susan said.

“They probably have a lot of stuff; I will be there if you want some help.” Kim said

“Alright, I will hit the dressers. Susan, you can go through Mom’ things, set aside what I might want to keep. Kim go through my dad’ clothes, check his pockets.” Michelle said, heading towards her parent’s bedroom. “Anything you two aren’t sure of, goes on the bed.”

Most of what Michelle found, she bagged, although she did keep a couple of corsets, one was a black leather corset, that she would try on later. She did find some papers in Dad’s drawer, it was the deed for the house and Rebecca’s condo. In the nightstand she found her dad’s M9 berretta 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Robert had been in electronics and worked in the cryptographic and intelligence on their electronics in the Army. He was required to carry a sidearm at times. He bought a gun, like the one he had carried and qualified with. It was loaded with one in the chamber and safety on.

“Firearm on the nightstand,” Michelle stated, for the others’ benefit.

In the other nightstand, Michelle was shocked about what she found, “Oh my gosh.” Two heads poked out of the closet, to see Michelle holding a ten-inch dildo, fur lined handcuffs, riding crop and a ball gag.

“Your old enough to know what those are,” Susan said, while Kim giggled.

“Yeah, I know what they are, you just never expect to find them in your parent’s bedroom.”

“Your dad was out on the road enough, that Danika could use the dildo and I won’t speculate about the other two items, but use your imagination.” Susan said.

“I will say that that dildo would be on the impressive scale, very impressive,” Kim said, giggling.

“La, la, la, la, la, I don’t need to hear that. Listen, I know my parents had sex at least twice. My sister and I are proof of that. I don’t need the details of their bedroom activities,” Michelle expressed. She was also getting rid of the black corset.

“These things are going in the trash, it may be childish, but I don’t want to think about such things.”

“Does that mean you don’t want the black thigh high boots either?” Susan asked, seeing the corset.

“NO, I don’t want them either. I can get my own.”

“Mmmm, yummy,” Kim said, eyeing Michelle. That had everyone laughing.

Susan found a dozen blouses, several pair of pants, a few winter coats, and some odds and ends. Danika’s skirts and dresses fit in the mature category and were not something a girl of nineteen or twenty would wear.

“You should try on her shoes Michelle, and you too Kim. There are some Jimmy Choo, Prada, Michael Kors, DKNY and Ferragamo shoes. I emptied your mother’s purses of makeup and panty liners, she didn’t have any tampons. Before you ask, older women sometimes wear panty liners to feel dry down there, when they perspire or leak. I know Danika was beginning to have problems leaking, when she laughed, but she wasn’t incontinent yet.”

“Mom was laughing all the time. I can see how that would be a problem.”

They loaded up three cars with bags and headed to the local Goodwill center, the Lincoln, the Yukon and Michelle drove the Chevelle. The Chevelle was a great car, but it had way too much power, in its current configuration, to suit Michelle. It was dynoed out at 535 HP and 490 ft lbs of torque at 4200 rpm. Robert and Elliot had taken it out on one long straight strip of low traffic highway and had gotten it up to 145 mph and they still had some revs left, just not enough courage to go faster. The Chevelle was beginning to act a little squirrelly. It needed more down force to keep it on the road. The Chevelle had to go.

The good people at Goodwill were excited to receive the exceptional clothing in their store. They gave Michelle a receipt for the clothing and estimated the value at six thousand dollars, far less than its actual worth, but what the heck it was used clothing.

When they got back to the home, Michelle picked up the landline, “I have to call my work and offer my resignation. I don’t want to go back to work there now. That would just announce who I am. I also want to lease this house out and get an apartment near campus, I think.”

She dialed the bookstore’s phone number and said, “Hello, Mr. Lipscomb, this is Elliot. I have talked things over with my Aunt and I am leaving Gainesville tonight. There are too many ghosts here for me. My second cousin… Aunt Susan is it my second cousin or second cousin twice removed?”

Susan chuckled, “I think it is your third cousin. I need to get the family tree out to be sure.”

“Well Mr. Lipscomb I am moving to Syracuse, New York and my cousin is moving into my home temporarily. I am going to lease out the house.”

“I am sorry to hear you are going, Elliot. You have always been a good worker for me. If you need any references, please feel free to use my name.”

“I appreciate that Mr. Lipscomb. I think I may be headed to NYU in a year. I just need to get away.”

“I don’t know how I would feel if I lost my wife and kids. You take it easy and call me if you need to talk. I will tell everybody here. I will mail your last check and your cousin can mail it to you.”

“Thank You. Take care,” Michelle said.

“Well, I have sown the seeds of Elliot’s disappearance and Michelle’s appearance. I just need to alter my appearance enough, to look like a relative.”

“You already look like my Grandma,” Susan said. “You are taller than she was, but she was broader than you.”

“Tomorrow you and I, Kim, are going to a beauty parlor. You too Aunt Susan. I am going all in. I want a light honey blonde head of hair and feminine brows.”

“You should get a wax job too,” Kim said.

“Oh yes, you’re all in and that is part of it Michelle, light blonde fits your Swedish heritage better and yes I will go too.”

“Oh, I didn’t ask you Kim, but if I got an apartment near campus, would you move in with me?”

“Yes, I will share an apartment with you.”

“Then the Yukon will be your car. I don’t want to sell it, and face it, your VW Golf is about dead. I will drive the Lincoln.”

“Why are you being so nice to me Michelle?”

“You are my first friend with me as a girl. I liked you at high school, but I was afraid to talk to you. Then when I first saw you on Sunday, I thought, I can’t let you get away.”

“Boy are we a pair, I liked you, and was hoping for you to approach me. Then I felt that we were two different social classes, so I didn’t tell you that I liked you.”

“Boys are dumb creatures Kim,” Susan said. “Many of the good ones are too shy. You need to hit them between the eyes with a two by four, to get them to notice you. You showed up when Elliot/Michelle needed you. Also, Michelle is a lot more open, I think.”

“How long are you going to stay, Aunt Susan?”

Susan pulled out her smart phone and checking her calendar, “I was ahead in editing till the accident, and now I am about four days behind. I can work here for the next three weeks, I think. Then I really need to be back in New York. I have to meet with a senior editor and a new author. I really need to get to work Sunday and keep to the grindstone for at least six solid hours a day. I could be called back as soon as Tuesday, but I doubt it.”

Michelle then called Ms. Weston and talked to her about getting an apartment near school and leasing the big home. Adrianna informed Michelle, that she could find an apartment, and that she would lease it for her and take the rent out of her allowance.

Kim had to get ready to go to work. This was Friday night and Friday’s were always very busy. When she came out of Elliot’s room, she gave Susan a hug and Michelle a kiss, before heading out.

Susan headed into the office to get to work on her editing. So, Michelle spent time in Rebecca’s room practicing at adding just a touch of a Swedish accent to her own voice. Elliot didn’t have what one could call a masculine voice. He was misidentified on the phone all the time, but Michelle didn’t want to use the exact same voice that Elliot used.

She knew a little Swedish for family reunions, so it only took a little effort. She didn’t go ridiculous, like that Muppet the Swedish Chef, bork, bork, bork, but she did change her diction, inflection and added a few Swedish phonemes to her English. That touch of Swedish really transformed her voice; she had a sultry, sexy voice when she tried. She just had to practice, practice and practice it.

She went to the office to try out her voice on her aunt, “Aunt Susan, how do I sound to you now?”

Susan turned laughing, and said, “I was wondering when you were going to change the way you talk. I was going to suggest it, if it didn’t come to you. You sound wonderful. It’s almost like I was listening to my friend Sophia. It took Sophia years to lose her accent, so she could fit in. I think she should have kept just a tiny bit, so she would sound like you do now.”

“So, I sound different from Elliot?”

“Oh, heaven yes. You just need a girl’s vocabulary,” Susan said, turning to get back to work.

“I am going to fix us a bite to eat.”

“That is a wonderful idea sweetie. I am about ready for a short break and let’s talk a bit of Swedish.”

They ate and spent about an hour talking in broken Swedish. Neither of them had much practice, it had been over twenty-five years since Susan talked much Swedish, but it took a few minutes to get back into the groove. They then shifted back to English with a Swedish accent. Where Michelle had had an androgynous sounding voice before, the changes she made, shifted her voice sultry, not unlike Scarlett Johansson. It sent shivers up Susan’s spine.

“You need to be careful with that voice, or you’ll have guys and girl’s lining up wanting to have sex with you.”

“But I don’t want…”

“I know you don’t, sweetie, but with a voice like that, you can get people’s juices flowing.”

“Should I change my voice and make it less sexy?”

Susan sat looking at Michelle and thought. “Considering how you look; I wouldn’t change a thing about your new voice. It fits you like a glove. You will just have to be careful about the signals you send other people. You will learn just how to do that with time.”

After they ate, Susan went back to work and Michelle went to bed. She woke about one in the morning, when Kim crawled into bed with her. They kissed for a couple of minutes and then they both went to sleep, in each other’ arms.

>>>>><<<<<

Susan woke them both up at seven-thirty. They needed to get ready, if they wanted to go to the salon. Kim dressed in a T-shirt with a denim mini-skirt and had Michelle do the same, adding a waist nipper, without stockings. They both wore sexy heels.

Michelle switched to her new voice, when she finally had a cup of coffee down her throat. Kim just starred at her for a second, before smiling and saying, “Girl, you have got to learn to sing with that voice. You could sell millions of records.”

“Can’t carry a tune in a bucket, Kim. I have tried.” Michelle said truthfully.

“Elliot might not be able to sing, but I believe Michelle could learn,” Susan said.

They hit Mc D’s for a fast bite to eat, before heading to the salon. They were greeted at the salon and after Michelle told them to spiff her and her friends’ images up, they were taken to separate stylists.

“Hello, I am Becky, and I will be your stylist. What can I do for you today?”

“I want a cut, color and perm. I want to be a light blonde with just a touch of honey, makeup and nails, plus anything you can think of. Think Taylor Swift, Emma Stone and Scarlet Johansson, mixed into one.”

“Ooh, I like your boldness. Let me take a look at you,” Becky said. “You have a nice, pale skin tone.”

“I am half-Swedish.”

“Yes, I can see that; it also explains your accent. I think… We will do long acrylic nails, about a half of an inch. Your lashes need extensions,” She said, calling up pictures of Emma, Taylor and Scarlett on her computer screen. “I think these curly hairstyles will look great on you. What do you think?”

“I like Scarlet Johansson’s look, on the red carpet, at the Golden Globe Awards. She looks so hot in that red dress.”

“Her brow would look good on you too. Let me start on your brow and lashes, then I will do your hair.”

Becky got to work thinning out Michelle’s brow. She didn’t go very thin, but she created a nice arch, that followed natural contours of her face. She then began attaching individual lashes to her natural eyelashes, both upper and lower lashes. She was very good, but this was a very nice salon after all.

While Becky was doing her hair, Cindy, a nail tech came in. She first polished her toenails, as Becky sectioned and rolled her hair on perm rods. While Michelle was under the dryer, the nail tech added full acrylic nails to Michelle. She painted them with the same brilliant red gel as her toes now bore. The stylist bleached her hair and added a light honey blonde dye. Becky even bleached Michelle’s brow. Becky then cut and styled her hair.

Simon then came in and did Michelle’s makeup. He created a smoky daytime look, giving Michelle tips on how to recreate this look. He contoured her face, then added foundation and setting it with powder. He made her brows bold, lined her eyes and used mascara on her. Simon then spent a little time working with cream, light gray and charcoal eye shadows, blending it heavily. He brushed a reddish blush on her cheeks and finished with a really red lipstick. He sold her everything he used on her face.

Michelle then got to see herself. She definitely had Emma Stone’s blonde hair now. She also had curly hair like Scarlet Johannsson’s, with Taylor Swifts swept bangs and makeup. She sat there looking in the mirror with her mouth hanging open. If there had been any doubt about Elliot being a female at heart. Her image now erased them.

Becky took Michelle to a dressing room, where her red Armani suit, blouse, pantyhose and. red Prada heels, along with a bag of gold jewelry was waiting for her.

When Michelle came out of the dressing room, she could literally hang with Emma, Taylor or Scarlett at a business meeting with their producers and not look out of place. Also she looked more than a little different from Elliot. It would be a one in a hundred million shot for her to be recognized as Elliot. Susan and Kim both gushed over Michelle, while she was googled eyed looking at them. Kim was in her black pantsuit and Susan was in a maroon suit.

Susan was gorgeous, she looked better than she had in years. She had just gotten a little complacent over the years about doing the beauty routine. She only fixed herself up when meeting with senior editors or her boss and with some writer’s, since she lost her husband. This was a good reminder of what she could look like if she tried.

Kim looked better than she ever remembered looking. Her stylist went to town on her hair and Simon won a gold star from Michelle, on Kim’s makeup. Kim had no reason now to feel less worthy than some of the well-heeled girls around town.

Simon got kisses and the stylists got hugs from the girls. Pictures had been taken of the three of them and of them kissing Simon’s cheek’s. Michelle and Kim made regular appointments for hair and nails.

After a nice late lunch, they made their way to a seamstress. Michelle had four suits to be altered. When the seamstress felt the waist nipper, she insisted on tightening it tighter. Unless Michelle was able to get her natural waist down, she would always have to wear a corset, or a waist nipper, to wear the skirts and jackets. Kim was fitted into Rebecca’s three suits. She looked great in each of them. She was also fitted into a couple of Rebecca’s gowns.

They had to rush home, so Kim could head for work. Her usual tips ran to ten to twenty percent of the ticket, with a third stiffing her, but tonight she found she had fewer stiffs and larger tips than she usually received. Her Friday and Saturday tips averaged $120 a day, tonight her tips were just over $220, mostly because she sold more alcohol and her guests stayed longer. She tipped her bartender forty bucks. She looked better and had more confidence when dealing with guests. Her coworkers, raved over her appearance and her boss had lustful eyes toward her. He would never make a move on her, other managers had been raked over the coals and fired for sexual harassment. He needed this job for his family.

Her confidence was sky high when she got back home. For the first time, she woke and shagged Michelle ragged, when she got home. They were at it for almost two hours of kissing, cuddling, screwing and touching. She found her favorite position was cowgirl. By three, they were both exhausted. Kim fell asleep on top on Michelle.

When Michelle woke that morning at about eight-thirty, Kim had her legs locked around Michelle’s legs. Kim mumbled, “Let me sleep a couple of more hours.”

Michelle needed another shower and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, when she left her room. With just a little fuss, her hair looked great, she just had to brush her hair and spray her bangs in place. Susan was at the computer editing a book, “Morning sunshine.”

“Morning Aunt Susan, have you eaten?”

“I would have starved if I had to wait on you two. I like your hair sweetie.”

“You look great too. I am going to nuke a couple of breakfast burritos and then I need to check e-mail and my Facebook pages. That coffee smells wonderful.”

Michelle returned to the office about ten minutes later.

“We need to pick out headstones for your parents and Rebecca on Monday, Michelle. This is something we should do and not put it on Adrianna.”

Michelle was spreading the news by e-mail, that Elliot was now in Syracuse New York and he was doing fine. He thanked all the well-wishers and family friends.

After Kim got up, they went out to eat, dressed casually. They then went grocery shopping. Kim was very picky about some food items. She ate a little healthier than Michelle did. They selected a lot more produce and leaner meats, more chicken and fish, less red meats.

“Becky did a wonderful job. They look like your real lashes. Just don’t be rubbing them too much.” Kim said.

“I know and I can’t wash my hair for two more days, I have to use a color safe shampoo/Conditioner. Being pretty is a lot of work.”

“I know, but it is worth it. I have been slipping on that count for the last four years, since Sam passed away. I am going to take better care of myself. Make sure you do the same.” Susan said.

“I will, I promise.” Michelle said.

Michelle did get some of her favorite foods, which Kim and Susan approved of.

“You need to try to lose about five to ten pounds, to make your clothing fit better.” Susan said. “You’ll need to do some ab work, to make it leave from your waist. Your arms and legs could use a little toning too.”

Kim had a lot of suggestions on how they both could get fitter. They could get a couple of bicycles and ride them.

“Yes, but we will store them inside our apartment, or in bicycle lockers. I don’t want them stolen.” Michelle said. “I read about a guy who chained his bike to a tree outside an apartment and someone chain sawed the tree to steal the bike.”

Back home they put the groceries up and relaxed, watching TV.

“That TV has got to go with us,” Kim said.

We can furnish the apartment with stuff from my home. We will have four computers, counting my laptop, an entertainment center, couch and chairs, all this stuff is fairly new and whatever we want for this apartment. Aunt Susan do you want a computer shipped to you?”

“Thank you, your computers are nicer than mine. I want the one I am working on now.”

“We will pack it up and ship it to you. I want to begin creating a fictional life for Michelle and open a Facebook page for her.”

“First make it a private page, till we get a history for her decided upon. That way we can edit it, before you make it open. Let me work with some of our kin and see if we can hook them into it. Some of my relatives won’t be as understanding, but some might. We should also talk to Ms. Weston and your psychologist.”

Michelle created her Facebook page. Aunt Susan took a digital photo of Michelle, after she dressed in a skirt and blouse and made up her face. They uploaded it and began creating a fictional Bio for Michelle. Susan chose a city for Michelle to come from. They discussed small schools, versus large schools, large schools are more anonymous than small schools. She also helped create a fictional family for Michelle.

“We need to check with Ms. Weston and your psychologist before we change it to a public profile. I don’t want any trouble,” Susan said. “I know a few family members that will probably be amenable to helping Michelle. I will touch base with them when I get back to New York. You will also need to keep up Elliot’s Facebook page. At least till you want to come out as Michelle. I will email you some photos from New York.”

Kim went and made dinner for them, as Susan and Michelle worked.

Michelle worked for a while, and then she began working on a fictional story about herself for Adrianna. She was surprised at how easily it came to her. She wrote about a boy who discovered that deep inside, he knew he really was a girl. Alesha Ryan got into all sorts of hijinks on her road to becoming a girl. She had a group of girls who were there to help her along the way. Alesha did face some ridicule and criticism, when she was discovered, and it took a couple of years before her parents accepted her as their daughter. She had twenty pages done in an hour. The story just seemed to flow like water, from her heart.”

The next day they got up early. This would be a busy day for them.

Michelle went and fixed them something to eat, while Kim and Susan got dressed and did their makeup. She took the food to Susan’s room and Elliot’s room, where Kim was getting dressed. Michelle went to her room and started to get dressed also. Michelle chose a nice white business blouse, a knee length black wool skirt, a bubblegum pink blazer, a corset laced tightly, with garters attached, stockings, panties and black pumps, with a modest three-inch heel. Kim came in her room, as she was doing her makeup. She was dressed similarly, with a light gray blazer and dark gray plaid skirt.

They went to the funeral home that had received the bodies from Atlanta, Susan handled the business transaction with help from Michelle. They chose a companion monument for the parents and a single monument for Rebecca. Michelle and Susan wrote the inscriptions. The funeral home said they would bill Ms. Weston. Michelle wanted flowers on the grave yearly at the anniversary of their passing and made arrangements for an endowment to pay the bill.

They were a few minutes late into Ms. Weston’s office. Adrianna was very complimentary of her appearance. She loved Michelle and Susan’s appearance.

Michelle gave her the story she had written. She had to sign some papers and they talked about some things that Adrianna had found. The lawyer she contacted in Lansing, Michigan, found the deed for the condo and would be working to transfer it to Michelle’s name, as soon as it became legal and the probate came through there. The request for a name change was published, no court date yet. Ms. Weston also talked about what to expect with the Dean of Students.

“He wants to see what you look like before he greases the wheels. It’s not illegal in cases of a transgendered student with a psychologist’s statement, but it won’t be official, till the legal name change comes through, in two weeks.”

“I have already messengered him your doctor’s report and your psychologist’s statements.”

At the University of Florida, they went to Wilbert Cummings office. He was expecting them, but not what he saw when they arrived.

“Hello Ms. Larsson. I can’t believe that you are a transgender student, but I have no reason to doubt you.”

“Thank you, Dr. Cummings, I assure you, that I was Elliot Dresden. If I hadn’t lost my parents, I might have still been in denial, but I am as certain of that now, as I am of being in your office . It’s a fact.”

“I have all your records in my office and have Michelle Briana Larsson listed as a temporary student. Here is your schedule, Elliot was withdrawn from all classes, you, however, will have three different classes and two of the same classes, as Elliot would have had. I am not going to ask, and don’t tell me, which restroom you use. Just don’t get involved in any problems in the restrooms, if you can avoid it. Take this note to registration and get your ID card made and photo taken. Classes start in four weeks.”

It was over within twenty minutes. Michelle got her picture taken and her ID card, with the name listed as M.B. Larsson. They bought books and souvenirs, before heading home.

Kim waited an hour before getting ready for work, “I need to do laundry tomorrow. I have to wash my uniforms.”

Kim kept her new appearance up and made her face up in a more dramatic way, yet ready for work makeup look, after she dressed for work.

“Leave them on your bed, I will do them,” Michelle said.

Kim had a strange look on her face. She had done things for herself for several years now, as her mom had done less and less for her. “Okay, I will leave all my laundry on my bed. If you would help me out.”

“I will be glad to do it. Mom had insisted that I do my own laundry since I was fourteen. I can read labels and follow direction.”

Kim reached over and kissed Michelle on the lips.

Kim left and Michelle started on her laundry. She first sorted them out by whites, colors, uniforms and delicates. She washed the delicate items first. It was a short run in the washer. She put them all in a lingerie bag and started the load. Ten minutes later she put them in the dryer on low heat, still in the bag, while she loaded the whites. She started reading her books, till the dryer dinged. She folded Kim’s bras, panties and hosiery. She then switched the whites to the dryer at medium heat and started the colored clothes in the wash. She sat on the washer, an interesting experience, while she read some more. The washer dinged only a minute after the dryer. She took the whites and pulled down the ironing board and set about ironing. She made sure to iron the synthetics and silks first, on low heat, then she did the cottons and wools on a higher heat. She hung them up after she finished each item. Within two hours, she was finished and she took Kim’s clothes to her room, where she put them up.

A bleary eyed Susan had gone to bed, after a grueling session, with a book whose author really needed to go back to remedial English. She kissed Michelle and then headed straight to bed. Michelle was reading her chemistry text, when Kim came in, and almost leapt into Michelle’s lap, and kissed the girl.

“Wow, what has brought on this change in you?” Michelle asked.

Kim smiled and pulled out a wad of ones, fives and a ten, “I used to draw in between a hundred to a hundred and twenty dollars in tips on Fridays and Saturdays. Mondays through Thursday I usually draw forty to sixty dollars in tips. This Saturday, I earned over two hundred, and tonight I drew seventy-two dollars. My boss has seen the changes in my looks, and commented on it, and he also says I appear more confident and diligent, in my actions. I know I am more confident since I have been around you, and these tips are just so important. You see, TGI Friday pays me three dollars an hour, the bulk of my earnings comes from tips. I doubled my tips on Saturday and was almost doubled my tips tonight. You just don’t know what that means to someone who needs tips. I know it won’t be this way every day, but every dollar helps. I am just so happy.”

Michelle kissed Kim, “I am happy for you. I did your laundry and put it up, for you.”

“Thank you, you are so sweet for doing it for me. I too have done my own laundry and cooking for years. The last two years I have had to do my own shopping too. I am going to take a shower and change clothes .”

Michelle went to her room and changed into a baby doll nightie and a robe. Kim came into her room and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you for doing my laundry and even ironing it. I hardly even ironed my own things, most of my things are wash and wear. Ironing them makes them look so much better. Thank you.”

“I just wanted you to look your best. I iron my own things; I wouldn’t do less than that for my best only friend.”

“Only friend? You are such a nice person; why would I be your only friend?”

“Because, I was hiding from myself. I truly feel… no make that I knew in my heart that I was always different from other people… normal people. People whom I couldn’t let them see the real me. This is the real ME Kimberly. Only once I discovered the real me could I begin to make friends with myself and other people. You were my first friend, the first of maybe many more, but you are special to me. Kim I love you too. I surprised myself when I said it, but it’s true. I love you.”

Kim smiled a coy smile and closed the distance between them, “Maybe I too have been in denial, but I really do love you too.” She gently pushed Michelle over on the bed, crawling on top of her. That night they made love in a comfortable less desperate, but no less satisfying manner.

“No matter how far you go to being Michelle, you have got to save some sperm in a sperm bank. You might find someone who wants to bear your children, Michelle.”

“Someone like you,” Michelle teased.

“We are getting there, but I have been on the pill for three years now. My cycle was highly erratic when I was a young teen. Maybe twenty-three days one month, and thirty-eight days the next month. My OB/GYN put me on the pill to prevent pregnancy, yes, but mostly to help regulate my cycle. You are my second… let’s say you are my second XY. I was sort of date raped as a teen.”

“Sort of date raped?”

“Yes, I liked the guy and I might have done it with him, but it was the way he… He never asked; he just took. He didn’t even… I don’t know… He wasn’t bad and didn’t hurt me; he just expected sex and took what he wanted. I hate him now. I didn’t do that to you did I?” Kim looked shocked at her own realization of what happened Saturday.

Michelle just kissed Kim and rolled her on top again. Michelle loved this position too. She got to look at how beautiful Kim was, as the girl rode her. To Michelle, the sex act wasn’t important. Sure it felt good, but what mattered to her was the look of bliss on Kim’s face. If she never had coitus sex again it wouldn’t matter to her, unless it hurt the one she loved.

After she came, she began to explore other ways of creating that look of bliss in Kim’s face. Her fingers and especially her tongue, were especially gifted at getting that reaction, plus they could keep on going much longer than her penis. At one point, Kim almost shoved her own hand in her mouth to keep from hollering. Michelle thought maybe that was why, Danika had a ball gag, Elliot or Rebecca were at home a lot of the time, Robert and Danika were off from work.

Kim slid down and laid on top of Michelle saying, “Oh gawd, that was great, no more, please need sleep.” She fell asleep on top of Michelle again.

Michelle soon fell asleep with Kim on her tummy.

>>>>><<<<<

The next morning, after they ate, Michelle, Kim and Susan went apartment hunting. “The Apartment Hunters” was a listing service to help people locate apartments and for apartments to list their openings. The low-cost apartments were all gone to college students, but there were three upper mid-range apartments open. All three were nice places, with plenty of amenities. The apartments were all nice and were aimed at urban professionals. The second was the most expensive and its there-bedroom apartments had room for a washer and a dryer. Which was good, since Michelle now owned a washer and a dryer, they wouldn’t have to haul their clothes to a laundry room, or a Laundromat.

Michelle called Ms. Weston, who sent her paralegal, Amanda Peterson, to handle the details. Amanda brought a check for first and last month, plus a hefty security deposit. Michelle, Kim, and Susan used their cell phones and a HD video cam, which Kim just happened to have in her purse, to do a pre-move in, inspection of their soon to be first floor, 2 bed, 2 bath apartment. They took photos of each room, hunting for little defects. All of the rooms had a small, barely visible, rail around the top of the walls, from which pictures and things could be hung. The courtyard was green, with lush vegetation and there was a pool, with a five-foot steel safety fence around it, with a barbecue pit and lawn furniture. There was controlled access and video cameras, covering 95% of the walkways, and security was on duty 24/7/365.

At first, the apartment manager, Mrs. Wilson, didn’t want to rent to students, they didn’t like partiers or rabble rousers.

Amanda looked at the two girls, “Would rabble rousers be wearing Jimmy Choo and Ferragamo shoes, with a Louis Vuitton handbag. They own Prada, Versace and Armani. Sure rich kids can be a pain too, but these are nice young people.”

It took a call to Ms. Weston and her assurances that they would be good tenants and a veiled threat to get them in.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Wilson said. “When we opened, we greeted students openly. After the first year, we had nearly half-a-million in damages, there were dozens of loud parties in the courtyards and some of our better heeled tenants, were moving out or threatening to. So, we began denying students housing.”

Amanda actually signed the contract with Ms. Weston as guarantor. They were given the keys, two gate remotes and a back-up pin for entry.

“We are replacing the carpet and painting your apartment. It will be ready for occupancy on Saturday, please don’t be bad tenants.”

“I will notify power, cable, internet and telephone to come and hook you up, Michelle.” Amanda said. “Anything else I can help you with just call me. I will be happy to help you.” she said, handing a business card to Michelle and Kim.

After stopping to eat, they went through the house, deciding what was going to their apartment, and what was going to be sold out of the house. The fridge, stove, washer, dryer, and dining table, along with some of the kitchenware was going. The apartments kitchen was half the size. They only chose one set of dishes, half the pots, pans and skillets, the microwave, the vita-mix, the food processor, the Krug coffee maker. Kim fell in love with the crystal and china, so it had to go, along with the flatware. Three bedroom sets were going, even though they were only going to use one bed it seemed. Rebecca’s vanity would go, two of the three computers would go, the big couch was too big, but they had a second couch, cushion chair, recliner, coffee table, entryway mirror, with table, and a few wall hangings. They marked everything with post it notes, things tagged with a yellow post-it would go and things marked by a green post-it note would stay. Susan kept them from choosing a ridiculous amount of wall hangings or too much furniture. Balance in the kitchen would be the hardest.

“What are you going to do with the things you aren’t going to sell, but won’t fit in your apartment?” Susan asked.

“There was a storage locker place, right next door to the complex. In fact, you can access it by driving to the southwest corner of the complex. I want to keep Rebecca’s botany samples. I helped her collect about half of them. We then identified and label each sample. The apartment had bicycle storage lockers all along the perimeter. The apartments are close enough to school that we can ride our bikes to campus on nice days.”

“I liked the fact that the apartments are only one deep. There is a back door near the laundry room,” Kim said.

“They may be apartments, but they are more like town houses,” Michelle said.

“Ok, I know some guys with pickups who can help us move, if we pay their gas and pay them a little. We have some night shift dishwashers, and bus boys, who really need some extra cash.”

“I will pay their gas and twenty dollars an hour, from nine till one, if they will help us move on Saturday. They can invite others too. Six would be good.”

“I will talk to them tonight and see if they have any friends.”

>>>>><<<<<

Wednesday was quite interesting for Michelle. She had two tests to take on a computer, that dealt with gender and how the patient sees them self. Michelle scored mostly female, at about eighty percent, on both tests. Beverly and Michelle spent half of their time talking about the results of the test.

“I don’t use the results of the tests to make my determination on gender, but it gives me ideas of areas that we need to explore. According to the tests you should be a good candidate for gender reassignment. I just need to assure myself that you didn’t skew the test one way or another.”

“I can see how that could happen, Beverly. I could tell what the female choice for the questions were, or might be. I know that I am not so desperate to become female that I would self-mutilate and I have too much to live for to consider harming myself. I don’t hate my penis and testicles, but I do want to become as fully female as I can be.”

“That is why, it may take a little longer. We can move a little slower and you will still get there. If that is where this all leads too. You are already past puberty and you can already pass as a woman. I will talk to your doctor and recommend anti-androgens, but hormone replacement therapy will be six months to a year down the road, with surgery over a year away. Slower appears to be better.”

“I have a friend named Kim, who wants me to save some sperm before I commit to hormones. So we can have a child that is mine, later down the road. She is bi-sexual and I think we might be a couple.”

“Then you need to do that before the blockers. The sooner, the better. I can recommend a fertility clinic.”

Thursday and Friday, Michelle, Kim and Susan began preparing for the move. Michelle bought a small microwave and a dorm room style refrigerator so they could have hot and cold food, till Susan went home. Michelle and Kim would stay in the Dresden home, till Susan had to leave, the Wednesday after this Wednesday. She got a confirmation of an appointment with the Senior Editor and a writer on Friday, after she got back.

Friday, Ms. Weston called, they had a court date for Michelle’s name change. A week after Monday, they would appear in court to make M.B. Larsson legal.

>>>>><<<<<

Saturday they had seven guys show up. One was an appliance man. He came in and disconnected the electric dryer, the water line for the ice maker on the fridge and the induction range. The major appliances were the first things to go. They loaded the range, washer, dryer and the refrigerator.

Michelle led the caravan over to the new apartment. The appliance man then began to setup the appliances and made sure they all worked. The refrigerator just fit vertically by less than half an inch beneath an overhead cabinet and sideways you could fit five sheets of paper on both sides to the counters.

Michelle stayed at the apartment and would direct traffic there and Kim supervised loading, while Susan was in the office working on a computer. Michelle and Kim had it all planned out about what went first, second and etc.

By twelve, they were all at the apartment arranging things and hanging wall hangings from hooks and wires. By the time Kim had to shower and get dressed for work, their apartment looked like a home. Michelle and Kim would stay in the Dresden home till Susan had to go back to New York, a week from Tuesday. The guys were paid either a hundred ten dollars, or a hundred fifty if they drove their truck.

When Kim got home found Michelle dressed in one of her mother’s peignoirs and robes. It was clear that she had been crying. Kim didn’t say a thing, she just wrapped Michelle up in her arms and hugged her. They went to the master bedroom. Kim had to take a shower before she joined Michelle in bed. Michelle was like a little girl being held by her big sister, Kim, till the thunderstorm passed and she fell asleep.

Michelle dreamed, she dreamed she was in a field of flowers. Here, she was 100% girl and she knew it. She felt the grass crunch beneath her feet. The fragrance of lavender, heather, echinacea and peonies wafted in a gentle warm breeze. She could hear all sorts of birds that were flying and resting on the ground. Then she saw her family standing on a rise. Michelle ran to them and hugged her Mom, Dad and Sister, kissing their cheeks. They all sat on a blanket in the field and talked.

“Mom, Dad, Rebecca, why did you have to leave me alone? I should have been with you three.”

Robert hugged his daughter Michelle and said, “None of us know our time Michelle, we came to the end of our threads and we had to go. Your thread continues in the tapestry of life, Michelle. But we are still with you. Memories of us are in your heart and our spirits are right there beside you.”

“I miss you guys so much; it hurts so much. Will the hurt ever go away?”

“With time, the pain you feel will lessen, but it will never truly go away, till we are back together again,” Danika told Michelle.

“I would have loved going to college with you, little sister. I will miss going with you through a field and collecting specimens. We had so much fun doing that,” Rebecca said. “I am glad you have Kim with you. You two were meant for each other, I think.”

“I agree,” Danika told her. “She is a keeper. Treat her well Michelle.”

“I agree with your Mom,” Roger said. “I wish I could have known you as my daughter, but it wasn’t time for you to come out of hiding. Go Michelle, don’t be afraid of the future, know that we will always be there beside you and that we love you very much.”

They talked for a while, Michelle was comforted by their words, but she just couldn’t remember what they had said. They all hugged and kissed one last time and then Michelle woke up. The clock said six-thirty. She only had close to five hours of sleep, but her world felt right to her.

She quietly went to the bathroom to clean her face. Tears she cried, while she was asleep, were dried and crusty on her cheeks. The traces of Elliot were still there with her, but she wasn’t bothered by them. She knew that she would be whole soon. The pain of her road would remind her of the love her family had for her.

Michelle changed her underwear, dressed quietly in her closet, in a skirt, a peasant blouse and flats, before fixing her hair and doing her makeup. She took her laptop to the almost bare living room. She set it up on one of Rebecca’s footlocker, that they were now using as a coffee table.

She fixed herself a cup of coffee and sat on the large couch they left here. She then began to type what she could remember of her dream into a word document. She described the field that she met her family in, described the clothing they wore in detail, and what she was told and what she said, in a journal format.

Michelle had a good cry, as she typed and poured her heart out. The words just flowed from her fingers to the screen of her laptop. Her burdens, though still present, seemed lighter and less taxing to her.

She attached the document to an e-mail and sent it to her psychologist Beverly Greyson with a note explaining the dream to her. Telling her that the dream felt so vivid, so real. I could see colors, feel textures and smell fragrances.

Michelle set her coffee and laptop aside and opened up the footlocker. There were between fifteen and twenty albums in the trunk that contained her sister’s specimens. She took one out and began to page through the album, not reading the legend, but still naming the plants as she flipped through the pages.

“I didn’t know you liked plants,” Kim said, looking over Michelle’s shoulders.

Michelle startled, her heart racing for a few seconds, “Oh Kimberly, you startled me. I was so focused that I didn’t hear you get up. I should know them, I helped my sister collect them, name them and then drilled her on them.”

“How many specimens do you have?”

“I don’t know, but it is over a thousand. There are three other footlockers with albums.”

“I have an idea, why don’t you use one of these albums as a coffee table book and rotate them. I would love going through them. I might not want to learn all of those Latin names, but the albums are interesting.”

Michelle sat debating what to do next, “Kim have a seat. I need you to read something.” She then let Kim read her journal entry.

Kim read what Michelle had typed and blanched, “Oh man, this is crazy.”

Michelle was a little offended, “What… that is straight from my heart.” She sounded a little perturbed.

Kim looked confused a second and then said, “No… I don’t mean what you wrote… I mean yes, it’s about what you wrote, but not exactly… I mean… I had this crazy dream last night too. That was sort of like yours… I met these people whom I never met before. One old man, a somewhat younger woman and a girl a little older than me. We sat on a blanket and talked. It felt like a talk… well, like getting to know you talk… The man was German, the lady was Swedish and the girl was their daughter. Your description is spot on, with what I dreamed. For the life of me, I didn’t know their names, or what was said. I can only remember impressions.”

“Did you see colors, smell flowers, felt and heard things?”

“Yeah, man I wished that I had my camera. It was a birder paradise; swallows, larks, orioles, a great blue heron, puffins, egrets and blue jays.”

“That’s right, you said you liked photography. What kind of camera do you have?”

“Just a cheap Sony Cyber-Shot. It cost about forty dollars. Bought it with my undeclared tip money.”

Michelle had a glint in her eye, “Stay here a minute,” as she got up and went to the garage. She hadn’t gone through all of her parents’ things yet. She just didn’t have the stomach till now. She searched till she found an aluminum case that belonged to her father. She returned with the case.

“This case belonged to my father. It contains a Nikon D3s and spare lenses. This is more camera than I can use. I have my own Canon EOS Rebel and I don’t know all of the features on it,” she said, setting the case down between them. “You can use it anytime, and all you want, and get to know it, but let’s see if it works first.”

Michelle opened the heavily padded case and picked up the D3s body and mated it with a 50mm normal lens and turned the camera on. It powered up beautifully. Michelle snapped a picture of Kim in her kimono robe, still wearing her baby doll negligee. Kim was shocked at first and then started posing, even after her robe fell open. Michelle shot a dozen pictures and then showed Kim. Kim blushed as she saw her own nipples, through the nightie, along with her fury patch, in one shot.

“There are four lenses, charger units, the manuals are in the top, and there are filters and other gizmos.” Michelle could really use the camera, but the Canon was more on her skill level. She just used cameras to document the botany and geological specimens she collected, and it was fun on a vacation.”

Michelle wanted to give her the camera, but it was very expensive and she didn’t want Kim to try to pay her for it, or overwhelm the girl with the gift.

“Wow, I can use it! It is better than the one I used at school. They were cheaper than your EOS.”

Kim then began shooting pictures of Michelle. Michelle was embarrassed and tried to block the lens with her hand.

“Fair is fair Michelle. You shot pictures of me.”

“Ok, give me a second.”

Michelle waited till she felt her face cool from her flush and then she stood and started to pose. Kim had taken the time to put the flash on and power it up. She then began to shoot Michelle like a fashion photographer.

Michelle talked as she posed, “We have Photoshop Professional on the computers at our apartment and on my laptop. You can upload the photos to it or on the cloud and then work with them and make prints.”

“What do we have here,” Susan said groggily.

“Oh, I am letting Kim use my Dad’s camera and gear. She is a photo-nut. Get dressed Aunt Susan, I am hungry. Our kitchen is now at my apartment.”

“Bring your laptop, I want to upload these photos,” Kim said, heading off to get dressed.

While Kim and Susan went to get dressed, Michelle uploaded the photos to her laptop. She put them in a file folder on her desktop.

They sat in a semi-circular booth at the Denney’s. After they ordered coffee and breakfast. Michelle booted her laptop up and displayed the photos.

“These shots are pretty good. You should be a model Michelle.” Kim said.

Michelle looked around to see who was nearby, “I know I am tall enough, but I am too big to be a model. Those girls are a size 0 or 2, no more than a four. I have too much meat on these bones. I know boobs can be reduced and I could lose ten to twenty pounds, but it would be impossible for me to get that small. My ribcage is just too large.”

“She is right Kim, but she does look good in your photos.”

“Tell me Susan, did you have a strange dream last night?” Kim asked.

Susan blanched a bit, “What makes you ask that?”

“Kim and I both had strange dreams. Before you tell us, can you type what you remember, so we can compare notes.”

Susan began typing, after closing her eyes in thought. She typed for about four or five minutes. Kim and Michelle read as she typed, looking at each other and nodding. When she finished typing, Kim typed what her experience was in a separate Document. Michelle then called up her journal on Word.

“Oh my gawd, that just isn’t possible,” Susan said. “Dreams are just fiction the mind writes… aren’t they? I felt my sister Danika wanting me to look after and take care of my niece, Michelle for her.”

“I only remembered what would be a few minutes of what we talked about, Aunt Susan. Also, all of our dreams bordered on hyperrealism. All of the scene’s looked better than real, they were idyllic.”

“This would make a better novel, than some of the stories I have to edit. Michelle, maybe you should write all of this as a novel.”

“I don’t think so; it is too real to me. I think I look as the start of a new life for me. Like that saying, ‘This is the first day of the rest of your life.”

“This is the first day of the rest of our lives, Michelle.”

“I can say amen to that kids,” Susan said.

They all moved on with their lives together from that point. Kim and Michelle together in love, with Susan spending much of her time with the two of them.

Finis