Saddled 5

I can hear you all now, “Is the lad stupid that he didn’t know what was happening to him?” I agree that it may be somewhat obvious that I had been changed by whatever chemicals that Claudette was giving me. They must have had some other ingredients as I really didn’t mind. By the time I realised that I was no longer the Anthony I used to be it was way too late.

The other factor that played into things was that I was a respected artisan and member of the community; a successful businessperson as well as a proficient baker. Adding both husband, father and sometime mother was all icing on the cake. I felt fulfilled in so many ways it was almost euphoric. The fact that I was up in the early hours and working much of the day was not a problem. Even less of a problem was that I was now doing it all wearing dresses and trying to take care of my nails. One evening when I was given a baby to nurse and she latched on to my own breast was such a beautiful time I just sat there crying.

One of the by-products of this time was that there was so much milk being produced by three mothers with breast pumps. We had a bulk supply of storage bottles and bought a small bar fridge to keep it in. Mindful of hygiene we kept stickers on the bottle with the date they were expressed. Anything more than three days old was added to the normal milk that I made custard with for the custard tarts. I baked a custard filled tube with it that I called ‘Mothers’ Kisses’ and they became a best seller.

I received a phone call from my mother that summer, to tell me that my parents had booked a bus tour of France and that they would be visiting the church and castle at Saint Aignan and wondered if I could meet them there. I made arrangements with Odette to be in the gift shop with her when they came through and that I may bring them to the house for a meal. Giselle was now at home during the day and back to helping with the baking so she could look after the little ones while I was out.

That day I dressed in my nicest blouse and skirt, now having quite a range to choose from, and drove Odettes’ car to the church. She had taken my van earlier. When the tour bus arrived, they all went up to the castle and I guided the tour. My parents were there but did not recognise me. At the end of the tour we were all back in the gift shop when my mother asked me if I knew Anthony as he was supposed to be there to see them and I said “You just don’t recognise me now, do you Mum? I have changed a bit.”

They both had to sit down to get their senses back and I took the time to find out where the tour was going. I was told that it would be heading for Tours next for an overnight stop. I found out the name of the hotel and said that I would be taking my mother and father home with me and would take them to the hotel tonight. The tour guide expressed amazement that such a typical English couple had a pretty French girl as a daughter.

When the group left I introduced them to Odette, the owner of the house I was living in and mother of the other girls that lived there. I then took them out to the car and drove them home. On the way my mother commented on the fact that I would not now produce any grandchildren for her and that she would have to be content with the four that my sisters had produced. I told her to wait until we got to the house before she took it to heart.

At the house they were amazed at the size of the property. I first took them into the workshop and showed them where the products in the gift shop came from and pointed out the bigger items I made. Then, on the way to the main house, I pointed out the two halves of the barn. I said that Louisa lived in one half and I shared the other half with Claudette. In the main house they were greeted by Giselle and the four girls in their playpen, all having a sleep on blankets. My mother was enchanted and asked what their names were.

Giselle pointed to one and said “That one is Nicolette and is mine.” My mother asked about the father and Giselle pointed to me. Again my mother had to sit down to take it in. “So you did give me another grand-daughter before you changed.” Giselle then pointed out the twins and said that they were Louisas’ twins, Antoinette and Bernadette; Antoinette named in honour of her father. This caused my mother to hyperventilate for a while. Giselle then pointed out little Henrietta, named in honour of Odettes’ long dead husband and the reason that I was considered a miracle maker among the more superstitious folk of the village, seeing that her mother was well over the normal child-bearing age.

My mother stood up and enveloped me in a hug, saying that she was very happy that I was happy here and that having her tally of grand-children doubled in one hit was a shock, but a lovely one. My father shook my hand first and then hugged me and told me that he now had a good tale to tell down the pub. He said that my still-single mates would never believe that I was living with four women and had put three of them in the family way; a mother and two of her daughters, no less. He then asked why not the fourth and I told him it was because she could not have children or else there may have been another baby here today.

A couple of the babies had woken up by this time and Giselle and I made lunch while my mother and father cradled one each. After we had eaten it was time for another feed and they gave two of them bottles while Giselle and I breast fed the other two, to looks of total amazement. I think my father was actually checking out Giselles’ ample bosom.

In the afternoon I took them on a guided tour of the area, going to places the tourist busses don’t visit. My father was a bit of a history buff and was very happy to see the little historic cottages. We went back to the church and I took charge of the gift shop while Odette showed them all the places we kept shut while the tourists were about. When they came back she was arm in arm with my mother and they both smiled as they saw me. I then took them to one of the bakeries we supplied and they greeted me as Marie and my mother thought that my baking had vastly improved since my earlier days. She said that it was far better now than any of my sisters.

When we got back to the house Odette had got home and was starting to prepare dinner. My folks played with the babies and I introduced Louisa and Claudette when they got home. My father looked at the bevy of blonde beauties and gave me another hug, whispering “You are a total legend, now.” After dinner we had a photo session and there was one taken of me standing with my folks, with the three mothers sitting in front and the four babies on the ground in front of them. This is one that I had framed and sits on my dresser.

I then drove them into Tours and dropped them at the hotel. I had a couple of protracted hugs and a kiss on the cheek from my mother, who whispered “I am so proud of you, my daughter Marie. We will be back to see you again.” My father also held me close and just whispered "Bloody Legend!” On the drive home I had to smile and sang to the world as I went along. It had been a happy day and one that turned out so much better than I had expected.

That night, in bed with Claudette, she told me she loved me and had done since Louisa had brought me home. I asked if that was why she had given me all of the pills and she nodded while a tear formed. I was sure she expected me to storm out of the room and out of her life but I just said “Thank you, my darling” and kissed her. I had realised, during the drive home, that I was happy to now be Marie. It wasn’t something that I would have planned, or even thought about; but it was something that turned out to be fulfilling and magical. I was now well used to all of the maintenance needed to keep this womans body in good shape and appearance and the range of clothes I could wear was wonderful. All that was needed now was to get proper documentation and a proper body and Claudette, who else, had all the contacts from when she made her own transition.

In the autumn my two unmarried sisters brought their four children to France on a road trip. Odette arrange for them to stay in a local hotel and they were enchanted with the family and accepted me as their sister, telling me that I was even more girly than our other sister. When Odette remarked that my two sisters were not very choosy about their life I had to agree. But it was a lovely visit and helped me firm up my intention to become totally Marie. Back into the off-season I spent a lot of time in the workshop and stocked up on the gift shop lines again, as well as building my stock of pannier and saddle bags. I also designed baby seats that could go onto cycles and we took Giselles old bike and my mountain bike to a local shop, coming out with two ladies bikes that were sturdy enough to take a rack front and rear. I made up the racks and fitted the baby seats so that, with the coming summer, Giselle and I could take the babies out on the bikes.

And so we moved towards another Christmas, this one totally different as we had a tree, decorations and four children to buy for. I think we all got a little carried away and I got passionate kisses from all of the others when I gave them my presents. I returned the kisses when I got mine and we all felt that we had got through a very interesting and different year. Then the four of us had to sit down and feed the babies. It was certainly a different Christmas to any I had experienced before.

Marianne G 2021